Scout’s Eye: Grading Olumba & Donovan Wilson
Before he turns his eye forward to Week 1, Bryan Broaddus spent time with the tape of the Cowboys' final preseason game.
What a quality interception by Donovan Olumba off the tipped pass from Jameill Showers. It was a nice call by Kris Richard to bring the pressure off the edge. Showers timed his blitz well and Ryan Griffin couldn't get the ball over the top of him. Somehow, Olumba was able to get his hands between the ball and the ground, then have the presence of mind to quickly get off the ground and go score. Olumba also did a nice job of leaping at just the right time to avoid the tackle by Dare Ogunbowale and putting the ball across the goal line.
On the play where the ball was stripped out of Mike White's hand, he wanted to go underneath to Cedrick Wilson curling inside from the slot. Even if White had gotten the ball off, it would have been a tough throw. Jack Cichy didn't allow White much of a window. What made the play even worse was Jake Campos getting driven back into White by Shaquil Barrett, who knocked the ball out of White's hand. It was a heck of a play by Wilson to tackle Cichy before he had a chance to score.
Nice design by Kellen Moore to get Jon'Vea Johnson underneath on the drag route to convert a third down. It was the play that Bruce Arians challenged for offensive pass interference, but it was close. Marcus Lucas did cross the face of Sean Murphy-Bunting, but the timing between him and Johnson was perfect. Lucas did nothing but execute his route up the field, but he also did it in a way to slow down Murphy-Bunting without making it too obvious.
Vincent Testaverde had no business throwing the ball down the middle of the field to a receiver that wasn't open. The play resulted in an interception by Donovan Wilson -- once again showing range off the far hash. Justin Phillips had Tanner Hudson covered the entire route and there was no open window. Wilson, playing with his eyes saw the play the entire way and quickly broke on the ball. I knew as the ball hung, Wilson had a chance to make the play. He's one of those guys where the ball just gravitates to him. We've seen it throughout training practices and games.
Great effort by Daniel Wise to sack Ryan Griffin on the goal line. Griffin had Jordan Leggett open in the end zone and was going to deliver the ball to him. Wise was able to beat the block of Caleb Benenoch and Dare Ogunbowale on the play in order to get to Griffin. Overall, Wise played a heck of a game and was the most disruptive defensive lineman the Cowboys had in the game.
I think when Jason Garrett goes back and reviews the film from this game, he's going to wish he would have thrown a flag and challenged for a push off on the Buccaneers' first touchdown. I initially thought Jameill Showers lost Tanner Hudson in the end zone, but it was clear that Hudson did push off in order to gain space. Ryan Griffin took advantage of the push. It appeared that Garrett was interested in taking a look at the play, but he couldn't get a clear replay. The touchdown would have likely been reversed had he challenged.
I understand why Jason Garrett challenged the deep ball to Devin Smith before the half as pass interference. The more I watched the play, the more I came to the realization that Jamal Dean did put the arm bar on Smith -- but the fact that he was looking back for the ball is the reason why the call wasn't reversed. If Wilkins had not looked for the ball, I believe the official would have thrown his flag and the Cowboys would have been set up inside the Buccaneers' red zone.
Give Bruce Arians some credit for using the sprint draw to his advantage against the aggressive Cowboys defensive front. He dialed it up a couple of different times during the game for some nice yardage. Each time he was able to widen the defense, get a couple of one-on-one blocks and pop the back off the edge. Bruce Anderson had an especially good one with the Buccaneers facing a long yardage situation, and they picked up 19 yards on the carry.
Really nice job by Jon'Vea Johnson fighting inside on the fourth down ball from Mike White. Jamal Dean played the route well, but White put the ball in a spot where only Johnson could get it. Dean tried to go through Johnson's back and play it with his off-hand, but Johnson was able to hold him off. Dean was flagged for pass interference, but because Johnson made the reception Jason Garrett declined the penalty.
Cedrick Wilson should have had a touchdown right before the half, Mike White just threw a poor pass. White did everything right by climbing the pocket in order to give himself a chance. Wilson executed a beautiful crossing route and had separation on Sean Murphy-Bunting. Wilson did his best to bring the ball in with his left hand but was too extended overall to make the reception.
What a great thrill for Taryn Christion to throw a touchdown in a NFL game. But what a tremendous effort by Jalen Guyton to avoid four Buccaneer defenders along the way to get him that score. Mazzi Wilkins had Guyton wrapped up and was taking him to the ground, but Guyton shook loose and managed to keep his balance. John Battle was next, but Guyton avoided him too. Lukas Denis had an angle, but Guyton used a start-stop move to get Denis to lunge. Emmanuel Smith had the final shot to bring Guyton down but a stiff arm to his face ended that threat.
I really did like the strategy of special teams coordinator Keith O'Quinn not to have Kasey Redfern kick the ball out of the end zone on the kick offs. O'Quinn instead elected to have Redfern place the ball near the goal line, which made his unit have to cover the kicks. What O'Quinn is going to notice when he studies the film is that Donovan Wilson playing the L5, which is right next to the kicker, was an absolute demon on the coverage. His feel for taking on and getting rid of blockers was quite impressive. He will also notice that Devin Smith is not a bad safety as the L1. I believe that in overall special teams, Smith is a more physical player than Cedrick Wilson when it comes to the cover teams.
