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With the Pac on skid row, the Cowboys are short a cornerback, but this was the case most of the regular season, if it wasn’t Pacman being suspended it was Newman being injured and below 100% most of the year. Tim MacMahon has a good write at the DMN Blog in regards to the starting cornerbacks for Dallas. He writes:

Terence Newman, if he can stay healthy, obviously will start at left cornerback. The best candidate to start on the other side is up for debate.

That’s been Anthony Henry’s spot (when he’s been healthy) for the last four seasons, but a move to free safety might be the best thing for him and the Cowboys at this point of his career. That’s a decision that must be made this spring, allowing him a full off-season schedule to make the adjustment.

My hunch is that’s what will happen. Let the 2007 draft picks — first-rounder Mike Jenkins and fifth-rounder Orlando Scandrick — compete for the starting job during training camp and the preseason.

Scandrick, who a perfect combination of speed and swagger for a cornerback, played well as the slot guy in sub packages as a rookie and appears to be one of the draft’s top second-day steals. Jenkins was up and down as a rookie, but the Cowboys believe he has the talent to develop into an outstanding cover man.

Jenkins arrived in the NFL with questions about his practice habits. Perhaps a position battle against Scandrick will bring out the best in Jenkins (DMN).

Tim brings up some good points to ponder entering the offseason. For me though, I’d take it another step further, is it possible Newman could be traded? Its unlikely, but think about his last two seasons. Newman has been injury riddled, and even though he hasn’t missed a whole string of games, he hasn’e been as effective as in the past. Newman is clearly on the downside of his career, physically speaking, he just isn’t durable. I would consider trading him for some picks if possible.

However, the most likely scenario would be what Tim described in his article; in which Newman starts, and the two young bucks battle it out. One thing is for sure, I expect both Jenkins and Scandrick to be starting on the field together sometime in 2009. I’m not confident Newman will make it without pulling something, or tearing a muscle or whatever. This being said, cornerback will probably be another position addressed during the draft. Let’s bring in more youth and depth because Newman and Henry are playing on borrowed time. I don’t even see Henry as a starter at CB anymore, we’re going to try to make something happen at FS for him, and have Hamlin as a pseudo-SS. Ideally, I’d like us to draft a quality SS.

We’ll see what happens.

Nothing but bad news on the defensive front, and the news hits us in our weakest disappointing portions of the defense, the secondary. Apparently, the clock hit midnight on Adam Jones, and his alter-ego, Pacman has reared his ugly head. The news is breaking tonight, so we’re not sure what the implications if any will be. One thing is for sure, just the fact that Adam has his name back out there in a negative light, and off the field again does not bode well for him or the Cowboys.

The leash is probably short on the Cowboys and Adam Jones. I’m sure Roger Goodell is disturbed by this latest development. A suspension is definitely not going to be ruled out, if anything a fine will be dealt. I would think a fine would be what the Cowboys do, just for the fact that a game suspension would be very bad for us right now, we’re all banged up back there. We’ll have to see what comes of this. Here are the latest details:

KTVT-TV in Dallas (CBS 11) is reporting that Adam “Pacman” Jones got into a violent altercation with a member of his security detail at a hotel in downtown Dallas last night.

Per the TV station, a mirror was broken in Pacman’s room, and he left the hotel without paying his bill. No police report has been filed and hotel management declined comment. (DMNBlog)

So, we’ll see what happens there, it could be a non-issue or a big issue considering our market, and the player. On top of the Jones news comes the news that Terence Newman will miss another game. He’s not going to play against the Cardinals. These injuries are happening in greater frequency and should be concern for the future. According to Phillips, Newman is probably out:

Wade Phillips said CB Terence Newman is “probably out” of Sunday’s game in Arizona because of an abdominal strain, not the groin injury that sidelined him from the first week of training camp through the season opener. (DMNBlog)

Its time to let Mike Jenkins earns his bones this week. Start Jenkins opposite Henry, and let him take his lumps and make plays. We can no longer rely on Newman, and Adam Jones is one screw up from being banned forever. Throw Jenkins out there and get him going, we’re going to need him this year, and probably more further down the season; moreover, Jenkins will need to be the guy in 2009, that’s clear to me now. Let’s see what we got.

Forget the score, what I wanted to see is how the first teamers would do in their time on the field. If tonight’s game is a dress rehearsal and a sneak peek of things to come, then I’m nearly satisfied, not completely, but almost.

