The Rams are who we thought they were!
After an all-around performance by the Dallas Cowboys, the headlines are rosy for a change. The only 'yeah-buts' have to do with the opponent on the other side of the ball, and a passing game that didn't attempt to go downfield and at times appeared a bit out of sync. The running game was ferocious, the offensive line protected and the defense was outstanding save for back-to-back plays in the 2nd quarter. As such, you'll be hard pressed to find, much negative from the performance from Sunday.
The Cowboys will have their customary day off of work tomorrow, and then reconvene on Wednesday to start preparing for their second NFC East contest of the season, a Sunday night tilt in Philadelphia against the 2-4 Eagles. We'll savor Sunday's win a bit longer, as I'm sure some of the players are, and keep a corner of our mind devoted to the next team up.
Dez Bryant Finally Makes a Second Half Impact | NBCDFW
He was targeted four times by Tony Romo in the second half and Bryant caught all four of those passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. That's a bounty for a player who had been targeted just 10 times all season after halftime and a really positive sign about the Cowboys' willingness to keep looking in Bryant's direction even after he makes a mistake.
Cowboys break out corner rotation | ESPN Dallas
Newman, Jenkins and Scandrick handled the bulk of the work, but Alan Ball and Frank Walker also saw snaps in the regular defense.
"We started off playing a lot of man and that kept everybody fresh," Newman said. "I think it was a great thing. It’s good to be able to cheer on everybody you work with and practice with. It was fun to see everybody on offense get in. It was a perfect situation. I wish all the games would end like this but it won’t."
More links...
Garrett, Romo And Murray Postgame Presser | The Mothership (VIDEO)
Garrett: The more a runner gets the ball, the more of a rhythm he gets into... offensive line played well, no doubt about that... you have to be able to attack the defense different ways... Got some three and outs, thought we did a good job keeping the ball on offense...
Phillip Tanner savors first NFL RB action | ESPN Dallas
"Oh, man, it was lovely," said Tanner, who earned a roster spot by starring in the preseason. "First of all, I just want to give thanks to the offensive line and Romo and all the guys. When I walk in the huddle, they don’t look at me like, 'Oh, who the hell is this rookie?'"
Tony Romo done with painkilling injections for ribs | ESPN
Romo took a shot the last four games after fracturing a rib in the Sept. 18 comeback win over the San Francisco 49ers. He said after Sunday's 34-7 win over the St. Louis Rams that he doesn't expect to need a shot before next week's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
"It felt more comfortable, if that makes sense," said Romo, who threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 14-of-24 passing against the Rams. "You know you can take a hit when your ribs are broken and deal with it, but I think by next week they'll be good to go without the shot."
Cowboys CB Mike Jenkins records his first interception in more than a year | DMN
The title has as many words as the article.
Peter King's Monday Morning QB | Sports Illustrated
Offensive Players of the Week
Dallas RB DeMarco Murray, for having the 10th-best rushing game in the 92-year history of the NFL -- and the best in Dallas history. Think of his 253-yard afternoon against St. Louis this way: He could have been Offensive Players of the Week twice. In the first half, he ran 10 times for 112 yards (11.2-yard average), including a 91-yard touchdown run. In the second half, he ran 15 times for 141 yards (9.4-yard average).
Who is DeMarco Murray? A few things about the 71st pick in the 2011 NFL Draft: He had 71 career rushing yards entering the game ... In one day, his 253 yards was more than Reggie Bush and Marshawn Lynch have gained this season ... Murray was the sixth running back taken in the draft, nine spots after the Dolphins took Daniel Thomas (sorry Dolfans; didn't mean to stick the knife in any deeper than it is today) ... In his first college game for Oklahoma in 2007, he ran for 201 yards against North Texas. Two weeks later, he scored on a 92-yard touchdown run against Utah ... His 91-yard TD run Sunday? Untouched by human hands. (That may say more about the Rams' ineptitude that Murray's ability, by the way.) ... After the game, he said Felix Jones (who missed the rout of the Rams with an ankle injury) was still the starter, and whether he's first- second- or third-string, he's just going to prepare to do what the coaches ask him to do ... The 253 yards Murray gained was 16 more than all-time NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith ever had in a game.
Eagles-Cowboys rivalry plods along these days | Philly.com
So the irony is that one of the greatest runs of Eagles dominance over the Cowboys sucked much of the over-the-top intensity out of the rivalry. By 2006, Dallas had almost become just another game on the schedule.
Eagles fans still loathe Dallas, but simply beating the Cowboys just doesn't seem to resonate the way it did when I first came to Philadelphia.
And that brings us back to now.
For a game this early in the season, Sunday night's matchup between the Eagles and Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field has some unusually high stakes. It's not an understatement to say that the Eagles' season could be riding on what they do against the Cowboys.
Asante Samuels On Eagles: "Obviously They Don't Want Me" | BGN
It's just that "what he is" they don't want anymore. And frankly, I'd say the Eagles only have themselves to blame here. I think it's perfectly reasonable for Asante to be annoyed by the rumors and I think we can all agree that he's drawn the right conclusion about what the Eagles think of him. So if the Eagles didn't want him, they should have dealt him. They can't have thought they could shop him around the league all year and it wouldn't be reported. And they have to have expected him to be annoyed by the rumors...
Let my inner Cowboys fan say, in a stuffy billionaire voice, A hahahaha. It's Eagles week. Let's get it.