Ok, that title is cheesy, but I’m in a good mood so it stays. SJ already broke all the games down so I won’t get into all of that. Here’s a some quick hits from the Sunday Night game, which I took off from work to watch because, as a rule, I do not miss Cowboys games when they are on national television.
–What is with the Football Night in America crew being divided into two stages with glass walls, not facing each other, yet they are supposed to be carrying on conversations? I appreciate the improvisational nature of what they are trying to do, but there’s got to be a more geometrically feasible way to do it.
–Did we really need that Tiki Barber opening montage? It came off as a sad attempt to establish Tiki’s credibility before they got into the meat of things. Make Tiki earn our respect. We don’t care about him and Tom Coughlin anymore.
–For all the crap we all give Madden for his wonderfully poetic dumb statements, he brought some pretty decent game tonight. A couple times he even gave some analysis that I hadn’t already thought of — like when he broke down Romo’s pre-play calls, the O-Line assignments, or how Eli neglected the ridiculous Burress–Jacque Reeves matchup — when’s the last time you remember a color man telling you something interesting, in any sport?
–My condolences to Giants fans and to the players who got injured, but frankly, the run-game didn’t look all that spectacular when Jacobs was in the game. This Derrick Herd guy had better be for real because they need a stretch option on the ground.
–The Giants pass rush is not what it used to be, but the Cowboys O-Line was surprisingly good. Leonard Davis looks like he’s worth the money so far. It’s just a monstrous group of guys. They stay healthy and that could be the key to the season.
–Speaking of the Cowboys offense, well, 45 points says quite a bit. So does the 345 passing yards, 4 passing td’s and a rushing td from Tony Romo. This was not Rex Grossman tossing rainbows into the sky and having his receivers post-up to get them like early last season. Romo is for real. He’s a gunslinger, for sure, but less so than Favre. He’s making good decisions, spreading the wealth and utilizing the big weapon. No, not TO, who looked much better now that his hand is healthy. I’m talking about Jason Witten, who is a beast over the middle. The only guy who looked iffy was Julius Jones, but Marion Barber III (pictured) more than made up in the run game.
–What did look iffy was the Cowboys D, most specifically the secondary, which is starting to frustrate me to no end. Sure, Reeves didn’t have much of a chance against Burress‘ size, but Roy Williams should have been helping over the top. He didn’t. Instead, Roy always seem to be playing catchup, taking the same bad angles as last year. Of course, not having Terrence Newman around hurt more than anyone has mentioned, but Williams and Hamlin have got to prove they can cover — we know they can stuff the run. Pass rush looked good though, I like what Phillips is doing so far, including his decisions to hit ignition on 4th and short situations.
–And finally, Jason Garrett. I had some inner doubts about him, but I’d hire him as a career planner the way he was calling plays. He doesn’t try anything too over the top (which is nice because everyone seems to want more Boise State theatrics right now), but his calls have a subtle creativeness which you don’t see too often. Apart from a few too many runs up the gut, that is.
–Oh, and that Andre Johnson guy is pretty good isn’t he now that he has someone to throw to him?
–Don’t be fooled by Antwaan Randel El. He had a nice game but a good chunk of his yardage came from that hail mary. He’s still the same player.
–I told you Cleveland would be bad. Quinn is not going to save them this year…Atlanta didn’t seem to care too much about avenging the presence of Vick…Whatever happened to Matt Jones?…McNabb does not look 100% at all, he was hobbling a bit when forced to scramble…As bad as the Browns are, the Patriots are as good. They’re the team to beat, but it’s not like you needed me to tell you that…Favres heroics? Just his same risky decisions he’s made the last few years working out on a crucial drive. In another game that desperation handoff is fumbled and returned for six…Panthers sure started this season out better than last years kick-return fiasco. Steve Smith is ammo enough by himself…I know they wanted Kellen Clemens, but did they really have to boo Chad Pennington? It’s not like he’s got 9 children running around Jersey selling drugs…Adrian Peterson, Marshawn Lynch, be ready to by hyped like crazy for a year. I hope you can both handle it…So far so good for the Lions. Once teams are forced to man up on Roy Williams now that Calvin Johnson is proving himself, both their numbers are going to grow like Jack’s beanstalk.
Goodnight America. Goodnight Football. Goodnight Moon.