A mixed grab bag of practice notes and such.

(Practice tidbits courtesy of the Cowboys’ official site.)

While all the warmness that was the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies was going on in Canton, the Cowboys had some practicing to do at the Alamodome on Saturday. And, for the first time, the entire projected starting lineup was together.

Starting RT Marc Colombo was finally able to mix it up for the first time this preseason, after recovery from a recent knee scope had kept him out of action for the first week and a half. He joins a line that was quite the patchwork setup earlier this week, when Flozell Adams and Kyle Kosier both missed time as well.

But, all three, and starting center Andre Gurode and RG Leonard Davis, who haven’t been affected by one circumstance or another (knock on wood), were finally able to practice as one.

LB Kevin Burnett also returned to practice on Saturday after missing a week of practice as a result of a blow to the head. It wasn’t a severe, but it was enough to keep him on the sidelines.

The preseason opener against the Colts is just a few days away, so it’s good news to see that the majority of the important personnel are on the field. With the exception of Terry Glenn and Greg Ellis, all of the expected starters are (at least somewhat) healthy right now.

You don’t want to see your starters miss too much camp time and be rusty when the season begins, even if you know what they’re usually capable of producing. So, we can breathe a small sigh of relief that one of the most important keys to a successful season is all together again.

Still, it seems like one good piece of news gets dampened by a sour one. Rookie corner Alan Ball suffered a sprained left knee. Ball’s been doing well in camp, so hopefully this is nothing more than a minor setback to his progress. With corner being one of the shaky positions for the Cowboys, there needs to be as much depth as possible, so you’ve got to hope that Ball can rebound quickly and continue to play well so that he can potentially be a contributor if the need arises. There’s always a late-round draft pick that ends up making a difference as a rookie, and last season it was safety Pat Watkins, a fifth-round pick who became a solid performer in the secondary. This year, that guy could end up being Ball, if he keeps it up.

That’s it for the Saturday practice notes. It’s been a week since I’ve done anything on the team preview, so expect to see that resume soon. Also, a few other things will be popping up in the next few days, just to deviate a little from all the news and camp stuff.