The second part of the film review focusing on the defense. You can read the review of the offense, here.

NT – I liked the game Jay Ratliff played. None of the Cowboys racked up a lot of tackles in the game because their offense controlled the clock. Ratliff had a couple of good tackles though on run defense, penetrated the line to disrupt a run and had a good pressure from the DE position - he got quite a few reps at that spot. He looked to be the most active player of the front three and the backups. Tank Johnson really didn’t have a lot to show for the game except a nice QB hit but he also picked up an offsides penalty. But in general, the Browns weren’t that successful sustaining the run so some credit goes to the guys up the middle.

DE – Well, not much from Marcus Spears in the game. He made one great stuff in the backfield and not much else. Chris Canty didn’t play that great, I saw him twice get blown off the line against the run and he never really got pressure on the QB. He batted a pass down but the play was negated by a penalty and picked up a couple of tackles. Jason Hatcher was invisible, a big disappointment. Stephen Bowen got one good tackle against the run.

While the front-six rotation didn’t get make a lot of dynamic plays, they did control the line of scrimmage pretty well. A solid game up front but no real highlights.

OLB – DeMarcus Ware was actually one of the better players against the run in this game. He made some good tackles after fighting off blocks. He never generated much of a pass rush, Joe Thomas played a good game and they chipped Ware on occasion to slow him down. He did get a sack and a fumble on a speed rush at the end of the game. Greg Ellis’ role of knocking Winslow around and dropping into coverage has already been discussed. When Ellis didn’t bump Winslow, Kellen was much more successful. Ellis got one QB pressure on a stunt to the middle. But he missed a couple of key tackles in the running game that helped Jamal Lewis bust off a couple of long runs.

ILB – Bradie James was not the most active player out there on Sunday. He also missed a tackle on Lewis on a long run. He did have one nice fill of the hole but was largely absent from playmaking on the day. Zach Thomas played a pretty good game against the run but it was his blitzing skills that really paid off. Three different times he came on blitzes up the middle and got pressure on the QB forcing quick throws and incompletions. Kevin Burnett didn’t do a lot on defense except for one good penetration at the goal line but he did have three different plays on special teams coverage that stood out. Bobby Carpenter was largely absent from the proceedings.

CB – Anthony Henry had more plays occur around him than almost anybody on the defense. He made a sweet tackle on a hitch pass, broke up passes twice on third down, and got pressure on a blitz but the Browns capitalized on the play anyway. On the negative side, he gave up a couple of pass completions, and had a miscommunication with Hamlin on the Winslow TD. He also looked like he was beat by Braylon Edwards deep on the ball that was dropped, but he had outside coverage and Hamlin was supposed to be inside coverage, but Hamlin let Edwards go and doubled the dig route underneath, leaving Henry exposed. Adam Jones was most notable for his pass interference call in the endzone and for muffing a punt. But he did break up a pass on third down and really didn’t get beat for much otherwise. Orlando Scandrick had a bad penalty to extend the Browns TD drive after they were stopped on third down and he whiffed on a tackle after giving up a completion. He redeemed himself with good coverage on a third down pass and not giving up a lot of receptions. I really never saw Mike Jenkins involved in a play; with corners that can be a good thing, I just don't know how many reps he got though.

S- Ken Hamlin cleaned up a lot of the catches in the secondary by making quick tackles and he also lowered the boom on a Browns WR causing an incompletion. But he had the two issues with Henry mentioned before, something they need to work on this week. Roy Williams was neither here nor there. He gave up two passes on the day to the TE’s for modest yards and really wasn’t involved in stopping the run. Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown never showed up on film making plays.

Wow, watching that game again for the film review was certainly a pleasure. Just about everywhere you turned guys we getting their jobs done and making big plays. Not much to criticize this week.

Here’s the review for the offense, since they were just dominant.

QB – Tony Romo told us in the offseason that he was working on staying settled in the pocket, standing tall and delivering with a quick release. He wasn't just blowing smoke, you could see it in action during the game. Just masterful. His touch and accuracy were excellent and he did a great job of reading the defense and distributing the ball to his prime receivers. He read a blitz coming and flipped it to Witten for a big play, he still showed his mobility keeping a couple of plays alive and hitting Witten and Crayton, and he wasn’t afraid to stand in the pocket and take a hit. His only real bad plays were in the redzone, once he threw a dangerous pass that was tipped and then the ridiculous INT he threw. We’ll live with those mistakes to get the kind of performance he turned in. Total command of the game.

