IRVING – Wade Phillips knows not to get overly excited after five minicamp practices in May without players wearing pads, but the Cowboys coach likes what he has seen.
"The athletic talent, I can tell we have a lot," Phillips said. "There are certain areas we have more than others, but I don't see any real weaknesses talent-wise. ... You always want better, but I like the talent. ... The GM's done a good job getting the talent."
Phillips said the coaches are through about 25 percent of the team's offensive and defensive playbooks and hopes to be completely through them by the June 8-10 minicamp.
With new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett putting a different stamp on an offense that remains somewhat intact, quarterback Tony Romo believed things went smoothly.
"I just wanted to see if we were going to be able to play fast as an offense and not only am I surprised how fast we played, but there wasn't nearly as many mistakes," Romo said. "Young guys are going to make mistakes, but I thought there'd be a few by the older guys because there's some new guys who haven't been in the offense. But people picked it up quick.
"That's a testament to the guys, and how hard they've worked, and the coaches to get us ready."
Plan for Williams: It's not as if the cry to move Roy Williams to linebacker has been answered, but the Cowboys are experimenting with using him at the positionn the dime defense.
In the package, Williams and Kevin Burnett served as the linebackers with Ken Hamlin and Patrick Watkins playing safety. Terence Newman, Anthony Henry and Aaron Glenn were atthe cornerback spots.
"We're looking at him near the line of scrimmage," Phillips said. "Some call it linebacker, some call it dime back. But he's not playing deep half or deep quarters. He's playing short zone and blitz."
Organized team activities: With minicamp over, the Cowboys will hold their first organized team activities, which are voluntary, May 21.
Teams are allowed 14 OTAs during the off-season and the Cowboys plan on using most or all of them. Players can wear helmets, but contact must be limited and the sessions cannot last longer than two hours.
Davis back: Right guard Leonard Davis returned to practice Monday after missing Sunday's workout to be with his wife, Amanda, who had surgery to repair a compound fracture to her ring finger suffered in a minor car accident.
"It could've been worse," Davis said. "I'm just glad it was what it was. It's something that they were able to fix, and it's nothing serious."
School obligations: Quarterback Matt Moore and linebacker Blair Phillips will not be back with the team until June, after their classes graduate at Oregon State and Oregon, respectively. With Moore out for most of the off-season, the Cowboys are expected to sign quarterback Richard Bartel, who was at the minicamp on a tryout basis.
Briefly: Melvin Robertson, Phillips' defensive coordinator during his playing days at the University of Houston, attended Monday's practice. ... Former Cowboys guard Nate Newton was also in attendance. ... A rain storm opened up during the team's stretching period, but the practice remained outdoors. ... The team will hold its sponsors' golf tournament at Cowboys Golf Club on Wednesday.
