ddh33
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Well, that was pretty ugly. I think the Texans game-planned the Cowboys though. Don't they know that is an unwritten rule in the game? 
In all seriousness, I know that this game was supposed to be the "walk through", but it sure didn't feel that way. The team looked flat, and it showed. Needless to say, there will be plenty of things for the coaches and team to look at and improve upon.
I thought the road bothered the team. Maybe that's just me though. I wondered if a lot of the penalties and mental mistakes could be traced back to that. For that reason, I thought this game was good for the team.
Anyone else feel a little weird watching the Texans sort of act like this was a big game? Don't get me wrong, they brought a lot more energy to the game than Dallas did, and it showed. Still, you kind of felt like this one was a preseason game to one team and a big deal to the other.
Here's some good news though. Ultimately, the Cowboys managed to climb out of their early hole, and despite the worst play we have seen of this current team, they were back into the game when the starters finally did leave.
I didn't think Romo played well tonight. Sometimes it looks like he's aiming the ball instead of throwing it. Not many people talk about it, but he's still a guy learning. Sometimes he looks more like a guy trying not to mistake. Sometimes he looks like a gunslinger. He's already good - with room to improve - and I think he's going to get plenty better.
Are people coming around on Brad Johnson yet? I think he's a solid backup QB.
I thought the O-Line was poor tonight. It looked like Houston was doing a lot of moving, and I thought they were trying to really attack Dallas. Nothing wrong with that. The Cowboys just didn't handle it well. They committed some penalties, which we hadn't seen until now. And I thought the two tackles struggled more. That may be more rust, but that's why you have pre-season.
The running game didn't do a whole lot. Obviously, you can trace a lot of that back to the O-line play. Things seemed pretty clogged up all night. More importantly, Julius Jones left the game favoring his ankle (?). Hopefully he's okay.
The receivers didn't blow me away with the exception of Sam Hurd. I thought he had a very nice night. He's certainly your number four receiver, and no one is threatening at the moment.
Tony Curtis, you just made this team - unless you screw it up.
The D-line got abused for big portions of the game. The Texans ran right at them all night, and the defense didn't do much about it. It was good to see Jason Hatcher back. I think he's got a chance to have a nice season.
Demarcus Ware is an absolute beast. He chased down Ahman Green. He covered. He rushed the QB. Unfortunately, he still doesn't have much help on the opposite side. Spencer got a nice lick in on the QB once, but he seemed quiet again. Carpenter was too. Bradie James seemed solid though. Kevin Burnett had a sack early in the game. Not long after he left with an injured ankle. He needs to be alright. A lot of fans have been wanting to move linebackers and trade them away. Suddenly, I'm wanting some more LBs.
The corners on this team officially scare me. I haven't worried about it as much as other fans until now. I know that your fourth corner is always one play away from being needed to help shut down your opponent. I guess things change though when the corner you need to replace is Terence Newman...No one stood out to me in a positive way tonight. The guys who stood out most were Joey Thomas for completely wiffing on the TE, and Jacque Reeves for being beaten repeatedly. Also, the whole group of DBs and defense seemed to have no idea what to do about those short slants that kept killing them. Playing 8-10 yards probably isn't the solution though. Like I said, there will be plenty of coaching to do. That's why you have these games.
Abe Elam flashed tonight. I thought he played his tail off.
Martin Gramatica might have kicked himself right off the team. When you've got a rookie right on your heels, you can't afford to go missing any kicks. Folk hasn't. Martin has.
Special teams coverages need some work too after that Jacoby Jones 91 yard punt return.
Like I said, this is why you play these pre-season games. Maybe the Cowboys decided this wouldn't be the walk through game after all? Maybe they read too many press clippings? Maybe they just didn't care as much about this one as Houston did. For whatever reason, the team was out-played. This should get everyone's attention, and there's still plenty of time to get things right.
In all seriousness, I know that this game was supposed to be the "walk through", but it sure didn't feel that way. The team looked flat, and it showed. Needless to say, there will be plenty of things for the coaches and team to look at and improve upon.
I thought the road bothered the team. Maybe that's just me though. I wondered if a lot of the penalties and mental mistakes could be traced back to that. For that reason, I thought this game was good for the team.
Anyone else feel a little weird watching the Texans sort of act like this was a big game? Don't get me wrong, they brought a lot more energy to the game than Dallas did, and it showed. Still, you kind of felt like this one was a preseason game to one team and a big deal to the other.
Here's some good news though. Ultimately, the Cowboys managed to climb out of their early hole, and despite the worst play we have seen of this current team, they were back into the game when the starters finally did leave.
I didn't think Romo played well tonight. Sometimes it looks like he's aiming the ball instead of throwing it. Not many people talk about it, but he's still a guy learning. Sometimes he looks more like a guy trying not to mistake. Sometimes he looks like a gunslinger. He's already good - with room to improve - and I think he's going to get plenty better.
Are people coming around on Brad Johnson yet? I think he's a solid backup QB.
I thought the O-Line was poor tonight. It looked like Houston was doing a lot of moving, and I thought they were trying to really attack Dallas. Nothing wrong with that. The Cowboys just didn't handle it well. They committed some penalties, which we hadn't seen until now. And I thought the two tackles struggled more. That may be more rust, but that's why you have pre-season.
The running game didn't do a whole lot. Obviously, you can trace a lot of that back to the O-line play. Things seemed pretty clogged up all night. More importantly, Julius Jones left the game favoring his ankle (?). Hopefully he's okay.
The receivers didn't blow me away with the exception of Sam Hurd. I thought he had a very nice night. He's certainly your number four receiver, and no one is threatening at the moment.
Tony Curtis, you just made this team - unless you screw it up.
The D-line got abused for big portions of the game. The Texans ran right at them all night, and the defense didn't do much about it. It was good to see Jason Hatcher back. I think he's got a chance to have a nice season.
Demarcus Ware is an absolute beast. He chased down Ahman Green. He covered. He rushed the QB. Unfortunately, he still doesn't have much help on the opposite side. Spencer got a nice lick in on the QB once, but he seemed quiet again. Carpenter was too. Bradie James seemed solid though. Kevin Burnett had a sack early in the game. Not long after he left with an injured ankle. He needs to be alright. A lot of fans have been wanting to move linebackers and trade them away. Suddenly, I'm wanting some more LBs.
The corners on this team officially scare me. I haven't worried about it as much as other fans until now. I know that your fourth corner is always one play away from being needed to help shut down your opponent. I guess things change though when the corner you need to replace is Terence Newman...No one stood out to me in a positive way tonight. The guys who stood out most were Joey Thomas for completely wiffing on the TE, and Jacque Reeves for being beaten repeatedly. Also, the whole group of DBs and defense seemed to have no idea what to do about those short slants that kept killing them. Playing 8-10 yards probably isn't the solution though. Like I said, there will be plenty of coaching to do. That's why you have these games.
Abe Elam flashed tonight. I thought he played his tail off.
Martin Gramatica might have kicked himself right off the team. When you've got a rookie right on your heels, you can't afford to go missing any kicks. Folk hasn't. Martin has.
Special teams coverages need some work too after that Jacoby Jones 91 yard punt return.
Like I said, this is why you play these pre-season games. Maybe the Cowboys decided this wouldn't be the walk through game after all? Maybe they read too many press clippings? Maybe they just didn't care as much about this one as Houston did. For whatever reason, the team was out-played. This should get everyone's attention, and there's still plenty of time to get things right.