RB – Marion Barber didn’t disappoint as the new feature back. Some of his runs were pretty easy because of the blocking he was getting but he maximized the yards on each one. He also caught a dump-off pass and made a great run afterward to convert a third down. Throw in a couple of great blitz pickups and the guy was just a force on the field. And when you get him close to the goal line, there’s no way he won’t deliver the TD. Too bad he got those ribs nicked up. Felix Jones takes his first NFL handoff and promptly delivers a run with speed and power in to endzone. He shows just enough patience behind the line to find a hole and then accelerates through it going 0 to 60 in the blink of the eye. He almost busted one to the house. The one issue is pass protection; twice he delivered nice blocks against the blitz, but another couple of times he was beat badly. One led to Romo’s INT when he was much too high to get any leverage against a much bigger player. Still for a rookie, great debut. Tashard Choice showed some hard running at the end of the game and also contributed a couple of good tackles on special teams.

WR – Terrell Owens had a great day that should have been even better but he got robbed on a couple of calls. Besides beating the Browns for a long TD, he made a few tough catches; one on a pass behind him on a crossing route and another high pass on a comeback route. He caught a slant at the goal line to convert a third down and should have been credited with the TD. He also had a long pass called back on a ticky-tack hand-fighting pass interference call. Patrick Crayton turned in a huge game. Three times he got hit immediately after the catch but held the ball firm. He had a couple of third down conversions and he assisted on another by throwing a downfield block that sprung MB3. A flawless game from Crayton. Isaiah Stanback finally saw some action and caught a couple of passes. On one he did a nice job of running off the CB in press coverage and catching a comeback route; that’s not easy to do.

TE – Jason Witten was money again over the middle in the passing game. Over and over, he made big plays down the middle. But what you don’t always see is the job he does in the running game. I got him for three excellent run blocks, a couple of times sealing the edge. He did have a couple of poor run blocks including a wham block in the redzone, and he did drop a wide open pass, but he was so good the rest of the way you hardly notice. Tony Curtis only caught one pass but was a key cog in the run game. I got him on two excellent seal blocks including one on a TD. He did get caught for an illegal formation penalty. I didn’t see much of Martellus Bennett at all. We see how good Witten is in the passing game, but the job he and Curtis do in the run game should not be overlooked.

FB – Deon Anderson had a typical day for him. Some good blocks coupled with a few bad blocks, but it’s mostly good. And he contributed on special teams with a tackle.

OL – Let me just start by saying the whole line played great. Except for some trouble with pass protection in the third quarter, they dominated the line of scrimmage. Flozell Adams had a false start penalty and one sketchy pass protection block but other wise had no problems. He got called for a holding penalty late on a screen, but the Browns actually grabbed Felix to mess up the timing, causing Flozell to reach back and hold a guy. Cory Procter, as I said yesterday, had the most mistakes but played well enough to mitigate those mistakes. He wasn’t perfect, I got him four times for bad blocks in pass protection and three bad blocks in the run game. The rest of the time he was solid and you can add on two excellent blocks on TD runs, another couple of great pull blocks and an excellent blitz pickup on T.O.’s TD. He was effective.

Andre Gurode is just a great center. He’s playing at a high level. I only saw him once get beat badly in pass protection and he was moving out the middle for our run game. Outstanding game. Leonard Davis, along with Gurode and Colombo, allow the Cowboys to run to the right most effectively. The play where he and Colombo run the loop blocks to the outside while the TE’s crash down the line is one of the Cowboys best run plays along with the delay/draw. He did have trouble in pass protection once and got a holding call when he was tired in the fourth quarter and leaned too much with his body to get out of position, but otherwise he’s a killer. Marc Colombo also had a great game. The loop blocks with he and Davis are devastating. He also had one play of poor protection and got an false start penalty, but they hardly dented what was an all-round great day. That basically goes for the whole line. When you can only pick out a few plays where they failed for an entire game, you’re getting the job done.

The review of the defense will be up later tonight. But for the moment, bask in the greatness that was our offense against Cleveland.

Another edition of What They're Saying.

Marion Barber has the injured ribs. The good news, according to a source, is there are no fractures. The bad news is possible cartilage damage and much pain. MB3’s status is up in the air for the Philly game. 

"I have no idea what his status is," Jerry Jones said, adding that Barber sustained some cartilage damage. "I'm assuming that everything is going to be fine."

