So far, so good from the Cowboys camp. As host to the Rams in a joint training session, Dallas shone in several areas. This reassured many, as intra-team competitions in camp have an inevitable bittersweet aftertaste – Did Dallas Player A shine because he’s great, or did he just look great because Dallas Player B is terrible? The fight against LA put things in perspective.
Viewed from that perspective, many of the perceived strengths against the Rams still seemed like strengths. The Cowboys’ two best outside pass rushers, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, were nearly unstoppable. This is an important endorsement because after losing Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler and Sam Williams (the first two to free agents and the latter to injury), the Cowboys are desperately thin on resources.
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Rams QB Matthew Stafford on training against Cowboys DE/LB Micah Parsons pic.twitter.com/Oce7qtvpZg
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) 9 August 2024
According to reports out of LA, the Rams’ offensive tackle situation is a known issue and not something that has come to light with the dominance of Parsons and Lawrence. Still, it’s nice to see what was seen earlier in training camp confirmed.
The Rams are also reportedly proud of the performance of their receivers in place of Puka Nacua. This is notable because the Cowboys are equally pleased with their young cornerback group, especially Caelen Carson. This wasn’t just about the Cowboys beating inferior WRs, but rather strength versus strength.
Caelen Carson Red Zone Interception at the goal line against Jimmy Garoppolo pic.twitter.com/txCdBkwjU9
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) 8 August 2024
The Cowboys’ running game also seemed fairly dominant. Large gaps regularly opened up for Dallas’ running backs, which led to big runs down the field. Since Dallas is generally considered to have the worst backfield in the NFL this season, large gaps are crucial to the success of the running game.
Throughout practice, the Cowboys did well against the Rams. The only area of concern seemed to be the play of the Cowboys’ OTs in pass defense. Rams’ edge rushers Byron Young and Jered Verse seemed to have their luck with the Cowboys. One bad game in OT can ruin any team’s season, so this is no small thing. It’s something to keep an eye on as training camp continues and preseason games take place.
The first big test of the summer is over and by most accounts things have been going great for the Cowboys. The next challenge is to translate all of this into a real game on Sunday.
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