Cowboys not even remotely ready for regular-season opener

Cowboys not even remotely ready for regular-season opener

http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/dallas-cowboys/headlines/20150824-moore-cowboys-not-even-remotely-ready-for-regular-season-opener.ece

OXNARD, Calif. — Corey White’s plan was to leave a $100 bill at Levi’s Stadium, then pick it up in February when the Cowboys were back to play in the Super Bowl.

The cornerback could be forgiven if he had second thoughts and decided to put the money back in his wallet.

It’s unwise to attach too much significance to a preseason loss in late August. But the Cowboys can’t afford to minimize what a 23-6 beat-down by San Francisco exposed.

This team is not even remotely ready for the regular-season opener against the New York Giants, which, for those of you counting, is 20 days away.

The disturbing outcome against the 49ers underscores how much injuries have eroded the Cowboys’ preparation. It places a premium on these final three days of practice in Southern California before the team breaks camp and returns home for Saturday’s game against Minnesota.

“If this team is going to improve, it needs to understand this next week is very important,’’ quarterback Tony Romo said.

“You always want everybody back. But it’s also next man up. The next guy has got to play and perform. We didn’t do a good enough job of that throughout our football team. We weren’t very good in a lot of areas. Kicking game, offense — it’s just part of the improvement during the preseason.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re more mentally tough than what we are right now during the preseason.’’

There were 25 players unable to practice at this stage of camp last week because of injuries. Six defensive starters didn’t take the field against the Niners, and either four or five sat out on the offensive side, depending on whether you believe Joseph Randle has done enough to nail down the starting running back job.

Romo and tight end Jason Witten were on the field for three snaps before their night was done.

“Injuries happen in this league,’’ Witten said. “You’ve got to be able to have guys step up and play.

“Collectively, we didn’t play good enough. We need those guys to get back and get healthy.’’

Many of those key players will begin rolling back into practice this week. Players who have been practicing but held out of games as a precaution, like linebacker Sean Lee and cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr, should be clear to play against the Vikings.

“This is a big week, obviously,’’ Lee said. “There is only so much time before the first game.

“Every preseason game, we have to be ready for it, so this week is going to be intense and it’ll get us ready.’’

Head coach Jason Garrett was clearly upset after Sunday’s loss, repeating “it wasn’t a very good performance’’ over and over. He stressed the importance of this week.

Randle said the way the Cowboys lost opened their eyes. Safety Barry Church called the loss disappointing but said it had nothing to do with a desire to end camp and return home.

“No, guys just want to perform and perform well,’’ Church said. “Yeah, people miss home, but it’s part of our job.

“We’re going to be away for a while. You’ve just got to stay out here and perfect what we can and be ready to roll.’’

Less than 24 hours before kickoff, Garrett assembled the team at the stadium for a walkthrough. He talked of how the teams that will return to Santa Clara at the end of the season for Super Bowl 50 will be the ones that overcome adversity and play together.

Garrett then said what everyone was thinking. The Cowboys want to be back at this stadium in February, but they must take it one game at a time. He told them the journey to return began with the game against the 49ers.

“We’ve got to step it up if we want to reach our goal at the end of the year, which is the Super Bowl,’’ Church said.

They must step it up a lot. It begins with the final three days of practice in Oxnard.

“There is no good feeling that comes from this,’’ Witten said. “You want to play better.

“We’ll be ready to go. We’ll have to.’’

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Garrett fumes over Cowboys’ lackluster preseason performance

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/#storylink=cpy

Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was livid about his team’s dismal performance in the 23-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.

“It wasn’t very good on offense, it wasn’t very good on defense it wasn’t very good kicking game,” Garrett said. “It wasn’t good early, middle or late. It wasn’t a very good performance at all.”

Garrett refused to blame the offensive problems on the absence of three starters on the offensive line and receiver Dez Bryant. It didn’t help that quarterback Tony Romo and tight end Jason Witten played just one series.

“No excuses. We’re going to evaluate the game,” Garrett said. “When you’re out there you have a responsibility to play to a certain level. Period. The standard we set is high and we’re looking for guys to play to that standard.”

The Cowboys gave up four sacks, threw three interceptions, had a punt blocked and didn’t run the ball well.

“First series wasn’t very good. Second, third and fourth series weren’t very good,” Garrett said. “We turned the ball over on offense. We didn’t get any takeaways. Got a punt blocked. Weren’t consistent in our execution in any of the three phases.”
Lee watch

Linebacker Sean Lee was among the healthy scratches for Sunday’s preseason game.

“I need to get out there and start playing football,” Lee said. “I have come back and done a good job in practice. Taking it to the game is the next step.”

Lee, 29, hasn’t played a game since December 2013. He missed last season with a torn ACL in his left knee.

“This will be a good week to start playing,” Lee said. “You need to play in preseason.”

With Lee out, rookie Damien Wilson started at weakside linebacker Sunday. Kyle Wilber was the starting middle linebacker, and Andrew Gachkar started on the strongside.
Special teams flaws

Dan Bailey missed a 43-yard field goal. A missed blocking assignment led to a punt blocked and opposing touchdown.

The coverage and return teams didn’t fare much better.

The 49ers returned four punts for 105 yards, while the Cowboys returned four for 45. On kickoff returns, the 49ers averaged 20 yards while the Cowboys averaged 23.5.

Asked if he had any concerns about special teams, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones said: “I am concerned about special teams, because those guys have to take what we’re missing out there tonight, and they’ve got to meld together as a unit. It’s one of the real challenges that you have and at the same time put the 53 together that we want to.”