In typical MB3 style, here’s what he had to say:

Barber said "I’m good" and could have returned if necessary. "It’s all right," Barber said. "Nothing to worry about."

Let’s all hope that’s the case

The Cleveland Browns are a high-powered offense although they were playing with some injury issues and had no time in the preseason for their main weapons to play together. Still, you have to give credit to a Cowboys defense that held them to 10 points and some really low stats. All of that without Terence Newman being active, Adam Jones playing in his first game in almost two calendar years and two rookie CB’s playing significant minutes. Bradie James thinks they are now getting comfortable in the Phillips 34.

A year ago, we were just trying to figure out where to line up," linebacker Bradie James said. "Now we're anticipating what the offense is going to do."

 That’s true, but let’s face it; the real difference was the jettisoning of Jacques Reeves and Nate Jones in favor of AJ and the rookies.

"You know we brought in some talent this off-season," James said. "A year ago without Terence, it was like panic time. Now we just plugged in another great player."

No more “panic time” we hope. AJ played for this first time in over 600 days. He thinks he did OK.

"I've been waiting for this for 600 days," said Jones, who actually went 616 between his final game with the Titans and his debut with the Cowboys. "I give myself about a C-plus. I let [Edwards] get inside me on the pass interference, but other than that, I don't think I gave up any plays."

So what was the Cowboys plan to stop Kellen Winslow? To rough him up and they used Greg Ellis to do it.

"I think we banged him around a lot at the line of scrimmage," secondary coach Dave Campo said. "That makes a difference with the really good tight ends, because they can find the holes in the defense if you let them get off the line clean."

Bradie James also credits Ellis:

"We had Greg Ellis, the sack master, out there covering this week," inside linebacker Bradie James said. "If he wouldn't have done such a great job, we probably wouldn't have been around here smiling today with a win."

Winslow didn’t hurt us like I feared he might. The defense did a good job keeping everyone in check on the Browns offense. AJ thinks this is a trend that will continue. 

"It's going to be real hard to beat us. Period. Point blank. We've got a lot of talent," [Adam Jones] said. "This is the most talented team I've ever been on."

True, but let’s not forget one aspect of the game that really helped us early on. The Browns kept dropping passes - especially Braylon Edwards who muffed a TD. They also made various other mistakes and you can’t do that and compete with the way the Cowboys played on Sunday.

"We faced a good football team and made them better," Browns coach Romeo Crennel said. "We dropped balls, missed tackles, missed an interception and let them throw a [touchdown] over our heads. You can't do that and expect to win. A lot of things went wrong."

The Cowboys also did a little self-inflicted damage in the game, amassing 11 penalties for 82 yards. A few of them extended the Browns TD drive. Once again, like last year, this is an area of concern. Will Wade make them sign a pledge again?

Our boy Tony Romo basically had all day in the pocket except for a stretch early in the second half when the Browns started to apply a little pressure. Curiously, the Browns tended to rush fewer guys most of the game and try to make plays in coverage. 

"They rushed three guys a lot," Romo said of the Browns' attack, or lack of one. "That's one of the things you work on, to find the right guy. If you can get yourself to understand what to do when they rush three guys, you're going to have more time."

And he did have time as the offensive line came up huge in the game. But one of the few times they got to Romo it left him briefly on the turf in pain. No problem though, Romo shook it off and went right back to slicing up the Browns. He’ll need a few stitches.

"Tony is just tough as nails," [Jason] Witten said. "I could never see him coming out unless something is really wrong. That's him. He's going to stand in there and play his game. Just to see him have that kind of confidence is really reassuring to the rest of us."

When Romo gets time, he certainly can read the defense and find the receivers.

"That's what he does, he spreads it around to everyone," Crayton said of Romo. "That's what makes him that good. He's not just looking at one guy. He understands that if he goes through his reads, that we're all going to get involved and that makes us better as an offense. But that's what we're used to. He's the same way in practice and the games."

We’ll give coach the last word.

"I thought we managed the game really well," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said. "Offensively we moved the ball really well, defensively we played well and special teams played well. I thought we were ready to play."

Now that’s how you start out a season. Go on the road, play a team that is thought to be on the way up, a playoff contender, and beat the snot out of them.  The Cleveland Browns played the gracious host as the Dallas Cowboys wrecked their house with impunity. The final score was 28-10 but the actual beatdown was more severe. All the credit goes to the offensive line and Hudson Houck. The Cowboys offense was a machine, much like The Terminator, and the Browns were roadkill.

