The Dallas Cowboys will play their second preseason game of the season on Saturday night.
The Cowboys visit the Seattle Seahawks for a 9 p.m. CT kickoff.
As the Cowboys prepared on Thursday to leave their Oxnard, CA, camp for Seattle, special teams coordinator John Fassel praised return specialist KaVontae Turpin, even as rookie Deuce Vaughn tries to carve out a role on the team.
“I think Turp is the incumbent, for sure,” Fassel said. “We have a Pro Bowl returner in Turp. I think he’s become a much better punt catcher, even though I think he was very good at it before. He’s special, I envision him being even more special this year than he was last year.”
Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer analyzed how the Cowboys play to use running back Tony Pollard, now the team’s No.1 running back, this season.
“Can Tony be a really good short-yardage, goal-line runner? Absolutely,” Schottenheimer told reporters, Cowboys.com reported. “There’s a part of that that’s heart and desire as well. It’s not just him doing it himself, it’s the offensive line. There are certainly things that we can structure from a play type, gameplan, and things like that. I have no question that he can be efficient in that role for us. His explosiveness, his speed, his finishing skills, I think will make him a very good short yardage runner.”
In their preseason opener, the Seahawks defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 24-13, and will look to shore up their final rosters choices against the Cowboys.
“I would like to see us play really hard again,” coach Pete Carroll told Seahawks.com. “I was fired up about the efforts, and the lack of loafs that we count and add up. The effort from the first guys that played to the last guys that played was really consistent. We tackled a lot better as the game went on. I hope that we can start tackling well.”
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EXTRA POINTS
— Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said he’s excited about former teammate Ezekiel “Zeke” Elliott joining the New England Patriots. He said he talks with his friend every day.
“That’s a brother well beyond this football field,” Prescott told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “A guy that I came into this league with and was able to spend an amazing seven years with him. Just supporting him however I can personally and excited for his new opportunity up in New England. I know he’s going to help that team. You talk about being a great teammate, being just a professional, there’s not many better than Zeke that I’ve seen in my time.”
— Former University of Texas defensive lineman Moro Ojomo was carted off the field in Thursday’s preseason game with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles announced that he suffered a neck injury, which forced him to be stabilized on the field before being moved out on a stretcher. The Eagles and the Cleveland Browns played to an 18-18 tie.
— Texas running back Bijan Robinson is turning heads even before he starts his rookie season with the Atlanta Falcons. He told USA Today that he’s not worried about high expectations.
“Expectations for me, I don’t really look at them in a big way,” he told the newspaper. “I take everything one day at a time. And I know if I take everything one day at a time you know the end goals will, God willing, happen. But I think for me, I don’t really look ahead.”
— New York Jets running back Dalvin Cook said he signed with the team because of veteran quarterback Aaron Rogers, the former Green Bay Packers superstar who joined the Jets in the offseason.
“He doesn’t have to recruit; his game recruits itself,” Cook told ESPN. “Aaron is Aaron. If you don’t want to be part of something like that, I don’t know what you want in football.”
