The Cowboys looked good on their opening offensive and defensive series against San Diego in the first preseason game on Saturday night. However, poor special teams coverage, penalties in the secondary, and turnovers were very costly, as the Chargers ran out to a 24-10 halftime lead. Dallas had a good drive in the second half but could not make a dent into the San Diego lead, as the Chargers won 31-17.
The Cowboys opened up the game with a good defensive stand. Roy Williams recorded a tackle, Tank Johnson sacked Philip Rivers, and Kevin Burnett made a nice tackle on third down. The first-team offense looked very sharp, going 54 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. The defense held again on the ensuing possession, but Danny Amendola fumbled the punt. The Chargers scored on a Jacob Hester run four plays later.
Many of the Dallas starters came out after that series. Early in the second quarter, Brad Johnson was intercepted by Quintin Jammer. This led to a Darren Sproles touchdown.
Dallas was inefficient for most of the rest of the first half. Brad Johnson seldom threw the ball past ten yards, and the Cowboys had three consecutive three-and-out series. However, the Cowboys managed a long drive at the end of the first half, thanks to a 28-yard catch-and-run by rookie Felix Jones. Dallas kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 24-10.
Richard Bartel led Dallas throughout the second half. Miles Austin and Tashard Choice both had some big plays, and Choice scored on a nice-looking 19-yard touchdown run.
Highlights
Breakdown by Position
Quarterbacks
* Tony Romo led one drive, which resulted in a touchdown. He went three-for-three for 33 yards.
* Johnson opened the second quarter with an interception. It was due to a miscommunication with Patrick Crayton.
* Johnson threw mostly short and was not very effective.
* Richard Bartel did not look bad in the second half, though he did not show that he could throw the ball downfield.
Running Backs
* Marion Barber ran hard in limited action. He bounced one play to the outside for a nice gain. Later in the drive, he broke a 15-yard run.
* Felix Jones showed great speed on a 19-yard run at the end of the 1st quarter.
* Jones showed breakaway ability. He has nice moves with great speed. You can see a video of his highlights here:
* Deon Anderson, who was injured much of last year, had a touchdown run.
* Choice ran hard and was generally impressive.
Receivers
* Patrick Crayton caught two third-down passes over the middle.
* Isaiah Stanback ran a pretty good reverse in the second quarter. He only caught one pass for five yards, however.
* Miles Austin made a few catches in the second quarter. He had an 18-yard reception on a third-down play in the second quarter.
* Austin really picked things up in the second half. He made a great play on a 3rd-and-3, breaking a tackle and gaining 21 yards. Later in the drive, he made a 12-yard reception on a 4th-and-2 play.
* Amendola saw action at receiver in the fourth quarter. He did not make a catch, though.
Tight Ends
* Jason Witten caught the first pass of the game and had two receptions overall.
* Martellus Bennett had an ugly drop in the second quarter.
* Bennett missed a block on a blitz in the second quarter. Shaun Phillips nearly sacked Brad Johnson and broke up a third down play.
* Tony Curtis had three receptions. He had a very strong preseason in 2007.
Linemen
* Pat McQuistan looked terrible on a second quarter play, giving up a sack.
* The line looked pretty good in the second half. Cory Proctor and James Marten had some good blocks (especially on Choice’s 19-yard touchdown run), and the line gave Bartel pretty good time.
Defensive Line
* Tank Johnson recorded a sack in the first San Diego drive.
* Marcus Spears broke up a play in the second quarter.
* The backups, including Marcus Smith and Remi Ayodele, did not look very good on a few plays, though they combined for five tackles.
Linebackers
* Zach Thomas was all over the place. He recorded two tackles and an assist.
* Kevin Burnett made a nice tackle early in the game on Jacob Hester. However, Hester just about ran Burnett over in the second quarter. In the second half, Burnett whiffed on a tackle on Jacob Hester.
* DeMarcus Ware and Greg Ellis got good pressure on Billy Volek on a third down play in the second quarter. Chris Canty nearly got a sack.
* Bobby Carpenter had a pretty active game, recording six tackles with one assist.
Secondary
* Mike Jenkins broke up a pass in the first quarter. He closed in very quickly on Chris Chambers.
* Ken Hamlin was called for pass interference near the Dallas goalline.
* Pacman Jones saw action starting in the second quarter. On his first play, Chris Chambers caught a 21-yard pass. He later missed a tackle on a screen pass to Darren Sproles. In the second half, Jones completely whiffed on a run by Jacob Hester, who than ran for 21 yards. On the same drive, he was called for a pass interference at the Dallas 4.
Special Teams Coverage
* Nick Folk’s opening kickoff was downed for a touchback.
* Deon Anderson made a good tackle on Sproles after Dallas scored a first quarter touchdown.
* Terrible coverage by the punt team led to a 25-yard Sproles return in the second quarter. Julius Crosslin lost his helmet but ran down field anyway. Strange play.
* The punt coverage got worse near the end of the first half. Players did not stay in their lanes, and M. Jones got around the corner for 16 yards. It led to a touchdown that gave San Diego a 24-7 lead.
Return Teams
* Amendola returned one punt for 12 yards. However, he fumbled a return, which led to a San Diego touchdown.
* Alonzo Coleman and Isaiah Stanback returned kicks. Neither looked very good.
* At halftime, Jerry Jones noted that Felix Jones and Pacman Jones could be involved in the return game, though neither were against San Diego.
Kicking
* Mat McBriar was pretty solid. Rookie Jay Ottovegio also saw action in the second half.
* Nick Folk had deep kickoffs. He made a 35-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter.
Excellent article, Kickholder!!!
We at Cowboys Pride look forward to each one of your articles.
Keep up the good reporting.
You ROCK!!
Many thanks, W8. I listened to Cowboys Pride radio show the other day. Great stuff.
Bobby Carpenter looked horrible in this game. He had 6 tackles but they are always after the RB’s make 5 or 6 yards. He can’t attack the line of scrimmage. He is consistently blown off the line. He is a huge bust.