Creeper
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Being the first game of the year and an extra pre-season game, we should not have expected much from this game. It was pretty ugly, especially in the 2nd half which is understandable considering who was playing most of the game.
My thoughts:
It's only one early game so I don't put much stock in what we saw. This could all change next week.
I was more impressed with the Cowboys draft class than I was with the FAs they signed, at least the ones who played. Ty Nsekhe looked awful against the Steelers 1st team. So did Tarell Basham. On the other hand, I like what I saw from some of the rookies. Parsons looked as good as expected. Joseph looks like he has talent. Wright looked pretty good I thought. That long completion to Claypool was a pushoff. Claypool clearly extended his arm back and you can see Wright was impeded. Otherwise he was right with Claypool, who is no slouch out there. Osa showed some quickness and Bohanna looked like he could develop into the run stuffer we've wanted for years. Cox has some quickness to his game. The only FA I liked, a 2020 acquisition, was Canady. He show good instincts and tackling ability in his short playing time.
There was a noticeable difference in the way the Steelers played the game vs the Cowboys. I don't know how to put it but the Steelers played with more urgency, more confidence, and more ferocity. I wonder what Mike Tomlin would do with the Cowboys roster.
In some ways the Cowboys looked like the team from last year. Soft in the middle on defense. Mistakes that hurt them (fumbles, penalties, etc. on office, and going for it on 4th and 1 from their own 30.) And, of course, failing to move forward inside the 10 yard line. The one improvement I saw was getting to the outside on defense and preventing the RBs from getting around the corners.
I thought DiNucci looked okay. He made some really nice throws and some bad throws but he was under a lot of pressure all the time. I know most of the offensive line in front of him are not going to make the team but he does have some arm talent and good footspeed. He is a project but in another year or two he could emerge as a quality backup behind Dak.
I had very positive impressions of Farniok on the OL. He is young and raw, but he looks the part and did a pretty good job, albeit against Steelers scrubs. Still, he has the size and power to play at this level. So does Alarcon. This experience will be good for the both of them.
I am going to give a tentative thumb up for McGovern. I thought he also look pretty good in this first preseason game. Steele looked horrible again. Maybe he isn't what they thought he was.
I was disappointed with what I saw from Gallimore. I keep hearing how far he has progressed since 2020 but against the Steelers first OL I thought he got pushed around. It's one game, but in this one game the hype did not match the performance.
I think Gilbert will be okay as the backup QB. I am not pushing the panic button just yet. He needs to clean a few things up but if Dak goes down, I think he can step in and do something. The key for this team is still the defense. Jaylon Smith and LVE did nothing to impress me in this game. Jaylon looked overmatched and while LVE looked fast and aggressive I think he needs to be better.
I think the Cowboys need to play their starters in some of these preseason games.
My thoughts:
It's only one early game so I don't put much stock in what we saw. This could all change next week.
I was more impressed with the Cowboys draft class than I was with the FAs they signed, at least the ones who played. Ty Nsekhe looked awful against the Steelers 1st team. So did Tarell Basham. On the other hand, I like what I saw from some of the rookies. Parsons looked as good as expected. Joseph looks like he has talent. Wright looked pretty good I thought. That long completion to Claypool was a pushoff. Claypool clearly extended his arm back and you can see Wright was impeded. Otherwise he was right with Claypool, who is no slouch out there. Osa showed some quickness and Bohanna looked like he could develop into the run stuffer we've wanted for years. Cox has some quickness to his game. The only FA I liked, a 2020 acquisition, was Canady. He show good instincts and tackling ability in his short playing time.
There was a noticeable difference in the way the Steelers played the game vs the Cowboys. I don't know how to put it but the Steelers played with more urgency, more confidence, and more ferocity. I wonder what Mike Tomlin would do with the Cowboys roster.
In some ways the Cowboys looked like the team from last year. Soft in the middle on defense. Mistakes that hurt them (fumbles, penalties, etc. on office, and going for it on 4th and 1 from their own 30.) And, of course, failing to move forward inside the 10 yard line. The one improvement I saw was getting to the outside on defense and preventing the RBs from getting around the corners.
I thought DiNucci looked okay. He made some really nice throws and some bad throws but he was under a lot of pressure all the time. I know most of the offensive line in front of him are not going to make the team but he does have some arm talent and good footspeed. He is a project but in another year or two he could emerge as a quality backup behind Dak.
I had very positive impressions of Farniok on the OL. He is young and raw, but he looks the part and did a pretty good job, albeit against Steelers scrubs. Still, he has the size and power to play at this level. So does Alarcon. This experience will be good for the both of them.
I am going to give a tentative thumb up for McGovern. I thought he also look pretty good in this first preseason game. Steele looked horrible again. Maybe he isn't what they thought he was.
I was disappointed with what I saw from Gallimore. I keep hearing how far he has progressed since 2020 but against the Steelers first OL I thought he got pushed around. It's one game, but in this one game the hype did not match the performance.
I think Gilbert will be okay as the backup QB. I am not pushing the panic button just yet. He needs to clean a few things up but if Dak goes down, I think he can step in and do something. The key for this team is still the defense. Jaylon Smith and LVE did nothing to impress me in this game. Jaylon looked overmatched and while LVE looked fast and aggressive I think he needs to be better.
I think the Cowboys need to play their starters in some of these preseason games.
