Scout’s Eye: A Lot To Like From The Offense

It still amazes me how well Dak Prescott throws the ball going to his left. Prescott told me one time in a "Tale of the Tape" segment that the key to getting an accurate pass off moving to your left is to get the shoulders square. Prescott's shoulders were square to the line, but what's most impressive about these throws is the power that he is able to generate to get the ball to the receiver. He threw a rocket with some accuracy to Michael Gallup with a defender hanging on his back. Prescott makes these throws daily with confidence and ease.

Great effort by Taco Charlton to win off the snap for his first sack of the game. The Texans tried to double-team him with Jordan Thomas and Julien Davenport, but Charlton kept active and was able to capture the corner. Once Watson attempted to slide out of the pocket, Charlton was right there to run him down. Watson made the mistake of exposing the ball, and like all those drills they run in practice, Charlton was able to hammer the ball lose. Charlton was also able to get to his feet and make the recovery.

Nice example of Kellen Moore creating space with his receivers in order to get Marcus Lucas up the field for Cooper Rush. Moore got the offense into 11 personnel and flexed Lucas to the slot. On the opposite side, he ran Cedrick Wilson from the slot on an out route with Devin Smith running the vertical. The combination drew four defenders to that side, which put Lucas on a wide safety with plenty of room inside. Rush delivered a perfect ball in the hole before the defenders had a chance to react.

I would be surprised if Jalen Jelks makes the final roster, but he sure has improved from game to game this preseason. His pass rush technique has improved to the point where he is able to free himself with more consistency and he's not getting hung up on blocks as much. Of those young guys along the defensive line, he's the one that does the best job of playing with his hands and it's not even close.

To be able to pull off big chunk pass plays, you have to have outstanding protection up front. Cooper rush was able to get that from Connor Williams, Travis Frederick and Xavier Su'a-Filo. Rush had plenty of time to locate Tavon Austin crossing the field. As a matter of fact, Rush had so much time that he never moved from the spot where he took the snap. He stood right in the middle of the pocket and made a comfortable throw to Austin on the move.

Joe Thomas was one stride away from having an interception for a touchdown to go along with his blocked punt. Thomas undercut the route Jordan Thomas ran and had both hands on the ball -- which is a drill he's done a million times, but he just couldn't come up with it. It was a shame that he didn't because he had nothing but empty field in front of him.

Really nice patience by Tony Pollard to pop that 20-yard run in the first half. He waited for Xavier Su'a-Filo and Travis Frederick to secure their blocks. Then La'el Collins was able to wall off his man, and the crease opened up for him as he exploded into the secondary untouched. Pollard even received a pancake block from Randall Cobb as he put Briean Boddy-Calhoun on his back.

The coaches will tell you Donovan Wilson is a smart guy and he picks things up quickly. Wilson has the traits of a good safety. Not only has he played with those smarts, he's also shown the ability to cover a lot of ground. His interception of Joe Webb was a great example of that. Webb thought he had a hole to throw the ball to Chad Hansen, but that wasn't the case. Wilson was playing two-deep and dropped wide, making sure he'd arrive to Hansen just as the ball got there. It was an interception that was pulled off without much space. Wilson had to secure the ball and get both feet down all at the same time, which he made look easier than it was.

Tremendous courage and awareness by Alfred Morris to pick up Carlos Watkins to keep Cooper Rush upright. Cam Fleming passed Watkins, who is a defensive end, to Xavier Su'a-Filo -- but he was locked up with Joe Looney on a double team. Watkins appeared so fast that Morris didn't even carry out his play fake. He went straight to Watkins and was able to drive him past Rush, who then was able to step up and deliver a strike to Devin Smith on the crossing route.

Good awareness by Joe Jackson to get the defense off the field on third down. The Texans ran a screen to his side of the field, and Jackson was ready for it. Not only did he hold up Julien Davenport from getting out to throw a block, he played off him and chased the speedy DeAndre Carter down in open space and brought him down with one hand. If Jackson doesn't make that tackle, there is a good chance that ball is going to advance further up the field before a Cowboys defender was going to make a play.

Nice design by Kellen Moore to create an edge for Jordan Chunn to get into the flat without a defender in coverage. Moore started the offense in trips formation to the right and motioned Jon'Vea Johnson back to the left, which left Codey McElroy and Cedrick Wilson on the outside. At the snap, Wilson went vertical and McElroy slammed down to the inside. As Mike White rolled to his right, Chunn was already in the flat waiting on the ball. All White had to do was dump it to him and it was a walk into the end zone.

I told you to keep an eye on where Devin Smith and Cedrick Wilson lined up on special teams, so here is the breakdown from the game. Smith lined up at L1 on the kickoff team, left flyer on the punt team and left flyer blocker on the punt return. Wilson lined up at R4 on the kickoff team, right flyer on the punt team and deep man on the punt return. I thought Smith was more physical as a cover man and he received an extra rep as a flyer. Where Wilson did his damage was as a returner. He had a big run around the corner and had a chance for another one if he had kept his balance. I still think it's a neck-and-neck situation if they only decide to keep one of them at receiver. Really hard to call.