Back from the Bye Weekend

The Cowboys seem to have a caught a little bit of a break with the timing of the bye week. Kyle Kosier and Jason Witten look like they will both be back for the game this weekend against the Titans. And, even better, the Eagles lost this weekend allowing the Cowboys to move within one half game of first place in the NFC East. The Cowboys are also alone in last place in the NFC East but it sounds a lot better to say they are a half game out of the lead in the division.

So what should we expect from the Cowboys coming off the bye? Well, as you have probably read, we should expect to see the Cowboys reel off a few wins in a row over the next few weeks. The Cowboys have put together three game winning streaks coming off the bye for the last three seasons in a row.

That doesn't mean it is a lock for the Cowboys to roll, but it really felt like the Cowboys found their groove against the Texans. The bye week unfortunately may cause the Cowboys to need a few series to get back in rhythm but the gains on the injury front probably outweigh the loss of momentum.

The Titans are going to present a tough challenge regardless of what the records or the statistics indicate. It seems like the type of season where every week is going to be a crap shoot. We don't know which Cowboys team will show up this week and we don't know which version of Vince Young is going to show up either.

The Cowboys are definitely going to be prepared for the Titans from a strategic standpoint. An extra week to dissect the Titans tendencies on both sides of the ball should give the Cowboys an advantage. But they still have to make sure they keep Chris Johnson under control on every play during the game. And the Titans seem to have mastered the art of pushing the buttons of their opponents.

You can bet that there will be a few scuffles after the play during the game due to some cheap shots and offensive comments by the Titans. They key is that the Cowboys will need to avoid allowing themselves to get drawn into the mind games of the Titans. Avoiding dumb personal foul penalties will undoubtedly be a challenge.

The Cowboys got in some good work last week and they got an extra day of practice in on Monday. They will be prepared. And they still need to dig out of the hole they dug for themselves in the first two games of the season.