by. William C. Walker Jr.
DeMarco Murray on one of his career high 29 carries
September 15, 2014
Now that's more like it, after that humiliating performance last week at home against the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas rebounded nicely. Like last week I'm going to give my 5 key points from the Cowboys win. It's early in the season but one can hope that Dallas can stick with the recipe they used in this game. What they put on display was smash mouth football at it's finest.
5. Passing concerns: Last week I started with the little positive that Dallas displayed. So this week I'll start with the little negative that came from yesterday's game. As great as DeMarco Murray and the offensive line's run blocking has been. Romo and the offensive pass blocking has been equally as shaky or bad. Romo was sacked four times knocked down another 5. It's a little concerning especially when you have a 34 year old quarterback coming off of 2 back surgeries. All the while during the poor pass protection Romo still looks like he's either shaking off rust, or the effects of a lingering back problem. Some of his throws just don't seem as crisp or are way off target. Romo improved over last week in the decision making department but you still can't watch him play and not have concerns.
4. Dominant on 3rd: Last year the Cowboys struggled immensely on 3rd down conversions. Offensively and defensively they could neither stay on the field or get off of it. That wasn't an issue versus the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The Cowboys owned 3rd down 9-16 as opposed to the Titans going 2-10. That was huge in the game the key was the fact that the Cowboys kept themselves in manageable 3rd downs. When you're facing 3rd & 2s as opposed to 3rd & 10s it's a little easier to convert, and those were the situations the Dallas offense kept putting themselves in. As much as fans were rightfully worried about this defense they stepped up and shutdown Tennessee. Granted it was the Titans but this group should take any victory they can get.
3. A steal in McClain: It's early but you can't deny how good Rolando McClain has looked in the first 2 games. After a solid week 1 performance McClain followed it up with a team lead 7 tackles 1 sack and 1 interception (that should've been a pick six). When Sean Lee went down plenty wondered how Dallas would replace their best defensive player, I'm not going to say McClain has down that not even close, but there's potential that's showing. For a defense that's desperate for playmakers McClain is stepping up to fill the role. Let's just hope he can keep this positive momentum going.
2. Props to the D: Dallas's defense last year was flat out horrendous. That's not hyperbole or opinion that's factual. They were historically bad last year one of the 4 worst defense's statistically in the history of the NFL, and the worst defense in the history of the franchise. Now going into this year you had 4 of your best players gone. Ware's in Denver, Hatcher in Washington, Sean Lee on IR, and Orlando Scandrick suspended. So no one thought this defense could stop a nose bleed let alone and NFL offense. Yet take away the points the offense gift wrapped the 49ers this D only gave up 14 points. Against the Titans that looked pretty good against Kansas City last week, were completely shut down held to only 10 points denied a rally late in the 4th quarter. Now I remember last year when Dallas's D-line was made up of no names looked pretty good for the first couple of games, and then reality struck. But as of now I have to give props to a defense that looks like they can at least improve from their 31st ranking of last year. If Dallas's offense doesn't squander the effort from the D, than Cowboys fans can be a little optimistic.
1. Run the ball!: DeMarco Murray is a beast after his good yet wasted performance last week against San Fran. Murray followed it up with a career high 29 carries 167 yards rushing and a TD. Mind you this was against a defense that the week before held Jamaal Charles to only 7 carries 19 yards. Murray's play only puts more emphasis on the fact that Dallas needs to be a RUN first team. With Romo's arm looking shaky all the more reason to continue to RUN THE BALL. Now the question is will Dallas stick with it? One can only hope when you see Dallas at 2nd & 2 from the 3 and Romo opts to throw a back shoulder fade, it makes you cringe. They followed it with the same play on 3rd & 2 on the other side the X-factor Dez Bryant came up with the TD. I get it Dez Bryant is a beast I won't deny it when he's one on one in the red zone he screams for the ball. But I just want Dallas to embrace who and what they are which should be a running football team. Under head coach Jason Garrett this is something they've seemed to run (no pun intended) away from. Mind you after DeMarco's performance Dallas moves to 12-1 when he gets 20 carries or more. Common sense would say it's obvious in what Dallas should be doing going forward, but this is the same team that with a 3 TD lead against Green Bay last year opted to keep throwing. It's early but it's encouraging when you see a stat line 45 runs to 25 pass. If Dallas can stick to this formula and the defense hold up then they could go as far as DeMarco Murray's legs take them.
