Thursday, September 27, 2012

The Offense Needs to Show Up This Week

The Cowboys are somehow going into their game Monday night with the Bears with a 2-1 record.  The defense is the #1 rated defense in the NFL based on yards allowed.  But the offense has been nearly non-existent since the week 1 win against the Giants.  And the punt team continues to struggle.

The Bears aren't world beaters but they do have a very good defense.  That means that the offense has their work cut out for them this week.  Last week the offense struggled against one of the worst pass defenses in football primarily because they just couldn't get Tony Romo any time to throw the ball.  And the running game was so bad it was embarrassing.

The defense will have their hands full dealing with Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.  It is sounding more and more like Matt Forte will play Monday night as well.  But you can be sure that Cutler will throw at least a few balls that the defense will have a chance to pick off.  The real test is going to be stopping the running game again.  Even without Matt Forte the Bears will still have Michael Bush who is no slouch.  The good news is that the Bears are very similar to the Cowboys in that their offensive line is not good at all.

The real test for the Cowboys this week will be what they do on offense.  It is pretty obvious at this point that the Cowboys could be a very good team if the offense could become even mediocre.  Who would have thought that the offense would be the big problem after the terrible finish to the season by the defense last year.  That just goes to show how poorly the offensive line has played up to this point.  They aren't opening any running lanes at all and Tony Romo will be lucky to play 16 games this season they way things are going.

Bill Callahan admitted that his offensive line has been terrible.  Doug Free admitted his play has been terrible.  The question is whether there is enough talent and skill on the offensive line to fix the problems that have been apparent over the last two games.  We have all seen Doug Free play good football before.  He just needs his confidence back. 

I believe the rest of the issues stem from the fact that the offensive line basically had no preseason together.  The new center and a lack of focus has been causing a ridiculous number of false starts.  And the communication between the lineman has been terrible.  But these are issues that can be fixed.  There is still hope but we need to start seeing improvement.  I don't think all of the issues can be fixed in a week but I do think we'll see a better performance all around from the offensive line this week.

I am a little worried about Jason Witten now.  Not that he is never going to be the player he has been for the last 10 years, but that it is going to take him some time to get his mojo back.  He looked healthy last week.  He just seems very unsure of himself.  If he can get off to a better start I'm sure things will fall into place.  Maybe he can start the game without having to catch a tipped pass this week.

The Cowboys need to get off to a good start this week to help out the defense since they are down a man with Barry Church out for the season.  Danny McCray is a decent player but is a clear step down from the play of Church.  It makes the job of a safety much easier if they know when the pass is coming.  Getting a decent lead could force the Bears into a passing game which could lead to interceptions and sacks.  A close game will allow the Bears to continue to pound away with Forte and Bush. 

I don't expect a quick turnaround from the offense this week.  But I do think they will be better.  I expect a close game Monday night.  It is a very even matchup with two good defenses matching up with two bad offensive lines.  It really comes down to whether you have more faith in Romo or Cutler to make the play or, more importantly, not make the bad play.  I have more trust in Romo to get the job done based on what I've seen from Cutler and his line this season.  I'm picking the Cowboys to win a close one 20-17.

7 comments:

  1. We wrote what the offense needs to turn things around! http://dallascowboyblog.com/whos-running/

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow. This wasn't even close. An absolute thrashing at home no less. Five interceptions?!? This just isn't the team that I thought they were. Maybe they can't get it done with Romo. The years keep passing by and it's just more of the same. I know it's only week 4 but after the Giants win, I really thought this team had a good chance to be 4-0 at this point.

    ReplyDelete
  3. idk anymore maybe romo really is the problem? sigh here comes another shitty two weeks of cowboys trash talking fuckk living in NJ.


    Kyle

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kyle Orton ain't looking so bad. That was sad. Not saying its all timidly fault. But seriously enough talk about him being a good quarterback. He is statistically great. But he is not a winner or a leader.

    WBF

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cowboys are not good on many levels, it is not just Romo. At this rate, will be lucky to go 8-8. If ya can't run, throw, catch, block, cover, ya can't win....

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think what's extremely telling is how many season-ticket holders have given up on this team. At times, it sounded like a home game for Chicago last night. By some estimates, 20,000 Chicago fans were at the game wearing their jerseys and supporting their squad. Romo is lucky that Orton is the back-up and he's not really an option at this point. Romo has been running the same show for eight years now and it's not getting better or going anywhere. Going to be a long season...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Everybody, Usually, there is another article by now. Do you think this guy jumped off a cliff or drove off a bridge???? The Cowboys play could do that to a fan ya know....jk, hope to see a new article soon..GO COWBOYS!

    ReplyDelete