Cowboys Open Preseason With Win

{fshare id=2904}

The Dallas Cowboys slipped past the Oakland Raiders 3-0 in the first preseason game of 2012 for each team.  The game was typical preseason, full of penalties and unknown players.  Still, there was enough to determine the good, bad, and ugly for the Cowboys.

 

The Good

Dallas finally had decent play in the secondary, at least in the safety position.  Barry Church and Gerald Sensabaugh showed range on both passing and running situations.  Sensabaugh intercepted a Carson Palmer pass on the first series of the game.  The pair combined for 3 tackles in the game.

 

The Bad

The Cowboys were penalized 12 times in the game.  4 of these gave first downs to the Raiders.  A false start penalty on the first Cowboys offensive drive backed the ‘Boys out of field goal range.  The Dallas offense had the ball a total of 10 times, and committed 7 offensive penalties.  The 48 yards given up by offensive penalties all but negates the 54 total rushing yards gained. 

Defensively, Dallas committed penalties at key moments, including giving 4 first downs to the Oakland offense.  2 of these were for defensive offsides.  Unacceptable.

 

The Ugly

As expected, the makeshift line the Cowboys through together was their biggest weakness.  The Oakland starters ran through the Dallas O-line almost untouched.  Starting quarterback Tony Romo was sacked once and ran for his life on several other occasions.  The Dallas starting running backs combined for a total of 2 yards.

If Dallas doesn’t address the offensive line either by bringing in new players, or returning others from injury, it will be a long and painful season for the Cowboys backfield.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares