Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have David Howman, Jess Haynie, and Brian Martin.
Has your opinion on Andrew Booth changed at all during this preseason? And does that make you feel better or worse for the cornerback position?
The Dallas Cowboys failed to score a touchdown on offense, but the sole touchdown did come from an unlikely defensive hero, Andrew Booth. The pick-six Booth scored showed great anticipation and athleticism to get downfield and score, so the question becomes does Booth deserve more
playing time? Or was the play just a preseason highlight and more consistency is needed from Booth before giving him the green light?
Jess: Not really. He hasn’t been great outside of the pick-six, and the level of competition goes up in the regular season. Booth is one of a few guys like Troy Pride Jr. and Kemon Hall who might make the initial roster due to injuries but are only placeholders until Trevon Diggs, Caelen Carson, Shavon Revel, and Josh Butler are all ready to go. Until we get those players back, and perhaps even after we do, the CB position is going to be a weak point.
Howman: Nope. I was high on Booth when the Cowboys traded for him this time last year, but he’s consistently been leaky in coverage. Even against the Ravens, he gave up completions on 66.67% of his targets aside from that pick six. I’m not as worried about the cornerback position as Jess is, but I don’t think Booth will be a part of this room.
Brian: I never really viewed Booth as anything more than a camp body with the Cowboys this year. His pick-six against the Ravens doesn’t make me think any different of him. I think he will be among Dallas’ roster cuts when they get down to the league mandated 53-man limit.
What grade do you give Tyler Booker for his Cowboys debut?
This year’s first-round draft pick finally took to the field against Baltimore, and the overall play from Tyler Booker was pretty good. He was a dominant force in the run game, constantly pushing defenders back and overpowering the opposition. On an offensive line that struggled at times to establish the run, Booker was an obvious bright spot and should give Cowboys fans confidence going into the regular season.
Jess: It was hard to tell because the offense was so unproductive overall, but Booker seemed to be handling his 1/11th of the work just fine. Good start for the rookie in his first game action, but still way too early to project how he’s going to perform in the regular season.
Howman: I was encouraged. His physicality jumped out to me, and he held up really well in both run and pass blocking. It’s hard to judge much in the preseason, but I give Booker an even A.
Brian: Booker’s preseason debut went as I expected it to. He showcased his strength and physicality and definitely didn’t look outof place at RG taking over for Zack Martin. I’m sure he will have some growing pains throughout his rookie season, but that’s to be expected. I’d give him a solid A grade.
What is the biggest problem for the Cowboys offense and do you expect things to change when the starters play in Week 1?
In two games during preseason the offense has looked very flat and underwhelming. The entire offense against Baltimore failed to put up any points with everything coming from defense or Brandon Aubrey’s boot, but the lack of execution from the team’s offensive rotational players is a severe issue. With only 274 passing yards and one receiving touchdown in two games it’s obvious Joe Milton III has struggled this preseason.
The running game isn’t without its issues but there have been bright spots like Phil Mafah and Malik Davis at the position to not feel completely disheartened by the team’s running back corps. With better wide receivers, offensive line players and Dak Prescott under center, things should swing dramatically on offense and see better production.
Jess: The biggest problem right now is the quarterback play. I’ve said in other articles that Joe Milton needs reps, but it’s hurting the rest of the offense when he’s struggling as much as we’ve seen. Will Grier hasn’t been much better outside of a couple of plays. Things will obviously improve dramatically once Dak Prescott and the rest of the first-team offense are playing, but we should be very scared of the QB2 situation right now.
Howman: Jess stole my thunder. Just like last year when Dak Prescott went down, the problem is the guy taking snaps under center. I mean that with all respect to Cooper Rush, Joe Milton, and Will Grier, but it’s hard to run your offense when the guy running it seems oblivious to both the pass rush and the fact that he’s standing several yards deep in his own endzone. It’s also why I’m not panicking yet: this offense will be much, much better when Prescott is out there in Week 1.
Brian: I don’t think there’s just one problem with the Cowboys offense so far in preseason. The QB play is definitely a concern, but that will be corrected when Dak Prescott takes over. For me, I’m more concerned about Dallas’ RB depth and the lack of running game. I don’t know if their offense is good enough to be a one-dimensional, air it out, type of one.
