Sparkey
11-30-2007, 03:02 PM
A win's a win, but Packers put on better performance
By Randy Galloway
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
IRVING -- How easy was this going to be? So easy, at one point in the second quarter Thursday night, Tony Romo had thrown three touchdown passes while taking a mere eight snaps.
And once the Cowboys' lead had climbed to 17 points, where was Brett Favre?
The ancient one had both feet planted on the Packers' sideline, his right elbow and left shoulder damaged, his evening over real early. Actually, it appeared to be a mercy injury.
Favre was helpless against furious Cowboys pressure, although in a bit of irony, the exit blow on his elbow was delivered by the smallest player on the field, backup cornerback Nate Jones, who had blitzed from the corner.
So, game over, right?
Not exactly. And even once it was over, and the Cowboys had survived what was eventually a 37-27 decision, this wasn't exactly the kind of performance that stamped the Wade Phillips gang as the class of the NFC, a conference with minimal class.
Home field in January is possibly the biggest advantage the Cowboys gained Thursday. Otherwise, hold off on those hotel reservations for Arizona in early February.
Even at 11-1, the Cowboys separated themselves from the 10-2 Packers only in the standings, not on the Texas Stadium turf in this showdown of NFC leaders.
Frankly, the Packers were overall more impressive, considering they lost Favre early, and didn't have two of their best defensive players suited up. The decision was made an hour before kickoff that cornerback Charles Woodson and defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, both injured last week, would be a no-go.
Then, early in the second quarter, it appeared the Packers were going to be run out of Irving. The Cowboys were scoring at will.
To suddenly regroup and rally on both sides of the ball, particularly behind backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers on offense, says something about both Green Bay and the Cowboys. And for the Cowboys, it was a worrisome message.
Plus, there were 10 somewhat tainted points for the Cowboys, including a field goal on the first possession of the game, and a much-needed breathing-room touchdown with just under eight minutes left in the game.
To start with, Green Bay cornerback Al Harris made a clean steal of an Eldorado Owens catch on Romo's first throw of the evening. One official signaled Green Bay had the ball. But in a strange ruling, the final zebra decision was that Owens' forward progress had stopped. No way.
And then with the Cowboys holding only a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter, Romo went deep for Miles Austin. His feet became tangled with cornerback Tramon Williams'. The pass fell incomplete, and there was no flag. At least, not yet.
In a decision that could have gone either way (incidental contact or interference), a yellow hankie finally dropped. Again, it was a strange delay. But the call set up the Cowboys at the 5-yard line. Romo threw his fourth TD pass of the night on a third-down toss to Patrick Crayton, who ran a good post route to beat Harris in coverage.
The Green Bay story will be the Cowboys received 10 "gift" points. It's hard to debate that version.
The good news for the locals?
Coach Phillips now has 10 days to address his 3-4 failures and examine exactly how Rodgers tore this defense apart.
Against Favre, there was an awesome display of pressure, forcing two picks that resulted in 14 points. Give the unheralded Stephen Bowen, and the equally unheralded Jones, credit for the hits that caused those interceptions.
Rodgers, however, was more elusive and presented different problems. Despite heavy pressure at times, this was Rodgers' best moment for the Packers, as he still waits for the retirement of Favre.
For the Cheese-headed lovers of Mr. Favre, and there was a large contingent on hand Thursday night, they've got to admit The Man's departure, and the entrance of Rodgers, was a very positive development in this game.
Offensively, the Cowboys also went into a troubling lull after the early schooling of what appeared to be an outmanned Packers defense.
It seemed in the first half that Eldorado Owens was headed for 200 yards-plus on the receiving end of Romo's arm, but that same Eldo, despite an outstanding game, ended up with the season's ugliest muffed pass.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Cowboys' lead down to three points, Eldo showed his iron claws can surface at any time. A perfect TD throw by Romo went clang, bounced in the air, and Harris picked it off in the end zone.
Only a huge sack of Rodgers by DeMarcus Ware stemmed the next threat by the Packers, and that was followed by Romo finally figuring out he needed to get Jason Witten involved. Tony did, and the offense started to move again.
Back to that bottom line:
Cowboys win. It's the only thing that matters.
But the W didn't come without assorted worries and warts.
And the truth rides with Green Bay, despite the final score. Under the circumstances, the Packers were more impressive. Come January, and the playoffs, that will be something to consider.
