Couple of things I think I noticed vs Saints

[xwalker]

i thought they ruled a couple years ago a punt hitting up top is still a live ball

It's a dead-ball and requires a do-over if the punt hits the screen, by rule.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Just seen where Byrd is out for the year with a knee injury.

Anyway, that was a brilliant call to go to Dez for the TD, go get it if it's there. Need more ingenuity like that. Loved to see that.

I think once they got into Bailey's FG range, it became an easier decision to give Dez an opportunity at a TD against 1 on 1 coverage. They knew at worst, they would be up 3 scores with a Bailey FG, so you can afford to take a low-risk shot down the field.

 

[ConstantReboot]

i thought they ruled a couple years ago a punt hitting up top is still a live ball

No. If they know that it hits the screen they re-kick. Even the announcers mentioned it.

 

[xwalker]

I finally was able to watch the game on Wed night. Too busy to post yesterday. Maybe my memory is a little fuzzy but:

1) Cowboy WR, TE, and RB all took a big hit and held on. WR Williams took a pretty big hit on the opening drive TD catch. I was surprised he held on. TE Escobar took a big pop over the middle by LB Lofton (?) and held on. They showed a close up of Escobar and he looks like he added a lot of muscle in his upper body. Then, RB Dunbar took a wicked hit over the middle and amazingly held on. I don't think those three players would have completed those catches last year. Kudos to them for making the tough catch and setting the tone that this was our game and we were not going to be denied.
Dunbar got hit really hard and I was pleased that he held onto the ball. Williams got hit immediately after catching the ball which made that catch very impressive.

2) IIRC, after the Saints kicked a FG to make it 24-3, the Cowboys got the ball back and had a 3rd and 2. A handoff to Murray got 3 yds and a first. Just a year or two ago, we would have had problems running the ball on 3rd and short for a first. Romo later in the drive added a really nice scramble on 3rd and 5 and a little later the Cowboys were up 31-3.
Yes the execution is better and the play calls are less predictable.

3) It seemed like Saints Byrd was all over the field but didn't do a whole heck of a lot. I remember some people thinking the Saints were going to be dynamite after adding him and Champ Bailey. I don't recall S Vaccaro doing much other than sacking Romo on a blitz. Romo wisely just went down avoiding the hit. Vaccaro said before the game that he had a chip on his shoulder since the Cowboys didn't trade up for him. According to him, his agent called the Cowboys and told them NO was going to draft Vaccaro and they need to trade up now. Cowboys supposedly told his agent 'we don't trade up for safeties.' Do agents really know this stuff and make calls to other teams while the draft is going on?
Yes, one way that teams get info during the draft is directly from the players or agents; although, sometimes teams tell players that they're going to draft them with the expectation that the player or agent will tell another team. The Cowboys told Merriman that they would absolutely draft him if available, but they drafted Ware instead.

People should keep in mind when watching the Cowboys defense that when offenses execute well, that defenses are going to give up plays. Even top quality Safeties give up plays.

4) The holding call on Leary during Dunbar's nice run was really ticky-tack. But, can't really complain about the officiating since they missed an obvious lineman downfield call on us.
Yes, those 2 balanced out, but the Saint's OL was holding several times. Poor ole Ken Bishop seems to get held more than anybody. Even going back to training camp his own teammates were holding him often in the videos that were available. One of the Saints OLinemen had Bishop in a choke hold on one play which seems impossible for the official not to see. I guess maybe it's because he' shorter than the other DLinemen, but OLineman seem to use that choke hold on him at least once per game.

5) The game started to get a little sloppy after that with Harris getting a stupid 15 yd unsportsman call, the long Saints run where Carter got hurt.
The ST penalty on Harris was dumb and one of very few dumb plays by the Cowboys this season.