by Ryan Bush
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| Happy Days Are Here Again for Jerry Jones? |
Yes, there may be a small sense of vindication in Camp Cowboy
over last season’s winter meltdown at the hands of the eventual champion
Giants. The Dallas Cowboys did what no
one thought possible, wrecking a New York-style Super Bowl party on their way
to a 24-17 season-opening road victory over their hated division rival.
But, at the bottom of the emotional bucket has to lay an
overwhelming feeling of relief for Jerry Jones, Jason Garrett, and even Rob
Ryan. Rather than just a wad of cash and
a draft day trade, the proof that the Cowboys are a better team than last
year’s 8-8 squad was in the pudding for all to see.
$50 million man Brandon Carr was better than advertised, if
that’s possible with the rock-star treatment you receive around the Ranch, and
rookie Morris Claiborne played like anything but one. Barry Church proved he belonged as a starter
in the secondary, and second-round draft pick from a year ago Bruce Carter
looked a good fit alongside Sean Lee at inside linebacker.
And then there was haven’t-heard-from-you-ever Kevin
Ogletree. Everybody counted him out,
just like everybody was counting the Cowboys out of Wednesday night’s
game. An Ogletree of all things was the
tree the Cowboys picked their fruit from on this night.
Dez Bryant received his fair share of catches, and Miles
Austin even got in on the act late, hauling in a fourth-quarter scoring
pass. But at the end of the day,
Ogletree was the one player that the Giants had no answer for. Not early.
And definitely not late.
Three seasons spent sifting around the ashes of the Cowboys
depth chart caused many to lose their faith in Ogletree. One player who never did, though, was Tony
Romo. Romo personally lobbied for Ogletree to be on this team, and
if his voice wasn’t enough, Ogletree’s stellar performance throughout the
latter half of camp and preseason was enough to convince head coach Jason
Garrett to do just that. You see, Romo
plays a fickle , though popular, position that is based completely on
trust. And for all of the grumbling
about Ogletree’s historic lack of statistical significance, Romo trusted him.
At one point last season, Romo observed that, though
Ogletree wasn’t catching many passes, he was always in the right spot. Any quarterback will tell you that’s an
invaluable asset to have on offense, especially when the play breaks down and
the passer is harried.
And there were plenty of those situations Wednesday night,
and Romo was quick to look in Ogletree’s direction. First, came a 10-yard scoring hookup when
Ogletree broke off his route and raced to the middle of the field, making
himself available for the scrambling Romo in the back of the end zone.
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| Kevin Ogletree's First Career Touchdown |
The touchdown, the first of Ogletree’s
career, gave the Cowboys a 7-3 lead with just under a minute to play in the
second quarter. The duo connected again to begin the second half, this time
a 40-yard play down the right sideline in which Ogletree simply got behind the
coverage.
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| Ogletree's Second Touchdown |
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