Before we get to the second preseason game, I have to admit that I like the new NFL.com. Great video features and a good in-game mode. Here is the new graphic for the NFL Game Center:
The Cowboys’ starters played the entire first half, leading Dallas to a 24-6 lead. Most of the major players on both sides of the ball had some nice plays, and the team continued to look sharp for this stage of the preseason. The Cowboys went on to a 31-20 win.
Below are some notes about the game.
Offense
* Flozell Adams and Marc Columbo started at tackle. Both missed last game.
* Lousaka Polite started at fullback due to an injury to Oliver Hoyte.
* Tony Romo had a nice pass to Patrick Crayton on the Cowboys’ opening drive of the game. Crayton ran a deep out to the right side and found a hole in the coverage. The play went for 30 yards.
* Crayton had another long reception in the second quarter, which set up the third Dallas touchdown of the first half.
* Julius Jones had a couple of nice runs to the outside on the first couple of drives, showing some patience.
* Jones and Marion Barber had some nice runs on the Cowboys’ first scoring drive in the first quarter.
* Barber continued to show that he is the more effective goalline back, with two touchdowns in the first half– although Jones also scored from short yardage.
* On a 3rd-and-9 play from the Denver 44, Romo hit Sam Hurd on a 20-yard play. Hurd made a nice catch between two defenders. Later in the first half, though Hurd fumbled after catching another pass.
* Terrell Owens ran an end-around for nine yards. Owens did not have a rushing attempt last season. In his career, he has rushed 25 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns.
* Romo threw a pick in the second quarter trying to get the ball over the middle to Miles Austin. Dre Bly stepped in front of it. The interception led to a Denver field goal.
* Backup tight end Tony Curtis saw some action in the first half, catching an 11-yard pass from Romo.
* Tyson Thompson showed some great speed on a 21-yard run in the third quarter. He later had a 22-yarder on a 3rd-and-1 in the fourth quarter, followed later with a 15-yarder.
* Fourth-round pick Isaiah Stanback saw action for the first time. He caught a 15-yard pass in the fourth quarter. He then scored on a 15-yard pass on a corner route in between three defenders.
Defense
* Ken Hamlin had his first start of the preseason after sitting out the opener against Indianapolis.
* Terence Newman sat out with a heel injury.
* The defensive line pressured Jay Cutler several times in the first half. On a 3rd-and-4 play in the first quarter, Chris Canty and DeMarcus Ware forced Cutler to step up in the pocket, and Jason Ferguson recorded the sack.
* Defensive end Marcus Spears later recovered fumble deep in Denver territory, which led to the Cowboys’ second touchdown. The fumble was a muff by Cutler on an attempted handoff.
* First-round pick Anthony Spencer was involved in an odd play in the second quarter. The linebacker followed tight end Daniel Graham downfield and tipped the ball straight up in the air when it got there. However, Graham came down with the catch. Later in the drive, Spencer forced Cutler to throw the ball away on a bootleg.
* Bobby Carpenter, last year’s first-round pick, made a great interception late in the game.
Special Teams
* On the Cowboys’ opening drive, Martin Gramatica missed a 51-yard field goal attempt, pushing it right.
* Rookie Nick Folk showed his leg strength at the end of the first half, nailing a 52-yarder.
* Gramatica had a nice kickoff into the end zone in the first quarter.
* Folk later had a kickoff to the Denver goalline.
* Mat McBriar placed two punts inside the Denver 10-yard line in the second half.
* Late in the second quarter, Thompson had a good-looking 35-yard kickoff return following Denver’s second field goal.
Noteworthy Stats:
Passing:
Romo– 11-18, 122 yards, 0 TD, 1 Int.
Brad Johnson– 6-9, 56 yards, 1 TD
Rushing:
J. Jones– 9 att., 31 yards, 1 TD.
M. Barber– 11 att., 57 yards, 2 TD
T. Thompson– 16 att., 75 yards
Receiving:
Crayton– 3 rec., 61 yards
Hurd– 3 rec., 36 yards
Owens– 1 rec., 11 yards
I. Stanback– 2 rec., 30 yards, 1 TD
