Impact of no Dez

[KJJ]

Can't argue with this. WR is one of, if not the, thinnest position groups on the team. I mean, Devin Street is a starter now. I think we're going to see a lot more short stuff to the RBs and TEs, out of necessity. Whether that will be enough, who knows. The downside of that is what we saw in the first two drives on Sunday: when it takes you many many plays to drive downfield, the odds of the drive-killing error go way up.

The fact we'll see more passes to the RB's and TE's gives Escobar an opportunity to start living up to his draft status. A thread was started just prior to the opener asking if he could be a poor man's Gronk. With Dez out here's a chance to find out because based on what we've seen of Escobar he can score TD's we saw 2 scores from him last season in only 9 receptions.

 

[KJJ]

Yes they will and as they look for the dink and dunk Romo has the ability to read and react to the defense he will take what they give. Williams is not some cripple out there he is a very good WR and I think he will show he is more than capable of helping this team while Dez is down.

I like TWill but as the #1 receiver we can't afford any disappearing acts from him. We'll just have to see how effective he is without Dez opening things up for him.

 

[JohnsKey19]

He will be back after the bye week, somewhere in that 6-8 week range. If the team wants to be cautious, they'll stretch it out to 8 weeks. Barring a disaster, ie the screw bending/breaking, it won't be any longer.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Unless we take chances deep down the field, we may be in for trouble.. WE HAVE TO STRETCH THE FIELD.

I think they have enough talent to still move the ball. What you miss with Dez is the huge gainers which leads to quicker scores. But the team has enough to score 25+ points consistently. It will be a huge boost if the defense/STs starts chipping in with TOs forced and some quick scores

 

[plasticman]

Terrance Williams is ranked 4th all time for Cowboy receivers in their first two seasons in both yardage and yards per reception. He trailed only Bob Hayes, Drew Pearson and Dez Bryant in both categories.

He is ranked 3rd behind only Bob Hayes and Dez Bryant in TD's scored with 13. Dez Bryant had 15 TD's his first two years in the league.

Cole Beasley has the same number of receptions in his first three years as Alvin Harper did in his first three years and Beasley only started 5 games.

Tony Romo has completed passes to 41 different players in his career. Williams and Beasley are already in the top ten for receptions from Tony Romo.

They will be fine for now. Dez Bryant is one of the greatest, perhaps we will find out just how good the other guys can be when they are needed the most. All indications point to a very optimistic outlook.

They won't replace Bryant, they'll simply be something else. Look for a lot of two TE formations, additional looks for Escobar as well as the RB's.

 

[conner01]

Yes, it would hurt, but this is still a dangerous offense.

And the defense is significantly improved with its pass rush.

The season doesn't hinge on Dez, though it'd be awfully nice to have him. The season does hinge on Romo staying upright, however.

Exactly
Having dez is great
Not having dez won't stop this team from winning
Not having romo would

 

[SportsGuru80]

I'd rather him be completely healthy before trying to come back, if that means missing 10 games so be it. You don't want a re-break.

 

[windjc]

I'd like to see the Cowboys go play action pass and hit Williams on a 9 route to open the game.

Philly won't be looking for it and we could send a message that they have to protect the entire field. Plus we'd probably be up 6 points after 1 play.

 

[windjc]

I'd rather him be completely healthy before trying to come back, if that means missing 10 games so be it. You don't want a re-break.

LOL @ 10 games.

 

[Alexander]

I'd rather him be completely healthy before trying to come back, if that means missing 10 games so be it. You don't want a re-break.

I kind of agree.

But try telling Bryant that. He is so passionate he would play with a bloody stump.

 

[jday]

I'm starting to come to the belief that Dez will miss the balance of the season. Without a true number 1 and so-so results of the running game, how will this season go?

Linehan will really earn his money this year. Packers lose Nelson and Pats have no true number 1 WR, yet the win and compile points. Will the same happen here? It may, though it will take some games to adjust.

Thoughts?

Like another thread suggested, if Romo is elite, Dez won't be missed as much as some of the naysayers suggest. Based on what I saw Sunday night, I know Romo has it in him. The question is can he sustain that type of intense focus and play near perfect football?

 

[Tabascocat]

Dallas can win without Dez but it is up to Linehan and Garrett to alter the offense around that. I do not think they can run the regular offense now and expect the same results.

