I'm extremely glad to have Romo back whether me make the playoffs or not, it's interesting to watch football again. We'll miss him when he's gone, as we missed him this year. I'm sure the entire NFL is wary of Romo erasing this regular season and by some miracle making it into the playoffs.
Without Romo in all but three games, the rushing game is still ranked 8th in the nfl in yards and 9th in yards per attempt. We've been better with McFadden and I'm surprised that he didn't become the starter from the get go; maybe we could have won a game or two had he started.
I'm still concerned with the secondary, but I'm hoping that the defensive line generates more push, especially as the offense improves. If we can get by the Panthers, that should buy this team the time it needs to get back on the right track. That being said 2 of our most difficult games come within the next three weeks. It'll be important to go at least 2-1 in this stretch, if not undefeated. Packers have lost 3 of the last 4 games and are looking pretty ordinary right now. With their schedule and how they're playing, the Packers might miss the playoffs and despite everything we shouldn't ignore the even remote possibility of a wildcard berth.
We've got a top 10 running game and our defense is ranked 11th in yards allowed per game and 15th in points allowed per game (I don't think ESPN adjusts for points resulting from special teams or the offense). Given the slow start due to injuries and suspensions on the defense, I think we haven't seen their best yet. I think these linebackers are still gelling together, and I think the defensive line when put in position to do their best, will perform better, and as a result so will the secondary.
The Cowboys and Panthers are mirror opposites when it comes to takeaways, but I don't think that will be the game that we see on Thursday. Sunday was a warm up, and I expect to see shades of the rest of the season in this game.
The idea that people actually think this is a bad team is pretty ridiculous. Are we 3-7? Absolutely, but are we the same as any 3-7 team? Obviously not. We'd probably be at least 9-1 or 8-2 if Romo had played the whole season. I'd still fire Garrett for playing conservatively through a 7 game losing streak though. Romo hasn't lost a regular season game when healthy since December 15th 2013... I know a lot of people think that is creating our own stat, but it's true. He won his last game in 2013 and went out injured. Lost his first game back and was clearly not himself. Got hurt against Washington and lost that game as well, and played on the shortest week ever and was not himself either.
When Romo is healthy he wins. He has the best defense he has had in years and we can still run the ball.
Establish the run, move the chains, control the clock, and don't turn the ball over. We can beat Carolina.
