Schottenheimer, Cowboys coaches voice displeasure with performance in scrimmage vs. Rams

OXNARD, Calif. — Cowboys secondary coach David Overstreet was yelling at his players, yelling at the side judge and basically wasn’t a happy man during the scrimmage against the Rams.

The day after a difficult scrimmage for the defense that saw no takeaways, few pressures, struggles to contain Davante Adams, Tutu Atwell and Puka Nacua in pass defense and the strong runs by Jarquez Hunter, Blake Corum and Kyren Williams, Overstreet was asked if the yelling continued in meeting rooms.

“I don’t like anybody catching the football,” a smiling Overstreet said Wednesday. “So if somebody catches the ball on us, it’s gonna bother me. I tell the guys, don’t let nobody catch that ball and you heard me say that the other day. They had a few catches on us. We can’t finish guys to the ground right now, but don’t give up a catch that you should be able to cover.”

Overstreet said soft-spoken cornerback DaRon Bland spoke to the secondary about the standards of the group. The Cowboys secondary coach thought the scrimmage was a positive for his unit because after trying to cover receivers on his team for about two weeks, it’s a positive to see somebody another.

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“Of course, we had some technique issues out there and it’s good to be able to go up against other guys, especially a skilled route runner like Devante Adams, he’s one of the best ever to do it as far as running routes. To get those kinds of guys in front of DaRon Bland, Kaiir [Elam], [Andrew] Booth, it gives them a different skill set than what they’ve been seeing every day with GP and CeeDee, so that was great for them.”

Overstreet wasn’t the only coach voicing displeasure with the Tuesday afternoon scrimmage.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer, while stressing the Cowboys were vanilla in their offensive and defensive packages, compared it to using a 7-iron; he didn’t have too many positives either.

He thought the offensive and defensive lines got pushed around a little bit and noted there were no takeaways, something he wants this defense to be about. He also noted that, despite just one thrown interception, the Rams almost picked off at least three more throws from his quarterbacks.

“I don’t read too much into it,” he said of the scrimmage. “It’s the first time doing it. It’s part of the process. We’ll be in pads tomorrow. No, I’m not overly concerned about it.”

The positives with the late Tuesday afternoon scrimmage are that CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were good for Dak Prescott. The two receivers caught long passes from QB1 and, before departing with a thumb injury, backup Joe Milton found Jalen Brooks on a long touchdown pass.

There were numerous penalties called against the Cowboys on offense and defense, including a pair of offensive pass interference calls inside the redzone.

After 11 practices, which include a joint scrimmage, there’s work to do.

“Easy correction,” Schottenheimer said of the issues.

QB health and playing time

Backup quarterback Joe Milton left Tuesday’s scrimmage with a thumb injury. Brian Schottenheimer said it wasn’t serious and that Milton threw during Wednesday walkthrough session without any problems. Milton is expected to start the preseason opener against the Rams on Saturday. If there are any issues, Will Grier, who took over for Milton during the joint practice, will start. Grier filled in nicely and moved the ball well, working with the second and third units. Normally, Grier will get a handful of snaps in practices while Milton and Dak Prescott take the majority of the reps.

Schottenheimer said the coaching staff is still figuring out playing time for certain players. Left tackle Nate Thomas is expected to get significant playing time on Saturday, along with guard Tyler Booker.

Did somebody like Ezeiruaku at No. 12? And what about potty training?

After the Cowboys selected Boston College rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku in the second round, team executive vice president Stephen Jones said defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton pushed for the team to take him in the first round.

The No. 12 pick of the draft went to guard Tyler Booker from Alabama. But it still doesn’t diminish how impressed Whitecotton was with Ezeiruaku.

“He’s a mature young man, so he’s integrating himself into a professional atmosphere was pretty seamless,” Whitecotton said. “He’s a smart guy, he understands, we tell him once. That’s been like one of the biggest things, we’re not having to repeat things over and over for him and he’s grasping concepts. He’s grasping the routine, the schedule and what it takes for him to get to where he wants to go so we can build on a consistent basis. It’s like you’re potty training your kids, that takes them like five days to figure out the basics to get started and then you get really get into the hard work.”

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Take a look at Cowboys’ first depth chart of the season prior to preseason opener vs. Rams