The Positive

[cmoney23]

At about half time the Anger I had started to fade for me some and I started to just look at the positives.

The D doesn't look as bad as last year to me.
-We generated a pass rush
-We were able to stop the run effectively.
-McClain can play and will be good for us as long as he wants to do it.
-Our offense will be fine, they are dynamic and multiple.
-Scandrick and Lawerence will be a nice bump when they get back.

If we can just blow this off as a first game rustiness from not playing a lot of preseason and stay healthy, I think we can get to 9-7... 10-6... the division didn't impress me much yesterday so we have a shot.

 

[AsthmaField]

This is the sensible approach to an opening weekend where 16 teams lost and where Dallas played a team that was supposed to beat them at home. There will be many on this forum who will have none of it, but they are always that way after any loss.

There were some positives for sure. The defense looked way better. Way. Still some things to work on but they will get better as the year goes on. Plus, the fact that Kaepernick could run at any time created a lot of problems for this defense that won't be there for most teams. They really would have had a nice day against a normal pocket QB. Being able to play man defense would have helped.

A lot of new moving parts on Ddefense though. McClain did look really good. He was a big part of limiting SF running game. If he keeps it up, it will be huge. He is a thumper, for real.

Romo looked bad, but he always has a game or two like this, although it typically isn't the first game of the season. Until he plays a couple more games, we just won't know for sure. That is the only real concern for me. That and Dez's back.

The OL was the real deal and as long as they stay together, they are going to push defenses around all year. They will be better by the last half of the season too. The run game is going to win some games for Dallas this year. Running against SF was a real test, and Dallas did that after getting down 21-3 in the first quarter. The only defense that will be that physical again this season will be Seattle (at Seattle yikes!) Dallas will be able to get yards on the ground when they need them.

You're also correct about getting Lawrence and Scandrick back, but that is assuming nobody else gets hurt and that is a slippery slope.

Anyway, kudos on using some common sense and not going overboard like some do.

 

[Venger]

The defense looked better than advertised.

The offense looked worse than advertised.

Don't listen to advertisements...

 

[Cebrin]

I agree, I saw some good things. Most were shadowed by the horrible performance by Romo. I hate to be the panic kid but, he was just awful. It wasn't just the interceptions, it was his mechanics, throwing motion, velocity, touch, the whole deal. I hope to God it is rust and not attributed to the surgery. It'll make me sad if that's the case because, I in fact love Romo and wish him the utmost success.

 

[maxdallasfan]

The 9ers scored when they wanted to. They played vanilla in the second half.

The penalty on the so-called illegal pick would have blew the score up.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

This is the sensible approach to an opening weekend where 16 teams lost and where Dallas played a team that was supposed to beat them at home. There will be many on this forum who will have none of it, but they are always that way after any loss.

There were some positives for sure. The defense looked way better. Way. Still some things to work on but they will get better as the year goes on. Plus, the fact that Kaepernick could run at any time created a lot of problems for this defense that won't be there for most teams. They really would have had a nice day against a normal pocket QB. Being able to play man defense would have helped.

A lot of new moving parts on Ddefense though. McClain did look really good. He was a big part of limiting SF running game. If he keeps it up, it will be huge. He is a thumper, for real.

Romo looked bad, but he always has a game or two like this, although it typically isn't the first game of the season. Until he plays a couple more games, we just won't know for sure. That is the only real concern for me. That and Dez's back.

The OL was the real deal and as long as they stay together, they are going to push defenses around all year. They will be better by the last half of the season too. The run game is going to win some games for Dallas this year. Running against SF was a real test, and Dallas did that after getting down 21-3 in the first quarter. The only defense that will be that physical again this season will be Seattle (at Seattle yikes!) Dallas will be able to get yards on the ground when they need them.

You're also correct about getting Lawrence and Scandrick back, but that is assuming nobody else gets hurt and that is a slippery slope.

Anyway, kudos on using some common sense and not going overboard like some do.

You make some valid points **.

The beginning was such a car wreck that I think it zapped any crumbs of positivity right out of the air.

 

[AsthmaField]

You make some valid points **.

The beginning was such a car wreck that I think it zapped any crumbs of positivity right out of the air.

It sure was a car wreck beginning. It reminded me of the start of the '94 NFC championship game against SF when Troy and Michael almost came back and won it anyway.

And like Maxdallas said, it is difficult to judge the defense in the second half because of the lopsided beginning.

Still, I saw better things from that defense than I saw last year. The run D is something that we can judge because you absolutely know that is what SF was trying to do and they are really good at it.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It sure was a car wreck beginning. It reminded me of the start of the '94 NFC championship game against SF when Troy and Michael almost came back and won it anyway.

And like Maxdallas said, it is difficult to judge the defense in the second half because of the lopsided beginning.

Still, I saw better things from that defense than I saw last year. The run D is something that we can judge because you absolutely know that is what SF was trying to do and they are really good at it.

Gotta say I do feel a little better about the defense and it seems like the unit will only get stronger as the season continues.

The other positive is that I can't see Romo playing that badly the rest of the season.