First things first….do we need to redo Marion Barber’s contract already? I mean, this guy is the real deal, and is playing in Pro Bowl form already, give him a raise, lol. Just kidding, but c’mon, Barber is the man. Wow. Let’s take a look at what stuck out in this game.

Special Teams is Done

Alright, let’s get the negative portion of this game out of the way. There’s just no way to sugar coat this, and there’s no one that is going to convince me otherwise, but we need a change on special teams. Bruce Read is not getting these guys ready, they are not taking his coaching or something. There is something wrong here. Too many inconsistencies, and this will be a liability. The opening play of the game was a huge return into Cowboys territory. Kickoffs are so inconsistent it would almost be better to try onside kicking it. Wade, make a change please. I could see your frustrations from here.

Isaiah Stanback had some good returns, and looks to be the guy to win out the kick return spot. He needs to work on holding the ball, I knew he would put the ball on the ground with that one arm cradle - bit him in the butt tonight. Unfortunately, Stanback injured his left shoulder tonight, the severity of the injury is not known at this time, he is scheduled to have an MRI tomorrow. One of Stanback’s knocks has been his durability in college and in the pros its the same. I was just now beginning to see some value in this pick, but if he’s injured again that’s not good.

First Team Offense

These guys were firing on all cylinders. The Cowboys established dominance on the line of scrimmage and manhandled the Texans’ defensive lineman. Barber, Romo, Crayton, Owens, Hurd, Witten, O-line, everyone looked pretty good and this is exactly what we needed to see. If Crayton can play like this every game, then we’re going to do well at WR. Good job all around, any concerns or worries about the first teamers this preseason should be silenced now. With the exception of Romo’s poor decision for an INT, Romo looked really good out there. This will be it for the starters, some may not get much playing time at all in the final preseason game.

First Team Defense

DeMarcus Ware was bringing the pressure all half and it effected Matt Schaub. Schaub made some bad throws, as a result of the pressure frome Ware and the rest of the starting defense. Adam Jones did a good job out there, he pretty much shutdown Andre Johnson. The pressure upfront made a real difference in the secondary coverages, this is what we’re going to need going into the season as well. We were able to slow down the Texans without Newman, so when the season comes around, we’re going to be stacked in the secondary with Newman, Henry, Jones, Jenkins, and Scandrick. The rookies are going to be good players for us, they play with confidence and are ready to contribute. The only strike I would give the defense are the “let downs” after we take a lead in the game or after a mistake by our offense. If you haven’t noticed you’ll see the defense become complacent after we take a somewhat comfortable lead, and then they let the opposing offense back in game. The Cowboys were set to go up 17-3, until Romo threw the INT in the endzone, the defense then gave up 80 yards for a TD without much resistance.

Martellus Bennett

I have to hand it to the rookie, he’s made some plays when he’s caught the ball, he’s been hard to take down after the catch on several instances, not too bad. He get’s some love from the fans tonight for the second straight preseason game. Keep making plays.

Brad Johnson took over in the 2nd half and had another solid outing in the passing game 9/13 for 107 yards. You can pretty much forget about us dumping Johnson for another QB. I don’t think there’s an urgency like we had once believed there to be. Of course, I’d like an upgrade here, but its not looking like it will happen this year at least.
Felix Jones had a strange night, he never got going, and had a fumble. I thought we would see Jones out with the first teamers tonight, but I think we’ll see that next game, I dont see Barber playing much at all next game, so this could give us a better look at Jones with the first team offensive line. I’m not concerned about this at all, I just want to see how much damage Jones and Barber are going to do together with the first team o-line.

Orland Scandrick could be a steal in the 5th round, he’s looking pretty good out there in the nickel and dime packages, he can play. Scandrick has been an instant upgrade in the package formations.

Bobby Carpenter looks average to me out there, he just doesn’t seem to attack much at all, I think he’s still stuck in the Parcells’ read and react approach, or maybe he’s succumbed to the backup role and peaked, he’s a good backup. Yes he had several tackles, but he played most of the game, so the stats don’t sell me; moreover, he definitely hasn’t done anything to make us remember his play.

