Romo’s back is back… or so we think. The Cowboys’ franchise quarterback looked like his old self on Saturday, notching 80 yards and finishing the night with a 158.3 passer rating. The worry over whether or not No. 9 could still throw the deep ball was quickly quelled after a pretty 31 yard toss to Dez Bryant for a touchdown in the first quarter. Although he looked good in his time on the field, the Cowboys weren’t about to start taking chances with Romo’s health and opted to rest their leader, allowing all three of their other quarterbacks to clock some time in the game.
Dez: “This is just a tease.” Dez Bryant came out on Saturday looking like, well, Dez Bryant. Talk about a freak of nature. No. 88 wasted no time giving himself a reason to Throw Up The X once he stepped on the field- connecting with Romo on a touchdown pass 11 minutes into the game. He only played two series, but still managed to top the receiving charts, ending his day with 3 receptions, 59 yards and a touchdown. Even when he wasn’t making plays, Bryant was still involved in the game hyping up his teammates on the sidelines. The best part about it though? He’s not satisfied. In his postgame interview in the locker room, Bryant only further emphasized his desire for the regular season to start, calling the Raven’s preseason game, “just a tease”. We don’t hate it.
Decisions, Decisions. Preseason is the time when you find out how strong the depth on your team is and while there are many concerns about backups with this team, there are a few positions that may have too much depth. One in particular being running back. With the addition of Ryan Williams to the roster, the Cowboys now have four running backs and two fullbacks on the team. DeMarco Murray and Lance Dunbar seem to have their roster spots on lock, which leaves Joseph Randle and Ryan Williams to battle it out for that third position. There’s a possibility that the Cowboys could opt to keep all four running backs and cut the fullback position out completely, but that may be tough to do considering Tyler Clutts’ impact on special teams. Williams could step up and find a spot with special teams, but again, that would require the team to go short elsewhere on the roster or cut out a similar position entirely. Another decision the Cowboys are facing is whether or not to carry three quarterbacks this season. While Brandon Weeden has emerged as the next in line behind No. 9, Dustin Vaughn has made a decent showing for himself in training camp and the preaseason thus far. Time is not a friend to either Romo or Weeden, not to mention Tony’s much-discussed back surgeries. Now might be as good a time as ever to hold onto a guy like Vaughn who you could develop into your next-in-line whenever that may be. While he would be eligible for practice squad, a talent such as his would surely be snatched up by another team. If he were to be signed to the 53 that would just mean one less roster spot for another position group and considering the state of this defense, is it really worth it?
Defensive Woes. The defense continued their notorious reign of mediocrity on Saturday, but this time they only managed to give up 331 yards- 64 yards less than in the San Diego game. Progress? Maybe. But I have a feeling that’s all relative in the big scheme of things. Not to mention they still don’t have their starting linebacker corps figured out and a good chunk of their defensive line is missing. It’s not even game one of the regular season and we’re already having concerns. Needless to say, they’re off to a bit of a bumpy start.
The Next Great Wall? While the defense struggled, the offense, for the most part, looked on point. More specifically the offensive line. Now some have gone as far as to call this year’s O-Line the “Next Great Wall” which might be getting ahead of ourselves, but the upside is definitely there. But a strong front four is going to be as important as ever, especially when you have a fragile quarterback like Romo in the pocket. New offensive play caller, Scott Linehan, I’m sure is nothing short of excited about utilizing these guys in the running game as seen with his use of Demarco Murray against Baltimore. While Murray had a great game, it seemed as though he didn’t wait long enough for the offensive line to open up holes for him to run through and instead tried to barge through like he would’ve had to in the past. A small adjustment that can easily be made, and a good one to have to make, at that.
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