The Cowboys had their issues over the weekend with the Texans.  They couldn’t get their running game going and they couldn’t stop the Texans from running the football.  Tony Romo was pretty sharp completing 14 of 22 passes for 197 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception.  Brad Johnson finished up and he completed 5 of 6 passes for 56 yards with 1 interception.  Julius Jones (10 car, 34 yards) and Marion Barber (6 car, 14 yards) couldn’t get anything going against the Texans’ defense.  WR Sam Hurd had a solid game for the Cowboys as he caught 4 passes for 68 yards.  Jason Witten (3 grabs, 47 yards, TD) and Terrell Owens (1 rec, 35 yards, TD) both looked sharp catching passes from Romo.  The Cowboys finished the game with only 57 yards rushing on 21 carries (2.7 ypc).  The Cowboys also completed 19 of 28 passes for 234 yards.

The Cowboys allowed the Texans to rush for 142 yards on 26 carries (5.5 ypc) and the Texans completed 20 of 29 passes for 164 yards.  That’s not all as rookie WR Jacoby Jones of the Texans ran a punt back 91 yards for a TD against the Cowboys.

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The Dallas Cowboys flat out dominated the Denver Broncos on Saturday Night.  They rushed out to a 24-6 lead in the first three quarters before the Broncos put up a fight.  Tony Romo was solid as he completed 11 of 18 passes for 122 yards with an interception.  Brad Johnson also looked pretty efficient as he completed 6 of 9 passes for 56 yards with a TD pass.  Tyson Thompson was the workhorse for the Cowboys last Saturday as he carried the ball 16 times for 75 yards (4.7 ypc) to lead the team in rushing.  Marion Barber was also very impressive with 11 carries for 57 yards (5.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Julius Jones also got his work in with 31 yards rushing on 9 carries (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Patrick Crayton looked good at WR with 3 grabs for 61 yards (20.3 avg).  Sam Hurd (3 rec, 36 yards) and rookie Isiah Stanback (2 rec, 30 yards, TD) both looked good in their battle to be the Cowboys #4 WR this season.  The Cowboys finished up running the football 42 times for 190 yards (4.5 ypc) and they completed 17 of 27 passes for 178 yards.

The defense played sharp for the Cowboys until the 4th quarter when the scrubs were in the game.  The Broncos only rushed for 35 yards on 19 carries (1.8 ypc) and they completed 18 of 34 passes for 234 yards.

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Look for the Cowboys to throw the ball underneath to the tight ends a little more in 2007 than they did in 2006.  Jason Witten was under-utilized in the passing game last season but that won’t likely be the case in 2007.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) last season and he caught 64 passes for 754 yards (11.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for Witten’s numbers to all improve as he will likely be a Pro Bowler in 2007.   He has now played in 63 games (53 starts) and he has caught 252 passes for 2,838 yards (11.3 avg) with 14 career TD grabs.

2nd year man Anthony Fasano will likely improve his production in his sophomore season with the Cowboys.  He has played in 16 games (5 starts) as a rookie last year and he caught 14 passes for 126 yards (9.0 avg) with 0 TD grabs.

The Cowboys brought in Adam Bergen as a free agent to push Anthony Fasano and provide depth.  He played in 14 games (7 starts) for the Cardinals last season and he caught 15 passes for 111 yards (7.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 30 games (16 starts) in his career and he has now caught 43 passes for 381 yards (8.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

The Dallas Cowboys only go three deep at WR right now.  That doesn’t really matter though when you figure in TE Jason Witten.  If one of the WRs on the Cowboys go down they would compensate by throwing more passes to their TEs.  Terrell Owens remains the straw that stirs the drink in the passing game for the Cowboys so they need him to behave off of the field.  After Tony Romo replaced Drew Bledsoe as the starting QB Terrell Owens’ production sky rocketed.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Cowboys last season and he caught 85 passes for 1,180 yards (13.9 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  He had problems with drops early in the season but by the end of the year he was making big play after big play.  Look for him to have a monster season in 2007 if he stays focused.  Owens has now played in 158 games (143 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 801 passes for 11,715 yards (14.6 avg) with 114 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 25 times for 159 yards (6.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.

Terry Glenn benefits from Terrell Owens getting the bulk of the attention on defense.  He still can get down the field as he has maintained his speed despite his advancing age.  He played in 15 games (14 starts) last season for the Cowboys and he caught 70 passes for 1,047 yards (15.0 avg) with 6 TD grabs and he also carried the football 3 times for 11 yards (3.7 ypc).  Look for Glenn to have another stellar season as the Cowboys #2 WR in 2007.  He has now played in 136 games (127 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 593 passes for 8,823 yards (14.9 avg) with 44 TD grabs and he has also carried the ball 20 times for 139 yards (7.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Patrick Crayton stepped up last season and seized the #3 WR job and he ran with it.  He played in 16 games (7 starts) last season for the Cowboys and he caught 36 passes for 516 yards (14.3 avg) with 3 TD grabs and he also returned 11 punts for 85 yards (7.7 avg).  Look for Crayton to improve on those numbers….especially if Glenn or Owens has to miss some time due to injury.  Crayton has now played in 35 games (7 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 70 passes for 1,019 yards (14.6 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  He also has returned 38 punts for 285 yards (7.5 avg).

The #4 and #5 WR spots will be battled for in Training Camp by Sam Hurd, Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanbeck.  Stanbeck is trying to convert to WR as he was a college QB but he is injured right now and will start out behind in the competition.  Sam Hurd played in 15 games (2 starts) as a rookie last season and he caught 5 passes for 75 yards (15.0 avg) and he also made 13 tackles on special teams.  He will likely win the #4 WR job.  Don’t discount Miles Austin who came out of nowhere as a kickoff returner last season for the Cowboys.  He played in 9 games (0 starts) and he returned 29 kickoffs for 753 yards (26.0 avg) but he didn’t catch a pass last year.

The Cowboys took it to the defending World Champion Colts last night….too bad the game doesn’t count.  Still, there were plenty of things to like about how the Cowboys played last night.  Tony Romo looked great throwing the football as he completed 10 of 11 passes for 93 yards.  Brad Johnson didn’t look as good when he played as he completed 3 of 4 passes for 15 yards.  The surprise of the night was the play of undrafted rookie QB Matt Moore who completed 7 of 9 passes for 88 yards.  The Cowboys also ran the ball pretty well as Marion Barber led the charge with 12 carries for 48 yards and he also caught 3 passes for 11 yards.  Tyson Thompson also was busy with 11 carries for 34 yards with a TD.  Julius Jones also pitched in with 6 carries for 22 yards.  Reserve 2nd year TE Tony Curtis was the leading receiver for the Cowboys with 3 grabs for 59 yards.  Anthony Fasano also had a decent game with 3 grabs for 43 yards.  The Cowboys held onto the football for 37:06 of the game!  They ran the ball 39 times for 133 yards (3.4 ypc) and they completed 20 of 24 passes for 166 yards.

The defense was outstanding for the Cowboys last night.  They held the Colts to 49 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.3 ypc) and the Colts completed 18 of 32 passes for 155 yards.  I know it’s only the pre-season but that was a dominating performance last night.

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