Fundamentals

Two dumb turnovers by Stanback and Jones resulted in scoring drives by the Texans, they need to cover up the ball. One thing I have noticed is that Bennett is actually doing well in this arena. I think Garrett has coached him well in covering up the ball once defenders come at him, he’s been covering the ball with both hands. Stanback has a bad habit like Patrick Crayton, they run around all crazy with their arms out in the open cradling the ball with one arm out in the open, easy to knock that ball out. These are fundamentals, that need to be fixed. Same for Jones, he shouldn’t have fumbled that ball, but it was the same deal with him.

Concerns

Special teams, special teams, special teams. Wade, Jerry, I think enough is enough, make a change here please. If anything, we can only get better with a coaching change, I don’t see how we could play any worse on special teams at this point. Phillips is a smart guy, I can’t see how we could go into the season with this liability in place.

The Houston Texans roll into town hoping to defeat the Cowboys on our homefield. Historically, the Texans have always played us very tough, and I expect this next game to be just as difficult to win. This is the third game of the preseason, and will be a dress rehearsal for both teams. Expect the starters to play 3 quarters for both teams.

The Cowboys shouldn’t see to many surprises from the Texans since they run the same offense and same blocking schemes as the Broncos. Unfortunately for us, we had a hard time defending against the zone blocking and the Texans will be looking at establishing the run and then hit us with their receivers. Don’t be fooled by the Texans long history of losing, this latest team should be able to make a run in their tough division. Kubiak has them going in the right direction, and they have a whole lot of underrated talent on both sides of the ball.

The Texans are going to start their rookie RB Steve Slaton, he’s had a solid preseason, and has a quick burst at the line, so we’ll see if Wade has better prepared the defense for the same blocking scheme from last week. Its important to show we can at least make adjustments and correct our defensive errors from last week.

Adam Jones will get the start opposite Anthony Henry, and they will get tested often. The Texans have better receiving corps than the Broncos, so watch the coverage on Andre Johnson and Kevin Walters. Walters is particularly good after the catch. Andre Davis, Charlie Anderson  and Jacoby Jones are all legit receivers than can make plays as well. They have a good group in Houston right now, and it’ll be interesting to see how their offense goes after our secondary. Owen Daniels is their tight end, and he’s on his way to being a very good tight end in the AFC, he’ll be a weapon they’ll utilize as well.

The Texans’ main weakness is their defense, their banged up, and young in the secondary. We’ll see former Cowboys Jacques Reeves, and I expect the Cowboys to go after him often, he just isn’t that good, and he’ll be the same for the Texans. Mario Williams is their best player on defense and should be a handful, but we should be able to slow him down…Should be a good match to watch though.

Tempo and Pace

Last year we all complained about the Cowboys’ slow starts and inability to ever have a quick start, the Cowboys will have an opportunity to get the fast start if they can get past the miscues and dumb penalties. I want to see the Cowboys offense move the ball at will and score points; and then on defense I want them to shutdown the Texans with a 3 and out. Too many times last year, we left the door open for teams, keeping them in the game because of our inability to close out teams in a dominant fashion.

Avoid the Looming Turk

This is do or die for some players, and if the bubble players want to make the starting 53 squad, then this is the game in which they must seperate themselves from the rest. We don’t need to go through a list of who needs to do well. Its time players to show up and earn that star. First round of cuts is 3 days away (Aug. 26th).

Team Swagger

Show us something, whether its on offense or defense, I want to see some swagger out there. If this is a dress rehersal then some of these guys need to step up and maul people, tackle people, knock people on their ass. Finish.

Will 0-3 Concern Us?

We know this is the preseason, and these games don’t count. Some teams have lost all their games and gone on to the Super Bowl to win it all, some have won all the games and failed to make the playoffs. But this is Dallas, and Cowboys fans will be concerned if we lose a third straight game, especially if we look sloppy, out of sync, and undisciplined. As a fan, just be prepared for a whole litany of “the end of the world” scenarios.

Receivers & Secondary
To avoid backlash, the supposed #2 and #3 WRs must make plays. A loss to the Texans will just amplify the calls for a trade for a legit #2WR. The Secondary must play well, the secondary is perceived by most as being our weakest link last year, so we went out and added Adam Jones. He’ll get the start, and let’s hope for continued improvement. We added Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick to upgrade bad play from last year’s players. If the receivers and secondary falter in this game the red flags and worry warts will be out in full force come the weekend. Can fans justify their concerns after another loss. You would have to say yes. We’ve done alot to upgrade the secondary, and nothing for wide receiver except to hope someone would step up like Crayton, Hurd, or Austin. Another loss will put our offseason moves under the microscope. On paper, we’ve had one of the best offseason’s in a few years, but if we cannot get any wins from it, then its an obvious failure in the eyes of many.