OK, there is some bad news from the game. Marion Barber left with some kind of rib injury and Tony Romo actually got hit a couple of times and ended up with a busted chin and a puffy finger. Also, the Cowboys were amazingly bad in respect to penalties, something they’ll need to clean up. But that even shows how dominant they were, all those penalties and they were still never threatened and simply imposed their will.

Romo looked extremely sharp except for his one poor choice when we were about to score another TD. With pressure coming, he chose not to take the sack and not to throw it out of the endzone, instead lofting an easy INT. But outside of that he was the model of perfection as he used Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton to slice-and-dice the Browns secondary. On most plays, the offensive line gave Romo all the protection he needed and he made good use of it. Marion Barber was also having a great game until his injury, but rookie sensation Felix Jones came on and kept the attack potent. He scored a TD and helped burn the clock on a long drive by the Cowboys to close the game.

The defense really needs to get some props, too. They held the high-powered Browns offense to 10 points at their stadium. It was tough to get pressure on Derek Anderson because of his good line and he gets rid of the ball quickly. But they held the trio of Jamal Lewis, Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow in check and the secondary, even without Terence Newman, held up on the day.

A few stats to chew on, the Cowboys were 8 for 11 on third down. They had 30 first downs in the game and 487 net yards. They only gave up 11 first downs and held the Browns to 205 net yards.

The Cowboys proved that their stacked roster is no paper tiger and thrashed the Cleveland Browns. Now, let’s pray MB3 is healthy and bring on the Eagles, who by the way crushed the Rams today.

Boxscore.

New open thread for the Cowboys/Browns game.

New open thread for the Cowboys/Browns game.

New open thread for the Cowboys/Browns game.

Open Thread

Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns
Sunday, Sept 7th, 2008
4:15 PM EST, TV: FOX
Cleveland Browns Stadium – Cleveland, OH

FOX is broadcasting the game to 85% of the country. You can see the local stations that will broadcast the game here, and see a map, here. On DirecTV Sunday Ticket, the game is on channel 713.

Listen online at WOAI.

My prediction: Dallas 31 – Cleveland 20

Weather Forecast
Partly Cloudy
74 degrees
Wind 11 mph

This is an open thread for game chat.

Alright, another tradition here at BTB during the season is 5 Questions. Every week I try to get SB Nation’s blogger for our opponent to answer five questions about their team and the upcoming game. This week, ChrisPokorny at Dawgs By Nature, answered the challenge. I did the same for him here.

Blogging The Boys: Give us a rundown on the injury report; who looks to be in, who looks to be out and how will this affect the team on Sunday?

Dawgs By Nature: I like working in list form when talking about injuries, so here we go:

-QB Derek Anderson: Starting; he's a full-go after his concussion.
-RB Jamal Lewis: After assuming Lewis would be fine, he's been limited all week in practice and is a game-time decision. I think the team is just being cautious with him though, and I am expecting him to start. If he is out, Jerome Harrison will start. Fans have been very excited about seeing his speed in a regular season game for several years now, but he is known as a horrible, and I mean horrible blocker.
-WR Braylon Edwards: Starting; with the stitches removed, his foot is fine.
-WR Joshua Cribbs: He is officially a game-time decision with an ankle injury. It doesn't look too good for him this week though. If he doesn't play, Syndric Steptoe will replace him. Steptoe has shown some upside in the preseason, but Cribbs can single handedly change a game. Literally after a Cowboys touchdown, you can imagine him running one back 50 yards with ease (good field position then).
-LB Antwan Peek: Done for the year with a torn patella tendon. Rookie LB Alex Hall will take his place in the rotation with veteran Willie McGinest.
-S Brodney Pool: He went from limited action to not even practicing (recovering from concussion). He is also a game-time decision, but it looks worse for him than anyone else. Pool is known as a hard hitter, so the dropoff in terms of coverage with backup Mike Adams in the game shouldn't be too significant.

Everybody else of concern is reportedly in great shape and ready to compete this Sunday.

BTB: The Browns were getting a lot of love from the media this offseason but some of that coverage changed in tone during their preseason schedule. How do you think the Browns played in preseason?

DBN: I'd be a fool to say we played well in the preseason. We played like crap, were embarrassed on national television by the Giants, and went 0-4. Understanding the circumstances of the preseason though, I like to look back at the little things. In basically the only series that the duo was on the field together all preseason, Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards hooked up for a touchdown. Whenever Shaun Rogers played during the preseason, opposing teams couldn't run the ball for more than two yards a carry. Brady Quinn also received some much needed reps in case anything comes up during the regular season with Anderson.