4. Dominant on 3rd: Last year the Cowboys struggled immensely on 3rd down conversions. Offensively and defensively they could neither stay on the field or get off of it. That wasn't an issue versus the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. The Cowboys owned 3rd down 9-16 as opposed to the Titans going 2-10. That was huge in the game the key was the fact that the Cowboys kept themselves in manageable 3rd downs. When you're facing 3rd & 2s as opposed to 3rd & 10s it's a little easier to convert, and those were the situations the Dallas offense kept putting themselves in. As much as fans were rightfully worried about this defense they stepped up and shutdown Tennessee. Granted it was the Titans but this group should take any victory they can get.
3. A steal in McClain: It's early but you can't deny how good Rolando McClain has looked in the first 2 games. After a solid week 1 performance McClain followed it up with a team lead 7 tackles 1 sack and 1 interception (that should've been a pick six). When Sean Lee went down plenty wondered how Dallas would replace their best defensive player, I'm not going to say McClain has down that not even close, but there's potential that's showing. For a defense that's desperate for playmakers McClain is stepping up to fill the role. Let's just hope he can keep this positive momentum going.
2. Props to the D: Dallas's defense last year was flat out horrendous. That's not hyperbole or opinion that's factual. They were historically bad last year one of the 4 worst defense's statistically in the history of the NFL, and the worst defense in the history of the franchise. Now going into this year you had 4 of your best players gone. Ware's in Denver, Hatcher in Washington, Sean Lee on IR, and Orlando Scandrick suspended. So no one thought this defense could stop a nose bleed let alone and NFL offense. Yet take away the points the offense gift wrapped the 49ers this D only gave up 14 points. Against the Titans that looked pretty good against Kansas City last week, were completely shut down held to only 10 points denied a rally late in the 4th quarter. Now I remember last year when Dallas's D-line was made up of no names looked pretty good for the first couple of games, and then reality struck. But as of now I have to give props to a defense that looks like they can at least improve from their 31st ranking of last year. If Dallas's offense doesn't squander the effort from the D, than Cowboys fans can be a little optimistic.
1. Run the ball!: DeMarco Murray is a beast after his good yet wasted performance last week against San Fran. Murray followed it up with a career high 29 carries 167 yards rushing and a TD. Mind you this was against a defense that the week before held Jamaal Charles to only 7 carries 19 yards. Murray's play only puts more emphasis on the fact that Dallas needs to be a RUN first team. With Romo's arm looking shaky all the more reason to continue to RUN THE BALL. Now the question is will Dallas stick with it? One can only hope when you see Dallas at 2nd & 2 from the 3 and Romo opts to throw a back shoulder fade, it makes you cringe. They followed it with the same play on 3rd & 2 on the other side the X-factor Dez Bryant came up with the TD. I get it Dez Bryant is a beast I won't deny it when he's one on one in the red zone he screams for the ball. But I just want Dallas to embrace who and what they are which should be a running football team. Under head coach Jason Garrett this is something they've seemed to run (no pun intended) away from. Mind you after DeMarco's performance Dallas moves to 12-1 when he gets 20 carries or more. Common sense would say it's obvious in what Dallas should be doing going forward, but this is the same team that with a 3 TD lead against Green Bay last year opted to keep throwing. It's early but it's encouraging when you see a stat line 45 runs to 25 pass. If Dallas can stick to this formula and the defense hold up then they could go as far as DeMarco Murray's legs take them.
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