Dallas Cowboys @ Chicago Bears, Week 1 1996 1st Half

okay thank you lynn it's a gorgeous shot a spectacular early september evening in chicago soldier field as we wrap up the first weekend of play in the 77th national football league season and the dallas cowboys will receive as troy aikman awaits his 1996 debut todd sauerbrunn who was their second round draft choice last year out of west virginia and had a dismal season but has rebounded at least with a great preseason this year he is their punter and their kickoff man and back deep number 85 is kevin williams who starts on the other side from dion sanders as a wide receiver and he'll see double duty tonight as we get set to start our 27th year of monday night football as sauerbrun sends it down to the three yard line kevin williams straight up the middle and then cuts it to the outside and takes it out to the 39-yard line where he's tackled by a former cowboy barry minter [Applause] troy aikman three super bowl rings and he was the mvp in the first of those three super bowl victories coming off another great year 16 touchdowns and only seven interceptions and offensively emmitt smith along with herschel walker in the backfield williams and sanders outside johnston starts at tight end two in a newton donaldson allen and williams that offensive line averages 319 pounds per man and aikman to throw on first down and to the 49-yard line but incomplete short hop by kevin williams for what would have been a 10-yard pickup so aikman's throw is low it is second and 10. now chicago's defense and they'll have to get a lot better on that side of the ball with spellman simpson for the injured zorach who's out for the year flanagan and fontenot then the guys who man the linebacking spots came brian cox and vincent smith an ex-cowboy and in the secondary harris the rookie with wolford on the outside carter and carrier are the safeties walt harris their number one draft choice out of mississippi state aikman to throw goes the other way and that's incomplete off the hands of daryl johnston and because of all of the problems the injuries the urban suspension you'll see some familiar people on dallas playing in different positions and we'll be seeing a lot of herschel walker tonight too and mainly it all stems on the problem there is really no talent to tight end jay novacek not even here tonight as you see troy aikman an incredibly accurate passer put it right in the hand should have been caught and i know that daryl johnson agrees with that but we're going to see a lot of hershey walker tonight and a lot of different formations on third down and 10 that was johnston flanked out to the left a flag is thrown the catch is made at the 48-yard line by dion sanders for a momentary first down pending the penalty what a strange formation they got johnson as the wide out to the left sanders on the other side ed hochuli is the official as he discusses things with the umpire and head linesman and it's coming back they call the illegal procedure against the cowboys i wonder if they had a formation that was legal eric williams at right tackle was way back off of the football that's what it is you are allowed to be back on the hip of that center as an offensive lineman but in an attempt to really gain an advantage and offensive tackle will slide further and further back from the line of scrimmage and eric williams was about two yards off the ball that time that might not be the last time we see that penalty and as much as with these odd formations they're using the cowboys have never lined up at least this way in the regular season third down look how far williams is off the ball again that's an illegal formation he ought to be flagged again and he will be flagged again and aquin is going to go deep and that's incomplete intended for deion sanders and under thrown a bit and walt harris was covering on the play and not bad coverage by the rookie and we're going to see a lot of him they count on him heavily the number one draft pick walt harris out of mississippi state but they're again they have a flag you had it dan eric williams off the line of scrimmage and illegal use of the hands as well well needless to say this will be declined by the bears and they'll get the ball with the dallas punt there were two buckles by the offense on the play illegal formation by number 79 lined up in the backfield also illegal hands to the face by number 79 both penalties are declined brings up fourth down what a beginning last season for eric williams eric williams with three penalties on the first series here he is right here you have got to be up on the line of scrimmage an offensive tackle is not allowed to take that big of a break and getting back into his past set he's called for being in the backfield and you think he would have learned after the the previous call to do it twice in a row is you got to wonder what he's thinking [Applause] john jett to put and bobby ingram the rookie from penn state back to receive it good kick 46 yards ingram who played for joe paterno as a wide receiver takes it back to the 28 you can see williams frustrated and angry with himself and abysmal beginning to the season well i think he's complaining that he wasn't uh dan but you played that position for a lot of years and you spotted it right away what was he trying to do with it i mean he's a great a pass blocking tackle it's just to get a head start on that defensive end now eric cramer who set a lot of bare single season marks last year and a breakout year for him with salaam gone green and harris in the backfield timson and conway outside jennings the tight end and heck perry jerry fontenot todd berger and big cat williams at 350 pounds up front from the 28 yard line on first down to play fake and in the past to the tight end jennings and he is ridden out of bounds by darren smith after a pickup of six the cowboys now defensively tolbert and haley didn't play much in pre-season because of injuries back in the night with hennings and lead at the tackles then the linebackers two new guys broderick thomas who came over from minnesota fred strickland from green bay and darren smith and then in the secondary kevin smith the ever president dion sanders marion and woodson are the safeties darren as good as any strong safety in the league raymond harris and tony carter in the backfield tonight it'll be a mix and match in the bears backfield this evening second down and four and they give it to raymond harris normally a fullback but the salaam god tonight playing a lot of tail back and he has a first down up at the 39-yard line well it's going to have to make a change in raymond is a good one he was a a great all-american tailback at ohio state where he gained over 2500 yards there as a running back he was moved to the fullback position here with prashan salaam and there is salaam but he has moved back to that tailback spot and he could be a real factor in