I'm Hungover but here's what I remember:

[TimeKiller]

-The pass rush looking like a pass rush. Fast, mean, creative, destructive and successful. Oh and Paging Mr. Okoye, can I get a friggin sack on 3rd down?!?! How awesome was that? Very, in case you didn't know.

-Kareem Jackson, despite the flailing/diving/Ole thing he did was very sticky in coverage and had a heads up INT with a great return. Gotta say so far I'm pretty sold on his ability and the secondary's ability in general. It's not a blackhole back there anymore and it's really helping this D to look intimidating.

-Cowboys were absolutely gifted a few penalties that really, really had an effect on field position and ultimately the game....but in years past this type of occurence would take the life right outta the team. Last night it just seemed like they just didn't care and took care of bidniz on the next play. Kudos to the boys for level headed aggression.

-Tony Romo sucks.

-Arian Foster does not. Fosty's got no skill that sets him apart from anyone, save will power. He wills his way into yards, first downs, jukes guys completely out...just a player.

-The OL and Foster looked decent. That's all I'll ask for if the results are similar to what we saw last night.

-Jacoby Jones said GEEEEEEEEEEERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Our special teams is full of freak level athletes. McCain, Molden, Henry, Casey, Bentley, Barber.....just stock full of dudes who even if they aren't the greatest football players...they LOOK like football players you know? That's a big bad crew if you ask me.

-Cowboys fans are idiots. Whiny idiots.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

Fosty's got no skill that sets him apart from anyone, save will power. He wills his way into yards, first downs, jukes guys completely out...just a player.

I think Foster's best skills are vision and instinct. Like a QB, a RB can see the field, or he can't. Foster can. I'd just like to see him hold the ball closer to his body.

Regarding our corners (Jackson/Quin/McCain), I think they will be better later in the year than they are now. There will be growing pains. There will be penalties. But, I think there will be some big defensive plays, too. The bottom line is that there must be a good, consistent pass rush for this defense to be successful.

[gary]

I love what I saw but refuse to get overly excited because we have been down this road before.

[GP]

1. JACOBY JONES:
Defense are in big trouble if Jacoby Jones starts as a WR for the Texans. Because he gets down field, and loses his man soooo easily. The play-action pass play where Jacoby drives his man (and the safety, by the way) one direction then plants his foot and goes the other direction is d-e-a-d-l-y. When you have Jacoby Jones' open-field speed and fluidity like that, it essentially makes for a hard day's work for DBs out there.

2a. ARIAN FOSTER:
This guy has tremendous balance when he makes his cutbacks and avoids tackles. The upper body stays centered and forward, and his lower body is doing the shifting and re-direction. And he's doing all this while still running upfield HARD. His vision is phenomenal. There was a play in the 3rd quarter, I think it was the TD right after the Kareem Jackson interception. We were near the goal line, and Foster runs the ball up the middle, and he slows down before getting to the line of scrimmage...baiting the LB to commit to the middle of he LOS, only to make a HARD cut to the right side of our OL and he was gone. BOOP! That was wicked sick. Baited the LB to commit, then popped out to the edge. Done.

2b. JEREMIAH JOHNSON and CHRIS HENRY:
Cut Chris Henry and bring in someone else. The guy is awful. Jeremiah Johnson is like a cross between Moats and Slaton. I was satisfied with his play, and I think he and Slaton can tote the rock if they have to. Chris Henry doesn't look like anything special to me. He consistently finds a way to hit a pile, pump his feet 1,000 times as if he's running the ropes drill, and get arm-tackled at the LOS. Hooray! LOL.

3. DEFENSE:
Swarming bees on crack cocaine. I can't name all the people who did great things. They all did great things. I will tell you this, Sheppard in the 4th quarter put a brutal move on #77 and left the guy standing there looking around wondering where Sheppard had gone, and Sheppard de-faced the QB McGee on that particular play. Should have been a flag for hitting the QB in the head, but oh well.

