Dallas goes to 3-0 in the preseason

The Dallas Cowboys came out fast again in the first half and manhandled a San Francisco team that is still a work in progress. Only the Tuna putting his foot on the brakes in the second half and a blown catch for a TD kept the score respectable at 17-7. The Cowboys showed once again that the first team is primed and ready for the season, and they haven't even used their biggest weapon yet, Terrell Owens.

Drew Bledsoe was coolly efficient for the second straight game, 12 of 17 for 200 yards and 1 TD. Any thoughts by the media of a QB controversy are surely over now, Bledsoe looks like he's in mid-season form. After driving the Cowboys to the redzone for a FG on their first possession, he followed up by hitting Terry Glenn for a 28-yard TD pass, with Glenn running a precision route and making a leaping catch in the endzone. Glenn finished the night with 4 catches for 98 yards and 1 TD. Jamaica Rector got the start this week instead of Sam Hurd and took full advantage of the opportunity, catching 7 passes for 80 yards. He's put himself squarely in the mix of backup WR's looking for a spot on the 53-man roster.

Julius Jones had 15 carries for 55 yards and Marion Barber carried 9 times for 49 yards, and added a 33 yard gain on a screen pass. Yes, mark it down, Dallas ran a successful screen pass. Tyson Thompson gained 66 yards on 11 carries and showed good quickness on the edges, especially on the left side behind Rob Petitti and a pulling Al Johnson.

The first team defense again was impregnable and shut down the 49ers for the entire first half. Anthony Henry got an interception and Bradie James made a great read to kill a screen play in the backfield. The only downside for the 1st unit was the lack of a solid rush and they couldn't get a sack on San Fran QB Alex Smith. The 2nd unit did get 3 sacks, 2 credited to Jason Hatcher and one to Kevin Burnett. But they also gave up the only points of the game for the 49ers, when TE Vernon Davis beat SS Abram Elam for a 15 yard TD.

The first string offensive line played almost perfect ball, not giving up a sack, providing Bledsoe with plenty of time to pick out his targets and giving JJ and MB3 plenty of room to run. For a unit that was the weak link coming into the year, they've put together some solid efforts so far in the preseason. The 2nd team line did have some problems protecting Tony Romo (11/14 for 111 yds, 1 INT), exposing him to a blind-side hit and fumble where either Rob Petitti or D'Anthony Batiste (or both) absolutely whiffed on a block leaving the defenders untouched. Jason Fabini also blew a blitz read but Romo was able to escape that one.

Overall, another solid outing by the Dallas Cowboys. The first unit put together an excellent game as it has done for the past three games. The 2nd units struggled a little in this game, but Parcells also slowed the game down in the 4th quarter by running the ball. No matter, you have to be excited by what we're seeing from the Cowboys in the preseason; solid line play, Bledsoe looking as good as ever, and the defense is absolutely smothering the opposition.

Box score below.

