Mincey ruled out

[Proximo]

You know, the fact that the injuries are not season-ending actually sort of has me hopeful. It's like how you'd write it if you were scripting an improbably story. If we get by the Falcons and the Saints (improbable, but not impossible), I'm gonna start believing, I think.

This is sort of where I'm at. Getting to 4-0 isn't an outrageous thought. If we can make that happen it'll be huge for us. Then we really just need Weeden to win a couple of games beyond that and we can still take the East after Romo comes back. The one thing that really helps us in this situation is that our rivals appear to be having down years.

I swear if we were healthy we'd run away with the division. What a bummer.

 

[Doomsday101]

Rough start to the year.

They say what does not kill you makes you stronger. We gonna be a real strong team in a few weeks.

 

[theogt]

This might be one of those years. I sure hope not.

I think it already is.

 

[JoeBoBBY]

so your saying we will be tied for 1st place in the NFC East? lol

I think thats a big reason why I am not doom and gloom. The NFCE is baddd...

and if we can get everybody back, and get hot down the stretch, this team does have the capablity to beat AZ, GB, Seattle....

 

[Doomsday101]

I think thats a big reason why I am not doom and gloom. The NFCE is baddd...

frankly not seeing any of the division being overly strong right now.

 

[Staubacher]

I'm sick of this

 

[CrownCowboy]

These injuries are unreal.

This is ridiculous.

 

[RunDMC]

It would seem like we should be doom and gloom . But I am not.... Not yet.

until Weeden throws 3 pickles and we get blown out by the Falcons, then we drop one to the Saints and Cassell doesnt look all that great and just one W in 7 games would seem like a miracle......

then I will start to lose it a little.....

yes, there is a good chance we weather the storm. But without a QB, a WR, both OL and DL getting banged up, who is to say we dont lose the next 7....... who is to say we arent 2 and 7 or 3 and 6 when Romo returns??

Our OL isn't all that banged up really. Leary will be back on the field on Sunday. They just have to play better. They're been awful in run blocking so far and they've gotta fix that. If we can run the ball we can win with Weeden.

Yes our DL is banged up, but there's still plenty of depth there. Mincey will probably be back next week. Gregory should as well. Then McClain and Hardy in Week 5. Really not as bleak as you make it out to be.

I can't see us not winning at least three games with still so much talent left on the roster. We will find a way to win some games. Whether that be with superb defensive performances, ground and pound, Weeden getting big plays down the field with that cannon arm of his, and special teams getting in on the action as they did last week.

 

[RJ_MacReady]

Jerry needs to hire some African Witch Doctors to reverse this curse.

Or just send a couple of pipe-hittin' fellas to go to work on the source (Mara) with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch.

 

[reddyuta]

I'm sick of this

If we survive this onslaught and win the division then we are going to go a long way,its a good thing this division sucks.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I'm honestly not too worried. I think Coleman needs to be getting snaps. He's probably our 2nd best interior pass rusher and he's played only 15 snaps in 2 games. Just slide Jack Crawford over to DE this game and have Coleman take over the backup 3-tech duties. Also might consider switching Lawrence to the right side.

Base:
RDE Lawrence/Russell
3DT T. Craw/Coleman
1DT Hayden/Bishop
LDE J. Craw/Russell

Nickel/Dime:
RDE Lawrence/Russell
DT Coleman/Hayden
DT T. Craw/Bishop
LDE J. Craw/Russell

 

[Richmond Cowboy]

Careful, that's how concussions happen.

 

[Doomsay]

No they won't because the depth is still there. The Cowboys will start Crawford at defensive end, but they can activate Ryan Russell, Ken Bishop, and Kyle Wilber has the ability to play defensive end as well. A lot of these players on the line have the ability to play multiple positions so we can still keep a rotation going.

When you have to dip deeper into the depth, it isn't there by definition.

 

[Corso]

We are cursed man

We would be if we didn't have Hardy and McClain coming back in two weeks...
And Gregory not long after.

But we do.
So... not cursed yet.
Get back to me if more happens though.
I'm going to go swing a dead cat in a graveyard while breaking an egg on my head when the moon rises.

 

[Floatyworm]

LDE-Russell/Wilbur

DT-Crawford/Coleman

NT-Hayden/Bishop

RDE-J.Crawford/Lawerence

I'm not scared........Let's roll

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I don't want to be a pessimist, but what happened to taking it one game at a time? I see people wondering if we can beat New England after we go 4-0 and then beat Seattle after that.

We're going into Atlanta without 1) Romo, 2) Leary, 3) Dez, 4) a #1 RB, 5) Scandrick, 6) T. McClain, 7) R. McClain, 8) Mincey, 9) Hardy, 10) Gregory and probably some others I didn't name. I honestly have no idea how we'll do. We could win, we could get killed. Let's hope the secondary continues to perform well despite missing 3 of our best pass rushers because I don't want to get in a Ryan/Jones vs Weeden/Williams shootout. Then we face Brees and the two teams that played in the Super Bowl. Not to be a party pooper, but pipe down on the 8-0 talk.

 

[Alexander]

I don't want to be a pessimist, but what happened to taking it one game at a time? I see people wondering if we can beat New England after we go 4-0 and then beat Seattle after that.

We're going into Atlanta without 1) Romo, 2) Leary, 3) Dez, 4) a #1 RB, 5) Scandrick, 6) T. McClain, 7) R. McClain, 8) Mincey, 9) Hardy, 10) Gregory and probably some others I didn't name. I honestly have no idea how we'll do. We could win, we could get killed. Let's hope the secondary continues to perform well despite missing 3 of our best pass rushers because I don't want to get in a Ryan/Jones vs Weeden/Williams shootout. Then we face Brees and the two teams that played in the Super Bowl. Not to be a party pooper, but pipe down on the 8-0 talk.

Correct. I think a lot of people are whistling as they walk past the graveyard.

Each week is layering yet more adversity. I get that the Cowboys are resilient. But eventually an erosion of talent matters more than how hard you try or how much you want to win.

 

[StarBoyz83]

By week 4 dallas will need to sign another 53 players.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Well, at least the Cowboys know now that Mincey is out and have a little more time to prepare. It's a lot better than Mincey getting a concussion on the 1st series against Atlanta.

On a bright side, the DL are young and should be less likely to tire out if they need to play a lot. Coleman, Bishop, both Crawfords, Lawrence, Russell, and Wilber are all young and hungry. Hayden is only 29. I think a key will be to rotate those guys early on to keep them fresh throughout the game.

We may see what Coleman and Bishop can do lined up next to each other as DTs. Let's hope for some surprisingly good penetration into the backfield from those two.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Correct. I think a lot of people are whistling as they walk past the graveyard.

Each week is layering yet more adversity. I get that the Cowboys are resilient. But eventually an erosion of talent matters more than how hard you try or how much you want to win.

Yep. I look at it like this. Every team in our division will have at least 2 losses after this week. If we go 4-4 these next 8 games, we should still be at or near the top of our division. If we go 3-5 we'll still have a shot at winning the division. 2-6 or worse makes it very unlikely to make the playoffs. The Patriots and Seahawks just aren't gonna happen. Beating both the Giants and the Eagles again is unlikely. And there are some other tough games. It'll be tough. Especially these next 2 weeks with all the injuries. Getting Hardy, McClain and Gregory back in 2 weeks should help but still probably won't be enough for New England and Seattle. People just need to be realistic. The story of this year is about making the playoffs in a bad division despite all the injuries. If we can do that then the playoffs should be our time.