The former Notre Dame standout is proud of the memento.

Jaylon Smith makes himself presentable for the cameras http://www.thecowboysfootballauthentic.com/tyrone-crawford-jersey-authentic , then turns to his locker to grab one last thing before starting an interview: the neck pad given to him by hard-nosed defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli to acknowledge the Dallas linebacker's physical style of play. It still hangs loosely around his neck in front of reporters weeks after he got it, while Smith invariably gets another question about the painstaking recovery from a devastating left knee injury in his final college game.Smith is doing more than just playing again two years after owner and general manager Jerry Jones gambled early in the draft on a player considered a top prospect before the career-threatening injury.He has helped the defense surge into the top five while Sean Lee missed three games with a hamstring injury, when the opposite often happened in recent years during the oft-injured two-time Pro Bowler's absences. The Cowboys (3-3) visit Washington (3-2) on Sunday."It's just about doing my job and understanding the player that Jerry drafted," Smith said. "He believed in me. The Cowboys organization believed in me, that I would get back to this point of being a top-five pick. It's not a surprise to me. It's expected. It was just a matter of time."With Lee out, Smith has a key companion in rookie first-round pick Leighton Vander Esch, who leads the Cowboys with 60 tackles while Smith has 57. No other Dallas defender has more than 35.But the 2015 All-America at Notre Dame is the middle linebacker making most of the calls and displaying leadership skills that attracted the Cowboys to him in the first place, when Dallas and plenty of other teams were wondering if he could play again.A case in point is also one of Smith's signature plays this season. Before sprinting to the sideline to deliver a hard shoulder hit that stopped Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson on fourth down near the goal line, Smith told DeMarcus Lawrence, "I got you."That was Smith's way of turning Dallas' star pass rusher loose on Watson, and believing he could clean up the play wherever Watson decided to scramble."It's just the trust, the growth and my leadership and my respect on this team," Smith said. "People understanding that they can count on me and this team believes that."Smith probably wouldn't have done that during his inconsistent debut a year ago, when it was generally acknowledged by coach Jason Garrett and others that he was forced to play too much because of injuries at linebacker and struggled as a result.This season, Smith is no longer playing with a foot brace designed to help overcome the nerve damage associated with tearing a ligament in his knee during Notre Dame's 44-28 loss to Ohio State in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day 2016.Marinelli says Smith's change of direction and lateral movements are the biggest differences from last season."And he's more comfortable," Marinelli said. "Sometimes a guy can look a little bit slower Womens Joe Looney Jersey , or hesitant when you don't really know what you're doing. It's our job is to make the complex simple for them, the irregular regular so they can see it and play fast. It takes time to do that."Marinelli's schemes haven't been big on blitzing since he came to Dallas, but Smith's skills and the aggressive philosophy of new passing game coordinator Kris Richard have changed that.Smith is second to Lawrence with three sacks and has eight QB pressures — three more than the rest of the Dallas linebackers combined."He might be one of the better blitzing linebackers I've been around," Marinelli said. "He's physical. He's fast. He is playing lights out."Asked if the play on the goal line against Watson could be one of those definitive moments in Smith's development, Garrett shot back, "Which one?"That was Garrett's way of saying the Cowboys have seen plenty of big plays from Smith this season. Smith says the same thing. And it fits with Garrett's feeling that there was never one moment where he said to himself, "Jaylon Smith is back."The Cowboys knew more about Smith's injury than most because team physician Dr. Dan Cooper performed the surgery. Garrett has always stopped short of calling that the primary factor in their decision to draft him."We heard so many great things about him as a guy," Garrett said. "Anybody who has any chance of coming back from an injury like he had, it really started there, the kind of person he is. I think that's shown through here the last couple of years."It used to show behind the scenes at the Cowboys' facility. Now it's showing on the field.From fake punts to a field goal fest, here are five things to watch when the Cowboys host the Jaguars Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Dallas Cowboys offense, they now have to go against the best defense in the NFL. The Jacksonville Jaguars are laced with great defensive players. Everywhere you look, they have playmakers. Six of their eleven starters made the Pro Bowl last season - Jalen Ramsey (CB), A.J. Bouye (CB), Calais Campbell (DE), Malik Jackson (DT) Youth Kavon Frazier Jersey , Yannick Ngakoue (DE), and Telvin Smith (LB). The Cowboys offense has a huge challenge this week.Fortunately for Dallas, the Jaguars offense isn’t very good and the way the Cowboys are playing defense means they have a shot. It’s going to come down to which defense lets up first, and that could be all it takes to come away with a win. The Cowboys will have to scratch and claw if they want to beat the cats and get back to .500 for the year. Here are five things to watch on Sunday.1. Who wins on early downs?Both the Cowboys and Jaguars will try to keep their quarterback in manageable third-down situations. This means the running game will be an essential part of the offense. Both teams are solid against the run. The absence of Sean Lee does not appear to be hindering the Cowboys run defense as they are ranked fifth in the league, giving up 3.4 yards per rushing attempt. Both Jaylon Smith and rookie Leighton Vander Esch have looked sharp going sideline to sideline chasing down ball carriers.The Jaguars are ranked 13th, allowing 4.0 yards per attempt. They have a couple strong linebackers themselves in Telvin Smith and Myles Jack.The team that more effectively stops the run is going to have an edge in this one. Here is how each defense has looked against the opposing team’s top running back in each game so far:There is one running back that has played against both teams and that is New York Giants Saquon Barkley. While Dallas did a better job