The Cowboys are in serious trouble, even at 2-2, the season’s outlook is looking more grim with each passing week. We’ve pretty much opened the coffin and taking a peek in there right now, and with the upcoming games, we’ll have one foot in there soon.
My last tweet from last night pretty much sum up what this year is going to be.
This team will be ok, just not this year. That's the honest reality after seeing 2 weeks of Romo/Dezless team #CowboysNation #DallasCowboys
— CowboysBlog.Net (@CowboysBlogNet) October 5, 2015
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We’ve seen what this team is able to do and unable to do without it’s two top offensive weapons and it’s not pretty. We have simply sustained too many big-time injuries to the skilled areas of the team. We were probably a bit too optimistic going into this stretch — I know I over compensated what the defense was going to do. This team is in trouble and we all know it. I’ve seen a few optimistic points being fed online; but the truth is, it’s going to be very very tough winning without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. Weeden has held his own, but defensive coordinators know the Cowboys are crippled and they are shutting down whatever semblance of weapons we have remaining.
The Offensive line has clearly taken a step back with Frank Pollack, he’s a good assistant, but that unit looks average right now. Looking ahead, they may need to consider a new offensive line coach to turn them back into what we saw last season, because right now it’s not impressive. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t very good right now.
Lance Dunbar finally came into his own under this Linehan offense and he’s likely done for the year, we’re simply waiting for that confirmation which will come sometime today.
Have you ever played the board game Stratego? In the game, if you have lost all your top leaders or offensive weapons then you’re just sitting there as the other opponent still has weapons and you cannot do anything about it. The opponent simply marches down and takes your flag? That’s where the Cowboys are right now. We don’t have anything going for us. Sure we’ll be somewhat competitive, but the firepower is gone.
— Let’s re-calculate what the Cowboys season record may be by the time Romo returns
We’re currently 2-2, and here is the remaining schedule:
Week 5: New England Patriots; 3:25pm (CBS) 10/11 — LOSS
Week 6: — BYE WEEK —
Week 7: @ New York Giants; 3:25pm (FOX) 10/25 — LOSS
Week 8: Seattle Seahawks; 3:25pm (FOX) 11/1 — LOSS
Week 9: Philadelphia Eagles; 7:30pm (SNF)** 11/8 — LOSS
Week 10: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 12pm (FOX) 11/15 — WIN
Week 11: @ Miami Dolphins; 12pm (CBS) 11/22 — WIN
Week 12: Carolina Panthers; Thanksgiving 3:30pm (FOX) 11/26 — LOSS
============== ROMO RETURNS?? =========================
This is just a hypothetical assuming Romo comes back after Thanksgiving, which appears to be the target date to avoid rushing him back on a short week. Cowboys could be 4-7 at best case scenario. Basically, if the Cowboys lose all these games, the season will be officially over by Thanksgiving. There’s no way we can salvage the season with more than 8 losses.
Even at 4-7, we still have a brutal ending to the season, could we run the table and finish 9-7? It’s possible, sure, but is it likely? The Cowboys really need to hope the NFC East is so bad that a 7-9 team can get in as the Conference winner.
Week 13: @ Washington Redskins; 7:30pm (MNF)** 12/7
Week 14: @ Green Bay Packers; 3:25pm (FOX) 12/13
Week 15: New York Jets; 7:25pm (NFLNetwork)** 12/19
Week 16: @ Buffalo Bills; 12pm (FOX) 12/27
Week 17: Washington Redskins; 12pm (FOX) 1/3
The one thing I don’t want to see the Cowboys doing is panicking and making a crazy trade that will set the roster back for next season. I want to keep all my picks and reload with great draft positioning if we indeed end up with a top 15 pick in each round, because that’s the trajectory we’re on right now.
The last little bit optimism revolves around the defensive talent we are getting back next week and thereafter. Greg Hardy will be fresh, disruptive and he’lldraw double-teams; Rolando McClain will boost the run defense when he’s available — that’s the other thing about McClain — will he even be able to stay on the field? Randy Gregory will be the other pass rushing boost this team needs. That being said, if these three guys can make a big enough impact on defense to shut down opposing offenses, then our struggling offense can dink and dunk their way to 17-23 point a game and steal a few wins until Romo returns. If we can steal our division games in the coming weeks against the Giants and Eagles, we could still be in this thing.
We can just hope for the best right now.
How do you see the rest of the season playing out? What’s your prediction on our season record thru Thanksgiving?
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