Let’s put it to the Texans and send them to oblivion.

NFL GAMECENTER

The injury continues to rear its ugly head and the season has not even gotten here yet. 2nd year OLB Anthony Spencer had his knee scoped out and will be out 2-4 weeks, meaning he’ll probably miss the first two games of the year (Browns & Eagles), at the minimum. Spencer’s injury will add another dynamic to the guessing game when it comes to the final 53. Looks like Eric Walden could be one of those players that makes it. We’ll see how this plays out.

The Cowboys thought Spencer suffered a bone bruise on his knee during the preseason opener. They considered him day-to-day after it happened, but doctors decided to clean up part of the patella tendon because of swelling.

“It kept getting irritated,” Phillips said. “It’d go down and then it’d go back. There was just a particle in there that kept catching.” (DMNBlog)

According to Coach Phillips, Adam Jones will start against the Texans, this could be a preview of things to come, its just a matter of time before Jones plays a bigger role on the starting defense, we’ll probably see Jenkins play some more Nickel with Jones out there as well

“I just think he needs to play, and he’s shown he can play,” Phillips said. “He had a good game last week and needs some more.”

First-round pick Mike Jenkins started at left CB the first two preseason games. Jenkins will continue to play on that side in the substitution packages with Pacman moving across the field. (DMNBlog)

I’d like to see us make some more plays in the secondary, this was our achilles heel last season, and we’ve brought in several players to make a difference. Its time too see a preview of that difference with Jones starting and Jenkins coming in on various defensive packages. This is going to be a good test for the Cowboys. The Texans are really coming along and they have some very underrated talent at WR. Andre Johnson is their #1, but look for Kevin Walters, Andre Davis, and Jacoby Jones to give our secondary fits if we’re not prepared.

The game was blacked out for me, and attempting to watch the game online didn’t cut it for me. After I saw the game replay on NFL Network I found myself not to concerned. Some of the comments during the game had me concerned, but after watching the game myself I knew it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

The main beef was the penalties, yes we had a lot of penalties, but I would say at least half of those were total BS nit-picky calls. Sometimes I think the refs are also getting their practice in by being extra picky, so they can get their verbiage down pat. There were some stupid calls out there. Of course the other half were legit and that can be attributed to discipline. Whether you agree with the penalty calls or not, the Cowboys have racked up alot of penalty yards. These are mistakes, and Wade said himself that the mistakes were on him and effort was on the team. We can’t go into the season with these types of penalty riddled games.

As for the gameplay, the Bronco’s 1st teamers manhandled our 1st team defenders, bigtime. Besides Zach Thomas, there was a lot of sloppy tackling and inability to wrap up players. The secondary had some struggles tackling after the catch as well, just plain sloppy.
Special Teams -  the special teams looked somewhat better, but I want to see more consistency. There were some seams in the return game for Adam Jones and Isaiah Stanback.

Mike Jenkins - the Broncos went after Jenkins and were able to capitalize several times. Brandon Marshall scored a easy TD on Jenkins. Overall Jenkins didn’t have such a good night in my opinion.

Bobby Carpenter - missed a couple of tackles, Andre Hall ran right through him early in the game, he just didn’t make any plays that stood out. He, along with the rest of the defense didn’t seem to have an answer to the zone blocking early on. They’ll get another shot next week when we play the Texans, they use the same style.

Adam Jones - looked better in this game, looks like his timing is getting better, he had several near INTs in this game, coupled with his nice punt return. Its just a matter of time before Jones is back and free from the rust. He looked good.

Zach Thomas - this dude is bad to the bone. Thomas has the type of intensity we need at LB, bigtime upgrade over Akin Ayodele.

Felix Jones - when you watch Jones you can “feel” something is going to happen, as in big yardage or a breakaway homerun TD. I’m excited about this rookie. When we have Barber and Jones back there in the backfield, watch out. Defenses will have to pick their poison. Jones has really good hands, and has been money in the passing game. The cat is out the bag.

