SB Nation - Doug Free

BTB Game Balls: Redskins @ Cowboys

Aaron Novinger — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:24:36 -0000

Anthony Spencer ran away with his BTB game ball.

It's time to hand out game balls for the Cowboys' home victory against the Redskins! We've got one for a player from each unit: offense, defense, special teams. We've even got one for the coaching staff.

Make the jump to see who gets a BTB game ball.

Offense

Tony Romo - It wasn't pretty, but Romo got the job done when his team needed him most. If a win is a win, then a game-winning touchdown pass is a game-winning touchdown pass. Sure, his stats on the day stunk (15 of 27 for 158 with one TD and one INT), but it's the team that counts. As he said in his post-game press conference, the team "continued to believe and have faith" that they were going to win the game and it showed. He and Patrick Crayton sure showed that they have faith in each other - enough to keep the play alive until a passing window opened up.

The team-first mentality is bridging the barrier between units, as well - best exemplified by Keith Brooking voicing his concern over Romo's back injury. Do you think Brooking cares about Romo's numbers? He, along with most of us, cared more that #9 sacrificed his body to secure the tackle on DeAngelo Hall. That Marion Barber fumble bounced pretty far. No telling how many more yards Hall could have taken it had Romo not lunged at him.

The win has been called "ugly", the passing game "inefficient", and Romo's passes "inaccurate". Yes, there is cause for concern on offense. Nevertheless, the running game got going despite missing RT Marc Colombo. A running game can be a quarterback's best friend, especially for an ailing quarterback. Hopefully, that will translate into some more success through the air come Thanksgiving.

Honorable Mention: Marion Barber, Doug Free

Defense

Anthony Spencer - Yes! Spencer made the play to save the day! His game-saving interception more than made up for that sack the zebras took away from him. Although he did not register a tackle for a loss against the 'Skins, his physical presence (5 total tackles, 3 solo) helped limit the running backs to a combined total of 78 yards rushing.

That pass he batted in the air was perfectly timed. He keeps showing his ability to obstruct passing lanes, which could come in handy this week if Bruce Gradowski relies on his penchant to throw side-arm passes - ala Bernie Kosar.

Honorable Mention: Keith Brooking, Bradie James

Special Teams

Pat Watkins - On coverage units, this guy blasts someone in just about every game. He not only lays the wood with his 6'5" frame, but he wraps up, too. I was disappointed that his name was not listed as the Cowboys' Special Teamer on the Pro Bowl ballot. Sam Hurd's is, instead. Perhaps this game ball (that has been a long time coming) will ease the sting of being left off the ballot.

Say what you will about Watkins in regard to his defensive role(s), but his tenacity in getting downfield on special teams has kept him a Cowboy. Coach Joe D has a sure tackler with which to work, and his tutelage has greatly benefited Watkins. Where was little Antwaan Randle El to go? Zero punt return yardage for him.

Honorable Mention: L.P. Ladouceur, David Buehler

Coaching

Wade Phillips - Ignore the offense's lack of scoring for a moment and focus on that of the Redskins'. Aided by two missed Shaun Suisham field goals, the Dallas defense held Washington to a measly six points. This happened on a day when QB Jason Campbell looked impressive, going 13 for 13 on his third-down passes. The defense only sacked him once, but pressured him often. Cowboy-killer, Santana Moss, was held to just 38 yards on five catches as the secondary refused to be beat by anything downfield.

As Raf pointed out in his "Monday Musings", Coach Phillips' defense has cracked the NFL's top five in points allowed (17.5 PPG). The defensive line, linebackers, and secondary are all working hard to keep games manageable while the offense works out its kinks. And it's not just the starters...backups such as Alan Ball, Stephen Bowen, Victor Butler, and Junior Siavvi have been able to come in and actually contribute.

Coach Phillips and his assistants have their guys prepared. Having a top notch defense will prove a valuable asset as the Cowboys continue to control the division.

Honorable Mention: Dave Campo, Hudson Houck

The Cowboys did what they needed to do: pick up a divisional win at home. Let's chalk this one up as a defensive victory.

Who gets your game balls?

The VRR: Redskins (3-6) @ Cowboys (6-3)

Aaron Novinger — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:29:58 -0000

More photos » by Gerald Herbert - AP

Dallas defenders must try to limit Ladell Betts and the Washington offense.

Browse more photos »

The Cowboys can accomplish quite alot in beating the Redskins. Most importantly, they can regain the momentum they lost up in Lambeau. They can also increase their division record to 2-1 and their conference record to 6-2, which could come in handly for tie-breaking purposes down the road.

And, by handing the Redskins their seventh loss on the season, they could pretty much force them to begin waving bye-bye to their playoff chances.

Much of the talk this week at Valley Ranch has centered on Big D's offensive lack of production last week. On the flip side, Washington's offense seemed to show some signs of life for one of the first times this season. At home against Denver, RB Ladell Betts and QB Jason Campbell each scored, WR Devin Thomas showed some play-making potential, and the special teams found success on a fake field goal.

More VRR after the jump.

Perhaps it's the Cowboys' defenders that need to come up big. Beating the Broncos 27-17 last week boosted the Redskins' confidence. Deflating it early could be key.

"Coming off last week's victory, we've definitely got confidence. It was a big confidence-builder for us," Rock Cartwright said.

"You've got to keep it rolling. That's the whole objective," receiver Devin Thomas said. "You can never give up on a season just because things have gone bad. We knew we were just one click away from hitting on all cylinders."

With a win in Dallas, the Redskins would be only two games out of the NFC East lead with six games to play, three against the other division teams - including the Cowboys at home two nights after Christmas. Dallas, whose 57 wins against Washington are more than against any other team, doesn't want things to get that close. The dismal day in Green Bay likely got the Cowboys' attention.

The Cowboys should expect to see a heavy dose of RB Ladell Betts with Clinton Portis (concussion) out.

Betts rushed for a season-high 114 yards on 26 carries in last Sunday’s 27-17 win over the Denver Broncos.

Asked how Portis's status impacts him, Betts replied: "You get to be the man on first, second and third down, because before that, it was pretty much only on third down. Now I know that I get to play a full game, so it’s a little bit different mindset."

And it won't change the offensive game plan vs. Dallas, Zorn added. "We didn't change the run game necessarily to accommodate Ladell," Zorn said. "We ran our stuff, and what he did was push up into the hole and fight for yardage."

The Dallas secondary may be a bit banged up, but Mike Jenkins and Alan Ball sound ready to go. Ball should also receive help from Gerald Sensabaugh.

Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins injured his bicep in the Packers contest. Coach Wade Phillips said Jenkins has looked well and even had a couple of interceptions off QB Jon Kitna in scout team practice.

With S Ken Hamlin (ankle) out of the lineup for the Cowboys the next several weeks, look for safeties Alan Ball and Gerald Sensabaugh to split the duties of lining up the defense. Coach Wade Phillips had high praise for the smarts of Sensabaugh and his ability to handle the job.