Randy Galloway's Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
Randy Galloway, 817-390-7760
By Randy Galloway
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
IRVING -- How easy was this going to be? So easy, at one point in the second quarter Thursday night, Tony Romo had thrown three touchdown passes while taking a mere eight snaps.
And once the Cowboys' lead had climbed to 17 points, where was Brett Favre?
The ancient one had both feet planted on the Packers' sideline, his right elbow and left shoulder damaged, his evening over real early. Actually, it appeared to be a mercy injury.
Favre was helpless against furious Cowboys pressure, although in a bit of irony, the exit blow on his elbow was delivered by the smallest player on the field, backup cornerback Nate Jones, who had blitzed from the corner.
So, game over, right?
Not exactly. And even once it was over, and the Cowboys had survived what was eventually a 37-27 decision, this wasn't exactly the kind of performance that stamped the Wade Phillips gang as the class of the NFC, a conference with minimal class.
Home field in January is possibly the biggest advantage the Cowboys gained Thursday. Otherwise, hold off on those hotel reservations for Arizona in early February.
Even at 11-1, the Cowboys separated themselves from the 10-2 Packers only in the standings, not on the Texas Stadium turf in this showdown of NFC leaders.
Frankly, the Packers were overall more impressive, considering they lost Favre early, and didn't have two of their best defensive players suited up. The decision was made an hour before kickoff that cornerback Charles Woodson and defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, both injured last week, would be a no-go.
Then, early in the second quarter, it appeared the Packers were going to be run out of Irving. The Cowboys were scoring at will.
To suddenly regroup and rally on both sides of the ball, particularly behind backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers on offense, says something about both Green Bay and the Cowboys. And for the Cowboys, it was a worrisome message.
Plus, there were 10 somewhat tainted points for the Cowboys, including a field goal on the first possession of the game, and a much-needed breathing-room touchdown with just under eight minutes left in the game.
To start with, Green Bay cornerback Al Harris made a clean steal of an Eldorado Owens catch on Romo's first throw of the evening. One official signaled Green Bay had the ball. But in a strange ruling, the final zebra decision was that Owens' forward progress had stopped. No way.
And then with the Cowboys holding only a 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter, Romo went deep for Miles Austin. His feet became tangled with cornerback Tramon Williams'. The pass fell incomplete, and there was no flag. At least, not yet.
In a decision that could have gone either way (incidental contact or interference), a yellow hankie finally dropped. Again, it was a strange delay. But the call set up the Cowboys at the 5-yard line. Romo threw his fourth TD pass of the night on a third-down toss to Patrick Crayton, who ran a good post route to beat Harris in coverage.
The Green Bay story will be the Cowboys received 10 "gift" points. It's hard to debate that version.
The good news for the locals?
Coach Phillips now has 10 days to address his 3-4 failures and examine exactly how Rodgers tore this defense apart.
Against Favre, there was an awesome display of pressure, forcing two picks that resulted in 14 points. Give the unheralded Stephen Bowen, and the equally unheralded Jones, credit for the hits that caused those interceptions.
Rodgers, however, was more elusive and presented different problems. Despite heavy pressure at times, this was Rodgers' best moment for the Packers, as he still waits for the retirement of Favre.
For the Cheese-headed lovers of Mr. Favre, and there was a large contingent on hand Thursday night, they've got to admit The Man's departure, and the entrance of Rodgers, was a very positive development in this game.
Offensively, the Cowboys also went into a troubling lull after the early schooling of what appeared to be an outmanned Packers defense.
It seemed in the first half that Eldorado Owens was headed for 200 yards-plus on the receiving end of Romo's arm, but that same Eldo, despite an outstanding game, ended up with the season's ugliest muffed pass.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Cowboys' lead down to three points, Eldo showed his iron claws can surface at any time. A perfect TD throw by Romo went clang, bounced in the air, and Harris picked it off in the end zone.
Only a huge sack of Rodgers by DeMarcus Ware stemmed the next threat by the Packers, and that was followed by Romo finally figuring out he needed to get Jason Witten involved. Tony did, and the offense started to move again.
Back to that bottom line:
Cowboys win. It's the only thing that matters.
But the W didn't come without assorted worries and warts.
And the truth rides with Green Bay, despite the final score. Under the circumstances, the Packers were more impressive. Come January, and the playoffs, that will be something to consider.
Randy Galloway's Galloway & Co. can be heard weekdays 3-6 p.m. on ESPN/103.3 FM.
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
Randy Galloway, 817-390-7760