Blogging The Boys
For the first time in the Brian Schottenheimer era, the Dallas Cowboys will play a game inside AT&T Stadium this Saturday. It may be just the second of three preseason games, with many of the players expected to make the winning difference on real gamedays still sidelined, but Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens is still an important box to be checked nonetheless. The Cowboys preseason week one loss to the Rams left a lot of fans feeling like they’ve seen that team on the field before when it came to recurring issues like penalties, run defense, and a lack of a push up front in the run game. Dallas will be looking to put more of their identity on the field against the Ravens, the second straight division winner from a year ago they’ll play in a tune up game.
The Cowboys defense may see more of former backup quarterback Cooper Rush, who attempted just four passes in the Ravens first preseason game against the Colts. One of Rush’s throws was intercepted, and he was also sacked once. Matt Eberflus’ defense struggled against unlikely standout Stetson Bennett for the Rams last week, so any extra motivation they can take into a matchup against Rush would be a welcome sign to see this defense get closer to game ready. On offense, the Cowboys will see a Ravens defense that gave up 366 yards to the Colts, and four completions of over 20 yards. The offense called by Schottenheimer did not shy away from trying to make big plays via the arm of Joe Milton in week one, but finishing those plays with better focus and execution will have to be a point of emphasis at home.
The Ravens defense forced the Colts into 19 third down attempts, with the average distance to gain being just over eight yards to go on the money down. This is also an area the Cowboys can look to find more efficiency in their run game to keep the offense on the field in more favorable situations.
What other signs of progress can the Cowboys show to create a buzz in front of their home fans and find more of the quality depth they’ll need this season? Let’s take a closer look at a few areas.
The preseason is, above all else, an opportunity to get live game reps and work on situations that come at full speed in ways that practice simply cannot replicate. The Cowboys should be on the higher end when it comes to translating their practices to games though, as they’ve notably done a ton of full 11 vs. 11 work in Oxnard.
The Cowboys did not get much of an opportunity to show how their practice work will translate to executing a winning game plan against the Rams, as they quickly fell behind 14-0. The scoreboard is far from the be-all and end-all when it comes to the preseason, in fact it matters next...
