ÃÛÌÒTV

OC Adams on T.J. Bass at center

After getting some run at center in the preseason opener, Brian Schottenheimer and offensive coordinator Klayton Adams want to see T.J. Bass take more snaps there. Bass, who has primarily played at guard for the Cowboys in the last few seasons, was late on a few redzone snaps on Saturday, but it's all a part of the staff's push to get him to expand what he can do which gives him more job security, and the team another snapping option.

"The biggest thing is that he's done a really nice job at guard," Adams said. "We're all competing for jobs, and so we feel like we know that he gives us a pretty high level, or at least a very efficient player at guard, and where he lacks the most experience is at center. It behooves us to put him there and say 'Hey, you need to be able to do this,' because the more people you have that can snap the football on gameday, the less likely you are of a complete mess."

Still Special

Whatever C.J. Goodwin has for breakfast each morning is what everyone should indulge in, given the fact he continues to defy Father Time, and openly.

The 35-year-old defensive back and special teams ace is still very much the latter as he enters his tenth year in the NFL, to the point he's also taken to doing some drills with the wide receivers' group ahead of practices in Oxnard.

But when he popped off of the film in the preseason opener against the Rams on Saturday, it was all special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen could do to contain himself.

"He's a pro, and he's really good at what he does," Sorensen said of Goodwin. "He takes really good care of his body, he's a really good leader, but he also still produces. And you've gotta keep producing to stay in the league. He's consistently done that. He competes everyday and does right, and keeps producing." - Patrik Walker

Swiping, More Swiping

Toward the start of training camp, head coach Brian Schottenheimer made it clear he believes the Cowboys' defense under Matt Eberflus "could be one of the best in the league at taking the ball away", and things sure did begin manifesting quickly in that direction over the first several practices.

Against the Rams in the preseason opener, however, it didn't transfer over as much as Eberflus would've liked.

The lone takeaway belonged to cornerback Israel Mukuamu, who made an athletic play to intercept a deep pass down the seam from quarterback Stetson Bennett, but Eberflus expects more from his group as a whole.

"We need to keep hammering at the rock," he said. "We only got one takeaway, and that's not good enough for us. Let's keep hammering at it. And we had a couple of missed [opportunities]. The ball was right there. We've just got to work on catching the ball and doing a great job of seeing that in." - Patrik Walker

Sorensen on Liufau

Going into year two with the Cowboys, linebacker Marist Liufau has an opportunity to see the field more on the defensive side of the ball after putting together some good film towards the end of his rookie season. That said, he's also been standing out for special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen's unit, including starting off the first game of the preseason with a massive hit.

"With the snaps that he had, we're rotating a lot of guys, he did awesome," Sorensen said. "Started off the game with that big tackle, he beat his one-on-one and made a tackle on the 21, that's how we want to start games. He plays the right way, he played physical on every return unit that he was on. He was really good on punt return, and he just plays the right way. He's big, he can run, he has good instincts, and he's violent. He played well. - Tommy Yarrish

Eberflus' early impression on Donovan Ezeiruaku

Even though he only got 15 snaps in Saturday's preseason opener, rookie second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku has been making noise in Oxnard for the Cowboys. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus sees the talent lying within him, and now wants him to continue to get up to NFL speed and take things to the next level.

"Love his talent, love his work ethic. He's a grinder," Eberflus said. "When you get into that first game, a lot of times things start to speed up a little bit. Your technique isn't as good as it was in practice, and that's for all the rookies and all the young players. This is a great experience for him, and it's happened to the best of them." - Tommy Yarrish

By the Book

One of the most notable omissions from the Cowboys' gameday lineup in the preseason opener against the Los Angeles Rams was Tyler Booker.

Though it was expected players like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Tyler Smith, and the like, would not be permitted to take the field at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, it came as a bit of a surprise that the rookie first-round pick was also a healthy scratch.

On Monday, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams explained the thought process, and hasn't ruled Booker out of potentially (and likely?) taking the field against the Baltimore Ravens at AT&T Stadium.

"I think, in regards to Book, it's more about looking at those things week-to-week and how much contact he's had during that week. Obviously, during that week, we had a very long, physical practice with the Rams and their starting group. It's really more about workload during the week than anything else. We felt like that was the right decision to make for that week, and will assess if that's the right decision to make for this week." - Patrik Walker