NFL: Cowboys face tougher test against Bears
Tom Orsborn
San Antonio Express-News
IRVING — The measuring-stick aspect to Sunday's game with the Chicago Bears holds no appeal for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
"I don't really like the word measuring stick," Romo said Monday. "They are a good football team, and I think we are a pretty good football team."
Fair enough. But beating the likes of the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins — teams with a combined 0-4 record — just doesn't carry much weight with anybody interested in gauging how good the Cowboys (2-0) really are.
The Bears (1-1), meanwhile, offer the perfect, well, measuring stick. In addition to being the defending NFC champions, Chicago has a defense capable of stifling Dallas' high-octane offense.
"They've had a good defense for a while now," Romo said. "They're fast and they're going to get to the football. It will be fun."
It's been nothing but fun for Romo and the offense this season. The Cowboys rank first in the league in points with 82 — the franchise's third-highest total after two games — and are fourth in total offense, averaging 415 yards per game.
Romo is the league's third-ranked passer, with a 119.3 rating. Playing like a wily veteran — his words — rather than a player with only 13 starts under his belt, he has thrown for six TDs and only one interception and is averaging 10 yards per completion. But will those numbers stand up at Soldier Field, where the Bears will unleash a defense that ranks fourth in the league with an average yield of 272 yards?
"It will be a difficult environment," Romo said. "But I think we have enough veterans that we could be all right."
Many of those veterans were expecting to face Chicago in the second round of the playoffs last season. But that dream slipped away in Seattle when Romo botched the hold on a chip-shot field goal.
"No comment," defensive end Chris Canty said. "Why do you want to open old wounds?"
Running back Julius Jones was more forthcoming.
"It was tough," Jones said. "I felt like we should have been there. I really did. But we had our chance and we didn't make the best of it. But we are 2-0 now and going up to Chicago like we should have last year."
The offense isn't the only unit looking forward to seeing how it stacks up against the Bears. Chicago has a veteran offensive line led by Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz and a bullish runner in Texas standout Cedric Benson, who gained 101 yards on 24 attempts in Sunday's 20-10 victory over Kansas City.
"They've got a mauler-type line that's going to try to come out and dictate terms to us," Canty said.
So where does coach Wade Phillips come down in the measuring-stick debate?
"Going into Chicago, against the reigning NFC champs, it's certainly a big test," Phillips said. "I look to see how we do against them certainly, but I wanted to see how we did against Miami and New York too as far as measuring. You get measured by each game you play."
Notebook: Six players received game balls after Sunday's 37-20 victory over Miami: Safeties Ken Hamlin and Roy Williams, offensive tackle Marc Colombo, kicker Nick Folk, receiver/punt returner Patrick Crayton and cornerback Anthony Henry. ... Phillips said he talked to Terrell Owens about the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he drew for using the goalpost as a prop during a TD celebration. "I told him he couldn't do that and I didn't want it to happen again," Phillips said. "We've got to know all the rules and make sure we don't hurt our team. He was sorry about that, but it cost our team." Owens wasn't in the locker room when the media was allowed in for interviews.
San Antonio Express-News
IRVING — The measuring-stick aspect to Sunday's game with the Chicago Bears holds no appeal for Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.
"I don't really like the word measuring stick," Romo said Monday. "They are a good football team, and I think we are a pretty good football team."
Fair enough. But beating the likes of the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins — teams with a combined 0-4 record — just doesn't carry much weight with anybody interested in gauging how good the Cowboys (2-0) really are.
The Bears (1-1), meanwhile, offer the perfect, well, measuring stick. In addition to being the defending NFC champions, Chicago has a defense capable of stifling Dallas' high-octane offense.
"They've had a good defense for a while now," Romo said. "They're fast and they're going to get to the football. It will be fun."
It's been nothing but fun for Romo and the offense this season. The Cowboys rank first in the league in points with 82 — the franchise's third-highest total after two games — and are fourth in total offense, averaging 415 yards per game.
Romo is the league's third-ranked passer, with a 119.3 rating. Playing like a wily veteran — his words — rather than a player with only 13 starts under his belt, he has thrown for six TDs and only one interception and is averaging 10 yards per completion. But will those numbers stand up at Soldier Field, where the Bears will unleash a defense that ranks fourth in the league with an average yield of 272 yards?
"It will be a difficult environment," Romo said. "But I think we have enough veterans that we could be all right."
Many of those veterans were expecting to face Chicago in the second round of the playoffs last season. But that dream slipped away in Seattle when Romo botched the hold on a chip-shot field goal.
"No comment," defensive end Chris Canty said. "Why do you want to open old wounds?"
Running back Julius Jones was more forthcoming.
"It was tough," Jones said. "I felt like we should have been there. I really did. But we had our chance and we didn't make the best of it. But we are 2-0 now and going up to Chicago like we should have last year."
The offense isn't the only unit looking forward to seeing how it stacks up against the Bears. Chicago has a veteran offensive line led by Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz and a bullish runner in Texas standout Cedric Benson, who gained 101 yards on 24 attempts in Sunday's 20-10 victory over Kansas City.
"They've got a mauler-type line that's going to try to come out and dictate terms to us," Canty said.
So where does coach Wade Phillips come down in the measuring-stick debate?
"Going into Chicago, against the reigning NFC champs, it's certainly a big test," Phillips said. "I look to see how we do against them certainly, but I wanted to see how we did against Miami and New York too as far as measuring. You get measured by each game you play."
Notebook: Six players received game balls after Sunday's 37-20 victory over Miami: Safeties Ken Hamlin and Roy Williams, offensive tackle Marc Colombo, kicker Nick Folk, receiver/punt returner Patrick Crayton and cornerback Anthony Henry. ... Phillips said he talked to Terrell Owens about the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he drew for using the goalpost as a prop during a TD celebration. "I told him he couldn't do that and I didn't want it to happen again," Phillips said. "We've got to know all the rules and make sure we don't hurt our team. He was sorry about that, but it cost our team." Owens wasn't in the locker room when the media was allowed in for interviews.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:54 AM
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