It was hard to be a Dallas Cowboys fan after losing to the New
Orleans Saints in overtime last Sunday. Already without quarterback Tony Romo, receiver
Dez Bryant and countless other starters, the Cowboys fell to 2-2 with a
dangerous game coming up with the defending Super Bowl-champion New England
Patriots. But is it time to wave the flag on the season and just expect the
Cowboys quit?
It seems to be a popular opinion among the members of my
weekly-radio show, Best for Business. When we went in for the Cowboys post-game
show, I was shocked to hear former Cowboys running back Tashard Choice say the
season was over. Agreeing with him was my co-host Walt and later accompanied by
our other co-host Tovash on Twitter. I was shocked at what I was hearing from
normally level-headed football analysts.
I respectfully disagree with all of them and I am here to
show that the season is far from over. They will attack me and say I am a “Cowboys
homer”, but that is far from the case. I am simply being a realist and doing my
due diligence on what is coming up and what players are returning to this team
very shortly.
One of the major reasons of optimism is the fact that the
defense gets back two of their best players in Greg Hardy and Rolando
McClain. One of the more shocking things
to come out of Choice’s mouth during our post-game show was that Hardy was not
an elite-pass rusher in the NFL. He tried to tell me five other players who
were better but I just shook my head. There is a major reason why the Cowboys
are risking signing a player with as much baggage as he has to a one-year deal;
that is because he is a game-changer. In 32 games, Hardy recorded 27 sacks,
forced four fumbles and had 121 tackles. Pro-Football focus ranked him the
second-best 4-3 defensive end in 2013. He is a beast on the field because he
can lineup all over the defensive line to create mismatch problems. How can
this guy not be a game-changer?
Let’s talk about Rolando McClain, the very nonchalant
linebacker from Alabama. This was another player that is returning that Tashard
Choice had his doubts about. Again the question is why? Last season he was one
of the more important members of the Cowboys’ defense that lacked star-power.
In 2014, McClain had a +17.2 rating for the Cowboys, according to
Bloggingtheboys.com and Pro-Football Focus. McClain also recorded 81 tackles, a
sack, forced a fumbles and two picks. Numbers don’t convince you? Consider the
fact that when McClain was not on the field, opposing running backs looked like
Moses going through the Red Sea. He is a game-changer at the middle linebacker
position and paired next to a healthy Sean Lee will do wonders for this
defense.
Still think this team is doomed? According to Executive Vice
President of the Cowboys, Stephen Jones, rookie defensive end Randy Gregory
should be back by the time they face the New York Giants after the bye week.
Gregory already has shown you what a spark-plug he is for this defensive line,
especially getting three quarterback hurries in the opener. Rumors are circulating
that Dez Bryant might even return for that game, but that is still yet to be
seen.
So for the final-five games until Romo returns, you will
have your defense at almost full-strength and an offense that is not making
mistakes and scoring when they need too. How can this be a doomsday scenario?
How can you say that the team should quit now?
Things might get bad and the season might be over soon. Yet,
with all that is returning, there is more than an optimistic chance the Cowboys
can still weather the storm until Romo gets back.
To say it is over without even looking at the reinforcements
and the schedule down the stretch is just a lazy and emotional way of analysis.
I think we are all better than that.
More on this topic and others every Thursday on Best for
Business radio show. Live on deepellumonair.com from 8-11 pm CST! Follow me on
@easportsdfw
