Oct 5, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver
Dez Bryant(88) celebrates his fourth quarter touchdown against the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Week five is in the books and the Dallas Cowboys have walked away with another win. It was a hard fought win with some mistakes that could have cost them this game. Unlike in years past this team never folded and ended up walking away with the W. While it wasn’t pretty, sometimes it is good to win games like this to see where the team is at mentally. Before I get into the delayed reaction for this game, the catch by Dez Bryant was incredible and the magic of Tony Romo to get away from J.J. Watt was insane. Those two plays were great and deserved mention.
So on to the delayed reaction, since it was a win, again we start with the positives.
1. Balance – Now that the Cowboys have a bell cow in DeMarco Murray, the balance of the offense has been really refreshing to watch. The threat of the run game is allowing more to open up in the passing game, which is making the Cowboys a scary team for any defense. Let’s not forget that the Houston Texans have one of the top ranked defenses in the league. If not for a few mistakes this game wouldn’t have been close.
2. D-Fence! – I really didn’t think this defense would be this serviceable. So far through five games it looks as though I was slightly mistaken about them. Rod Marinelli has done wonders for this defense. Rolando McClain changes the play of everyone when he is on the field. This defense may not be one of the best in the league, but it can get the job done so far. And I am loving the 2 man front, everyone else line up on the first down marker thing, makes me laugh every time I have seen it.
3. Many Happy Returns – Dwayne Harris is a beast on punt returns. It won’t be long before teams will try to angle the ball out of play to keep it away from him. If he can get the same production from kickoffs, then this will be a long season for opposing teams. He has the speed and vision to return a kick at any time for either a huge return or a TD. It is fun to watch.
Now there were some negatives that need to be fixed before they head to Seattle.
1. Turnovers (yum, turnovers I like Apple) – DeMarco Murray is having a real problem holding on to the ball, and we saw again another Tony Romo pick that was on a questionable throw. Next week the Seahawks will capitalize on mistakes like this. It is what their defense is built to do. I think Romo can keep it under control, but Murray needs to learn to keep the elbow up higher. If he can do this many of his fumbles can be stopped.
2. Mismanagement – I was surprised when the Cowboys decided to take so much time off the clock at the end of the 4th. I get that they were trying to get to the 35, but they could have used the time a little better. I also scratched my head when on 3rd down they brought in Dan Bailey for the game winning FG. I think they could have at least gotten another few yards, but in the end it didn’t matter. It really was some odd management however.
3. Sacks? – Another week another lackluster pass rush. I am not sure if there just isn’t the talent to get to the QB, if it is a scheme thing trying to keep things in front of them, or if it is just one of those things you can’t explain. They do get some pressure on the QB, but not enough to force a ton of mistakes, or to bring the QB down. Rod Marinelli has to figure this out, and quickly.
There we go. Week five Delayed Reaction. What do you all think?