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Nice, solid opening night victory against the big, bad New York Football Giants. Was it perfect? Hardly, was it sweet, absolutely.
1) Prescott missed a few throws that we had been accustomed to seeing him make. But he also didn't throw any picks, have any fumbles or hold onto to the ball too long and take big hits/sacks. His game last night was a significant improvement over his two starts last year vs NYG. CZ is loaded with people complaining about him sucking or something (which is further proof they have the lowest cumulative football IQ of any sports board anywhere) but he had a really solid game and constantly got the Cowboys into good looks. He clearly has more freedom than last year at the LOS, and he looked in total command. Of course people seem to willingly discount that he played against an outstanding defensive team, one that really confused him last year. Didn't happen last night. Another of his really positive traits is while he doesn't look to take off and run, he does have the ability to make a defense pay when something is there (like he did on that FG drive before halftime). Those are plays Romo (and many other QB's) would never make.
2) Other than the extremely well designed 3rd down 30 yd gain on the little backside screen Zeke didn't have any explosive plays, but he gained a ton of tough yards. He constantly turned no gains into 2-3-4 yd gains and late in the game when everyone knew we'd run, he moved the chains. He also was rock solid in blitz protection again. Really solid season opener for him against a really good defensive team.
3) Terrance Williams had 6 catches for 68 yards, all after the really bad looking ankle sprain he had on the 1st play of the game. He toughed it out and had a really nice night (after the game I saw the clip of him trying to get to the lockerroom, he was really messed up). Even if he had to miss a game or two, we're obviously fine but he deserves kudos for what he did last night. Dez is Dez and probably should have easily drawn 4 or 5 other PI/illegal contact penalties on Jenkins. Beasley is just money and his ridiculous highlight film catch was just epic. Brice Butler only caught one ball but it was a great catch as well. And whatever Witten did to prepare for this season obviously worked. He looks much quicker and like he's actually picked up a step or two in the speed area.
4) My one complaint offensively would be with the playcalling on the first FG drive after Butler's 30 yd gain. We had 1st and goal inside the 3, and didn't attempt a single running play. Elliott was in the game, but they called 3 straight passes. Now I cant say for sure whether the plays were called by Linehan or if Prescott called them himself, but not running Zeke behind this OL even once was pretty stupid. Hopefully it's something that wont happen again. That said, Prescott should have had the TD on the slant to Dez.
5) Pretty stiff test for first game of revamped OL, and my guess is they'd have to be thrilled with the results. Only one sack allowed (and that appeared to on Prescott) and they were able to rush for almost 130 yards. Dallas didn't have a single 3 and out and had two drives of 11+ plays, including their last drive of 11 plays, 34 yards and using up almost 6 mins to get another FG and ice the game.
6) Obviously the Giants not having OBJ was a huge positive for us, but you still cant dispel how well our defense played. We got 3 sacks (Mayowa had a 4th that should have counted, but didn't. He was even held on the play) We got a pick (and had a great Jaylon Smith forced fumble that we recovered taken away). We held the Giants to only 35 rush yds on 12 carries.
7) Plenty of good individual play defensively, but Demarcus Lawrence had a pair of sacks and another nice TFL on a screen pass. Sean Lee was everywhere and led team in tackles. Jaylon Smith's debut was solid and he did show glimpses of the explosive speed he had at ND. Charles Tapper had a sack and should have had another. Maliek Collins commanded a double team almost every play. Anthony Brown is looking like a very legit starting CB. Stephen Paea was a load in the middle. Jeff Heath didn't do anything really good, but he didn't do anything bad and that is more important IMO. It's only one game, but Nolan Carroll looked ok as well. Taco Charlton rotated in and didn't do anything great (had 1 or 2 pressures I saw) but he wasn't an issue either. On another note, while the Giants clearly have a below average OL, I don't recall many (if any) plays where we blitzed and we were still getting fairly consistent pressure. Definitely a good sign.
7) Back to the OL, after watching a couple other games and plenty of highlights from others, having the OL situation we have is a HUGE plus for us. Really bad OL play (including catastrophically bad by teams like Seattle, Houston, Indy, San Fran and Arizona) was pretty much the norm yesterday for most of the league. We broke in two new starters and still didn't miss a beat. Chaz Green seemed to fare well and didn't get hurt, and Lael Collins had a major test vs JPP and Vernon and other than one holding call didn't struggle in the least. If Green stays healthy and Collins continues to develop, our OL could be even more dominant later in this season than it was last year or 2014.
8) Biggest positive stat improvement last night compared to the December loss last yr vs NYG? 3rd down conversions. Last night we were 8/15. Last December we were 1/15. We also gained nearly 400 yards (as opposed to just 260 in the 10-7 loss) and had 3 turnovers (none last night)
9) Dan Bailey is just money, as usual. 4/4 and all 4 split uprights. 4 touchbacks in 6 kickoffs. In close games, he is a HUGE weapon for us. Ryan Switzer's debut was nothing to write home about because the Giant punter had an all world night, but he did catch all the punts cleanly and returned two kickoffs. He also had an acre to run on the fake jet sweep he was on the field for. Suspect we'll see that a few times this year and I cant wait for the eventual situations where he is out there in 4 or 5 WR sets with Beasley and both are lined up in the slot.
Really solid opening win. If they can keep playing this way we should be able to get to the week after the bye week and be 4-2 or 5-1. Denver has a really questionable QB situation and has some injury issues on defense. The Cardinals game looked tough when the schedule came out, but they were a train wreck yesterday. The Rams were incredibly dominant vs Indy yesterday and that game may be tougher than we hoped, Green Bay will obviously be tough and then we play SF, which also appeared to be a train wreck yesterday. We get Demontre Moore back for Arizona and David Irving back for GB, having Irving be able to line up next to Collins at DT on obvious pass downs is going to be a big boost for us.
