Top Five Things Cowboys' Fans Need to Watch for in Final Two Preseason Games

5. Scandrick vs. Jenkins

My personal opinion is that fans should not get all caught up in who wins the starting job opposite Terence Newman. Both Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins will get ample playing time and both will have an impact on this defense. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t pay attention to whether or not they perform well in the final two preseason games. Scandrick should see more first-team reps against the 49ers to balance out the rotation. It should be a fun battle to watch, but in the end it’s not too vital since the “loser” of this competition will play lots of downs this season.

4. Outside Linebacker Battle

With the unfortunate ending of outside linebacker Brandon Williams’ season due to a torn ACL and Justin Rogers’ re-injuring his knee last Friday, the battle for backup OLB positions just got more interesting.

If Steve Octavien has a repeat of last Friday’s solid performance he should land a roster spot. Also keep an eye out for Victor Butler. With Brandon Williams out, he should get more downs and hopefully display more production. Perhaps Jason Williams might switch from ILB to OLB for a few plays. The Cowboys need to do all they can to find decent backups for DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer. There isn’t much experience behind them.  

3. Wide Receiver Battle

With Kevin Ogletree’s recent production there is no doubt Isaiah Stanback needs to perform to remain a Dallas Cowboy. We all know Sam Hurd and Miles Austin are the third and fourth wide receivers, but the fifth spot is still open. Ogletree looks to have the inside track but there is still time for Stanback, Manuel Johnson, Willie Reid, and Jesse Holley to make an impression.

2. Offensive Line Depth

When Robert Brewster went down right at the beginning of camp it was big blow to the depth at the offensive line. All of a sudden, it left Dallas with the same backups they had last year.

Although veterans Corey Procter and Pat McQuistan have managed to stay on the roster the last few seasons, they have been average at best so far this preseason. The good news is that Doug Free has improved throughout training camp and preseason. Cowboy fans need to pay attention to see if there is any more improvement at backup OL.  As I write this, I have learned that the Cowboys have added Duke Preston from Buffalo to be a backup center. This may mean Corey Procter’s days are numbered.

1. Special Teams

So far the Cowboys’ special teams have committed penalties on both opening kickoffs of each preseason game, the second of which negated a great return by Austin (though the holding call was questionable). Nevertheless, the Cowboys special teams units need to get better. It is this part of the team that has been consistently horrendous the past few seasons, which led to the firing of Bruce Read and hiring of Joe DeCamillis.

Last week, the kickoff coverage team gave up a big return and committed a personal foul to tack on another 15 yards. There was also a penalty on Pat Watkins on a punt for running on the sideline without trying to get back in bounds.

These are just a couple of several miscues committed by the special teams this preseason. The least Cowboys fans can ask for is that no penalties be committed this week. That would be a start.