Ball talks about the difference between playing free safety and cornerback. Also, it looks as if rookie SS Mike Hamlin will see his first action this week since the preseason.

"At cornerback, you don’t have to talk a lot," Ball said. "At safety, you have to know a lot. You have to make a lot of adjustments, a lot of checks. So you have to know a lot more going in. That’s about what it is."

Ball has five tackles and a pass breakup on defense this season. He has 12 special teams tackles, but is expected to have his special-teams workload lightened this week.

Phillips said rookie safety Mike Hamlin and cornerback Orlando Scandrick will fill in on special teams. Mike Hamlin has not been active this season.

Ball and Doug Free will be replaced on special teams.

With Alan Ball starting at free safety, reserve cornerback Orlando Scandrick will likely become the ``gunner,'' with outside coverage on punt-coverage teams. In addition, offensive tackle Pat McQuistan is scheduled to be active for the first time this season and replace Doug Free as a wall blocker on kickoff returns.

DeMarcus Ware talks about how Washington's blocking schemes and Jason Campbell's mobility in the pocket make it difficult to get to him.

"To be honest, it’s really hard to get to him because they keep in extra guys," Ware said. "They might have some guys on the front line so they do a lot of split backs and a lot of protection schemes to keep the guys off Campbell to make sure he’s effective in the pass."

[snip]

"He’s a great pocket passer," said Ware, who has seven sacks, tied for 10th in the NFL. "He makes sure he has confidence in his line and the guys around him so he can step up in the pocket to make plays."

"When he extends, when he moves around, when he flinches the ball, it causes the secondary, the linebackers, to hesitate, to go, to move," Zorn said. "And then if he can pull it down and have time to hit somebody else, it is very hard. It is the most difficult thing in football because you got the coverage, and if you throw on rhythm, you think you can handle it. When that rhythm's broke and you have to cover long through the coverage that you had, it's hard. It's what makes those quarterbacks very difficult to defend and he's been good at it for a few years."

Brian Orakpo thinks the Packers mapped out a way to get to Romo.

"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah," Orakpo told ESPN 103.3’s Galloway and Co. "They gave us a lot of good tips the way Green Bay was able to get after it with a lot of different looks. Best believe we’re going to go out there and try to perform some of those things and try to change it up a little bit and give Dallas a little different look."

[snip]

"It seemed like they didn’t know who to block," Orakpo said. "You see guys flying out of nowhere and hitting Romo from behind and forcing fumbles. I mean, they were all over the place. I guess what we’ve got to do is switch it up ourselves. We’ll see how the game plan is and what the calls will be called, but obviously, we got a lot of tips from that game."

Yes, they have Albert Haynesworth and London Fletcher, but the Redskins' run defense isn't all that.

The Redskins continue to struggle in run defense this season. The unit has yielded 100+ rushing yards in eight of nine games this season, including 120 yards in last Sunday’s win over Denver. Overall, the Redskins have allowed an average of 125.7 rushing yards per game, ranked 24th in the league. They have allowed 4.3 yards per carry, which is ranked 17th in the league.

Felix Jones pre-strained knee ligament, and Felix Jones post-strained knee ligament.

Before the injury, Jones had 21 carries for 212 yards (10.1 yards a carry). Since coming back after the bye week and wearing a knee brace, he has 23 carries for 92 yards.

The DallasNews guys talk to Bradie James and Roy Williams about the game.

The Redskins are looking forward to playing in Cowboys Stadium for the first time.

"That’s the first thing I thought about going to Dallas, ‘Man, I get a chance to play in the new stadium,’ Santana Moss said. "Just to see it--I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s all about. It looks nice on TV. You get mesmerized. "I remember seeing the first game there [on TV]--you had cheerleaders dancing on platforms. I was like, ‘Wow.’"

Rock Cartwright admits he plans to check out the video screen, hopefully after he makes a big play. "I’m really looking forward to seeing that screen," Rock Cartwright said. "I guess every seat in the house is a good seat. I’m sure I’ll take a look at it after I make a nice run, or so. But I won’t be focused on it too much. I’ll be focused on what’s happening on the field."

The series history between the two teams:

The Cowboys lead the all-time regular season series with Washington, 57-37-2, including an unconventional split of last year's home-and-home. The Redskins were 26-24 winners in their trip to Texas Stadium in Week 4, but dropped a 14-10 decision when the clubs met at FedEx Field in Week 11. The teams engaged in conventional home-and-home splits in both 2006 and 2007. Washington is 2-0 against Dallas in the postseason, winning in the 1972 and 1982 NFC Championship games.

Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is 3-2 all-time against Washington, with one of those wins coming for his Bills team in 1999 at FedEx Field. The Redskins' Jim Zorn is 1-1 against both Phillips and the Cowboys as a head man.

Here is the NFL Game Center for the Redskins at Cowboys.

DeMarcus Ware had the privelege of meeting President Obama as they worked together on a PSA to promote the NFL's Play 60 campaign.

"I was like ‘Ohhhh my God,"’ when Obama came out in a Bears pullover, Ware said in a telephone interview. "It was me, Polamalu and Drew Brees there, so you know how we feel about the Chicago Bears. But he’s a big Chicago Bears fan. He greeted each one of us, and he knew everything about our teams."

Ware is Dallas’ representative for the Play 60 program, which began in 2007. The NFL estimates it has committed $200 million worth of programming, grants, and time for PSAs to the initiative.

"I think it’s really important," Ware said. "If the players are getting involved in it, Obama, a lot of important people getting involved in it, sometimes it encourages kids to get out and do those type of activities and show them just how important it is."

Redskins vs Cowboys: Haynesworth & Corner Blitzing are the Keys to Victory

KevinE — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:19:16 -0000

Well, it's Cowboys week and if there's ever a time to stay medium, this is the week. Vegas opened the line with Cowboys as 13 point favorites, which America bold-heartedly disagrees with as the line has moved down to -11. In my weekly routine of combing over the opponent's offensive stats, the Cowboys are damn impressive. They average a 2^nd best rushing yards per carry (5.1), but only rank 24^th in the league in rushing attempts. Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett has been catching a LOT of heat this week in Big D for abandoning the run, so I expect the Skins D to face a lot of rushes early.

Their passing game is equally as scary with a league leading 11 passing plays that have gone for 40+ yards, while Romo has only given up a measly 6 INTs so far. November is Romo's month, 15-2 for his career, but alas....one of those losses was against the burgundy & gold.

Whichever team runs the ball well is going to win, and looking at the rushing statistics, it's clear Albert Hanyesworth is without doubt the key to this game. He was wearing a protective boot for his sprained ankle yesterday, but is expected to play. Special thanks to HH member PommyLee for putting the following graphs together.

