Preseason game #3 thoughts

The cowboys beat the Rams 20-19 in preseason game #3 to wrap up the starters portion of the NFl preseason as they get ready for the real deal against the super bowl champs giants.

Are they ready?

I feel that Tony Romo, Kyle Orton, DeMarco Murray, Tyron Smith are ready to go for the regular season. That is 4 with only 3 of them will be starting opening day. That leaves 8 who are not ready either due to injury or haven't seen enough of them in practice or preseason to feel they can bring it on opening night. Defensively, the regulars of Jason Hatcher, DeMarcus Ware, Sean Lee are ready while newcomers Brandon Carr and first year starter Barry Church appear good to go. That gives you 5 out of 11 which is better than the offense can say.

Where are the areas of strength?

Dallas will be good at quarterback even if Romo gets injured. Orton was an expensive pick up in the offseason but he has fully embraced the backup role and back to back seasons with Romo missing games made it a worthwhile move by Jerry Jones the GM. They should only keep two quarterbacks on the roster, McGee is in his 3rd year and not shown enough improvement to be worthy of a roster spot. If anyone deserves the job, it is Rudy Carpenter but he is worth the risk of trying to push onto the practice squad. If another team claims Carpenter, he's not someone I would regret letting get away unlike Matt Moore a few years back.

I also feel the Cowboys will be strong at tight end, I've always been impressed with John Phillips especially the seam pass he went up and got in the first quarter. I think the team got themselves a good player in James Hannah, he's done everything better than expected after falling to the 6th round of the 2012 draft. He moves well, catches the ball with ease which was supposed to be a concern and has blocked better on the edge than expected. The injury to Witten is a hit for sure but I think they will soon realize the depth.

Unfortunately that is it for positions of strength on the offense.  I have not seen nor read about any improvement in Felix Jones to make me think runningback will be deep for this team, does not mean I think less of Murray, quite the opposite as I think he will have an excellent season. However keeping him fresh and healthy for the entire season is key and that means relying on your depth which is Felix. I do not see the burst, tackle breaking ability nor the ability to make proper reads off his blocks to get all the yards available.

Although I do like the development of the young receivers especially over the past two preseason games, they will be a concern until they get it done when it counts. This includes 85 being where he is supposed to be and making tough catches. Dwayne Harris and Cole Beasley have made the team in my opinion and neither will make it to the practice squad since they have made big plays in the preseason game film. The problem is both Harris and Beasley are the same type of player while neither is a special teams stud at this point, Dallas needs a Jesse Holley to finish out the top 6 at receiver.

I said Dallas would have quality depth along the defensive line during training camp and I'm sticking to it here although it will be tested early on. Sean Lissemore was the talk of camp as he was often referred to as a beast in practice. A wise football man told me that during this time of the year, whenever you see a non-starter making plays, always first ask yourself, who is he doing it against before you start drinking that koolaid. Although Lissemore did some good things last year in limited reps, need to reel in those expectations of him starting in place of Kenyon Coleman this year. I see a good player against the run aslong as he keeps his hands extended so he can disengage, like most players, the more snaps he plays his technique gets sloppy and gets taken out of plays without much trouble. The Jay Ratliff ankle injury complicates the matter and I think Rob Ryan will use Lissemore to start the game with Josh Brent especially on running downs until he returns. Rookie Tyrone Crawford plays a non glamour position at the five technique defensive end role in the 34 defense, he's done well but nothing special during the preseason. He needs to do a better job holding at the point-of-attack on running plays, disengaging from the blocker and finding the ballcarrier. I do like what I see from Crawford on passing plays as his athleticism is there, quickness but he's not a polished pass rusher yet which is to be expected. He has the skills to become a similar player to Jason Hatcher in a year.

I also brought up the inside linebacker position with Bruce Carter along with Dan Connor battling for the starting job alongside Sean Lee. Both players had done well in training camp but have disappeared as soon as the preseason got underway. Carter appears to be the preferred choice and he would be mine as well. Carter has the burst to be a real force as a blitzer but he doesn't have the timing down yet although he is the teams best linebacker in man coverage. Both Connor and Lee have been beaten in man coverage but not Carter which is what should give him the edge. The reason I feel for why neither Connor or Carter have made many plays with the starters is a simple reason, Lee just makes so many plays that there are not enough to go around. In addition, Dallas does not have the "thumper" inside backer to make this scheme work perfectly but then again they don't have the nose tackle either but that is a separate issue. The "thumper" back lines up over the strong side guard who needs to play with power taking on the guard consistently which is not Carter or Connor's game. They are trying but its another reason why they aren't finding the ballcarrier as much thus far in the preseason.

So what does this team look like heading into week 1?

Most of the sports geeks I respect said after draft day, the cowboys are a top heavy team. That means they have some of the best players in the NFL who can compete with anyone but they don't have the depth necessary to keep them fresh or withstand injuries. I agree 100% with that as they have zero depth in the offensive line, runningback with Felix, outside linebacker especially since team is reluctant to play Victor Butler for some reason as well as the secondary.

They will get off to a good start, be in the hunt for a playoff spot but the key will be staying healthy on the line of scrimmage and honestly need a few players to step (Crawford, Kyle Wilbur, Carter) who can keep other impact players fresh for the late season push. Depth is the concern and its what has kept Dallas behind in December for years.