Camp Cupcake Produces Better Execution Evidently

Tim Cowlishaw
IRVING – Move over, Jimmy Johnson.

Wade Phillips became the first Cowboys coach (not inheriting a Super Bowl winner) to get a victory in his first preseason game since Johnson.

I'm sure there is meaning in that somewhere.

Of course, Johnson's 1989 team went 1-15. That's not what Jerry Jones is looking for from Phillips this season.

Then again, Johnson produced two Super Bowl winners in five seasons. After no playoff wins in 10 seasons, Jones would trade everything for that.

Seriously, preseason results sometimes have absolutely zero connection to what transpires in the regular season. Remember how much better the Cowboys looked than the Saints in Shreveport last August?

Didn't look that way in December.

But we do know one thing after watching the Cowboys defeat a watered-down Indianapolis team, 23-10, at Texas Stadium.

In their first preseason test, Phillips' Cowboys were a lot more prepared to play than Bill Parcells' Cowboys.

Four years ago in the Arizona desert, Parcells made his much anticipated preseason debut with a 13-0 loss to the Cardinals.

Afterward, a spent-looking Parcells said, "We had no chance of winning this game. No chance."

Thursday night, the Cowboys looked good from the start. Even though the first-team offense settled for field goals in its two possessions, the unit was sharp. Tony Romo completed 10 of 11 passes for 93 yards and looked like a man in charge ... against a defense missing seven Super Bowl starters.

"Sometimes this game is about timing and progression," Romo said. "It's never easy out there. But I like the fact that this offense is going to go downfield."

The first preseason game wasn't a real shining example of that. Of the Cowboys' 20 completions, only seven went to wide receivers. None caught a pass for more than 9 yards. Tight ends made the bigger plays, catching eight passes for 113 yards.

But Phillips liked the crispness the unit displayed.

"We started the game with 13- and 15-play drives, and we showed some consistency," he said. "First preseason game and we had no turnovers. And we didn't have many penalties. That's what you want to do."

Those drives bogged down and the Cowboys settled for field goals from Martin Gramatica and rookie Nick Folk. But it's August. Those things happen.

The bigger question is what Phillips, a longtime defensive coordinator, is going to bring to a Cowboys unit that hasn't played up to its perceived talent level or its salary scale in recent years.

You can't gauge a heck of a lot when Peyton Manning goes 3-for-5 and Joseph Addai carries the ball twice.

But early in the second half, with the second units on the field, safety Keith Davis scored on a 41-yard interception return of a ball deflected by rookie linebacker Alex Obomese.

"They're a hard offense to play against because they don't let you substitute," Phillips said. "We got pressure on them but we missed the quarterback. The good thing is they couldn't run the ball on us.

The three Colts running backs that played – Addai, DeDe Dorsey and Clinton Dawson – gained just 27 yards on 11 rushes.

I don't think the Colts necessarily left Texas Stadium with their heads down. Super Bowl champs rarely come out blazing in the preseason. There's no reason for it.

But the Cowboys looked sharp and they looked physical and, despite practicing in an air-conditioned Alamodome, they didn't wilt in the August heat.

"You have a feel for how they're going to play when you watch them practice, but you never know," Phillips said. "We didn't turn the ball over in practice. Ball security is real important to us."

The real test is still a month away. This was merely a warm-up act.

But as these preseason openers go, the Cowboys have rarely been better.