tonight's game should be the bears want to run the football they want to run if they can add charles haley over to their left side using their big tight end keith jennings [Applause] first down from the 39-yard line they give the ball to harris and this time nothing happening and it's charles haley they may have run right at him but haley equal to that task it will be second down to nine maybe they better rethink that well no i think i think the strategy is sound frank i wouldn't pay a lot of it yet keith jennings limping off now the tight end for the bears the spirit of akron the goodyear blimp flying high above soldier field piloted by don mcduffie providing the scenics tonight as jennings comes out of the game ryan wet knight takes his spot at tight end it's second down and nine from the 40. and kramer's pass is somehow caught by curtis conway despite kevin smith draping him a flag does go down at the 49-yard line smith is going to contend he was pushed off against and ad hockey lee says no sir penalty against dallas and 11-yard completion in the first down that's going to go against kevin smith holding by the defense number 26 the penalty is declined the plane results in a first down well after five yards you can't make that contact you saw the holding there oh good catch by curtis conway if that had been a tearaway jersey kevin smith would have had a handful how's this for a sloppy start by the cowboys tonight first and ten just across the 50-yard line three minutes into the game with no score [Applause] harris can't break outside nice tackle made by hennings before he could get away and dan they start tonight in such contrast to last year on opening night monday night football at the meadowlands third play of the game emmitt smith touched down and set the tone for the season you took about 60 yards untouched against the new york giants they ended up beating the giants 35 to nothing and you're right a horrible offensive series initially for the dallas cowboys aikman remember bounced his first pass through second one a little bit high to johnston then all the penalties and now defensively they've got a penalty to gave the bears a first down robert green in the game and the slot to the left at the bottom of your screen kramer a short drop and then it's dropped by green roberts starting to look up field before he lifted into his hands and he's a guy who'll play a lot more tonight because of the absence of salaam exactly right al too and he is a sure-handed receiver out of the backfield but he was looking for a place to run after he caught it he just didn't handle it larry kramer coming off that great year over a year ago had it right in there third down and eight keith jennings still out of the game the tight end and out of a split back set [Applause] frame here throws that keep that beautiful pass caught by tension and then marion begins to tackle him and team finishes them off at the nine yard line kevin smithlin over the top a tremendous catch by the former new england patriot who will see a lot more action this year because of jeff graham's defection to the jets kevin smith went for the interception he saw six points that ball was high in the air over his outreach outstretched arms but he didn't appear to be in that good position to make a break on the ball he's outside of it and the ball's just over his head boy a serious misjudgment by kevin smith in making a break on that interception roy and the cowboy heirs are compounding themselves it is first and goal the nose of the ball on the 10 yard line and straight ahead goes raymond harris to the nine it will be second and goal after the 37-yard completion you know it is a you know it's wonderful to take chances but sometimes you play a position where taking a chance that the odds are stacked against you and kevin smith just trying desperately to get a finger on that ball isn't able to do it and it goes to timson that is a risk that at cornerback it's just very difficult to take kevin of course coming off achilles tendon surgery from a year ago in the opening game but they say he's absolutely 100 second and goal from the nine good protection and then the pass is knocked down i think leon got that yep big number 78 at 6-6 291 leon [Applause] and haley was also in the neighborhood as well you notice the bears passing game to this point in time has not involved a lot of work to deon side of the field almost exclusively throwing it to the right every defensive lineman taught if you can't hit the quarterback then you have to jump leon sanders over there right corner all by himself third and goal kramer looking deon's way then flows underneath himself loses the ball shy of the goal live slides down by brock marion out past the 40. he loses the football and the dallas cowboys with woodson recover at the 37-yard line what a bizarre play the officials will discuss it they'll discuss the end of the play the bears come within inches of scoring a touchdown and the next thing you know the cowboys have the ball at the bear 38. wants that arguing desperately that he was down that the ground can't cause a fumble but the ball out well before timson touches the ground a very good call by the official he tried to hurdle into the end zone timson did and watch who makes the hit it's dion gone it's dion sanders it was subsequently fumbled dallas recovered push down [Applause] rock marion loses it here bobby ingram knocked it out of his hands and here comes bill bates into the play at the end as well with dion and dion gets the whole thing started by making the hit on timson and wouldn't you know it a guy that has no reputation as being a physical ball player knocks the ball loose from timson from the 38-yard line emmitt smith's first carry of the season what knee injury first down what knee injury how about what blocking behind larry allen whoa baby if you're going to follow somebody around the corner make it big 73. but i'll say he put a couple of jukes on he put his tremendous effort on that leg of his we wonder how it would work out is his left knee that is the bad knee watch him plant it to the outside and break on it right there hello walt this is the nfl and that is emmett smith you just saw going by you walt harris number 27 a rookie no brace on that knee for emmett but heavily taped he slides through the middle and picks up about three to the 23. emmitt smith in quest of a fifth rushing title this year he's more than halfway to walter payton's career yardage mark and if he stays healthy and plays as long as walter he'll get there well barry sanders challenged his healthy players to try to pick up some of the slack he's got guys playing hurt there's an example of one right there emmitt smith i'd say to this point dion sanders is one of the guys that has answered that challenge with that hit on michael timpson to give the cowboys this possession second and eight they split dion wide to the right johnston