It was good to see the Cowboys back on the field, but there is still a lot of work to do!

The time finally arrived last night. It was a long wait, but we finally got to see the Cowboys play their first preseason game of 2012. So what can someone really take out of the first preseason game? It was a game that many starters didn't play in and many of those who did play won't even make the team come the final cuts. So, do we go crazy that the offense couldn't do anything or that the defense gave up some big plays early? Is it a big concern that the Cowboys had 12 penalties for 91 yards?

What we did see was an offensive line that was, well...offensive. There were no signs of a running game and all four quarterbacks were under pressure. The offensive line is by far the number one priority for the Cowboys and it needs to be straightened out before the start of the season. There are lot of injuries to the offensive line and because of that there is no chemistry. But again, this was the first preseason game so I wouldn't go into panic mode just yet. I did see plenty of times where Doug Free and David Arkin were beat at the snap of the ball. Will the Cowboys continue to look for a veteran center this week? Conflicting reports say that former Cowboys center Andre Gurode may be coming in for a workout. What is certain is that offensive line coach Bill Callahan has his work cut out for him.

A few players who stood out were new starting safety Barry Church and third receiver hopeful Andre Holmes. Church seemed to be around the ball a lot and also showed some speed as he closed in on plays. Holmes caught 3 passes for 40 yards and looked good as he used his height to grab a few passes.

I refuse to go crazy after the first preseason game. I understand that many things did not look good against the Raiders, but there is time to get the injured players healthy and back on the field. Over the years I have put less importance on winning preseason games. I look more at the players and the execution as a team. I understand that offense; defense and special teams did not play well for the most part, but let's see if there is any improvement going into the next few games. In the end the Cowboys did beat the Raiders 3-0, which is always nice, but the team has a long way to go before the start of the season.

With the Cowboys dealing with so many injuries is it too soon to talk about the 53 man roster?

As the Cowboys move on with training camp 2012, they are preparing for their first preseason game against the Raiders next Monday night. The injury bug has hit the Cowboys hard since training camp opened to the staggering amount of 18 players. Some of the injured players are day to day while others could be out a few weeks. Since it's so early in training camp there is no need to panic at this point. Hopefully these players can recover quickly and get back out on the field.

As of right now here are the Cowboys injured players per the Dallas Morning News.

CB; Mike Jenkins; Shoulder; Placed on PUP list
G/C; Kevin Kowalski; Ankle; Placed on PUP list
S; Matt Johnson; Hamstring; Day-to-day
NT; Jay Ratliff; Foot; Out indefinitely
OLB; Anthony Spencer; Hamstring; Day-to-day
G; Nate Livings; Hamstring; Out indefinitely
DE; Jason Hatcher; Groin; Day-to-day
RB; Lance Dunbar; Hamstring; Day-to-day
DE; Marcus Spears; Concussion; Day-to-day
TE; John Phillips; Ankle; Day-to-day
CB; Morris Claiborne; Knee; About one week
WR; Saalim Hakim; Finger; One to two weeks
RB; Phillip Tanner; Hand; Out indefinitely
CB; Teddy Williams; Concussion; Day-to-day
WR; Miles Austin; Hamstring; About one week
G/C; Bill Nagy; Ankle; Out at least two weeks
G; Mackenzy Bernadeau; Hip, Knee; Out indefinitely
WR; Danny Coale; Foot; Expected to return this week

With so many injuries it gives other players a chance to show their stuff to the coaching staff in hopes of making the team. I was able to watch the entire Blue-White scrimmage from Sunday, even though it was hard to see some of the plays due to bad camera angles. I saw some good things from certain players like Rudy Carpenter, Ronald Leary, Orie Lemon and Mario Butler.

The Cowboys released safety Brodney Pool on Monday, which means that Barry Church has done enough for the coaching staff to think he can be a quality starting safety for them. It also didn't help that Pool came into camp and failed his conditioning test. It was also reported last night that Mike Jenkins was not cleared to practice by Dr. James Andrews who performed his shoulder surgery. Depending on how things go the rest of the month, Jenkins could end up missing the first six games of the season.

Looking over the current Cowboys roster I tried to do what I do every year and pick the final 53 players. Keep in mind that I'm never right and I just do it for fun. Jenkins injury will play a big part in the selection of backup cornerbacks. Also, out of every position I think the wide receivers are the hardest to select outside of Austin and Bryant. Like last year I don't believe the Cowboys third receiver is currently on the roster.

The X denotes the starters.

Quarterbacks
1.       Tony Romo, X 

2.       Kyle Orton

3.       Rudy Carpenter

Running Backs
1.       DeMarco Murray, X

2.       Felix Jones

3.       Phillip Tanner

Fullback

1.       Lawrence Vickers. X

Tight Ends

1.       Jason Witten, X

2.       John Phillips

3.       James Hanna

Wide Receivers

1.       Miles Austin, X

2.       Dez Bryant, X

3.       Kevin Olgetree

4.       Raymond Radway

5.       Cole Beasley

Guards

1.       Ronald Leary, X

2.       Nate Livings, X

3.       Bill Nagy

4.       Derrick Dockery

Tackles

1.       Tyron Smith, X

2.       Doug Free, X

3.       Jermey Parnell

4.       Pat McQuistan

Centers

1.       Makenzy Bernadeau, X

2.       Phil Costa

Defensive Ends

1.       Jason Hatcher, X

2.       Sean Lissemore, X

3.       Tyrone Crawford

4.       Marcus Spears

5.       Clifton Geathers

Defensive Tackles

1.       Jay Ratliff, X

2.       Josh Brent

Outside Linebackers

1.       DeMarcus Ware, X

2.       Anthony Spencer, X

3.       Victor Butler

4.       Kyle Wilber

5.       Alex Albright

Inside Linebackers

1.       Sean Lee, X

2.       Dan Connor, X

3.       Bruce Carter

4.       Orie Lemon

Safeties

1.       Gerald Sensabaugh, X

2.       Barry Church, X

3.       Matt Johnson

4.       Danny McCray

Cornerbacks

1.       Morris Claiborne, X

2.       Brandon Carr, X

3.       Mike Jenkins

4.       Orlando Scandrick

5.       Mario Butler

Long Snapper

1.       LP LaDouceur

Punter
1.       Chris Jones

Kicker

1.       Dan Bailey