Dallas stays cool, which is necessary
Web Posted: 09/18/2006 12:15 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
IRVING — The latest techno-football gizmo comes straight from Jiffy Lube. At least that's the way it looks. Player A sits on bench. Team plugs coil into Player A's shoulder pads. And Player A feels oh-so chilled and refreshed.
But the latest techno-football gizmo can't make everything cool. It can't fix Terrell Owens' broken ring finger, nor could it have done much for the fracture an 0-2 team would have felt.
And that's why Sunday night meant more to the Cowboys than a September game usually does. If they had suffered the kind of loss they did a year ago at this time — following a penalty-filled day in Jacksonville with another defeat — they might have melted down.
Owens felt that, especially with the ice on his right hand. He dropped so many footballs against Washington that either he left the field with X-ray technicians to make sure he wasn't all thumbs, or there was something seriously wrong.
Cowboys vs. RedskinsCowboys top Skins; T.O. out 2-4 weeks with broken finger
Buck Harvey: Dallas stays cool, which is necessary
NFC: Injuries - Standings - Stats
Blog: Dallas Cowboys and the NFL
Cowboys vs. Redskins storyboardTexas Stadium in Irving
Attendance: 63,152 · Six different players caught passes from Drew Bledsoe, with Terry Glennleading the way with six receptions for a game-high 94 yards.
· Cowboys running back Julius Jones led all rushers with 94 yards on 20carries.
· With star running back Clinton Portis sidelined with a sore shoulder,the Redskins managed just 93 yards rushing against the tough Cowboysdefense.
· First-round draft pick and linebacker Bobby Carpenter made his Cowboysdebut.
· Wide receiver Sam Hurd, of Brackenridge, made the tackle on the game'sopening kickoff.
· Rock Cartwright's 100-yard TD was the first kickoff return against theCowboys for a touchdown since Robert Brooks did it for Green Bay inOctober 1993.
· Washington was last 0-2 under Joe Gibbs in 1989, the fourth-to-last yearin his first stint with the team.
Next week
· The Cowboys have a bye. They visit Tennessee at noon on Oct.1.
Tom Orsborn, Associated Press
Surgery cures one thing, at least. Bill Parcells will have to accept his receiver is actually hurt this time.
The Cowboys will feel this, too, because Owens still wasn't in rhythm with Drew Bledsoe. But can the Cowboys complain? After all, the Redskins were without their best runner (Clinton Portis) and cover defensive back (Shawn Springs).
Even Owens understands how this works, and he sees the bright side. "It came at a good time," Owens said. "With a bye week next week, I have at least two weeks to heal."
But that was also the mood of his team Sunday night. The Cowboys fell flat after a fast start, as they did in the opener, and they let a 100-yard kickoff return make their work harder. Still, they were happy, and this says a lot about timing. A year ago, the Cowboys had the same record — and the opposite feeling.
Bledsoe had been the star on opening day of 2005, making clutch plays against the Chargers in San Diego. Nobody, then, wondered if he should be benched.
Everything was fine through three quarters of the next game, coincidentally another night game in Texas Stadium against the Redskins. But Santana Moss went deep twice, with Roy Williams helpless in centerfield, and the Cowboys were stunned.
It was a divisional loss that would hurt Dallas' season, but those Cowboys were emotionally stable enough to listen to Parcells and trudge on. Would this group, with Bledsoe being questioned and Owens being Owens, have reacted as well to an 0-2 start?
The final score was comfortable enough, but the kickoff return sent a similar feeling through the stadium that Moss' scores did a year ago. After all, Dallas seemed in control Sunday night, too.
Then came Julius Jones' oh-no fumble, caused by a sensational strip by the Washington safety, Sean Taylor. Tackling Jones with one hand, Taylor reached and ripped out the football with his other.
But matching Taylor at safety — as well as making up for last year — was Williams. He went after a Mark Brunell lob, intercepting at the 1-yard line, and what followed changed everything in Dallas. Then Bledsoe took the Cowboys on a 99-yard scoring drive.
Parcells will harp on the penalties and the kickoff coverage. But his team will listen differently. The offensive line held up against a Washington team that rolled over Bledsoe last year, and the defense played the way it was supposed to last week.
Bledsoe kept his job, at least for another few weeks. Mike Vanderjagt showed up. And Moss, who turned around Dallas' mood a year ago, couldn't do much with Terence Newman running next to him.
Now the Cowboys head to a bye feeling better about everything, which is why Bledsoe said the night was "huge." Being depressed for two weeks is no way to start a season.
Owens will get back on his bicycle, Bledsoe can put the quarterback controversy behind him for a while and Parcells can come closer to having his kind of locker room. That's why the latest techno-football gizmo, on Sunday, was a win.
