duncan228
09-29-2009, 12:56 AM
Solid, capable – and he's a Cowboy? (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/buck_harvey/Solid_capable__and_hes_a_Cowboy.html)
Buck Harvey
ARLINGTON — It's an obscure video from an obscure game. The one who is talking, too, is obscure.
But in it, Tashard Choice speaks with the emotion of a sappy Hollywood vision of football. It's worth a YouTube search to see Choice get his Georgia Tech teammates to chant with him before a game against Clemson.
“My everything,” Choice says over and over again, “or nothing.”
The Cowboys won't give him this kind of stage any time soon. Choice is obscure, remember.
Still, he filled in Monday night as he did last season in Pittsburgh. Choice scored eight points, and he would have scored more if Jason Garrett hadn't gotten cute.
But it was more than that. Choice played with the kind of competence not always associated with these Cowboys.
Some of this will be overlooked today. The Cowboys got a few sacks, as well as a gift. The interception Jake Delhomme threw in the second NFL game in Cowboys Stadium looked like the one Tony Romo threw in the first.
Still, the Cowboys can't be thrilled to beat two teams this season who have yet to beat anyone else. The Panthers were also missing three key defenders, yet they shut out the Cowboys in the first half.
And as for what could have happened: When Romo scrambled right in the second half, then threw a balloon ball left across the field, isn't that what Troy Aikman was talking about last week?
Doesn't Romo have to be smarter?
At least he's smart enough to hand the football to his runners. With Marion Barber out, he did that with Felix Jones.
Felix is fun. Used the right way, he can change the Cowboys, and he did again Monday night. He came in with a rushing average of over nine yards a carry — and improved on it.
But he can't pick up the blitz, and this flaw clobbered Romo once.
Felix was so badly beaten another time he tried a leg whip. It should have been called a leg whiff; the intent still resulted in a penalty.
Then there is the other problem that comes with Felix. Injuries. Toe and hamstring issues got him last season, a sore knee slowed him Monday.
Into his spot came Choice, as obscure as a third-string player can be.
Give the Cowboys credit for finding him. They've missed on higher draft picks, and they've missed on lower ones, too. The 2006 and 2007 drafts were busts.
Then, in 2008, they grabbed Felix with a first-round selection and took a fourth-round flier on someone whose strengths aren't easily measured at the combine. Seeing something in Choice took nuanced scouting.
But maybe even the Cowboys weren't sure what they had until last December. Then, without Barber, they went into Pittsburgh to face the league's top-rated defense and the eventual champions.
Choice filled in as if he were the heady senior still giving the “my everything” speech. He picked up the famous Steelers zone blitz, and he gained 166 total yards. When the Cowboys went to San Antonio for training camp, they knew Choice gave them depth.
He gave them more Monday. Choice ran for 82 yards, and he caught four passes for another 36. He scored Dallas' only offensive touchdown, and he dove for another that was reversed.
Then came a drive in the fourth quarter. Choice picked up a critical third down and eventually set up the Cowboys at the Carolina 1-yard line.
That's when Garrett opted for two fade routes that missed.
Why not let Choice punch it in? Why not give the football to someone who, in only his second year, has the kind of steadiness and heart this team needs?
The Cowboys haven't seen the video yet.
Buck Harvey
ARLINGTON — It's an obscure video from an obscure game. The one who is talking, too, is obscure.
But in it, Tashard Choice speaks with the emotion of a sappy Hollywood vision of football. It's worth a YouTube search to see Choice get his Georgia Tech teammates to chant with him before a game against Clemson.
“My everything,” Choice says over and over again, “or nothing.”
The Cowboys won't give him this kind of stage any time soon. Choice is obscure, remember.
Still, he filled in Monday night as he did last season in Pittsburgh. Choice scored eight points, and he would have scored more if Jason Garrett hadn't gotten cute.
But it was more than that. Choice played with the kind of competence not always associated with these Cowboys.
Some of this will be overlooked today. The Cowboys got a few sacks, as well as a gift. The interception Jake Delhomme threw in the second NFL game in Cowboys Stadium looked like the one Tony Romo threw in the first.
Still, the Cowboys can't be thrilled to beat two teams this season who have yet to beat anyone else. The Panthers were also missing three key defenders, yet they shut out the Cowboys in the first half.
And as for what could have happened: When Romo scrambled right in the second half, then threw a balloon ball left across the field, isn't that what Troy Aikman was talking about last week?
Doesn't Romo have to be smarter?
At least he's smart enough to hand the football to his runners. With Marion Barber out, he did that with Felix Jones.
Felix is fun. Used the right way, he can change the Cowboys, and he did again Monday night. He came in with a rushing average of over nine yards a carry — and improved on it.
But he can't pick up the blitz, and this flaw clobbered Romo once.
Felix was so badly beaten another time he tried a leg whip. It should have been called a leg whiff; the intent still resulted in a penalty.
Then there is the other problem that comes with Felix. Injuries. Toe and hamstring issues got him last season, a sore knee slowed him Monday.
Into his spot came Choice, as obscure as a third-string player can be.
Give the Cowboys credit for finding him. They've missed on higher draft picks, and they've missed on lower ones, too. The 2006 and 2007 drafts were busts.
Then, in 2008, they grabbed Felix with a first-round selection and took a fourth-round flier on someone whose strengths aren't easily measured at the combine. Seeing something in Choice took nuanced scouting.
But maybe even the Cowboys weren't sure what they had until last December. Then, without Barber, they went into Pittsburgh to face the league's top-rated defense and the eventual champions.
Choice filled in as if he were the heady senior still giving the “my everything” speech. He picked up the famous Steelers zone blitz, and he gained 166 total yards. When the Cowboys went to San Antonio for training camp, they knew Choice gave them depth.
He gave them more Monday. Choice ran for 82 yards, and he caught four passes for another 36. He scored Dallas' only offensive touchdown, and he dove for another that was reversed.
Then came a drive in the fourth quarter. Choice picked up a critical third down and eventually set up the Cowboys at the Carolina 1-yard line.
That's when Garrett opted for two fade routes that missed.
Why not let Choice punch it in? Why not give the football to someone who, in only his second year, has the kind of steadiness and heart this team needs?
The Cowboys haven't seen the video yet.