Mazi Smith had his best preseason game of the season Saturday.
After a preseason full of disappointment, and looking like he was going to fold, Smith showed Saturday why the Cowboys took him with their first pick.
Being a first round picks brings expectations, and Smith has already caught some heat for not looking the part just yet.
Smith totaled 48 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack in the middle of the Michigan defensive line last year.
I've already seen some folks trying to label Smith as a bust after three preseason games simply because he plays for the Dallas Cowboys.
Smith showed his potential in the final preseason Saturday game against the Raiders.
.@dallascowboys @mazismith plays with great effort and recognition. It's a coming a coming along. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/rtgGXN2891
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 27, 2023
He had struggled off the snap the first two games but looked much more comfortable Saturday night.
Smith is a nose guard. He isn't supposed to jump on the tape to begin with.
His job is literally to take on double teams; that doesn't scream eye candy.
Dan Quinn said he is not being asked to penetrate and go up the field. He is being asked to occupy blockers. If Quinn isn't worried, neither should we.
Saturday Night
Smith for the most part was solid Saturday night.
He was involved in two tackles within the first three snaps.
On his first snap of the game, he made an excellent play against the offensive line, allowing him to feast on the gap and pursue the running back.
The play resulted in a tackle out by the numbers.
The one problem we did see from Smith is the inconsistent play.
He lost his gap a few times on Saturday. Most of these came in the second quarter.
Still, this should not be the writing on the wall. Smith is way too physically strong to be pushed around.
Still have to review the film, but this was certainly Mazi Smith's best performance to date.
Bounced back in a big way on limited snaps this week.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) August 27, 2023
Depth and talent on the interior defensive line are critical for Dallas. It was a weakness last season.
Opponents were averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
The Cowboys' interior pass rush was struggling but smith still has plenty of time to turn it around, but the Cowboys drafted him for his immediate impact.
He is going to be needed next season. That one glaring weakness must be fixed to take them from the second/third-best defense to THE best.
Tuesday's cuts
The Cowboys cut their roster down to 53 Tuesday afternoon.
The Cowboys cut Quinton Bohanna, leaving them with ten on the defensive line, including Smith.
That seems like a lot, but we are still unsure what will happen with Sam Williams after his arrest, but keeping a few extra bodies around shouldn't hurt.
Smith is going to have growing pains this season; we know that.
He will be fine if he can develop and continue to show improvement like he did Saturday night against the Raiders.
Maybe his knee is finally starting to feel better after a couple weeks.
He had an MRI on it in early August after he said their was some discomfort.
The results came back negative, so that could have been the other problem.
The Cowboys will need him to have his moments this season to help stop the run.
