OXNARD, Calif. — It was one day. And not a very good one.
Brandon Aubrey and Tristan Vizcaino took turns attempting field goals Saturday. By afternoon’s end, the crowd had turned on them, booing each miss and sarcastically cheering an Aubrey make when the two Cowboys kickers combined to go 1-for-6 during a hurry-up period midway into practice.
The Cowboys would have preferred to see more success. These kicks were difficult. NFL kickers make difficult kicks.
But the team is also not preparing to boot either.
In that 1-of-6 stretch, when factoring a breeze, the attempts were the equivalent of about 60 yards, one team official estimated. On a couple of instances Saturday, there were also issues with the operation to further raise the difficulty meter. A Cowboys executive called a free-agent kicker workout “unlikely” anytime soon.
The club prefers to see Aubrey and Vizcaino compete in a game setting.
The first exhibition comes Aug. 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars at AT&T Stadium.
To date, Aubrey has steadily impressed more in camp. That continued Saturday early in practice when each was scheduled to have seven tries from distances varying between 33 and 45 yards. Aubrey was 5-for-7, missing his first try from 33 yards and fifth from 42. Vizcaino was 4-of-8 with misses from 33, 38, 39 and 39 yards. All six misses were wide left.
Vizcaino received two chances from 39 because of a low snap.
While the 1-for-6 kicks were long shots, Vizcaino should have converted at least one. (One clanged off the right upright.) Ideally, he and Aubrey would have converted multiple. Context made Saturday’s kicking less of disaster to the Cowboys as it seemed to their fans, but ample meat was left on the bone at a position that remains this roster’s greatest question mark.
Photos: Cowboys training camp continues in Oxnard
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