Blogging The Boys
It does not matter if it’s only the preseason; winning feels good. After a stumbling 0-2 start in the preseason, the Dallas Cowboys coasted past the Atlanta Falcons to get the win in front of the home fans at AT&T Stadium, the first for Brian Schottenheimer as head coach of the Cowboys. The offense showed a lot more consistency, and the passing and the running game complemented each other very well. The Cowboys had their best game on the ground, going for over 100 yards as a team.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for those who needed it, however. Mazi Smith needed to have a big game, and unfortunately, he did not, and the same concerns lingered. He was driven backwards and did not provide enough as a pass rusher. This leaves his roster status uncertain. As for others, a few players made tremendous strides that did enough to instill confidence from the coaches. Here are three stars who shone bright in the preseason finale and either seemingly secured a spot on the roster or eased concerns from the fans.
Honorable Mentions: Mike Smith & Shemar James
For Mike Smith, it might be too little too late. He had a terrific game and was often in the right place at the right time. He led the team in tackles with eight, four of them of the solo type. Although he won’t get credit for the interception, he smartly read the deep pass by Ben DiNucci to force the ball in the air as it landed in the waiting arms of Robert Rochell.
Also, Shemar James has stood out throughout the preseason despite the Cowboys having problems stopping the run. James is a physical downhill hitter who levels running backs, but his marquee play of the night was an interception of Easton Stick. James did an excellent job reading the eyes of Stick to step in front of the pass and effectively end the Falcons’ chances of making a comeback. James also had five stops and another pass defended.
Joe Milton
Over the first two games of the preseason, Joe Milton had come under a lot of fire for his troubles with his accuracy and making quick decisions with the ball. That wasn’t the case on Friday. Milton got the ball out quickly at the top of his dropback, hit his receivers in the chest, and overall had a much better command of the offense. He also did a much better job understanding when to leave the pocket to run, versus when to hang in the pocket for an extra second to find his receivers downfield.
On the opening drive, Milton identified that the defense was out of position, and he waltzed into the end zone to give Dallas the early 7-0 lead. Outside the pocket, he was terrific and made a really nice play in one instance where he rolled to his right and found Traeshon Holden along the sideline for a nice gain. Milton’s best throw of the night...
