Well, this performance won't win any awards, but this as gritty a win as I can remember in a long time for the Cowboys, and to have it come over the arch rival Redskins makes it that much sweeter.
ROMO
Tony Romo did not have his best statistical game, that's for sure. He fell short of 300 yards passing, had no touchdowns, threw an interception, and fumbled once, which was recovered by the Cowboys. But he was tough and showed great leadership throughout the game and really made some plays when he needed to, specifically on the game-clinching drive when he rolled out on 3rd and 21, felt the pressure, and delivered a strike to Dez Bryant. Romo called out his teammates, instructed them on what to do, and ultimately put the team on his back. He had his aching rib to go along with some young teammates who had not had a lot of game-time reps (Who is Laurent Robinson?) and and an inconsistent offensive line. It would have been easy to throw in the towel on this one, but Romo and the Cowboys had a steely determination that was absent under Wade Phillips. Jason Garrett (and Rob Ryan, if he is like his twin brother) seems to have fostered a never quit attitude in the team and the culture has changed. So far this season, Romo is a big part of that perspective.
BAD SNAPS
What was going on here? According to the stats, there was just three bad snaps (three fumbles credited to Costa, the center) but it seemed like more, and maybe some of them didn't go down as fumbles. I'm not sure what was happening here. It sounds like Costa was saying the Redskins were calling out a cadence at the line and it confused Costa. Whatever the case may be, those problems need to be ironed out fast in practice because I had never seen anything like it. You learn during JV football about snap counts and it is inexcusable to have that many botched snaps in an NFL game. The Cowboys were EXTREMELY lucky that none of those bad snaps bounced into the hands of a Redskins defender. I don't remember this issue that much in the first two games, maybe a couple times (which is too many), but hopefully this was just an aberration and the Cowboys can lower their number of botched snaps.
KICKING
I don't want to go to far into this post without mentioning the MVP of the game, rookie kicker Dan Bailey. Thw guy wasn't rattled by the moment tonight and showed great poise by connecting on all six of his field goals, and the Cowboys needed every last one of them to beat the Redskins. Also, since missing what was basically an extra-point-distance field goal try against the 49ers, Bailey is 9-for-9 on field goal attempts. How's that for bouncing back?
RUNNING GAME
Dallas had both its first run for at least 10 yards and first 100-yard rusher of the season tonight, both feats accomplished by Felix Jones. That was good to see, as the running game has been a point of concern and sometimes, apathy it has looked like for Jason Garrett. To have it happen against what has been a stingy Redskins defense is good to see, too.
DEFENSE
The Dallas 'D' was flying around tonight, making lots of plays and coming up with stops when it needed to, like following the Dallas fumble when the Redskins took over in the red zone. It was huge to hold the Redskins to just a field goal there. It looks like slowly but surely, Rob Ryan is improving this defense. Rex Grossman is not a world beater at quarterback, but linebacker Sean Lee was able to get another interception -- he seems to have a knack of finding the ball. And Dallas was relentless in its pass rush (I thought DeMarcus Ware got held a couple times and it wasn't called) and was eventually rewarded, when Ware got a sack on the Redskins' second-to-last drive when they were trying to run out the clock, and also on the Redskins' final drive when Anthony Spencer chased Grossman down, tackled him, and stripped the ball from him.
BIG PICTURE
Dallas is 2-1 and tied with the Skins and Giants atop the NFC East. Again, this win was ugly, but a 'W' is a 'W,' especially when it comes over the Redskins. And to do it with all the mistakes is a good character builder. There was lots of adversity, lots of injuries, but the team pulled through. I don't think this team wins this game under Phillips. There mistakes would have buried a team with less mettle (I'm thinking of the Boys under Phillips, ESPECIALLY last year). The Cowboys could really be building in some toughness.
We still aren't sure how good the Redskins are, so it is hard to get a read on the Cowboys, too. They did some good things against the Skins but also struggled. They struggled against the 49ers but had a terrific comeback. They played their best three quarters of the season so far against the Jets, but ultimately lost. They can definitely be a solid team if they put together four quarters of good football. They continue to make little mistakes, which earlier I said would prevent them from being better than 8-8, and I still believe that. They need to cut down on those mistakes. Tonight against the Skins, they got lucky that the ball bounced their way on the bad snaps. Next week, at the beginning of the year, I would have thought would be an easy win, but the Lions are looking formidable as they come into Cowboys Stadium next week at 3-0. And they bring along a great pass rush, exactly what Romo is not looking forward to seeing.
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PICKS UPDATE
I went 4-4 this weekend in NFL picks and 9-4 in college picks and now stand 50-20 on the year.
