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Seahawks Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys Pre-season Week 1 Analysis

I loved how Jerry Jones called out T.O. He said that Owens needs
to learn to play at 80% like Deion Sanders could.

Interesting twists in the starting front seven. Two guys I doubt will
make the team (Scott Shanle and Kenyon Coleman) started. I
think this is kind of a last chance for these guys to show
improvement. Unless injuries hit, there is no way Shanle makes
the teams at LB. There are too many young guys with more
upside ahead of him in my opinion.

The front seven was swarming. The stuffed the run and had 5
sacks during the game.

Ellis looked good at LB. I like the open field tackle he made early
in the game. He is a huge mismatch for opposing offenses as you
could see by his sack and numerous QB pressures. He also
makes us huge upfront, so we should have little problem stopping
the run.

Anthony Henry looked like his old self. He showed off his ball skills
by breaking up a couple of passes. He did get beat a couple of
times for short gains, but that will happen with him.

Skyler Green looked good as a returner. He had a good kick-off
return to open the game, and one good punt return. He didn't
show much as a receiver though.

All 3 backs looked good. Jones ran hard and looked quick.
Barber ran with power, and Thompson looked really explosive in
the open field. Barber is probably in the doghouse for bouncing
his goal-line run outside for a two yard loss. I really would have
like to seen Dallas score a TD on a 1st & Goal from the 3.

Tony Romo looked great. He didn't force any throws, and I love
how quick he gets rid of the ball. He also showed that he is really
hard to sack. He is very good at moving around within the pocket.
He showed he can throw from different arm angles, and he was
accurate on nearly all his passes. He showed great composure as
well. The only worry I saw was the two fumbles, but both were
recovered. I also like the way Parcells let him play the entire game.

The main thing I want to see the coaches do with him next week is
open up the offense with him. Now I know not having T.O. was
part of it, but all the passes were underneath. He didn't really
have too many challenging passes, although the TD pass to
Crayton was a big-time throw.

Sam Hurd looked pretty good. He got open, but dropped a couple
of passes. He should make the team, but I think the media has
over-hyped him quite a bit.

The pass protection was awesome. We didn't allow a sack for the
whole game. Flozell Adams looked solid and Marc Colombo
seemed to handle Bryce Fisher pretty well, but he had two false
starts.

The run game was less than stellar, but that is to be expected with
the lack of continuity within the line. I still expect the line to
struggle opening lanes this season, though I'm sure we will
improve. I believe we will have to rely on the passing game to
open up the running game. I will say though that Colombo
consistently got good blocks on his guy. He also showed he can
block decently in space.

The kicking game was solid. Vanderjagt hit a short kick. Suisham
barely made his short attempt, but he looked better as a kick-off
guy. He still was only average at it though. If we have to get a
kick-off specialist, he better at least be one of the best in the
business at it. McBriar had a few short punts, but I'm not worried
about him.

Patrick Crayton had a good game. He showed his excellent
hands, but he still has problems with ball security. He sprained his
ankle too, so that is a concern at this point.

Flozell Adams looked good against a very quick Darryl Tapp. I'm
not all that worried about him now.

Keith Davis looked solid. He helped in run support and he didn't
make any mistakes, which is exactly the kind of performance we
need from him.

Pat Watkins looked great on special teams coverage units. He
looked okay on defense, but he slipped and allowed a big play in
the 2nd half.

Chris Canty was very active, he made several tackles behind the
line of scrimmage.

The nose tackles looked pretty good. Ferguson was great, and
Pepper Johnson was solid. He is still a better rusher than a stuffer
though as evidence by his play and sack in the nickel. Stanley
looked okay, but got moved a couple of times.

Kevin Burnett looked good. He was pretty active especially as a
pass rusher.

Junior Glymph looked great. He is an excellent pass rusher. He
recorded two sacks and a forced fumble. I don't know if there is a
spot for him on the team, but if he keeps playing like this we will
have to find one. He struggled against the run though.

Al Singleton looked solid last night. He will have a tough time
making the team if Carpenter is ready to play significant time on
Sundays. Because as I've said, Greg Ellis isn't going to play but
maybe half the time in our 3-4 defense, because Parcells doesn't
want to wear him out.

Abram Elam seemed to be around the wall and he is super fast, so
he could be a surprise guy.

Aaron Glenn looked pretty good. He nearly made one of his
vintage interceptions on a short comeback.

I like how Lousaka Polite played. He looks stronger and was a
much more consistent blocker than he was last year. Expect him
to make the team.

Jamaica Rector made a couple of nice catches. There will be a
battle between him, Hurd, and Green for the last 2 WR spots.

Petitti looked very good. He had a couple of real nice run blocks,
and he looked solid in pass protection.

Anthony Fasano didn't show much as a receiver. He got his bell
run on the first series of the game. He looked okay as a blocker.

Quincy Butler made a couple of plays at cornerback. He appears
to have a good shop for the 5th CB spot.

I can't get over how big Akin Ayodele looks. He is the definition of
a big, strong linebacker. He had an easy touchdown in the 4th
quarter, but he lost the interception. Look to see more of him next
week.

Bobby Carpenter didn't seem to show a whole lot. He didn't seem
to make any big mistakes though.

Jay Ratliff looks bigger and stronger than last season. He seemed
pretty disruptive.

Jason Hatcher had one good pressure and he jumped on a fumble
in the 4th quarter.

Keylon Kincade looked decent. I like him, but he is auditioning for
another team.

Henson screwed up the Suisham field goal attempt according to
Bruce DeHaven.

Punter Tyler Fredrickson had excellent hang-time on his punts. I
believe he can kick-off, so if he is a decent punter he may beat out
McBriar just because it would keep us from having to get another
kicker.

Nate Jones had a couple of nice plays knocking two passes down.

Lenny Williams looked pretty good at CB as well, but that isn't a
surprise since he played very well in Europe.

John Saldi looked good. I think he is good practice squad
material. He doesn't look very strong, but he was an excellent
pass rusher at Texas Tech.

Al Johnson did a good job run blocking although it was against
inferior competition.

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