San Antonio Express-News
IRVING — The latest techno-football gizmo comes straight from Jiffy Lube. At least that's the way it looks. Player A sits on bench. Team plugs coil into Player A's shoulder pads. And Player A feels oh-so chilled and refreshed.
But the latest techno-football gizmo can't make everything cool. It can't fix Terrell Owens' broken ring finger, nor could it have done much for the fracture an 0-2 team would have felt.
And that's why Sunday night meant more to the Cowboys than a September game usually does. If they had suffered the kind of loss they did a year ago at this time — following a penalty-filled day in Jacksonville with another defeat — they might have melted down.
Owens felt that, especially with the ice on his right hand. He dropped so many footballs against Washington that either he left the field with X-ray technicians to make sure he wasn't all thumbs, or there was something seriously wrong.
Cowboys vs. RedskinsCowboys top Skins; T.O. out 2-4 weeks with broken finger
Buck Harvey: Dallas stays cool, which is necessary
NFC: Injuries - Standings - Stats
Blog: Dallas Cowboys and the NFL
Cowboys vs. Redskins storyboardTexas Stadium in Irving
Attendance: 63,152 · Six different players caught passes from Drew Bledsoe, with Terry Glennleading the way with six receptions for a game-high 94 yards.
· Cowboys running back Julius Jones led all rushers with 94 yards on 20carries.
· With star running back Clinton Portis sidelined with a sore shoulder,the Redskins managed just 93 yards rushing against the tough Cowboysdefense.
· First-round draft pick and linebacker Bobby Carpenter made his Cowboysdebut.
· Wide receiver Sam Hurd, of Brackenridge, made the tackle on the game'sopening kickoff.
· Rock Cartwright's 100-yard TD was the first kickoff return against theCowboys for a touchdown since Robert Brooks did it for Green Bay inOctober 1993.
· Washington was last 0-2 under Joe Gibbs in 1989, the fourth-to-last yearin his first stint with the team.
Next week
· The Cowboys have a bye. They visit Tennessee at noon on Oct.1.
Tom Orsborn, Associated Press
Surgery cures one thing, at least. Bill Parcells will have to accept his receiver is actually hurt this time.
The Cowboys will feel this, too, because Owens still wasn't in rhythm with Drew Bledsoe. But can the Cowboys complain? After all, the Redskins were without their best runner (Clinton Portis) and cover defensive back (Shawn Springs).
Even Owens understands how this works, and he sees the bright side. "It came at a good time," Owens said. "With a bye week next week, I have at least two weeks to heal."
But that was also the mood of his team Sunday night. The Cowboys fell flat after a fast start, as they did in the opener, and they let a 100-yard kickoff return make their work harder. Still, they were happy, and this says a lot about timing. A year ago, the Cowboys had the same record — and the opposite feeling.
Bledsoe had been the star on opening day of 2005, making clutch plays against the Chargers in San Diego. Nobody, then, wondered if he should be benched.
Everything was fine through three quarters of the next game, coincidentally another night game in Texas Stadium against the Redskins. But Santana Moss went deep twice, with Roy Williams helpless in centerfield, and the Cowboys were stunned.
It was a divisional loss that would hurt Dallas' season, but those Cowboys were emotionally stable enough to listen to Parcells and trudge on. Would this group, with Bledsoe being questioned and Owens being Owens, have reacted as well to an 0-2 start?
The final score was comfortable enough, but the kickoff return sent a similar feeling through the stadium that Moss' scores did a year ago. After all, Dallas seemed in control Sunday night, too.
Then came Julius Jones' oh-no fumble, caused by a sensational strip by the Washington safety, Sean Taylor. Tackling Jones with one hand, Taylor reached and ripped out the football with his other.
But matching Taylor at safety — as well as making up for last year — was Williams. He went after a Mark Brunell lob, intercepting at the 1-yard line, and what followed changed everything in Dallas. Then Bledsoe took the Cowboys on a 99-yard scoring drive.
Parcells will harp on the penalties and the kickoff coverage. But his team will listen differently. The offensive line held up against a Washington team that rolled over Bledsoe last year, and the defense played the way it was supposed to last week.
Bledsoe kept his job, at least for another few weeks. Mike Vanderjagt showed up. And Moss, who turned around Dallas' mood a year ago, couldn't do much with Terence Newman running next to him.
Now the Cowboys head to a bye feeling better about everything, which is why Bledsoe said the night was "huge." Being depressed for two weeks is no way to start a season.
Owens will get back on his bicycle, Bledsoe can put the quarterback controversy behind him for a while and Parcells can come closer to having his kind of locker room. That's why the latest techno-football gizmo, on Sunday, was a win.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:58 AM
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