fronting smith and this time emmitt is stopped breaking through is joe kane the linebacker [Applause] good play by kane who's ferris middle linebacker's moved out to the weak side and slipped through the gap and was able to nail emit well here's where the bears go into their pass rush mode spellman goes to the inside that's brian cox to the top of your screen down in a rush stance third and nine and they've got johnston lined up as a tight end and dion makes the catch on a slant he's close to a first down might be close enough to measure at the 16 tackled by marty carter and as we widen out you can see where the chains are very close to a first down if it's not it'll be fourth and an inch and barry's used to fourth in an inch those are the kinds of pass patterns you're going to see from dion he's going to run you a fly he's going to run you a slant he's going to run a hitch nothing esoteric about it no not in combination with other receivers but once he gets the football you better watch it no but this is a pattern where receiver can take a big hit if the guy from the inside gets out there quickly enough and that time it was john mangum who was a little late that receiver can take a big shot you can see a first down for the dallas cowboys and you know quite frankly guys that's a pattern that a lot of people questioned as to whether dion was going to run willingly a pattern where there might be contact at the end of the play we've seen dion not shy away from any contact so far in this game that was aikman's first completion of the season nine yards to the 21-yard line dion chin strap split to the left and now comes in motion from the 16-yard line and they give it to williams on a reverse but the bears smell it out and brian cox makes his first impact play in a chicago uniform it's going to be a loss of four and it'll be second down and 14. let's go back and take a look again here's an iso on dion sanders this is the michael timpson fumble he falls back into the end zone comes up makes a play goes right through the legs of timson and you know that's something that deion sanders avoided like the plague in years past second and 14. and williams makes the catch over the middle and then fights for another four yards of the 11 setting up a third and about five marty carter makes the tackle with 605 to go in the quarter and no score of course with michael irvin gone for five games kevin williams is the man they hope is going to be able to step up we saw him in our final game of the season a year ago over 200 yards against arizona and that was a remarkable night for kevin williams who stepped into the big time and the week before that he was the key player in their victory against the giants which really propelled him in the postseason and the eventual super bowl win third and a long four and they give it to smith the carrier comes up from the safety spot to tackle him near the line of scrimmage and set up a field goal attempt mark carrier busting through oh that's a big play for the bears defense they have had nothing but problems they had nothing but problems a year ago on third down plays now it'll be a 28-yard field goal attempt for chris boniol who ended last year having kicked 25 in a row this would be 26. the nfl record is 31 held by the recently retired squad rivers jet to hold it and the kick is good so he picks up right where he leaves off and the cowboys take the lead 4 55 left in a fast place quarter 3-0 dallas [Music] [Applause] bears wanted to go into the end zone and they came within a yard but the next thing they know they look up at the scoreboard and it's three nothing dallas and bono to kick off jack jackson to run it back it's a short kick fielded by the second year man out of florida who was injured all of last season and with a flag coming in at the end of the play he's tackled up at the 38-yard line by george teague ad hockey says holding against chicago when you look at that bizarre series that happened last time we'll get the call here from ed during the return holding by the receiving team number 53 it's a 10-yard penalty first down when you consider the bears had to start playing defense on their own 38-yard line they can't be really displeased with forcing the cowboys into kicking a field goal [Music] [Music] there is keith jennings sitting on the chicago bench he has strained a groin and he is out for the rest of this ball game a huge blow to the chicago bears chris gedney their other tight end is already inactive for this game with a bad foot they are down to derrick ware and ty jay armstrong a wrong team rather ryan wet knight is the only real tight end left on the bears roster there's wet knight right there and a big blow for the bears because for the snap false start by the offense number two dave wants that telling us he loved the matchup of jennings blocking against tolbert and haley jenny's going at 275 pounds they've spent the last two weeks working on their running game with keith jennings handling those defensive ends his being out of there is a big blow so they spent two weeks working on that and they spent up until 11 days ago working on rashaan salam as part of that running game so now both the cowboys and the bears colossal problems at the tight end position on first and 15 a draw play and having trouble getting started is raymond harris who goes by the nickname ultraback a guy they expected a lot of last year but he got hurt on the second play of the season we take our show up the shore of lake michigan next week and we go to lambeau field in green bay wisconsin for the first time in 10 years on monday night football the eagles coming off their win yesterday over the washington redskins and the green bay packers who demolished tampa bay 34-3 eagles packers from lambeau next monday night not a bad opening for brett farr four touchdown passes yesterday three of them to keith jackson kramer on second and thirteen throws catches made by conway who gets inside of kevin smith to make the catch up at the 22. it'll be third and about nine and getting ready for that illinois michigan game i don't know how kj got up there in time to really get a lot of quality practice time in either of these teams would love to have keith jackson right now harry kramer continues to stay away with the passing game from the side of dion sanders nothing to do with him third down called it eight up at the 22-yard line kramer hangs in the pocket well throws into a lot of traffic and in fact throws it out of bounds kevin smith was back there with bobby ingram the rookie receiver and the bears are forced to punt with 327 left in the period kevin smith one of the real bright spots for the cowboys a year ago on our opening night he tore his achilles tendon underwent surgery and usually that'll take anywhere from a year and a half to two years to come back from that but he seems to be 100 percent and that was good coverage right there and how