1) Prescott missed a few throws that we had been accustomed to seeing him make. But he also didn't throw any picks, have any fumbles or hold onto to the ball too long and take big hits/sacks. His game last night was a significant improvement over his two starts last year vs NYG. CZ is loaded with people complaining about him sucking or something (which is further proof they have the lowest cumulative football IQ of any sports board anywhere) but he had a really solid game and constantly got the Cowboys into good looks. He clearly has more freedom than last year at the LOS, and he looked in total command. Of course people seem to willingly discount that he played against an outstanding defensive team, one that really confused him last year. Didn't happen last night. Another of his really positive traits is while he doesn't look to take off and run, he does have the ability to make a defense pay when something is there (like he did on that FG drive before halftime). Those are plays Romo (and many other QB's) would never make.
2) Other than the extremely well designed 3rd down 30 yd gain on the little backside screen Zeke didn't have any explosive plays, but he gained a ton of tough yards. He constantly turned no gains into 2-3-4 yd gains and late in the game when everyone knew we'd run, he moved the chains. He also was rock solid in blitz protection again. Really solid season opener for him against a really good defensive team.
3) Terrance Williams had 6 catches for 68 yards, all after the really bad looking ankle sprain he had on the 1st play of the game. He toughed it out and had a really nice night (after the game I saw the clip of him trying to get to the lockerroom, he was really messed up). Even if he had to miss a game or two, we're obviously fine but he deserves kudos for what he did last night. Dez is Dez and probably should have easily drawn 4 or 5 other PI/illegal contact penalties on Jenkins. Beasley is just money and his ridiculous highlight film catch was just epic. Brice Butler only caught one ball but it was a great catch as well. And whatever Witten did to prepare for this season obviously worked. He looks much quicker and like he's actually picked up a step or two in the speed area.
4) My one complaint offensively would be with the playcalling on the first FG drive after Butler's 30 yd gain. We had 1st and goal inside the 3, and didn't attempt a single running play. Elliott was in the game, but they called 3 straight passes. Now I cant say for sure whether the plays were called by Linehan or if Prescott called them himself, but not running Zeke behind this OL even once was pretty stupid. Hopefully it's something that wont happen again. That said, Prescott should have had the TD on the slant to Dez.
5) Pretty stiff test for first game of revamped OL, and my guess is they'd have to be thrilled with the results. Only one sack allowed (and that appeared to on Prescott) and they were able to rush for almost 130 yards. Dallas didn't have a single 3 and out and had two drives of 11+ plays, including their last drive of 11 plays, 34 yards and using up almost 6 mins to get another FG and ice the game.
6) Obviously the Giants not having OBJ was a huge positive for us, but you still cant dispel how well our defense played. We got 3 sacks (Mayowa had a 4th that should have counted, but didn't. He was even held on the play) We got a pick (and had a great Jaylon Smith forced fumble that we recovered taken away). We held the Giants to only 35 rush yds on 12 carries.
7) Plenty of good individual play defensively, but Demarcus Lawrence had a pair of sacks and another nice TFL on a screen pass. Sean Lee was everywhere and led team in tackles. Jaylon Smith's debut was solid and he did show glimpses of the explosive speed he had at ND. Charles Tapper had a sack and should have had another. Maliek Collins commanded a double team almost every play. Anthony Brown is looking like a very legit starting CB. Stephen Paea was a load in the middle. Jeff Heath didn't do anything really good, but he didn't do anything bad and that is more important IMO. It's only one game, but Nolan Carroll looked ok as well. Taco Charlton rotated in and didn't do anything great (had 1 or 2 pressures I saw) but he wasn't an issue either. On another note, while the Giants clearly have a below average OL, I don't recall many (if any) plays where we blitzed and we were still getting fairly consistent pressure. Definitely a good sign.
7) Back to the OL, after watching a couple other games and plenty of highlights from others, having the OL situation we have is a HUGE plus for us. Really bad OL play (including catastrophically bad by teams like Seattle, Houston, Indy, San Fran and Arizona) was pretty much the norm yesterday for most of the league. We broke in two new starters and still didn't miss a beat. Chaz Green seemed to fare well and didn't get hurt, and Lael Collins had a major test vs JPP and Vernon and other than one holding call didn't struggle in the least. If Green stays healthy and Collins continues to develop, our OL could be even more dominant later in this season than it was last year or 2014.
8) Biggest positive stat improvement last night compared to the December loss last yr vs NYG? 3rd down conversions. Last night we were 8/15. Last December we were 1/15. We also gained nearly 400 yards (as opposed to just 260 in the 10-7 loss) and had 3 turnovers (none last night)
9) Dan Bailey is just money, as usual. 4/4 and all 4 split uprights. 4 touchbacks in 6 kickoffs. In close games, he is a HUGE weapon for us. Ryan Switzer's debut was nothing to write home about because the Giant punter had an all world night, but he did catch all the punts cleanly and returned two kickoffs. He also had an acre to run on the fake jet sweep he was on the field for. Suspect we'll see that a few times this year and I cant wait for the eventual situations where he is out there in 4 or 5 WR sets with Beasley and both are lined up in the slot.
Really solid opening win. If they can keep playing this way we should be able to get to the week after the bye week and be 4-2 or 5-1. Denver has a really questionable QB situation and has some injury issues on defense. The Cardinals game looked tough when the schedule came out, but they were a train wreck yesterday. The Rams were incredibly dominant vs Indy yesterday and that game may be tougher than we hoped, Green Bay will obviously be tough and then we play SF, which also appeared to be a train wreck yesterday. We get Demontre Moore back for Arizona and David Irving back for GB, having Irving be able to line up next to Collins at DT on obvious pass downs is going to be a big boost for us.
