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WFAA Sports BLOG |
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November 2008
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August 22, 2008 ArchivesCoach Wade Phillips says he isn't sure how much he will play his starters in Thursday night's preseason game vs. Minnesota. ...Coach Wade Phillips says Isaiah Stanback has a shoulder injury. His shoulder popped out and was passed back in. ...Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said his starters performed well. "I don't the win is as important as how we started out," he said. "I thought our first group stepped it up." He praised the offensive line and said the team played aggressively. "I feel good about where we are," the coach said. ...There were a lot of mistakes, but the Dallas Cowboys have now won a preseason game -- and it couldn't have been closer. The Cowboys defeated the Houston Texans 23-22 Friday night at Texas Stadium to claim the Governor's Cup. ...Thank goodness. Cowboys lead 23-22, it could have been a real long night if Texans coach Gary Kubiak didn't go for two (and not make it). ...If the Texans score and make the PAT it's a tie game and likely overtime. Maybe Texans head coach Gary Kubiak will go for two so we won't have to play on. ...This is why people hate preseason games. The never seem to end. It's especially painful after the starters are out. ...Maybe the Cowboys just don't want to play in the preseason. That might explain why they keep letting the ball go. An interception by Tony Romo and fumbles by Isaiah Stanback and now rookie Felix Jones. The Cowboys have got to get some stick 'em or something. ...What is it about the opening kickoffs for the Cowboys. To start the game, the Texans got a 68-yard kickoff return. Then to start the second half, Cowboys returner Isaiah Stanback fumbled the return. He was carrying the ball far away from his body, practically like a discus thrower. It ended in another turnover and another mistake. Texans get another field goal out of it, like a weird nearly mirror o... My favorite football saying is form Jimmy Johnson: "It's not who makes the most big plays, it's who makes the fewest mistakes." Well the Cowboys are leading 20-10 despite some big mistakes that led to all 10 Texans points. First was the first play of the game. Nick Folk knocked his opening kickoff around the goal line but it was returned just right up the middle for 68-yards. It wasn't a spectacular return, it was a poor job of... Rather than take a knee with 34 seconds left in the first half, Cowboys coach Wade Phillips elected to try to add some more points. It worked beautifully. After an anxious scramble by Tony Romo, he proceeded to pick the Texans defense apart before Nick Folk booted a 42-yard field goal. The key play was a 32-yard pass to Sam Hurd, who has two catches for 43 yards is having his best game of the preseason. It's important because... The Cowboys came back and pounded the Texans on another long scoring drive to retake the lead, 17-10, as the first half winds down. Full back Deon Anderson was a featured player on the drive with a reception and run. With all of the other stars on offense, Anderson can be easily over looked, but he can contribute too. ...His physical prowess, the same size and arm strength Jerry Jones was enamored with, is enough to get Drew Henson another look in the NFL. ...Ok, so maybe the sky hasn't fallen just yet, but when you toss an interception in the end zone and then the opposing team drives 80 yards to tie the game, it's not exactly an emotional boost. I'm sure we'll hear all about how this is just a preseason game and it doesn't mean anything, but it was a clear momentum shift. Let's see how Romo responds. ...Tony Romo threw it to Zac Diles in the end zone, problem is he's a linebacker for the Texans. The Cowboys were rolling along, then Romo threw it short. On an end zone play like that Romo has to throw it deeper and higher where his guy, Tony Curtis in this case, is the only one who can make a play. Curtis had a couple yards behind him to work with, but Romo tried to sneak it in when he didn't have to. ...First quarter just ended and aside from the opening kick off, the Dallas Cowboys are dominating the Houston Texans. The Cowboys defense has allowed just 10 yards. The Cowboys offense has gained 145 yards. Marion Barber is punishing in the running game and Tony Romo is distributing the ball nicely, just missing on a long pass to a Jaques Reeves beating Terrell Owens. Special teams is the