Oct 19, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys receiver
Terrance Williams(83) celebrates his second quarter touchdown with receiver
Dez Bryant(88) against the New York Giants at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The delayed reaction of another win has many Cowboy fans smiling. While it was tougher than it should have probably been, the Cowboys took over in the second half and came away with a 6-1 record. There are some positives of course, but this week there are a some negatives that the team overcame.
With DeMarco Murray breaking the record for consecutive 100 yard games, this game was historic. So before we go into the positives and negatives, there was one funny moment from the game I would like to bring back up. The game at the line with Tony Romo saying, “51 is the Mike,” and him screaming back, “I’m not the Mike!” just makes me laugh every time I think about it.
Okay, so a win means the positives come first.
1. Tony Romo – If DeMarco Murray wasn’t doing what he is, Tony would be a serious consideration for league MVP. This is easily the best I have seen him and it looks like he gets better every week. Like previous weeks the offensive line gets a ton of credit, but Romo is looking like he is staking his claim as a top 5 QB in this league. If he can remain poised, upright, and making the throws he is, this team will be hard to beat.
2. The Weapons – Tony Romo has one of the best offenses in the league. While it starts up front with what could be the best line in football, there are weapons all over this field. Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Gavin Escobar, Jason Witten, and Cole Beasley make this offense a pick your poison in the passing game.
With DeMarco Murray and Joseph Randle pounding the ball the way they have, and the versatility of Lance Dunbar to be anywhere on this field, this team is not only a pick your poison team, it is really hard to defend. The only weakness is if the line has a mediocre game, but after this game it shows Dallas can overcome that.
3. The Defense – Now this game was far from perfect for this defense, and it will be touched upon in the negatives. While there are not a lot of sacks coming, this team is finding ways to create turnovers and force some bad throws. If Josh Brent and DeMarcus Lawrence can add more to the pass rush, this defense could go from good to really good or even scary. This defense swarms to the ball and everyone is on the same page, something we have not seen for years on this defense.
There were some things that made this game close, let’s call these the negatives.
1. This Defense (again) – Here is what worried me during the game. There were some blown tackles and big plays that were out of what is normal for this season. Maybe it was a hangover from the Seattle game, but with the extra day off this week they need to heal up and get back to what they do. They are getting pressure on the QB, but there are no sacks. I hope that they can start generating some sacks soon, but this defense is still a lot better than last year’s defense.
2. Illegal Use of Hands – Dallas has committed 41 penalties this year and only 14 of them have been on offense. Dallas is tied with the lead of illegal use of hands per game with Houston, Jacksonville, and Buffalo. There have been quite a few that have sustained drives for the other teams. This is something that they need to work on.
While I know there have been some questionable calls, the league said they would call this penalty more this year. Not the biggest problem, but it is something to keep an eye on.
3. Workload – Again DeMarco Murray had a monster game. While he is the best RB in the league this year one of the questions about Murray has been his durability. His workload is huge, and the Cowboys need to figure out how to manage this.
One thing of note is that if you watch Murray run he really doesn’t take a lot of huge hits. He isn’t getting the wear and tear that someone like Larry Johnson used to. It is something to watch as the season progresses, but for now the Cowboys and most fans are happy with riding Murray.
So, another week another win. There were some great things about this game, and some down things as well. One positive to note is that this team fights. Last season, they would have folded up and made huge mistakes fighting back from being down, but this year they fight as a team. So, let me know what you all think below and look toward next week against the hated Redskins.