Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets: 5 Things to Watch

The Dallas Cowboys start their 2011-2012 season at the Meadowlands where the hype of the game will revolve around Rex Ryan and Rob Ryan being on opposite sidelines, as well as remembering the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks from 10 years ago.

The Cowboys, who are starting the season after a less than stellar summer, will face one of the top dogs of the AFC.

This summer Cowboys slashed payroll left and right by cutting Marion Barber, Roy Williams and Andre Gurode. They also missed out on signing the biggest free agent, Nnamdi Asomugha—who went to the division rival Philadelphia Eagles—and then failed to bring in anyone to help an aging and porous secondary.

With that in mind, here are five things to watch as the Cowboys play the Jets Sunday night:

1. The secondary. Terence Newman has been sidelined with a groin injury, and was called out by Jerry Jones when he said, "he's a guy that has to have it just right." Mike Jenkins did not play in the preseason, but should dress for the game. This leaves the Cowboys with three cornerbacks, Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick, and Allan Ball to fend off the Jets trio of Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress, and Derrick Mason. Thankfully the Jets are not built around the passing game, but watch for them to take a few deep shots to test the Cowboys secondary throughout the game.
2. Rob Ryan's defense. Ryan has only had seven weeks to install his defense and during the  preseason there were definitely times that it looked lost. With the added pressure of playing on a big stage against his brother, Rob Ryan's defense will be tested throughout the night. You can expect the defense to have a few miscues, hopefully it won't cost the Cowboys too dearly. On the other hand, DeMarcus Ware has been praising Ryan's defensive scheme for giving offenses different looks that should free him to rush the passer.
3. New look offensive line. Andre Gurode, right tackle Marc Colombo and right guard Leonard Davis have been replaced with three players that have never started an NFL game, center Phil Costa, Bill Nagy and Tyron Smith. Even more worrisome is that  Smith is questionable for the game because he hyper-extended his knee in practice. Due to this, you can bet the Jets are going to come hard and fast at the Cowboys front five to test them out early and often. I wouldn't be surprised if Jason Garret uses play action and screen passes to try to slow down the rush.
4. Wide Receivers. Miles Austin has been slowed down by a hamstring injury for the bulk of the summer and with the departure of Roy Williams, the Cowboys find themselves thin at the wide receiver position. However, Dez Bryant looks ready to build on an impressive rookie campaign. Behind Austin and Bryant, the Cowboys have untested Kevin Ogletree and special teams standout Jesse Holley. In other words, expect a lot of two wide receiver and two tight-end sets.
5. Running backs. Felix Jones finally gets to be the main running back in the offense. Or does he? While he is expected to be the featured back, he has never been asked to carry the load. Sharing the backfield are Tashard Choice and rookie DeMarco Murray. If the Cowboys can get the running game established early expect Jones to get around 20 carries, and Choice and Murray to split the rest. If the game becomes a blowout, Choice should spend a lot of time in passing downs helping out with blocking.

Pick: The Jets defense will be too much for the Cowboys new offensive line, which will cause a defeat of the Cowboys in a 24-7 win for the Jets.