The Dallas Cowboys continue their preseason preparation on Saturday in Las Vegas with a game against the Raiders.
The Cowboys had lost their first preseason game against the Rams and had a week of training camp in which they strengthened their defensive line with two key players.
What should Cowboys fans pay attention to in the second preseason game? The Dallas Morning News“Calvin Watkins comes from the California beach with a preview of Cowboys-Raiders:
Who can we expect to quarterback the Cowboys on Saturday in Vegas?
Watkins: “Trey Lance will get the most snaps in the game against the Raiders. Last week against the Rams, I think Lance was OK. He led the team in rushing because he had to get out of a tough situation, and he missed two touchdown throws. It was all about footwork. Now we’ll see if he’s improved that footwork in his second preseason game against the Raiders.”
What we have all been waiting for on the offensive…
CW: “We’ll also look at the rookies. Tyler Guyton will start at left tackle, Cooper Beebe will get most of the snaps at center. Why is that so important? We’ve been waiting for this all training camp. The Cowboys were in California for at least 25 days before coming to Vegas, and now Guyton will finally play in a game with the first team. Chuma Edoga started at left tackle on the first team, but suffered a serious toe injury, so now it’s time for Tyler Guyton to finally step up and get more playing time.
First, let’s look at how things are going defensively…
CW: “The third and most important issue we’re concerned about going into this second preseason game is the defensive line. The Cowboys have been juggling the defensive line all training camp. They made a trade with the Giants to get Jordan Phillips and they signed Carl Lawson, a pass rusher. He practiced a few weeks ago and they didn’t sign him, now they’re bringing him back. The Cowboys have had all kinds of problems with the defensive line.
“There are only two players on the defensive line that we have confidence in. DeMarcus Lawrence, who is not playing in the Raiders game. And Mazi Smith. That’s right! Mazi Smith, a first-round pick last year, was — not ‘pretty good’ — he was fantastic in training camp and in this Rams preseason game. Expect Mazi Smith to get about 15 snaps in this game.
“There are two other players I’m excited to see against the Raiders: Chauncey Golston, who the Cowboys had as a defensive tackle, they’re moving him outside to defensive end. And Viliami Fehoko, another draft pick from last year who also played defensive tackle. Now they’re moving him to the edge. The Cowboys and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer are trying to find a nose tackle, they’re trying to find a pass rusher. Why? Because they lost Sam Williams.
Oh, and by the way, second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland is going to play a lot. We’ll see if he can improve.”
Twitter/X: @calvinwatkins
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