Cowboys practice review: Secondary stays hot but offense gets shots in too

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The Dallas secondary is going to be special in 2019.

Wednesday marks the last and final practice in Oxnard, California for the 2019 Dallas Cowboys.

Practice is over, which means the Cowboys’ time in Oxnard is over. Hawaii on deck, then two more weeks of practice back in Frisco. We’re getting close to being close to the season.

— David Helman (@HelmanDC) August 15, 2019

It ended in a similar way that it started, with the Cowboys’ secondary making plays on the football and dominating receivers in coverage.

Starting cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and starting free safety Xavier Woods both had interceptions during team-period in today’s practice. Woods interception did come on an offsides, so in a game the interception would have not counted, but the range, instincts, and break on the ball that Woods showed on the play was very impressive. On the very next play, Chidobe Awuzie did get a pick that would have stood in a real game.

lol this sequence was crazy. an offsides flag nullified an Xavier Woods pick ... pic.twitter.com/9FYrOOMnOk

— David Helman (@HelmanDC) August 15, 2019

Awuzie stayed in tight coverage on Michael Gallup’s back hip, who was running a comeback route to the sideline. Either the two weren’t on the same page, or it was just a bad throw from Prescott, but Awuzie was in perfect position to haul in the ball for the interception. If there is two players that seem to be primed for huge years in 2019, it’s Chidobe Awuzie and Xavier Woods.

The defensive line also had a nice day as well. Second-year pass rusher Dorance Armstrong recorded a strip-sack in team work that would have resulted in a turnover for the defense. Rookie defensive lineman Ricky Walker, out of Virginia Tech, is starting to make some noise and shouldn’t be slept on as one of the last lineman to make the 53-man roster. For a position that is missing DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory, Robert Quinn, and Tyrone Crawford, the defensive line has had itself a very nice training camp.

Though the defense had a really nice practice, it wasn’t a total wash for the offense. Dak Prescott connected on a few big plays to Tavon Austin, Michael Gallup, and Jon’Vea Johnson to keep the offense in rhythm. Cooper Rush continues to prove why he’ll be the QB2 with a couple of nice balls to former Jets second-round pick Devin Smith. The offense battled with the defense in Tuesday’s practice, so it’s nice to see both sides of the ball get their jabs in before the season kicks off in just 25 days!

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