Colin Cowherd on his radio show this morning calls the Cowboys "good, not great." He also has some negative things to say about the Dallas running game. Maybe he's right, but I'm a fan. Emotion plays a part in my Cowboys analysis. And that's the way it is.
The Cowboys got a much-needed win last night against the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football. The game headed to halftime with the Panthers up 7-0, but the Cowboys were the only ones to score in the second half and put the game away with about 5 minutes left when Terrence Newman returned an interception for a touchdown to give Dallas the two-touchdown lead.
WHAT I LIKED:
For the second consecutive game the Cowboys rushed for over 200 yards. Through Week 3 Dallas leads all teams in rushing and are averaging almost 7 yards per attempt. It should be noted that last night's 200+ yard performance was without their headliner, Marion Barber.
Tony Romo played smarter. Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett seemed to call this game better than last week's too, because he stuck with and relied on the run for the most part, and stopped putting Romo in situations that could lead to bad decisions and bad throws. Without a huge playmaking threat like T.O. at the receiver position the Cowboys have to understand their strengths, and going for home run deep passes six or eight times per game isn't it. It's running the ball, and using Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton, and Roy Williams to pick up first downs and getting into position to score.
The defense finally showed up. They got a couple of sacks on Jake Delhomme, they caused a fumble, and grabbed a couple of interceptions. After the first two weeks Dallas was the only team without a sack and a takeaway, and they finally changed that last night.
I also liked that they put away an inferior team. I feel like Dallas has a tendency to get into close games that come down to a final drive with teams that just shouldn't be hanging around. Last night, though it took them a little too long to do it, they put the nail in the coffin against Carolina.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Felix Jones came out of the game in the third quarter with a knee injury. It sounded pretty minor, but today he's getting an MRI to check it out. With Marion Barber already banged up, and Felix proving to be almost unstoppable, a significant injury would not be good for this quite promising rushing attack.
The Cowboys two-minute defense at the end of the first half was laughable. Jake Delhomme, of all people, marched his below-average team down the field and got a touchdown for the first points of the game right before halftime. It looked like the Cowboys put 11 guys on the field and told them, don't do anything, we don't want to get a penalty called on us.
Dallas's opening drive looked stellar, and then they got in the redzone and couldn't do anything... and then the always-reliable Nick Folk missed a 40-yard fieldgoal. That could cost you a win against good teams.
WHAT I DON'T UNDERSTAND:
On 2nd and goal from the Panthers 1, Garrett calls a low-percentage fade pass in the corner of the endzone to Roy Williams. Incomplete.
On 3rd and goal from the Panthers 1, Garrett calls the same play to tight-end Martellus Bennett. I think those were two of the dumbest play calls I've seen this season.
Why are the MNF announcers so bad at their jobs? As I watched the game last night I remembered why NBC's Sunday Night Football is my favorite football broadcast of the week. 1) You don't have to have cable to watch it. 2) The announcers are Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth -- two of the best. 3) Their in-studio counterparts at Football Night in America include some really great analysts and reporters like Tony Dungy, Bob Costas, Peter King, and Dan Patrick. 4) It's usually a better game!
INTERESTING FACTOID THAT MAY INTEREST ONLY ME:
(Yes, this little segment idea is stolen from Peter King's Monday Morning Quarterback column.) I think it was in the 3rd quarter when Flozell Adams was called for a false start. Adams is the NFL's most penalized player over the last few years (and I don't know the exact stats, but I would guess it's not close), and I was frustrated. I said, "Well, it's not really a Cowboys game until Flozell Adams has had a false start penalty called on him." About two seconds after I finished, one of the MNF crew (I think it was Ron Jaworski) said, "It's not really a Cowboys game until Flozell Adams gets penalized, is it?" I laughed.
I might have more to say later, but that's it for now! Your thoughts on the Cowboys win, or any other Week 3 game (including the phenomenal Vikings victory ending)?
3 comments:
I don't know if it is fair for me to comment as yours is the only commentary I read, however I always agree with everything you say in it. So I will continue to read it and agree with it and say GO COWBOYS. I'd like them to get it together a little earlier, but I'll take the win however I can get it.
From a purely selfish perspective I was major league peaved that they didn't let Choice pound in a TD on the 1 yard line. I had him in my line up for fantasy football and I lost by one point. Not his fault though, he had a great game. He is quickly rising to the top of my favorite running back list. I think he is 3 right now after AP and Barber. They run old school you know...like...run someone over first ask questions later.
Joel, I understand your "purely selfish perspective," but I also think that from a "don't you want to win the game?" perspective you HAVE to let him run it in in that situation. I can't figure out why Jason Garrett is getting paid so much money. Sometimes he misses BIG ones that 90% of the football-watching world could have gotten right, and at that level there's no excuse for that.
I like Choice a lot too. I just want all three Cowboys backs to be healthy at the same time when we get to November and December. There was a rumor I heard way back in the offseason about the Cowboys runningbacks being nicknamed Bash, Dash, and Tash. I like that. Without thinking during last night's game there was a time when I blurted out, "GO TASH!!" during one of Choice's runs. Then I chuckled to myself.
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