desperately they needed his return with losing larry brown who went to the raiders and free agency sour run to kick booming kick 59 yards kevin williams takes it back at the 12-yard line and gets necktied with flags littering the field up at the 25-yard line sauer brought a big bust last year but right there one of the reasons they used a second round draft choice and he's applauded by special teams coach danny abramowicz former bear jim schwanz jumping up and down saying he didn't do it he didn't do it something tells me the men in the striped shirts are going to say that he did joe avazano the special teams coach of the cowboys obviously upset because sometimes you can out kick your coverage illegal block in the back by the receiving team number 52 10 yard penalty dallas will keep the ball first down and what i mean by out kicking your coverage here's the block right there by schwanz but when williams has his football when he caught it there wasn't a bear within 30 yards of it dallas takes over with the 10. we recalculated a 67-yard punt by sauerburn a career long from his 22 the line of scrimmage to the 11 and now from the 10 yard line after the penalty aikman throws and dion makes another catch for a first down up at the 23-yard line forced out by walt harris their number one draft choice the bears picking harris and trading up it's the first time the bears traded up in the draft since 1976 they really wanted that kid they went from 18 to 13 by doing so but harris playing way off sanders he was given individual coverage respecting the speed sanders nothing fancy to the move to the outside but harris was off five or six yards and couldn't get back that's because he's locked up in man the bears come with the blitz but they showed it too early and it got picked up handily by the cowboy offensive line johnston is the motion man providing the leverage up front for emmitt smith who takes the ball up to the 27 for a gain of four and emmett's former teammate vincent smith who was a cowboy who was then traded when was that came to chicago dave said i'll take one of my guys from dallas and he picked vincent and he's been a mainstay for them offense and defense now for deion sanders we talked about the fact he thought he could go about a hundred plays tonight 10 of 12 on offense and all 13 defensively and so he's played 23 plays already in under a quarter aikman throws and personal walker makes the catch up at the 37 the once and current cowboy who was picked up they thought as a luxury but now he's more of a necessity he can do so many things for you he's a good blocker he could move up and play tight end if you had to use him there he could be an h back for you he can play the wide receiver and this time he again gets respect for the speed that he still has moves to the outside and aikman incredibly accurate hits him right in the hands what herschel has always done frank as you know is operate well in space extremely effective pass receiver knows when to make its cuts and then smith flows down after a game of three by kane with a minute and 45 left in the quarter and dallas leading three nothing one of the problems that emma smith in this offensive line puts on the defensive secondary is you almost have to use your safety man up there you saw marty carter in on that tackle and that means you can't get the double coverage you'd like to have on a dion sanders and of course if michael irvin were here that and they get that single coverage all the time because the secondary is playing the run and it really puts a lot of pressure on the corners but the bears have no choice they're going to have to do it they have to stack the line of scrimmage second and eight they send walker in motion aikman throws over the middle to a wide open kevin williams who has a first down to the chicago 48th tackle by marty carter well some innovation there these guys are they're missing irvin they're missing nova check but innovative formations tonight using the field and aikman appears to be in pretty good rhythm right now and it really comes off what was really a desperate pre-season they did nothing right they knew it they admitted it and they i think they had to wonder about coming in here tonight first and ten wall harris has been flip-flopping he's going to whatever side dion's been on play fake the smith sucks in the linebackers but they still double coverage and carrier drops what would have been a pick at the seven carrier and harris back there double teaming dion [Applause] it's an easy interception for mark carrier the problem is walt harris is tracking the football as well and he gets there and knocks it out of carrier's hands i think mark carrier ends up with an interception you can't blame harris and aikman i think was just throwing it away and didn't quite throw it far enough carriers having to avoid harris carrier loses his shoe and he's had to come out of the game for the next play with marshall in you saw dion go off dion takes himself out of the game when he needs a blow he puts his hand up and steps off so he's on the sideline right now from the 48 and emma smith picking and threading his way to the 44-yard line he'll be third and six brian cox on the stop i think dion's gonna come back in after only just a few seconds of rest on the sidelines and he'll get a few more seconds because that figures to be the final play of the quarter first quarter is over at soldier field with the dallas cowboys leading the chicago bears three nothing and monday night football returns after this message in a word from our abc stations the backdrop him by the ferris wheel at navy pier light breeze as you can tell at soldier field start the second quarter al michaels with frank gifford dan deardorff and lynn swan dallas on top three nothing and third and six from the chicago 45 aikman under some pressure throws underneath dammit smith and breaking up the play former cowboy barry minter lost on the play and dallas will punt trying to figure out whether that was a screen or just a dump off uh something they may have picked up and looking at game tapes but they certainly had no one in front of him no if it's a naked screen if it was a screen they should dump [Applause] that was a dump off that should be dumped you're right bobby ingram back to receive john jett's kick [Applause] jet floating it down the middle and a little too deep george teague diving for it but couldn't stop it chicago has it at the 20 early in the second quarter three nothing big d 30 eastern 12 30 pacific that schedule of games highlighted by usc in illinois and then on the west coast only utah stanford late four o'clock pacific chicago starts from the 20 on this drive and raymond harris over left guard for a pickup of four up to the 24 as we take a look at the numbers through the first 15 minutes of play with the cowboys on top three nothing and the one turnover belonging to the bears the fumble by timpson