- Not one bit surprised that Dez Bryant had the type of game that he had against the Chiefs this afternoon. He drew the coverage of their best cornerback, Brandon Flowers, and was able to take the fight to him. There appeared to be no problems with his foot, and if there was, Bryant didn't show it. Flowers appeared to be overmatched by the physical play of the Cowboys receiver. Bryant played sharp mentally, lining up all over the field, at times without joining the huddle, and assignment-wise was just fine.
- Center Travis Frederick had his hands with defensive tackle Dontari Poe, but that was expected. Poe is a powerful man with some outstanding quickness off the snap. I thought in the second half Frederick did a much better job of handling his power, but also in dealing with his quickness. There was a sack that from the press box did not look like it was his fault, but rather some type of bust on the right side of the line. I liked the way Frederick battled, although to believe that he was going to totally hold Poe in check was unrealistic.
- Orlando Scandrick made the start at right corner for the injured Morris Claiborne and played well. Scandrick was all over the field in coverage, but he also did a solid job out of the nickel. Claiborne was reduced to playing on the outside in the nickel, and at times, struggled with the physical side of the game because of his shoulder. Without seeing the tape, and being on the field at the time, I thought the pass interference might have been a tough call, but it was still made. This front office and coaching staff are going to have a decision on whether to continue to play Scandrick or go back to Claiborne. If I was on the staff, I would lobby for Scandrick
- On film, I liked the front seven of Kansas City when it came to playing the run. They were active and always around the ball. Where I missed the boat on them was what kind of player outside linebacker Justin Houston was. There were several times when he would fight off a block in the running game or make a sure tackle in the open field. I am not one of those guys that say you have to run the ball just to run the ball. It was difficult to get anything going on their zone plays and the offensive attack paid for that. I am sure when I study the game tape, there will have been some opportunities to make some positive runs and try to get a little more balance in the offense. When Lance Dunbar fumbled the ball in the second half, my gut feeling was this was the last time we were going to see him in the running game and for the most part it was. Last week against the Giants I felt better about how they ran the ball, but now those feeling seem so long ago. [embedded_ad]
- For the defense, it was nice to see Anthony Spencer back on the field and working in the game. There were some productive snaps for him on his rush, but there also appeared to be some rust in how he was playing in the running game. There were some plays where he jumped inside as a ball went outside on him. He struggled at the point of attack on the final Kansas City drive when the defense needed a stop to get off the field, but was unable to. He just was not as good with his hands as he needed to be, and he struggled off blocks. It will be important to see how he gets through this game health-wise because he doesn't need any setbacks. Spencer needs to be on the field, and there is no doubt in my mind that once he is full time, his technique will improve.
