cowboyjoe
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Impressions from Week 1: Dallas 34, Tampa Bay 21
4:01 PM Tue, Sep 15, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor/Columnist E-mail News tips
You should've been impressed by the offense and concerned about the Cowboys' defense after the first week.
It's a game the Cowboys had to win, considering the Bucs had a rookie head coach, fired their offensive coordinator less than two weeks before the start of the season and simply aren;t that good.
To lose that game with the Giants coming to town would've been a disaster. Now, we can all focus on the Giants' game.
Here are my thoughts on Week 1
* Tony Romo looked terrific, spreading the ball around and not forcing it into coverage. He passed for a career-high 353 yards with three touchdown passes of 42 yards or more.
Wow.
Still, I loved what he said after the game when asked about his record-setting performance, "You're not judged off yards. You're judged off winning and losing at this position. Our team understands that and that's what we're trying to do."
Romo has never struck me as a player consumed with stats, but I've often wondered if he understood the importance. That quote made me think he's finally starting to get it.
* Tell me you're not nervous about Felix Jones. Yes, he's a spectacular talent who provides a wow factor every time he touches the ball.
But he missed the 10 games of last season with hamstring and toe injuries, and a quad limited his time on Sunday. He carried only 6 times for 22 yards. Is he going to be an injury-prone player? We don;t know yet, but it has to concern you.
* The offensive line did a nice job protecting Romo and creating running lanes. They get a much tougher task this week against the Giants.
* Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams, Miles Austin and Jason Witten each had receptions of 20 yards or more. Impressive.
* Jason Garrett did a wonderful job with play selection - 24 runs and 27 passes. More important, he never called more than four consecutive runs or throws, which keeps the defense off-balance.
He also did a nice job of getting all three running backs involved, which takes advantage of one of the team's strengths. Barber (30 plays), Jones (15 plays) and Choice (7 plays) each carried the ball in the first quarter.
Garrett created a lot of the big plays with his formations, which put the Cowboys in position to take advantage of mismatches.
* So much for missing T.O. Williams, Crayton and Austin combined for eight catches, 263 yards and three touchdowns.
* Gerlad Sensabugh would've had a magnificent game, if his penalty hadn't cost Mike Jenkins an apparent interception. He was solid against the run, blocked a field goal and broke up a pass.
* I didn't see much of Jay Ratliff against the Bucs, which is one reason they ran the ball for 174 yards and a 5.6 average.
* The Cowboys didn't record a sack for the first time under Wade Phillips. They hit Byron Leftwich 10 times in 40 attempts, drilling him several times. Still, as methodical as Leftwich is in the pocket, you'd expect Dallas to sack him once or twice.
4:01 PM Tue, Sep 15, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor/Columnist E-mail News tips
You should've been impressed by the offense and concerned about the Cowboys' defense after the first week.
It's a game the Cowboys had to win, considering the Bucs had a rookie head coach, fired their offensive coordinator less than two weeks before the start of the season and simply aren;t that good.
To lose that game with the Giants coming to town would've been a disaster. Now, we can all focus on the Giants' game.
Here are my thoughts on Week 1
* Tony Romo looked terrific, spreading the ball around and not forcing it into coverage. He passed for a career-high 353 yards with three touchdown passes of 42 yards or more.
Wow.
Still, I loved what he said after the game when asked about his record-setting performance, "You're not judged off yards. You're judged off winning and losing at this position. Our team understands that and that's what we're trying to do."
Romo has never struck me as a player consumed with stats, but I've often wondered if he understood the importance. That quote made me think he's finally starting to get it.
* Tell me you're not nervous about Felix Jones. Yes, he's a spectacular talent who provides a wow factor every time he touches the ball.
But he missed the 10 games of last season with hamstring and toe injuries, and a quad limited his time on Sunday. He carried only 6 times for 22 yards. Is he going to be an injury-prone player? We don;t know yet, but it has to concern you.
* The offensive line did a nice job protecting Romo and creating running lanes. They get a much tougher task this week against the Giants.
* Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams, Miles Austin and Jason Witten each had receptions of 20 yards or more. Impressive.
* Jason Garrett did a wonderful job with play selection - 24 runs and 27 passes. More important, he never called more than four consecutive runs or throws, which keeps the defense off-balance.
He also did a nice job of getting all three running backs involved, which takes advantage of one of the team's strengths. Barber (30 plays), Jones (15 plays) and Choice (7 plays) each carried the ball in the first quarter.
Garrett created a lot of the big plays with his formations, which put the Cowboys in position to take advantage of mismatches.
* So much for missing T.O. Williams, Crayton and Austin combined for eight catches, 263 yards and three touchdowns.
* Gerlad Sensabugh would've had a magnificent game, if his penalty hadn't cost Mike Jenkins an apparent interception. He was solid against the run, blocked a field goal and broke up a pass.
* I didn't see much of Jay Ratliff against the Bucs, which is one reason they ran the ball for 174 yards and a 5.6 average.
* The Cowboys didn't record a sack for the first time under Wade Phillips. They hit Byron Leftwich 10 times in 40 attempts, drilling him several times. Still, as methodical as Leftwich is in the pocket, you'd expect Dallas to sack him once or twice.