2011 Dallas Cowboys vs. the Jets: The Good That Came from the Loss

The aftermath of a Dallas Cowboy loss always has people saying the 'Boys are overrated, pointing the finger at the mistakes and miscues, and analysts saying which players are the blame and who should be replaced. In the first game of the 2011 NFL season, the Cowboys gave away a close one to the New York Jets, a favorite to make the Super Bowl this year.

After blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, one might think, as usual the Cowboys are overrated. But if you take a closer look at the aspects of the game, you'll notice that more good actually came from this game for the Cowboys than reasons to hang your hat and announce another dry run at the playoffs.

Although the Jets ended the game with 27 points, the Dallas defense has a lot to build from and be satisfied with. First, the Jets offense didn't put up those points. One touchdown came from a blocked punt late in the game to tie the score. The last three points was the result of Tony Romo's late game interception to Darrelle Revis, which gave the Jets impeccable field position.

The good part about that is, the held them to a field goal and nearly had an interception when back up DB Allan Ball jumped a comeback route and dropped the pass on Jets' QB Mark Sanchez.

The defense put constant pressure on Sanchez with All-Pro linebacker DeMarcus Ware looking like he was in midseason form ending the night with two sacks and forcing Sanchez to many rush pass attempts.

The defensive line and linebackers played the run well all night, limiting feature running backs Shaune Greene and LaDanian Thomlinson to a combined 42 yards rushing for the game. The weakest part of the defense was the secondary, which had to go deep into the depth chart using every person listed in the secondary to play at least one down.

Starting DB Terrance Newman, who missed the game, should return this Wednesday for practice and should be ready to play next week at San Francisco. Having the other starting DB, Mike Jenkins playing hurt, caused the Cowboys to sign free agent veteran Frank Walker to the roster. Walker finished training camp with the Titans he was cut. He is entering his ninth year in the NFL.

For the first three quarters, Romo and the Cowboys' offense seem to do whatever they wanted against one of the league's elite defenses. The arsenal of Witten, Austin and Bryant proved to be every bit of a match for what's said to be the best secondary in the NFL, lead by Rives. Now with the return of TE Martellus Bennett, Romo will have all the weapons needed to face any defense.Once back up rookie running back DeMarco Murray becomes more acclimated to the NFL and the offense, having another speedster who can catch out of the backfield will pay off late in the season.

The most promising part of the offense was the ability of the young offensive line, led by 1st round draft pick Tyron Smith from USC, to hold its own against the Jets and their multiple blitz packages. Running back Felix Jones proved that he is more than capable of being a great pass blocker as he showed on several occurrences, stopping potential sacks by Bart Scott and others. The Jets' defense is one of the best vs. the run, so Jones' 44 yards on the night was to be expected, although he did out rush the Jets duo by himself.

The most important aspect to come to light from this game was Tony Romo's inability to consistently come through in the clutch moments. You may be thinking, "how is this a good thing?" It's an easy solution.

Now that Jason Garrett is at the helm and calling all the shots, not just some of them, he can let Romo be himself for three quarters (or however long the game dictates). When the game is on the line, he can guide Romo better. This means that when a play is called, like on the play when Romo fumbled near the goal line, Garrett can give Romo only two options instead of letting him have free reign on what to do.

Romo has proven that when these situations arise, he often folds, so Garret can say, "Tony, you have option 1 (Bryant), then option 2 (Witten). If none of these are open, option 3 is to throw it away, understood?" Romo gets in trouble when he has to improvise in clutch situations. He's a great improviser, but in the first stages of the game. That way, it limits the possible mistakes that may come and the Cowboys come away with more safe plays than usual. Better safe than...well, you know how it goes.

Just imagine if this scenario would've played out Sunday night, "Ok Tony, the game is tied. If they pressure you and Dez IS NOT open, throw the ball out of bounds. We need to move down the field and kick this field goal." If that scenario plays out on Sunday night, this article would be about Mark Sanchez and how the Jets aren't quite ready for the big game.