4. KICKERS:
So Kubiak says he wants to see how deep each kicker can drive the ball on kickoffs, eh? LOL. I am glad the head coach of this team laid out a challenge and is forcing this issue. Our kicks have not been deep enough, something many of you on here have been saying for a long time. I will say this for Kris Brow: He is a MUCH better tackler than Rackers is. He gets in there and plants a hit on the returner. Rackers sort of rolled up and tried to be a human speed bump out there. Both guys kicked FGs well. I'll say this: Keep both these guys on the roster. Seriously. If they push each other THIS well, then maybe it would be wise to keep 'em both when it comes late in the season. I know that's an extra spot on the roster. So what. Some teams have a kickoff kicker and a FG kicker. Why can't we? Might as well, especially if it pays off like it has this preseason. They both look equally good.

5. PLAYCALLING:
Overall, this was an aggressive playcalling game. I am more impressed thus far than I was with Kyle in the past. I think Dennison might actually have boosted our offense. I am verrrry comfortable with the guy calling the plays. And Kubiak looked like a head coach out there. He wasn't scanning the menu as far as the TV cameras were showing, at least. He was watching the field and intensely "into the game." That was a nice scene for this fan.

Overall, it felt like heaven last night. Last preseason game means nothing because it's scrub time (guys trying to make the team). Which means this game was our tune-up for the opener. I'm good with what we have. This was the perfect storm for us, but in a good way: We were at home, against the Cowboys who get "love" no matter how bad they are in a given year, we came off a horrible game last week, and we dominated our opponent in every single aspect of the game.

[GP]

Originally Posted by Lucky

I think Foster's best skills are vision and instinct. Like a QB, a RB can see the field, or he can't. Foster can. I'd just like to see him hold the ball closer to his body.

Regarding our corners (Jackson/Quin/McCain), I think they will be better later in the year than they are now. There will be growing pains. There will be penalties. But, I think there will be some big defensive plays, too. The bottom line is that there must be a good, consistent pass rush for this defense to be successful.

In reply to the bolded above, read what I typed about Foster while you were typing your post.

I agree.

It's like a taller, heavier Domanick Davis. For real.

[m5kwatts]

I laughed out loud at Jacoby's post-game quote here

(on Arian Foster's performance) "He's stepping up, once he stepped in on those last four games he picked up on a good foot and that's what we need. He's toting that thing, he's toting it like a loaf of bread."

[TimeKiller]

Originally Posted by Lucky

I think Foster's best skills are vision and instinct. Like a QB, a RB can see the field, or he can't. Foster can. I'd just like to see him hold the ball closer to his body.

Regarding our corners (Jackson/Quin/McCain), I think they will be better later in the year than they are now. There will be growing pains. There will be penalties. But, I think there will be some big defensive plays, too. The bottom line is that there must be a good, consistent pass rush for this defense to be successful.

Oh definitely the bolded. If the CBs get any better, even with "growing pains" I'll be ecstatic. They are adequate right now, they are giving the front 7 enough time to be disruptive and at the same time, the front 7 is responding with disruptions and giving them chances to tip balls, get picks, be physical and really impact the game where before...their collective impact was collecting checks.

Originally Posted by GP

1. JACOBY JONES:
Defense are in big trouble if Jacoby Jones starts as a WR for the Texans. Because he gets down field, and loses his man soooo easily. The play-action pass play where Jacoby drives his man (and the safety, by the way) one direction then plants his foot and goes the other direction is d-e-a-d-l-y. When you have Jacoby Jones' open-field speed and fluidity like that, it essentially makes for a hard day's work for DBs out there.

Jacoby lining up with Walter and Johnson is stupid hard to deal with. Especially with Matty Ice slingin' the rock.

2a. ARIAN FOSTER:
This guy has tremendous balance when he makes his cutbacks and avoids tackles. The upper body stays centered and forward, and his lower body is doing the shifting and re-direction. And he's doing all this while still running upfield HARD. His vision is phenomenal. There was a play in the 3rd quarter, I think it was the TD right after the Kareem Jackson interception. We were near the goal line, and Foster runs the ball up the middle, and he slows down before getting to the line of scrimmage...baiting the LB to commit to the middle of he LOS, only to make a HARD cut to the right side of our OL and he was gone. BOOP! That was wicked sick. Baited the LB to commit, then popped out to the edge. Done.

I just rewatched his highlight video on ht.com like 6 times. He never has a huge hole, he just hits it with all his power. When he gets through the line he already sees his next victim or where the daylight is. When the ball is in his hands he just eats up yards and seemed very tough to bring down.

3. DEFENSE:
Swarming bees on crack cocaine. I can't name all the people who did great things. They all did great things. I will tell you this, Sheppard in the 4th quarter put a brutal move on #77 and left the guy standing there looking around wondering where Sheppard had gone, and Sheppard de-faced the QB McGee on that particular play. Should have been a flag for hitting the QB in the head, but oh well.

Yeah. I watched the Romo pitch disaster highlight over and over too and the defense is lined up like a 3-5-3 which I've never seen before...they had Okoye/Cody/ASmith with hands on the ground, Mario-Meco-Cush-Pollard-Barwin as a mega LB group or something with Quin/Wilson/Jackson playing deep. They say if Jones would've handled the ball he would've had a hold but what I saw was Okoye/Cody taking up blockers and one blocker getting free to nullify Mario but the thing is, he had Ryans outside and Cush up the middle to pick from and both were coming with bad intentions. The look clearly confused Jones who didn't even see the pitch. Had he caught it, saw the impending doom and decided to cut back he had Smith, Pollard and Barwin to look forward to. They clearly sold out on the run when they saw it and really took it to the 'boys.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by GP

It's like a taller, heavier Domanick Davis. For real.

Foster reminds me some of ex-Packer Dorsey Levens. A complete back. You don't realize he's beating you. Until he beats you.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by GP

I will say this for Kris Brow: He is a MUCH better tackler than Rackers is. He gets in there and plants a hit on the returner. Rackers sort of rolled up and tried to be a human speed bump out there.

With one year less in the league Rackers has 35 tackles compared to Brown's 12.

Having said that, yes KB is aggressive in his tackles but Rackers has proven himself as well in making stops.

[Kaiser Toro]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

With one year less in the league Rackers has 35 tackles compared to Brown's 12.

Shenanigans or blasphemy? You decide.

[TimeKiller]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

With one year less in the league Rackers has 35 tackles compared to Brown's 12.

How dare you fabricate stats to prove a point...


hehehe yankin your chain, that was a pretty nice hit on the returner though by KB, huh? certainly gave me a little **** talking fuel to the cowgirls fans behind us...

[Kaiser Toro]

Originally Posted by Lucky

Foster reminds me some of ex-Packer Dorsey Levens. A complete back. You don't realize he's beating you. Until he beats you.

I am extremely happy that I "reached" for Foster in the sixth round of my draft on Friday night.

Watching our running game last night, was like watching the ZBS in Denver years ago. It finally looked like what I expected when Kubiak showed up. It appears the missing ingredient was finding the right back.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

-Tony Romo sucks.

-Arian Foster does not. Fosty's got no skill that sets him apart from anyone, save will power. He wills his way into yards, first downs, jukes guys completely out...just a player.

-The OL and Foster looked decent. That's all I'll ask for if the results are similar to what we saw last night.

I remember a guy named Wali Lundy.

We didn't expect a whole lot from him, but his preseason performance (along with Vernand Morency's) had us thinking our run game would at least be decent).

I'm just saying, this is preseason.

