5 Cowboys who will miss cancelled preseason games the most

DE, Aldon Smith

In any sport, playing in the game is completely different than training or practice. For defensive end Aldon Smith, he needs to make up for missing four seasons of football.

When he was an active player, Smith’s production was great. Now it is up to him to pick up from where he left off.

Part of that is being physically in shape and ready to work harder than he did before. It’s great to hear that head coach Mike McCarthy described Smith as “bigger and stronger” now than he was back in 2015.

If that’s true, and not just a bluff, well then he is more than physically ready to return. The next step would be to have his head back into football mode and being in tune with the plays Dallas will be running. This is hopefully something that he is keeping up with during the virtual offseason.

The final piece to the puzzle is going out there and doing what you have been studying and working out for. The preseason is a great time for this because you can go out and try different things and getting into the groove without worrying about losing.

If the entire preseason is canceled, then Smith will not get the opportunity to get back into the feel of the game without a ton of pressure. He will already need to be playing at the top of his game. If he isn’t then there are some guys waiting for an opportunity.

He doesn’t need to be getting 19.5 sacks as he did back in 2012 when he was a first-team All-Pro, but he should be a noticeable force along the defensive line. Working opposite to defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence should open things up for him, and hopefully vise versa.