This chart visualizes the power runs, which is the % success rate rushing the ball on 3^rd or 4^th down with under 2 yards to get the 1^st down. Dallas has a 100% success rate running right in short yardage situations while Stephon Heyer and the Redskins have a 0% success rate running the same way:

Even though the Cowboys have a lot of success running right in short yardage situations, their success is running the ball left and up the middle. This next chart shows the number of rushes for each team left, right, and up the middle. Just under half of the Cowgirls' big play rushes are to the left. Phillip Daniels has his work cut out for him as this chart shows:

PommyLee: Dallas has 5 negative yard plays running right which I assume must all be sweeps on early downs considering their 100% success in short yardage. Even though we have 0% success running right in short yardage we get some success with long runs running right and left

Moving over to the passing game, pressure is IMPERATIVE. The Cowgirls have allowed a 19^th worst 22 sacks. Green Bay deserves a lot of credit since they notched 5 sacks last week. Don Capers used a 3-4 scheme and blitzed relentlessly to major success:

"They have a good scheme, they throw a lot of guys around and they have good players who know how to (blitz) and it just made for confusion from time to time," Romo said

Romo has actually struggled against all the 3-4 defenses he's faced. In regards to pressure, Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache prefers to blitz the safeties, but he has changed that up this year. In the squeaker win over Tampa, Blache blitzed all the corners at least once with Tryon drawing the most praise:

"[Tryon] brings that mentality of special teams to defense," [Secondary Coach Jerry] Gray said. "[Now] you've brought in a guy who has reckless abandon to go and make plays. Justin could have blitzed and when the quarterback scrambled away, but he accelerated and didn't slow down until he got his hands on him. That's the mentality they teach on special teams. It carries over."

The Cowboys O-line is banged up, which the Redskins welcome, especially Andre Carter. Right Tackle Marc Columbo is likely gone for the year, and Doug Free will step in, who has never started a game before.

If the Skins show a 3-4 at times, it's imperative they get pressure with Haynesworth in the middle. The big man also takes away the rush the middle...if he can make it through this game without injury, that $100 million contract might just be worth it.

The VRR: Can the Cowboys Regain their Balance Against the Redskins?

Aaron Novinger — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:04:37 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

When the Cowboys host the Redskins this Sunday, many eyes will be watching how Jason Garrett divvies up his runs and passes.

Browse more photos »

The first time the Cowboys hosted an NFC East rival in their new stadium, the offense featured a devastating rushing attack that mixed both power and speed. Marion Barber ran 18 times for 124 yards and a score. Felix Jones averaged 13.7 yards on seven carries and picked up a score of his own. Tashard Choice didn't have a big game, but you could tell the coaches were trying to get him involved. Typically, that's how many of us imagined the Dallas ground game producing for the rest of the year.

Much has changed since that Week Two game against the Giants. It all began with a strained quad, and then a sprained knee, a fractured thumb. But it was okay. Miles Austin saved the day, and then Tony Romo got hot. Their success has helped make up for the fact that the Cowboys no longer lead the league in rushing.

Choice has maintained his injury bug repellent, and the team is still ranked 8th in rushing - averaging 130 YPG. That's great, but the worry is that the rushing YPG is slipping every week. The worry is that the Dallas offense is growing unbalanced. The worry is that too many passing plays draw more hits on the quarterback, and can effectively lose the time of possession battle. Losing that can wear out a defense.

Shouldn't it be the Cowboys' offense doing that to opposing defenses this back half of the season?

More VRR after the jump.

Last season, in a loss to the Redskins, the Cowboys' RBs had 8 carries. Last week, in a loss against the Packers, they had 11. What does offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, have to say about this?

Garrett said it was because of "game circumstance," mentioning that the Cowboys trailed by three scores with 10 minutes remaining in the game. But the Cowboys abandoned the run after the first quarter, when Marion Barber had four carries for 27 yards.

Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers told reporters after the game that Green Bay, which sacked Tony Romo five times, could blitz aggressively because the Cowboys were so one-dimensional.

"You don’t want to be one-dimensional in anything you do," said Garrett, whose offense has run pass plays 62.7 percent of the time this season, including sacks and Romo scrambles.

"You don’t want to just be an inside running team. You don’t just want to be an outside running team. You don’t just want to be a dropback team. You want to be able to move the quarterback, you want to be able to run the ball, play-action, drop back. "The more you can do, the harder it is on the defense. At the same time, you need to have an identity. Identity is important, too. You don’t want to be all things to all people, but you want to be good at a lot of different things."

Clarence Hill takes the opposite approach to the Cowboys' lack of rushing attempts: the running game has simply been ineffective.

Their running attempts and yards have a diminished dramatically since the start of the season. That is a more of a product of Marion Barber and Felix Jones being injured. Neither has had the same burst since returning to the lineup. Barber missed one game. Jones missed two. Barber has started to look more like his old self of late.

But Jones looks uncomfortable and tentative. He has not been a game-breaking threat. Consider that he has had only two runs longer than 10 yards the last four games since returning from the sprained knee and they were just 12 and 11 yards each. He has not had a run longer than four yards against the Eagles and Packers the past two weeks.

Jones needs to be game-breaking good for the Cowboys to be truly special on offense. He hasn’t been that lately.

Barber didn't get much of a chance to perform...apparently because of his thumb.

Running back Marion Barber saw his time limited against the Packers because of problems with a fractured left thumb that was causing him trouble on pass protection at Green Bay. Barber had four carries in the first half for 26 yards, but he carried it just one time for minus-1 yard in the second half. The Cowboys went with Tashard Choice because he could handle the blitz pickups.

"We use Marion because he's such a dominant blocker," coach Wade Phillips said, "but he was having problems so we took him out."

If Barber can't get the job done in pass protection, the coaches are more apt to go with Choice rather than Felix.

When Barber's broken left thumb prevented him from blocking effectively in the second half Sunday, the Cowboys turned to Choice to protect Romo.

"He is a better pass protector than Felix, and he picks up the blitzes better," Phillips said of Choice. Hamstring and toe injuries forced Jones to miss 10 games last season, time he could have used honing his blocking skills.

"He's just not as adept at it yet," Phillips said. "(Choice) knows his assignments well and does a good job of blocking."

We may have seen a decrease in handoffs, but we have seen an increase in the "Razorback" lately.

According to Stats & Information, the Cowboys are fifth in the league in terms of Wildcat plays with seven. Tashard Choice had a touchdown run out of the Wildcat against the Eagles in Week 8.

The Cowboys will need to run the ball against the Redskins. They are first in the league in pass defense, giving up an average of just 162.7 YPG.

Romo will be facing the top-ranked passing defense in the league as well as one of the NFL's most improved pass rushes. The Redskins had 24 sacks last season to tie for the third-worst mark in the league, and have already matched that total. Linebacker Brian Orakpo, the No. 13 overall draft pick, leads all rookies with seven sacks and veteran Andre Carter has eight. Last season, the Redskins failed to sack Romo.