We will see if they can mix it up from week to week and keep opponents guessing. If the offense is stale, slow and still expected to win 1 on 1 match-ups every time........it might become a problem.

This all hinges on the running game of course. If that is working, Dallas will be fine. If the running game leaves Dallas in a lot of third and longs, not much else will work over the long haul.

The last two Dallas drives against NY were great but don't expect that over 60 minutes. Teams now will gameplan differently. I would like to see more hurry-up mixed in instead of milking the clock down every single snap.

 

[RunDMC]

Like another thread suggested, if Romo is elite, Dez won't be missed as much as some of the naysayers suggest. Based on what I saw Sunday night, I know Romo has it in him. The question is can he sustain that type of intense focus and play near perfect football?

Romo is elite. After the MVP level he played at last season and how he continuously has brought us back from seemingly insurmountable deficits I don't know how anyone can question his elite status. The Cowboys have a very tough schedule coming up so I don't think you can say Romo isn't elite if they don't win every single game. They need to hold the fort down, but Romo also needs help from his other weapons who are gonna have to step up in Dez's abscence and we need to continue to establishing the run game with Randle and McFadden and not put everything on Tony's shoulders.

 

[plasticman]

Here is the list of longest Tony Romo pass completions for the past two seasons. These are all the completions for over 50 yards.

2013-10-06 - Tony Romo pass complete deep middle to Terrance Williams for 82 yards, touchdown
2013-10-06 - Tony Romo pass complete deep left to Dez Bryant for 79 yards (tackle by Omar Bolden)
2015-01-04 - Tony Romo pass complete short middle to Terrance Williams for 76 yards, touchdown
2014-09-21 - Tony Romo pass complete deep middle to Dez Bryant for 68 yards, touchdown
2014-11-09 - Tony Romo pass complete deep right to Dez Bryant for 68 yards, touchdown
2014-12-28 - Tony Romo pass complete short left to Dez Bryant for 65 yards, touchdown
2013-10-27 - Tony Romo pass complete short right to Terrance Williams for 60 yards, touchdown
2014-09-07 - Tony Romo pass complete deep middle to Dwayne Harris for 56 yards (tackle by Eric Reid)
2013-09-15 - Tony Romo pass complete deep right to Dez Bryant for 53 yards (tackle by Quintin Demps).
2013-12-22 - Tony Romo pass complete deep right to Terrance Williams for 51 yards (tackle by Josh Wilson)
2014-12-28 - Tony Romo pass complete deep left to Terrance Williams for 51 yards (tackle by E.J. Biggers)

There are 11 total. That's 5 for Dez, 5 for Terrance. Notice how 3 of the 11 were short passes, two if them caught by Terrance Williams. No way I am implying that Terrance is an equal to Dez. But I am implying that there are many teams that would be extremely fortunate to have Terrance as their #1 guy.

Some of us forget that Terrance is a physical WR, he is 6'2. Of the 64 receivers that caught at least 80 passes over the last two seasons, only 17 of them are bigger than Terrance.

 

[AsthmaField]

lol, Dez isn't gone for the entire season. He will be back in late November or early December at the latest.

However, the Cowboys can win without him, just like they did Sunday night.

I actually think it will help diversify the offense with Bryant out. When he gets back, the offense will be better off for having to learn to live without Dez for a little bit.

Two TE's with Escobar will be used much more. Beasley will be used more (although he was going to be used a good bit anyway).

The only player who is indispensable is Romo.

 

[jday]

Romo is elite. After the MVP level he played at last season and how he continuously has brought us back from seemingly insurmountable deficits I don't know how anyone can question his elite status. The Cowboys have a very tough schedule coming up so I don't think you can say Romo isn't elite if they don't win every single game. They need to hold the fort down, but Romo also needs help from his other weapons who are gonna have to step up in Dez's abscence and we need to continue to establishing the run game with Randle and McFadden and not put everything on Tony's shoulders.

I'm not saying he has to go undefeated. But that is the one thing that separates Romo from Manning and Brady. Romo has yet to be the unquestionable 1 and only star on the offensive side of the ball. The years he has had success has been years when he had good weapons. Now he has marginal at best talent. That's not meant to be a slight to our receiving core, or even a suggestion that they aren't suitable for what the Cowboys need. But Romo will have to play near-perfect football, if they are going to at least win 3 of the next 5, which would be an ideal win/loss ratio for the next stretch of games, given who the Cowboys are playing.

