Cowboys-Giants: Offense Sizzles, Defense Fizzles for Dallas

Let's be clear about one thing, because this might sound like the type of analysis that comes after a loss:

The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants 45-35 in a roller-coaster season opener on Sunday night.

But they didn't exactly impress a national TV audience.

In fairness, there were positives. The offense, for one, looked as explosive as advertised.

QB Tony Romo went 15 of 24 for 345 yards, four TDs, and one INT. He also rushed for a score. TE Jason Witten had a monster game, catching six balls for 116 yards and a TD.

Terrell "Baby Drop" Owns got involved in the second half, with three catches for 87 yards. Two of those three grabs were for TDs.

The running back tandem of Julius Jones and Marion Barber combined for 131 yards, with Barber converting a huge 4th-and-1 in the second quarter into an 18-yard TD run.

Second-year wideout Sam Hurd turned a slant pass into a 51-yard TD to seal the game, and rookie kicker Nick Folk nailed all six of his extra points, hit a 31-yard field goal, and consistently got the ball inside the five on his kickoffs.

The 45 points were the most for the Cowboys since they scored 48 against the Cardinals in 2000. And that was without receiver Terry Glenn...and under a first-time playcaller in new O coordinator Jason Garrett.

But then there was the defense.

Not to make excuses, but the Cowboys were without defensive stars Terence Newman and Greg Ellis. Newman will be a game-time decision for the rest of the year, and no one knows when Ellis will return.

As if that weren't bad enough, the Cowboys lost starting NT Jason Ferguson to a season-ending biceps tear.

The net result?

Wade Philips’ new and improved 3-4 defense looked an awful lot like Bill Parcells’ old 3-4—pathetic.

Eli Manning gashed the secondary for 312 yards and four scores on 28 of 41 passing. The Giants offense ran up 438 total yards on the night.

Manning wasted NO time hitting Plaxico Burress for a 60-yard TD pass less than two minutes into the game. At least you knew what to expect.

Burress nearly beat the Cowboys by himself, catching eight balls for 144 yards and three TDs.

As expected, Manning threw at Newman’s replacement, Jacques Reeves, all night long. Reeves, to his credit, did manage a couple of big plays—an interception in the second quarter and a breakup of what would’ve been a fourth TD for Burress.

Still, Reeves spent most of the game getting lit up.

On the other side of the field, Amani Toomer caught nine balls for 91 yards against CB Anthony Henry.

The Dallas pass rush fared no better than it did last year without Ellis, managing only one sack. DeMarcus Ware can’t do much when he’s being doubled on every play.

Rookie LB Anthony Spencer had a decent game starting in Ellis’ place, pressuring Manning into a bad throw on a crucial two-point conversion. That doesn't mean the Cowboys don't miss Ellis.

All told, it was an atrocious performance by the Cowboys D. Add two stupid penalties by Henry (spiking the ball after the play was dead) and free safety Ken Hamlin (personal foul), and it's hard to say this defense doesn't just flat out SUCK.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin should be fired TODAY for not throwing the ball more against the Dallas secondary. Safety Roy Williams is the most overrated player in THE ENTIRE NFL. Burress, whom I detest, was dead accurate when he told NBC sideline reporter Andrea Kremer at halftime that, “We can beat #31 (Williams) and #35 (Reeves) all night.”

Among a laundry list of flaws, Williams gets burned for big plays because he can’t judge where the ball is. Every team knows that getting Williams in coverage is akin to breaking the bank vault.

What's worse is that Williams takes no responsibility for his poor play—he blames his teammates, or the playcalling. Last night was a perfect example, with Roy berating Jacques Reeves after a play that HE was responsible for blowing.

This is a team leader? This is a Pro Bowl player?

It helped that the New York defense was even worse than the Cowboys' unit. As if things weren’t bad enough for the Giants, DE Osi Umenyiora and RB Brandon Jacobs both left the game with knee injuries, and Eli Manning suffered a bruised right shoulder late in the fourth quarter.

A win is a win...but this one came at the expense of a bad Giants team.

If nothing else, Romo proved that he's the most important player on the team—and that this offense has unlimited capabilities. New offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is aggressive, which will fit well with Romo’s skills.

The 2007 Cowboys will go as far as Romo takes them. After seven years, Dallas finally has a leader under center. And unless this defense gets healthy in a hurry, the offense is going to need to score 40 points a game just to be competitive.

Considering that the next two games are on the road against good defenses (Miami and Chicago) that rush the QB effectively, that's highly unlikely.