that directly resulted in that possession of the cowboys starting at the bears 38th that ended up with three points dallas had the football longer but the cowboys up 3-0 robert greene picks up close to four to the 28-yard line it'll be third in a short two long three coming up fred strickland picked up from the packers making the stop as you look at venerable soldier field it's a relic it's an antique it's got a lot of charm but the owner of the bears mike mccaskey says i'm out of here when this lease is up after the 1999 season dave wants that remember he came to chicago from dallas where he was the defensive coordinator under jimmy johnson third down and two from the 28-yard line and a great play knifing through was fred strickland we just talked about a picked up from green bay stopping green and he's the guy taking robert jones's spot and wearing jones's old number well a run blitz on the part of the cowboys they flared both defensive tackles out shot two linebackers right into the middle and it's a guessing game and boy today guess right robert greene absolutely no place to go the bears don't have enough blockers to account for the blitzing cowboys a dead play [Applause] he's in the end zone and he'll kick it out from there and boy he makes the most out of a horrible play with a flag down the kicks of beauty well it rolls dead at the 29 and there's a marker down as sauerbrun got hit well first of all there's no penalty for hitting sauerkraut the penalty will most certainly be the bearers illegally downfield because their guys leave they don't know that the ball hasn't been kicked but once the the ball is rolling around back there there's no such thing as roughing the kicker they take a beat they take account to themselves and then they go downfield and they'll be illegally downfield do not estimate what what a brilliant play that was by sauerbrunn to get that ball out of the end zone he thought about taking a safety there was nobody from the cowboys close enough great job getting rid of the ball and he realized the cowboys had a return on they didn't have the price so he had time the other guy breathing a sigh of relief is the snapper the new snapper rob davis with the injury to gedney who'd normally be the new snapper rob davis was picked up to do the deep snapping i think the cowboys only choice here is to force them to kick over a member of the kicking team number 92 was illegally downfield before the punt that's a five yard penalty will replay fourth down there was no running into the kicker foul because on a scramble that action was legal repeat fourth down at a boyhead next right on top of the omen work very effective use of the referee's microphone letting the crowd here at the stadium know what's happening you know it's not a bad snap at all you know sovereign just didn't handle it right at his face mask he sees those every day in practice hit hockey league keeps giving those descriptions after he's going to call and make him join the union davis is the new snapper for the bears and they haven't worked that long together put something on it that was a good snap that was sauerburn's mistake good snap here and a wobbly kick flag is down he got hit that time did salad run and williams runs it back out to the 45 but sauerbrun got hit that time and the flag is down back at the 10-yard line another bizarre series of plays and the bears are going to maintain possession it was fourth and ten now remember if it's running into the kicker and not roughing the kicker it makes a big difference here the difference between just a five-yard penalty and an automatic first down i don't believe they could call this roughing the kicker yeah they're saying five yards and that's what carrier is indicating to the bench [Applause] so this will still be fourth down just now fourth and five that was jim schwantz running into the kicker by the defense it's a five-yard penalty only repeat fourth down swans just loves hitting sauerbred schwanz is the guy that hit sauerbrunn in the endzone swansea is a guy that got the call on the williams punt return that brought it back joe avagina looked like he was ready to hit somebody too in a striped shirt former chicago bearish monks traded to dallas in 91. [Applause] big special [Applause] but one thing about it we know that sauerbrunn's leg is warm from the 25 yard line 11 56 in the half that's the time remaining it's three nothing and sauerbrunn hits this one down to the 32 yard line kevin williams will do it again and gets ankle tackled up at the 40 by rob pavis kevin williams joe avezano he's a treat 11 45 to the half three nothing cowboys looking at the spectacular shot toward the northwest downtown chicago the loop gorgeous night leon sanders who's been playing on both sides of the ball tonight and i'll tell you one thing about that punch sequence that provided a fortuitous extra breather for dion that whole sequence of sauerbrunn punts he got off the field for a while plus the commercial break so he's fully rested from the 40-yard line as aikman throws a duck caught by dion who seeks the first down and is out of bounds just about at the marker at the 50. frank harris again laying way way off dan would you agree with me frank that if you're going to have success with dion you've got to jam him at the line of scrimmage well i thought they would you cannot i did too i'm a little surprised that the bears are giving him this much leeway leaving the line of scrimmage walt harris the rookie out of mississippi state the first round draft pick he's not even in the picture not there yet talking to lin swan last night and i was asking about the release off of the football and that's one of the hardest things for a receiver to learn how to get away from that jam at the line of scrimmage second and one and moose johnston on his first carry of the season picks up a first down to the 49-yard line and the bears just aren't forcing dion to make that adjustment they're not forcing you know they're not forcing him to show that he has learned how to release a good bump and run jam at the line there's walt harris we talked about him earlier the first round draft pick the bearers trading up from their 18th position in the draft to 13th and he is a good one he'll be outstanding [Applause] turns nothing into a seven yard pickup and gets banged out of bounds by marty carter and al fontenot after he broke the font no tackle carter reigns them out in front of the cowboy bench to get outside you need a pretty good block at the corner and this time the cowboys got it from kevin williams a wide receiver you know a lot of times it's got got to come from a tight end to pin somebody down this time they come down with a wide receiver and get emma to the outside everybody's taking turns blocking for the cowboy 10 minutes to the half cowboys leading 3-0 second in a long three and emmitt gets to the 40-yard line he'll be third and less than one