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Underdog · 09-10-2008, 09:12 AM

How Cowboys Added Some Juice

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IRVING, Texas - Some might consider this unfair, and maybe impossible.

But see, the Cowboys finished 13-3 last year.

They sent 13 players to the Pro Bowl.

They scored the second-most points in the league, had the third-ranked offense, recorded the second-most touchdown passes, totaled the third-most quarterback sacks and matched the franchise high for single-season victories.

And they just got better.

Now please, this is not some overreaction to a 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the season opener, although you must admit wiping out what was advertised as a legitimate opponent on the road when supposedly short-handed was quite impressive.

But this has to do with more than yet another regular-season victory, and for that we turn to Keith Davis, who departed in March through free agency and was gone the better part of six months, all of training camp and all four preseason games before finding his way back home last week to resume his career with the Cowboys.

He had heard, and certainly he had read, about these new Cowboys, so he knew what they had done in the off-season following that playoff loss to the Giants. But he had not seen it, not up close and personal as he did during the three practices last week, then the mauling of the Browns on Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

So K.D., after being away, what impressed you on Sunday, what stuck out in your mind about this Cowboys team?

"Just how talented this team really is - the level of talent here," Davis said. "Felix . . . ."

OK, stop right there. Go no further.

There were some during the off-season thoroughly disgusted with the Cowboys, who they thought had gone back on their promise to add some "juice" to this team. They could not get wide receiver out of their minds.

Well, you want juice? You want some electricity, the word Nate Newton used right here on Talkin' Cowboys Monday morning? Then here, let me hook you up with the wow-factors:

Felix Jones.
Pacman Jones.
Zach Thomas.
The real Tank Johnson.
A full-time Marion Barber.
Orlando Scandrick.
Mike Jenkins.
Isaiah Stanback.
Tashard Choice.

And you just wait until Miles Austin returns (maybe this week) and Anthony Spencer returns (maybe this week) and Terence Newman returns (probably this week) and Sam Hurd returns (in a couple of weeks). Man, I'll give you enough juice to trip your breakers.

Did you see Felix on his first NFL carry? On his second NFL carry? Why, already he had 29 yards and a touchdown. The Browns, they barely saw him, and if they did, it was from behind. Why, he glided past Cleveland defensive tackle Shaun Rogers so fast the rather rotund veteran hadn't even picked up his head yet, two ships sailing in opposite directions but only one the right way.

Felix, he never saw Rogers either, going past him so fast on the 11-yard touchdown run, it was as if he had found a high-speed moving sidewalk while Rogers and those other Browns were moving through deep rough.

"All I saw was the end zone," Felix Jones said.

That's what I'm talkin' about. That's juice. And that will be more juice once he gets in rhythm returning kickoffs, and even more so when the Cowboys decide to throw him the ball out in the flats against those blitz-happy teams. Eagles, ya listening?

"I'm in amazement watching him move," Davis said. "He's explosive in the hole, almost runs like a Brian Westbrook."

Eagles, ya listening?

"I'm not saying he is him," veteran Greg Ellis said, "but he moves like a Westbrook out there.

"When you're dealing with a rookie, he's going to catch a lot of guys not prepared (for how fast he is)."

Juice, I say.

Then there is Pacman. Perfect at corner, no. But did you see him break on two of those balls? Made you hold your breath on those punt returns, too, and I don't mean the one he bobbled.

More juice.

Let me see, the stats after film review say Zach Thomas had 12 tackles in his Cowboys debut. Scandrick and Jenkins played a lot more than you probably noticed if you weren't one of the 73,000 at Cleveland Browns Stadium, and the only time you knew they were in there was the time Scandrick got called for that hands-to-the-face penalty.

That's a good thing, especially when limiting your opponent to just 114 yards passing. At lot of someones had to be doing something right.

Let's see, you had Stanback catching his first two NFL passes, Barber just doing Barber, and would have gone for more than 100 yards had he not suffered what appears to be rib-cartilage damage, although head coach Wade Phillips seems to think he will practice this week, no problem. Plus, as Phillips points out, two of his 16 runs (80 yards) were one-yarders, the end zone doing a better job of stopping him than the Browns.

And Tank was a tank in the middle during his time rotating in with Jay Ratliff.

Then, on top of all that, did you see who the Cowboys turned to when it came time to run out the clock? Uh, that would be Choice, gaining 26 yards on five carries while mostly worried about protecting the football.

Now you might want to say, 'Come on, these were just the Browns,' and that's fine. It's a long season, although I'm rather amused since there would be some trying to make a big deal out of the Eagles' opening 38-3 victory without discounting their home win by saying it was only the Rams.

Oh, and another thing about those at-all-costs cries for that speed receiver. Remind me here, who was it that caught that 35-yard touchdown pass behind everyone? Oh yeah, it was the 34-year-old wide receiver. And who was it averaging 17.4 yards a catch? Oh yeah, the 13-year veteran wide receiver.

And without adding that much-needed receiver this off-season, do I have this right? The Cowboys top three receivers, Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton, combined for 17 catches covering 265 yards and averaging, mind you, 15.5 a catch?

Just think how those totals might have grown if the Cowboys hadn't shut it down in the fourth quarter, grinding out the final 10:13 after the Browns sliced their lead to 28-10, never ever giving them the ball back.

So maybe to totally appreciate just what the Cowboys did this off-season you need to have taken a six-month vacation on South Beach, because upon return, after seeing Felix run the way he ran, watching Pacman do his thing, along with the young corners, and all the other "juice" the Cowboys added, I'm guessing you would have been right there with K.D.

You, too, would have gone wow.

