ing a key role player There were some heroes in the Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Detroit Lions Authentic Antwaun Woods Jersey , players we are relying on to continue the winning against the Houston Texans. Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, DeMarcus Lawrence, Byron Jones, Jaylon Smith, Leighton Vander Esch, Krispy Kreme-loving Joe Looney and the rest of the offensive line - all have been praised, and deservedly so.But there was one other hero from that much-needed win who has not gotten the notice he should. That is tight end Geoff Swaim, whose role in the victory was a lot more significant than you probably think. As a matter of fact, he deserves a lot of credit for getting the Dallas offense out of neutral.Think back a moment. After a week heaping ashes on our heads, rending our garments, and gnashing our teeth over the lack of big offensive plays against the Seattle Seahawks, we were all starting to feel a little queasy after the first Cowboys possession went three-and-out when Ezekiel Elliott (who carried the ball on all three of those snaps) was uncharacteristically stuffed on 3rd and 1. Dallas needed something, anything, to get the offense rolling and create some confidence. Then, after the defense got off the field and Dallas had the ball on their own 10-yard line to start their second possession, this happened.Now, the text on that tweet is certainly not accurate. Swaim has a long way to go to show he has the craftiness at getting open and the sure-handedness that were hallmarks of Jason Witten.But he is certainly a better open field runner than Witten was in his last few seasons. That play was just what the Cowboys needed. It got them a nice chunk of yardage Youth Taco Charlton Jersey , gave a little nudge to the composure of the Detroit defense, and greatly improved the field position. In addition to there being a very nice run after the catch, Swaim was a wide-open target for Prescott. That is almost certainly due to a very nice play call and design from Scott Linehan.And of course, the Swaim Train wasn’t done for the day.It was a career day for Swaim. Although, that is not saying all that much. In addition to the 31-yard kickstart and the touchdown, he only had one other catch for seven yards (it was the first play of the final, game-winning drive, however). Swaim has only caught 11 passes total this season, and projects out to just over 400 yards and four scores on the season. Even as paltry as his numbers are so far, they still eclipse all he had done prior to 2018. One of the most cited stats during the offseason was that Swaim was the only tight end on the roster with any catches at all - a grand total of nine.But this isn’t about becoming a superstar or part of a new “triplets”. It is about whether Dallas has a functional tight end, something that is required to make their offense work. No one was sure of that before the season started. Now, to this point at least, the answer is starting to look like “yes”. Not everyone on an NFL team can be a superstar. The salary cap makes that impossible. Nor is there enough talent to go around in the league. What does work is to have a handful of those All-Pro and Pro-Bowl types, with a bunch of good, solid, working-class players to complement the roster. Players who go out, do their jobs, and don’t let the team down. What Swaim demonstrated against the Lions was that he can do the basics. He can be a cog in the machine that makes it all work better. And part of it all is the way he is used by Linehan. While the two plays you can watch above were different in many ways http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-leighton-vander-esch-jersey , they have one thing in common. In both, Swaim is wide, wide open. There are no defenders within yards of him. That allowed him to get going and make that very nice run in the first one, and on the touchdown, all he had to do was not drop the danged ball. This is not a testament to Swaim’s skill at running a route or getting away from a defender. Nope. This was pure scheme and play-calling. Both plays were in situations where the Lions were likely looking for the ball to go to Elliott, so Swaim was able to sneak out and find those vast spreads of green (or blue and silver in the end zone) to basically wait, unhindered, for the ball to get to him.So Swaim’s success going forward is going to be dependent on his OC, and also on the ball-handling and faking skills of his QB. The latter is not really doubted, as even in his bad stretches, Prescott has done well with play-action and such. And last Sunday, at least, Linehan was dialing up the good stuff.From a broader perspective, the win was also about building confidence on the offense, particularly among teammates. Swaim did his part by making the catches and the plays he needed to. He does not need to play like a future Hall of Famer. There are three or four players with that potential on the offense already. And he doesn’t need to put up huge numbers. While 400 yards may not be