Cowboys 27 - Packers 16

Pretty much what I expected - and in is at least comforting that I know this team. Except for Aaron Rodgers who has exceeded expectations to this point. Rodgers wasn't great, but that was a tough third game and few are pointing blame in his direction.

Cowboys rushed for 217 yards on 35 carries for 6.2 per carry. On the ground the Packers were better than against the Giants netting 84 yards in 21 carries for a 4.0 average. Against Dallas last year, the Packers netted 124 yards on 19 carries for 5.8 ypc Ryan Grant's 62 yard TD.

There were no breakaways this year. Grant got stripped on his second carry after a nice gain. Fans came to their feet and the D held Dallas to 3 yards. So there was some fighting spirit at least both on and off the field. Rodgers put the ball up 39 times without a pick and came up with 21 receptions for 290 yards. And he lived to tell the tale getting sacked 5 times. He's going to have to work on getting rid of the ball, and hopefully he'll do that before he gets crunched. There were two untouched rushers at Rodgers I think.

Dallas pulled away after the Packers failed to covert Donald Driver's 50 yard catch & run. The Packers had advanced to the Dallas 8 yard line. Grant runs for 2 and Rodgers is sacked for -1 and -7 yards. The FG brought the score to Dallas 13 Packers 9, but then it was time for Marion Barber and some guy named Miles Austin to finish off the fighting Packer defense.

I made a point about writing about the Packers' DL in my last post. I think Cullen Jenkins played better than expected in his tough assignment vs. Flozell Adams. McGinn singles him out as the best lineman in his grades. He correctly notes that Dallas guard Leonard Davis had Ryan Pickett on the ground alot and that this was the first that has ever happened to Pickett in a Packer uniform. Now Leonard was a second round pick of the Cardinals in 2001. I guess he

Listen to Wayne and Larry describe the seal block Jason Whitten put on Mike Montgomery to spring Felix Jones. There is an example of a guy who needs to start making an impact. Aaron Rouse is another. And now with Al Harris injured we will see Tramon Williams, Will Blackmon, and Patrick Lee. Anybody here wanna play football like Charles Woodson? Right off the STATS news wire:

Mar. 4 3:03 PM PT4:03 PM MT5:03 PM CT6:03 PM ET-The Dallas Cowboys agreed to terms with free agent offensive lineman Leonard Davis on a seven-year contract worth nearly $50 million, a story posted on the team's official Web site reported Sunday. The team had not yet announced the deal.

Analysis: Davis, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2001 draft out of Texas, spent his first six seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played guard for the first four seasons and switched to left tackle in 2004. He started 91 games for the Cardinals, including all 16 last season, but never became the overpowering Pro Bowl-level player the team envisioned.

I guess some big money free agents do work out. Given the troubles we had at guard last year that persist into this year, such a signing should be judiciously considered. Perhaps though given the uncertainty at QB and the unpredictable fall-out it was sensible to keep that power dry? You only get to "take a shot" at a big-$ FA every few years. But it sure is hard to read about "An old-fashioned whuppin'" as McGinn correctly labelled it while we sort out the Barbies and Sittons.

In free agency, you never know when a game changing player is a good fit and wants to be a Packer. If there is not the cap space when it is REALLY needed, it can be devastating to a franchise. But let's take not that a dominating guard and a couple of really good RBs played a major role in this loss.

Finally, the Packers kick return units did nothing while the coverage units were effective. I was hoping for a lift from the return unit. So while it was a hard fought game, you could give the Cowboys the edge on offense, defense, and a draw on special teams. Yet it was still competitive, and that was by no means assured going into this game. This loss will be more palatable if the Packers can win in Tampa after their 'whuppin'". Those drunks on that pirate ships are annoying when the Packers a losing ; )