Coleman is day-to-day with a slight quad tear.

What's The Scoop:

The Cowboys went through two walk-throughs on Saturday with only 79 players on the 80-man roster after cutting nose tackle Tim Anderson. Only 79 players were on the roster for Sunday morning's practice in pads and shorts.

The Cowboys will probably add a player to fill out the roster, but for now - even with running back Alonzo Coleman sitting out and starting fullback Deon Anderson beginning his month-long recovery after a knee scope - adding a free agent running back or fullback is not in the Cowboys' plans, according to owner and general manager Jerry Jones.

For practice, the amount of players at either position is not a problem. The team's four healthy tailbacks can evenly split up reps, and with the prevalence of double tight end sets, the fullback position is not as heavily worked as last year. But for the preseason games, when the Cowboys' main guys - Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and to a certain extent, Tashard Choice - will get some rest, having enough bodies at the position could be an issue.

That would leave only Keon Lattimore, who played the entire second half against Oakland. But if something were to happen to him in a game, the Cowboys wouldn't want to bring Choice back into the second half of a preseason game.

One easy solution would be for Coleman, who went down with a slight quad tear on Aug. 1, to get healthy, but the timetable for that is unknown, even to running backs coach Skip Peete.

"That last preseason game would be kind of hard to play some of those older guys any length of time," Peete said. "So hopefully we can get [Coleman] back in time that he can play in those last couple preseason games and get his feet wet and see what he can do."

Even if Coleman doesn't return in time to carry his share of the preseason game load, the Cowboys likely won't bring in a free agent at the position. After all, fullback Julius Crosslin, starting in place of Anderson, did rush for seven touchdowns his senior year at Oklahoma State.

"We'll see," Peete said. "Maybe some of those fullbacks might have to carry a ball."

Quick Shots:

• Cowboys' seventh-round draft pick Mike Mickens came off the field wincing with an apparent hand injury during wide receiver-cornerback press drills. Mickens returned to practice shortly after, and said afterwards he just jammed his hand a little.
• Alan Ball, who is working as a first team corner along with Orlando Scandrick until Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins return to practice on Monday, was very close to making a great play, getting his hands on a Tony Romo pass intended for Crayton on an out route. Ball couldn't quite bring it in, though, and the football bounced off his hands an into Crayton's.
• Second-team safety Pat Watkins showed that he can offer the Cowboys something no other safety on the roster can - the ability to cover tight ends. At 6-foot-5, Watkins is easily the tallest of the defensive backs, and was able to break up a pass to tight end Martellus Bennett, who was split wide and ran a comeback route.
• Sunday morning's practice marked the first session in shoulder pads since Thursday's 31-10 preseason loss to the Raiders. When asked if he was ready to get back in pads or if he wanted more rest, outside linebacker Anthony Spencer said with a sly grin, "Yeah, we were ready to get the pads back on."

You Should've Seen:

DeMarcus Ware. Known more for this pass rushing prowess, Ware also showed in Sunday morning's practice his coverage ability. Rookie quarterback Stephen McGee wanted to get the ball out quick, recognizing that both inside linebackers were blitzing, but he failed to recognize the rare occurrence of Ware dropping into coverage. McGee threw to a receiver running a short comeback route on the left side of the field, but the All-Pro outside linebacker hopped in front of the pass, picking it off and having a clear path to the opposite end zone.

Who's Hot:

Outside linebacker Anthony Spencer. While Ware was making interceptions, Spencer was making plays in the backfield on consecutive plays. First, he and free agent defensive end addition Igor Olshansky busted through the offensive line to stop running back Marion Barber behind the line of scrimmage. Then on the next play, Spencer was able to rush around the corner and sack Romo before the quarterback could dump the ball off to Barber.

Who's Not:

Cornerback Courtney Brown. He's only been playing cornerback throughout this camp, but Brown isn't showing a lot of improvement. He struggled against the Raiders and it continued Sunday as Brown gave up a skinny post pass to Sam Hurd, a deep touchdown to Kevin Ogletree, and accruing plenty more coverage miscues. Even the fans were starting to take notice, some yelling "Cut number twenty-seven!" and, "Keep walking to the showers!" after Ogletree's touchdown.

Injury Update:

FB Deon Anderson, knee surgery - out a month (8/13)
LB Stephen Hodge, knee (precautionary) - expected back Monday (8/13)
LB Brandon Williams, shoulder swelling - day-to-day (8/11)
LB Steve Octavien, groin - expected back Monday (8/8)
CB Terence Newman, slight groin strain - expected back Monday (8/8)
CB Mike Jenkins, right ankle sprain - expected back Monday (8/8)
CB Michael Hawkins, knee bruise - TBD (7/31)
RB Alonzo Coleman, slight quad tear - day-to-day (8/1)
OT Robert Brewster, pectoral tear - likely season-ending (7/27)

Missed Practice:

LB Steve Octavien (groin)
CB Michael Hawkins (knee)
RB Alonzo Coleman (quad)
CB Terence Newman (groin)
CB Mike Jenkins (ankle)
RB Deon Anderson (knee)
LB Brandon Williams (shoulder)
LB Stephen Hodge (knee)

Returned to Practice:

(None.)

Transactions:

LB Stephen Hodge, placed on PUP (7/28)
DT Tim Anderson, placed on PUP (7/28)
OT Michael Turkovich, placed on Injured/Waived (8/3)
OT Andre Douglas, signed (8/3)
S Jerome Carter, waived (8/4)
OT Robert Brewster, signed (8/4)
LB Stephen Hodge, activated from PUP (8/4)
DT Tim Anderson, activated from PUP (8/5)
DT Tim Anderson, waived (8/15)

Wade's Best:

"The one red flag that I threw, it was on defense and it was right in front of me and the ball was on the ground and I knew it. That wasn't hard. The official didn't know it. That surprised me." - Perhaps with a tinge of sarcasm about the game's officiating, talking about the challenge flag he threw in the preseason opener.