Offensive: For a team that's preaching protecting the football, this was the worst possible display the offense could have had. Five of the six turnovers were forced by the Arizona defense. Untimely interceptions by Kyle Orton and Alex Tanney, fumbles by Dez Bryant and Lance Dunbar killed drives and bogged down the offense. Anytime the unit was able to build some type of momentum, a turnover would occur. Take your pick on which one was the most troubling. I understand plays like with what happened to Bryant and even Dunbar, but the Orton interceptions were just poorly thrown passes, which is something that we had not seen from him this camp.
Defensive: I was impressed by what the young players were able to accomplish when put in tough situations after the turnovers had happened. Guys like DeVonte Holloman, Brandon Magee and George Selvie were able to make plays to hold the Cardinals just to field goals. These younger guys have a great deal going on assignment-wise, but seeing them make plays down after down in the red zone gave me hope that they are picking this scheme up quickly and are trying to contribute when called upon. [embedded_ad]
Special Teams: It was another fumbled punt return, this time by a veteran player. Dwayne Harris was trying to fight for extra yards, but after running into Brandon Underwood, he was unable to get his momentum going forward and was stripped of the ball by Justin Bethel from the backside. What is troubling about the play was that the defense had made a nice stop to get off the field, but had to return after the turnover. For Harris, it appears to be his job to lose as the punt returner, although as a veteran player, he has to secure that ball or it will not be his for long.
