It's only a quarter through the season and there seems to be an all is lost sense among Cowboys fans already.
I think we are looking at things not turning around given our defensive deficiencies and the loss of Zeke.
Our once vaunted Offensive line has been less than stellar and has not allowed us to preserve/hide our defense and their deficiencies by consistently establishing the running game.
We may be able to salvage a winning record but could be left out of the Playoff picture.
Philly is playing well and seem to be on their way to winning the division outside of any major injuries.
There's still plenty of football and unknowns yet to come but unless we get on a serious hot streak, we may be on the outside looking in come Playoff time.
I feel like the offense will find itself, even without Zeke. Smith's back troubles and two new members on the line are causing some cohesion problems that I believe will be worked out. If that happens, then we've already seen that McFadden can be effective behind at least three members of this line even without competent QB play, which we have in comparison to 2015.
I also believe the defense will improve some, but probably not enough to get us through the playoffs. Lee being out has hurt and we're just now getting our line together. If Lawrence keeps playing like he has been, then we've just got to have some complementary pieces there, and Irving looks like one against Green Bay. Linebacker play may be the biggest issue right now, but Hitchens getting his feet back under him and Lee getting back on the field will take care of some of that. I eventually think Smith will get there, but he's certainly got a ways to go right now. Then, there's a secondary that needs for some rookies to grow up. I'm not near as down on Scandrick and Jones as some are because I think they can be solid pieces if players like Lewis, Awusie and Woods can continue to progress.
We can get back near where we were last year on offense and step up a few notches on defense IMO, which should be enough to make us a playoff team. However, anyone expecting more than that is probably expecting too much until this defense is fixed. And considering that we've been waiting on that for years, I don't have high hopes in that regard.