Crayton Not Ready To Call Patriots D 'Real Deal'
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
October 15, 2007 5:46 PM
IRVING, Texas - As an offensive player, Cowboys receiver Patrick Crayton knows a good system when he sees one.
And his eyes, the Patriots certainly have an explosive offense.
But after facing New England's defense for four quarters on Sunday, Crayton didn't seem too impressed.
When asked Monday at his locker if he woke up that morning thinking how good the Patriots were, Crayton only smirked.
"No, why would I say something like that?" Crayton said. "Offensively, they are the real deal. I'm not going to lie about that. Definitely, I can tell you, no, they're not. The only time they stopped us is when we had penalties. If that's stopping us, it is what it is. But they're definitely not the real deal."
The penalties Crayton likely was referring to came in the second half. The Cowboys were stopped on three straight three-and-out possessions in the first half without committing a single penalty.
But the flags hurt the Cowboys on a pair of drives at the end of the third quarter and then to start the fourth.
After the Patriots had regained the lead 28-24, the Cowboys' next drive started with a holding penalty on Flozell Adams. The offense couldn't recover from first-and-20 and had to punt, setting up a Patriots field goal.
On the next drive, the Cowboys had a 23-yard reception from Tony Romo to Terrell Owens wiped out when Owens was called for an illegal shift. While Owens was able to get a 14-yard reception that set up a fourth-and-one play to start the fourth quarter, Marion Barber's first-down run was negated on a holding penalty by guard Kyle Kosier.
"We had our opportunities and we fought back," head coach Wade Phillips said. "I know the score doesn't look like it but certainly I think everybody can feel like we were right in there except for those penalties in that third quarter really hurt us."
Overall, the Cowboys were flagged 12 times, tying a season-high set in Chicago, for 98 yards.
But it wasn't just penalties that stymied the Cowboys offense.
The Patriots held the Cowboys to just 283 total yards of offense, including 199 passing yards from Romo, who still had a 91.0 quarterback rating thanks mostly to his two touchdown passes, one of which went to Crayton in the third quarter.
Crayton finished the game with five catches for 46 yards and a touchdown, giving him four this season - all in the last four weeks.
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