Tuesday Evening Hangover: Dallas Cowboys reveiw and other NFL news

Tuesday evening hangover…

Here are some of my astute observations from the Cowboys’ Monday night victory against the Panthers:

     1. The Cowboys played a very gritty game.

They actually “out-toughed” the Panthers, which hasn’t happened since week 3 of last season against Green Bay.  Despite giving up a few plays in the passing game, the defense shut down a vaunted Carolina rushing attack and managed to keep DeAngelo Williams out of the endzone.  The offense managed to pound the rock at Carolina’s undersized front seven and take advantage of their depth at the running back position (Felix Jones and Tashard choice managed over 80 yards rushing a piece).  More importantly, Tony Romo showed toughness and focus, and did not make the critical mistake that could have swung this game in Carolina’s favor.

     2. There is still a lot of room for this team to grow.

The tackling was still pretty bad.  Terrance Newman is showing his deficiencies as a tackler despite having a hell of a game shutting down Steve Smith and getting a pick-six.  Ken Hamlin is supposed to be the enforcer on this defense but I saw him whiff on a couple of plays.  And Hamlin’s coverage was just awful.  He pretty much gave the Panthers their lone touchdown allowing two big plays right over the middle.  I have backed Hamlin since he came to Dallas but I’m not sure he is deserving of that new contract he received last off-season.  The drive killing penalties were also devastating in the first half and Jason Garrett has to find some way to correct that (more on him later). 

3. Tony Romo had one of the best games of his career.

That may sound crazy to anyone who watched Romo torch the Buccanneers for 5 TDs a few years ago, or saw him throw for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns in week one, but he reminded me of the Romo from the Bill Parcels era.  He showed tremendous patience and didn’t force any passes.  He didn’t crack 300 yards or throw a touchdown (though he did throw a perfect fade route to Roy Williams in the end-zone) but he didn’t make the crucial mistake that the Panthers were waiting for and he kept the offense on the field.  He did this by being accurate, scrambling for decent yardage (finally!) and improvising like the Romo we know and love. He responded extremely well after a tough week and I even caught him yelling at full back Deon Anderson when they couldn’t get the right personnel on the field.  He didn’t get on him like Troy Aikman used to get on his guys but cut the guy some slack…his voice isn’t as deep.  But he did have the wherewithal to stand outside of the huddle during the substitutions so the Cowboys didn’t get a 12-men in the huddle penalty.  In short, I am actually proud of Romo for his performance last night and the ‘Boys will need similar execution if they want to go anywhere this season.

4. Other observations…

Mike Jenkins has half-way shut me up with his performance in the beginning of this season.  Although he is outplaying Orlando Scandrick at this point I still think it has a lot to do with the fact that he is playing with a chip on his shoulder.  Being neck and neck with a fifth-rounder can do that to you.

Victor Butler came out of no where last night!  I hope that it wasn’t a fluke and he can continue to apply pressure the way he did on Jake Delhomme.  It’s looking like he’s going to be taking some snaps away from Anthony Spencer on 3^rd downs.  He’s currently leading the team in sacks (go figure!)

Jay Ratliff continues to prove that he is the best interior lineman in the game.  He got the 2009 sack party started and he’s always in the backfield.  He’s on his way to being a perennial Pro-Bowler. 

1. Parting Shot

Many individuals stepped up in the game against the Panthers but one person who should continue to come under fire is offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.  The season is still young and he has time to get in a better play-calling rhythm but right now I am not impressed.  The Cowboys are often predictable (for those of you who don’t know by now, anytime Tony Romo says “kill, kill, kill!” it’s a run play) and they are not putting themselves in manageable 3^rd down situations.  They are just too quick to pass the ball on 2^nd and 7 and longer. And no one can explain why he decided to throw the fade on 2 consecutive plays from the 1 yard line.  To make matters worse they got a false start penalty when they went for it on fourth down because they went with an inexplicably long cadence. I honestly expect better out of Garrett and I hope he can raise his coaching to a playoff level soon.

Quick stops

-         Those Bad Bengals

The Bengals worked hard this off-season and to get into better shape.  Everyone dropped considerable weight and showed against the Steelers on Sunday.  After getting pushed around in the 1^st half, Cincinnati came out in the second half and showed more pep the Pittsburgh Steelers.  They just looked faster and more focused than the Super Bowl champions.  I am not willing to call them a contender yet, but they have some nice pieces and they could be a surprise wild-card team.

-         Fail to the Redskins

I have to say that not even I expected the Redskins to surrender the Lions 1st victory since 2007. So many analysts questioned the Redskins’ listless effort against the Rams that I just knew that they would respond with a solid performance and handle the Lions.  Unfortunately I underestimated the futility of the Redskins.  This loss will make or break their season.  As it stands right now, Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell are out the door next season.  

Keep an eye out for my fantasy update later this week!