OXNARD, Calif. _ If things continue to progress with the young quarterbacks as they did in Sunday's Blue/White scrimmage, the Dallas Cowboys might call off their search for a veteran backup quarterback.
That's certainly owner Jerry Jones' mindset after encouraging performances from rookie fourth-round draft pick Dak Prescott and second-year man Jameill Showers.
"I'm more encouraged after this about holding our pat hand on a veteran than before this," Jones told the Star-Telegram. "As we go along and if we continue to see this kind of improvement and this kind of instinctive play, I can really get comfortable back there.
"Both of those guys played well. It was what you wanted to see. They looked comfortable and they reacted well when you got a little pressure. It was a good outing. It was good for everyone to see. To me that was one of the pluses."
Jones was pleased with what he saw from all the quarterbacks, including starter Tony Romo, who completed 13 of 19 passes in team and 7-on-7 work. Romo was 7 of 8 in 2-minute situations and had a pretty 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Dez Bryant, drawing a cheer from the 8,726 fans in attendance.
But it was the play of Prescott and Showers that was of particular focus to the Cowboys. Prescott got the bulk of his work in team and 7-on-7, completing 9 of 12 passes. He threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to second-year tight Geoff Swaim in team and a touchdown to rookie free agent Andy Jones in 7-on-7.
He struggled in the 2-minute drill when he was sacked twice, including on fourth-and-15.
Showers got all the work in the scrimmage portion of the practice, connecting on 7 of 10 passes. He had six consecutive completions at one point. But he bogged down near the goal line, thanks to a delay of game, resulting in a field goal.
Coach Jason Garrett was nearly as definitive as Jones, but was also pleased with what he saw from the young quarterbacks.
"I thought they handled the situations well," Garrett said. "They were in different situations, some red zone and two minutes stuff that I thought, again, they handled it really well. Not perfect, but they played with a good demeanor. There was a poise and a calm to their presence that I really thought was pretty good, and they will certainly grow from it."
The Cowboys helped Prescott get started by calling a bootleg rollout pass on his first play, similar to what he did in college at Mississippi State when he ran a zone-read scheme.
"I take every practice, every game, I treat it all the same," Prescott said. "I'm trying to make myself better. I'm a rookie quarterback that has to grow and get better."
Showers was disappointed that he didn't finish his final drive in the end zone, but he was pleased with effort. He can't wait to build on his play in Saturday's preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams.
"I'm blessed being in this position," Showers said. "I know I belong in this league. I can play in this league. It's just a matter of making other people believe it."
The Cowboys are starting to believe after Sunday's performance, in which Showers outshined Prescott. Garrett was particularly impressed with how quickly Showers got the ball out of his hands and how he managed tough situations.
"He did a very good job," Garrett said. "He has poise. He plays with composure. I thought he handled himself well. The big thing you want to see from everybody in those situations is OK, we're driving, first and 10, second and 5, first down, first and 10, second and two, first down, sack, second and 18. OK, how do you handle that?
"Do you start to try to make 19 on the first one or chip away, find the checkdown to give yourself a manageable third down? I thought from my vantage point he did a pretty good job of that. We'll go back and watch the tape more closely and see if he did, in fact, do that, but I thought he played with poise and composure and handled the situations well."
