The Cowboys get a victory in the “dress rehearsal” preseason game. But they lose starting LB Anthony Hitchens for at least the first half of the season.  Ed Werder explains that this is not the worst possible outcome.  There was some fear that this would be a season ending injury. Ed says that he thinks that the coaching staff is comfortable with Jaylon Smith’s ability vs the run so he may be a logical move to replace Hitchens early in the season. But they don’t want to force Smith to play too much too early, so Justin Durant will also get some opportunities.

Ed and Matt also discuss how important Zeke Elliott is to Dak Prescott AND the Cowboys defense as well. Controlling the clock was one of the keys to last year’s success. That may be a challenge once Zeke starts serving his suspension.  A suspension that Ed does not think will be automatically reduced. Matt, on the other hand, thinks that there’s a chance it will be reduced by a couple of games.