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Titans offense can't click against Cowboys
Cowboys win easily in debut of stadium
By Jim Wyatt • THE TENNESSEAN • August 22, 2009
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Titans turned out to be perfect houseguests as the Cowboys opened their sparkling new stadium to football Friday night.
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They sat back and let the Cowboys romp to a 30-10 victory.
For the Titans, there was little to get excited about. The first-team offense couldn't get anything going, and the defense couldn't stop the hosts.
With the starters for both teams playing the first half, the Cowboys outgained the Titans 249-78 and held the ball for more than 22 of the first 30 minutes. The Cowboys had 17 first downs to just four for the Titans.
"Overall it was not one of our better efforts,'' Coach Jeff Fisher said. "We need to do a better job offensively. We couldn't get a first down. … We didn't do some things we are capable of doing.''
The lone highlight from the first team offense was a 17-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Kerry Collins to receiver Justin Gage in the final minute of the first half. Until then, the Titans had gone three-and-out on three straight possessions.
The Titans (2-1) didn't get a first down until there were a little more than three minutes left in the half.
Collins finished 8-of-11 for 55 yards, but most of that came on the drive just before halftime.
"To get that touchdown before half was big for us. But we still need to execute better,'' Collins said. "We didn't do a good job of executing. We have some things to work on.''
Defensively the Titans weren't much better, although they did manage to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone after one long drive. Still, the Cowboys (1-1) scored two touchdowns — on 1-yard runs by Marion Barber and Felix Jones — to lead 14-10 at halftime.
Barber's score came at the end of a 15-play drive that took 9:11 off the clock. The Cowboys scored their second touchdown against Tennessee's first team defense just before halftime.
"It is always frustrating when you can't get off the field. But we didn't game plan. And we knew they were going to try and come out and do whatever they could to win,'' linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "They were pretty much full-go and had a lot of audibles and checks. Did we play good defense when we were out there? I don't think so, but we did good for not game-planning against a team with a lot of weapons.''
Backup quarterback Vince Young started the second half and got only three plays with the first unit. Coming off an impressive effort last week against the Buccaneers, Young went 3-of-9 for 33 yards in five series against the Cowboys. He was intercepted on a ball that was tipped.
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"I think I performed well. There were a lot of mistakes from pretty much everybody, just don't point fingers at Vince,'' Young said. "My reads were right, we just had some mental mistakes from some of the guys. We just have to go back to work; we have a lot of young guys. … We still have two preseason games to get better.''
By the time quarterback Patrick Ramsey entered in the fourth quarter, the game was out of hand.
Ramsey was called for intentional grounding to avoid a sack in the end zone, resulting in a safety. He finished 3-of-10 for 52 yards.
"It is frustrating,'' tight end Bo Scaife said. "Our job on offense is to score points and to help the defense out and we haven't done a good job the past couple of games."
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090822/SPORTS01/908220355/1027
Cowboys win easily in debut of stadium
By Jim Wyatt • THE TENNESSEAN • August 22, 2009
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Titans turned out to be perfect houseguests as the Cowboys opened their sparkling new stadium to football Friday night.
Advertisement
They sat back and let the Cowboys romp to a 30-10 victory.
For the Titans, there was little to get excited about. The first-team offense couldn't get anything going, and the defense couldn't stop the hosts.
With the starters for both teams playing the first half, the Cowboys outgained the Titans 249-78 and held the ball for more than 22 of the first 30 minutes. The Cowboys had 17 first downs to just four for the Titans.
"Overall it was not one of our better efforts,'' Coach Jeff Fisher said. "We need to do a better job offensively. We couldn't get a first down. … We didn't do some things we are capable of doing.''
The lone highlight from the first team offense was a 17-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Kerry Collins to receiver Justin Gage in the final minute of the first half. Until then, the Titans had gone three-and-out on three straight possessions.
The Titans (2-1) didn't get a first down until there were a little more than three minutes left in the half.
Collins finished 8-of-11 for 55 yards, but most of that came on the drive just before halftime.
"To get that touchdown before half was big for us. But we still need to execute better,'' Collins said. "We didn't do a good job of executing. We have some things to work on.''
Defensively the Titans weren't much better, although they did manage to keep the Cowboys out of the end zone after one long drive. Still, the Cowboys (1-1) scored two touchdowns — on 1-yard runs by Marion Barber and Felix Jones — to lead 14-10 at halftime.
Barber's score came at the end of a 15-play drive that took 9:11 off the clock. The Cowboys scored their second touchdown against Tennessee's first team defense just before halftime.
"It is always frustrating when you can't get off the field. But we didn't game plan. And we knew they were going to try and come out and do whatever they could to win,'' linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "They were pretty much full-go and had a lot of audibles and checks. Did we play good defense when we were out there? I don't think so, but we did good for not game-planning against a team with a lot of weapons.''
Backup quarterback Vince Young started the second half and got only three plays with the first unit. Coming off an impressive effort last week against the Buccaneers, Young went 3-of-9 for 33 yards in five series against the Cowboys. He was intercepted on a ball that was tipped.
Advertisement
"I think I performed well. There were a lot of mistakes from pretty much everybody, just don't point fingers at Vince,'' Young said. "My reads were right, we just had some mental mistakes from some of the guys. We just have to go back to work; we have a lot of young guys. … We still have two preseason games to get better.''
By the time quarterback Patrick Ramsey entered in the fourth quarter, the game was out of hand.
Ramsey was called for intentional grounding to avoid a sack in the end zone, resulting in a safety. He finished 3-of-10 for 52 yards.
"It is frustrating,'' tight end Bo Scaife said. "Our job on offense is to score points and to help the defense out and we haven't done a good job the past couple of games."
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090822/SPORTS01/908220355/1027