"Last year I felt we had some QBs feel very comfortable in the pocket," coach Jim Zorn said. "And this year we are making quarterbacks uncomfortable in the pocket."

That pass rush could be even more potent with Doug Free expected to make his first career start Sunday at right tackle for Dallas in place of Mark Colombo, who had started 57 consecutive games. Colombo had surgery after he broke his left leg and suffered ligament damage in his ankle against Green Bay.

Look for DE Andre Carter and rookie Brian Orakpo to again spearhead the Redskins' pass rush.

Orakpo already set a club record for sacks in a season by a rookie with seven, three more than any other rookie in the league.

With 15 sacks between them, Carter and Orakpo rank as the No. 3 tandem in the league behind the Colts' Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis (17.5) and the Vikings' Jared Allen and Kevin Williams (17).

"That's what they drafted me for, to make big plays," Orakpo said. "[Andre's] a guy I've looked up to and admired. That's what keeps great pass rushers hungry and able to improve - it's competing. You don't ever want one guy doing all the workload."

Andre Gurode has no ill-feelings about the 2006 game when Albert Haynesworth stomped on his face. The violent injury necessitated 30 stitches along with plastic surgery.

"It's good that he moved passed it. I moved passed it," said Gurode, a Pro Bowl pick the past three seasons. "He is a great player."

Haynesworth calls Gurode "one of the best centers in the game. ... He has good movement. He is big. He is strong."

Gurode opted against filing criminal charges against Haynesworth, who publicly and privately apologized to Gurode in the days after the October 2006 game in Nashville. Now that they will be on the field together again, Gurode knows there will be plenty of reminders of what happened, from the questions being asked to the video replays sure to be on TV.

"I expected when he signed with the Redskins and we played them that it was going to be brought up," Gurode said. "It's something in the past and you can't let what happened in the past define who you are today."

Haynesworth (ankle) may be questionable for Sunday's game. RB Clinton Portis (concussion) will not play.

Bob Cohn asks if Portis' best football is behind him.

But a decline would not be unprecedented or unexpected because Portis' durability and ruggedness might be catching up to him. Going into the season, only four active runners had more career carries. All of them - Edgerrin James, LaDainian Tomlinson, Fred Taylor and Jamal Lewis - have seen better days.

You may have read earlier that Doug Free will get the start at RT for Marc Colombo. The new face on the first-team defense was also announced today. Alan Ball has been named the starter at FS for the injured Ken Hamlin.

Coach Phillips makes it sound like Ball can "ball".

"He's so aggressive," Phillips said. "I mean we've seen him on special teams and he's very aggressive. And he tackles well. He's not a big guy but he tackles well. It's a concern. Their running game is a concern because they have a strong running game. They had 174 yards last week against Denver, who we know can play the run pretty well."

Special teams dynamo, David Buehler, did not practice today because of a pinky toe injury. Todd Archer said that Buehler was "limping noticeably".

Some of the Cowboys have begun the holiday season by helping to serve Thanksgiving dinner at the Dallas Salvation Army homeless center.

SB Nation's power rankings dropped the Cowboys just two spots - from 7 to 9.

Where has Jason Witten gone this year? While Romo still targets him plenty, Witten's yards per catch are at a career low, and he's been a non-factor at the goal-line. With teams keying in on Miles Austin and Roy Williams generally hit-or-miss, the Cowboys will need more from Witten if they're going to develop some offensive consistency. (And losing RT Marc Colombo to injury won't help either)

Doug Free: What The Game Tape Said

Dave Halprin — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:14:59 -0000

After reading that Wade Phillips was considering the possibility of moving Leonard Davis out to right tackle and inserting Cory Procter or Montrae Holland in at guard, or that Pat McQuistan might even get some practice snaps; I got to thinking - Why the heck would Dallas do that?

Was Doug Free that bad in the Packers game? The franchise has invested time and money in Free, this would seem like the perfect opportunity to see what they have in the player. We've seen Procter and Holland play, and I don't think anybody is clamoring to get these guys playing time, ditto Pat McQuistan. Why break up the continuity at two positions? It all seemed a little nutty to me, so I did what any responsible blogger would do - I just made up an opinion.

I kid! I actually watched the game again focusing exclusively on the play of Doug Free.

[UPDATE]: The Cowboys are going to start Doug Free at right tackle. Line coach Hudson Houck gave the news to Todd Archer.

Before my DVR stopped recording the very end of the game, I charted Doug Free for roughly 52 plays (including some plays negated by a Cowboys penalty). Yeah, I know, it's hard to believe we had that many plays on offense, but the final few drives of the game account for almost half that number.

What I found was close to what I expected. First, I think he had a pretty good game for coming off the bench and not getting reps with the first team in practice all year. I've been reporting from training camp for a couple of years that Free has very quick feet and is very athletic for a lineman, and this game was no different. Free is quick out of his stance, and moves laterally well, and was not having a lot of problems with the pass rush. In context though, the Packers were attacking the Cowboys mainly from the middle and over the left-side of our offensive line. Free was battling outside linebackers a lot of the game, and this favored his ability to use his agility to lock up a pass rusher. What we need to see is when he faces a bigger defensive end who could use strength and size to overpower Free, that is a test he would need to pass.

On the negative side, Free was sometimes confused in protections, picking up the wrong guy or no guy; these were obvious mental mistakes and are part of the experience-gaining process. Another area that he was poor at was getting out on screens, especially the WR screens. Given his athleticism this would appear to be a skill that favors him, but it was more the timing on the screens, which you can't really get a good feel for until you've played in real-game, live-speed action.

I only counted eight plays that were obvious problems/mistakes and somewhat material to the play. On a screen pass, he gave up too much ground to the pass rusher too quickly, forcing Romo to get rid of the ball before he wanted to. Fortunately for the Cowboys, the play ended up being successful. On a run, Free was supposed to hit the closest guy on the line, then shed him and get to the second-level. He did this, but his initial block was too soft and once he shed the defender, the defender stuffed the run. In his hurry to get to the second-level, he didn't take care of business on the first-level. He totally blew a blitz pickup but Romo managed to save the play. Twice, he was slow to get out on the WR screen, one time was especially bad, it helped kill the play. On another screen to a back, he picked the wrong guy to block. He had two bad pass protections, one lead to a holding call and on the other he did manage to recover somewhat at the last second.

Those were the eight plays where you could definitely see his inexperience and mental mistakes.

But, contrast that to the other 44 plays or so where he was actually quite good, or the play went away from him and his block was immaterial to the success of the play. If you watch his pass protection for most of the game, it was solid. On a few run plays he got great blocks, including one pinning down the defensive tackle while blocking down, and a combo block with Davis that opened a hole, plus a few other decent one-on-one blocks.

