Houston/DFW Columnists On Texans/Cowboys Stinker Bowl

Review mixed for Cowboys’ “rehearsal” (Randy Galloway, FWST)

For a dress rehearsal, this was an offensive wardrobe malfunction. The Cowboys were exposed by ground and air.

Continuing with the negatives from Saturday night, mix in an assortment of special teams blunders (always a Big Bill no-no).

Not exactly in dress rehearsal form, those special teams, with two flubbed field-goal attempts and a 102-yard kickoff return for a TD by old friend Reggie Swinton.

Expect heavy growling all week from Parcells about his special teams.

But bring out the sunshine for several performances in late action mop-up time.

That would include Tyson Thompson, one of Parcells’ pet rookies from training camp, and the only Cowboy ever from Irving. Thompson got a fourth-quarter showcase and passed it with 13 carries for 52 yards, including a short TD plunge.

Once Tony Romo finally appeared (Drew Henson never did, which tells you all you need to know about the No. 2 QB), he was sharp in limited attempts.

Romo went 5-for-8 for 63 yards and a TD pass to Quincy Morgan. It should have been two TD passes, however, as Morgan dropped one from Romo in the third quarter.

Afterward, Big Bill made it clear he wasn’t expecting much after a short work week and limited practice time.

But when a coach stays with his first unit as long as Parcells did Saturday night, then he’s obviously hoping for dress-rehearsal results.

From the defense, the Cowboys delivered.

From the offense, well, there’s still the exhibition finale here Thursday night against Jacksonville.

No alibi for this one; It’s UGLY (Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle)

This night, the starters were on the field for an entire half. There was even a game plan.

And the Texans were awful. They failed to score an offensive touchdown and lost to the Cowboys 21-9.

It’s the kind of performance that raises larger questions about the direction of the franchise and the competence of the people running it. Preseason games don’t provide answers. They offer only hints.

The Texans are no longer the young franchise getting better by the day. They’ve had four drafts and four cracks at free agency. They’re supposed to win more games than they lose in their fourth season.

They should be playing with more continuity. They should be making more plays.

So far, they’ve been unable to finish games. Saturday, they never got started.

I watched much of this stinker on the ReplayTV earlier.

The Texans were simply putrid. There’s not much else to say about them. The Cowboys were only a little better, although there were some bright spots. Roy Williams in particularly had a fine game after a bad game the week before, and the entire Cowboys secondary played well, in addition to the efforts singled out by Galloway.

Justice’s column is typically overwrought, as the columnist sometimes can be after what he judges a bad performance by a local team or its management. But, he’s right that this (fourth) regular season will be the time to start judging the management and coaching of the Texans. I’ve never been impressed with Chris Palmer, and I’m still not. I’m also not sure why Charlie Casserley has gotten such great press in town for his work, other than the fact that he seems to treat the press very well. But the third game of the preseason probably isn’t the best time to judge their work, or that of Dom Capers. Let’s see what the season holds.

Speaking of the season — it’s college football game week for OU and UH. Woo!