Overall, it was one of the worst and most boring preseasons I've ever seen as a Browns fan. I don't see that being anything of a detriment to our confidence heading into the regular season though. People in the national media are already back on the bandwagon -- I believe Peter King restored his faith in the Browns this past week, and Jeremy Green just pegged the Browns to take down the Cowboys this Sunday.

BTB: Cleveland's offense is a loaded weapon but the defense has been cause for concern. What's your take on the defense, is there going to be a big improvement?

DBN: The big improvement is going to involve stopping the run. Think about this: we were starting Simon Fraser, Ethan Kelley, and Robaire Smith at times last season. Fraser and Kelley should be third-string backups at best. This year, they have been replaced by two potential Pro Bowlers in Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers. I'm not saying the Browns will suddenly become the No. 1 run-stopping defense in the league, but we may finally creep our way into the top 15. By virtue of the defensive line being better, the idea is for the linebackers to have more freedom than they've ever had in the past too. In comparison to the elite NFL defenses, the Browns are not going to look an overly impressive defensive team. However, if we reach the point of just being average, then at least we, as Browns fans, will know that the improvements were astronomical.

You have to be patient against our defense, plain and simple. Too many fans of opposing teams come to Cleveland and say "that secondary is weak, our receiver is going to blow right by them for 80-yard touchdowns". That's not how it works. The secondary is young, but the scheme involves keeping everything in front of them. If the Cowboys are patient enough, they can run quick comeback routes all day to Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton, along with some intermediate plays over the middle. Then, they can see if they can break a tackle for yards after the catch. Where Dallas will get into trouble is if they try to hit the home run too often -- our safeties will be deep, and our improved pass rush may cause an errant throw.

BTB: If you were the Cowboys, how would you attack the Browns offense. Where are the weaknesses and how does a team exploit them?

DBN: That's a tough one to answer, because we were very good on offense at home last season, but very bad on offense while playing on the road during the first half of games. Either way, Derek Anderson was the least sacked quarterback in football last season, and opposing teams rarely got a good hit on him. I know the Giants knocked him around during the preseason, but that was truly the lone exception. Last year, my biggest gripe with Anderson came when he threw passes right into a zone defense over the middle (about 10-15 yards down the field). I'm not sure if Cowboys fans watched our Week 16 game against the Bengals, but about two minutes before half time, we were losing 6-0. Within a span of those two minutes, Anderson threw two interceptions that were basically taken back the distance for a touchdown. We were down by 19 points at half time instead of just six, and the Browns eventually lost the game 19-14. Had we won that game, we would've clinched the playoffs. Keep in mind, though, that this issue with Anderson only happened with road games.

BTB: It's the first game of the season, do the Browns get a win at home? How do you see the game playing out?

DBN: While not a huge blow considering the Cowboys still have Anthony Henry and Adam Jones, the potential loss of Terence Newman has to hurt. I saw a lot of Cowboys fans confident in his ability to try and stop Braylon Edwards this week, though I still believe Edwards would've had his fair share of receptions against him. Edwards is the key to the Browns' offense: not only is he a playmaker, but he draws two-three times move coverage than any other player on our offense. That, in turn, opens up the field for everybody else on the offense.

The Cowboys were one of the best teams in the NFL last season, and they should be this season too. A win for the Browns would initiate us as contenders right off the bat; a close loss earns us some respect; and a sizable loss brings out the pretender discussion. We were 6-0 at home under Derek Anderson last season, so I definitely don't see us or have the nerve to predict that we'll get blown out. I'm literally 50/50 on a close win and a close loss, but I can't bring myself to type out a losing score here. Tied at 24 for most of the fourth quarter, the Browns have the ball last and are able to kick a game-winning field goal as time expires. Cleveland Browns 27, Dallas Cowboys 24.

Yup, I was away from the computer almost the entire day and didn’t get to post anything or even read Cowboys news. I’m a slacker. Anyway, here’s the news that Wade hinted at in the press conference yesterday.

With cornerback Terence Newman hobbled with a groin injury, Adam Jones will start Sunday's regular-season opener at Cleveland.

[snip]

Newman, listed as questionable on the injury report, could play on some passing downs Sunday. If he can't play, the cornerback would miss the start of a season for the second consecutive year.