I came away fairly impressed with his play, this being his first real, significant, playing-time since joining the Cowboys. Nothing in his performance said he shouldn't get another start this week. Maybe Phillips is just keeping people guessing so everybody will practice harder and prepare harder in hopes they might get some playing time. Maybe it's a ploy to keep Free from feeling entitled to the starting spot, making him work harder and harder. Maybe the Cowboys coaches saw something I didn't see.

If Doug Free doesn't start on Sunday, I would love to know the reason why. I couldn't find it in the Packers game tape.

The VRR: Surviving Injury Up Next For Cowboys

Dave Halprin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:12:06 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

We never see much of Doug Free, but now we're going to get an up-close and personal look.

Browse more photos »

The Dallas Cowboys' relatively injury-free season was fractured on Sunday. More specifically, it was torn apart. Right tackle and resident tough-guy on the offense, Marc Colombo, fractured his tibia, but it turns out that will heal on its own. It's the torn ligaments in his ankle that require surgery.

From Todd Archer:

Marc Colombo will undergo surgery to repair the torn ligaments in his right ankle and will miss at least six weeks. The fibular fracture will heal on its own. There is a chance Colombo could play again this season if the Cowboys make a playoff run.

We all know how important the continuity along our offensive line has been to the success of the Cowboys offense. Last year, the Cowboys lost that when they lost Kyle Kosier, and in turn started to struggle. Now, they must face life without Colombo for the rest of the regular-season at minimum. This time, they turn to Doug Free. We've been waiting for a while to find out what we have in Free, but obviously we didn't want to find out this way.

Still, we've been watching Flozell Adams over the past couple of years and wondering when age and injury would fully catch up to him, all the while wondering if Free was his eventual replacement. We'll get a preview of that when he takes over for Colombo over the stretch-run, even though it would be at the "theoretically" less-challenging right tackle position. Free has to show he can handle that, before we have any thoughts of him eventually taking over at left tackle. Marc Colombo will be back after this season, the question has always been when will it be over for Flozell?

More VRR after the jump...

Leonard Davis says that he and Free are already talking together and working toward integrating Free into a line that is not short on experience.

"The whole time Doug was out there, him and I were talking," Davis said. "We talked on the bench and just kind of went over some plays and scenarios, so that way when we got on the field we were able to communicate and be on the same page, because the worst thing you can do is go out on the field with somebody that's never had any game experience and not be on the same page."

The good news on the injury front is that Mike Jenkins appears to be fine after bruising his bicep during the game and shouldn't miss any time. The bad news is Ken Hamlin, who we don't know about yet, but conflicting reports give pause.

Safety Ken Hamlin has a high ankle sprain that could keep him out a couple of weeks. Alan Ball or Pat Watkins would replace Hamlin if he cannot play.

Over at DC.com, they were a little more optimistic.

Two other players were forced to come out of the game with injuries, including Ken Hamlin, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the third quarter and did not return after being taken to the locker room for X-rays. The Cowboys don't expect Hamlin to be out long term. "It's real hard to tell early," Jerry Jones said. "But it does not look like an extended period of time he'll be out."

Sounds like he could miss a week or two.

Are players named Roy Williams simply cursed in Dallas? Roy Williams, the receiver, had his best statistical outing for the Cowboys and was one of the few offensive players early-on that made any plays, only to have that all overshadowed by his disastrous fumble and drop. For the drop, he claimed the lights and his visor-glare blinded him - let me give that a simple 'whatever'. But, he at least recognized he helped blow the game.

"The fumble, that’s on me," Williams said. "The one in the lights, that’s on me. If the lights weren’t there that’s a catch. I lost this game for this football team. That’s the way I feel."

Nick Eatman makes the case that the Cowboys abandoned the running game too soon.

Barber gets 20 yards on his first two carries of the game and finishes with just three more . . . the rest of the game? Seriously? That's what I had a problem with. We're not talking about the game getting out of hand or the score was prohibitive for the run. And you can't say the Packers completely sold out to stop the run, or you would think the Cowboys might have attempted more than a handful of deep balls. The Packers' safeties were playing too deep to suggest a lot of eight-man fronts.

Raf looks at it with a different conclusion in this post, but let's talk about what hasn't been said much recently.

Felix Jones doesn't look anything like his old self since coming back from the knee injury. The quick burst, the explosiveness when he finds a small crease are just not there right now. He's still wearing the knee brace and over the past few games has added very little to the Cowboys cause. Should he be sitting until fully healthy? Is there a problem no one is discussing? Or is he just in a mini-slump? Without Jones' big bursts from the backfield, the Cowboys ground game is suffering.

Before we dive into this next story, let's all pledge that we are not in anyway blaming this game on the officials. But...didn't it feel like Dallas got hosed in the replay department on Sunday. By now we all know that the officials couldn't review the fumble that was recovered by Felix Jones. Still, even though it was the rule, that doesn't make us feel any better. That was a huge turning point in the game and essentially ended any chance of the Cowboys coming back once that Packers scored a TD.

"My mistake [thinking it was reviewable]," Triplette told a pool reporter after the game. "That’s not a reviewable aspect of a play. A recovery of a loose ball in the field of play is not reviewable by rule. So we just couldn’t review it."

I bet the NFL will review it, the rule that is, this offseason.

But how about another mistake that basically went unnoticed. On fourth down with just under 8 minutes to go, the Cowboys picked up the first down on a great "catch" by Patrick Crayton. Cowboys ball, first and ten at the Green Bay 29 yard-line. But the Packers challenged the play.

Triplette failed to penalize the Packers in the fourth quarter after coach Mike McCarthy tried to challenge a play when the Packers were out of challenges. Rule 15, Section 9 of the rule book states that "for initiating a challenge when all of a team’s timeouts have been exhausted or when all of its available challenges have been used: Loss of 15 yards."

A 15-yard penalty would have put the Cowboys at the Pack 14 with 8 minutes to go. Sure, a miracle comeback was far-fetched, but at least you'd like to have all the benefits of correct rulings to make it happen.

And to close, I have to give a shout-out to the Packers Charles Woodson. The whole Packers 3-4 defense was good, in fact great, but Woodson was the star.

Charles Woodson made enough for the Packers. He shadowed Witten more than the Cowboys thought he would, but he went further than merely playing his position. He was involved in all three Dallas turnovers.

We needed someone like him on Sunday.

Nine Cowboys Games and What Do We Know?

Rafael Vela — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:10:09 -0000

More photos » by Morry Gash - AP

3-4 blitz packages have troubled the Cowboys blockers this year. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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A handful of facts on a bloodshot Monday:

1. The Cowboys, at 6-3 remain atop the NFC East, one game ahead of the Eagles and Giants.

2. Dallas is tied with the Cardinals for the third best record in the conference, behind New Orleans and Minnesota

3. Dallas has the best scoring defense in the NFC, though it ranks 8th in the NFL. Dallas should remain a solid NFC contender as long as the good health continues on this side of the ball.

