Tony Romo proved Sunday that he is one tough dude.
During the play, linebacker Willie McGinest hit Romo in the chin with his helmet. As McGinest and 350-pound nose tackle Shaun Rogers climbed off Romo, the quarterback stayed on the ground for a few seconds before slowly pulling himself up. He looked hurt. And he was clearly in pain as he took time to compose himself, received the play from offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and returned to the huddle. On the next play, Romo stood in the pocket – his feet as calm they had been all day – and delivered a perfect pass to Jason Witten, who gained 19 yards before he was tackled. What a way to start the season and show your teammates you will fight through pain to win the game. The visual of Romo pinned on the ground, eyes slammed shut in pain is one that I hope to never see again, but man what a great moment when he got up and made a great throw the very next play.
The S-T has a brief breakdown of the Eagles and why they will be a bit tougher than the Browns.
The Browns used a number of methods to slow down the Cowboys' pass rush, including max-protecting most of the game. I'm not too worried about our pass rush, especially considering Greg Ellis was used in pass defense and we are still missing Anthony Spencer.
Felix Jones is content to back up Marion Barber, despite his big play ability. I think Barber has become one of the elite backs in the NFL, but I would like to see Felix have a chance to run some before halftime. Just a suggestion.
The team captains are taking ownership of the team, something that is needed if we expect to win in the playoffs.
The Cowboys special teams were decent on Sunday, but against the Eagles they will face a much stiffer test in DeSean Jackson
Mike Pereira explains the Terrell Owens celebration penalty.
"You've just got to stay on your feet," Pereira told the New York Times on Monday.
Asked why players aren't flagged for kneeling to pray after scores and first downs, Pereira said, "I do not want to get struck by lightning."
While I am never a fan of taunting and showboating, I still think clever celebrations are great fun. Kenny Gant was my favorite player for while when I was a kid, just because of "The Shark". I also think that the best celebrations are spontaneous, and so far my all-time favorite would have to be T.O. downing a bucket of popcorn into his helmet last year against Green Bay. But whatever, no more fun in the NFL apparently.
Don Banks has a brief mention of Marion Barber, saying his rib injury is the first sign he may not be able to handle the load. To that I say bull-honky. Marion Barber runs hard, but I've never seen him trying to hit someone with his dang chest. In fact, Mickey Spagnola hints that the injury might have happened after the play inside a pile of players. Just because a player has a freak accident does not mean that the injury is a result of his playing style. If Barry Sanders had blown out his MCL making a cut, would everyone have said he should have been a straight ahead runner? No. Same thing with Barber. Keep doing your thing, is what I say.
Time for the weekly power rankings. 1. Dallas Cowboys 1. Cowboys 1. Cowboys 1-0-0 This team owns Sept. and Oct. It made the Browns look awful. (MM) And finally we come to FoxSports.com's Power Rankings, courtesy of Adrian Hasenmayer. 2. Cowboys 1-0 The urge is to put the Cowboys at No. 1, as they arguably looked like the best overall team in Week 1. But roughly the same team lost to New York at home in January and until the Giants slip, don't look for Dallas to leapfrog New York until possibly Week 9 when the NFC East rivals match up during TV sweeps week.
Last Week: 3
Dallas Cowboys (1-0)
Yes, they displaced the Patriots. Fair's fair, and Dallas' methodical dismantling of the Browns was most impressive. I started putting a stopwatch on the time Tony Romo was given to pass. Many clockings of 3.0 or better, and a couple of 4's. Most impressive.
They went to Cleveland and dominated. That's the kind of play we can expect from that Dallas offense this season. Running back Felix Jones is a keeper. This team looks special.
Now, I have no problem with the Cowboys being number 2, but his argument that "roughly the same team lost to New York", and therefore should be behind the Giants until they beat them again is, well, not a nice word. Felix Jones, Tashard Choice, Zach Thomas, Adam Jones, Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins are ALL upgrades over last season. If you're going to put a team second, use sound judgement please.