only area the Cowboys ... Ken Hamlin had to atone for his missing an interception of Matt Schaub, so he got down and did some push ups. It's the same thing they do in practice, yes, we're talking about practice. ...For a punt return, 18-yards isn't too bad, but Adam 'Pacman' Jones makes it really interesting. Seeing him back there makes you know why Jerry Jones wanted him, despite all of his baggage. Just electric, even on an 18-yard return. ...After scoring a touchdown the Cowboys gave up only a 24-yard kickoff return to Andre Johnson. Already showing signs of improvement. ...For all the talk of adding a veteran wide receiver, Patrick Crayton is still the number two wide out for the Dallas Cowboys and he showed why on the Cowboys first drive against Houston. Crayton was effective on an 11-yard end around and caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo going across the field. ...Well at least if you're going to give up a long kickoff return, you can get a long one of your own. Isaiah Stanback started with a routine return the started getting shifty, moving outside and prancing his way up the sideline for 44 yards. WFAA photojournalist Arnold Payne compared his moves to Eric Dickerson's. Also on the return, Texans receiver Harry Williams took a nasty blow and is being taken off the field on a stretcher... After giving up a 68-yard return on the opening kickoff, giving up just a field goal isn't too bad. The Dallas defense should get use to being put in bad spots. The Cowboys offense should score a lot of points this season and that means a lot of kickoffs and, apparently, a lot of big returns. ...
Yikes. It was a nice kickoff by Nick Folk then the Texans Andre Davis just ran right up the middle. Not a lot complicated about that. Catch the ball and run. Are you ready? Do you remember the last time the Dallas Cowboys had a game at Texas Stadium? It wasn't a happy ending for Cowboys fans. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, 21-17. The Cowboys have just returned to the locker room. Maybe coach Wade Phillips has a rousing pep talk for them. ...Ok, so it's only warm ups for a preseason game, but the Dallas Cowboys are on the field and in uniform at Texas Stadium. Fifty minutes until kickoff of the final season of the place with the hole in the roof. ...
The Cowboys specialists and kick returners are on the field for warm ups. Although Cowboys coach Wade Phillips has said Felix Jones will not return kickoffs, Jones is among the group of players currently warming up as returners. The others are Isaiah Stanback, Orlando Scandrick, Mike Jenkins, Alonzo Coleman and Keon Lattimore. The punt returners are Adam 'Pacman' Jones and Danny Amendola. Dave Campo is once again on the field here at Texas Stadium the Cowboys head coach from 2000-2002. Right now he is talking to a Texans coach around the 25 yard line. He returned to the team this year as secondary coach, a job he held here before being promoted to defensive coordinator and eventually head coach. It's got to be a bit odd to be back where he led the team to three 5-11 seasons. Current Cowboys hea... Several Dallas Cowboys are going through some special pregame stretches: Marion Barber, Sam Hurd and Greg Ellis, among them. Injured corner Terence Newman is playing catch in the end zone. He looks good and should be ready for the season opener in a little over two weeks. ...We are about 90 minutes away from kickoff, and Texas Stadium is buzzing with a few fans and a lot of media. Joe Trahan will have a live report during the 6:00 sportscast. It's hot. No surprises there, but a photographer from another station reminded us that after next week, we'll never be uncomfortable for a pre-season game again; the new stadium (closed, and air-conditioned when it's too hot outside) opens next year. I've hear... Even though the Dallas Cowboys have one more preseason game after tonight's tilt with the Houston Texans, this is the last real test drive before the season opener at Cleveland Sept. 7. The first key tonight will be the Cowboys intensity. The excuse of being tired of being on the road (like life at a hotel a few miles from the beach in California is rough) for three and a half weeks is gone now. Not only that but, they even had a fan-f... We will be blogging live from Texas Stadium tonight during the Dallas Cowboys preseason game against the Houston Texans, which begins at 7 p.m. But we'll be up in going long before that to take you all the way from pregame through postgame. |
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