[dinkatoid]

I was kind of curious about 2 things:

1) I thought I had heard that we traded out Studdard for Wade Smith this game, and I know I saw Studdard out there with the 2nd unit (I am a bit hazy on some details, I had a fantasy draft that started most of the way though and had my attention split). Did it seem like maybe this helped fuel the line some? I know the Cowboys did not really look good in their pass rush, but I did see some nice pockets for Shaub to step up into.

2) I know a few people have mentioned this, but as good as our O looked, Shaub made some weird throws (like missing a screen by a large amount) and seemed to have an odd look on his face after he did it. Did anyone hear anything about him after the game?

On a side note, I love the more exotic looks. It is definitely not normal for us, but thats one reason why we play the preseason - to try new things out. Hopefully they found a few new tools they like and can throw them in here and there to mix it up some.

[Norg]

DID pollard get into another fight with someone HAHAHAH i love it

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by Norg

DID pollard get into another fight with someone HAHAHAH i love it

Actually, it was Diles.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by TimeKiller

Yeah. I watched the Romo pitch disaster highlight over and over too and the defense is lined up like a 3-5-3 which I've never seen before...they had Okoye/Cody/ASmith with hands on the ground, Mario-Meco-Cush-Pollard-Barwin as a mega LB group or something with Quin/Wilson/Jackson playing deep. They say if Jones would've handled the ball he would've had a hold but what I saw was Okoye/Cody taking up blockers and one blocker getting free to nullify Mario but the thing is, he had Ryans outside and Cush up the middle to pick from and both were coming with bad intentions. The look clearly confused Jones who didn't even see the pitch. Had he caught it, saw the impending doom and decided to cut back he had Smith, Pollard and Barwin to look forward to. They clearly sold out on the run when they saw it and really took it to the 'boys.

They've been experimenting with this package all preseason. They've also been experimenting with a 3-4 alignment where the extra linebacker is one of the "athletic" DE's (Mario/Barwin/Nading) frequently lining up as an inside linebacker but also stunting a lot pre-snap moving inside and outside to overload and confuse the blockers.

This is not the old Richard Smith Defense. This thing looks modern.

And it was nice to see a CB blitz in the nickel.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by dinkatoid

I was kind of curious about 2 things:

1) I thought I had heard that we traded out Studdard for Wade Smith this game, and I know I saw Studdard out there with the 2nd unit (I am a bit hazy on some details, I had a fantasy draft that started most of the way though and had my attention split). Did it seem like maybe this helped fuel the line some? I know the Cowboys did not really look good in their pass rush, but I did see some nice pockets for Shaub to step up into.

2) I know a few people have mentioned this, but as good as our O looked, Shaub made some weird throws (like missing a screen by a large amount) and seemed to have an odd look on his face after he did it. Did anyone hear anything about him after the game?

On a side note, I love the more exotic looks. It is definitely not normal for us, but thats one reason why we play the preseason - to try new things out. Hopefully they found a few new tools they like and can throw them in here and there to mix it up some.

1) Wade Smith played with the 1's and he did a very good job. I think he's definitely an upgrade to Studdard. On the Right side, we played Caldwell for most of the time with the ones but Brisiel was out there for a couple of series as well. They played well, too.

2) There were some strange misses where it looked like Schaub and the receivers were out of synch. I'm not sure who had the misread. Hopefully, that's something they get worked out before the season starts.

[The Pencil Neck]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

Actually, it was Diles.

Diles got called for it but it was Pollard who was actually doing the jawing.

[Big Lou]

Originally Posted by gary

I love what I saw but refuse to get overly excited because we have been down this road before.

I agree with you Gary. I was in a better mood this morning compared to last sunday, but I wasn't as pissed as some at last weeks performance.

This is Preseason, it could be an indicator it could be nothing. I just like watching the guys knock each other around until it counts.

The only thing about Preseason is i cringe every play thinking key guys are gonna get injured. As must as I see AJ, AF, MS, blowing up defenses I cring when they get the ball!!!!!!