Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys are 3-3 as the team officially completes their bye week and will return to action this week against the San Francisco 49ers. It’s been a rough first part of the season filled with injuries and disappointing performances. Hopefully, this team can get some things worked out and be a more competitive football team going forward. Here are ten thoughts on what we could see from this football team as the season resumes.

1. The Lion returns?

The Cowboys have a 35% pass-rush win rate, which ranked them 25th in the league entering this past weekend. The defensive end group has been held together by Chauncey Golston, Carl Lawson, and Tyrus Wheat after losing Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Marshawn Kneeland. This group will slowly get some key players back, hopefully starting with Parsons this week. Getting the team’s best pass rusher back would be a huge help to the defense.

2. The cornerback group suddenly gets strong

Sunday should mark the season debut of All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland. The team’s leader in interceptions a year ago will finally work opposite Trevon Diggs to give the team a strong cornerback tandem. Rookie Caelen Carson should also return meaning the CB depth will go from weak to strong and players like Amani Oruwariye and Andrew Booth will be relegated to the bench

3. Overall health improves

The defense will also get reinforcements at the linebacker position. Veterans Eric Kendricks and Nick Vigil missed the Lions game with injuries, but neither player is expected to miss much time and should be back on the field shortly. The defense will still be waiting for Lawrence and Kneeland to return, but that will be later in the season, but the slew of returns will be a sight for sore eyes for this group.

4. The Zimmer learning curve

Before the Lions game, the defense showed signs of improvement as they held the Giants and Steelers to less than 20 points. Granted, neither of those offenses scares anyone. Still, the Cowboys’ run defense showed a noticeable improvement as the defenders exhibited better discipline and weren’t deviating from their assignments. It was expected that it would take time for new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s plan to start working. As Coach Boone said, it’s like novocaine, give it time, it always works. We’ll find out real soon if that will be the case for Zimmer and his defense.

5. Can the defense please get a turnover

Under Dan Quinn, the Cowboys’ defense was a turnover-generating machine, leading the league in takeaways for two straight reasons. That was insane. His aggressive approach created those opportunities, but Zimmer’s defense hasn’t had the same type of success when taking the ball away. On the season, the Cowboys only have four takeaways, and if this defense is a part of their success, stealing some possessions would sure come in handy. The learning curve and injuries have provided excuses for the defense, but those excuses won’t hold water much longer.

6. The McCarthenheimer adjustment

Before their bye week last year, the Cowboys’ offense scored 20 or less in three of their last four games. The offense was in disarray as it looked as if Mike McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer’s more conservative approach was a huge failure for the offense. But, as if a switch just suddenly flipped, the offense proceeded to score more than 20 points in seven straight games, six of which were at least 30 points, and four with at least 40 points. The offense came to life and the Cowboys won six of their next seven games. Many hope this bye serves as another “fix it” moment and the coaching staff can get the team’s offensive talent to start playing to their ability.

7. There’s gotta be more than just CeeDee

Last year’s offensive frustrations came to a head when CeeDee Lamb was seen sulking on the sidelines in their blowout loss against the San Francisco 49ers. And right on schedule, another blowout loss, courtesy of the Detroit Lions, has Lamb frustrated. He was seen barking words at a comatose Prescott on the Cowboys’ sideline. Clearly, there are connectivity problems between these two. Defenses aren’t going to let the team’s best offensive player wreck things, so the Cowboys must find ways to get other pieces of the offense going. Brandin Cooks will return before long, but they need answers right now. If the Cowboys can’t inject a little diversity into their offense, they’ll be in trouble.

8. Changes coming at running back

Speaking of diversifying, would it kill them to figure out this running game ordeal? We are six games in and it’s been the same thing over and over. They try to run the ball, fail miserably, then try to play catch-up with a one-dimensional offense. It’s hard to stomach. The Cowboys continue to believe better days are coming, but it’s difficult to see that happening. Will they keep doing the same thing or will we finally see Dalvin Cook? Or will the Cowboys admit they have a problem and take a serious step in fixing it?

9. It’s gotta be Guyton’s job again

The offensive line has been a work in progress this season. With two rookies taking over starting jobs, we knew there would be hiccups along the way. Rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton hurt his knee against the Steelers and should be getting close to returning. While Tyler Smith has handled the left tackle job well and T.J. Bass has been solid playing left guard, Guyton needs to get back to his spot when his health allows. Getting these reps is extremely important and a necessary evil to get to where they need to be.

10. The time is now

It would be great if the Cowboys looked night and day different after the bye, but that is not a realistic expectation. The front office decided to roll with their roster without any major additions and hoped better coaching and player performance would be the winning ticket, but that has not worked out as expected. Now, with some tough games coming, it will be a battle. The Cowboys don’t have a lot of margin for error as playoffs could be a bit harder to get into with the NFC North teams piling up the wins. If this team is playing the long game and expects to be relevant down the stretch, they better kick it into high gear now.