Three Preseason Games: Here’s What We Know

The Cowboys dress rehearsal game against the Seattle Seahawks had all the drama of a regular season game. Tony Romo was set to get more snaps this game than previously, but during the 3rd play of the game he was knocked out when he attempted to slide. Romo took an awkward hit from Cliff Avril and he was wincing in pain while clinching his lower back. Not the kind of start we wanted.

Speaking for myself, when Romo went down, I knew we would be ok because of what I have seen from Dak Prescott. Any other season and the sky would be falling and we’d be talking about trades and the season down the drain. This wasn’t the case for me. I really like what I have seen from Prescott and getting to see him play against the Seahawks ones was just further confirmation on the rookie — he’s the real deal.

So, the rest of the game was interesting mainly because we finally got to see Ezekiel Elliott for the first time, and he is as advertised. He ran over the Seahawks for the tune of 48 yards on 7 carries, with a 6.9 per carry average. Even Kam Chancellor was surprised with Zeke’s physical play:

“I was, because there was no film on him,” Chancellor said, via the Seattle Times. “I didn’t know if he was going to juke me or not, so I was a little surprised. But not the second time. Second time you know I’m bringing that wood. I was a little surprised the first time, but he has a lot of courage for that. I’ll give it to him. But if it was a full game, it would have been a bloodbath.” (PFT)

For all intents and purposes the starters are done for the remainder of the preseason and most of the rosters spots are accounted for. We won’t see any of the starters in the finale against the Houston Texans.

With that being said, here’s what we know about this team through the three games:

— Ezekiel Elliott is going to tire down defenses. At one point you could see the frustration from the Legion of Boom. They didn’t want to be the last line of defense in bringing down Elliott. If this is how the Seahawks felt I can just image the rest of the league. Zeke is shifty and he’ll put his shoulder down and punish you. I love this addition to the team more and more.

— Alfred Morris is a nice piece to the offense and when you couple him with Zeke, we are going to beat down defenses especially towards the end of games. We saw the Cowboys offense take the will from defense when Murray had his magical season, and I feel we are going to replicate that again for a couple of years now.

— The starting offensive line looks better this year than last year. Some, including myself felt that the offensive line wasn’t quite as good last year because Callahan departed to the Redskins. With another year under the guidance of Frank Pollack, they look to be back on track. They’re mauling people again.

— The defense will remain a question mark this season and cannot take on any more injuries. I’m not impressed with the pass rush or lack thereof, and I think they’re still a few cornerstone players away from being a solid unit. They’ve played ok at times, but it’s going to be frustrating to watch, I just know it. We have to hope the offense can sustain long drives and keep the defense rested.

— JJ Wilcox will be cut. Kavon Frazier has a chance at being his replacement.

— Anthony Brown will make the team and provide us with nice depth at the slot

— Andy Jones has not done anything in any of the preseason games, not sure he makes the starting 53. I’ve liked Vince Mayle more.

— Ryan Russell had nice stats and comparable coming out of the draft, but he’s not getting it done, he may make the team unless the Cowboys find someone better after the roster cuts

— Chaz Green is still a developmental project. He’s too inconsistent and could be a liability if he’s ever thrusted into the starting lineup

— Charles Tapper is on a milk carton somewhere. Where is he, what’s the mystery surrounding his inability to practice?

— The Cowboys will probably be in the market for some more defensive end help and swing tackle help with the coming roster cuts. The final roster leading up to the season opener will churn.

— Jack Crawford has been the best player on the defensive line. He’s been disruptive at DE and DT. I like how they are able to move him around.

— Terrance Williams and the body catching drives me crazy. He’ll make some nice catches, but he’ll make you pull your hair out too. We’ll see if he’s able to get a second contract from the Cowboys

— Jason Witten is still a hell of a player. That catch he made from Prescott was sweet and vintage Witten to the max.

— Linebackers. This still appears to be in flux and I imagine they could acquire or add someone else here. Not sure Eberflus is comfortable with anyone outside of Lee.

— Trades? The Cowboys have thrown some late round picks around to pick up players, so don’t be surprised if we see some small trades leading up to the season opener.

What do you know about the Cowboys through these three preseason games? What do you like or what concerns you as we inch closer to the Giants game?