The Cowboys opened up their two-minute offense near the end of Sunday's afternoon practice. Needless to say, it was an impressive start.
In fact, maybe even too impressive. The Cowboys went first-team vs. first-team in the two-minute offense, followed by the 2s against the 2s. In both cases, the offense got off the field quickly with long touchdown passes.
First, Tony Romo checked out of a play when he noticed a jailbreak blitz and found a wide open Dez Bryant for about 65 yards and a score.
That ended that drill and allowed the second-teamers on the field. And it wasn't long before Jon Kitna hit a streaking Dwayne Harris over the middle for another 60 touchdown pass as the rookie outraced safety Andrew Sendejo to the end zone.
It wasn't the best day for the kickers, but rookie Dan Bailey continues to impress. The undrafted free agent from Oklahoma State was just 2-of-4 in the kicking drills after making all of his previous kicks in the other days. But he did have a rushed-attempt after a team drill where the entire field-goal team hurried onto the field and he nailed a 52-yarder. David Buehler was 1-of-3 in the drills and he missed his hurried-kick of 58 yards.
· The Cowboys have signed wide receiver Tysson Poots, a rookie free agent from Southern Utah. Poots (6-2, 214) is most likely needed at a rather thin receiver position after Teddy Williams (hamstring) will be out a few days. Jesse Holley won't be allowed to return to practice until Aug. 4 because of his exclusive rights contract and the new CBA rules for free agents.
· Rookie wide receiver Dwayne Harris is trying to show his value. Along with learning the offense, he's working with the specialists before practice as a holder. His good hands caught the eyes of special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis, who asked Harris to take a few reps before practice. Harris said the opportunity falls under the "more-you-can-do" category as he tries to show his versatility.
· A theme to Sunday morning's practice was the high number of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. Most of them came from Tony Romo as the aggressive defense often sent blitzes from all areas. At least five passes were knocked down at the line of scrimmage, causing obvious frustration for Romo and the offense.
