I have a hard time believing you can rev your football motor back to full speed after seeing a hard worker like Harry Williams on the turf motionless, perhaps fighting for his life. The Texans are professionals, but I'm hoping the long delay and genuine concern for their teammate had something to do with a rough performance against the Cowboys. Williams, it turned out, later regained motion and was scheduled for surgery in Dallas.
Matt Schaub admitted to us on the air that he wasn't sharp in the early going and left some big plays on the field. The defense had a terrible time trying to slow down Marion Barber and Tony Romo. It was three forced turnovers that kept the Texans in the game and actually gave them a great chance to win.
Let's hope getting turnovers is a recurring theme this season. They hide mistakes and shift momentum quickly. You had to love Gary Kubiak going for two in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to make sure the game would end in regulation one way or another. The last thing he wanted was more exposure to injury for his players in a meaningless overtime session.
The pass rush still appears to be on summer vacation with just one sack on the stat sheet so far. Perhaps Mario Williams and friends are just laying in the weeds until the regular season starts. If you didn't know Rosevelt Colvin was a savvy veteran with great skills to get to the passer, you might confuse him with a third teamer struggling to make the roster. Vets certainly get the benefit of a doubt, but when you're new in town it would be nice to make a decent first impression in the preseason. Houston may have go exotic in generating pressure against Ben Rothlisberger on September 7.
The silver lining on Friday night was the three young backs all averaged above four yards per carry. Steve Slaton may be a prime-time player and the coaches have to be happy with the way Chris Taylor showed up and delivered against a tough Dallas defense.
It would have been a relief to see Andre Johnson get a few grabs just to prove the magic is back with Schaub. But by the time the signal caller found his timing, Johnson was done for the night.
Dallas could be an interesting team. They are loaded in so many areas but the turnovers and critical mistakes have to be a concern for a franchise searching for it's first playoff win in 11 seasons.
Texas Stadium cannot be ripped down fast enough. Our booth monitor was missing. It was like visiting someone's home when they are about to move. Things seem to be in flux.
We had a nice visit with Cowboy's voice Brad Sham before the game. He is excellent at what he does and a real inspiration for me.
One more preseason game to go, and it is going to feature a lot of action from the 22 players who will be cut after Thursday to hit the 53-man limit. In other words, the tune ups for Schaub and the first teamers is over and game planning for Pittsburgh is underway.
