At the quarter pole...I'm still encouraged by the team. I saw a young team go toe to toe with a team that was fighting like a caged tiger. Unfortunately, Dallas came out on the short end, and when added to the other tough loss to Washington, it leaves a bitter taste. But overall, I'm not discouraged at all.
Drew Bledsoe is the best quarterback, far and away, since Troy. I don't know how much that's saying though. Perhaps a better way to say it would be to say that he's been playing like a pro-bowler in the early going. Unfortunately, he's had to.
The running game has struggled some early. I think part of the reason is that Dallas has played some good run defenses. Even in Oakland, Dallas faced a HUGE group of linemen that were playing inspired. But my bigger conern is that I believe Julius is hurting. I've commented about it to my wife the last couple of games. He just looks a little ginger out there and like he's trying to just tough it out and keep grinding. I'd like to hope that, if injury is the case, he gets healthy soon.
The offensive line has been solid. With the money that's being spent in the trenches, you might argue that Jerry isn't getting his money's worth. On the other hand, out expectations have been so low that I think most of us have been satisfied. There have been some ill-advised holds that have brought back nice gains. There have been some busted assignments in pass protection too. I thought I might have noticed against the Raiders that several busts took place while Gurode was playing center. I'll be listening to hear if Bill mentions anything about in his press conferences this week.
The new defense has been vanilla in the early going, but I see things I like. The youth stands out immediately. I find myself watching the games and thinking that when these young kids put everything together, they have a chance to do some good things on the field. The depth and rotation at positions seems to be pretty effective so far. However, in the last couple of games, Dallas has had some trouble against the run. That's been a little surprising. I think the Niners game can be attributed in large measure to a hangover of sorts. The Raiders seemed to out-man the Boys in the trenches though.
The linebackers concern me a little. It's been mentioned numerous times on this board that a 3-4 relies heavily on playmaking linebackers. Dat has adjusted without any problem. He's fine. Bradie James, Al Singleton, and Scott Fujita have all been a little hit or miss. For that matter, so has Demarcus Ware. I do think that Ware is still having a positive impact though simply by causing teams to constantly take note of him on the field. I will be excited to see a little more of Kevin Burnett on the field though.
The secondary has gone from strength of the defense to weakness to strength. Maybe I'm just more forgiving, but I think they've played well with the exception of about 4 busts and huge plays against them. Funny how one guy not doing his job makes everyone look horrible. Newman has been great this season. Despite the criticism, I think Roy Williams is playing very well in all aspects this season. Henry was fantastic early, had a rough game last week, but really seemed to bounce back this week. I'm not worried. Davis and Pile scare me a little bit. In fact, I think I'm quickly becoming more comfortable with Pile at FS than Davis. I hope the Killer is polishing up even more on special teams....
Speaking of which, the special teams game has been disappointing overall. I thought our new long snapper did well today (what I saw). Cortez has been solid, for the most part. Tyson has been getting more and more comfortable on returns, from the looks of things. Crayton worries me on punts though. The coverage teams seem really up and down. And I think that's the main thing, it just hasn't clicked all at once in any game. But that goes for the whole team...
Again, this is a young team. I've read that this team should be 0-4. But depending on your perspective, they could easily be 4-0 without even having played their best football yet. Sure, there are problems. And yes, I'm greedy. I want more than 2-2 and being in last place in a very strong division after 4 games. But I see room for improvement. I see the potential for growth, and I fully intend to be watching for the next 3/4s of this season.
