The Cowboys Report
Proficient Prescott looks to be in midseason form for Cowboys
Aug 22, 2019, 6:50 am
The Cowboys Report
The Dallas Cowboys got their first win of the preseason Saturday night when they beat the Los Angeles Rams 14-10.
For the second week in a row Quarterback Dak Prescott has led the Cowboys to a score in their opening possession. Just like last week, he was perfect on all his throws (5-5) for 64 yards, which helped add to the 12 play, 97 yard touchdown drive.H e seems to be in mid-season form already as he connected with five different players on each of his throws. Once again he hooked up with second year receiver Michael Gallup, this time for a 31 yard pass down the right sideline for the longest play of the game.cHe looks like he is ready for the regular season to begin and perhaps deserving of a new "Starting Quarterback" contract.
Speaking of new contracts, last year's NFL leading rusher Ezekiel Elliott is still hasn't reported to the team as he is waiting for a new one of his own. With him out, rookie running back Tony Pollard looked great as he played with the starters on that opening drive. He carried the ball five times for 42 yards and caught one pass for nine yards. Most importantly, Pollard ended the drive with an inside handoff that he took for a 14 yard touchdown. After seeing that, the Cowboys have something more than just the win to be excited about.
The Dallas defense looked solid again. They made the Rams punt on their first two possessions but did allow a touchdown on their third one which was set up by a fumbled punt return on the Cowboys 37 yard line.
1.Running backs (T. Pollard or A. Morris): Rookie Tony Pollard (2019 fourth round pick) looked impressive. He ran with a good mix of both power and speed. Veteran Alfred Morris saw his first preseason action. He didn't do much with his three carries for six yards. Pollard looks to be the clear cut #1 RB for now.
2.Return of Jason Witten: After coming back from a year of retirement, the 11 time Pro Bowl Tight End caught his only target that turned out to be a clutch third down catch that gave the Cowboys a first down to keep their scoring drive alive. He could be an important factor that helps cure their red zone woes.
3.Kicker Brett Maher: Missed his only field goal attempt of the game (52 yards) but made his two extra point attempts. The Cowboys don't seem to have much confidence in him and might start looking to bring in someone else to kick for them.
Saturday Aug. 24 the Dallas Cowboys (1-1) will be taking on their in-state rival Houston Texans (1-1) at home in AT&T stadium.This matchup should be compelling as it's the third preseason game and it is the one that most resembles a regular season contest. Almost all starters should play a good amount of time.
Currently, the line on this game is a pickem with the over/under at 40.5. Again, this is preseason and I will be staying away. If you absolutely have to play something, I would look to the over. The Texans are averaging 26 points this preseason while the Cowboys are averaging 11.5. If that stays true, score will be around 37.5. With all starters playing a little more than they have been, I would, think that one or maybe both teams might score a little more than their average. If you played last week, it was an easy under of 43.5.
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. In the batter’s box he has often looked befuddled. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
_____________________________________________
*Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!