One last look at the 2009 Cowboys' season debut

September 17, 7:28 AMDallas Sports ExaminerBlake Fomby

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Miles Austin put Dallas ahead to stay. AP Photo/Brian Blanco

In the regular season opener, the Cowboys took down the Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, 34-21. Let’s take a look at the positives and negatives of week 1.

• The good: this one is too easy. The offense was good; really good. The Cowboys racked up 462 yards of total offense. The pass attack was there, and the run game registered 118 yards and nearly five yards per carry. The offense was also reasonably balanced, recording 27 pass plays to 24 run plays. Another positive was the special teams. The 2009 draft focused primarily on improving what was a bad special teams unit a year ago. The preseason failed to show much, if any, improvement in that area. But this game did. David Buehler, who I will mention again later, showed off the leg that made him a Cowboys’ priority in the draft. A free agent signing in the offseason, safety Gerald Sensabaugh blocked Tampa Bay’s first field goal attempt. The Bucs’ average starting position was its own 23 yard line. That is really good. But this fact also makes the bad look even worse.
• The bad: the defense. As good as the Cowboys’ run offense was, the run defense was worse. The Bucs ran for 174 yards and 5.6 yards per carry. Carnell Williams and Derrick Ward both shredded the run D. Byron Leftwich also carved up the pass D. No offense meant to him by this, but Leftwich is far from an elite quarterback. Maybe this happened because it is the first game; who knows. But the defense had better get its act together, and soon.
• The heroes: for at least one game, Tony Romo showed all the doubters that he can still perform at a high level even without a certain wide receiver who shall remain nameless. He was supposed to suffer a down year, yet it sure didn’t look like it will be a problem. Romo can’t take all the credit, however. The receiving corps in general was terrific. Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, and Miles Austin each had a huge touchdown play. The first two proved it can provide a solid 1-2 WR combo for Romo, combining for 7 receptions for 221 yards and two scores. There is one last person who must be mentioned, and his name is David Buehler. Buehler? After Nick Folk connected on a 53 yard field goal to put the Cowboys on the scoreboard first, Buehler boomed the following kickoff through the back of the end zone for an emphatic touchback. He went on to record three touchbacks out of seven, and only one failed to get as far as the goal line. Why make so much of this? Because the Cowboys were the only team to fail to record a single touchback last season. With Buehler being drafted in the fifth round this past April, the team was intent on not letting that happen again. It seems to be working.
• The goats: see “the bad.” Not every defensive player had a bad game. But the unit as a whole did. More than it is about individual defense, it is about team defense, and the team defense was lacking. 450 yards were allowed, to go along with 21 points, which clearly could have been more. In addition, the defense allowed Tampa Bay to rack up 26 first downs. That number is alarmingly high. The worst defensive team in that category last season was the Lions. Detroit allowed 350 first downs for an average of just under 22 per game. Average the Cowboys’ performance from week 1 for a whole season and Dallas blows that out of the water, in addition to the worst teams of every year in recent history. The Cowboys were in the top 10 in the NFL in this category last year, so hopefully this isn’t a recurring trend.
• Offensive play of the game: there are numerous candidates. Romo’s 66 yard hookup with new #1 wide receiver Roy Williams was great. So was the 80 yard score to Patrick Crayton for Romo’s longest touchdown pass of his career. But my vote goes to the first touchdown of the season. Not only did Romo’s 42 yard strike to Miles Austin give Dallas the lead for good, but the timing was perfect. There was less than a minute remaining in the first half, and Tampa Bay was due to receive the second half kickoff. It completely squashed any momentum the Bucs had or could have had. But another reason this play gets my vote of approval is because the play itself really was that good. Austin was terrific after the catch and avoided two defenders, the second of which fell victim to a juke move that allowed him to scamper the rest of the way into the end zone.
• Defensive play of the game: it’s not easy picking a play from a game in which the defense was so sub par, so I will cheat and pick one from special teams. But besides, it was a defensive special teams play, so it counts. I’m sure you know which play I’m referring to. Gerald Sensabaugh’s block of the Bucs’ field goal attempt in the first quarter kept the Cowboys in the lead and gave the team excellent field position which resulted in more points for the offense, albeit just another field goal. Hopefully next week, there will be more plays to choose from.

Week 1 is now ancient history, and it is time to set our eyes on week 2. The division rival Giants come to town for the Cowboys’ regular season home opener in the new stadium on Sunday night on national television. Stay tuned for my preview of this game soon.