Update: Things to watch as Cowboys face Raiders; Mazi Smith does not travel to Vegas
Editor’s note: After this story was originally written and initially published, the Cowboys announced that Mazi Smith did not travel to Las Vegas for Saturday’s preseason game as he recovers from an allergic reaction that he experienced on Friday. It has been updated.
There are a litany of things to focus on as the Dallas Cowboys take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night in the teams’ second preseason game.
It is the Cowboys’ first visit to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas since the $1.9 billion facility opened in 2020 with Dallas owner Jerry Jones handling the marketing and the concessions through his company Legends Hospitality.
But what’s taking place on the field matters most for the Cowboys on this visit as they continue the evaluation of the roster and ramp up for start of the regular season.
Among the focus points are getting more snaps for quarterback Trey Lance, the preseason debut of running backs Deuce Vaughn and Royce Freeman and the play of rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton and of rookie center Cooper Beebe.
Vaughn missed the preseason opener with a hamstring injury. The Cowboys are giving him a look at slot receiver as well as running back in an attempt to help him find a role to justify keeping on the roster. He will also be involved in kick returns.
One of them was also supposed be some early snaps from second-year nose tackle Mazi Smith and his continued growth from being a disappointing first-round draft pick of a year ago to a player the Cowboys are counting on to key the middle of their run defense.
But Smith suffered an allergic reaction on Friday, causing the team to delay it’s departure from training camp in Oxnard, Calif., to Las Vegas.
Smith spent four hours in the hospital on Friday before being discharged. He stayed back at camp as the team traveled to Las Vegas.
The Cowboys left the door open for Smith possibly fly to Las Vegas Saturday morning and play against the Raiders.
They officially have officially ruled him out of the game as he continues recover from allergic reaction.
As of now there are no long term concerns about Smith availability for the season.
They continue to be encouraged about his growth through the first four weeks of camp.
That the Cowboys traded for veteran Jordan Phillips Wednesday night has no bearing on the expectations for Smith..
Phillips improves the depth at the position and he will work in concert with Smith, while also giving him a veteran sounding board.
“Yeah, I know all about Jordan Phillips,” Smith said. “He’s made a lot of plays. He’s a vet in this game and when you’re able to add that to the room, iron sharpens iron. That’s what you want. You want a room full of competition.
“You can learn something from somebody without saying anything or hearing anything they’re saying. [But] me and Jordan Phillips are gonna have conversations. Just watching how they go about their business. You see vets and players who’ve done this for 11 years, they’ve started in the NFL for [a long] time and that’s not an easy feat.”
Smith had a solid outing in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams and he said he wants to build on that against the Raiders.
“I like the player that I know I can become,” Smith said. “That’s the thing I like the most. I like the journey of getting there. It doesn’t happen overnight. I think I left a lot of plays out there, to be honest. I think that I’m talented enough to make any play that comes inside, and I’ve gotta get to that point where I’m doing that.”
Smith is getting more and more comfortable in the new scheme employed by defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.
It is similar to what he did in the college at Michigan who he blossomed into a first-round pick. And the Cowboys believe it will allow him to become the impact player they drafted him to be.
Smith is simply focused on stacking good days together.
“I try to keep my head down,” Smith said. “We’ve got real games to play and I want to make those plays in those games. Just keep my head down and keep working, and not really worry about feelings. It’s the next day, let’s do it again — let’s recreate it.”
There has been a lot of talking about the tough-love coaching he is getting from defensive line coach Jeff Zgonina. It’s embarrassing at times. But Smith knows it’s only aimed at making it better.
“Coach Z, he [does] his thing,” Smith said. “He’s talking at you, and he’s demanding things of you at the start of practice, during practice and at the end of practice. It’s all the same energy. You don’t really have a choice but to get better.”
“You try and expect that [consistent energy] from yourself, but we’re football players and we’re human too, so it can kinda get up-and-down; but when you’ve got somebody behind you who’s hold you accountable and making sure you’re both on the same page, that you’re both reaching for the same things, then things get a lot easier.”
He is embracing it and so is his mother.
“We play a tough sport. This ain’t Candy Land,” Smith said. “This stuff is real. Coach Z is old school. My mom said he looks and sounds like the type of coach that’s supposed to be coaching me. It’s all good. He’s a great energy. I wouldn’t trade it.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2024 at 12:24 PM.
