A slow start by the Dallas Cowboys in their Week 3 contest against the struggling Carolina Panthers had me worried, but whatever Wade did at halftime to the defense worked, and the offense did enough to pick up a 21-7 win.

Plenty of random thoughts (and a blogger’s confession!) after the jump:

Glad to see the defense finally show up. Make no mistake, that game was won by the defense. Did Jake Delhomme throw another crucial interception to kill the Carolina Panthers’ hopes? Yes. But the Dallas Cowboys defense shut down the Carolina Panthers’ running game too. Only 73 rushing yards for Carolina on 16 carries. Does that come out to a good average? Not really (4.6). But holding the other team to four straight three-and-outs to start a half? Hell and yes.

I really hope Felix Jones isn’t too banged up. With Marion, Felix and Tashard and a healthy O-Line, this team only needs to throw the ball to mix things up. You know, keep things interesting.  You’ve heard it before, you’ll hear it again. If the Dallas Cowboys’ offensive line stays healthy this year, this team will win most of their games. If anyone on the line gets hurt, this ship will sink like a rock.

Two positive things to start off, but there were plenty of negatives about this game. Namely, red zone efficiency. That’s the primary reason why this game was as close as it was. By my count, the team left 10 points on the scoreboard (keep reading for the count) that could have cost the Cowboys the game. In the NFL, you cannot afford to leave points on the board, and if the Dallas Cowboys were playing a better team, they might have gotten beat.

The 4th and goal false start is inexcusable. That’s a TD right there, especially the way the Dallas Cowboys were running the ball. Point count: 4

Really, Jason Garrett??? Two straight fade calls on 2nd and Goal from the 1??? The first play was all on Roy Williams – if you are an NFL receiver, you have to make the catch when the ball is in your hands. That call is even semi-defensible: we’ve run it all game, Roy is a big receiver, they won’t be expecting it, still have another play if it doesn’t work.

The worst call is the 3rd and goal call. THE BALL IS ON THE ONE-YARD LINE! YOU DO NOT NEED TO THROW IT! QUIT SHOWING OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was, and is, an infuriating call. MartyB ran his route like a drunken sailor, Romo threw it out of the end zone and I wanted to throw something – ANYTHING – at Jason Garrett. For a Princeton grad, that sure was a Rutgers call. Point count: 8

Maybe Nick Folk is just a clutch kicker. You need to make those 40-yarders indoors at home. I’m pretty sure – nay, I’m positive – that I could make that field goal (granted, with nobody coming at me) more than five of ten times indoors on that turf. Point count: 10 (no 2-pt conversion necessary)

So with that point count, the Newman TD makes this game a comfortable 31-7 win for the Dallas Cowboys. And by the way, Terence Newman had a great game if you exclude the first series. Please make a tackle? Pretty please? Anybody? Bueller?

Too many penalties tonight. Lots of critical holding calls or penalties on special teams to back us up a little bit. Thought we had that taken care of, but apparently not.

First half would have been better, but I think field position might have had something to do with it. Only once in the first half did the Dallas Cowboys start as far out as their own 20 yard line. Need to be closer to the end zone than that to score.

Mike Jenkins really got burned on the Panthers’ TD. Ken Hamlin looked bad in that first half. But…the whole defense played really well in the second half. Hard for me to really call out anyone on the Dallas Cowboys’ D tonight.

Jay Ratliff is awesome. Seriously. See above.

A blogger’s confession: I’ve had a Tony Romo jersey (throwback style) ever since 2006, the year he became a starter. Tonight was its last chance to do some good. After the first half, I decided to take it off. So what happened? The Dallas Cowboys played maybe their best half of the season. So Romo jersey, you are officially retired. My garment of choice? A Bob Lilly jersey style-sweater. Hello Mr. Cowboy.

My new favorite players though are Alan Ball and Victor Butler. I want to see more of Butler. Two sacks and a forced fumble? All on the same drive?? More, please???

MNF announcers? No comment. Not because I don’t like them. Because I literally have nothing to say about them.

As for Antonio…he played the game that this team needs him to play. He does not need to make deep throws. He needs to make the throw his team needs for him to win. And not turn the ball over.

