Cowboys’ linebacker Keith Brooking doesn’t want for any competitive zeal, but, after 12 seasons in the league, he is also well aware of his age. And this knowledge, according to Brooking, may well have saved rookie offensive lineman Phil Costa a stage-five beat-down on Tuesday afternoon.
Costa, in an attempt to block Brooking on a blitz, went low; this is a taboo practice in practice, and Brooking was none too happy about it, saying afterward that, if he were only a bit younger, he may have handled the situation differently.
"Eight years ago, I might have beat his [backside]," Brooking said, per the Dallas Morning News. "But I'm older now. I have to save my energy."
This isn’t to say Costa got away scot-free after his little transgression. On the next play, Brooking steamrolled him with a vengeance. All in a good day’s work though, said Brooking, whose exchange with the rookie was just one of several testy moments over what Wade Phillips described a one of the best practices in camp thus far.
"It gets to the point at training camp when you see little things go on," Brooking said. "The young guys on the offensive line are scrappers."
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