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2009-2010 Regular Season: Postgame - Bucking The Trend?
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- September 14,
2009 At 7:50 PM CST
- By
Eric M. Scharf
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- Offense
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- How did Tony Romo and company
perform without Terrell Owens? Depending upon who you ask,
they either did very well or were very lucky. Cowboys fans and
some NFL "experts" will tell you that Tony and the 'Boys put up 34
points - spreading the wealth among his teammates - on a Tampa Bay
defensive squad that could not cover a wide receiver to save their
rookie head coach's life.
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- Bucs fans will tell you that their
secondary simply made one mistake after another. One thing is
certain: the Cowboys did not need T.O. for the first of 16
games this season.
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- The running game was another matter
. . . maybe. It seems everyone in the known galaxy is
interested in seeing if Romo will survive and excel in the absence
of T.O. The Bucs are no different, and they decided to load up
against the run. They unthinkably decided to dare Tony and his
horde of lesser receivers to get their popcorn ready.
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- While
this would seem to be the reason Marion "The Barbarian" Barber,
Felix "The Cat" Jones, and Tashard "The People's" Choice generated
somewhat paltry numbers, we will see how they perform against the
New York Giants, their next opponent. Their secondary is
strangely beaten up so early in the season, and logic dictates that
loading up the box against the run will expose a major weakness in
the Giants defense.
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- Will the Cowboys be capable and smart
enough to take advantage of this? We shall see.
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- Defense
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- The average fan will tell you the
Cowboys defense simply showed up flat. The hopeful fan will
tell you the Cowboys defense simply had a bad day and that they are
capable of so much more.
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- The hardcore, studious fan will tell
you the Cowboys defense underestimated three elements: (1) how
much better the Bucs offense would perform than expected, (2) how
much harder it would be to sack Byron "The Baseball Windup Statue" Leftwich than expected, and (3) how much more they might miss Greg
Ellis and Chris Canty than expected.
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- We will begin to learn some or all
of the truth about the Cowboys defensive unit when it faces the
Giants running attack this coming Sunday. Playing the seams
like a hawk against the Giants' tight ends would not hurt, either.
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- Special Teams
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- Any fan - of any team - will tell
you the Cowboys special teams played their minds out. Cowboys
fans everywhere are used to sub-par special teams, followed by long
returns by average kick returners. The Bucs have a pretty good
returner who essentially made not a sound the entire afternoon.
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- The Cowboys special teams deserve a big pat on the head but not an
atta' boy. The special teams coach and players know better
than to start counting their one-game accolades. They
understand that a repeat of this effort will be needed - throughout
the season - in order to convince anyone they are more than just a
special flash in the pan.
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- Injuries
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- Romo tweaked his ankle, had ice on
it to conclude the game, and "was seen limping out of the locker
room" after the game. He claims he will be ready to play
against the Giants. Free agent safety pick-up, Gerald
Sensabaugh, has bruised ribs, but he claims he will be ready for the
Giants. DeMarcus Ware had his bell rung, but he claims he will
be ready for the Giants.
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- Felix Jones pulled his quad, and he
was smart not to make a single claim with his history of untimely
pulls. He "should" be ready to go. We shall see.
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- Did the Cowboys buck the poor
offensive trend they displayed most of last season? They did .
. . for one game. They put on two-thirds of a show against the Bucs.
We shall see if the entire team - offense, defense, and special
teams - can come together against one of their most hated rivals
this coming Sunday.
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- In a season where no excuses will be
accepted from players or coaches, and no quarter will be given by
any fan . . . we shall see.
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- We always do.
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