NFL
By: Greg Rector
The Dallas Cowboys will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in their first pre-season game for the 2023 NFL season. The Jaguars executed a great comeback victory over the Dallas Cowboys last season in a week 15 matchup last year. Trevor Lawrence will be out there trying to throw 4 TD passes in this game as well. Veteran quarterback CJ Beathard and former CFL player for the BC Lions QB Nathan Rourke will run the Jaguars’ offense.
Doug Pederson announced he plans on playing many of his starters for their first pre-season game.
Dallas Cowboys Offense
I expect to see plenty of Cooper Rush and Will Grier take plenty of chances with Jalen Tolbert and Simi Fehoko fighting for the WR4 role in Mike McCarthy’s new offense led by Brian Schottenheinmer. Also, expect to see plenty of Deuce Vaughn as the feature RB as the sixth-round pick will get his shot at displaying his talents.
Malik Davis will also be key in the running game for the Dallas Cowboys. The running backs are fighting for the role behind Tony Pollard and it’s going to be a battle to see how both are employed by Mike McCarthy in this new offense.
Of course, Dak Prescott will not play in this game so all the haters will have to wait for their turn to attack Prescott for whatever reason they deem fit for the day.
With Zach Martin not in training camp Matt Farniok and Josh Ball will be the right guards on the offensive line. I don’t expect to see the other veterans used very much in this game as the line will be played by the younger guys trying to make the 53-man squad or the 16-man practice squad. I am looking forward to seeing Matt Waletzko playing right tackle in the place of Terence Steele. I have been a fan of Waletzko since his draft season and believe the Dallas Cowboys have found a gem in the big tackle from North Dakota State.
Dallas Cowboys Defense
Don’t expect to see many starters lining up for the Cowboys in this game. I do expect to see cornerback Eric Scott Jr seeing plenty of snaps against Calvin Ridley who is returning to the NFL after serving his suspension over gambling with the Jaguars.
My focus for the defense lies in seeing Mazi Smith line up as the defensive tackle and seeing how well he handles the pass rush that so many fans want to see out of the first-round draft pick.
If Smith can occupy a couple of Jaguars offensive linemen as expected in the running game the rest of the Dallas Cowboys defenders can stop the Jaguars running game.
My other focus will be seeing if Kelvin Joseph and Nahshon Wright can cover guys decently enough for the Jaguars’ offense to not score through the air.
My Outlook
Since it’s just the first time out for the Dallas Cowboys I have no idea who will win or lose this game. I am not predicting a win or a loss. I simply want to see the Dallas Cowboys playing football. Let’s see the rookies and free agents come on out and show us what they have as far as being able to play in the NFL. I want to see what this new offense looks like and that’s the real exciting part of the first pre-season game for me.
Mazi Smith is a MENACE ?
Smith said in a recent interview that he doesn’t even like football, he likes hitting people.
Brian Baldinger (former NFL OL) said he believes Smith may be a “young” Ndamukong Suh.
Smith’s “physicality” has reportedly given many Cowboys lineman… pic.twitter.com/nwz7ANytmV
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) August 7, 2023
Mazi Smith has a lot of eyes focusing on him and what he can do as a defensive tackle means so much for the play we will see from Demarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons come the regular season. Let’s just hope the Dallas Cowboys come out of this game healthy!!
As always you can find me on X @GregCowboys