Tashard Choice - they didn’t run him much tonight, he had negative yardage on 2 plays, and had one catch for 9 yards; however, he did have a nice punt block. Very good. Not too bad for a short night of work.

Danny Amendola - wasn’t much of a factor, he had 1 catch for 12 yards and 1 punt return for 9 yards. There was that INT that Bartel threw at the end of the game, its questionable whether or not Amendola has some fault since the pass came his way he inadvertedly faked out Bartel and then the INT happened. I’m not sure that was his fault, but its there for the coaches to look at.

Martellus Bennett - gotta give him some props. He didn’t do anything that deserved any lashings, he had a nice catch and bulldozed for a few yards and covered up the ball too. Looks to be taking the coaching from John Garrett after all. Now, I’m not completely sold, he’s a rookie and needs to keep it going. I don’t want to see him show up at the Texans game and screw up. Keep it going.

Brad Johnson - he had some better blocking in this game, and he looked better. Let’s just hope the line keeps protecting Romo most of all. I don’t feel comfortable with Johnson for any stretch during the season.

Alan Ball - I don’t think he makes the team, he’s not playing well at all. He’s definitely looking like a late round pick, he had a rough night in coverage.

Dreadlocks - either I missed something, but looks like there’s some sort of mandate on the dreadlocks for players. Over the last few games, I’ve noticed the players donning pony tails to hold there’s dreadlocks together. Not just Cowboys players but other players in the league.

Well that’s it. Its the preseason, we’re always going to have work to do, but we can’t give away our new plays, and we can’t reveal our full arsenal. I’m not too worried; however, I would like to see more intensity and swagger from other players, we just don’t have enough of that.

The Texans are next, and expect another Texas sized brawl. The Texans are no longer the caretakers of the NFL’s basement, these guys are turning the ship around. I’ll take a closer look later in the week. Its going to be a tough game.

The Cowboys will get a good test tonight against the Broncos, and its expected that the Cowboys starters will play about a quarter, the offensive line starters may see action upto the half. The Cowboys want to see how Brad Johnson fares with the offensive line starters. The Broncos will challenge the Cowboys run defense since they utilize an effective zone blocking scheme, something the Cowboys don’t go up against much. In a sense this game against the Broncos will simultaneously help prepare the Cowboys for next weeks opponent in the Houston Texans. The Texans use the same schemes as the Broncos, and that will be our dress rehersal game.

Let’s take a look at a few players we should be watching tonight:

Bobby Carpenter - if Carpenter wanted a chance to breakthrough from the shadows of a backup then tonight is the night, it starts now. Carpenter won’t get an easy pass tonight. The Broncos are one of the better run blocking teams in all of the NFL, their effective zone blocking will be a big challenge for Carpenter. Will he make the proper reads and adjustments? We will see. This really is a make or break season for Carpenter, with the health issues around Burnett and Thomas’ concussion concerns, Carpenter needs to make a statement. If he gets the job done and looks the part of his 1st round pick status he could be a huge piece in 2009, if not, look for us to draft LB early, that’s just the plain and simple truth of the matter. I’m hoping for some big games from Carp the rest of the way.

Adam Jones - Jones did not have a good outing last time around and that can be attributed to “rust,” but he needs to be able to show he can become that player we had hoped him to be - a shutdown corner. There’s no doubt in my mind that Jones will be a factor this season, but I would be more confident once we see him return to his old ways on the field.

Mike Jenkins - Jenkins had a relatively good showing last weekend, but there’s always room for improvement, you can bet the Broncos will zero in on the rookie and test him early and frequently. I want to see how he progresses in this second game.

Brad Johnson - Johnson should be getting some snaps with the first team offensive line, and if he looks like crap again, it would be safe to say we’d be looking at adding another QB, if not I would be surprised. The Cowboys are obviously scouting players and leaving their options open, so another poor performance could lead to change. We’ll see how it goes.

Martellus Bennett - he didn’t have a good game last week. We’re all seeing the same thing, so there’s not much else that needs to be said. This subject is getting old; however, Bennett needs to show he can play in this league, he hasn’t shown much yet. He’ll be given some slack due to his draft status, but that won’t last long. Let’s see how he makes adjustments to his game, will he block better, will he catch the ball in traffic? I already know Tony Curtis can do all this, can Bennett over take him for the #2 spot, not yet, not even close, tonight he’ll get another chance to.

