It didn't start out as the best evening for Stephen McGee, but it ended well. The 3rd string Cowboys quarterback walked off a shot to the ankle that hobbled him the rest of the game. He then shook off some early series yips that saw him revert to old form, tucking and running with the football far too early.
McGee found consistent protection from the backup offensive line, and found some young play-makers in his receiving corps, most notably 5th round pick Dwayne Harris. McGee led three second half touchdowns drives, capping the last with a successful two-point throw to tight end Martin Rucker in a thrilling 24-23 win over the Denver Broncos.
A quick recap of the offensive rookies profiled earlier today:
McGee -- He's got a gun, but has not always trusted his protection and his targets. He looked rusty and tentative. On the second series of the 3rd quarter, he settled down. He's still a tad late on some throws, but is much more decisive. His performance rose with his confidence and right now his confidence has to be sky high. It will be interesting to see if Jason Garrett gives McGee some reps with Jon Kitna's 2nd unit next week. A breakthrough by McGee would dramatically change the organization's long-term quarterback plans.
Dwayne Harris -- I've mentioned since week one that Harris had a fearlessness going over the middle. Tonight, the whole Cowboys TV audience got to see his game. Harris works the middle of the field. He caught a hook on that critical 3rd quarter series where McGee found his rhythm. Harris then caught a short stop route over the middle, worked off a seal block from the TE Rucker and raced 73 yards up the middle. He caught a touchdown in traffic in the left half of the end zone to make the score 23-22, setting up Rucker's conversion. It may be premature to pencil him in as a slot option, but if he keeps making plays...
Raymond Radway -- He's smooth, he's quick and he caught McGee's first TD on a shallow cross, extending to make the grab. He didn't have the body of work Harris did tonight, but still offered plenty of reasons for optimism about his Cowboys future.
Philip Tanner -- Lonyae Miller had the pre-game hype, but Tanner showed the elusiveness and explosiveness the coaches want. He spun away from several tackles for extra yards and showed a lateral fluidity and explosiveness that Miller did not, tonight anyway.
Camp work was inconclusive, because Dallas did not allow full tackling. The Cowboys had full sets of officials in the Alamodome, but whistles were blown when a defender wrapped up, or bumped a back. You did see linebackers and safeties lower shoulders and knock running backs down, but you did not see them wrap and wrestle backs to the ground. Consequently, we had no definitive idea of whether Miller, Tanner or Frank Warren could break tackles, whether they could maintain balance after the first hit, or whether they could protect the football.
Tonight we got a much better idea, and Tanner made the best first impression. He's almost identical in size to Tashard Choice (5'10'', 212 for Choice vs. 6'0'', 214 for Tanner) so the shop-Tashard rumors won't fade if Tanner can do it again when the Cowboys play the Chargers in nine days.
Tyron Smith -- Rock solid on the right side. He played until half-time and kept the right edge clean for Romo, Kitna and McGee.
David Arkin -- He also played to the half and had some up and some down plays. A Broncos DT got under Arkin and dropped Lonyae Miller for a two-yard loss on a 2nd-and-1 play.
The game was much more ragged on the defensive side of the ball. Play was erratic across the young secondary. All the Cowboys defensive units gave up big plays on the ground and through the air. The game tape will give Rob Ryan plenty of reasons to ride his defenders next week. The growing pains are not unexpected, but they are nonetheless hard to watch.
More on the defense tomorrow. In the meantime, the offensive backups gave the coaches and the fans reasons to smile tonight.
McGee found consistent protection from the backup offensive line, and found some young play-makers in his receiving corps, most notably 5th round pick Dwayne Harris. McGee led three second half touchdowns drives, capping the last with a successful two-point throw to tight end Martin Rucker in a thrilling 24-23 win over the Denver Broncos.
A quick recap of the offensive rookies profiled earlier today:
McGee -- He's got a gun, but has not always trusted his protection and his targets. He looked rusty and tentative. On the second series of the 3rd quarter, he settled down. He's still a tad late on some throws, but is much more decisive. His performance rose with his confidence and right now his confidence has to be sky high. It will be interesting to see if Jason Garrett gives McGee some reps with Jon Kitna's 2nd unit next week. A breakthrough by McGee would dramatically change the organization's long-term quarterback plans.
Dwayne Harris -- I've mentioned since week one that Harris had a fearlessness going over the middle. Tonight, the whole Cowboys TV audience got to see his game. Harris works the middle of the field. He caught a hook on that critical 3rd quarter series where McGee found his rhythm. Harris then caught a short stop route over the middle, worked off a seal block from the TE Rucker and raced 73 yards up the middle. He caught a touchdown in traffic in the left half of the end zone to make the score 23-22, setting up Rucker's conversion. It may be premature to pencil him in as a slot option, but if he keeps making plays...
Raymond Radway -- He's smooth, he's quick and he caught McGee's first TD on a shallow cross, extending to make the grab. He didn't have the body of work Harris did tonight, but still offered plenty of reasons for optimism about his Cowboys future.
Philip Tanner -- Lonyae Miller had the pre-game hype, but Tanner showed the elusiveness and explosiveness the coaches want. He spun away from several tackles for extra yards and showed a lateral fluidity and explosiveness that Miller did not, tonight anyway.
Camp work was inconclusive, because Dallas did not allow full tackling. The Cowboys had full sets of officials in the Alamodome, but whistles were blown when a defender wrapped up, or bumped a back. You did see linebackers and safeties lower shoulders and knock running backs down, but you did not see them wrap and wrestle backs to the ground. Consequently, we had no definitive idea of whether Miller, Tanner or Frank Warren could break tackles, whether they could maintain balance after the first hit, or whether they could protect the football.
Tonight we got a much better idea, and Tanner made the best first impression. He's almost identical in size to Tashard Choice (5'10'', 212 for Choice vs. 6'0'', 214 for Tanner) so the shop-Tashard rumors won't fade if Tanner can do it again when the Cowboys play the Chargers in nine days.
Tyron Smith -- Rock solid on the right side. He played until half-time and kept the right edge clean for Romo, Kitna and McGee.
David Arkin -- He also played to the half and had some up and some down plays. A Broncos DT got under Arkin and dropped Lonyae Miller for a two-yard loss on a 2nd-and-1 play.
The game was much more ragged on the defensive side of the ball. Play was erratic across the young secondary. All the Cowboys defensive units gave up big plays on the ground and through the air. The game tape will give Rob Ryan plenty of reasons to ride his defenders next week. The growing pains are not unexpected, but they are nonetheless hard to watch.
More on the defense tomorrow. In the meantime, the offensive backups gave the coaches and the fans reasons to smile tonight.