4. Point three leads to a chicken-egg question. The Cowboys would rank 3rd in the AFC in scoring offense, behind only the Colts and Chargers. Yet, they rank much, much lower in the NFC. Look at the NFL and the top scoring defenses all reside in the AFC while the top scoring offenses are in the NFC. Do the NFC teams score so much because the defenses in conference are relatively weak, or is there some other explanation?

5. The NFL season is one of attrition. In that respect, the Cowboys remain blessed. Yes, they lost starting right tackle Marc Colombo, perhaps for the season, but their injured secondary players appear set for quick returns. CB Mike Jenkins maintains that he will be back against the Redskins while Jerry Jones claimed that Ken Hamlin's ankle injury was not believed to be a long-term issue. With Washington and Oakland, the two worst scoring offenses in their respective conferences next on the schedule, the Cowboys' defense should remain on track, health sustaining.

6. Injuries have to be assessed according to team depth, not just by position; if you suffer an injury at a deep spot, it's not so bad. If you're thin or empty on a unit and lose a starter, you're sunk. In this sense, Dallas got a bit lucky. If you were to rank their linemen from 1-9, Doug Free would rate 6th, just behind the five starters. I'd probably put Marc Colombo 4th on this list, ahead of Kyle Kosier, but behind Gurode, Davis and Adams. This means that Dallas would realize the least drop-off from starter to backup.

Compare that to last year, when Cory Proctor replaced Kosier for much of the season at left guard. While Kosier is the lowest rated of the five starters, the drop-off from his level of play to Proctor's was significant.

7. Dallas has likely reached the its limit of serious o-line injuries. Free was the best backup, and he may be the only backup who could give quality long-term starting play. We know Proctor's limit. Montrae Holland you ask? I think the fact that Proctor is active and Holland frequently isn't says a lot about the team's confidence in him.

Free may take this opportunity and run. He may show he's much better than Rob Petitti and Torrin Tucker were in '05,but the Cowboys may be facing a similar situation. Petitti had to start as a low round rookie that year because Ryan Young and Jacob Rogers could not play. The Cowboys were able to progress into playoff contention with him, but collapsed when Flozell Adams tore a knee ligament.

That team could absorb one significant line injury but not two. I believe this team finds itself in the same situation. It can progress with Free in the lineup but I don't think it can start Free and another of the backups.

8. Dallas' offense has struggled facing 3-4 fronts. Dallas has faced two thus far and could muster only ten points against the Broncos and seven against the Packers. The Cowboys face just one more 34 this year, when Norv Turner and his DC Ron Rivera bring their Chargers to Cowboys Stadium.

9. The Redskins bring a shiny new win with them to Cowboys Stadium next week. They're not going to feel any sympathy for Dallas. They lost Pro Bowl LT Chris Samuels to a neck injury weeks ago. They lost RG Randy Thomas before that. Only C Casey Rabach remains from Washington's '08 starting five. (Ask the Eagles about OL depth today. Or the Packers. It's part of the game. There's no crying in football.)

10. The Redskins are a divisional rival, which means anything can happen. If you're looking for another reason why this game is far from certain, know that Washington ranks 2nd in NFC scoring defense behind the Cowboys. The Redskins offense can barely muster 14 points per game, but DC Greg Blache's guys do not surrender many points.

Packers Punish Cowboys 17-7

Dave Halprin — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:39:54 -0000

More photos » by Jim Prisching - AP

A healthy Cowboys team got beat up in Green Bay.

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That game was brutal - on so many levels.

In the short-term, we just got punked by the Green Bay Packers. They punished the Cowboys to the tune of a 17-7 loss at Lambeau Field. The Cowboys offense was terrible, the defense hung tough for as long as they could, but eventually buckled late in the game. This was all on the offense, though. You only need to look at the points the offense put on the scoreboard to know why this game was an epic fail.

It was equally ugly long-term. Marc Colombo has a broken tibia which means Doug Free is part of the starting offensive line for the foreseeable future. I'll have to look at the film to see how Free did in this game, but the blame on the offense should be spread across the board. It will require a deep tape study to figure out all of what went wrong.

Also on the injury front, Ken Hamlin injured an ankle and Mike Jenkins hurt his bicep.

And the Packers hurt the Cowboys pride in this one.

The most important thing the Cowboys can do in the wake of this loss is to not start pointing fingers or making wild statements over the next few days. Dallas is still in first in the NFC East and they are 6-3 which is a good record at this point of the season. With the quick turnaround of games in the next two weeks because of Thanksgiving, the Cowboys need to hold their composure and get ready to win next week. If the Cowboys can pick up wins against the Redskins and the Raiders, which is very doable, they can get over this particular momentum-killer quickly.

Every once in a while you get kicked in the teeth in this game, that just happened to the Cowboys.

It's what you do after the beating that matters.

(Please don't foul up the board with a bunch of profanity or name-calling, I will be vigilant about that.)

The VRR: Cowboys Will Take a Team-First Approach into Philadelphia

Aaron Novinger — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:51:50 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Working as a team has helped Dallas develop the potential of some of their rising stars, such as WR Miles Austin and TE Martellus Bennett.

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The numbers 44-6 still have a sting to them, but this Dallas team is different from the last one that management fielded against the Eagles.

"That was a low point that everybody still tastes, everybody remembers," Jerry Jones said Sunday evening. "We brought it on ourselves, more so than anything else, and we’ll remember that as we go back up and play in a similar situation."

While the Cowboys seem to be benefiting from a growing team chemistry, they are also much healthier going into this game.

Some things are clearly different now, such as Miles Austin. The only time he touched the ball against the Eagles was on kickoff returns. That night, at least, there were a lot of them.

"We have a lot of other new faces here," Jones countered. "Just add them up." He chose to add up faces that have healed. "I think Romo is healthier and better than he was against Philadelphia," Jones said. "I think Marion Barber is healthier. I think Felix Jones is healthier."

Romo’s thumb had mostly healed by late December, but point taken. Barber was bothered at the end of last season by a sore toe, and he carried only three times in the finale against the Eagles. Felix was out.

More VRR after the jump.

The Eagles, though, have attained some new weapons for themselves - particularly on offense.

As if one outstanding dual-purpose running back wasn’t enough in Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia added second-round pick LeSean McCoy (294 yards, 4.2 average). McNabb has a dependable target in tight end Brent Celek (37 catches), but wideouts DeSean Jackson and rookie Jeremy Maclin worry Dallas the most. Jackson has five TDs this season (three receiving, one punt return and one rushing) that have covered 50-plus yards. Dallas coach Wade Phillips was asked how he plans to contain Jackson.

"Help, help," Phillips said. "You got to get some help on him. They know that. We know that. You get a guy like that who makes a lot of big plays, you’ve got to have somebody else looking for him other than a corner."