and al fontenot makes the tackle troy aikman tonight well comical of course playing without michael irvin playing without jane novacek and people have referred to as the security blanket and when he has played without bourbon they are one and ten but the qualifier that of course is that most of those games took place before the cowboys were reinvented under jimmy johnson that was early in the johnson regime when they had to pay a team for eric williams larry allen donaldson third and one and emmitt smith there was nothing to the right so he just sutter steps to the left and picks up the first down tackle by simpson boy that's so easy to do behind those big guys larry allen i think they averaged 317 pounds across that offensive line and when they just go with the straight zone block emmitt smith popping in there he's only six but about five ten five eleven he cuts right behind me cuts right behind two and a mark two in a number 71 came down to the inside you see him right there you see he's five yards down field yeah well he took his chicago bear with him that far from the 37. herschel walker first down to the 21-yard line tackled from behind by sean harris who's replacing vincent smith who took himself out of the game momentarily again herschel can do so many things this time working out of the backfield and a good receiver ten years ago this weekend he made his nfl debut on monday night football dallas against the giants in 86 then of course he went to minnesota in the trade that really made the cowboys from there on to philadelphia to the giants for a year and now back home literally homies he lives in the dallas area in his three years in the usfl he's rushed for over 13 000 yards williams on a reverse smelled out beautifully by the bears boys you see brian cox get out of the flat that reverse just a little slow in developing just a half a beat slow he had nate newton out front of him did kevin williams but too far out in front of him it was just took him a little too long to get across the dallas formation and cox showing some good speed to get back into it he bought the fake and then recovered and was able to trip up kevin williams there he is [Applause] that gave the fears blitz and the pass is under thrown intended for kevin williams looks for a flag doesn't get one wolf recovering oh that's when they should have had it was a good pickup of that blitz cox coming from the middle he is a good blitzing linebacker he used to do a lot of that with miami did it from the outside really well he gets picked up here and stood up by emmett smith smith third and nine from the 20. well for that kind of money he ought to do more than just run with it [Applause] eric williams was rocking back in his stance early and that is directly attributable to the soldier field crowd before the ball was snapped false start by the offense number 79 it remains third down eric williams whistle that's his fourth penalty of the night but that was the loudest this crowd has been yet tonight and that's clearly a case that williams doesn't hear the snap count so there was no play williams is the closest one to your screen here you see that there he goes and then he doesn't bother to block barry minter and just let him go on around the corner see the little head fake by mary here though he was he recognized that noise would be affecting williams he gave him a nod and grew him off well williams knew that he was wrong and he knows it's a false start and he knows it's a dead play it's just with that much crowd noise nobody can hear the whistle either and hockey has yet to signal the ball ready for play it will be third and 14 at the 25 yard they'll put three seconds back on the clock 7-14 left in the half three-nothing cowboys they have to get to the 10 for a first down and throws a wide open kevin williams at the seven oh the one that should have been caught a third straight flips another flag is down did you see the block by emmett smith i want you to look at the block by emmett smith picking up the blitz off of the corner somebody was holding then it wasn't emmett i watch this is as good a block as a running back can possibly make watch the right side of your screen there is emmett smith look at the block he puts on john mangum and goes after him again that is absolutely sensational and the cowboys backed up again you will never see a running back block any better than that right now here it is from the other side of the field mangum 26 is headed for emmett and he is sorry he got there it is a holding call against dallas and chicago has chosen to accept the penalty to take them out of field goal range otherwise it would have been a 42-yard attempt on fourth down third and 24 and aikman tries to get them back into field goal range and does taking it to the 24-yard line where he stopped by alonzo stallman but chicago had the choice of declining and letting bonegal attempt a 42-yarder now as it turns out he will attempt about a yarder i think this guy's not a competitor [Applause] emmett smith puts on a textbook display of blocking first picking up the blitzing brian cox up the middle and then puts it on john mangum now bono's streak on the line here a 43-yard attempt john jet to hold for a 27th consecutive field goal over two seasons and for water of aiza's street is safe as boniole misses for the first time since the third week of the 1995 season 6 21 to the half 3-0 cowboys soldier field in chicago [Applause] and we will play with our toys oh we got some great toys that gets what john mangum heard when he ran into emmitt smith bears have it after the miss bono field goal from the 33-yard line with dallas up three-nothing and eric framer off the play fake throws and the catches made by curtis conway up to the 45-yard line and the goodyear blimp that's the wrigley building spectacularly lit on the banks of the chicago river the spirit of akron floating high above lake michigan and providing some incredible shots on a very clear night and warm evening what a beautiful city every time i come over into the city i can't get over how clean it is just love to walk around the downtown area from the 44-yard line robert greene finds nothing but white shirts and turns it into a seven yard game great effort individual effort by green tackled by marion well he did he did all of that on his own auburn green a free agent picked up in 93 by the bears from the redskins good receiver out of the backfield ordinarily is it joe gibbs fine out of william and mary played a couple of years for the redskins before coming here and he's been a very versatile performer for dave wantstad and much use tonight of course again rashaan salam injured hamstring questionable for the washington game next week green again for a first down to the 44-yard line stopped by bronerick thomas and fred strickland and now the bears getting to utilize one of their strengths which is their offensive line so much publicity