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Sluggish Cowboys starters could play in preseason finale
Posted by Mike Florio on August 29, 2010 4:42 PM ET
Most teams don't play their starters in the preseason finale.
Then again, most teams don't have Super Bowl aspirations along with an owner who expects his team to play in the Super Bowl his gleaming new stadium will host. And the team that finds itself in that vise has not performed very well in the preseason.
So the Cowboys could be using their starters on Thursday night, when the Dolphins come to town to wrap up a preseason in which Dallas played five games.
"We'll look at it and see," coach Wade Phillips after Saturday night's 23-7 loss to the Texans. "They were some individuals who did some good things, but we'll have to evaluate that. I'm not ruling out that we won't play our guys more next week."
Of particular concern is (or at least should be) the play of quarterback Tony Romo. He has generated a sluggish passer rating of 64.3 in four preseason games. On Saturday night, he took two sacks, threw an interception, and fumbled twice.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com points out, the starters played a full half against the Chargers and the Texans. In both games combined, the Cowboys gained 145 yards -- and they gave up 434.
Though we realize that the preseason means nothing, the starting offense and defense still need to show something in the games where the starters play two full quarters.
Posted by Mike Florio on August 29, 2010 4:42 PM ET
Most teams don't play their starters in the preseason finale.
Then again, most teams don't have Super Bowl aspirations along with an owner who expects his team to play in the Super Bowl his gleaming new stadium will host. And the team that finds itself in that vise has not performed very well in the preseason.
So the Cowboys could be using their starters on Thursday night, when the Dolphins come to town to wrap up a preseason in which Dallas played five games.
"We'll look at it and see," coach Wade Phillips after Saturday night's 23-7 loss to the Texans. "They were some individuals who did some good things, but we'll have to evaluate that. I'm not ruling out that we won't play our guys more next week."
Of particular concern is (or at least should be) the play of quarterback Tony Romo. He has generated a sluggish passer rating of 64.3 in four preseason games. On Saturday night, he took two sacks, threw an interception, and fumbled twice.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com points out, the starters played a full half against the Chargers and the Texans. In both games combined, the Cowboys gained 145 yards -- and they gave up 434.
Though we realize that the preseason means nothing, the starting offense and defense still need to show something in the games where the starters play two full quarters.