It's a quick turnaround for the Dallas Cowboys who opened their preseason action Sunday night and now prepare to host an Oakland Raiders team looking to win its first game.
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The Dallas Cowboys have already got their feet wet in the 2010 NFL preseason and the Oakland Raiders will get their first taste on Thursday.
The Cowboys had very little trouble with the Cincinnati Bengals in the Hall of Fame game but this figures to be a stiffer test. The Raiders will want and need this game more than the Bengals did in Week 1.
Oakland Raiders at Dallas Cowboys
Thursday, Aug. 12, 9:00 p.m. ET
NFL Preseason Odds: Cowboys -3.5
Quarterback Rotations
The Cowboys quarterback rotation is pretty much set in stone (both for the exhibition and regular season). We got a good look at how they’ll rotate in the Hall of Fame Game, so expect more of the same save for the fact that starter, Tony Romo, may play a little bit more. Jon Kitna is entrenched as the backup and will probably see more than the seven pass attempts he had in the opener, but at the end of the game, it will be Stephen McGee and Matt Nichols mopping up.
The Raiders have a veteran group at quarterback with Jason Campbell leading the way and a potpourri of NFL starter-busts behind him. Campbell should see at least a couple of series, being a new starter on a new team, while Charlie Frye, Bruce Gradkowski and Kyle Boller will follow suit. Gradkowski and Frye are banged up and may not play, which is why the Raiders signed Colt Brenan this week and he would see some action if either miss the contest.
You have to give the edge to the Raiders here. Frye, Gradkowski and Boller have all had plenty of starts in the NFL, so they should thrive against the Cowboys second and third string defense.
Roster Competitions & Team Depth
The Cowboys roster is pretty much set, for the most part, but they have a couple of minor competitions. Kicker David Buehler was the star of the Hall of Fame Game, knocking through three close field goals. He isn’t really battling anyone specifically, but considering how poor the Cowboys place kicking situation has been in recent years he’s actually kicking against anybody the Cowboys could quickly sign off the street.
Aside from that, the Cowboys have a battle at left tackle, where Doug Free is leading Alex Barron and at free safety, where Alan Ball is leading Mike Hamlin. There really isn’t too much that is unsorted about this roster and competitions are at a minimum.
Meanwhile, the Raiders have plenty of players fighting for jobs. Running back is one of the biggest competitions on the team but Darren McFadden won’t play on Thursday, which hurts their depth. It also hurts his chances to start as Michael Bush gets more time to make an impression.
The best competition for the Raiders will be at quarterback. Campbell is the unquestioned starter but the latter three believe they can be backups. They are all fighting for their jobs and will play like it.
The Raiders have lots of competition across the roster. At wide receiver, it’s pretty much open season with last year’s first-round bust, Darrius Heyward-Bey trying to prove himself. With McFadden out, Rock Cartwright and Michael Bennett, who are competing for the No. 3 running back role, will see more action. Other competitions include battles along the defensive line (Desmond Bryant fighting for minutes) and cornerback (Stanford Routt versus Chris Johnson).
Motivation
It’s fairly clear that the Raiders want and need this game much more than Dallas. The Cowboys already have a preseason win and they already lost a tight end, John Phillips, for the season to an ACL injury. Granted, it’s a player that wasn’t expected to play a lot, it’s still a reminder to them: Go easy.
Meanwhile, Oakland has a lot of position on the roster that are still to be determined and they need these games to experiment and put the pieces of the puzzle together.
Outlook
The Raiders are a perfect 4-0 in their first preseason game over the last four seasons and we can expect them to extend that streak. They have the better rotation at quarterback and plenty of competition, which is a good recipe for success in the preseason.
NFL Preseason Betting Prediction: Raiders +3.5