Dennis Green delivered the famous "They are who we thought they were" line following his Cardinals' 2006 Monday night loss to the Bears.
Twenty years later, Jerry Jones came to the opposite realization while assessing his Cowboys' Week 1 defeat to the Giants.
“They just did a good job all over," Jones said of the Giants in a Friday interview on 105.3 The Fan. "I will tell you, they were better than we thought they were. I’m anxious to see how New York continues to play. But really a combination of things. We didn’t play as well as we should play and can play, but they played better than I thought they could.”
Jones wasn't the only one surprised by the Giants, who spectacularly thwarted expectations while never trailing Dallas on the way to a season-opening victory.
Jaxson Dart threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-29 passing, and joined battering ram Cam Skattebo in dolling out damage on the ground. The duo combined for 135 rushing yards, with Skattebo punching one in for six. Big Blue sidelined the Cowboys' vaunted offense for large swaths of the contest, exposing a Dallas defense that was expected to be much improved under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker following a transformative offseason.
The Cowboys instead allowed the Giants to win the possession battle by over 13 minutes and blew several coverages — both on vital downs and to allow open pass catchers running free in the end zone.
Though Jones graciously gave New York its share of credit, he also noted the learning process the Cowboys have undergone thanks to considerable scheme and personnel changes. It's a process Dallas must accelerate ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Commanders.
“Of course," Jones said when asked if he also felt the Cowboys opened the season worse than he thought they'd be. "To say it that way, I’d rather say it more positively, that we’re not at the level. We’re not at the level that we thought we would be. I can give you a lot of reasons, logical reasons. You’re dealing with, conceptually, a new coaching staff, dealing with a new — to a lot of people out there — defensive scheme, and then you’re dealing with people who are fresh in to that scheme. … It’s a challenge to put it together and ready to go. We didn’t play well last week. What I meant to say was New York had really more to do with it than I thought they would. So, that’s a factor. But Washington could have a lot to do with it here Sunday, too, so we’ve got to be ready to step up the level of play. There’s no question.”
The upcoming matchup with Washington gives both teams two divisional games right out of the gate. Whichever team loses Sunday will fall to both 0-2 overall and in the NFC East.
For all that went wrong to kick off the season, Jones believes his squad will show up vastly improved for a vital showdown at home.
“The improvement, certainly from where we played Sunday, that improvement is to be expected and will be there," Jones said. "I’m just gonna say it. It will be there. I know how hard these guys are working, I know their physical capabilities, and I also know their motivation. So, you’ll see improvement. I’ll go on the record as saying that.”
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Source: www.nfl.com — Read the original article
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