The Phillips Era Begins with a Win, Cowboys 23 Colts 10

You have to feel good about this first live action game, as the Cowboys defeated the Colts 23-10. The Cowboys pretty much dominated both sides of the ball. A solid debut is exactly what the Cowboys needed as a whole, and its what Romo needed. Some questions have definitely been answered. You can just see there’s a whole new camaraderie forming between the coaches and players. This is going to be a close team.
 

Phillips commanded the defense to a substantial showing. 3rd down defense was on point today as the Colts only converted 3 times in the whole game! The Cowboys shutdown the high octane offense of the Colts and when the Colts first team managed to moved the ball, the defense tightened down, and got the job done.

On the other side of the ball, you really have to like what you saw on offense. Garrett has done a phenomenal job and it looks like a whole new set of plays were unveiled tonight. Garrett disguised the plays well, leaving the defense guessing. The offense was not predictable at all. It was impressive. Romo looked awesome out there today, and Johnson held his own, and Moore is making a name for this team. If there’s anything reminiscent about the offense of the ’90s it was the use of the tight end. The tight ends gave the defense a heavy dose in the passing game, that’s going to payoff good for us, bigtime.

Who stood out?

Tony Romo stood out simply because he executed the plays to near perfection. This is Romo’s team, he’s the leader now and for the future.

Julius Jones is back. You can just see the determination in his runs. He just hits that hole and goes off running. I have a strong feeling we’re going to see some big game breaking runs from Julius this year, especially with this big offensive line we employ.

Matt Moore looked very impressive, and took another step in locking up the #3 QB spot. He has a nice throw, good arm, and good pocket presence. He really stood out to me, in a positive way.

Anthony Fasano is another weapon. Garrett is going to utilize Fasano in this offense. This guy can catch, and he can block. Should we expect anything less, he was a 2nd round draft pick afterall, and we’re going to see that potential shine this year. The passing distribution can only mean great things to come for the starting tight ends.

Bradie James looked good today. I was wondering how he would fare today, and he played well. I wanted to see him make some plays and he delivered tonight.

Tyson Thompson is the #3 running back, there’s no doubt in my mind that Thompson makes this team this year. He’s had a good camp, and fully recovered from his injury as he exhibited his speed tonight. He’s definitely an asset in the return game, and solid in relief.

Joey Thomas will make the team, there’s no doubt in my mind. Someone is going to lose their spot to Thomas, I’m leaning towards Nate Jones not making it this year. Thomas has been playing well in camp. Today’s performance just adds to his chances, and we need players like that on this team. Thomas snatched the ball for an INT, and had 5 tackles. Solid.
 

Leonard Davis is going to maul people. He was really laying it on the defensive line, I was thoroughly impressed with Davis’ play tonight. He answered some questions for me. Good acquisition.

The solid guys looked good as usual; DeMarcus Ware brought the pressure, Newman was money, Henry did good with the pass deflection and passes defended, and Keith Davis with the INT for the 40yrd TD was icing on the cake.

Coach Phillips and Coach Garrett, got the job done. They had the team prepared, and the players played hard tonight. I know its just the preseason, and you can’t get caught in all the emotion, but this is a good way for the new Phillips regime to kickoff the year.

Only thing that I didn’t like too much was the work at nose tackle. We don’t have anyone solid there, and today just reinforced that for me. Not sure what the plan is for nose tackle.