The Sports Xchange

OXNARD, Calif. — After roughly four weeks of training camp, the Dallas Cowboys don’t look like a team ready for the regular season.

Head coach Jason Garrett is not happy with the Cowboys’ play in two dismal preseason losses to the San Diego Chargers and the San Francisco 49ers. He cancelled a planned trip to the beach this week before they break camp on Friday and replaced it with another practice.

The Cowboys have work to do and miles to go before they open against the New York Giants Sept. 13 and embark on improving on last season’s 12-4 campaign with a Super Bowl run in 2015.

So winding down camp is not a time to exhale for the Cowboys. It should result in more focus and resolve.

“It’s big,” tight end Jason Witten said. “We had had a lot of good work, but it hasn’t carried over to games. We have to finish a strong week. Again, we have talked about it. It’s a new year. We are going to have to earn it. We have to go prove it.”

Garrett has a similar mindset. He said the team’s play in the 23-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday simply wasn’t good enough.

“It wasn’t very good on offense, it wasn’t very good on defense, it wasn’t very good in the kicking game,” Garrett said. “It wasn’t good early, middle or late. It wasn’t a very good performance at all.”

Garrett refused to blame the offensive problems on the absence of three starters on the offensive line and receiver Dez Bryant. It didn’t help that quarterback Tony Romo and Witten played just one series.

“No excuses. We’re going to evaluate the game,” Garrett said. “We’re going to evaluate the guys who played in the game and from my vantage point, we didn’t play very well. We’ll watch the tape and try to find some of the positive things and build on those and address the negative things. When you’re out there you have a responsibility to play to a certain level. Period. The standard we set is high and we’re looking for guys to play to that standard. We didn’t get enough of that.”

Right now the team is trying to get focused and pointed toward the regular season. And that starts with practice this week leading up to Saturday’s preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings at AT&T Stadium. It is the dress rehearsal for the season with most of the regular starters set to play at least the first half.

Bryant, tackle Tyron Smith, linebacker Sean Lee and cornerback Morris Claiborne are among the players who will get their first action of the preseason.

“It’s part of camp,” Witten said. “Guys go down. Guys get hurt. It’s good to get everybody practicing and finishing this thing strong.”

The Cowboys still have questions to answer like who is going to start at running between Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden and whether Darrion Weems can be trusted as the third tackle and who is going to start at middle linebacker with Rolando McClain out for four games.

Garrett said practice is all that matters to him.

“Yeah, we’re still in training camp, so we’re going to practice,” Garrett said. “There’s a heightened sense of urgency every day.”

–Cornerback Orlando Scandrick went down with a possible season-ending knee injury in practice Tuesday. He screamed and cursed in fear of a torn ACL, secondary coach Jerome Henderson said.

“He said immediately, ‘It’s my ACL. I know it. It’s gone,'” Henderson said. “I hope that’s not the case. I hope he’s just really dramatic – I hope he’s just really, really dramatic. So I’ve got my fingers crossed, and we all said a little prayer for him. We’re hopeful he’ll be OK.”

Many Cowboys took it hard. Safety J.J. Wilcox had a hard time returning to practice. Dez Bryant came and stood over Scandrick as he was being carted off. Scandrick was having a good practice before the injury and even had an interception off quarterback Tony Romo. The defensive backs all got down on one knee and said a prayer for Scandrick after practice.

On his Twitter account, Romo wrote: “Sending prayers out to Orlando Scandrick…Fear he has a torn acl. Your the best bud.”

“Yeah, it’s tough,” Henderson said. “You get a little emotional, because he’s one of your guys. So it’s tough to see him, out here in practice, go down. But again, it’s part of our game. It’s what makes our game great, because losing him gives somebody else an opportunity to step up and be a player for us. It’s a tough time, though.”

Henderson said Tyler Patmon would be the top candidate to fill in for Scandrick as the slot corner. Morris Claiborne will be the No. 1 corner on the right side with Brandon Carr on the left.

Rookie cornerback Byron Jones is also an option there, but they like him more on the outside than in the slot. He is also getting a long look at safety.