Dallas Cowboys: 6 insights from the team’s covert scrimmage

The Dallas Cowboys gave fans limited preseason action in Sunday’s covert scrimmage

Fans of the Dallas Cowboys got a small taste of the promise that is the NFL regular season on Sunday afternoon. Although the team elected to keep most of their secrets under wraps from the general public.

Without a preseason to watch, the Cowboys’ annual Blue-White Scrimmage (renamed Cowboys Night at AT&T Stadium), was the only chance for fans to catch a glimpse of America’s Team in-action before their Week One matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Sept. 13.

Despite a sense of the familiar, the impact of COVID-19 was evident. Most notably, an empty AT&T Stadium, a massive facility designed to hold 80,000 fans. And that was combined with a very limited view for those watching at home.

Here are a few insights from the Dallas Cowboys’ covert scrimmage

#1. A distinct difference for this year’s scrimmage was the lack of names and numbers on the player’s jerseys. Why? The team wants to keep some of their fringe players under the radar in case they need to cut them next Saturday and then want to get them back on their expanded practice squad.

#2. Guest analyst and Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin proposed the team’s first-round selection, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, might be the most physically gifted wideout ever to wear the No. 88. That includes himself, Drew Pearson, and Dez Bryant.

#3. During the drill portion of the practice, crowd noise was actually piped into the stadium and continued throughout the scrimmage. This is a stark difference from what the Cowboys have experienced while practicing at The Star, which has been relatively quiet.

#4. Coordinators Kellen Moore (offense) and Mike Nolan (defense) will have drastically different perspectives during games this upcoming season. Moore was calling plays from the sidelines during the scrimmage, while Nolan was up in the coaching box.

#5. Fans hoping to see full plays or formations during the broadcast of the scrimmage were likely very disappointed as cameras focused on individual players/coaches (mainly on the sidelines) over showing any clear action on the field. Again, this was an obvious attempt by the team to shield their plays and players from prying eyes. Although the radio coverage was much more like a normal game.

#6. Both safety Xavier Woods and wide receiver Ventell Bryant reportedly suffered injuries during the scrimmage. The severity of each injury is unknown, although Woods did return to the sidelines. Also, cornerback Jourdan Lewis was reportedly wearing a boot on the sidelines.

This secretive scrimmage was clearly not for the fans watching at home. This was a practice run to get the Dallas Cowboys out of The Star in Frisco facilities in order to give their players a taste of what they will face when they debut SoFi Stadium in two weeks. It also gave the stadium staff a chance to practice the new protocols that will be in place when the team plays their first home game on Sunday, Sept 20.