shutting him down as a rusher, Barkley still was quite effective as a receiver. The Jaguars are without their star running back Leonard Fournette as he’s been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury all season. Instead, the Jags will throw out T.J. Yeldon. He’s been giving them roughly 50 yards a game this year, but he’s also toppled over 45 yards receiving in each of the last three games. The Cowboys should be able to stop Yeldon when he’s rushing, but they’ll also need to keep him contained as a receiving back as well so they can get off the field.For Jacksonville, they will be tasked with stopping the NFL’s leading rusher, Ezekiel Elliott. With the Cowboys offense not exhibiting any threat of a passing attack, Elliott will be facing loaded boxes all game. The Houston Texans went all-in in stopping Zeke on Sunday night and it worked as he only mustered 54 yards on 20 carries. It was the second-lowest yards per attempt average of his career, with last year’s Denver debacle holding down the worst spot. The Jaguars have the no. 1 passing defense in the league, but their run defense isn’t as dominant. Even though the Jags will be ready for it, the Cowboys must find a way to get the ground game going.2. Which QB can take care of the ball the best?Both teams are going to try to keep things simple for their quarterback. A good running game will certainly help Youth Jaylon Smith Jersey , but look for both teams to attack with some quick, short passes. It’s not what we want to see, but this is how these teams operate.Dak Prescott just isn’t throwing the ball down the field. He’s more comfortable with short to intermediate passes where he can get the ball out before any sign of pressure shows up. Prescott’s had four picks on the year, but all of them have come off of deflections. That’s not to say he doesn’t make errant throws at times. He does. But he’s just not that reckless.Blake Bortles, on the other hand, can be absolutely dreadful at times. He has thrown seven picks on the year, including four last week against the Kansas City Chiefs.Bortles had five turnovers total and the Jags were routed by KC. The good news for him is that he’s doesn’t need to throw the ball 61 times like he did last week. There isn’t going to be a shootout in Texas. A clean, well-managed passing attack should be enough to get it done this week.The Cowboys defense got their first interception of the year last week against the Texans. There could be a duck floating around here and there if Bortles is off his game. If that happens, the defense must make sure they come away with the football.3. Watch out for a fake puntIn a game where points could be scarce, don’t be surprised if someone tries to steal a possession by means of a fake punt. The Cowboys have pulled this off in each of the last two seasons as punter Chris Jones has scampered off for big games against the Philadelphia Eagles (2016) and Oakland Raiders (2017). It was a risky move considering both times they were deep in their own territory. The offense had been struggling and the Cowboys saw an opportunity so they pounced.While the Cowboys are good with their fakes, the Jaguars take it to a whole new level. Special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis has a hat full of tricks and isn’t afraid to use them. Whether they run it, pass it, or even work in a jet sweep, the Jaguars will find creative ways to run a fake.And stealing a possession is not the only way their aggressive nature can help them in a game. Just the threat of a fake can make a big difference. After the Jags successfully executed a fake against the Colts last year, they also benefited by flipping the field later in the game as it set up the Jaguars ability to pin them deep.The Cowboys have benefited from this as well as Chris Jones threw a pass to Brice Butler in the game against the Atlanta Falcons last year. While Butler got called for offensive pass interference and the play was negated, Jones was able to pin the Falcons back at the two-yard line on the very next play.Whether it’s pinning a team inside the 10-yard line or something big like a fake that leads to points Womens Chidobe Awuzie Jersey , this type of play could be the difference maker.4. Kickers duelWith both teams struggling on offense and playing well on defense, this game has all the making of a low-scoring affair. It could turn into a chess match where field position looms large in determining the winner. Usually, when the Cowboys field goal unit trots on the field, it’s a sign of defeat as another drive stalls out. Nobody likes seeing that happen. But for this game, field goals might be a reason to celebrate as every point counts. The Jaguars boast one of the best red zone defenses in the league, only giving up a touchdown 33% of the time (ranked second). At the same time, their offense is one of the worst in converting as they are only successful 38% of the time (ranked 30th).The Cowboys are in a similar boat. The defense is strong in the red zone, only giving up touchdowns 41% of the time (ranked seventh), whereas their offense is terrible, only finding the end zone on 41% of the time (ranked 29th).Both teams also have great kickers. The Cowboys new 29-year-old rookie kicker is 11 for 12 so far this season. The Jags kicker is a perfect 8 for 8 on the year. Both kickers have knocked down their lone attempt from 50+ yards.Last week was a field goal fest as seven of the nine scores of the game were field goals. With the Jaguars having a better defense and worse offense than the Texans, this one could end up very similar.5. Reuniting with an old friendEveryone knows that Barry Church is now a member of this elite Jacksonville defense. He’ll be ready to make plays against his former team. While Church get his licks in, the Cowboys will need to exploit another former teammate - Jaguars right tackle Jeremy Parnell.Parnell spent his first four seasons in Dallas after going undrafted in 2011. He only started two games over his first three seasons in the league. Injuries to the Cowboys offensive line allowed Parnell to make five starts during his final season with the team. It was good enough to land a five-year, $32 deal with the Jaguars.Bortles was sacked five times last week as Dee Ford (who now leads the league in pressures) had his way with Parnell. Watch him go around Parnell (78) like he wasn’t even there.Parnell will now draw his former teammate, DeMarcus Lawrence, who is having a good year. The Cowboys defensive end is tied for fourth with pressures and can make a run for the top spot if he can dominate Parnell like Ford did.What will you be watching for on Sunday? Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys