Owens, Romo Lead Dallas Past Cleveland 28-10
By Associated Press
CLEVELAND -- Terrell Owens dropped the ball near the goal line and one of the NFL's top showmen began his first choreographed touchdown celebration of the season.
He shook one leg, then the other as if he was an Olympic sprinter. Dallas' star then pretended to get into the starting blocks to perhaps face Usain Bolt in the 100 meters.
On your mark, get set ... the Cowboys are off.
Given plenty of time to throw, Tony Romo passed for 320 yards and a 35-yard touchdown pass to Owens, and Marion Barber scored on a pair of 1-yard runs before leaving with bruised ribs as the Cowboys opened a season they expect to end with a Super Bowl title by overwhelming the out-of-sync Cleveland Browns 28-10 on Sunday.
Dallas dominated on the field and on the stat sheet with a performance one would might expect in late October or November, not on the first weekend in September, when teams are typically working out some of the summer's kinks.
"It wasn't easy. We did some things well," Romo said. "We went out there and executed."
Romo finished 24-of-32 and again showed his toughness by shaking off a hit by Browns linebacker Willie McGinest that opened a nasty gash on the chiseled chin of pop star Jessica Simpson's favorite quarterback. Romo needed several stitches and Barber, too, got some extra postgame medical attention.
X-rays on his ribs were negative and the Cowboys are hoping Barber, who ran for 80 yards on 16 tries before getting hurt in the third quarter, will be able to play when Dallas hosts NFC East rival Philadelphia a week from Monday.
Coming off a 13-win season, which ended with a bitterly disappointing playoff loss at home to the New York Giants, the Cowboys lived up to all their preseason hype with a solid performance on both sides of the ball. Their offense racked up nearly 500 yards, controlled the clock and strung together four long touchdown drives.
The defense held one of the AFC's most potent offenses to 205 yards, and except for some silly penalties, the star-studded 'Boys, whose training camp was profiled on HBO's "Hard Knocks," had a knockout debut.
"We're ready," said Owens, who finished with five catches for 87 yards. "Training camp and all that stuff is over with. The season is here and this was a great start."
Jason Witten added six catches for 96 yards, Patrick Crayton had six for 82 and the Cowboys moved the ball on Cleveland's defense as if they were facing their scout team.
When they didn't have the ball, the Browns missed tackles. When they had it, they dropped passes, looked confused and had technical difficulties.
Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson, who finished 11-of-24 for 114 yards, revealed that the headset in his helmet failed in the red zone - a problem that the team thought it had corrected in exhibition play.
"The battery on the stupid headset went out and we had to call time," Anderson said. "It happened two or three times in the red zone. You hate to waste a timeout on those things, but we had to do it."
Cleveland's only TD came on Anderson's 2-yard pass to Kellen Winslow in the second quarter. Anderson never got into a rhythm with wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who had only two catches and dropped at least two, including one in the first quarter on what would have been a TD.
Edwards missed three exhibition games with a cut foot and said the time off hurt his timing.
"We weren't ready," he said. "We were not on the same page. I don't think anyone was. We just didn't play good football. It was everybody, D.A., myself. everybody."
On top of a strong performance on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys also got their first look at Adam "Pacman" Jones, the cornerback/punt returner, who was recently reinstated after serving a 17-month suspension and played his first game since Dec. 31, 2006, for Tennessee.
Jones, who's been arrested six times since joining the league, was called for interference in the end zone to set up Cleveland's only TD and muffed a punt he recovered.
Afterward, Jones gushed about his new team.
"It's going to be real hard to beat us. Period. Point blank. We've got a lot of talent," he said. "This is the most talented team I've ever been on."
CLEVELAND -- Terrell Owens dropped the ball near the goal line and one of the NFL's top showmen began his first choreographed touchdown celebration of the season.
He shook one leg, then the other as if he was an Olympic sprinter. Dallas' star then pretended to get into the starting blocks to perhaps face Usain Bolt in the 100 meters.
On your mark, get set ... the Cowboys are off.
Given plenty of time to throw, Tony Romo passed for 320 yards and a 35-yard touchdown pass to Owens, and Marion Barber scored on a pair of 1-yard runs before leaving with bruised ribs as the Cowboys opened a season they expect to end with a Super Bowl title by overwhelming the out-of-sync Cleveland Browns 28-10 on Sunday.
Dallas dominated on the field and on the stat sheet with a performance one would might expect in late October or November, not on the first weekend in September, when teams are typically working out some of the summer's kinks.
"It wasn't easy. We did some things well," Romo said. "We went out there and executed."
Romo finished 24-of-32 and again showed his toughness by shaking off a hit by Browns linebacker Willie McGinest that opened a nasty gash on the chiseled chin of pop star Jessica Simpson's favorite quarterback. Romo needed several stitches and Barber, too, got some extra postgame medical attention.
X-rays on his ribs were negative and the Cowboys are hoping Barber, who ran for 80 yards on 16 tries before getting hurt in the third quarter, will be able to play when Dallas hosts NFC East rival Philadelphia a week from Monday.
Coming off a 13-win season, which ended with a bitterly disappointing playoff loss at home to the New York Giants, the Cowboys lived up to all their preseason hype with a solid performance on both sides of the ball. Their offense racked up nearly 500 yards, controlled the clock and strung together four long touchdown drives.
The defense held one of the AFC's most potent offenses to 205 yards, and except for some silly penalties, the star-studded 'Boys, whose training camp was profiled on HBO's "Hard Knocks," had a knockout debut.
"We're ready," said Owens, who finished with five catches for 87 yards. "Training camp and all that stuff is over with. The season is here and this was a great start."
Jason Witten added six catches for 96 yards, Patrick Crayton had six for 82 and the Cowboys moved the ball on Cleveland's defense as if they were facing their scout team.
When they didn't have the ball, the Browns missed tackles. When they had it, they dropped passes, looked confused and had technical difficulties.
Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson, who finished 11-of-24 for 114 yards, revealed that the headset in his helmet failed in the red zone - a problem that the team thought it had corrected in exhibition play.
"The battery on the stupid headset went out and we had to call time," Anderson said. "It happened two or three times in the red zone. You hate to waste a timeout on those things, but we had to do it."
Cleveland's only TD came on Anderson's 2-yard pass to Kellen Winslow in the second quarter. Anderson never got into a rhythm with wide receiver Braylon Edwards, who had only two catches and dropped at least two, including one in the first quarter on what would have been a TD.
Edwards missed three exhibition games with a cut foot and said the time off hurt his timing.
"We weren't ready," he said. "We were not on the same page. I don't think anyone was. We just didn't play good football. It was everybody, D.A., myself. everybody."
On top of a strong performance on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys also got their first look at Adam "Pacman" Jones, the cornerback/punt returner, who was recently reinstated after serving a 17-month suspension and played his first game since Dec. 31, 2006, for Tennessee.
Jones, who's been arrested six times since joining the league, was called for interference in the end zone to set up Cleveland's only TD and muffed a punt he recovered.
Afterward, Jones gushed about his new team.
"It's going to be real hard to beat us. Period. Point blank. We've got a lot of talent," he said. "This is the most talented team I've ever been on."
posted by The Gryphon at 5:44 PM
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