It's no secret that the Eagles WR DeSean Jackson is their most dynamic player. I'm not so sure Dallas will just stick one guy on him, as this article suggests.

Who has to stop him? Terence Newman followed Steve Smith all over the field when the Cowboys played Carolina and limited him to four catches for 38 yards. Newman could draw Jackson this week. Newman has a team-high three forced fumbles this season.

Newman took the team-first approach in addressing the subject of him covering Jackson.

"I don’t know. You’ll have to ask the coaches. I’ll do whatever they tell me to do," Newman said when asked about the possibility. The cornerback also said he has no preference when the coaches notify him of the plan. "It doesn’t matter. You just go out and play. If that’s something they want me to do, I’ll definitely do it."

Matt Mosely on Jackson.

One longtime NFC pro personnel scout told me recently that it's Jackson's ability to stutter-step and then be at full speed within about four strides that separates him from most receivers in the league. Asked recently if he'd coached a weapon as potent as Jackson, Eagles coach Andy Reid referenced Terrell Owens and Brian Westbrook. But he quickly returned to Jackson.

The Cowboys have yet to be fooled by the Wildcat this year. With Michael Vick coming in at times for the Eagles, the Dallas defense must still be aware of how well Philly uses the formation.

According to stats compiled by Paul Domowitch of the Philadelphia Daily News, the Eagles have rushed for 163 yards on 40 carries out of the Wildcat. They have rushed for 639 yards on 127 carries out of their standard sets. Vick has rushed for 26 yards on 10 carries out of the Wildcat.

Brian Westbrook will play on Sunday night.

Coach Andy Reid made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon that barring any setbacks in practice, his starting running back is good to go for Dallas.

JJT and Geoff Mosher go over both teams' keys for success, and predict a 24-17 Eagles victory.

BGN previews the game here.

Wouldn't it be great if Patrick Crayton could seal another victory via punt return?

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no professional player has ever returned a punt for a touchdown in three consecutive games.

The ST coverage units have been consistently tackling returners all season. Nick Eatman notes how competitive the special teamers' numbers are.

Checking out the special teams tackles, there’s a competition brewing for the team lead with three guys tied with 12 tackles. Alan Ball, Patrick Watkins and Sam Hurd each have a dozen stops while covering kicks, and watch out for rookie Victor Butler, who is right there with 11. Deon Anderson and Steve Octavien each have seven each.

Coach Phillips is having fun working with this group of Cowboys. With each week, the team grows more into its "blue-collar" mentality.

"They are hard workers, and we have a lot of guys that play a role," Phillips said. "Whatever it is, they accept it, and they try to do really well at their role. So I think that's a good sign for our team."

Phillips has coached plenty of stars, including hall of famers John Elway, Bruce Smith and Jim Kelly. While he enjoyed them all, he's clearly having plenty of fun guiding a team that lacks a bona fide superstar.

"It's fun to have guys that are not big ego guys and are very team-oriented," Phillips said. "... This is a good group to coach. They do what you ask, and that's what you want as a coach. If you emphasize something or if you are quote on them about something, they try to do better. That's what you ask."

Team play is emphasized at every turn. In Sunday's 38-17 win over Seattle, Romo completed passes to 10 different targets, and five different players scored touchdowns. Afterward, nobody complained about not getting the ball enough.

Doug Free's play last week was encouraging for the coaches. Is this something we can expect more of?

At some point, the Cowboys have to find out what they have in the 25-year-old Free. They've tried to replace Adams, 34, the last few years but draft picks Pat McQuistan and James Marten, who's no longer with the team, haven't panned out. Meanwhile, Free has emerged as the backup to Adams.

"I think it's important for us. That's why we played him some," coach Wade Phillips said of Free. "I just think if a guy ... if he practices good enough and is good enough to play, then he deserves to get in the game sometimes. It helps his attitude and the confidence in the team in that guy when they see him do some good things."

Evidently, Miles Austin did get a tad banged up in the Seattle game, but nothing worrisome.

Receiver Miles Austin emerged with a sore groin, but that is not expected to limit his participation in practice.

It's doubtful we will see Austin's name on the injury report this week.

Either way, it doesn't look like Austin will be bothered by the groin this week. It didn't sound like an issue at all on Wednesday.

"It's alright, yeah," the receiver said.

The Dallas defeat of Seattle led to some big changes up in the Pacific Northwest.

Head coach Jim Mora Jr. reportedly ripped into his team following the team's 38-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys this past Sunday and chose words that intimated changes could be on the horizon for 2-5 Seattle. Cornerback Travis Fisher, who had five tackles in four games this season, was released Monday -- joined by (Edgerrin) James and safety C.J. Wallace a day later. Wallace made three stops in five games prior to his release Tuesday.

While broadcasting a Chargers game in 2002, Troy Aikman received a call from Andy Reid. Apparently, Reid wanted Aikman to come out of retirement to fill in for Donovan McNabb, who had just broken his ankle.

"Andy was giving me all the reasons why this would be good, why this would work," said Aikman, who was 35 at the time and had retired from the Cowboys after winning three Super Bowls in large part because of concussion problems.

The Philadelphia situation was all happening too fast for Aikman, who explained to Reid he was in the middle of a broadcast and promised to call after the game. Aikman had plenty of time to chat too, because he and his wife were driving from San Diego to their home in Santa Barbara for a mini-vacation. When Aikman dialed back Reid, the quarterback said he wanted to sleep on the decision but promised to call the coach the next day. By the time he reached Santa Barbara, Aikman had a pretty good idea which way he was leaning.

"So I went to bed that night and said, 'I can wake up tomorrow and spend a nice couple of days in Santa Barbara. Or, I can be in frigid Philadelphia getting my brains kicked in,' " he said. The next day, he called Reid and politely declined the offer.

Dancing With the Stars says, "you are the weakest link, goodbye" to Michael Irvin.

Irvin says that he recently offered advice to both Roy Williams and Miles Austin. Austin seemed the more receptive.

Ostensibly, Irvin stressed the importance of knowing the snap count and getting off the line; according to Irvin, Austin's receptiveness, and Williams disregard, was evident last Sunday against Seattle. On one play, Irvin said, Austin was four yards ahead of Williams after 12 yards, indicating that the former got off the line quicker and, presumably, did so at least in part due to the Hall of Famer's advice.

Put this in your backpocket for some offseason Cowboys-related reality TV.

When Free Reign -- the metal rock band featuring Dallas Cowboys Marc Colombo, Leonard Davis and Cory Procter -- joins WWEer Chris Jericho's Fozzy in a spring tour to promote Free Reign's new CD, "Tragedy," you can follow from your couch. Production house Go Go Luckey! ("Laguna Beach") will film for a reality series it'll soon shop to various networks.

The VRR: Cowboys Can Ride Three-game Win Streak for Only So Long

Aaron Novinger — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:46:13 -0000

More photos » by Donna McWilliam - AP

Wade Phillips likes the way his defense is physically attacking ball carriers.