Danny Amendola - its crunch time for Amendola, he needs to do some solid things on special teams, in coverage, and in the return game. He cannot afford to have any errors whatsoever, otherwise we can scratch him off the starting 53. As much as we all like him, he has too play exceptionally well in tonight’s game to stay in the hunt. Right now Amedola is on the bubble, he has to distance himself from the other bubble players, and special teams may be the only way he gets on the field. I do expect Amendola to get some looks tonight in the passing game though. He didn’t get any passes last preseason game, but we should see him in action tonight.

Felix Jones/Tashard Choice - so far so good with these two guys. I can’t wait to see how they perform again. I want to see that same authoratative running again tonight. I’d like to see Jones out there in a two back set with Choice and go after people with them. I know we’re going to see some two back sets with Barber and Jones, but we could also see the same thing with Jones and Choice when Barber gets a breather. The Cowboys have really set themselves up with alot of options with these guys. Let’s see how they do tonight.

Austin vs. Hurd - That’s the battle we’re going to see tonight, this is clearly a two player battle for the #3 WR. Stanback is not even in this competition, I think we’ve come to the fact that Stanback won’t be a factor this season and still in a development mode…wasted pick. For now it’ll be time for Austin to replicate his performance from last week. My biggest knock on Austin has been his consistency and his hands. Can he keep catching the ball and can he get open and make plays. I’m not completely sold on Austin’s ressurgence from last week, we’ll see. Hurd didn’t do much at all last week, and that was surprising that he did not step up. Hurd needs to make a statement, catch everything that comes your way and get open. I’d like to see both these guys do well, but we need at least one of them to seperate themselves from the rest going into the season.

Special Teams - we have the players to be decent, and the Cowboys special teams units have been horrid, the same story from last season. If we do into the season with the same crap play it WILL come back to bite us in the butt. If we’re in a close game and we let the opposing team start near field goal range due to bad tackling on a punt or kickoff then forget it. Phillips has been touted as a coach who is good at making adjustments from half to half and from game to game. Surely, if the special teams woes continue we’ll see a change at the coaching position. Read better have these guys playing, or he needs to be let go.

NFL Gamecenter

Ok, the Cowboys just got trounced by the Chargers. The Cowboys first teamers, and first series dominated the Chargers, so in the long run, I’m not concerned. What I am concerned about is the horrid special teams play. I didn’t like our special teams play last year, and it looks like we picked up from last year.

I’m sorry, we have good players, so what’s the deal? I would have to say Coach Bruce Read is NOT getting it done. Out of all the crappy play from tonight, the despicable play on special teams highlights the game’s major shortcomings. Second to special teams would be the penalties and lack of concentration, just bad stuff all game.

Now to the individuals, the first teamers are all the real deal and looked sharp. Let’s look at some player highlights that stood out good and bad:

RB Felix Jones - man did this guy look good, I mean, can you imagine what Jones is going to do for us in the regular season. Felix is a definite upgrade over Julius Jones from last season. Most notable is his pass catching ability, its solid. He’s shifty, and can crank up that speed on a dime, very impressed by his play tonight.

RB Tashard Choice - another steal in the 4th round, Choice looks pretty good, he’ll be the #3 RB, and I expect him to contribute. He runs with authority, he runs like a Barber/Emmitt hybrid. He had a solid game.

WR Miles Austin - I got to give hims some props, he made himself noticed and made catches when the ball was in his area. 5 catches for 64 yards, not too bad at all. Now, can he be consistent going the rest of the way. Austin outplayed the rest of the receivers tonight.

TE Tony Curtis - he’s the #2 TE right now, and its not even close in my book. He has good hands, snatched the ball out of the air and makes plays when the ball came his way.

CB Mike Jenkins - Jenkins looked good in my opinion, he had some solid coverage and made some open field tackles. Jenkins will be a contributing factor this year. I liked what I saw in this first game, going against this type of offensive scheme Jenkins did some good things.

TE Martellus Bennett - this guy isn’t ready to be a starter. I want him to play well, but his half ass block on Shaun Phillips was pathetic, and another dropped pass that was very catchable. He needs to pick it up or we’re going to need to consider some contingencies down the line. Right now, he’s probably just a step above Rodney Hannah from the practice squad, seriously. Its still early, so I can’t be too rough, but he’s a 2nd rounder, so he’ll get some time to produce.

