What are you looking for in tonight's game?

I'll be keeping an eye mostly on defensive play. The other positions are important too, and I'd like to see us sustain drives on offense, and put up some points. Dan Bailey is a great kicker, and worth the money, but we shouldn't end as many drives with field goals as we do.

I wouldn't mind seeing some shots down the field, either. I want to see how the run game and QBs look, too. I think the O-Line will be OK.

Things I'm looking for:

1. Whether Romo moves the starters down the field for a TD on the opening drive. I can't see him getting much more than 2 series, so it's important for them to score when he's in the game, like the Cowboys of the '90s did--get on the field, score, get off and let the backups prove their worth.

2. Whether Prescott can repeat his performance from last week, or if that was just a false flag based on facing vanilla defenses. I'm also curious to watch him run the huddle. He seemed in command last week, and that may well be a sign of extraordinary confidence and field presence. I want to see more of that.

3. Sacks by the DL.

4. Takeaways by our starters.

5. The WR corps showing some signs of development and improvement from last week. We have Dez, and I have no confidence in anyone behind him. I've been waiting 3 years for Devin Street to show something, so it's time for him to make a move. I need to see some evidence that all this fuss over Andy Jones actually means something in the games. And I want to see Terrence Williams show that he's actually a reasonable #2 for this season and beyond.

6. Geoff Swaim shaking off last week's drops and prove why he's worth keeping over Escobar.

7. No injuries.

8. Whether Mark Nzechoa can build on last week's performance and show that he belongs in the LB rotation.

9. Whether Chaz Green can wake up and realize he's playing in the pros.

10. More success with the screen pass--perhaps my favorite play in pro football.

11. Overall, a better sense of what this team is going to look like in 3 weeks: who are the solid keepers, who will survive the bubble, and which young guys will catch the coaches' eyes and make a case for replacing a veteran/starter. There should be very few positions that are already decided, and the bottom 40% of the roster should be in play if the Cowboys did their job in the draft over the past 3 years.

1) Come out of the game HEALTHY!

2) Looking for push from the DL, play of young LB's (Wilson & Nzeocha), CB's being active.  Morris is interesting player to keep an eye on.  Always around the ball, nice ST player too. Anthony Brown is my pet cat at CB, might not play tonight w/injury. Olatoya to round out the back end. Preseason is about the finding a few new starters and depth particularly on D.  Solid depth, guys who can make plays not merely stand in position on the field.

3) Chaz Green, he looked like a turnstile against Seau last week. He wasn't bad, he was awful after the first quarter.  Appears slow out of his stance and against the elite rushers it would have been a track meet.

4) Dak, I expect a rookie like game.  He has a long way to go with his development.  I'm not expecting another 150 QBR game, but a nice game would be a plus. I don't want them getting desperate for a back up until after cuts are made and maybe someone that doesn't completely suck, hits the streets.

5) I want to see more of Darious Jackson.  Can put that foot down and go, that was great to see.  He can gain 10 yards in the blink of an eye.  I'm hoping he shows out on screen passes.  Think he's being looked at to replace Dunbar and be the running mate with EE going forward.  Morris is solid, stays healthy and is better suited for the zone running scheme we prefer.  McFadden gained 3.4 ypc in zone, 5.7 in man on man blocking.  2/3's of his runs were in zone, which is team preference, so he's not an ideal fit.  My hope is EE, Morris & Jackson on 53.

6) Can we snag another TO or two? Build some confidence with turnovers.

7) Getting the rust off of Romo & Dez.  Granted Dez looked great last week. Want to see Brice work with Romo too.  Like to see Lucky go vertical and allow his speed to be used as a weapon or at least a deep crossing route. Andy Jones has looked good in camp, poor in last weeks game, but his lack of speed is a concern to me. He needs to play clean tonight for any shot at the 53.  Street has shown nothing in his years here and I'd be shocked if he made the 53.