Dallas Cowboys News: Winning in Preseason Has a Price

Dallas Cowboys fans are betting that their team can go all the way to winning Super Bowl XLV this season, and to prove their point the team is doing what it can to win any game it plays. But the Cowboys have learned that betting on NFL preseason games is not a wise choice, and their aggressive stance towards the recent Hall of Fame game has had a significant impact on the Cowboys season.

The Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals 16-7 in the opening preseason game of the year in Canton, Ohio. But the Cowboys lost one of their starting tight ends for the season in the process. Second-year tight end John Phillips tore his ACL in the Hall of Fame game, and now he is out for the season. The NCAA football betting world was familiar with Phillips and he could have contributed to the Cowboys run to the Super Bowl this season.

As if that was not bad enough, both of the replacement tight ends that came in after Phillips in the Hall of Fame game were also injured. Kevin Brock sprained his ankle, and Scott Sicko left the game with a concussion. Both players are expected to miss the rest of the preseason and may be doubtful for NFL week 1 betting as well.

The Cowboys are looking to bring in more tight ends to help the team finish the preseason, and to find a replacement for Phillips when the bell rings on week 1. The only healthy tight end on the Cowboys roster right now is starter Jason Witten. The second string tight end Martellus Bennett is also down with a sprained ankle.

Also on the Dallas Cowboys injury front is the injury of starting defensive end Marcus Spears. Spears sprained his knee and he is expected to be out four to six weeks. That means he will miss the rest of the preseason and he is doubtful to start in the first game of the regular season as well.

Dallas Cowboys running back, and key member of the Dallas Super Bowl teams of the 1990’s, Emmitt Smith was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame over the weekend. Smith holds the current record for most rushing yards in a career, and he was inducted with the wide receiver who holds the career receiving yardage record, Jerry Rice.

The Cowboys are treating their training camp like a traveling circus this season as they are splitting time between three locations. The team will practice in Oxnard, California, their facility in Valley Ranch, Arlington, Texas and San Antonio, Texas in the course of just under two weeks. Included in that schedule will be their second preseason game as well. The training staff is keeping the team organized and making sure everything gets where it needs to go, but it will be interesting to see if the whirlwind approach to a mobile training camp will have a negative effect on the team when the season starts.