Loaded for Bears: Cowboys Shoot Down Chicago

The Dallas Cowboys got their first true test of the season Sunday night in front of a hostile Chicago Bears crowd. True they were 2-0 but those wins had come courtesy of a Giants team with a gash for a defense and a Miami team that is 0-3. This was against the reigning NFC champs with a quick, ferocious defense.  All the Cowboys did was take the vaunted Bears defense apart in the second half and put up a 34-10 final score. It wasn’t even that close. Were it not for a dropped TD pass by Patrick Crayton in the second quarter, it would’ve been 41-10.  How does this happen to a game that is tied 3-3 at the half and 10-10 with 7 minutes and change in the third quarter?

Tony Romo, once again showing that he is the best QB in the NFC, had another brilliant game finishing 22 of 36 for 329 yards, 2 TDs and 1 pick that was more Patrick Crayton not being able to hang on to the ball. Those numbers should’ve been better. The bottom line is that Tony Romo was able to make plays for the Cowboys and Rex Grossman made plays for the Cowboys. Romo was able to avoid a furious Bears pass rush throughout the game. He was only sacked twice (one on the Cowboys first play from scrimmage) but was able to avoid at least four times that by moving out of the pocket with searing effectiveness and improvising when all else failed.

Terrell Owens had his best game as a Cowboys PERIOD finishing with 8 catches for 145 yards. He was constantly moving and made big catches that seemingly always went for first downs. At times it seemed Romo and Owens were in the playground slinging that ball around the field. Jason Witten finished with 6 catches for 90 yards and a TD.  The running game, as expected, was slow in getting started as the Bears closed up the middle and dared Romo to attack them down the field. Marion Barber did finish with 102 yards and 2 TDs but 54 of those yards came on a huge run in the fourth quarter when the game was all but over.  It is tempting for some to say that Barber should be starting in place of Julius Jones but the fact is that this combo is being used in precisely the right way. Use Julius Jones early then bring Barber in as the game goes along and the defenses get tired. That’s when Marion Barber is truly Marion the Barbarian.

Why did this actually resemble a game at halftime? Let me count the ways; penalties that had the Cowboys in continual third and long situations, 18 rushing yards on seven carries and some ridiculously poor calls by the officials including one where they forgot to stop the game clock after a Rex Grossman sack at the end of the first half that would’ve left 3 seconds on the clock. What’s three lousy seconds you ask? A helluva lot when you’re on the Bears 36 and could’ve attempted a 54 yard FG. Add to that the bizarre events following Crayton’s drop in the end zone which included a blocked Nick Folk FG and 48 yard return by Bears safety Adam Archuleta.

The much maligned defense continued its steady improvement Sunday night. The Bears were held to one TD and 239 yards of offense, the fewest given up by the Cowboys in the last eight regular season games. Cornerback Terence Newman saw his first action of the year in limited nickel situations but it was cornerback Anthony Henry, who for the second week in a row, recorded two interceptions; the second of which he ran back 28 yards for a score that sealed the game with 11:49 left in the game. Henry now leads the NFL in interceptions with 4.

Add to that two more takeaways, an interception by Roy Williams and a forced fumble by Remi Ayodele, as well as three sacks from linebackers DeMarcus Ware(2) and rookie Anthony Spencer (1).  The defense still needs work but it seems to get better each week and IF linebacker Greg Ellis can return and Terence Newman can get back into game shape, the defense might be able to live up to the money and first round draft picks that Jerry Jones has invested in it. No one saw the Cowboys defense completely outplaying the vaunted Bears defense. Granted it was a Bears defense that had some injuries going into the game and finished with even more but the Cowboys defense wore down the Bears offensive line and made Rex Grossman look like…Rex Grossman.

Of course no game would be complete without the requisite Roy Williams giving up a big play and this game was to be no different.  Good ol Roy gave up a 52 yard pass play to tight end Desmond Clark in the third quarter that allowed the Bears to get some life back into the offense and eventually tie the game 10-10. Roy apparently still hasn’t learned the simple art of TACKLING and is still preoccupied with the ESPN highlight hit. Watching him try and slam into Clark only to have Clark brush him off like a dying fly was pathetic and hilarious and the same time. Some assholes don’t wipe, they just get bigger.

Then there was the still disconcerting fact that the Cowboys still haven’t fixed their little penalty problem, especially on the offensive line (I’m talking to YOU Flozell). It has become an unsettling tradition during a Cowboys game over the years to await the one or two mandatory false start penalties called out by the officials on “Number 76 offense.” Left Tackle Flozell Adams was flagged for THREE penalties (two offensive holding calls and a false start) and got beat in the first play of the game from scrimmage which led to a Romo sack. Something or someone needs to discipline Flozell quickly before these penalties start costing us games instead of points. The Cowboys finished with 12 mostly inexcusable penalties for 100 yards.

If you’re a Chicago fan, you’re waking up to a harsh, cold reality that you probably realized before but after this game can be no longer denied; Rex Grossman SUCKS. Finishing with 195 yards on 15 for 32 attempts including 3 picks and no TDs, Grossman gave the Chicago crowd ample reasons to boo him which they did with an alarming vengeance in the fourth quarter when the wheels came off completely. He threw two of his three picks in the fourth quarter, one of which was returned for a TD. He had “Duh” face for most of the night and has proved repeatedly that once he gets into a bad rhythm; it’s lights out.

When you start hearing your home crowd chanting “GREE-SEE” you are in TROU-BLE. The Bears are going NOWHERE with Grossman which makes their Super Bowl birth last year all the more incredible.  Putting Brian Griese in can’t be any worse than Grossman. I know Lovie Smith said after the game that “Rex Grossman is my quarterback” but I would be COMPLETELY FLOORED if he is still under center next week. At the very least, sit him for a game or two and see what Griese can do.

Cedric Benson, who with every passing moment approaches BUST status and makes one wonder WHAT THE FUCK Bears management was thinking other than CHEAP when they traded away Thomas Jones, finished with 16 carries for 46 yards.  The feared Devin Hester was rendered null and void by the Cowboys special teams. He was kicked away from on the opening kick off but more often than not was kicked to and was consistently smothered by excellent special teams coverage. Hester finished with five kickoff returns for 86 yards and two punt returns for one yard.  His longest return was for 28 yards.  He also bobbled two kicks and fumbled twice.

The Cowboys now stand at 3-0 for the first time since 1999, leaders of the NFC East and along with the Green Bay Packers, the only undefeated team in the NFC.  This game proved that the Dallas Cowboys are a force in the NFC and, despite some defensive problems that still have to be resolved, can beat any team in the conference. It will be crucial for them not to fall asleep over the next weeks as they face winless St. Louis at home and winless Buffalo on the road in anticipation of what looks more and more like an early Super Bowl preview when the cheaters from New England formerly known as “Patriots” come to Texas Stadium on October 14. There’s no reason for the Cowboys not to be 5-0 at that point.