enough, 600-800 should get ‘er done, and three more touchdowns will suffice if Linehan can get some of those for the rest of his receiving corps. Swaim may never garner any post-season honors, but that in no way lessens his value to the team. What the Cowboys needed was someone who could do a good enough job at tight end to make things work. Last game Connor Williams Jersey , he showed us exactly that. If he can just keep it up, and maybe do a wee bit more, then he will be carrying his part of the load.Kind of like a freight train. Nothing glamorous or flashy, just getting the job done day after day. Cam Newton is welcoming the idea of sharing the spotlight in Carolina.Newton has been the focal point of the Panthers' offense for the past seven seasons, but that's about to change — at least to some degree.Sure, Newton will still be running the show and remain a dual-threat QB, but coach Ron Rivera has made it clear Christian McCaffrey will play a much larger role this season, saying that it would be "ideal" to get the second-year running back 25 to 30 touches per game.That's a lot.McCaffrey averaged less than half that amount of touches as a rookie and still managed 1,086 yards from scrimmage and seven total touchdowns, so there's potential for him to have a big season.Most of McCaffrey's production came as a receiver in 2017, where he set a franchise rookie record with 80 receptions and five TD catches. But after releasing all-time leading rusher Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers are eager to feature McCaffrey more in the running game — similar to how new Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner used LaDainian Tomlinson in San Diego."I could see Christian, especially if he continues to develop the way we think he can, being a very integral part of what we want to do," Rivera said.And it's all part of the overall design to take some of the pressure off Newton, who led the team in rushing as well as passing last season.One of the reasons Turner was brought in was to find new and creative ways to get McCaffrey the ball, particularly in open space where he's difficult to tackle because of his speed and shiftiness.McCaffrey has been featured extensively in the preseason, touching the ball 10 times for 51 yards on Carolina's opening 16-play drive against the New England Patriots in the third preseason game.Here are some other things to know about the Panthers:CAM AND NORVAs for Newton Authentic Joe Looney Jersey , all eyes will be on how well he adapts to Turner's offense.Newton worked in a similar scheme with Turner understudy Rob Chudzinski early in his career, so there is some familiarity there.But while Newton said he's "extremely comfortable" with Turner, players say this system is more intricate than what former offensive coordinator Mike Shula ran.Under Turner, Newton will be asked to look past his first and second options more often and take what the defense gives him, relying heavily on McCaffrey and new speedy receivers Jarius Wright, Torrey Smith and rookie D.J. Moore to make plays."That has to be my mentality," Newton said. "We have a lot of guys who can take 2 yards and turn it into 20 yards, or more. But it starts with me and I have to trust those guys and get the ball to them."SPREADING IT AROUNDRivera also wants to see Newton get back to doing the things that earned him the league MVP honor in 2015 and helped the Panthers reach the Super Bowl — spreading the ball around to his several different receivers.He certainly has the options to do that with the additions at wide receiver and tight end Greg Olsen."Norv gets guys a lot of different guys in a lot of different places," Wright said. "There are some quick throws here and there and he basically gives the quarterback places to go with the ball."REPLACING DAVISIt is Shaq Thompson time in Carolina.Thompson has been groomed for the past three seasons to take over for Thomas Davis at weakside linebacker. With Davis suspended four games to open the season for testing positive for a banned substance, Thompson gets his shot."Thomas is the leader of our room, he's the leader of this team," middle linebacker Luke Kuechly said. "We are going to miss having him around. Shaq will do an excellent job, but when Thomas gets back, he's going to be hungry and he's going to be fresh."ACTION JACKSONThe Panthers will be counting on second-round pick Donte Jackson to step in and start right away at cornerback.Jackson is not big, but he was one of the fastest players in college football last season. He still struggles at times taking the correct angle on tackles, but the Panthers love his swagger and playmaking ability.O-LINE INJURIESThree starters on the offensive line went down with knee injuries during the preseason leaving the Panthers in a potentially precarious situation. Rivera said he's not sure if 2017 All-Pro second-team right tackle Daryl Williams, left tackle Matt Kalil or left guard Amini Silatolu will be back on the field for Carolina's Sept. 9 regular-season opener against Dallas.