To David Hermann
FOX Sports Dallas Cowboys Writer
Costa Mesa, California — This is what the future looks like. Dak Prescott When breaks don’t work.
Prescott’s receiver squad at Thursday’s joint practice with the L.A. Chargers was largely down as Sheedy Lamb missed another day’s practice with a cut leg and Noah Brown was added to the injury report with a toe problem. It looked like a practice team.
This is not intended to offend staff, just a statement of fact. Simifehoko, who recorded seven offensive snaps for him last season as a rookie, is currently the most experienced Healthye his receiver on the Cowboys’ roster. Behind him is his KaVaontae Turpin, who spent the spring in the USFL, but is getting his NFL snap for the first time this month.
Everyone else on the depth chart was either a rookie or hadn’t played a regular season game, and it looked like it.
CeeDee Lamb misses joint practice due to leg amputation
Emmanuel Acho and Joy Taylor share whether Lam’s injury is serious.
Throughout the afternoon, the Cowboys looked inconsistent in their passing game. Dalton Schultz continued his connection with Prescott, catching one of the few touchdown passes of the day. .
The biggest exception to that was undrafted rookie Dennis Houston, who went through a strong training camp.
The Western Illinois standout caught two contested passes from Prescott. This includes an impressive post route over the middle of the field. And that’s before the practice finale, with Prescott attempting a Hail Mary from midfield at the end of the offense’s two-minute drill and finding Houston in a scrum on his body for a “game-winning” touchdown. rice field.
“I talked about it on Monday. They can step in and make some plays.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that men took their chances. It’s just a matter of whether that’s enough. Back to origin, even Houston has dealt with a significant reduction in red zone practice time.
However, when asked about it, Prescott hesitated at the idea that he would be frustrated with his supporting cast.
“That’s about it,” he said. “This is really the time to reach out to others and let them take advantage of their opportunities. Who knows? Hopefully not, but there may be times when they are not available. We need to know what we are working together.
“They have to know what I expect from them and how they expect me to throw the ball.
To be fair, it’s also true that the regular season is still three weeks away. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Thursday morning that Lamb is likely to return to practice when the team resumes practice in Frisco, Texas.
Michael Gallup also raised eyebrows when he ran some routes after practice and caught a few passes from Prescott.
Lamb should be fine and reinforcements are finally on their way. Thursday merely provided a sobering reminder of just how thin the depth chart is on receivers. I hope you can.
For the time being, Prescott will continue to attack regardless of who is available.
“I do what I am asked,” he said. “I’m the quarterback on this team, and whenever I play this position, I know it’s my responsibility to bring other players along, lock them in and keep discipline. They look to me for answers and I expect them to communicate and be on the same page. We will continue to do so and continue to grow.
Thursday was the Cowboys’ final practice on the West Coast. Here are some additional notes from the driving range at the Jack R. Hammett Sports Complex.
top pick
If you don’t know the name DaRon Bland yet, it’s time to get to know it. His fifth-round pick from Fresno State turned eyebrows against Denver with a solid performance in the preseason opener. On that Thursday, he built on best practices to date.
With Jourdan Lewis out with an injured hamstring, Bland got the chance to start at Nickelback and made the most of it. He dropped the pick in the first snap of the team period, but managed two of his other pass breaks and completed an end zone interception in the final snap of practice.
McCarthy said Thursday that the Cowboys’ goal is to get Lewis healthy in time for Week 1. In that case, Day 3 Draft he is a pick chance. Anthony Brown has a lot of experience with slots and can move inside if needed. But if Brand continues to excel, coaches may choose to leave the veterans in their regular roles on the left and let the rookies take on the nickel roles.
Second-year corners Kelvin Joseph and Nation Wright get the most publicity due to their draft stock. But Brand makes a strong claim as the best young corner at this camp.
Focus on LB
Wednesday was the Micah Parsons show, while the rest of the Cowboys’ linebacker squad joined Thursday. On the first play of the two-minute drill, Leighton Vander Esch fell from the flat onto Justin Herbert’s throwing lane and made a diving interception to kill a potential scoring drive. Luke Gifford was also close to interception, but he dropped it.
Also note that Anthony Barr joined several team reps on Thursday. While the Cowboys are slowly adopting veteran linebackers, they’ve shown some basic looks with the trio of Burr, Parsons, and Vander Esch on the field at the same time.
urgent work
Both of these teams have some juice in their pass rushers. enjoyed another productive day.
However, the Chargers happen to hire Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. For starters, the Chargers’ defense completely shut down Dallas’ running game on Thursday after giving up several plays on Wednesday. occurred at least three or four times.
David Helman covers FOX Sports’ Dallas Cowboys to provide insight and analysis on the NFL’s most famous franchise. Before joining FOX, he covered the Cowboys for nine seasons on the team’s official website, DallasCowboys.com. In 2018, he won a regional Emmy Award for producing “Dak Prescott: A Family Reunion,” about the quarterback’s era in Mississippi.
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