goes to their counterparts over on the cowboys but with big cat williams at right tackle burger font no perry and heck this has developed into a fine offensive line here in chicago only 15 sacks allowed last year they're getting better and better at the running game this is really the heart and soul of this football team better and better at the running game that great pass protection enabling kramer to have by far a career year last year and this time eric throws and completes another pass to michael attention in front of deion sanders at the 32-yard line and the crowd loves to get all over dion simpson gave it a little move like he was going to take it deep sanders bought it and it was perfect timing between kramer and timson sanders wasn't all that far out of that play he's out there on single coverage he's lined up straight ahead timpson looking in timson will give it a little fly pattern sanders has got to respect it and creamer with a perfect delivery hate to have a ball floating in the air anywhere that close to dion sanders you have to challenge the guy you can't pretend like you know they can't play to that side of the field blake was down to zero they get it off and it's a trick play with conway a high school quarterback and it's caught by harris for the touchdown oh they were trying to cover him with daryn smith smith in a very unfamiliar environment that was an amazing play they almost got a delay of game penalty they were a half a second away it's the second completion of his career and the high school quarterback throws a pass underneath the harris and chicago takes the lead frank you're right about darren smith and you know what i think he just lost track of the football he's pretty much running with his man but he just lost track of the ball didn't know the ball was coming down and kept right on going when the receivers stopped with the extra point carlos huerta supplanting the longtime kicker kevin butler they just get it off before what would have been a penalty conway to harris [Applause] well curtis conway gets a touchdown pass to raymond harris as sauerbrun kicks off and it's a beauty into the end zone the crowd's adrenaline transferred right into his kicking foot for the touch back and they're adrenalized because of this play here it is it's the reverse but instead of taking it he stop now conway gives it everything he's got he almost falls down in the effort in throwing this thing but this is really good coverage by darren smith he just loses track of the football it's under thrown raymond harris makes the adjustment darren smith keeps on running and curtis conway gives the bears seven points [Applause] monday night football in chicago al michaels frankford dan deardrost lynch swan year 27 for this package good one in chicago bears on top seven to three against the world champions you look at brian cox head middle linebacker aikman retreats on first down from the 20 and slings one into the arms of deion sanders who's been his favorite target tonight for a first down up at the 30-yard line wolf harris with the coverage he should remain his favorite target with the way walt harris is covering him they're giving him single coverage on him and even when he gets help to the inside he's laying off five six seven yards looking at sanders the sanders with no fancy move to the outside just a little angle back to the sidelines and troy aikman with an incredibly strong arm gets it there so quickly and they don't give him the first down he has to get to the 30-yard line so with his second and an inch on a nine plus yard gain and emmitt smith of course can pick up a lot of inches in 10 yards as well marty carter makes the tackle first down dallas that much time left in the first half dion sanders we mentioned at the top he said he thought he could play a hundred plays tonight he's on his way 24 on offense and 20 on defense and he's caught four balls 44 out of the 50 plays in the game it's really a remarkable display of stamina bloody unbowed as you can see on his shirt from the 40-yard line a screen is set up to moose johnston and the moose barrels his way into bear territory to the 48 where carl simpson the tackle goes back to stop and there's a flag down at the 38 and it appears to be coming back it's a hold against dallas mark tuane was the dallas cowboy making a block at the point of attack and two and a's having to leave the field he waved over to the sidelines and he needed to be replaced it looked like they were going to bring it back and then they were indicating that it might work against the bears checking his eye two and i of course have been uh somewhat questionable for this game having been injured in holy season by the defense number 96 the penalty has declined the play results in a first down well originally they signaled against dallas instead now it's number 96 defensively that's al fantano we come to the two minute warning with the bears on top seven to three right now it's live for george hageman who's had to replace mark two in a at left tackle tony looks like he might have had a contact lens problem he's searching around him at left orbit and some mistiming in the backfield as emmitt smith goes next to nowhere stopped by barry minter they work on two and eight it is a contact lens as you can see and dallas going to a hurry up offense here no huddle for the cowboys second down at eight from the 48-yard line and over the middle reaching for it but unable to make the catch is kelvin martin who used to play with the cowboys and bounced around seattle and philadelphia was on the street they picked them up recently to become their number three receiver at least until michael irvin gets back well here's where they really miss jay novacek and he of course is such a major factor in the hurry up offense another guy named michael irvin and michael irvin of course but the two of them together run a great combination on that strong side situations like this when cowboys would convert this third long into first down i think something like over 60 percent of the time it was novachuck and urban one of the other third down and nine aikman looks one way than the other as he does so beautifully and it's cradled by dion sanders for a first down at the 35-yard line five catchers tonight for dion i can't believe that walt harris must have been told whatever you do don't let him get behind you again he is off five six yards covering him in single coverage but you've got to come up and you can't give him everything like that cowboys take their first timeout [Music] chicago on a monday night where the bears are leading the cowboys at soldier field just south of that picture seven to three the cowboys with two timeouts remaining have the ball first and ten at the 35 yard line mark 2 is back in the game big number 71 at left tackle contact lens problem resolved he sets up as the cowboys send sanders to the left johnston in motion williams to the right and aiken throws and it's picked off at the 10. great coverage marty carter was there as troy threw into traffic and chicago with a big turnover up at the 40-yard line tackle made by emmitt smith troy did really throw into the traffic the role was to the left side and marty carter was just playing it center field looking into aikman's eyes they've been locked in to the receiver all the way threw it right into the hands of marty carter again though look how this play finishes off emmitt smith emmitt smith makes the tackle on carter along the sidelines tough rivet to do much more than he's done the first half 120 left the bears have all of their timeouts they begin from the 38-yard line kramer with that patented short drop and then the pass is incomplete may have been tipped he was looking timpson's way second and 10. 