The ‘Boys were back in town Wednesday afternoon, and their offseason media circus came with them. There were easily double the reporters and photographers on the sidelines, many of which were from the HBO training camp documentary: Hard Knocks. Recently-retired Rod Smith even showed up to take in the action from the sidelines. Still, with all that attention focusing on the fields, the players went out and put together a productive and exciting practice.

The teams started out with their regular routines, Cowboys on one field and Broncos on the other — stretching, warming up and working on individual drills. Then the Broncos offense went to one field and the defense to the other, and the fun really started.

ATTENDANCE REPORT: Hamza Abdullah was back in pads this morning…Boss and Champ Bailey were out of pads with a right ankle and right hamstring, respectively…Louis Green was out of pads with a concussion/neck injury…Tom Nalen remained out of pads with a left knee…Erik Pears was out of pads with a sore back…Ryan Torain watched from a chair on the far sideline recovering from surgery on his left elbow.

POSTURING FOR POSITION: Niko Koutouvides took his reps with the first unit linebackers during practice, with Jamie Winborn and D.J. Williams on either side…The second unit linebackers consisted of Jordan Beck, Nate Webster and Wesley Woodyard…Abdullah, in his first day back at practice since Aug. 1, ran with the second team safeties beside Roderick Rogers.

MATCHUPS: Each field had a different set of drills, so we, the bloggers, decided to combine “Focal Points” and “Key Plays” into one category. So here is the breakdown of how each competition went down.