should have been, since the receivers, and Witten, too, accounted for 20 of those 24 team receptions, 335 of those 363 receiving yards, two of the five touchdowns and were responsible for putting the ball at the one-yard line twice for easy Jones run-in touchdown.
This all - so far - illustrates two things: How much the Cowboys missed having a healthy Glenn last season and that Parcells might have known a thing or two about his receivers, and why they didn't even bother to select one the first day of the NFL Draft.
"We were doing it last year until Terry got hurt," Johnson said. "I think it did, and not having a running back (early) who was legit.
"Now, Terry's legit, our running back is legit. Having (Glenn) on the field gives me an extra boost, gives Julius an extra boost, gives Witten an extra boost."
All because Glenn can stretch the field. Ask the Niners. He caught passes of 58, 44 and 20 yards. They paid a deal price for crowding the line of scrimmage, because they thought they only had to worry about No. 21.
Think again.
And in this league, when you do something once, other teams learn. Guarantee you the winless Raiders will be conscious of Glenn's speed and Keyshawn's clutch ability around the goal line. And since you can't take everything away, let 'em try, because then all you do is hand the ball to Jones.
To think the Cowboys haven't even gotten Peerless Price involved.
This all allows Keyshawn to jump on his I-told-you-so soap box, always wondering out loud why there was this perception the Cowboys receiving corps was going to be the team's weak link.
"Draft him and he'll never play," Johnson said of taking a wide receiver in the first round this year. "Draft him and he'll be a good backup. There is always going to be questions. There still are going to be questions.
"But do you honestly think Bill had an issue (with the receivers)? He would have drafted one if he had an issue."
The beauty now, three games into the season, is the Cowboys have alternatives on offense. They have a running back they can rely on, even though he hasn't had one of those breakout games, ranking 10th in the league rushing going into the Monday night game with 259 yards.
They have a tight end they can rely on. They have a so-called possession receiver, who happens to be averaging 13.7 yards a catch, they can rely on. They have a third guy who is growing as a receiver, and has made some tough catches over the middle, they can rely on. And they've got a fourth guy who once caught 94 passes in the league that they have yet to even try to rely on.
Who you want to take away? Who you want to then take your chances with?
"I do not know who these people are," Parcells said of the early perception clouding his receivers. "I look at the position for what it is, and that's all that counts."
You're darn tootin, and would you just look at what he's seeing?
MICK SHOTS
| ! | Twenty-four hours later, seems as if Larry Allen just might be absolved of his sins, having jerked the helmet off kicker Jose Cortez seemingly for missing that first extra point. But upon further review, seems as though Cortez loudly started complaining about the snap and hold, so Allen simply policed the matter, basically telling the newcomer we don't do that to our teammates. Kickers! |
| ! | Two things to remember in these first three games: The Cowboys already have won two road games in two tries. They only won two all of last year. And they already have scored at least 28 points in two games. They only did that twice all of last year. |
| ! | In case this wasn't impressed upon you enough Sunday night and Monday, if not for the tackle Scott Fujita and Dat Nguyen teamed up for at the one-yard line just before halftime, the Cowboys might not have won this game. That tackle kept the
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