danielofthesaints
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There is a reason why our five captains are Witten, Lee, Church, Bailey, and my man, Tony "Field General 2.0" Romo. With the loss of Dez for practically 2.5 quarters of the game, the Cowboys–led by the resilience of Romo, Witten, and the bend-but-don't-break defense–overcame costly mistakes to steal the game back after they handed it to the Giants on a silver platter. Indian givers much? However, I will admit that the Giants came to play, which is never a surprise to me when it comes to a division game under the lights of primetime football. It's obvious that their injuries have set them back quite a bit early this year, but I was impressed by how the Giants interior line of the offense held up for the most part of the game. With that said, I'll end this little spiel by highlighting the four stars of the game (even though this was more of a team win).
#1-Sean Lee: As the leader of our defense, Lee returned to his expected form today and it is special to watch. Something that is not noticed by many is his pre-snap alignments and his responsibilty to make sure the entire defense is in proper position before the snap. Second, his spidey sense and first-step is something imperative for a weak-side backer to have. This was evident when the Giants ran a misdirection run play to the right where the OL blocked towards the right, the RB made an initial move to the right, and then turned left and headed down field. On the opposite side of the ball, Lee seemed to sense the misdirection at the snap and headed straight to the right, meeting their RB head on for what I believe was a tackle for a loss.
#2-Morris Claiborne: "The Cowboys have traded up from the 14th pick to the 6th pick. With the 6th pick in the 2012 draft, the Cowboys select Morris Claiborne, DB, LSU." Cue the elation from Cowboy fans everywhere thinking this guy was the next Revis. However, in reality, his past two seasons have been worthy of a 6th or 7th round draft pick. Tonight, I saw the first indication that he is ready to meet his value. Morris was practically shutdown all night long and more importantly, he wasn't caught staring at the back of a WR as they ran in for the TD. With Scandrick out for the season, I hope to see more of this from #24.
#3-Lance Dunbar: It seems like Dunbar has had some dirt on Jerry Jones from the time he's been here because he's held that #3 RB spot year over year without much production to show for it. Finally, Linehan has found out how to use Dunbar in this offense. Maybe he was underutilized or maybe it was just the routes he ran, but I saw tonight on why the Cowboys have stuck with him for the last few years. Beyond the great YAC (yards after catch) he exhibited today, I was impressed by his toughness. At 5 ft. 8 in., Dunbar caught a short pass and took a hit from a safety that I believe was out for blood. Dunbar took the collision well, dispersing it through his shoulder pads, and used his low center of gravity to bounce off the missed tackle to gain a few extra yards. Excited to see more.
#4-Tony Romo: It's time that we all realize he is the unspoken leader of this team. As I watched the demeanor of all the players in the huddle and on the sidelines as Romo led the last drive, I realized that they had no doubt what Romo was about to do. He will take this team as far as he can. He is the limiting reagent in chemical terms. In addition, Romo was so methodical in his reads that I felt like I was watching a surgeon perform a routine appendectomy in the OR; it's almost like he could do it with his eyes closed. You da real MVP, Antonio.
I never planned to write this, but if I didn't, there is a good chance I wouldn't be able to fall asleep tonight. Additional note: Dez has been given a projected 4-6 weeks for the recovery of a broken bone in his right foot. However, he jumped and moved quite well after the game when he congratulated his teammates outside of the locker room. Hopefully, the recovery is quicker than expected, but I'm guessing he will come back after our Week 6 bye. Get well too Gregory. To Philly we go...
#1-Sean Lee: As the leader of our defense, Lee returned to his expected form today and it is special to watch. Something that is not noticed by many is his pre-snap alignments and his responsibilty to make sure the entire defense is in proper position before the snap. Second, his spidey sense and first-step is something imperative for a weak-side backer to have. This was evident when the Giants ran a misdirection run play to the right where the OL blocked towards the right, the RB made an initial move to the right, and then turned left and headed down field. On the opposite side of the ball, Lee seemed to sense the misdirection at the snap and headed straight to the right, meeting their RB head on for what I believe was a tackle for a loss.
#2-Morris Claiborne: "The Cowboys have traded up from the 14th pick to the 6th pick. With the 6th pick in the 2012 draft, the Cowboys select Morris Claiborne, DB, LSU." Cue the elation from Cowboy fans everywhere thinking this guy was the next Revis. However, in reality, his past two seasons have been worthy of a 6th or 7th round draft pick. Tonight, I saw the first indication that he is ready to meet his value. Morris was practically shutdown all night long and more importantly, he wasn't caught staring at the back of a WR as they ran in for the TD. With Scandrick out for the season, I hope to see more of this from #24.
#3-Lance Dunbar: It seems like Dunbar has had some dirt on Jerry Jones from the time he's been here because he's held that #3 RB spot year over year without much production to show for it. Finally, Linehan has found out how to use Dunbar in this offense. Maybe he was underutilized or maybe it was just the routes he ran, but I saw tonight on why the Cowboys have stuck with him for the last few years. Beyond the great YAC (yards after catch) he exhibited today, I was impressed by his toughness. At 5 ft. 8 in., Dunbar caught a short pass and took a hit from a safety that I believe was out for blood. Dunbar took the collision well, dispersing it through his shoulder pads, and used his low center of gravity to bounce off the missed tackle to gain a few extra yards. Excited to see more.
#4-Tony Romo: It's time that we all realize he is the unspoken leader of this team. As I watched the demeanor of all the players in the huddle and on the sidelines as Romo led the last drive, I realized that they had no doubt what Romo was about to do. He will take this team as far as he can. He is the limiting reagent in chemical terms. In addition, Romo was so methodical in his reads that I felt like I was watching a surgeon perform a routine appendectomy in the OR; it's almost like he could do it with his eyes closed. You da real MVP, Antonio.
I never planned to write this, but if I didn't, there is a good chance I wouldn't be able to fall asleep tonight. Additional note: Dez has been given a projected 4-6 weeks for the recovery of a broken bone in his right foot. However, he jumped and moved quite well after the game when he congratulated his teammates outside of the locker room. Hopefully, the recovery is quicker than expected, but I'm guessing he will come back after our Week 6 bye. Get well too Gregory. To Philly we go...
