Terrell Owens didn’t catch a single pass in the first half of the Giants game, and ended up with only three catches, but he made the most of them with two going for touchdowns. But, if the Cowboys are going to be successful this year, the Tony Romo to Terrell Owens connection is going to need to get going earlier.

With Terry Glenn out for several more weeks with a knee injury, Terrell Owens becomes the only real threat among the receivers. Patrick Crayton has a knack for getting open, but he isn’t a deep threat. And while Sam Hurd has a lot of potential, he doesn’t have deep threat speed either.

The Cowboys will continue to jab opponents with Crayton and Jason Witten when the defense focuses on Terrell Owens, but they’ll also need to get the running game going if they are going to get T.O. into the game earlier. Football is a game that plays into itself with one part of the team helping out another part of the team. And just like a good secondary can allow a team to put more pressure on a quarterback by bringing more players, a good running game can help the passing game by forcing teams to defend with more players in the box.

It’s a safe bet that teams will focus on Terrell Owens early. He has a reputation for becoming inattentive if he is taken out of the first half. And this can be used as a weapon too. I’ve always said that if a player is being double-teamed — whether he’s a receiver or a defensive lineman — he’s doing his job. He’s already taken two players out of the play.

And, no doubt, T.O. will provide that type of help to the offense. But the best bet is to find ways to get the ball into his hands, even if it is something like running an wide receiver reverse.

We’ll see what they can do against Miami. The Dolphins lost safety Yeremiah Bell in their opening game, so their ability to defend against the pass has taken a hit. Dallas will need to take advantage of it.