untung99.biz: Cowboys vs Jaguars 5 takeaways from Dallas first preseason game

The Dallas Cowboys got their first preseason game out of the way, a 28-23 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. As is usual with preseason games, you get plenty of good and bad mixed together. The Cowboys performance was no exception to that rule, Here are five takeaways from their performance.

Deuce Vaughn

Eight carries for 50 yards and one touchdown. Three catches for six yards. One wicked spin move. Multiple times getting lost in the wash only to burst out the other side. Deuce Vaughn looks like he will be a legitimate weapon for the Cowboys.

It’s true that much of his work came against backups and backups to backups. But there is just something more fundamental about him with the football in his hands. He sees like a top running back, he has the agility of a top running back, he just doesn’t have the size. The Cowboys will have to be smart with him, but there is no doubt if he stays healthy, he will produce. That’s what he did in college, and it doesn’t appear that the pro game is too big for him.

DeMarvion Overshown and Damone Clark

Do you like your linebackers athletic? Welcome to the Dallas Cowboys. We got a glimpse of Damone Clark last season and it was hopeful, even inspiring given his injury. He looked much the same in this game, making plays everywhere.

Now he has a running partner. DeMarvion Overshown was a missile aimed for the ball. 11 total tackles between the two in basically part of a game. Leighton Vander Esch will be in there this year, but Cowboys fans can dream about the potential of Clark and Overshown down the road.

John Stephens Jr. and the TE-friendly offense

John Stephens has been killing it at camp. So he just kept going on Saturday. He was the leader with five catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. There may be a lot of things he still needs to learn about playing tight end, but catching the ball and making plays doesn’t seem to be one of them. Now, can he do it again and again? And then against a better level of competition?

Speaking of tight ends, Stephens and Jake Ferguson (three catches, 38 yards) were leading the team. Mike McCarthy’s new offense might just have a thing for tight ends.

Will Grier

It doesn’t seem likely that Will Grier will be challenging Cooper Rush for QB2. Sure, Grier threw for more yards and had two touchdowns, but he mixed in the flash with the crash. He threw a terrible interception, threw another that was wiped out by a penalty, and showed poor pocket awareness on numerous plays. In the face of one blitz, he froze in the pocket instead of scrambling for his life. The offensive line wasn’t doing anyone any favors out there, but Rush looked more composed and more capable of being a steadying influence if called upon.

Ball security

The Cowboys looked determined to give the game away with their three turnovers. This might just be a blip in a preseason game, but you can bet Mike McCarthy and his coaches are going to make a big deal of it this week at camp. Once can be a fluke, but if the Cowboys are turning the ball over again next week, we have an issue.