Jean-Jacques Taylor

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The Cowboys' offensive line has been superb in the first two games. If the line is going to play this well all season, then Dallas' offense is going to be among the best in the league.

It's one thing to punish Tampa Bay for 34 points and 462 yards, but it's quite another to score 31 points and gain 378 yards against the Giants, who have one of the league's top defenses.

Flozell Adams had a bad tripping penalty that cost the Cowboys a 42-yard gain late in the first half against the Giants, but he did an outstanding job on Osi Umenyiora, who had just one tackle.

The offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, which is how Dallas rushed for 251 yards and an 8.7-yard average. Marion Barber and Felix Jones combined for four runs of 20 yards or more, and Patrick Crayton added a 20-yard reverse.

In Week 1, Tony Romo passed for a career-high 353 yards, but the Cowboys still rushed the ball for 118 yards and a 4.9 average.

Wade Phillips wanted to run the ball more this season, and Jason Garrett has acquiesced. He's gotten all three running backs involved, so even if Barber has to miss some time with a strained quad, the running game should be in good shape.

More important, Romo has been sacked just once in 56 pass attempts. If he continues to get that type of protection, he will post some gaudy numbers.

The Cowboys' offense has shown quick-strike capability running and passing. A lot of different players are touching the ball - six players already have at least one gain for 20 yards or more ­ but none of it would happen without outstanding performances from the offensive line.

Q: The Cowboys traded Anthony Henry in part to get younger, but at the time it was also said that they wanted to play more aggressively in coverage. It sure seems like the Cowboys are still playing a majority of the time in a and zone and getting beaten badly. What happened?

Ricardo Reyes, El Paso

TAYLOR: Actually, the Cowboys have played considerably more man-to-man than zone this year, which is part of their problem. Cornerbacks Terence Newman, Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins have been beaten way too often. It's hard for Wade Phillips to be aggressive with his blitz packages if the Cowboys can't cover anyone. That's a recipe for disaster.

Q: What is up with Felix Jones getting caught from behind in an open field by two Giants? I thought he was supposed to have Tony Dorsett speed. Has last year's injury made him slower than he was in his first games?

Scot Walker, Plano

TAYLOR: It's really funny how I get all these e-mails about being too negative, and many of you are a lot more negative than I am. Jones bruised his thigh last week against Tampa, so he's probably not at full speed. Plus, I think the safety who dragged him down had an angle on him. He gained 56 yards on that carry and finished with seven carries for 96 yards. You'll have to live with him getting caught every now and then.

Q: The defense is holding this team back. They played brilliantly at times last night, but they just don't create turnovers and haven't for a long time. Do you think there's reason for concern regarding this defense?

Ron Guerra, Santa Monica, Calif.

TAYLOR: You should absolutely be concerned about the defense. Overall, they've been awful in the first two weeks. They have no sacks and no turnovers, which is hard to do, especially for a Wade Phillips defense. The defense doesn't have to be great for the Cowboys to win, but it needs to be good. It comes down to someone making a play. No one did in the fourth quarter, so they lost.

Q: Is DeMarcus Ware starting to miss Greg Ellis yet? I know I am.

John D. Porter, Washington, D.C.

TAYLOR: Absolutely. Ellis already has three sacks for Oakland. The Cowboys took a concerted gamble when they let Ellis go and gave the position to Anthony Spencer. They believed he would be a good player and supply a consistent pass rush. Thus far, he hasn't. If he doesn't do it soon, then DeMarcus Ware is going to get killed because teams can triple-team him, if they want, because they don't have to worry about Spencer beating one-on-one coverage.

Q: Your idea about how Dallas needs to "impose its will" is missing one key element: players. In order for a team to impose its will, it needs to have players who can do that. We don't have any guys on defense who can do that, which once again demonstrates why not getting Ray Lewis was a huge blow. Did you see what he did against SD on the last play of the game? That's what "will imposing" players do, and we just don't have any guys like that.

Omar Savoy, Los Angeles

TAYLOR: Dude, get over Ray Lewis. He was never, ever coming here. He was never leaving Baltimore. That said, you're right about the Cowboys. Sometimes, the game isn't complicated. Sometimes, a player just has to make a play and win a game. They had 11 opportunities on the last drive, and no one made a play when it counted.

Q: I think Tony Romo is a good quarterback but not great. Don't you think it is time for Jerry to start looking for "great quarterback?"

Bob Sparks, Valley Springs, Calif.

TAYLOR: Where do you find one? You just can't call up and order a great quarterback. You can't even take one at the top of the draft and be certain he'll become a star. It's pretty much the luck of the draw. Let's see how this season turns out before we put a final label on Romo. I would, however, be drafting a quarterback every year. You can never have enough of them, because you can always trade a good backup.

Q: Who is responsible for changing the Cowboys' attitude: the players, the coaching staff or ownership?

Timothy Stearns

TAYLOR: I don't think attitude is the problem. It's not like the guys don't play hard or try hard. This isn't about effort, it's about performance. They have to play better against the best teams in the league. Until they consistently do that, they're going to disappoint you.

Q: Romo makes his pre-snap read and decides not even to look at Roy Williams. They're paying Williams $10 million a year, and he gets three passes his way? Why won't Romo throw him the ball?

James Justin, Indianapolis

TAYLOR: You can't have it both ways. Romo forced the ball to T.O. and folks complained. Now, the Cowboys have said he's going to spread the ball around and you're still complaining. The Cowboys are averaging 32.5 points and 400 yards a game. The offense is working.

Q: How would you address Mr. Adams' propensity for committing penalties at critical times during games with him? Or do you? Justin Tuck's shoulder wants to know.

Ewart Jones

TAYLOR: Flozell tripped him, no doubt, but I'm not sure why Tuck is blaming that for a shoulder injury. Flozell actually played a terrific game against Osi Umenyiora, but the tripping penalty was a killer because it negated a 42-yard catch-and-run by Patrick Crayton. Those types of mistakes are killers.

Q: You don't make strides as a leader; either you are or not. This is not something you learn or make progress on the job. The Cowboys will never win the big games because their quarterback doesn't have the character to win big games.

Jose Arellano

TAYLOR: For argument's sake, wouldn't you say the Monday Night Football game against Green Bay in 2007 for supremacy in the NFC and the top seed in the NFC was a big game? I would. Romo won that one. Let's not say he won't ever win a big game. Let's say he needs to play much better in the final month of the season. People progress as leaders all of the time. It's called maturity.

Q: You still think they don't need No. 81 now? Last week, you, along with all of your fellow journalists, had no problem basking in Romo's passing success against the lowly Bucs, and pulled out statistics to substantiate your position.Ok, now what? Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, and Miles Austin caught one pass apiece. Wow. Williams is a fraud and T.O. wasn't the problem. Jason Garrett and Romo are.

Paul K. Lowe

TAYLOR: Your problem is you think like T.O. It doesn't matter that Williams, Austin and Crayton didn't have a big game, because the offense still scored 31 points and gained nearly 400 yards, including 251 rushing. It's about the offense, dude. The offense, thus far, is working without T.O. The question is whether T.O. will be an impact player in Buffalo. Let's just see what happens.