COWBOYS AS READY AS THEY'RE GOING TO GET
By mark rogers
September 1, 2009
I wouldn't expect the starters to play much on Friday night in Minnesota, but they really don't need to. This team is ready to play for real.
The next two weeks should be about two things: getting Roy Williams' shoulder better and game-planning for Tampa Bay (the regular season opener is in Tampa on September 13.
On Saturday night, the starters once again dominated their opponent. A 10-3 half-time lead doesn't look that dominant, but we had the ball for about 20 of the 30 minutes in the opening half, Tony Romo threw for 195 yards, the Marion Barber-Felix Jones man-machine rushed for 70 yards and a TD, and four different receivers touched the ball.
Plus, we had another 90+ yard scoring drive. That's big.
That's how you win games in the NFL: by controlling the clock, keeping your defense fresh and staying balanced. Our pass:run ratio in the first half was nearly 1:1...that's great news.
And anyone that's sick of me singing Jay Ratliff's praises every time I post about the Cowboys? Do me a favor...just watch him on every play he's in there. He rarely doesn't make you shake your head in amazement.
He completely obliterated the 49ers' center on the first play from scrimmage on Friday and made a tackle for a one-yard loss. And if he does get beat? He comes back the next play with a vengeance. Just watch him.
And don't get all worked up about Romo's INT. It really wasn't his fault. Our fullback whiffed on his block forcing Romo to throw into pressure. He didn't get anything behind what would have been a probable TD and left it short. Those things are going to happen.
Overall, we look like a team that's ready to compete for a Super Bowl. We're not there yet, but it's a great starting point.
Here's a snapshot of my takeaway from Saturday's game: Romo looked poised and efficient. Miles Austin FINALLY did something in a game. Kevin Ogletree followed up a brilliant game against Tennessee with another good showing (this time against a starting NFL defense). Our running backs look great. The offensive line has looked quick and dominant. Anthony Spencer continues to look good. Mike Jenkins made a couple of fantastic open field tackles. Isaiah Stanback will probably not make the 53-man roster. Jay Ratliff does things in traffic that the majority of DEs and OLBs can't do in open space. He's amazing. Our defense has been ridiculously vanilla so far (which is just fine) and has been able to make big plays, but I can't wait to see when they start throwing some curve balls in there.
And I still like my prediction that we'll start the season 7-0 before losing November 8 at Philadelphia.
12-4 here we come.
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