Maybe the Cowboys Are Just Mediocre

After watching the Cowboys get completely destroyed against the Eagles on Sunday night I am finally convinced about the state of the team. The Cowboys are just a completely average team right now. They aren't as terrible as the Eagles' game might make you believe. But they also aren't nearly as good as the dominating win against the Rams might fool you into believing. The Cowboys can beat any team and they can lose to any team. That is a sign of a team that is very average.

I think it is pretty obvious that the odds of the Cowboys making a run at the Super Bowl are not good at this point in the season. It isn't impossible but it doesn't look very likely. But I also don't expect to see the Cowboys collapse down the stretch either. 8-8 or 9-7 appears to be where this team is headed if something doesn't change.

No fan wants to see their team go 8-8 or 9-7, but I can't be completely disappointed in that type of a season either. Let's be honest. The Cowboys have problems on the offensive line. It is preventing the offense from establishing a consistent attack. Tony Romo is very rarely comfortable in the pocket against the better teams in the league. It was wishful thinking to believe that an offensive line could be pieced together on the fly a few weeks before the start of the season that could be playoff caliber.

I'm not ready to give up on Tony Romo or Jason Garrett like many members of the fan base are ready to do. I feel like Jason Garrett is slowly whipping the roster into shape. He was dealt a bad hand with the moves that had to be made right before the season thanks to salary cap issues. But Garrett isn't standing pat with the players he has. He is churning the roster to try to find new pieces that the Cowboys can rely on for years to come.

And for those who think that there is any chance that Romo is fighting for his job...dream on. First of all, Tony Romo is a top 10 quarterback in the league. His stats are no aberration. And Tony's contract isn't the type that the Cowboys can afford to dump now that they are already handcuffed by the salary cap. Romo's contract was restructured before the season started, and the adjustments that were made virtually guarantee that he will be here for at least 2-3 more years.

Just because the Cowboys are average at this point in the season doesn't mean that they are destined to be average at the end of the season. The team can improve. But the Eagles game was a step back. The schedule for the Cowboys gives them a shot to make a run at a playoff birth but the improvement has to start now. I have no doubt that the Sunday night game was a wake up call. I expect to see a dominating win against the Seahawks. But all that will do is get the Cowboys back to .500 for the season. They need a winning streak. And they need to start beating quality teams.

I won't be convinced the Cowboys are done this year until they prove they can't beat the lesser teams on their schedule. But injuries could change that view as well. I'm really hoping that Sean Lee will be able to play through his wrist injury. It was obvious against the Eagles that Keith Brooking can't get it done any more. And Matt McBriar's injury is a major concern as well. The hamstring pull that Mike Jenkins had on Sunday night isn't going to help the defense either.

So this is where we are right now. The Cowboys are just a run of the mill team right now. They are very average. Some would argue that they are below average. So now we'll see what Jason Garrett is made of. A great coach can find a way to get his team to play above their talent level. The final 9 games will tell us a lot about whether Jason Garrett is a coach that can be the difference.