Quarterbacks - guess what? I hope Jerry is on the phone dialing up Jon Gruden, Brad Johnson’s arm is dead, he’s playing like Testaverde if not worse. We’re in serious trouble if Romo is ever out for whatever reason. Richard Bartel is not any better. We dropped the ball on Matt Moore, and now we’re here in this situation. Don’t try to sugar coat it,…we need another QB in here, like…this week.

WR Danny Amendola - it was a rough night for Amendola, he fumbled a punt which lead to a Chargers touchdown, after that he disappeared and didn’t get the opportunity to catch any passes even in the forth quarter.

WR Isaiah Stanback - this is a wasted pick man, its an expierement and he’s not ready, not even close to Hurd or Austin’s level. He, like Amendola didn’t look good in the return game either. He’ll make the team, but I just don’t see it.

These are the things that stood out the most tonight. For sure Special Teams needs a change, its the same crap coverage from last year. Jerry call up Joe Avezzano, for real.

The Cowboys are in San Diego for their first preseason game of the year. By this time of the year, players are ready to bang heads against opposing teams rather than fellow teammates they’ve been seeing all training camp. It is a preseason game, so I wouldn’t expect much action from the starters, maybe a few series at the most. This is already being called a preview to the SuperBowl, and while this is a premature assumption it could very well happen. We’ll see how the unpredictable season goes.

For now, let’s look at a few players we should be looking at during this game:

CB Mike Jenkins - Jenkins is part of the secondary upgrades the Cowboys were in desperate need of upgrading this offseason, so looking at Jenkins against a Norv Turner offense will be a great test for the rookie. He’s slated to start in this game, so he’ll see action against the Chargers 1st teamers. I’ll be watching how he matches up and makes his reads.

RB Felix Jones - besides Jenkins, Jones is the second guy I can’t wait to see in action. He’ll get his reps against a pretty solid Chargers defense. I want to see how he does in pass blocking, and it’ll be interesting how the Cowboys utilize him. Camp reports have him in some two back combos with Barber, so this will be nice to see. Jones already has better hands in the passing game than Julius Jones, so we could see some more dump offs of some dreaded screens. Historically, the Cowboys have been a horrible screen team, but maybe Garrett has some new schemes to test out with Jones.

TE Martellus Bennett - let’s face it, the camp reports have been consistenly negative on Bennett, so I want to see how he does in live action. Is his issue with practice the same as it is in live action, if so, we blew a pick here; however, if he comes out and plays good then, he’ll get a reprieve from Cowboys Nation. Bennett is in a battle for the #TE with Tony Curtis, so we’ll see who steps it up.

WR Danny Amendola - he gained attention with his plays in minicamps, and has continued to shine in training camp. I want to see how they utilize Amendola. You cannot deny a passing threat, so if Amendola keeps doing what he’s been doing, this undrafted rookie could leap frog several receivers. Practice is one thing, this live action will be significant to me, I’m pulling for him and hope the good news continues tonight. If he does well, you can start to pencil him on the 53 man roster. I don’t see the Cowboys dropping the ball on this find like they did with Matt Moore last year.

SS Roy Williams - no one is scruntized more on the team than Williams, and tonight will either have the doubters back entrenched more than ever, or maybe they will be surprised with his play. What I want to see is how they use Roy Williams, are they going to leave him on the field on passing downs, or will they sit him down, or move him around in nickle/dime packages. We will see.

DE Marcus Spears - this is a break or make year for Spears, yes he has been good on run defense, but the Phillps 34 is an attacking defense. Spears has not been that player under Parcells or Phillips. Reports have him swapping spots with defensive monster Jay Ratliff. Like I said before, when they start moving you around there’s an underlying issue. For Spears, they are trying to find him a spot to use him best, he’s not good at DE, and I don’t see how he’ll do any better up the middle at NT where Ratliff has been reaking havoc.

Wide Receivers - with Glenn gone, we’ll want to see who steps up in the passing game. So watch them closely too, Stanback, Hurd and Austin, pretty much all of them. Personally, I like Hurd the most from those three. Austin needs to be consistent in catching the ball, if I see more dropped passes from him that’ll be all she wrote in my eyes. Stanback is still in training mode, we’ll see how much he’s progressed.

Cowboys @ Chargers, NFL Network 9pm CST

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