Dallas Cowboys News & Notes: Early Reactions To Second Preseason Game

Cowboys Drop Second Preseason Game To 49ers 23-6, But Evade Serious Injuries - Blogging The Boys
Tom Ryle with a succinct summation of last night's game.

Outside possible concussions to the backup quarterback and backup safety Jeff Heath, there were no real injuries. That is likely the most important thing of all.

Cowboys' offense struggles in second preseason game - Todd Archer, ESPN
Context. The most important but least used commodity in evaluating preseason performance.

Through two preseason games the Cowboys have scored two touchdowns on 22 possessions. It’s not time to panic but it is worth noting. But remember this: The starters have yet to play a snap together in the preseason. Perhaps things get better next week if Dez Bryant gets on the field.

Troy Aikman on 4-game preseason: NFL says it’s all about fans, ‘Have yet to run into an NFL fan that loves’ it | Dallas Morning News
In a series of tweets, Aikman wonders about the value of preseason games, particularly since teams are playing it safe for fear of injuries, and adds this observation:

Outside of 10 guys tops, coaches could've picked their rosters when camp began. They've only been evaluating these guys since May.

An unhappy Garrett says there is no excuse for the Cowboys’ woeful play | Clarence Hill, The Star Telegram
Garrett was not a happy camper.

"It wasn’t very good on offense, it wasn’t very good on defense it wasn’t very good kicking game," Garrett said. "It wasn’t good early, middle or late. It wasn't a very good performance at all."

"We didn’t run the ball very well, obviously," Garrett said. "First series wasn’t very good. Second, third and fourth series weren’t very good. Obviously, we were trying to control the line of scrimmage and didn’t do a very good job of that. It’s hard for me to make specific assessments, I have a bad angle on the sideline, but we obviously weren’t successful running the football, moving the football, making first down. We turned the ball over on offense, we didn’t get any takeaways. Got a punt blocked. Weren’t consistent in our execution in any of the three phases. Just really didn’t play well."

Cowboys’ running back trio at least gets on the field | Charean Williams, The Star Telegram
That's got to count for something, right?

5 Cowboys thoughts: Tony Romo wanted to play more, good thing he didn’t | Jon Machota, Dallas Morning News
Tony Romo attempted just one pass, and Machota argues it may have been better not to play Romo at all given the potential for injury. Machota also adds this take on Randy Gregory:

Randy Gregory was very good in his preseason debut in San Diego. He was the Cowboys’ most valuable player on Sunday. The second-round pick played most of the first half, sacking Colin Kaepernick for a 14-yard loss late in the first quarter. The 49ers were called twice for holding the former Nebraska standout and he did a good job of collapsing the pocket on a few other plays. Gregory didn’t start, but he came in early in the first half to play right defensive end, moving Greg Hardy to the left.

"In my opinion, I didn’t get to the quarterback enough," Gregory said. "I ran past the quarterback too much; didn’t keep containment enough. It’s something I will work on in the second half."

Moore: Cowboys find little clarity at running back in snooze fest vs. 49ers | David Moore, Dallas Morning News
Moore doesn't find a lot to get excited about from last nights game - except for the young guys on the defensive line.

One of the few positives to come out of this game for the Cowboys was the play of the defensive line. Rookie defensive end Randy Gregory got his second sack of the preseason and drew holding calls on two other plays.

Rookie defensive end Ryan Russell and Ben Gardner, who spent his rookie season on the injured list, also came up with sacks.

"That was one of the bright spots of the game,’’ Garrett said.

Rookie Randy Gregory continues to shine for Cowboys -Todd Archer, ESPN
Gregory continued his strong preseason showing, picking up his second sack in as many preseason games and drawing two holding penalties

The Dallas Cowboys thought they were getting a steal when they were able to grab defensive end Randy Gregory with the 60th overall pick. So far, so good.

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Dallas Cowboys' Jack Crawford made plays as Dustin Vaughan struggled - Todd Archer, ESPN
Jack Crawford, Andrew Gachkar and A.J. Jenkins were solid as Dustin Vaughan, the special teams, and Gavin Escobar struggled against the 49ers. Archer writes.

Cowboys focused on final week of camp, being better vs. Vikings | Clarence Hill, The Star Telegram
Well, there's always the next game to look forward to.

It will be the team’s dress rehearsal for the Sept. 13 regular season opener against the New York Giants. Quarterback Tony Romo should play through the first half after only getting three plays against the 49ers and none in the preseason opener against the San Diego Chargers.

The team is also expected to get several injured players back on the field, including receiver Dez Bryant, tackle Tyron Smith, defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford. The Cowboys also plan on taking the wraps off of cornerback Morris Claiborne and linebacker Sean Lee, who have been held out for precautionary reasons. No matter what, the Cowboys say they need to get better and they aim to do so in practice this week.