 

[DallasInDC]

I'm starting to come to the belief that Dez will miss the balance of the season. Without a true number 1 and so-so results of the running game, how will this season go?

Linehan will really earn his money this year. Packers lose Nelson and Pats have no true number 1 WR, yet the win and compile points. Will the same happen here? It may, though it will take some games to adjust.

Thoughts?

This must be the realist in you coming out . What indications do you have that he will miss 16 weeks due to this injury? Some statement from Roddy White and a couple of media heads?

 

[DallasInDC]

do u see cole beasley being a huge player to counter this in the cowboys strategy?

I think it will be a combination of players. No one player will be able to counter the loss, however, I do see opportunities for mismatches with Beasley and Escobar. And Dunbar as WR threat will get some opportunities as well when Defenses are in their base sets. Romo will need his receivers to catch the ball (although, It seemed like there was an unusually large amount of drops in the NFL this weekend besides the Cowboys WR). I really hope CMike gets in to the game plan....we need a bruiser back to get the hard yards with an 8 man front and take some of the pressure off of Romo.

 

[Hoofbite]

Here is the list of longest Tony Romo pass completions for the past two seasons. These are all the completions for over 50 yards.

2013-10-06 - Tony Romo pass complete deep middle to Terrance Williams for 82 yards, touchdown
2013-10-06 - Tony Romo pass complete deep left to Dez Bryant for 79 yards (tackle by Omar Bolden)
2015-01-04 - Tony Romo pass complete short middle to Terrance Williams for 76 yards, touchdown
2014-09-21 - Tony Romo pass complete deep middle to Dez Bryant for 68 yards, touchdown
2014-11-09 - Tony Romo pass complete deep right to Dez Bryant for 68 yards, touchdown
2014-12-28 - Tony Romo pass complete short left to Dez Bryant for 65 yards, touchdown
2013-10-27 - Tony Romo pass complete short right to Terrance Williams for 60 yards, touchdown
2014-09-07 - Tony Romo pass complete deep middle to Dwayne Harris for 56 yards (tackle by Eric Reid)
2013-09-15 - Tony Romo pass complete deep right to Dez Bryant for 53 yards (tackle by Quintin Demps).
2013-12-22 - Tony Romo pass complete deep right to Terrance Williams for 51 yards (tackle by Josh Wilson)
2014-12-28 - Tony Romo pass complete deep left to Terrance Williams for 51 yards (tackle by E.J. Biggers)

There are 11 total. That's 5 for Dez, 5 for Terrance. Notice how 3 of the 11 were short passes, two if them caught by Terrance Williams. No way I am implying that Terrance is an equal to Dez. But I am implying that there are many teams that would be extremely fortunate to have Terrance as their #1 guy.

Some of us forget that Terrance is a physical WR, he is 6'2. Of the 64 receivers that caught at least 80 passes over the last two seasons, only 17 of them are bigger than Terrance.

Many teams would be fortunate with Williams as their primary receiver?

 

[RunDMC]

I'm not saying he has to go undefeated. But that is the one thing that separates Romo from Manning and Brady. Romo has yet to be the unquestionable 1 and only star on the offensive side of the ball. The years he has had success has been years when he had good weapons. Now he has marginal at best talent. That's not meant to be a slight to our receiving core, or even a suggestion that they aren't suitable for what the Cowboys need. But Romo will have to play near-perfect football, if they are going to at least win 3 of the next 5, which would be an ideal win/loss ratio for the next stretch of games, given who the Cowboys are playing.

This is such a garbage argument. You really think Brady and Manning did it by himself? Nobody does. Football is the ultimate team sport. Yeah in his earlier seasons and first three championships Brady didn't have a quote on quote "stat receiver", but he had a great coach with a great system in place that always played to Brady's strengths as always as getting the most out of his backs, receivers, and always had phenomal protection. Defenses were excellent too.

Manning in his lone championship had by his standards a very average postseason. Obviously they wouldn't have won a Super Bowl without stellar play from the defense and Manning's support cast on offense.

The last couple of seasons in New England when the Pats have been at their best it's when Gronkowski has been healthy. The dude is a flat out uncoverable monster. When he's been out of the lineup Brady has been noticeably worse.

For all this talk about Dez being out Romo didn't have him in 2009 and still led the Cowboys to their first playoff win since 1996 and one of the best overall seasons of his career.