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August has slipped from Cowboys' sweaty grip
Posted Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010
By Randy Galloway rgalloway@ star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON -- Jerry Jones must be wondering how he lost it. Lost late summer. And to date, lost the month of August.
It's been at least a decade since Jerry's Cowboys didn't totally own the blast furnace months of a Texas summer. But this time it's different.
Jones' Arlington neighbor, that baseball team two blocks east on Randol Mill Road, has stolen August, and not just with what's happening on the field.
The Rangers' wild bankruptcy process had it all, starting with wacky behavior, and including massive amounts of money involved, plus even Mark Cuban sticking his suddenly shrinking wallet where it didn't belong.
Meanwhile, Jones gives us all he's got to offer at the moment, but the pickings are meager. There is training camp, which shifts to Oxnard, Calif., over the weekend, and there's also the mundane task of exhibition football.
In the past the Cowboys could sell that kind of stuff in August, and most everyone seemed to be buying. But now, well...
Here at the Big Yard on Thursday night, the Cowboys made their home August debut, with the Oakland Raiders in town.
Not much to see here, folks. It was one of those football events that only a coach could love, just because it gives him plenty of film-room license to yell at a variety of roster candidates.
Sad news:
Raiders 17, while the home club ended up with 9. Shoot.
All of the Oakland points came in the final five minutes. Not to be tacky, but by then, and long before then, the Cowboys were using defensive players who have rather questionable NFL futures, and the Raiders stayed with a quarterback in Kyle Boller who has plenty of experience.
The final Raiders points came on a touchdown pick with 33 seconds left. Matt Nichols was the Cowboys' quarterback who made the unfortunate throw. For more bio info on Nichols, please use Google. His football background eludes me at the moment.
I'm not sure what to make of this mess. But in exhibition football it's best not to attempt any daring opinions, bad or good.
Let's just say that score explains it all. The winner was shut out for 55 minutes. The loser had three field goals, all coming as a result of offensive red-zone failures. Cue the ongoing concern.
Frankly, I'd have advised Wade Phillips not to suit up a starter for this game, seeing the Cowboys had just played Sunday night, and injuries are already a concern in training camp.
Not sure Wade wouldn't have agreed except league rules and Jerry Jones probably prevented Phillips from doing the right thing.
But my plan -- no starters on the field -- looked particularly wise as Tony Romo was being sacked three times on the Cowboys' first possession, and once didn't exactly climb alertly to his feet.
Of interest only to me:
Watching all this offensive excitement was a larger-than-you-might-think crowd -- people, I guess, with an addiction to very large video boards -- however, the announced house of 72,000-plus was fudged some. But who's really counting these days.
Obviously, Wade loved his defense on Thursday night. Near shutouts are easy to love, and the Cowboys' first, second and third defensive units have now given up two touchdowns in two games, and the other one (on Sunday against the Bengals) was on a drive that covered all of 2 yards after a long punt return.
When players you have actually heard of were in action, the Raiders' offense, with Redskins castoff quarterback Jason Campbell, couldn't crack the century mark in total offense in the first half. By the way, Oakland still outgained the Cowboys before intermission, 95-88.
It's too early in the exhibition process for any trends to develop, but let it be known the Cowboys now have gone two games without an offensive touchdown. And they never really got all that close to the end zone on Thursday night.
There will be plenty of media yelping, not to mention talk-show callers in a rage, that the Cowboys made four trips into the red zone and had to settle for three field goals by David Buehler.
At least Buehler is making the gimme kicks (as opposed to all that short-range choking going on last season from others) and he also nailed a 42-yarder, his longest so far in two games.
This August red-zone redux is a flashback to lack of touchdown gas last season, and is already a topic of local concern. But unless it shows up in the for-real games of September, I'd suggest buying another of Jerry's $9 beers, then kick back, relax, and watch the end-zone pole dancers.
Romo played two series and survived, which is the key point. Jon Kitna replaced him, worked into the third quarter, with the usual so-so results. And then it was all about Stephen McGee and Nichols.
Meanwhile, the Rangers' grip on August got even tighter.
Jerry has lost late summer. And if Thursday night was any indication, he won't be getting it back anytime soon.
