Dallas Cowboys Week 1 Game Analysis
The game started off good. A short kick-off was corralled by Kyle Brady who was only able to make it to the 18 where Al Singleton wrapped him up. Our defense have them trouble the first couple of drives. Canty was eating Khalif Barnes up. He was getting penetration on every run play. Pat Watkins made some really nice tackles in the open field. He also appeared solid in coverage; he didn't blow any assignments any way. He didn't make any big plays, but all we need back there is a steady Eddy who makes a play here and there, but above all avoids mistakes. Kevin Burnett made a great play covering RB Maurice Drew. He was all over him, and reached around to knock the ball away without interfering. This ended the first Jacksonville drive. First play for Dallas on offense was a 12 yard slant to Owens. He abused Rashean Mathis in the 1st quarter. He had a magnificant game and I have no doubt that he is the same player he was two years ago. The whole first drive was picture perfect. It ended in a 23-yard TD run by Julius which was opened up by Anthony Fasano's great block on Mike Peterson. Drew Bledsoe's accuracy was great on the first drive. He hit every open receiver. I think he got hurt at some point, because you don't just start missing guys for no good reason half way through the game. Him warming up on the sidelines was also a telling sign. The three interception he threw were simply too much to overcome. He was lucky he didn't throw more though as about three or four more were dropped by Jags' players or overturned on an overturned INT that I thought really was one. Julius Jones and the run blocking were decent considering who the competition. They did do a good job of breaking two big runs that are necessary for a good running game. Running against a seven man front is crucial. The Jaguars had both safeties 14 yards off the line, and we have to make teams pay for that with our run game. We actually averaged four yards a carry on the game, but this was only on 22 carries so the two runs combining for 40 yards. I can say I'm quite disappointed in the playcalling. We pretty much abandoned the running game in the 2nd half. I know it was tough sledding, but I've seen us stick with the run with a lot fewer gains than we were getting yesterday. Running the ball would have been a good idea since Bledsoe started struggling as did the pass protection. Dallas had an interesting way of dealing with the Jaguars three wide receiver sets. Instead of stubbornly staying in their base defense or grudgingly going into the nickel, the Cowboys' played a 3-4 with three corners and only one deep safety. This defense seemed fairly effective when used. The secondary was aggressive early in the game. Henry, Newman, and Williams were all actively trying to jump routes. They seemed to get a little shell shocked in the 2nd half because they couldn't catch a break. Byron Leftwich was making perfect passes that the corners could do little about. Jamaica Rector looked okay as a punt returner. He didn't break a good one, but he didn't muff any and appeared to be fairly quick. He will be a decent returner, but this guy is no Dante Hall. Julius Jones caught a 39 yard bomb from Bledsoe when CB Brian Williams got caught looking inside at Terry Glenn. Flozell Adams's conditioning doesn't appear to be very good. He played all right in the 1st half, but by the 4th quarter he was frequently getting beat by Paul Spicer. This seemed to be the theme of the entire offensive line. They held their own for awhile, but struggled some in the end. Marc Colombo did an excellent job on Reggie Hayward. He pretty much contained him up until Reggie tore his Achilles' tendon. Penalties killed Dallas on Sunday. Several personal fouls kept Jacksonville drives alive while three penalties nullified big gains by Terrell Owens throughout the game. A push off called on Jason Witten kept a would be TD away from Dallas. This call was correct, but it definitely wasn't any worse than the non-call on Reggie Williams touchdown catch where he basically threw Anthony Henry to the ground. The lone sack of the day for the Cowboys' was credited to Jay Ratliff, but Jason Hatcher was the guy that got to Leftwich first. The pass rush wasn't horrible, but it was too inconsistent during certain stretches to consider satisfactory. Matt McBriar had a great day. He had two punts of sixty or more yards. One of them was a line drive, which really tested our coverage team which passed with flying colors. Jason Ferguson had a good game. He clogged the middle quite well. He was the only guy to play the nose in the 3-4. We need a capable backup, but it isn't too big of a deal because I'm guessing he still only played about 65% of the snaps on defense which isn't ideal, but not that bad. DeMarcus Ware is definitely progressing as a run stopper. He didn't get much pressure, but he did an excellent job stopping the run. His play gives offenses a big problem. Our front seven is too big to run right at which is the area that can be a weakness in a 3-5. However, in a 3-4 your OLBs are wider than 4-3 DEs which mean it is tough to get the corner if these guys to a solid job in run support. Marion Barber didn't play much in this game. He only had three carries for 13 yards. He did convert a critical 4th down play with the help of Terrell Owens on an outside run. Marco Rivera struggled a bit. He got bull rushed on a sack by Rob Meier. He also struggled to make key blocks on linebackers on run plays. Roy Williams had a nice interception right after an apparent catch was overturned. Greg Ellis got great pressure on this play and hurried Leftwich into the mistake. This pressure was no where to be found down the stretch however. Only a few plays later Bledsoe gave the ball back with his first INT of the game. This was more of a savy play by the corner than anything else. Matt Jones was the undoing for the Cowboys. They had no answer for his size. He was never wide open, but Leftwich was on fire and they always seemed to find a way to connect. The defense disappointed me in the 2nd half. They pretty much crumbled. The offense didn't help them out, but they never forced a turnover or did anything that could have turned the game in our favor. Shaun Suisham left plenty to be desired after he missed a 36 yard field goal. I don't expect him to make a 55 yarder, but you have to make the short ones. His kick-offs were great, but you simply can't miss a 36 yard field goal in a tight game. This miss confirms my belief that Suisham isn't a good kicker. Every field goal he made in pre-season was just barely good. We are screwed if Vanderjagt can't find his stroke Kyle Kosier had a great block on Jones' 17 yard run in the 3rd quarter. He pulled wide left and sealed off the corner for Jones. Terry Glenn also had a big block on this play. Even after the defense wilted in route to a 24-10 deficit, the offense wouldn't die. Terrry Glenn somehow got left open deep and caught a 51 yard pass to Bledsoe. Owens followed this with an amazing over the wrong shoulder catch for a touchdown. This TD was followed by an onside kick attempt. This was a bad decision. There were almost two minutes left in the game. We had two timeouts. Suisham's attempt was horrible. He didn't even get it 10 yards and it went right into the hand of a Jags' player. The defense didn't allow a 1st down, but the field position after a punt was too much to overcome. With no timeouts and less than a minute, Bledsoe was forced to make ill advised throws which eventually led to the game ending interception.
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