If I have any other remaining random thoughts, I’ll update this post. Expect more Cowboys this week, and feel free to weigh in on the comments about this format of a game recap. Would you like a more traditional recap, or is this kind of format okay? Sound off if you want.

Probably some Rangers and Stars this week as well. Maybe even an ESPN Dallas breakdown.

Bring on the Broncos.

Ratliff pic: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/pt/slideshows/2008/12/pho_bestofcowboys2008_2008/

Jones pic: usatoday.com

Romo jersey pic: onlinesports.com

****Marion Barber is Inactive Tonight****
Dallas Cowboys vs Carolina Panthers

Both the Cowboys and the Panthers lost close games to division opponents last week, the Dallas Cowboys lost a nail biter 33 to 31 to the Giants. In the loss the Cowboys displayed one of their best running games since the Emmitt Smith era. Marion Barber and Felix Jones combined for 210 yards on 25 carries, but even this was not enough to overcome Tony Romo’s untimely turnovers. One has to wonder why the boys did not stick with a run game that was netting around 8.4 yards per carry, especially when your quarterback is clearly having a bad game Romo was 13 of 29 for 127 yards 1TD and 3int’s. A further kick top the Cowboys when they are down coes from the fact that Marion Barber appeared to pull or strain his hamstring when he pulled up lame just in front of the endzone towards the end of the game.

The Panthers are having quarterback problems of their own, Jake Delhomme posted a QB rating of 14.7 in week 1. To put this in perspective last week Tony Romo’s was 29.6. Jake Delhomme played better in week 2, going 25 for 41 with 308 yards 1TD and 1int. Unfortunately for the Panthers the interception came with 2:30 left in the game and was close to the endzone, and lead to a Falcons victory. The Panthers have a running duo of their own with DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart who combined for 144 yards on 25 carries.

Cowboys – Panthers | TV Channel – Game Information – Tickets
Cowboys – Panthers Time: 7:30 PM Central Time
Cowboys – Panthers Day / Date: Monday – September 28 2009
Cowboys – Panthers Location: Cowboys Stadium – Arlington, Texas
Cowboys – Panthers TV Channel: ESPN & TXA – 21
Cowboys – Panthers Tickets:

• Dallas Cowboys Tickets as low as $45 at StubHub!
  
• Buy Cowboys Tickets at RazorGator
  

Cowboys – Panthers Preview & Important Information:
Last Meeting: Dallas Cowboys 20 Carolina Panthers 13 – December 22nd, 2007

Carolina Panthers Report:
Panthers Last Week: Loss | Carolina Panthers 20 vs Atlanta Falcons 28
Panthers 2009 Record: 0 – 2 – 0
Panthers Preseason: 0 – 4 – 0
Panthers 2008 Record: 12 – 4 – 0
Panthers Stars:
WR Steve Smith, RB Jonathan Stewart, RB DeAngelo Williams, DE Julius Peppers, and CB Chris Gamble
Panthers Key Losses:
CB Ken Lucas
Panthers Injuries:
WR Mushin Muhammed – Ankle – Expected to play
WR Steve Smith – Ankle – Expected to play
RB Jonathan Stewart – Heel – Expected to play

Dallas Cowboys Report:
Cowboys Last Week: Loss Dallas Cowboys 31 vs New York Giants 33
Cowboys 2009 Record: 1 – 1 – 0
Cowboys Preseason Record: 2 – 2 – 0
Cowboys 2008 Record: 9 – 7 – 0
Cowboys Stars:
QB Tony Romo, RB Marion Barber, TE Jason Witten, OLB Demarcus Ware
Cowboys Key Additions:
LB Keith Brooking, S Gerald Sensabaugh, DE Igor Olshansky, QB Jon Kitna
Cowboys Key Losses:
LB Greg Ellis, WR Terrell Owens, S Roy Williams, CB Anthony Henry

Cowboys Injuries
RB Marion Barber – Quad Strain – Questionable, whether he plays or not will be a game time decision. Most think Barber will sit this one out.
- Update Monday 9/28/2009 – Marion Barber is not expected to play tonight. Barber did not attend the team walk through this morning.

Sources:
nfl.com, dallascowboys.com, yahoosports.com