As is the custom, Jason Garrett met with the media following the morning walkthrough and in advance of the afternoon practice. It has been widely discussed amongst the media that Garrett seems much more relaxed in dealing with them. Some of them have made the illogical jump that this means that his interaction with the team has improved; which of course is the hubris of men. The way that Garrett deals with the media has absolutely nothing to do with how he deals with his players.
Today, Garrett first spoke of the Mike Jenkins injury situation. Jenkins did not get approval from Dr. James Andrews to resume practice and he will not be checked out again for a couple weeks. This means that Jenks will miss most if not all of the preseason. No decision has been made per his availability for the season opener. Garrett made it clear that the Cowboys like what they have on their CB depth chart and they wouldn't be looking outside the club for the time being.
Offseason free agent signing Mackenzy Bernadeau will make his first appearance as a Cowboy this afternoon, finally being cleared to begin practicing. Bernadeau had offseason hip and knee surgery and was finally able to pass his conditioning test at the end of last week. There is a chance that he will get work in Monday night's preseason opener in Oakland. His return is key as he was projected to be the starting right guard and also be a possibility for the center position. Injuries have sapped Dallas' depth along the interior line which was already their weakest position group.
Backup running back Phillip Tanner had successful surgery on his hand and Garrett hopes he'll be back within the next week.
When the conversation turned to the Cowboys receiver, Jason first lauded Miles Austin ability to play both outside and in the slot. That gives the team freedom in choosing their third receiver. The main guys competing for the third WR spot are Kevin Ogletree (inside and outside), Andre Holmes (outside) and Dwayne Harris (inside and outside).
In today's practice session, Garrett says that they will work on a lot of short yardage and goal line installation. He said it's a very important practice for the team.