 

[Doc50]

It was surprising to see that Tony's

I agree, I saw some good things. Most were shadowed by the horrible performance by Romo. I hate to be the panic kid but, he was just awful. It wasn't just the interceptions, it was his mechanics, throwing motion, velocity, touch, the whole deal. I hope to God it is rust and not attributed to the surgery. It'll make me sad if that's the case because, I in fact love Romo and wish him the utmost success.

It was surprising to see Tony's judgement so rusty. That's what has a lot of fans concerned -- the fact that he had wide open receivers and chose to throw into double and triple coverage, especially in the endzone. He's been around too long to expect those kinds of mistakes.

So, while fluke turnovers will usually get you beaten, these should have been avoided; we should have had a chance to win.

I generally agree with the positive takes on this game; I'm just choking on Romo's choke. At least he should be able to fix this; he needs more reps to get comfortable again, and his limited preseason action wasn't wise.

 

[Vintage]

McClain looking good is problematic for Dallas. My fear is that Dallas will trust him long term, when he shouldn't be, given his history of being a flake. If he is a starter, Dallas really needs to have a veteran backup who also is capable of starting in case McClain decides to quit again.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

The defense looked better than advertised.

The offense looked worse than advertised.

Don't listen to advertisements...

Give this man a cold drink...he just won the internets

 

[cmoney23]

Romo looked bad, but he always has a game or two like this, although it typically isn't the first game of the season. Until he plays a couple more games, we just won't know for sure. That is the only real concern for me.

What really got to me, for the first time in Romo's career he looked lost and confused on the field to me. He looked gun shy. He missed open guys.

Romo will always try to make a play and throw a late ball across the middle or try to squeeze one in there... but yesterday he looked lost, gun shy and missed open players that normally he would never miss.

I'm writing it off as rust and a good opponent... but its something to watch.

 

[Cebrin]

It was surprising to see that Tony's


It was surprising to see Tony's judgement so rusty. That's what has a lot of fans concerned -- the fact that he had wide open receivers and chose to throw into double and triple coverage, especially in the endzone. He's been around too long to expect those kinds of mistakes.

So, while fluke turnovers will usually get you beaten, these should have been avoided; we should have had a chance to win.

I generally agree with the positive takes on this game; I'm just choking on Romo's choke. At least he should be able to fix this; he needs more reps to get comfortable again, and his limited preseason action wasn't wise.

I hear you. Same here. But, it wasn't just decision making I saw. His throws were ducks, slow and off target to boot.

 

[AsthmaField]

Gotta say I do feel a little better about the defense and it seems like the unit will only get stronger as the season continues.

The other positive is that I can't see Romo playing that badly the rest of the season.

Honestly, the biggest positive for me - and this is really simple for me to see in yesterday's game - is that the whole team looked way more physical than they have in years. They went toe-to-toe in the physical department (not score) with one of the most consistently physical teams in the NFL. Actually, the Dallas offense might have been more physical than the SF defense, and that alone bodes well for the season.

 

[CCBoy]

Gotta say I do feel a little better about the defense and it seems like the unit will only get stronger as the season continues.

The other positive is that I can't see Romo playing that badly the rest of the season.

On the defensive side, the linebackers showed up for Dallas yesterday. When Scandrick returns, that will improve some of the present dysfunction back there. But using a group of man up corners in man up situations, will help more as well.

Shore up the up front problems, and this unit will at least be a base line competitive.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

At about half time the Anger I had started to fade for me some and I started to just look at the positives.

Tony's kids are too young to be heckled and abused in school by all the other kids?

 

[Future]

There were some positives from a personnel perspective, sure.

I don't like that the team was as sloppy as its ever been. That's the bigger issue to me. I don't care what players they bring in, this team has been beating itself for the better part of a decade now. The only difference between them and SF is that SF managed to mitigate risk and not find ways to lose games. Dallas, still, can't get out of its own way.

 

[AsthmaField]

What really got to me, for the first time in Romo's career he looked lost and confused on the field to me. He looked gun shy. He missed open guys.

Romo will always try to make a play and throw a late ball across the middle or try to squeeze one in there... but yesterday he looked lost, gun shy and missed open players that normally he would never miss.

I'm writing it off as rust and a good opponent... but its something to watch.

Yeah, I know. In the post game news conference Romo said that SF was playing some coverages that they weren't expecting, so perhaps that added to his confusion.

At this point, we just have to wait and see if it is a problem going forward.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

On the defensive side, the linebackers showed up for Dallas yesterday. When Scandrick returns, that will improve some of the present dysfunction back there. But using a group of man up corners in man up situations, will help more as well.

Shore up the up front problems, and this unit will at least be a base line competitive.

How did Crawford play? He is one of the defensive players who needed to step up for this defense to have any chance for success.

 

[AsthmaField]

How did Crawford play? He is one of the defensive players who needed to step up for this defense to have any chance for success.

He created a turnover when he hit Kap just as he was throwing. Unfortunately, Durant dropped the should be INT.

Other than that, I didn't specifically notice him. Gotta watch it again.