Week two of the 2011 season has Dallas Cowboys fans hoping for a win to get things headed in the right directions. This is not exactly a must win situation for the Cowboys, but it certainly is a game that would create a lot of concern among the fan base. Can the Cowboys bounce back from the Jets meltdown? Here's a look at the latest headlines about the game.
The weather should be good, if not near perfect. The forecast is for temperatures in the mid seventies with partly cloudy to mostly sunny skies and just the slightest chance of a shower. As always, the winds will likely be swirling. Hopefully, they will swirl kicks away from Ted Ginn Jr.
There has been a lot of attention paid to the emergence of the rookies on the offensive line, but second year man Phil Costa is just as important to the rise of the Yuglies. A great story from his home town area talks about what he has accomplished. I think this quote from his high school coach speaks to why he seems such a great fit for the Garrett era.
"He willed himself to be a great player," McConnell said. "Nobody was going to outwork him."
Can you say RKG?
More after the jump
One of the big storylines this past week was the emergence of Sean Lee and whether that meant Keith Brooking might not be very important. However, there are other contributions the veteran linebacker is making to the team, and they might have a lot to do with Lee's huge game and the prospect of him being a force going forward.
At age 35, Brooking wasn't naive to the fact that Lee was selected in the second round as his hand-picked replacement. "They've been drafting players at my position for 14 years," he said. "This isn't catching anyone by surprise." But that didn't keep Brooking from teaching Lee everything he knew about playing his position.
Can you tell I like RKGs?
Dallas isn't the only team with a young offensive line. San Francisco also has a young line, and their left tackle Joe Staley sounds a lot like Doug Free.
David Buehler has his own theories about how to handle dangerous 49ers return man Ted Ginn. (Fortunately, he still plans to kick touchbacks.)
Rob Ryan is looking to get DeMarcus Ware in more one on one situations.
Frank Walker was signed to provide some depth at cornerback for the Cowboys. When you are looking to catch on with a team, I guess it doesn't hurt to have been roommates with the head coach.
49ers receiver Michael Crabtree also has a Cowboys connection of sorts. If a little petty larceny counts.
Mike Jenkins wants to play despite his injuries problems. It's early, but we may have the 2009 version back.
Both Dallas and San Francisco have top rated tight ends in Jason Witten and Vernon Davis. It may be more than coincidence.
The 49ers' No. 1 cornerback, Carlos Rogers, made it clear that the Cowboys have a far more potent offense than the Seahawks last week. And he said the Candlestick Park scoreboard might blow a fuse without some changes to the 49ers defense.
49ers safety Dashon Goldson says the 49ers expect to see Dez Bryant on the field, despite Bryant missing practice this week with a bruised thigh.
"I'm pretty sure he's going to play," safety Dashon Goldson said Friday. "He seems like that kind of player that wants to play the game and is competitive. So I don't see why he wouldn't be out there."
It seems even the 49ers recognize an RKG.
Dallas needs to get more out of its running game. However, it looks like the 49ers have a good answer to Felix Jones in their star linebacker Patrick Willis. But in the passing game, cornerback Carlos Rogers may have more of a problem with Miles Austin, despite Rogers' time with division rival Washington.
Alan Ball has looked a lot more comfortable at cornerback than he did at safety last year. We will see how comfortable since he is starting in place of injured Orlando Scandrick, who was starting in place of still injured Terence Newman.
Dallas wants to get to 1-1 with this game. 0-2 would not be the end of hopes for a good overall year. But don't tell us that.
He didn't have much of a role in the first game, but at some point kicker Dan Bailey will likely be required to make a big field goal. That he is even in the NFL is rather amazing, since he played on a high school team that didn't even use a placekicker before he came along.
"Nobody really kicked in eight-man football," Bailey once explained. "You just went for two every time."
Bailey introduced his school to the PAT. So he could hone his craft, Bailey constructed his own goalpost out of PVC pipe and cemented it into the ground. "I wanted to play, so I had to make do," Bailey explained.
Yes, I do like those RKGs.
And I like me some football. Let's hope this week goes better than the last one.