116 left in the first half and coming up at halftime we're going to welcome chris berman aboard who will have halftime highlights 90s style and then we'll have a chance to speak with jimmy johnson who'll join us live from miami in the after glow of that victory yesterday i know chris berman has to be very upset that rashaan salam ianrai next week chris glad to have you chris second down and 10 is raymond harris goes next to nowhere aikman looking on after throwing the interception always room for one more on this road show right you know kramer is questioning the call i think he questioned that call and i think he's busting the one he's got i think it looks to him like the bears want to go inside with the lead 7-3 not try to set up the field goal or get into the end zone third down and 10. and that's almost intercepted boy that was a bizarre sequence of plays tony casillas back again with the cowboys knocks it down and now they've left the cowboys with plenty of time and two timeouts as they're forced to putt that was carlo's work they're warming up for what he hoped would be a field goal but they're not even close and i don't think gary kramer is happy at all with the calls that are being sent in in fact he ripped his helmet off and he came to the sidelines and they're talking to him right now trying to cool him off straight strange play calling a sour run punch kelvin martin is back to receive it at the 15-yard and it's to line harris who scored the touchdown he has two men to beat now and he's finally stopped at the 15-yard line by kelvin martin oh danny obramawitz this is your life timeout i wonder if that was set up all the way to make it look like they were willing to run the clock out eric kramer came off the sidelines ripped his helmet off he was upset with the play calling then they come in with the fake punch oh a special team a special team coach's finest hour danny abramowitz the coach of the bears special teams the block is on by the cowboys taylor made for a fake punt sour brought right to raymond harris just couldn't have been executed any better timeout bears [Music] the game within the game danny abramowicz the special teams coach on one side joe alvazano sullen on the other side first down chicago from the 14-yard line they have one time-out left 25 ticks remaining dallas shows blitz and it's incomplete intended for timpson who was locked up with smith you know you go back to that fake field goal that is one of the advantages of this bear coaching staff knowing the cowboys so well for that to be effective you have to know that the rush is on and when you see their punt team up in the line they knew it was going to be a rush the bears did and so the the fake is on and that is really knowing a team well when you're able to tell when they're rushing versus when they're falling back on a punt return dave wants that knows his dallas cowboys team inside and out that's why you can't afford to get in a pattern at any time in this game chicago with two time-outs remaining it's second down and it's locked at incomplete woodson with great coverage on the rookie bobby ingram so you've got maybe the best strong safety in the league covering a rookie so he is he's covering a speedy wide receiver and he is one of the best run support safeties in the game today erin woodson with good coverage third down 14. bears with 19 ticks left on top 7-3 third and ten four bears into the pattern and the pass is nearly picked off by marion at the goal line intended for bobby ingram fourth down wants that grits his teeth and just hopes right now for a 31-yard field goal that ball thrown behind bobby engram they got what they wanted didn't they frank they certainly did the cowboys came with the blitz they're three deep lined up across man-to-man just a poor throw by kramer 31-yard attempt by carlos huerta the new bear kicker the first time the bears have had anybody but kevin butler in that regular role since the mid 80s todd sauer of on the whole and huerta who played at the university of miami when dave wants that was an assistant coach bangs it through 11 seconds to the half bears extend their lead to seven the columns of soldier field they're vibrating right now the energy from this crowd a superb coaching job thus far on the part of dave wants that and his staff they came into this game and early on they lost keith jennings to tight end he was going to be an integral part of their offense they've adjusted beautifully and he's done a fine job against his former team [Applause] the aikman interception leading to a field goal and sauerbrunn boots a ground ball to the five-yard line kevin williams runs it back up to the 25-yard line and dallas with one play remaining is anthony martial makes the stop well troy aikman as we said at the very top of the show said before the game says you know i really don't know what to expect tonight it's been a pretty fascinating first half very low scoring but it's a strange ebb and flow to the first two periods coming off that preseason when they moved out of monterey and they had an entire football team back in dallas watching the preseason game and they never really caught their breath during pre-season they could never make the big play but they never made a third and one in pre-season last year the cowboys played only one first half of a game without scoring a touchdown and they've just done it tonight what a difference a year makes at the half bears 10. cowboys three jimmy johnson chris berman coming along at the half and we'll be back after this message from the national football league in a word for abc [Music] [Applause] stations

Channel: Ryan Bush

Views: 2,976

Keywords: Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Ryan Bush, Barry's Boys, Dave Wannstedt, Barry Switzer, Troy Aikman, Erik Kramer, Emmitt Smith, Raymont Harris, Deion Sanders, Kevin Smith, Darren Woodson, Brock Marion, Charles Haley, Tony Tolbert, Kelvin Martin, Jay Novacek, Daryl Johnston, Herschel Walker

Id: 2VXCmoQ88K0

Length: 63min 38sec (3818 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 09 2021