Cowboys’ OTAs aren’t ‘real football’ but things come ‘alive’

5:23 PM ET

IRVING, Texas — It’s not quite “real football” practice, as Jason Garrett called it last week, but it is the closest thing to football practice the Dallas Cowboys have seen since January.

The Cowboys hold the second of their nine organized team activities today at Valley Ranch and the first that will be open to the media.

“We’ll be out there going through what looks like a regular practice that we’ll have during training camp and the regular season,” Garrett said. “Obviously different from the fact that we won’t have pads on, but we’ll structure the practice the same way.”

Football played without pads is like basketball without a hoop. It’s not football. But OTAs do allow the first live looks at players coming back from injuries, free-agent signings and veteran standbys.

Tempo is always important to Garrett. He wants to see the players moving quickly, but not so quick that they are out of control. The on-field teaching sessions that preceded the OTAs were about individual and group technique.

The OTAs allow for 11-on-11 work, albeit without full pads. Those don’t come on until training camp.

Will Ezekiel Elliott be placed with the ones right away in OTAs, or will the Cowboys make him earn that spot? Matthew Emmons/USA Today Sports

“Everything comes alive,” tight end Jason Witten said. “You’re down in a stance. You’re going to get tired. You’re going to get tested a little bit. You can’t let it be any other way than to go out there and play. So it will be good for our football team. I think Jason has made it clear, his expectations, …

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