The Dallas Cowboys play their first preseason game on August 11 when they take on the Los Angeles Rams. As normal, we should not expect any of the big-time starters to get any playing time until week one rolls around against the Cleveland Browns.
Still, starting Sunday, other players need to show what they’ve got to prove to the coaching staff they belong when the season kicks off.
It won’t be the most exciting football game, but there are a handful of players I am looking forward to seeing take the field. Do they have a spot on the final roster? We’ll see, won’t we?
Hunter Luepke
Hunter Luepke will be my favorite watch of the weekend.
Luepke played in all 17 games for Dallas last season as a special teams contributor, with 271 snaps on ST compared to only 153 offensive snaps. Of those 153 plays, he only touched the ball 10 times for 37 total yards and a touchdown.
Now, he is in year two, and with a weak running back, he is a guy that could expand his role a bit.
I would like to see him more as a traditional fullback, being used as a lead blocker, but he showed a flash or two last season that he could be worked in for some touches.
He has even been working out with some of the team’s tight ends. It’s plain to see that the Cowboys are trying to get him on the field.
Let’s keep an eye on him during the first preseason game.
We probably won’t get to see much from the other running backs, so he’s worth keeping a close eye on.
Mazi Smith
I would like to think Mazi Smith is going to at least play the first or second drive on Sunday. If he does, I will be paying close attention to him.
He played in every game last year, and he struggled.
Some were ready to write him off, but now Mike Zimmer is the man calling the plays, and he seems to have a better idea of what to do with Mazi Smith.
“What we’re asking him to do, he’s doing a really good job. You might not see him make flash plays,” Zimmer said last week; “but we see him taking on double-teams, getting his hands in the right place. I see him understanding where he’s supposed to be.”
He has made some really nice plays in training camp, but can he do it when it matters?
We will see.
Preseason should allow him to stack a few good plays under his belt and gain some confidence back after a rough rookie season.
Cooper Rush & Trey Lance
Trey Lance has had more bad moments than good thus far in training camp. He needs to use this first game of the preseason to show that he can do something better than Cooper Rush.
He has done nothing to substantially separate himself from Rush to this point in camp.
This is the same guy the 49ers gave up on, and they have shown they can make any quarterback work in Kyle Shanahan’s system.
Who is going to take full control of the backup quarterback role?
Will it continue to be Rush, or will Lance be able to muster something together on Sunday to show why he was drafted as high as he was.
Both of these guys will probably start a half, and we’ll have to wait and see how it goes.
These are the three I am expecting to see the most. It is the first preseason game. Who knows what we will see the Cowboys do. They could very well play nothing but guys who are likely to be cut without any hesitation.