Thursday night’s preseason contest between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks had a wee bit of a late kickoff time. Many fans were concerned that they were going to fall asleep. Makes sense.
Three plays in the Cowboys saw their season writhing in pain on the ground. It was a painful, and unfortunately common, sight for Cowboys Nation to behold… Tony Romo clutching at his back.
Tony Romo did not sustain any significant injuries, Thank God, but it was definitely enough to wake us all up. I don’t even mean wake us up on Thursday night, I mean wake us up for the 2016 Dallas Cowboys season.
They don’t call the third preseason game the dress rehearsal for nothing. This is supposed to be the best barometer for the regular season. What did we learn from it? Here are ten things.
The Cowboys Are Going To Need Dak Prescott At Some Point
There’s a very cold and extremely hard truth that we all need to accept: Tony Romo is extremely unlikely to play all 16 regular season games this year. You can have a moment to collect yourself.
Three plays, three plays, into this game Romo took a shot (albeit an unfortunate angle) and was done-ski. I love Tony Romo, but I also love objectivity and data.
Romo is very likely to go down at some point this season, and when that happens the Cowboys will have to rely on rookie wonder Dak Prescott. Through three preseason games Dak has exceeded any expectation given to a 4th Round QuarterDAK, so we’re already playing with house money here.
Jameill Showers Is Going To Make The Final 53-Man Roster
Not only will the Cowboys need the services of Dak Prescott in 2016, but they’ll need additional insurance.
Considering the fragility, however exaggerated you want to make it, of Tony Romo the Cowboys absolutely cannot roll into the season with only two quarterbacks on their 53-Man Roster. It would be absolutely irresponsible.
Say Romo went down for an extended period of time. That would leave Dak Prescott and, say also that Showers found a new home, someone who hasn’t been with the team at all up through now. Showers will be on this team.
Ezekiel Elliott Is Totally And Completely For Real
When the Dallas Cowboys exercised the 4th Overall Pick on a running back, many people thought, “How could they possibly be better in the ground game?”.
If you watched Zeke do work on Thursday night then you know. He showed burst, quickness, and a thumper-like disposition when he went after, and beat, Seattle’s Kam Chancellor.
It was one preseason game and not a whole lot of work, but it’s safe to say that the Cowboys have a star running back on their hands. Run Zeke Run!
Jason Witten Can Still Ball Out
Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, two dudes who were in college last year, just went 81 yards on the Seattle Seahawks starting D for a TD.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) August 26, 2016
You’re probably wondering what in the world that tweet has to do with Jason Witten. Well just calm down a second and let me explain.
That 81-yard drive culminated in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott to Jason Witten. It was a perfectly placed ball, but it was kinda high up. It wasn’t a pass that some rickety old tight end could make. This required athleticism.
Jason Witten made that play. This dude is still a stud.
Dan Bailey Isn’t Perfect
In one of the most shocking events of the evening, Dan Bailey missed a 52-yard field goal. I know, I’m still stunned.
I found it particularly ironic that Bailey missed in Seattle considering this was the very same stadium/field where he became the NFL’s all-time most accurate kicker. But hey. Even the best fall down sometimes…
Geoff Swaim Is A Legitimate Pass Catcher
If you look Swaim up in the box score it’s going to say that he had 5 catches for 17 yards, and that’s not exactly something that makes me salivate. What you need to understand is that Geoff made some unbelievable catches.
Swaim was literally the only reason why Dak Prescott wasn’t literally perfect in the preseason opener in Los Angeles. He’s rebounded quite nicely and turned into an option that could seriously contribute in the passing game from a dump-off perspective.
Lucky Whitehead Will Be Involved In The Offense
It’s a rule of thumb that the Cowboys have to run a jet sweep with Lucky Whitehead every game. It’s as true as gravity, Eli Manning being weird, and every other fact of life.
One carry for seven yards isn’t anything super special, but Lucky himself is super special. He provides an element of surprise that simply cannot be replicated or emulated by anybody else on the roster.
The Pass Rush Was As Bad As We Thought It Would Be
I specifically said was because I don’t want to generalize this unit for the whole season off of one game, but golly gee whillikers they stunk up the joint on Thursday night.
If generating pressure on the quarterback were equivalent to being dry, the Dallas Cowboys are soaking wet. They are completely drenched in suckitude.
To be fair Lawrence Okoye did wrangle up on sack, but Russell Wilson and Trevone Boykin had all kinds of time in the pocket. I could’ve sworn I saw Russell planting flowers back there.
Morris Claiborne Is Always Around The Ball
I need my 20 push ups tomorrow 24… Two picks I know you could have had… #Cowboysworld
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) August 26, 2016
Dez is right, and a great live tweeter FYI.
Mo Claiborne did indeed get his hands on two would-be interceptions. Some players seem to have a knack for always being around the football, like a magnet of sorts, and Mo seems to have found that gear this season.
I propose we call him the MOgnet. Yes? Yes.
Dax Swanson Is Going To Make This Team
The cornerback from Sam Houston State had himself quite the game on Thursday night.
Dax actually took a punt all the way to the house that was called back on a silly penalty, but those things matter and more importantly – they stand out.
This team has a precariously solid list of depth at the corner spot, but Dax has shown an ability to make plays. That’s a good thing. We’ve already got a Dak, what’s a Dax added to the mix?
This Is Jason Garrett’s Football Team
I thought you said 10, RJ? Well I gave you a bonus so Happy Friday!
The age-old criticism of anybody coaching the Cowboys Jason Garrett is that he’s Jerry Jones’ puppet. That song and dance has gotten pretty old, but if anyone was unsure about it… it’s really dead and gone now.
It was Jason Garrett’s decision not to bring Tony Romo back into the game once it was revealed that he hadn’t suffered a serious injury. This was in spite of Romo’s constant pleas to get back in the contest. Sorry, Tony. Coach said no.
Clap, clap, clap your hands. Jason Garrett runs this ship.
What were your takeaways from the Cowboys preseason loss in Seattle? Let us know! Comment below, Email me at RJ@RJOchoaShow.com, or Tweet to me at @RJOchoa!
Jason Garrett has been the best thing to happen to this franchise post 2000. Stability at the head coaching position is huge and now they have a guy that the GM/Owner trusts and respects. I’m a GarrettHead to say the least, and I think this team wins with him.
Romo going down was a kick to the groin. He’s probably ok, but dang it if that didn’t make me facepalm.
Good news is, we have a quarterback that looks like he might be able to lead this team beyond the Post-Tony Era (though I don’t want to think about that.
Well maybe the best thing aside from Tony Romo
I hope that Dez Bryant tweet wasn’t sent during the game. Players need to focus on the game, and not be distracted by social media.
For goodness sake, there is plenty of time AFTER the game for all the social media bullcrap.
Dez wasn’t playing. Take it easy.
Geoff Swaim acquitted himself as a blocker as well. I saw quite a few runs where his block on the edge was critical to the play and success. I was very happy to see that he’s taking his blocking and receiving equally seriously.
Swaim might have made Hanna expendable, unfortunately (big OU fan here).