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For the second week in a row, the Cowboys defeated their opponent in dominating fashion. The team's offensive, defensive, and special teams units outplayed, out-muscled, and simply outperformed Seattle on its way to a 38-17 victory.

As soon as the fourth quarter began, it was becoming more and more obvious that Dallas could not be caught. That felt good, but only for so long. Those scoring updates on FOX did little to shield us from the anxiety of how well the Eagles, the Cowboys' next opponents, were dismantling the Giants.

Admit it, you were staring at that big, blue star on the turf at Cowboys Stadium, but the peripheral view of your imagination was skipping ahead to next week, to Lincoln Financial Field.

We, fans, usually use Monday and Tuesday to relish and reflect on Sunday's game. On Wednesday, we are ready to transition. Nevertheless, the players, the coaches, and the media are already thinking Philadelphia. It was evident from the very first question in today's press conference with Coach Phillips.

But before we look to the future, let's first look to the recent past to see how this team achieved its 5-2 record yesterday. Here's what Coach Phillips had to say today about the performance of his players against the Seahawks.

Make the jump.

DL: Phillips seemed most impressed with this group. He singled out Jay Ratliff for his ability to play injured, while maintaining his high performance level. He also credited Stephen Bowen with a nice game, saying he plays his role well.

LBs: Bobby Carpenter (6 tackles, 1 sack) was the first named mentioned, here. He said it's "good to see him step up" and that he seems to be getting better and better in his role. He also mentioned Keith Brooking's consistency (12 tackles, 1 sack) and DeMarcus Ware (8 tackles, 1 sack).

DBs: Phillips calls Jenkins and Scandrick the "sophomore sensations". He says that they challenged Scandrick during the week to regain the technique he had last year. Scandrick responded well, he said, noting that he was supposed to have help on the TD caught on him. He seemed pleased that Jenkins had a quiet game, which simply meant he was doing his job well; and, he credited Newman for "making plays".

OL: He said that Leonard Davis had one of his best games with "knockdowns" and "runovers".

RBs: Their performance, he collectively called "solid". Their pass-blocking continues to impress him.

WRs: The "confidence we have in those guys is warranted," Phillips said. He noted how well they run with the ball after the reception (singling out Hurd's score) and then poked fun at Miles Austin for his inablity to dunk the ball over the goalpost. He also noted that the two P.I. calls on Seattle should also be seen as "big plays" by Austin.

Romo/Roy: "Tony doesn't throw many bad balls," he said. He has faith, as do the rest of the coaches, that all the work they do in practice, along with the talent between the two will pan out. He likens it do Ware's lack of sacks early in the season. The players all just keep working harder and harder until it produces for them on the field.

ST: They have been "special." Other than his giving credit to Crayton and the return teams, Phillips likes what he sees from the coverage units. Buehler and McBriar help, and guys like Hurd, Pat Watkins, Victor Butler, and Alan Ball all have great games covering kicks.

Young players: Phillips stressed that getting Hurd, Kevin Ogletree, and Doug Free in the game was not a direct effect of having the game in hand. These are three young players that the coaches feel they wanted to get some more game experience.

Keith Brooking is excited about this team, but cautious about "drinking the Cowboy Kool-Aid".

"We are just now starting to see all the hard work and sacrifices we’ve made come into fruition, and it’s a good feeling," Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking said. "That’s the reason we play this game. This is so much fun. That’s the reason I came here — to be a part of Sundays like this. I’m just excited about my football team, our football team, the way we’re coming together."

"There’s a fine line, though. We need to enjoy it, but everyone’s going to be drinking the Cowboy Kool-Aid here and telling us how great we are and how good we’re doing. We have a long way to go and a lot of football to play. As long as we prepare the way we’ve been preparing and come out on the field with confidence on Sunday, we’re going to be right where we want to be."

Bobby Carpenter got in on the sack action yesterday, but this is the second straight game the defense has gotten off to a slow start.

"I've been saving them up," joked Carpenter, whose last sack before Sunday came on Dec. 16, 2006, when he dropped Michael Vick 11/2 times in a win over the Falcons in Atlanta. "When you've got a team that can bring pressure from all angles, it makes it easy for guys to get sacks because they can't afford to double-team guys."

While Dallas celebrated having at least three sacks in each of its last five games, the Cowboys weren't happy about giving up points on their opponents' opening drive a second straight game.

"We performed well, but at the same time, we can't start off slow like this every Sunday," said Jay Ratliff, who had three tackles after being listed as questionable Friday with a knee injury. "We have to come out fired up and remain that way until the end."

The Dallas offense is more sweet than bitter right now. If Tony Romo can just get on the same page with a certain wide receiver, the sky would be the limit for this team.

On getting on the same page with Roy Williams:

"We have to watch the tape. We have to see why certain things are different ways. I missed him on a big route early in the game; I have to bring the ball down some. But he’s doing good. He’s running good routes and he’ll be fine. It’s just a matter of going back and looking at the tape and seeing what we have to do better. It’s just part of growing with a receiver or group."

Coach Phillips, yesterday, on the 9-11 disconnection.

"I still see Roy and Tony not on the same page," coach Wade Phillips said. "They're getting closer, they talk to each other afterwards a couple of times. Tony thought he was going to go there and vice versa, so we just got to keep working at that. Roy is tough to catch on that slant pass on the goal line."

Here is the transcript of Coach Phillips' post-game press conference, courtesy of Scout.com.

Remember, Romo and another "Bigg" time player allowed the Cowboys to restructure their contracts so that the team could afford to re-sign players, such as DeMarcus Ware. Great teamwork!

Tony Romo and Leonard Davis both let the Cowboys move some of their bonus money around in the spring of 2008 to save room for future signings, including Ware's extension. By shifting their bonus deferment Romo and Davis combined to save the Cowboys roughly $8 million against this season's cap.

Jason Witten's climb-up-the-TE-record books watch:

Witten’s 36 yards today gave him 5,283 for his career and allowed him to pass Russ Francis (5,262) and tie Keith Jackson for 16th all-time among league tight ends.

Witten caught four passes in today’s game to give him 466 for his career and break a tie with Mickey Shuler for ninth on the NFL’s all-time tight ends receptions list. He is 14 catches behind Jackie Smith (480) for eighth.

The punt return game is back on in Big D. Only five other guys have two TD-returns in one season for the team.

Patrick Crayton became the sixth Cowboy to have two punt returns for TDs in a season and only the second to do it in consecutive weeks.

Really, no false starts?

The pre-snap penalties that hounded the Dallas Cowboys' offense in the previous two games were eliminated in Sunday's win against Seattle.

The Cowboys' offense ran 67 plays with only one penalty: the team-high fourth holding call of the season against tight end Martellus Bennett. It represented an improvement from the previous two games, when the offense had six false starts and one illegal formation.