Kevin Sherrington, sports columnist for SportsDayDFW.com and The Dallas Morning News, answered questions about the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks and local college sports during a live chat Wednesday. Here are some of the highlights:

Question: Is this Cowboys defense ready for the regular season? Or could we expect an offensive shootout?

Sherrington: The Cowboys will have to rely on their offense once again: run the ball, control the clock, keep the defense off the field. If they can do that again, they'll be successful. Because this defense isn't going to win any games for them. Maintenance is about all you can expect until they develop pass rushers and a secondary.

Question: What is your biggest key to who will win the DAL-NYG game now that we know [Ezekiel] Elliott will play?

Sherrington: He'll have to get better results than he has against the Giants so far. His first game was pretty dismal; the second, much better. I expect him to be more like the second. And I think the Cowboys will win. If the Cowboys needed a win against an NFC East rival, it's the Giants more than the Redskins. So the Cowboys caught a break on that, if he takes the six-game suspension starting next week.

Question: Even if the suspension stays at six, shouldn't it still be considered somewhat worth it if Zeke plays the NY game and has to miss the SF game instead?

Sherrington: Like I said earlier, he misses the Washington game instead of the NY game. That's a good trade.

Question: Think it was a good idea for Ben McAdoo saying "all backs run the same when there's nowhere to run" in an interview ahead of the Cowboys game? Textbook bulletin board material ...

Sherrington: I don't think that stuff works as well at the NFL level. Maybe with certain players who are more emotional than others.

Question: What on earth is holding up contract talks with Zack Martin, and how troublesome is it for the Cowboys to leave him hanging for a season?

Sherrington: The Cowboys are already paying a lot of money to Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick. They're going to end up spending a disproportionate amount of cap space to one area of the team. Now, it's a very good area, and the reason they're as good as they are. But eventually, they're going to have to pay someone on defense. So they're being very careful about this. But Martin will get his money. You could make the case that he's a better O-lineman than Smith.

-- Click or tap here to read the full chat transcript.