9ers ( 1-2-0 )
Passing
     CP/AT    YDS    TD    INT
A. Smith    9/14    93    1    1
S. Hill    3/5    30    0    0
Rushing
     ATT    YDS    TD    LG
F. Gore    9    49    0    18
M. Hicks    7    27    0    7
S. Hill    1    14    0    14
A. Smith    1    0    0    0
Receiving
     REC    YDS    TD    LG
A. Bryant    2    24    0    15
M. Hicks    1    19    0    19
E. Johnson    2    16    0    8
A. Battle    1    15    0    15
V. Davis    1    15    1    15
M. Robinson    1    14    0    14
C. Hetherington    1    11    0    11
J. McAddley    1    8    0    8
F. Gore    2    1    0    3
Fumbles
     FUM    LOST    REC    YDS
M. Hicks    1    0    0    0
B. Williams    1    0    1    0
J. McAddley    0    0    1    0
Kicking
     FG    LG    XP    PTS
J. Nedney    0/0    0    1/1    1
Punting
     NO    AVG    I20    LG
A. Lee    2    39.0    0    41
T. Rouen    3    54.3    3    55
Kickoff Returns
     NO    AVG    TD    LG
M. Robinson    1    20.0    0    20
B. Williams    2    24.5    0    25
Punt Returns
     NO    AVG    TD    LG
B. Williams    2    9.0    0    16
Defense
     T-A    SCK    INT    FF
W. Harris    7-0    0.0    0    0
C. Smith    5-0    1.0    0    1
M. Adams    4-0    0.0    0    0
D. Smith    4-1    0.0    0    0
S. Benoit    3-0    0.0    0    0
R. Fields    3-0    0.0    0    0
M. Norris    3-0    0.0    0    0
T. Parrish    3-0    0.0    0    0
M. Roman    3-0    0.0    1    0
T. Slaughter    3-1    0.0    0    0
A. Adams    2-1    0.0    0    0
S. Davis    2-0    0.0    0    0
D. Johnson    2-0    0.0    0    0
J. Ulbrich    2-1    0.0    0    0
C. Williams    2-0    0.0    0    0
H. Dahl    1-1    0.0    0    0
M. Douglas    1-1    0.0    0    0
B. Iwuchukwu    1-1    0.0    0    0
M. Lawson    1-0    0.0    0    0
M. Oliver    1-0    0.0    0    0
S. Scharff    1-0    0.0    0    0
B. Tucker    1-0    0.0    0    0
B. Young    1-0    0.0    0    0
I. Sopoaga    0-1    0.0    0    0

Cowboys ( 3-0-0 )
Passing
     CP/AT    YDS    TD    INT
D. Bledsoe    12/17    200    1    0
T. Romo    9/14    111    0    1
Rushing
     ATT    YDS    TD    LG
T. Thompson    11    65    0    24
J. Jones    15    56    0    9
M. Barber    9    49    1    15
K. Kincade    5    15    0    4
L. Polite    1    4    0    4
Receiving
     REC    YDS    TD    LG
T. Glenn    4    98    1    52
J. Rector    7    80    0    25
M. Barber    1    34    0    34
T. Curtis    1    27    0    27
R. Hannam    2    24    0    16
S. Hurd    2    20    0    13
T. Copper    2    16    0    9
A. Fasano    1    7    0    7
S. Ryan    1    5    0    5
Fumbles
     FUM    LOST    REC    YDS
T. Romo    1    0    0    0
J. Fabini    0    0    1    0
Kicking
     FG    LG    XP    PTS
S. Suisham    1/2    25    2/2    5
Punting
     NO    AVG    I20    LG
M. McBriar    2    55.0    1    56
Kickoff Returns
     NO    AVG    TD    LG
A. Elam    1    0.0    0    0
S. Green    1    19.0    0    19
Punt Returns
     NO    AVG    TD    LG
S. Green    1    0.0    0    0
J. Rector    1    10.0    0    10
Defense
     T-A    SCK    INT    FF
R. Fowler    4-0    0.0    0    0
A. Glenn    3-0    0.0    0    0
J. Hatcher    3-1    2.0    0    1
B. James    3-0    0.0    0    0
K. Burnett    2-0    1.0    0    0
J. Ferguson    2-0    0.0    0    0
D. Ware    2-0    0.0    0    0
B. Carpenter    1-1    0.0    0    0
A. Elam    1-0    0.0    0    0
G. Ellis    1-0    0.0    0    0
N. Jones    1-0    0.0    0    0
T. Newman    1-0    0.0    0    0
J. Ratliff    1-0    0.0    0    0
J. Reeves    1-0    0.0    0    0
M. Spears    1-0    0.0    0    0
P. Watkins    1-0    0.0    0    0
R. Williams    1-0    0.0    0    0
K. Coleman    0-1    0.0    0    0
A. Henry    0-0    0.0    1    0
M. Stanley    0-1    0.0    0    0