IRVING, Texas -- After Tony Romo had his "Eli moment'' Sunday, Miles Austin enjoyed a few "T.O. moments.''Romo made like Eli Manning in Super Bowl XLII when he ducked and dodged Atlanta Falcons pass rushers and spun and flicked a 5-yard touchdown pass to receiver Patrick Crayton just before halftime. It was the last of 17 straight Cowboys points in the half, and gave Dallas a 17-7 lead en route to a 37-21 victory.
"You have to do something out of the ordinary once in a while,'' Romo said.
Austin, meanwhile, is making the extraordinary routine.
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Fantasy Football Reality Check: Miles Austin Becoming a Beast
Fantasy Football Reality Check: Miles Austin Becoming a Beast
His answer -- and the Cowboys' -- after a three-turnover sequence in the second quarter said plenty about both the player and the team.
Atlanta led 7-3 when Cowboys cornerback Mike Jenkins intercepted Matt Ryan at the Dallas 46. Two plays later Cowboys running back Felix Jones lost a fumble at the Atlanta 42. On the next possession, Ryan was stripped of the ball in pocket and Dallas recovered.
Three turnovers in three minutes.
Right then, right there, the Cowboys decided to go for the Falcons' throats, to unleash Austin, to line him wide right and simply let him run across the field and past the entire Falcons defense. To dominate. To make the Falcons defense back off and play in a hesitant fashion the rest of the way.
It worked -- Romo hit Austin for a 59-yard scoring bomb that put the Cowboys ahead for good.
Austin was able to do what T.O. occasionally used to for Dallas, and what the Cowboys first envisioned Roy Williams would do.
Dallas is embracing Austin.
The franchise has taken a 2006 undrafted free agent, who has been groomed for three seasons, and tossed him into a lead role. In Austin's first start, in Week 5 at Kansas City, he set the franchise single-game record for receiving yards with 250. His 171-yard follow-up Sunday against Atlanta gave Austin 421 in two games -- the second-most yards combined in consecutive games in NFL history.
"He's got a clear picture on how to work and what it takes to be successful and he's very humble,'' Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said of Austin.
Romo said that Austin has just been waiting for his opportunity -- he has it now.
Austin is a big, fast receiver that can break tackles and outrun a secondary. His receivers coach, Ray Sherman, is as good as it gets at teaching the position in the NFL. Romo, his quarterback, is as confident and hungry as he has been as Dallas' leader.
And Garrett is increasingly eager to call his number -- out of nowhere, Austin looks like the remedy for Dallas' Terrell Owens hangover.
A FLICKER ... SOON A FLAME: Before Kansas City's 37-7 loss to the Chargers, the Chiefs' Larry Johnson defended San Diego running back LaDainian Tomlinson's slow start to the season, and after the game, Johnson used Twitter to blast his head coach, Todd Haley.
The latter was predictable.
It was not going to work out with Johnson and Haley -- Johnson has too much baggage in Kansas City, and he's too immature, sensitive and moody. Like they did with Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs should have shipped Johnson out, rather than ask him to be a solution in a full-fledged rebuilding situation.
Haley came in swinging as Chiefs coach with grueling practices, blunt criticisms of his players, and with new general manager Scott Pioli drawing an iron curtain on the Chiefs' operations. Haley needed early success to prevent a Johnson blowup -- much like the reprieve new Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels gained with his 6-0 start after a heavy-handed arrival.
The Chiefs, however, are 1-6.
And their relationship will not improve with Johnson. This is just a flicker of an eventual fire that will burn the Chiefs.
IT TAKES A GREAT DEFENSIVE BACK TO KNOW ONE: Darren Sharper is one interception return for a touchdown shy of tying Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson's NFL record of 12.
Sharper had another one in the New Orleans big-play, 21-point comeback victory at Miami. He has now returned three picks for touchdowns this season.
Sharper was a senior at William & Mary when he first met Woodson, who was at the school to give a speech to the football program and participate in a football camp. Later, Woodson would play with Sharper's brother, Jamie, a linebacker, with the Baltimore Ravens.
Woodson, 44, played 17 NFL seasons from 1987 through 2003. Sharper, who turns 34 on Nov. 3, is in his 13th pro season.
"Three picks returned for touchdowns in one season is a lot. I think the most I had is two," Woodson said. "I think it is easier to do it at safety [where Sharper plays]. You are playing center field, and you have the entire middle of the field to work with. Most of my picks came in the last five years of my career when I moved to safety. It looks like Darren is taking advantage of being at safety. He is taking advantage of a lot of young quarterbacks in this league -- I see him doing a lot of damage ... to young quarterbacks over the next couple of years. I didn't realize he was that close to breaking this record.
"You take a good athlete and you put him at safety and if he is a smart player, there are many plays to be made. The Saints obviously trust Darren a lot and they are letting him be a quarterback back there on defense.
"You have to think that any interception records or yardage records on those are going to be broken as the league moves forward. The NFL is basically setting its rules up for offenses to throw the football. There are a lot of chances to do something great against these passing games. A player like Darren is suited for it.''
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
the guy's doing great!
he is doing good...but goin 2 take alot more than 2 good games 2 draw attention and double coverage from defenses like t.o. would have been even better 2 keep owens now that austin is up and coming...oppising defenses sure as hell dont see roy williams as any kind of threat..can we ship him back 2 detroit pleez? maybe get anthony henry back
magTRASH, I am tired of fans like you putting down players because YOU believe they are no good, then jumping back on the Cowboy wagon when these players prove themselves. All you people who bash players like Romo and Miles should give Williams a chance to GROW with the TEAM. As for Romo ( especially) even Payton Manning could NOT win a playoff for his first 6 seasons. Miles can be our deep threat but you people need to see Williams as our possession receiver.
I remember when the Cowboys drafted Troy Aikman. After his first few games the Dallas newspapers were calling him Troy Ache-man. Cowboys fans are a peculiar bunch. I know, I've been one all my life. My point is you can't judge a player by how he performs in a few games. Or one season, for that matter. It takes time.
deitrade-----You are right on!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great day,
Brenda ;)
are you cowturd fans ready to start crying ,cause after this weeks walk in the park against the seattle pigeons you will start to have your asses handed back to you hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wait let me order all you cowturd fans truck loads of tissue wawawawawawawaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!