Wow, it’s gone from maybe not starting to maybe not playing. Orlando Scandrick will be the slot guy in the dime, with Mike Jenkins working the outside corner in the formation for Anthony Henry. Thank goodness Adam Jones is here this year. C’mon T-New, we need you to get healthy.

On Monday, we could be signing a new QB. It could be Brooks Bollinger or it could be Chris Simms. Here’s Jerry’s reasoning on why they’re going to do it, if they actually do.

"We ideally would like to have a veteran who has a chance to move in for Brad Johnson at some point in the future, the future (meaning) not necessarily this year" Jones said on The Ticket. "There may be the chance to pick up the veteran we like."

 Mike Jefferson might be on the roster come gameday.

 The Cowboys were contemplating moving wide receiver Mike Jefferson to the 53-man roster to give them a fourth wide receiver for the game. If they did that, likely on Saturday, the Cowboys seemingly would release Marten or possibly Alan Ball, who also could be inactive for the game.

Jefferson made the trip to Cleveland, Amendola didn’t.

Zach Thomas is ready for another season.

Oh yeah, it's time for Know Thy Enemy and that can only mean one thing: NFL football is about to start for real. Hallelujah! Can I get a witness? There’s nothing like it. But to be ready for the game, you got to know what the enemy has been up to. So I asked ChrisPokorny over at SB Nation’s Cleveland Browns blog, Dawgs By Nature, to give us a preview. He obliged and his preview is below.

Browns Offense

Despite rumblings the past two weeks that Brady Quinn may start against the Cowboys due to a concussion Derek Anderson suffered at the hands of the New York Giants a few weeks ago, that is not the case. Anderson was back on the practice field this week and is scheduled to start. The biggest change for Anderson in training camp seems to be the chemistry with Braylon Edwards. That probably sounds kind of ridiculous considering the pair had 16 touchdowns last season, but the duo has simply been unstoppable in camp. One of Anderson's biggest flaws last year was that he threw his short passes without any touch on them. In his limited preseason action, it was difficult to tell whether or not any true progress had been made with respect to that.

Jamal Lewis is scheduled to carry the load again for the Browns. After a successful debut year last season, Lewis has lost 15-20 pounds and has been praised as being quicker and a little more elusive by the coaching staff. The Browns do have a possible utility running back in Jerome Harrison (much like Felix Jones could be), but he probably won't be used. On third-down pass situations, Jason Wright, the definition of a capable but simply average backup running back, will come in.

The passing game is where the Browns really thrive. WR Braylon Edwards cemented himself as one of the top five receivers in the NFL last season. He missed the final three games of the preseason due to a crazy incident where he didn't have his shoes on during practice and had his heel busted open. The stitches are out now, and that's not the type of injury that will linger or cause a problem with his gameplay. Opposite Edwards this year is WR Donte Stallworth. The jury is still out on Stallworth -- we have high hopes that he'll have a good rapport with Anderson, but at this point we simply don't know. The ideal element that Stallworth will bring to the table is the short catch-and-run factor, with the occasional deep
ball sprinkled in.

The Browns will miss veteran WR Joe Jurevicius' presence on third downs though. He was one of the best third-down receivers in all of the NFL last season, and Stallworth's specialty doesn't fulfill that role. Instead, we may look to talented TE Kellen Winslow a lot more often in third down situations. Winslow has been as unenthusiastic as you can get during preseason games, but his ability to stretch the field from the tight end position can cause matchup problems for whoever is lined up with him.

The offensive line has been hailed as one of the best lines in football now due to our strong left side of Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach. They are the heart and soul of our offensive line last season, with Thomas defending the league's best pass rushers without much issue. Anderson was one of the least sacked quarterbacks in football and Lewis was one of the top rushers in the AFC, a testament to our solid pass blocking and run blocking.

The weaker side of the line appears to be on the right side. Originally Ryan Tucker was slotted in at right guard, but he suffered an injury during the preseason and may not be ready until Week 2 or Week 3. Then free agent pickup Rex Hadnot was scheduled to start, but he went down in our final preseason game. Now, veteran Seth McKinney is scheduled to start. The world is not over though, because McKinney was our starting right guard during the first several games last season. While he's not as good as Tucker is he proved to be manageable.

Much like the Cowboys, the Browns' offense is very potent. There aren't any significant changes besides the Stallworth/Jurevicius situation. Because Anderson had a 6-0 record at Cleveland Browns Stadium last season, it should be expected that the Browns' offense will be efficient against the Cowboys.

Click the link below to read about the defense and the special teams.

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