The results from the offense in week 1 seemed all to familiar. The Cowboys seemed to move the ball at ease between the 20's but every time they approached scoring position something went wrong. Whether it was penalties, mental errors, bad play calls or missed field goals the result was only 7 points for the entire day. I think we can all agree that the total probably should have been 14 points except for the fact that the Cowboys started the worst right tackle for the Cowboys since Rob Pettiti. For those of you who don't remember Pettiti from the 2005 season consider yourselves lucky.
The news this week appears to be that Kyle Kosier and Marc Colombo should both be returning to the starting lineup for the game on Sunday against the Bears. But the question is whether we should expect different results from the offense. I have mixed emotions about what to expect early in the game from both players.
Obviously we can expect a huge improvement in pass protection on the right side of the line. Colombo isn't the greatest player of all time but he is light years better than the protection that Barron provides. Montrae Holland actually did a pretty good job filling in for Kosier at left guard so I don't expect to see much of a difference in pass protection on the left side.
The run blocking was actually one of the bright spots from the game last week. My concern is that both Kosier and Colombo are going to be expected to step into the lineup and be in sync with the rest of the offensive line immediately. Neither player has practiced in over four weeks and they will only get a few days of practice with the offense before the game on Sunday. So is it realistic to think they will come out and dominate? A lot of the blocking in the running game revolves around timing and it is unrealistic to expect Colombo and Kosier to have their timing down early in the game.
I think we'll see both Colombo and Kosier knocking off some rust early in the game. Don't be shocked if Julius Peppers beats Colombo around the corner early in the game to sack Romo. And don't be shocked if Kosier gets an early holding penalty. But I think by the end of the first half we'll see both players find their rhythm and the offense will start to click.
As long as the defense can keep the Bears under control for the first few series of the game I think the Cowboys can fight through a slow start from the offense to come out on top in the game. The Bears have the #1 offense in the NFL after week 1 so they can definitely move the ball. The defense needs to come into the game with the mentality that they need to dominate from the first play. And a few turnovers sure would make points a lot easier to come by for the offense.
Wouldn't it be nice if the defense could give the offense the ball on the Bears end of the field early in the game. A quick score might get Colombo and Kosier going early and allow the Cowboys to dominate the game from start to finish.
nicely written
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