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Updated: August 22, 2010, 10:30 PM
Run Away
Spagnola: Ground Attack Must Engage . . . Soon
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
The Chargers shut down Felix Jones and the Cowboys run game only allowing 54 yards rushing.
SAN DIEGO - By golly, for those who have grown tired of eating but cheese pizzas at Papa John's these past two Tuesdays and Wednesdays after Cowboys' preseason games, no more.
Why, the Cowboys finally scored a touchdown. Two of them to be exact. Two free toppings for all.
And what's this? These Cowboys actually scored a red-zone touchdown here Saturday night against the San Diego Chargers. Throw in a little extra pepperoni, would ya?
Sorry, nothing free for the safety, though you ought to argue for a little extra cheese or something since those two points late in the fourth quarter were the difference between this third preseason game going into of all things, overtime (ugh), and the Cowboys mercifully defeating the Chargers, 16-14, to the delight of the overwhelming number of Cowboys fans swelling the Qualcomm attendance to 64,372.
Plus, after all the media handwringing this past week, so many convinced there was no way in Haiti the Cowboys should play Tony Romo behind a make-shift offensive line, the franchise quarterback wasn't even sacked - three fewer times than the previous preseason games behind the starters - and didn't have to sit on the bench the entire second half this time nursing a sore back. In fact, tackle Robert Brewster, who earned the name "Brew-Nasty" from Big Leonard Davis, and Montrae Holland acquitted themselves nicely - and this with the Chargers relentlessly blitzing on passing downs.
Some people.
Now here is the offensive irony of the decreasing 76-degree evening: In the first two preseason games, totaling all of three series - hardly enough to draw any sort of solid conclusions - the first-team offense moved the ball very efficiently, finishing with field goals after a 14-play, 63-yard drive against Cincinnati and a 12-play 45-yard drive against the Raiders, plus tacking on a six-play 16-yard drive resulting in a punt the second time out against Oakland. And in preseason, mind you, totaling 124 yards on 32 plays.
But oh my gosh, the Cowboys didn't score any touchdowns. What in the world? And worse, couldn't score in the red zone, either, last season's bug-a-boo. Might as well throw in the towel and away those Vegas claim checks on the NFC-favored Cowboys.
Yet this time, in winning their second of three preseason games, the Cowboys' first-team offense was highly inefficient, in four series netting only three first downs - never more than one in any series - and just 47 yards on 17 total plays. Yuk.
Ah, but the first-team offense scored a touchdown this time, and the team overall the first two of the preseason, and hallelujah, they did so from inside the red zone, Romo connecting with Miles Austin on an 9-yard back-shoulder throw on third and goal, knocking those two monkeys off their backs.
That won't be good enough for the worry warts, though.
It's always something.
Look, here is a lot of what happened Saturday night, the Cowboys running into a perfect storm offensively. With Brewster playing for any length the first time in the NFL, after having missed all of last year, the Cowboys were making sure with alignment and play calls that Romo was safe, so the ball was coming out sooner than later. Common sense.
But against the Chargers' style defense, where they like to run blitz and stuff everything inside, offenses must efficiently throw the ball down field first to loosen them up. Romo rarely did so, and one of the times he ill-advisedly did, throwing off his back foot in the face of a jail-break blitz, he was intercepted, setting up one of two San Diego touchdowns.
"They play a lot of pressure in their defensive scheme, so you can be spotty, and that's why you have to be efficient in the passing game," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "But we had to be smart."
Makes sense.
But if you just need something to worry about after three of the Cowboys' five scheduled preseason games, here it is, at least to me:
They are not running the ball effectively.
First game: 29 carries for 85 yards.
Second game: 22 carries for 66 yards.
Third game: 23 carries for 54 yards, and even more disconcerting, the Big Three, Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, finished with 36 yards on 12 carries against San Diego.
Total: 84 carries for 205 yards, factoring out to a
Run Away
Spagnola: Ground Attack Must Engage . . . Soon
Mickey Spagnola
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
The Chargers shut down Felix Jones and the Cowboys run game only allowing 54 yards rushing.
SAN DIEGO - By golly, for those who have grown tired of eating but cheese pizzas at Papa John's these past two Tuesdays and Wednesdays after Cowboys' preseason games, no more.
Why, the Cowboys finally scored a touchdown. Two of them to be exact. Two free toppings for all.
And what's this? These Cowboys actually scored a red-zone touchdown here Saturday night against the San Diego Chargers. Throw in a little extra pepperoni, would ya?
Sorry, nothing free for the safety, though you ought to argue for a little extra cheese or something since those two points late in the fourth quarter were the difference between this third preseason game going into of all things, overtime (ugh), and the Cowboys mercifully defeating the Chargers, 16-14, to the delight of the overwhelming number of Cowboys fans swelling the Qualcomm attendance to 64,372.
Plus, after all the media handwringing this past week, so many convinced there was no way in Haiti the Cowboys should play Tony Romo behind a make-shift offensive line, the franchise quarterback wasn't even sacked - three fewer times than the previous preseason games behind the starters - and didn't have to sit on the bench the entire second half this time nursing a sore back. In fact, tackle Robert Brewster, who earned the name "Brew-Nasty" from Big Leonard Davis, and Montrae Holland acquitted themselves nicely - and this with the Chargers relentlessly blitzing on passing downs.
Some people.
Now here is the offensive irony of the decreasing 76-degree evening: In the first two preseason games, totaling all of three series - hardly enough to draw any sort of solid conclusions - the first-team offense moved the ball very efficiently, finishing with field goals after a 14-play, 63-yard drive against Cincinnati and a 12-play 45-yard drive against the Raiders, plus tacking on a six-play 16-yard drive resulting in a punt the second time out against Oakland. And in preseason, mind you, totaling 124 yards on 32 plays.
But oh my gosh, the Cowboys didn't score any touchdowns. What in the world? And worse, couldn't score in the red zone, either, last season's bug-a-boo. Might as well throw in the towel and away those Vegas claim checks on the NFC-favored Cowboys.
Yet this time, in winning their second of three preseason games, the Cowboys' first-team offense was highly inefficient, in four series netting only three first downs - never more than one in any series - and just 47 yards on 17 total plays. Yuk.
Ah, but the first-team offense scored a touchdown this time, and the team overall the first two of the preseason, and hallelujah, they did so from inside the red zone, Romo connecting with Miles Austin on an 9-yard back-shoulder throw on third and goal, knocking those two monkeys off their backs.
That won't be good enough for the worry warts, though.
It's always something.
Look, here is a lot of what happened Saturday night, the Cowboys running into a perfect storm offensively. With Brewster playing for any length the first time in the NFL, after having missed all of last year, the Cowboys were making sure with alignment and play calls that Romo was safe, so the ball was coming out sooner than later. Common sense.
But against the Chargers' style defense, where they like to run blitz and stuff everything inside, offenses must efficiently throw the ball down field first to loosen them up. Romo rarely did so, and one of the times he ill-advisedly did, throwing off his back foot in the face of a jail-break blitz, he was intercepted, setting up one of two San Diego touchdowns.
"They play a lot of pressure in their defensive scheme, so you can be spotty, and that's why you have to be efficient in the passing game," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "But we had to be smart."
Makes sense.
But if you just need something to worry about after three of the Cowboys' five scheduled preseason games, here it is, at least to me:
They are not running the ball effectively.
First game: 29 carries for 85 yards.
Second game: 22 carries for 66 yards.
Third game: 23 carries for 54 yards, and even more disconcerting, the Big Three, Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, finished with 36 yards on 12 carries against San Diego.
Total: 84 carries for 205 yards, factoring out to a