In this week’s “The Star’s Five Corners” I’m going to discuss five in game occurrences from the third preseason game between the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams.
The “dress rehearsal” is finally over and we should be thankful that Tony Romo didn’t get hurt. Personally I didn’t want him to play, but I’m glad he did. He came out and showed that if you can catch the ball he will make you look good– just ask Laurent Robinson. Romo moved the ball almost flawlessly and finished the night going 9/13 for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
Dwayne Harris showed up at the end of last week’s game against the San Diego Chargers by hauling in a Rudy Carpenter touchdown and picked up right where he left off. On Saturday Harris caught a 51-yard bomb from Romo that ended in a touchdown and on the following drive caught a 38-yard catch and run touchdown also from Romo. Harris now has three touchdowns in the last two games.
The starting defense was as close to full health as we’ve seen them and for the first time featured defensive tackle Jay Ratliff and outside linebacker Anthony Spencer. The defense harassed Rams quarterback Sam Bradford and ended up with a couple of sacks on the night. Overall, they looked good and only allowed a couple of field goals in the first half.
The battle for the third running back is as clear as mud. Phillip Tanner is supposed to be the better blocker of the group and totally whiffed on a play that almost got quarterback Kyle Orton knocked unconscious. Lance Dunbar was unimpressive as well. He looked hesitant while running the ball and ended the night with three carries for a whopping one yard. In my eyes, nor Tanner or Dunbar did anything to close the gap between themselves and Jamize Olawale.
The starting offensive line looks pretty good. I was impressed with Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau in pass-protection. I was not impressed with Andre Holmes or Raymond Radway. Neither receiver did much of anything to warrant a spot on the roster. On defense, third-round pick Tyrone Crawford, in my eyes, continues to disappoint. I don’t see what the coaching staff raves about in practice, at least not when the bright lights are on.
John Phillips showed today that the Cowboys made the right choice in letting Martellus Bennett depart via free agency. He could have had a couple of catches, but a phantom offensive pass-interference call eliminated an acrobatic catch against pretty good defensive coverage. Speaking of penalties, the penalties are still a problem. The Cowboys ended the night with 9 penalties for 68 yards.