09-10-2008, 09:12 AM	#245
Underdog Moderator Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: 41.21.1 Posts: 36,143	How Cowboys Added Some Juice link IRVING, Texas - Some might consider this unfair, and maybe impossible. But see, the Cowboys finished 13-3 last year. They sent 13 players to the Pro Bowl. They scored the second-most points in the league, had the third-ranked offense, recorded the second-most touchdown passes, totaled the third-most quarterback sacks and matched the franchise high for single-season victories. And they just got better. Now please, this is not some overreaction to a 28-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the season opener, although you must admit wiping out what was advertised as a legitimate opponent on the road when supposedly short-handed was quite impressive. But this has to do with more than yet another regular-season victory, and for that we turn to Keith Davis, who departed in March through free agency and was gone the better part of six months, all of training camp and all four preseason games before finding his way back home last week to resume his career with the Cowboys. He had heard, and certainly he had read, about these new Cowboys, so he knew what they had done in the off-season following that playoff loss to the Giants. But he had not seen it, not up close and personal as he did during the three practices last week, then the mauling of the Browns on Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium. So K.D., after being away, what impressed you on Sunday, what stuck out in your mind about this Cowboys team? "Just how talented this team really is - the level of talent here," Davis said. "Felix . . . ." OK, stop right there. Go no further. There were some during the off-season thoroughly disgusted with the Cowboys, who they thought had gone back on their promise to add some "juice" to this team. They could not get wide receiver out of their minds. Well, you want juice? You want some electricity, the word Nate Newton used right here on Talkin' Cowboys Monday morning? Then here, let me hook you up with the wow-factors: Felix Jones. Pacman Jones. Zach Thomas. The real Tank Johnson. A full-time Marion Barber. Orlando Scandrick. Mike Jenkins. Isaiah Stanback. Tashard Choice. And you just wait until Miles Austin returns (maybe this week) and Anthony Spencer returns (maybe this week) and Terence Newman returns (probably this week) and Sam Hurd returns (in a couple of weeks). Man, I'll give you enough juice to trip your breakers. Did you see Felix on his first NFL carry? On his second NFL carry? Why, already he had 29 yards and a touchdown. The Browns, they barely saw him, and if they did, it was from behind. Why, he glided past Cleveland defensive tackle Shaun Rogers so fast the rather rotund veteran hadn't even picked up his head yet, two ships sailing in opposite directions but only one the right way. Felix, he never saw Rogers either, going past him so fast on the 11-yard touchdown run, it was as if he had found a high-speed moving sidewalk while Rogers and those other Browns were moving through deep rough. "All I saw was the end zone," Felix Jones said. That's what I'm talkin' about. That's juice. And that will be more juice once he gets in rhythm returning kickoffs, and even more so when the Cowboys decide to throw him the ball out in the flats against those blitz-happy teams. Eagles, ya listening? "I'm in amazement watching him move," Davis said. "He's explosive in the hole, almost runs like a Brian Westbrook." Eagles, ya listening? "I'm not saying he is him," veteran Greg Ellis said, "but he moves like a Westbrook out there. "When you're dealing with a rookie, he's going to catch a lot of guys not prepared (for how fast he is)." Juice, I say. Then there is Pacman. Perfect at corner, no. But did you see him break on two of those balls? Made you hold your breath on those punt returns, too, and I don't mean the one he bobbled. More juice. Let me see, the stats after film review say Zach Thomas had 12 tackles in his Cowboys debut. Scandrick and Jenkins played a lot more than you probably noticed if you weren't one of the 73,000 at Cleveland Browns Stadium, and the only time you knew they were in there was the time Scandrick got called for that hands-to-the-face penalty. That's a good thing, especially when limiting your opponent to just 114 yards passing. At lot of someones had to be doing something right. Let's see, you had Stanback catching his first two NFL passes, Barber just doing Barber, and would have gone for more than 100 yards had he not suffered what appears to be rib-cartilage damage, although head coach Wade Phillips seems to think he will practice this week, no problem. Plus, as Phillips points out, two of his 16 runs (80 yards) were one-yarders, the end zone doing a better job of stopping him than the Browns. And Tank was a tank in the middle during his time rotating in with Jay Ratliff. Then, on top of all that, did you see who the Cowboys turned to when it came time to run out the clock? Uh, that would be Choice, gaining 26 yards on five carries while mostly worried about protecting the football. Now you might want to say, 'Come on, these were just the Browns,' and that's fine. It's a long season, although I'm rather amused since there would be some trying to make a big deal out of the Eagles' opening 38-3 victory without discounting their home win by saying it was only the Rams. Oh, and another thing about those at-all-costs cries for that speed receiver. Remind me here, who was it that caught that 35-yard touchdown pass behind everyone? Oh yeah, it was the 34-year-old wide receiver. And who was it averaging 17.4 yards a catch? Oh yeah, the 13-year veteran wide receiver. And without adding that much-needed receiver this off-season, do I have this right? The Cowboys top three receivers, Terrell Owens, Jason Witten and Patrick Crayton, combined for 17 catches covering 265 yards and averaging, mind you, 15.5 a catch? Just think how those totals might have grown if the Cowboys hadn't shut it down in the fourth quarter, grinding out the final 10:13 after the Browns sliced their lead to 28-10, never ever giving them the ball back. So maybe to totally appreciate just what the Cowboys did this off-season you need to have taken a six-month vacation on South Beach, because upon return, after seeing Felix run the way he ran, watching Pacman do his thing, along with the young corners, and all the other "juice" the Cowboys added, I'm guessing you would have been right there with K.D. You, too, would have gone wow. __________________ These days being a fan is a competition to see who can be the most upset when your team loses. That proves you love winning more. That's how it works.