The Cowboys lost to the Rams, but Dak Prescott is locking up the #2 QB spot with his performance. Who else was excited with his performance? Yes, it was his first game and yes it is the preseason, but he played well, very well.
Tony Romo is looking over his shoulder, just kidding. In all seriousness though, if Dak continues to play like he did against the Rams, the Cowboys may have a gem in their possession. I doubt Brandon Weeden or Matt Cassel would have played that well tonight, I even wonder if Kellen Moore would have player this well. It was impressive.
Before we break out the anointing oil, let’s see how the rest of the preseason plays out, but he’s off to a hot start. You have to imagine how much better Dak would have been with Ezekiel Elliott, Jason Witten, or Tyron Smith starting the game.
The Cowboys offensive line in the 1st half played well. We didn’t know Travis Frederick had agreed to terms before the game started, and wow he got paid. Keeping Frederick with Dallas means they still seem him as the anchor and focal point of their offensive line. He earned it.
Outside of Prescott, there are a few players I wanted to watch and some were rather disappointing.
Geoff Swaim, TE had all the fanfare, and looked like he blew his load in training camp — he was terrible tonight. Swaim dropped passes and got hit with a penalty. I was not impressed at all.
Chaz Green, OT had another up and down performance, but it seemed like he had more downs than good plays. To me, Green is still developing and won’t be replacing Doug Free anytime soon. If Green doesn’t pick it up, the Cowboys may need to look into signing another veteran to compete there.
Darius Jackson, RB played most of the 2nd half and looked ok, but nothing spectacular. I think some of the love affair we saw with Jackson may have come back down to earth, then again, he was playing with the terrible offensive line reserves. That being said, it is hard to really gauge Jackson. He did lead the team with rushing yards and average per carry, but I didn’t see the big homerun plays we’ve seen in camp. Not so sure he has a final roster spot, but I am still pulling for him to bounce off Dunbar off this team.
Ryan Russell, DE played a good part of the game, and had a few decent plays, but nothing that gives me confidence we have the ability to attack the QB with Lawrence on suspension. I file Russell in the same category as Chaz Green, they still need work.
The defense was missing Byron Jones, Orlando Scandrick, and Sean Lee. What scares me, is the defensive line still does a bad job stopping the run, and they still can’t get to the QB. Even with those guys back, this team is still going to have problems getting pressure from their front four. I expect the Cowboys to continue to churn the defensive line roster with cuts and workouts. If they get through the preseason with the same ineffective pass rush, I could see them making a trade for someone that would fit under their cap right now.
Alfred Morris is going to be an asset. He looked good in his limited action.
I still like what I saw from Anthony Brown. He made some plays and isn’t afraid to get his nose in there, he’s physical. He’s on his way to making the team.
I hate to say it, but Devin Street may still make this team. The training camp darling Andy Jones, did not do anything tonight, he had a very quiet night and a dropped passed. We know Lucky Whitehead is making this team, you can pencil him in. Street’s spot is up for grabs, but no one wanted it tonight, and Street made a few plays.
I said this in my last post, and we see it every year. Sometimes these guys look promising in training camp, but when the big lights come on they get rattled. I think we saw that in Geoff Swaim and Andy Jones tonight.
My big takes from tonight:
- Dak Prescott looked really good
- Starting offensive line dominated
- Defense still isn’t getting to the QB
- Darius Jackson was ok
- Andy Jones disappeared
- Dez is back
- Lucky Whitehead is fast
What did you like and not like from the Cowboys first preseason game?
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