Randy Galloway, 817-390-7760
Posted Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010
By Randy Galloway rgalloway@ star-telegram.com
ARLINGTON -- Jerry Jones must be wondering how he lost it. Lost late summer. And to date, lost the month of August.
It's been at least a decade since Jerry's Cowboys didn't totally own the blast furnace months of a Texas summer. But this time it's different.
Jones' Arlington neighbor, that baseball team two blocks east on Randol Mill Road, has stolen August, and not just with what's happening on the field.
The Rangers' wild bankruptcy process had it all, starting with wacky behavior, and including massive amounts of money involved, plus even Mark Cuban sticking his suddenly shrinking wallet where it didn't belong.
Meanwhile, Jones gives us all he's got to offer at the moment, but the pickings are meager. There is training camp, which shifts to Oxnard, Calif., over the weekend, and there's also the mundane task of exhibition football.
In the past the Cowboys could sell that kind of stuff in August, and most everyone seemed to be buying. But now, well...
Here at the Big Yard on Thursday night, the Cowboys made their home August debut, with the Oakland Raiders in town.
Not much to see here, folks. It was one of those football events that only a coach could love, just because it gives him plenty of film-room license to yell at a variety of roster candidates.
Sad news:
Raiders 17, while the home club ended up with 9. Shoot.
All of the Oakland points came in the final five minutes. Not to be tacky, but by then, and long before then, the Cowboys were using defensive players who have rather questionable NFL futures, and the Raiders stayed with a quarterback in Kyle Boller who has plenty of experience.
The final Raiders points came on a touchdown pick with 33 seconds left. Matt Nichols was the Cowboys' quarterback who made the unfortunate throw. For more bio info on Nichols, please use Google. His football background eludes me at the moment.
I'm not sure what to make of this mess. But in exhibition football it's best not to attempt any daring opinions, bad or good.
Let's just say that score explains it all. The winner was shut out for 55 minutes. The loser had three field goals, all coming as a result of offensive red-zone failures. Cue the ongoing concern.
Frankly, I'd have advised Wade Phillips not to suit up a starter for this game, seeing the Cowboys had just played Sunday night, and injuries are already a concern in training camp.
Not sure Wade wouldn't have agreed except league rules and Jerry Jones probably prevented Phillips from doing the right thing.
But my plan -- no starters on the field -- looked particularly wise as Tony Romo was being sacked three times on the Cowboys' first possession, and once didn't exactly climb alertly to his feet.
Of interest only to me:
Watching all this offensive excitement was a larger-than-you-might-think crowd -- people, I guess, with an addiction to very large video boards -- however, the announced house of 72,000-plus was fudged some. But who's really counting these days.
Obviously, Wade loved his defense on Thursday night. Near shutouts are easy to love, and the Cowboys' first, second and third defensive units have now given up two touchdowns in two games, and the other one (on Sunday against the Bengals) was on a drive that covered all of 2 yards after a long punt return.
When players you have actually heard of were in action, the Raiders' offense, with Redskins castoff quarterback Jason Campbell, couldn't crack the century mark in total offense in the first half. By the way, Oakland still outgained the Cowboys before intermission, 95-88.
It's too early in the exhibition process for any trends to develop, but let it be known the Cowboys now have gone two games without an offensive touchdown. And they never really got all that close to the end zone on Thursday night.
There will be plenty of media yelping, not to mention talk-show callers in a rage, that the Cowboys made four trips into the red zone and had to settle for three field goals by David Buehler.
At least Buehler is making the gimme kicks (as opposed to all that short-range choking going on last season from others) and he also nailed a 42-yarder, his longest so far in two games.
This August red-zone redux is a flashback to lack of touchdown gas last season, and is already a topic of local concern. But unless it shows up in the for-real games of September, I'd suggest buying another of Jerry's $9 beers, then kick back, relax, and watch the end-zone pole dancers.
Romo played two series and survived, which is the key point. Jon Kitna replaced him, worked into the third quarter, with the usual so-so results. And then it was all about Stephen McGee and Nichols.
Meanwhile, the Rangers' grip on August got even tighter.
Jerry has lost late summer. And if Thursday night was any indication, he won't be getting it back anytime soon.
Randy Galloway, 817-390-7760
