Drew Bledsoe returned to the field in a start for the Dallas Cowboys and proceeded to shred the New Orleans Saints in a 30-7 Cowboys victory. Perhaps Bledsoe was motivated by the so-called QB controversy that played itself out this week in the media, but apparently not in the mind of Bill Parcells or Jerry Jones. Bledsoe went 12 of 16 for 156 yards and 2 TDs. He connected with Terry Glenn on a highlight catch for the ages, if it had been the regualr season. As it was, still a mighty impressive catch, and Sam Hurd chipped in with his own acrobatic TD catch, further tightening his grip on a roster spot.
Bledsoe was aided by excellent protection from the offensive line, allowing him ample time to pick out his targets, particularly Terry Glenn. The run blocking was a mixed-bag, at times they opened some good holes for Julius Jones, but also had plays with no push. Flozell Adams was reportedly kicked in the leg on the first drive and sat out the rest of the game. In a surprise, Pat McQuistan replaced Flozell instead of Rob Petitti. Petitti did play the second half.
The first team defense was lights out for a second straight week. Sean Payton must've been drinking on Bourbon Street before the game because he decided to challenge DeMarcus Ware with Reggie Bush on a couple of plays instead of Greg Ellis. Mistake, Ware was more than equal to the task. Ellis unfortunately dropped an INT that would've been a sure TD, but still played a pretty good half. With the way the defense is playing right now, if the offense can put up 14-17 points a week, we should be golden.
Sam Hurd and Jamaica Rector are two players making a real push for the 53-man roster, leading Jerry Jones to say in the second half that we may not be in such a trading move for WR's now.
Tony Romo played the second half and had another solid game, connecting with Miles Austin on a long TD. But he did put the ball on the turf leading to a short field for the Saints, and they cashed in for their only points of the game.
I'll be reviewing the game tape tomorrow for a thorough break-down, but the Cowboys were very impressive tonight. It may have only been preseason and the opponent was the Saints, but the mark of a good team is one that takes care of business against lesser opposition.
Who caught your eye in tonight's game? Anything you saw that might shake-up the final roster? Comments welcome.
Update [2006-8-21 23:30:47 by Grizz]: Deke just reminded me in the comments that Pat Watkins was the starting FS tonight instead of Keith Davis. Interesting.
Click below for the box score.
Dallas Passing
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
D. Bledsoe 12/16 156 9.8 2 0
T. Romo 6/8 138 17.3 1 0
Team 18/24 294 11.9 3 0
New Orleans Passing
C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT
T. Bouman 13/16 117 7.3 0 0
D. Brees 7/12 67 5.6 0 0
Team 20/28 184 6.6 0 0
Dallas Rushing
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
T. Thompson 10 45 4.5 0 25
M. Barber III 13 40 3.1 0 11
J. Jones 13 29 2.2 0 11
D. Bledsoe 1 2 2.0 0 2
T. Romo 1 1 1.0 0 1
L. Polite 1 0 0.0 0 0
Team 39 117 3.0 0 25
New Orleans Rushing
CAR YDS AVG TD LG
J. Branch 11 40 3.6 1 7
D. McAllister 2 8 4.0 0 5
R. Bush 4 7 1.8 0 9
M. Karney 1 3 3.0 0 3
F. McAfee 1 1 1.0 0 1
Team 19 59 3.1 1 9
Dallas Receiving
REC YDS AVG TD LG
T. Glenn 4 71 17.8 1 30
M. Austin 1 48 48.0 1 48
J. Rector 3 32 10.7 0 14
T. Copper 2 32 16.0 0 21
S. Hurd 3 30 10.0 1 13
R. Hannam 1 25 25.0 0 25
T. Curtis 1 23 23.0 0 23
J. Witten 1 16 16.0 0 16
M. Barber III 1 10 10.0 0 10
J. Jones 1 7 7.0 0 7
Team 18 294 16.3 3 48
New Orleans Receiving
REC YDS AVG TD LG
J. Branch 2 46 23.0 0 35
J. Horn 2 34 17.0 0 28
F. McAfee 3 20 6.7 0 13
M. Colston 2 20 10.0 0 13
D. Stallworth 2 15 7.5 0 9
R. Bush 2 14 7.0 0 11
D. Henderson 2 10 5.0 0 5
C. Horn 1 7 7.0 0 7
K. Joseph 1 5 5.0 0 5
N. Lawrie 1 5 5.0 0 5
J. Jones 1 4 4.0 0 4
D. McAllister 1 4 4.0 0 4
Team 20 184 9.2 0 35
Dallas Tackles
TOT SACKS SOLO
R. Fowler 4 0 3
A. Henry 3 0 3
A. Elam 3 0 3
L. Williams 3 0 3
G. Ellis 2 0 2
D. Ware 2 0 2
J. Ratliff 2 0 2
R. Boiman 2 0 2
B. James 2 0 2
T. Newman 2 0 1
J. Hatcher 2 0 1
M. Spears 2 0 1
K. Burnett 1 0 1
O. Hoyte 1 0 1
B. Carpenter 1 0 1
S. Shanle 1 0 1
W. Pile 1 0 1
N. Jones 1 0 1
T. Johnson 1 0 1
M. Coleman 1 0 0
J. Ferguson 1 0 0
M. Stanley 1 0 0
A. Ayodele 1 0 0
Team 40 0 32
New Orleans Tackles
TOT SACKS SOLO
R. Ninkovich 8 2 8
J. Foreman 7 0 7
S. Fujita 4 0 4
T. Melton 4 0 3
R. Harper 4 0 2
F. Thomas 3 0 3
E. Kuale 3 0 3
J. Bellamy 3 0 2
O. Stoutmire 2 0 2
M. McKenzie 2 0 2
C. Bockwoldt 2 0 2
J. Craft 2 0 2
J. Bullocks 2 0 2
A. Phillips 2 0 2
B. Young 2 0 1
J. Thomas 2 0 1
H. Thomas 1 0 1
C. Dukes 1 0 1
R. Williams 1 0 1
J. Lay 1 0 1
C. Grant 1 0 1
W. Smith 1 0 1
A. Simmons 1 0 1
B. Villarreal 1 0 0
J. Nanton 1 0 0
Team 61 2 53
Dallas Kick Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
A. Elam 1 15 15.0 15
S. Green 1 13 13.0 13
Team 2 28 14.0 15
New Orleans Kick Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
B. Johnson 3 61 20.3 23
D. Stallworth 1 23 23.0 23
D. Henderson 1 22 22.0 22
M. Karney 1 7 7.0 7
Team 6 113 18.8 23
Dallas Punt Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
S. Green 4 37 9.3 22
Team 4 37 9.3 22
New Orleans Punt Returns
NO YDS AVG LG
Team 0 0 0.0 0
Dallas Kicking
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
S. Suisham 2/2 100.0 42 3/3 9
Team 3/3 100.0 42 3/3 9
New Orleans Kicking
FG PCT LONG XP PTS
C. Hughes 0/0 0.0 -- 1/1 1
Team 0/0 0.0 -- 1/1 1
Dallas Punting
TOT YDS AVG TB -20 LG
M. McBriar 1 39 39.0 0 1 39
Team 1 39 39.0 0 1 39
New Orleans Punting
TOT YDS AVG TB -20 LG
S. Weatherford 5 225 45.0 0 1 61
Team 5 225 45.0 0 1 61