1.  Injuries:  The starters will play roughly 10 plays, one long series or two short series.  The speed of  a pre-season game if faster than practice.  Some players who are at the fringe of the roster may make extra effort to hit (or knock out) an opposing player.  The Cowboys wish to avoid injuries which may impact the start of the 2010 regular season.

2.  Redshirt class:  The draft class of 2009 suffered a ton of season ending injuries.  Both Brandon and Jason Williams are fully healthy as well as Robert Brewster.  This will be a first chance at a first impression for the 2009 draft class.

3.  Safety: Owusu-Ansah has reportedly been a model student and in his first live practices has avoided all mental mistakes.  Owusu-Ansah has impressive 4.3 forty speed and size, 210 lbs.  If he has a grasp on the mental aspect along with physical skills, as a rookie he may supplant Alan Ball or Mike Hamlin as a starter.  While Owusu-Ansah will not play in this game, he certainly has made an impression.  Certainly the play of both Ball and Hamlin will be heavily scrutinized.

4.  Choice’s playing time:  If Marion Baber is 1A, Felix Jones 1B, Tashard Choice certainly has to be 1C.  Choice has demonstrated the vision, speed, and agility to be a full-time starter.  If both Barber and Jones only play the initial series or two, the question is how much time will Choice spend in the game.  If it is too long, he will risk both injury and physical fatigue for games that do not matter.

Let’s hope for an uneventful game.