Let’s be clear, this isn’t a full-game review. Truth be told, I haven’t even watched the whole thing yet and I’m not sure I will.
What anyone can truly learn from watching third-stringers play against each other, I still don’t know.
As with most preseason games, I focused my attention on the first few drives (the one with the starters) to get some clues as to how the depth chart is likely to pan out. At this stage I’m more interested in what the coaches think than looking at any performances. I’ll only note them on the odd occasion they can’t be ignored or there is a particular battle likely at the position.
COWBOYS OFFENSE
The key thing to note here is that Doug Free already seems to have won any battle with Alex Barron at LT. We very much liked Free last year because, while he isn’t the prototypical road-grader the rest are, he can actually hold his own in pass protection. We graded him a good 5 points higher than any of his teammates in 2009, and nothing I saw last night suggests he won’t be able to make a solid LT. Barron, on the other hand, got beaten around the outside by Jonathan Fanene for a strip sack that probably gave Rams fans an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu.
Another area of interest is the role of No. 2 TE. With everyone hyping Martellus Bennett as a future star before the 2009 season began, his lack of impact in the passing game overshadowed his excellent work run blocking, where he was our fifth-ranked TE. Now, with Bennett sidelined by a nagging ankle injury, John Phillips has the chance to prove he may be a more consistent option. Phillips played as a pure FB for most of last year, logging about half the number of snaps of Bennett and less than a quarter of the pass routes. But here he looked very sharp, even being used in the slot, and picked up four catches for 60 yards. Is it possible that Phillips will overtake Bennett in the two-TE set? [EDIT: On one of his catches, John Phillips tore the ACL in his right knee. He is now out for the 2010 season]
COWBOYS DEFENSE
Given how Keith Brooking played in coverage last year (rating a solid +3.2 from us), we thought it was bizarre that Dallas insisted on using Bobby Carpenter (rating -2.5) instead of him in the nickel. When the Cowboys went to five DBs in this game, Brooking stayed on the field with Bradie James in their usual 4-2-5. (As an aside, our Rams training camp insider told us that although Carpenter may have got rid of his ponytail, he hasn’t lost his tentativeness taking on blockers.)
At safety, Alan Ball has taken over at FS from departed Ken Hamlin but you won’t find his name anywhere on the stat sheet. In fact, he played so deep I could hardly determine if he was on the field most of the time as the Cowboys utilized Gerald Sensabaugh as an additional LB. Whether this was a simple tactic for this game only or a season-long trend remains to be seen.
OTHER COWBOYS NOTES
Marion Barber and Felix Jones seemed completely interchangeable, as both played an equivalent number of snaps before giving way to Tashard Choice.
With Marcus Spears out it was no surprise his regular backup, Jason Hatcher started.
The second-string Cowboys OL was: LT Alex Barron, LG Mike Tepper, C Travis Bright, RG Pat McQuistan and RT Robert Brewster.
The second-string Cowboys defense was: NT Junior Siavii, RE Stephen Bowen, LOLB Brandon Williams, LILB Jason Williams, RILB Leon Williams, ROLB Victor Butler, LCB Cletis Gordon, SS Barry Church, FS Michael Hamlin, RCB Jamar Wall.
BENGALS OFFENSE
Who’s to guess where Antonio Bryant will end up on the Bengals' depth chart when he returns from the injury to his left knee? For the time being, at least, it seems obvious that Terrell Owens will start opposite Chad Johnson, with third-round receiver Jordan Shipley possibly leap-frogging both Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson to start in the slot. They both joined the fray in the third drive, but there was little to suggest either one will better their playing time from last year (which in Simpson’s case was a paltry 18 snaps).
Jermaine Gresham started at TE but if the way the Bengals focused on two-TE sets was anything to go by, both he and Reggie Kelly will see significant playing time. We’ll keep an eye on this as the preseason progresses, but with free agent rookie Joe Tronzo initially the starter at FB, expect to see the predominant base set including both Gresham and Kelly.
We’ve advocated the Bengals starting Evan Mathis over Nate Livings at LG for some time now. Not because Livings is a poor player, but because we felt Mathis was superior in all facets of line play last year (run +8.5 vs. -3.3, pass +5.5 vs. 2.2, penalties 2 vs. 5, on 131 more snaps for Mathis). Bengals coaches still insist on getting Livings on the field first, as they did late last year in a rotation deal. To be fair to Livings, I watched every one of his snaps closely and he did a good job throughout, with a particularly nice block on the first Bengals play from scrimmage. This one looks like it may go down to the wire, however, as Mathis was sound throughout too.
BENGALS DEFENSE
Despite rumors to the contrary, it looks like Dhani Jones may keep his starting MLB role, but our first real opportunity to check was obscured by Rey Maualuga’s dodgy hamstring. This kept him out of the game and ensured that Michael Johnson saw a lot of action both as a strong-side LB and also a pass-rushing end, doing little wrong.
Another chance to see how the Bengals were thinking was spoiled by Jonathan Joseph being sidelined. It would have been key to see if they had chosen Adam Jones over Morgan Trent as the slot CB in the nickel, but with Joseph out, Jones played LCB and Trent continued in the role of SCB he had for the majority of 2009.
Jones looked suspect at times, particularly on a Roy Williams slant route into the end zone where he beat the CB only to find Tony Romo throwing too late and behind the WR.
OTHER BENGALS NOTES
Bernard Scott looked the likely back-up to Cedric Benson, and it appears Brian Leonard will retain his role as third-down back, a position in which he excelled last year (PFF rating +4.6 including +1.7 in pass protection).
Brandon Johnson replaced Keith Rivers as a LB in the nickel, teaming up with Dhani Jones.
The second-string Bengals OL was: LT Anthony Collins, LG Evan Mathis, C Reggie Stephens, RG Otis Hudson.
The second-string Bengals defense was: DLE Frostee Rucker, DLT Pat Sims, DRT Orien Harris, DRE Jonathan Fanene, MLB Abdul Hodge, WLB Brandon Johnson, SS Chinedum Ndukwe, FS Gibril Wilson, RCB Morgan Trent, with David Jones as the NB.
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