Will Romo Elevate Cowboys Against Dolphins?

Today is the day everyone has been waiting for —  Tony Romo’s return! It’s been well documented how bad the Cowboys have looked since his injury and the question will be whether or not he can elevate the team.

Will Romo help the defense stay off the field?

Will Romo get the offensive line back to their 2014 form?

Will the receivers suddenly become open?

These are all questions that have been answered with assumptions leading up to the game. Well, we’re about to find out if one player can be so significant to a team’s success. I have a feeling he will help in all those areas.

Here’s what I’m expecting against the Dolphins:

— Tony Romo is back, but there will be some rust. This offense runs on timing and it’ll be interesting to see if Romo will hit the receivers or will there be some miscommunication that could lead to INTs? It’ll be something to keep an eye on.

— Cole Beasley and Terrance Williams should benefit the most with Romo’s return as they have been insignificant contributors for a large part of Romo’s absence.

— My biggest question mark will revolve around the defense. Will the time of possession with Romo help keep the defense fresh and will that bring more sacks. The sacks have not been coming and now there should be no excuses, period. Get 3rd stops and get sacks — that’s it, get it done.

— Is Darren McFadden out of gas? The Cowboys have put the running game on his shoulders, and last week we saw a tired looking McFadden. He’s dealing with a tweaked groin, so we’ll see how big that could affect the offense as a whole. Rodney Smith and newly added Robert Turbin are activated as well.

— With Morris Claiborne out, we’ll see Tyler Patmon shoulder a bigger role, and this shift Byron Jones opposite Carr. It’ll be up to Church, Wilcox, and Heath to play sound football, as in tackling. Wilcox and Heath are terrible tacklers and the Dolphins could have a field day in the middle of the field.

— Keep an eye on Dolphins RB Lamar Miller, he’ll be set to hit free agency unless he is tagged, and if he hits free agency look for the Cowboys to go after him. Miller is a solid, physical runner, and he catches out of the backfield.

Those are my quick look for today’s game. Can the Cowboys improve to 3-7, they need to get this thing turned around and it starts today. A loss would have the team playing in evaluation mode the rest of the year. This is a big game.