No way past this Dallas D
by Tim Cowlishaw:
IRVING – A year ago, they let down at the costliest of moments and allowed Redskins receiver Santana Moss to steal a Redskins victory in Texas Stadium. Ultimately, that sent Washington to the playoffs and Dallas home for the winter.
A week ago, they let down against what has been described as a "no-name" group of Jacksonville wide receivers. Three players, searching for an identity following the retirement of Jimmy Smith, caught 14 balls for 176 yards and fueled the Jaguars' comeback win over Dallas.
In Sunday's home opener, the Cowboys' defense and, specifically, the Cowboys' secondary were not about to let down again.
In a dominant performance in which they held the Washington offense to three points, Dallas pushed Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell closer to retirement by humiliating him in a 27-10 win at Texas Stadium.
Moss, who caught five passes for 159 yards and two late touchdowns in last year's 14-13 win over Dallas, spent much of the night trying to rid himself of Terence Newman's shadow.
He caught four balls for 69 yards. Almost all of that came after the fact.
When Dallas took a 27-10 lead on Mike Vanderjagt's 50-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter, Moss had one catch for 7 yards.
Brandon Lloyd, who torched Anthony Henry as a 49er last year, caught one pass for 6 yards. Super Bowl hero Antwaan Randle El, considered a key off-season addition for Washington, caught two passes for 8 yards.
Newman, Anthony Henry and nickel corner Aaron Glenn gained a full measure of redemption for what took place here a year ago and for what transpired in Jacksonville a week ago.
They got considerable help from a front seven that had Brunell running for his life.
"We got pressure on the quarterback tonight," said linebacker Bradie James. "That's what was missing against Jacksonville."
It's official. The Cowboys' defense, thought to be the strong foundation that could lead this team into the playoffs, is back on track.
A week ago, Washington struggled against a good Vikings defense to score one touchdown and put 16 points on the board in defeat.
Against Dallas, Washington didn't have running back Clinton Portis available even for spot duty (he had 10 carries last week) and it showed. The offense never had a prayer.
Rock Cartwright's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown allowed the Redskins to hang around longer than they should have, but that was really it.
In the third quarter, trailing by seven, the Redskins got the break that might have lifted them back into the game when safety Sean Taylor made a great strip of Julius Jones for a fumble in Dallas territory.
But safety Roy Williams killed any scoring chances when he intercepted Brunell's third-down heave at the 1-yard line.
Brunell spent most of the game in a backpedal mode that has become all too familiar to Washington fans. He was able to pad his stats in garbage time with 11 completions for 133 yards in the fourth quarter.
But for the game, Brunell was 18-for-33 for 197 yards and was sacked six times.
With the victory and the Giants' surprising rally past Philadelphia, the Cowboys find themselves tied for first in the East. Only the Redskins are currently out of the first-place mix at 0-2.
A convincing defensive effort wasn't enough to please coach Bill Parcells, who said he was sick after the game and looked the part.
"I just told the team they've got to play better," Parcells said. "It's too hard on me. I'm feeling ill right now, I really am."
It was the penalties and the dropped passes on offense that had Parcells feeling poor. It was not the fault of a defense that allowed Washington to keep the ball for more than four plays only once in 10 possessions through the first three quarters.
The offense and special teams may still have a few kinks to iron out.
A defense that was good for most of last season looks as if it's ready to move beyond that in 2006.
IRVING – A year ago, they let down at the costliest of moments and allowed Redskins receiver Santana Moss to steal a Redskins victory in Texas Stadium. Ultimately, that sent Washington to the playoffs and Dallas home for the winter.
A week ago, they let down against what has been described as a "no-name" group of Jacksonville wide receivers. Three players, searching for an identity following the retirement of Jimmy Smith, caught 14 balls for 176 yards and fueled the Jaguars' comeback win over Dallas.
In Sunday's home opener, the Cowboys' defense and, specifically, the Cowboys' secondary were not about to let down again.
In a dominant performance in which they held the Washington offense to three points, Dallas pushed Redskins quarterback Mark Brunell closer to retirement by humiliating him in a 27-10 win at Texas Stadium.
Moss, who caught five passes for 159 yards and two late touchdowns in last year's 14-13 win over Dallas, spent much of the night trying to rid himself of Terence Newman's shadow.
He caught four balls for 69 yards. Almost all of that came after the fact.
When Dallas took a 27-10 lead on Mike Vanderjagt's 50-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter, Moss had one catch for 7 yards.
Brandon Lloyd, who torched Anthony Henry as a 49er last year, caught one pass for 6 yards. Super Bowl hero Antwaan Randle El, considered a key off-season addition for Washington, caught two passes for 8 yards.
Newman, Anthony Henry and nickel corner Aaron Glenn gained a full measure of redemption for what took place here a year ago and for what transpired in Jacksonville a week ago.
They got considerable help from a front seven that had Brunell running for his life.
"We got pressure on the quarterback tonight," said linebacker Bradie James. "That's what was missing against Jacksonville."
It's official. The Cowboys' defense, thought to be the strong foundation that could lead this team into the playoffs, is back on track.
A week ago, Washington struggled against a good Vikings defense to score one touchdown and put 16 points on the board in defeat.
Against Dallas, Washington didn't have running back Clinton Portis available even for spot duty (he had 10 carries last week) and it showed. The offense never had a prayer.
Rock Cartwright's 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown allowed the Redskins to hang around longer than they should have, but that was really it.
In the third quarter, trailing by seven, the Redskins got the break that might have lifted them back into the game when safety Sean Taylor made a great strip of Julius Jones for a fumble in Dallas territory.
But safety Roy Williams killed any scoring chances when he intercepted Brunell's third-down heave at the 1-yard line.
Brunell spent most of the game in a backpedal mode that has become all too familiar to Washington fans. He was able to pad his stats in garbage time with 11 completions for 133 yards in the fourth quarter.
But for the game, Brunell was 18-for-33 for 197 yards and was sacked six times.
With the victory and the Giants' surprising rally past Philadelphia, the Cowboys find themselves tied for first in the East. Only the Redskins are currently out of the first-place mix at 0-2.
A convincing defensive effort wasn't enough to please coach Bill Parcells, who said he was sick after the game and looked the part.
"I just told the team they've got to play better," Parcells said. "It's too hard on me. I'm feeling ill right now, I really am."
It was the penalties and the dropped passes on offense that had Parcells feeling poor. It was not the fault of a defense that allowed Washington to keep the ball for more than four plays only once in 10 possessions through the first three quarters.
The offense and special teams may still have a few kinks to iron out.
A defense that was good for most of last season looks as if it's ready to move beyond that in 2006.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:01 AM
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