Cowboys pass first test with flying colors, here’s what awaits

The Cowboys stood up well to the Rams in their recent joint practices. | From @ReidDHanson

So far, so good from Cowboys camp. Hosting the Rams in a joint practice, Dallas shined in multiple areas. It put many minds at ease since intrateam competitions in camp have an unavoidable bittersweet taste to them – Did Dallas Player A shine because he’s great or did he just look great because Dallas Player B is terrible? Going up against LA applied proper perspective to things.

That perspective is that many of the perceived strengths continued to look like strengths against the Rams. The Cowboys top two outside pass-rushers, Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, were nearly unstoppable. This is an important validation because after the loss of Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler and Sam Williams (the former two to free agency and the latter to injury), the Cowboys are desperately thin on the edge.

Based on reports out of LA, the Rams’ offensive tackle situation is a known concern and not something the dominance of Parsons and Lawrence brought to light. Regardless, it’s still nice to see validation for what was seen earlier in training camp.

The Rams are also reportedly proud of the way their receivers played in place of Puka Nacua. It’s noteworthy because the Cowboys are equally pleased with their young cornerback group, primarily Caelen Carson. This wasn’t just a case of Cowboys beating up on overmatched WRs but rather strength against strength.

The Cowboys running game also looked somewhat dominant. Big holes were routinely opened for Dallas running backs, leading to big runs downfield. Since Dallas is widely believed to have the worst backfield in the NFL this season, big holes are critical to the success of the running game.

Throughout practices the Cowboys stacked up well against the Rams. The only area of concern appeared to be the Cowboys OTs play in pass protection. The Rams’ edge rushers, Byron Young and Jered Verse, seemingly had their way with the Cowboys. Poor play at OT is a threat to ruin any team’s season so this is by no means small potatoes. It’s something that will have to be monitored as camp continues and preseason games take place.

The first big test of the summer is complete and by most accounts, things went splendidly for the Cowboys. Applying this all in real game action on Sunday is the next test.

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