The Cowboys wake up into a new world
Buck Harvey
San Antonio Express-News
CHICAGO — An assistant coach in the booth called in a play. As he did so, he yawned. Tony Romo heard the play on his headset, and he repeated the call in the huddle to his teammates — including the yawn. After things went naturally wrong, Jerry Jones burst into the booth to correct his sleepy coach.
This is how a commercial sells a peppy drink.
Today, caffeine is not required. The Cowboys woke up into a new world this morning, and it's one they haven't known since the mid-'90s. Not only are they on top of their conference, they are also there after thoroughly beating last year's best on the road.
There's another reason to be fully awake.
Won't the Cowboys be 5-0 when the Patriots come to Dallas?
After Sunday night, everything seems possible. The Cowboys scored 34 points, which isn't singularly surprising since they had scored 45 and 37 in the first two games of the season. But this one came against the Bears.
In one Chicago newspaper, where nine of 10 writers picked the Bears to beat Dallas, a headline presented the pregame belief. "Romo's stats deceiving" it read.
After all, he'd faced only one top-10 defense in his first 13 NFL starts. The Bears would be too fast and too angry for this undrafted free agent.
What followed — sticking with the peppy-drink theme — was an eye opener for Chicago. Romo moved and feinted, making Tommie Harris miss just as he made Miami's Jason Taylor miss last week.
Deceiving?
Romo's ability must be.
It could have been worse for Chicago, since a Cowboys receiver dropped a sure touchdown. A year ago, that would have been Terrell Owens. Now, with Dallas coaches who know both his strengths and his name, he's become someone the Cowboys lean on.
That became clear to start the second half, when the Cowboys had reason to be frustrated. Besides Patrick Crayton's drop, they had committed eight penalties for 65 yards in the first half compared to one for the Bears. The Cowboys deserved most of them (Flozell Adams made sure of that).
But there were several calls that had the feel of refs who gave into stadium noise, and this is one reason the Cowboys needed to win this game and avoid a return here in January in the playoffs. Another is the Chicago winter.
One of the worst calls: A Jason Witten block that freed Julius Jones for a gain that would have put the Cowboys at midfield.
Replays showed the block was legal, with Witten's head in front of his target. An official, instead, said Witten had blocked in the back, and the opinion meant everything. Against this Bears defense, could the Cowboys ever expect to get out of third and long?
The Cowboys muffed the kickoff to start the second half, and Romo trotted out to his own 11-yard line, in a tie game, with the Soldier Field crowd howling for the Bears' defense to take over. Then came a quarter that reversed reputations and more than a decade of mediocrity.
Romo took the Cowboys 89 yards for a touchdown and, after a Chicago touchdown, took them another 91 yards. On each drive, he needed to complete a third-down and long against the Bears. Both times, the ball went to Owens.
Owens scored neither touchdown that quarter, but he was clearly the difference. He went across the middle, took hits and generally was everything Bill Parcells thought he wasn't.
"He's unbelievable," Romo said afterward. "I just try to get him the ball and get out of the way."
Owens had gone from last year's comical distraction to this year's anchor, and the Cowboys' status had seemingly transformed as much. By the fourth quarter, Dallas had so worn down the Bears that this was the final scoring drive: Marion Barber running eight-straight times.
It's a long season. A showdown with the Patriots in October will be fun, but it won't mean much if the Cowboys collapse this December as they did last December.
Still, Sunday night signaled a change. The Cowboys have been a sleepy franchise for a long time, and, in prime time, on the road in Chicago, they woke up.
San Antonio Express-News
CHICAGO — An assistant coach in the booth called in a play. As he did so, he yawned. Tony Romo heard the play on his headset, and he repeated the call in the huddle to his teammates — including the yawn. After things went naturally wrong, Jerry Jones burst into the booth to correct his sleepy coach.
This is how a commercial sells a peppy drink.
Today, caffeine is not required. The Cowboys woke up into a new world this morning, and it's one they haven't known since the mid-'90s. Not only are they on top of their conference, they are also there after thoroughly beating last year's best on the road.
There's another reason to be fully awake.
Won't the Cowboys be 5-0 when the Patriots come to Dallas?
After Sunday night, everything seems possible. The Cowboys scored 34 points, which isn't singularly surprising since they had scored 45 and 37 in the first two games of the season. But this one came against the Bears.
In one Chicago newspaper, where nine of 10 writers picked the Bears to beat Dallas, a headline presented the pregame belief. "Romo's stats deceiving" it read.
After all, he'd faced only one top-10 defense in his first 13 NFL starts. The Bears would be too fast and too angry for this undrafted free agent.
What followed — sticking with the peppy-drink theme — was an eye opener for Chicago. Romo moved and feinted, making Tommie Harris miss just as he made Miami's Jason Taylor miss last week.
Deceiving?
Romo's ability must be.
It could have been worse for Chicago, since a Cowboys receiver dropped a sure touchdown. A year ago, that would have been Terrell Owens. Now, with Dallas coaches who know both his strengths and his name, he's become someone the Cowboys lean on.
That became clear to start the second half, when the Cowboys had reason to be frustrated. Besides Patrick Crayton's drop, they had committed eight penalties for 65 yards in the first half compared to one for the Bears. The Cowboys deserved most of them (Flozell Adams made sure of that).
But there were several calls that had the feel of refs who gave into stadium noise, and this is one reason the Cowboys needed to win this game and avoid a return here in January in the playoffs. Another is the Chicago winter.
One of the worst calls: A Jason Witten block that freed Julius Jones for a gain that would have put the Cowboys at midfield.
Replays showed the block was legal, with Witten's head in front of his target. An official, instead, said Witten had blocked in the back, and the opinion meant everything. Against this Bears defense, could the Cowboys ever expect to get out of third and long?
The Cowboys muffed the kickoff to start the second half, and Romo trotted out to his own 11-yard line, in a tie game, with the Soldier Field crowd howling for the Bears' defense to take over. Then came a quarter that reversed reputations and more than a decade of mediocrity.
Romo took the Cowboys 89 yards for a touchdown and, after a Chicago touchdown, took them another 91 yards. On each drive, he needed to complete a third-down and long against the Bears. Both times, the ball went to Owens.
Owens scored neither touchdown that quarter, but he was clearly the difference. He went across the middle, took hits and generally was everything Bill Parcells thought he wasn't.
"He's unbelievable," Romo said afterward. "I just try to get him the ball and get out of the way."
Owens had gone from last year's comical distraction to this year's anchor, and the Cowboys' status had seemingly transformed as much. By the fourth quarter, Dallas had so worn down the Bears that this was the final scoring drive: Marion Barber running eight-straight times.
It's a long season. A showdown with the Patriots in October will be fun, but it won't mean much if the Cowboys collapse this December as they did last December.
Still, Sunday night signaled a change. The Cowboys have been a sleepy franchise for a long time, and, in prime time, on the road in Chicago, they woke up.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:12 AM
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