COMING LATE MONDAY
Reaction to Virginia's loss to Southern Miss.
ROMO
Tony Romo did not have his best statistical game, that's for sure. He fell short of 300 yards passing, had no touchdowns, threw an interception, and fumbled once, which was recovered by the Cowboys. But he was tough and showed great leadership throughout the game and really made some plays when he needed to, specifically on the game-clinching drive when he rolled out on 3rd and 21, felt the pressure, and delivered a strike to Dez Bryant. Romo called out his teammates, instructed them on what to do, and ultimately put the team on his back. He had his aching rib to go along with some young teammates who had not had a lot of game-time reps (Who is Laurent Robinson?) and and an inconsistent offensive line. It would have been easy to throw in the towel on this one, but Romo and the Cowboys had a steely determination that was absent under Wade Phillips. Jason Garrett (and Rob Ryan, if he is like his twin brother) seems to have fostered a never quit attitude in the team and the culture has changed. So far this season, Romo is a big part of that perspective.
BAD SNAPS
What was going on here? According to the stats, there was just three bad snaps (three fumbles credited to Costa, the center) but it seemed like more, and maybe some of them didn't go down as fumbles. I'm not sure what was happening here. It sounds like Costa was saying the Redskins were calling out a cadence at the line and it confused Costa. Whatever the case may be, those problems need to be ironed out fast in practice because I had never seen anything like it. You learn during JV football about snap counts and it is inexcusable to have that many botched snaps in an NFL game. The Cowboys were EXTREMELY lucky that none of those bad snaps bounced into the hands of a Redskins defender. I don't remember this issue that much in the first two games, maybe a couple times (which is too many), but hopefully this was just an aberration and the Cowboys can lower their number of botched snaps.
KICKING
I don't want to go to far into this post without mentioning the MVP of the game, rookie kicker Dan Bailey. Thw guy wasn't rattled by the moment tonight and showed great poise by connecting on all six of his field goals, and the Cowboys needed every last one of them to beat the Redskins. Also, since missing what was basically an extra-point-distance field goal try against the 49ers, Bailey is 9-for-9 on field goal attempts. How's that for bouncing back?
RUNNING GAME
Dallas had both its first run for at least 10 yards and first 100-yard rusher of the season tonight, both feats accomplished by Felix Jones. That was good to see, as the running game has been a point of concern and sometimes, apathy it has looked like for Jason Garrett. To have it happen against what has been a stingy Redskins defense is good to see, too.
DEFENSE
The Dallas 'D' was flying around tonight, making lots of plays and coming up with stops when it needed to, like following the Dallas fumble when the Redskins took over in the red zone. It was huge to hold the Redskins to just a field goal there. It looks like slowly but surely, Rob Ryan is improving this defense. Rex Grossman is not a world beater at quarterback, but linebacker Sean Lee was able to get another interception -- he seems to have a knack of finding the ball. And Dallas was relentless in its pass rush (I thought DeMarcus Ware got held a couple times and it wasn't called) and was eventually rewarded, when Ware got a sack on the Redskins' second-to-last drive when they were trying to run out the clock, and also on the Redskins' final drive when Anthony Spencer chased Grossman down, tackled him, and stripped the ball from him.
BIG PICTURE
Dallas is 2-1 and tied with the Skins and Giants atop the NFC East. Again, this win was ugly, but a 'W' is a 'W,' especially when it comes over the Redskins. And to do it with all the mistakes is a good character builder. There was lots of adversity, lots of injuries, but the team pulled through. I don't think this team wins this game under Phillips. There mistakes would have buried a team with less mettle (I'm thinking of the Boys under Phillips, ESPECIALLY last year). The Cowboys could really be building in some toughness.
We still aren't sure how good the Redskins are, so it is hard to get a read on the Cowboys, too. They did some good things against the Skins but also struggled. They struggled against the 49ers but had a terrific comeback. They played their best three quarters of the season so far against the Jets, but ultimately lost. They can definitely be a solid team if they put together four quarters of good football. They continue to make little mistakes, which earlier I said would prevent them from being better than 8-8, and I still believe that. They need to cut down on those mistakes. Tonight against the Skins, they got lucky that the ball bounced their way on the bad snaps. Next week, at the beginning of the year, I would have thought would be an easy win, but the Lions are looking formidable as they come into Cowboys Stadium next week at 3-0. And they bring along a great pass rush, exactly what Romo is not looking forward to seeing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PICKS UPDATE
I went 4-4 this weekend in NFL picks and 9-4 in college picks and now stand 50-20 on the year.
COMING LATE MONDAY
Reaction to Virginia's loss to Southern Miss.
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