We Can And Will Win With Weeden

[RunDMC]

In what has been one of the more injury riddled starts to the season for a football team in quite some time. Injuries are one thing, but injuries to key cogs and when I say key cogs I mean superstar/all Pro type players. Tony Romo, the argument can be made in the last year plus he's played as well as any quarterback in that time frame. Led the league in QBR, led the league in completion percentage, was unbelievable in December. Damn near flawless. Had another amazing comeback victory in Week 1 against the New York Football Giants.

Dez Bryant is as dominant a force as there is at the wide receiver position. He makes the kind of plays especially vertically that most can only dream about. He's absolutely sensational. Even when doubled and tripled he can go up over anybody, his physical play at the line of scrimmage and is a big part of the Cowboys run game as well.

Then once you get past these guys what looked like it would be a much improved defensive line and somehow someway it still has been is decimated by injury and suspension. Randy Gregory is out with a high ankle sprain and according to Stephen Jones is likely out till after the bye. Jeremy Mincey, the Cowboys top pass rusher a season ago is concussed and out. Terrell McClain recently went on IR because of a toe injury. Greg Hardy is still serving a suspension as is linebacker Rolando McClain. They lost their top defensive back from a season ago in Orlando Scandrick to a torn ACL.

How is this defense possibly ranked 3rd in total yards and have been so suffocating so far? Well for one it's only been two games and two they've had some of their young guys really elevate their play. Byron Jones has been terrific in nickel packages as a free safety. Often matched up with a tight end and has been stout. Scandrick's replacement Tyler Patmon has played very Scandrick like. Broken up some passes, done a good job being physical, has come close to some picks, and has done a good job tackling. Morris Claibourne has played like the #6 overall draft pick from 2012. Carr has played at the Pro Bowl level as he did in Kansas City. JJ Wilcox who was often a liability last year has looked a lot rangier this season as well as being an enforcer. Just ask Odell Beckham Jr.

Now obviously New York and Philadelphia both played very sloppy football and in particular the Eagles who played about as bad a game as you can play. Penalties, dropped passes, numerous missed blocks, and horrific quarterback play. Keeping things in perspective this Cowboys defense has looked good, but with it being two games they still have a lot to prove. Marinelli has done a fantastic job with this defense and with some of the added pieces in the coming weeks the talent is there for this unit to be able to continue and even elevate their play further. It's something they must do for Dallas to hang in without Romo. Sean Lee is playing like an MVP candidate, but can he stay healthy?

They will be facing some high powered offenses in the next few weeks. Atlanta, who features a guy in Julio Jones who is arguably the best receiver in the league right now. They're down Tevin Coleman, their rookie back who has played very solid in the first two weeks and given them balance. It's not just Jones the Cowboys have to deal with there is veteran receivers Roddy White and Leonard Hankerson. Both who've shown they're capable of winning one on one match ups with the attention that Jones receives.

New Orleans could be without Drew Brees, but if he is able to get back next week he's a guy who had torched Dallas in the past and while the mystique the Saints have had at home isn't present it still won't be an easy place to win.

Then there is the defending champion New England Patriots. Tom Brady looks as calm and collective and flat out good as ever. Rob Gronkowski will get the bulk of the attention, but then there is Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.

Cowboys can't afford to look ahead and they won't because their coach Jason Garrett has preached staying in the moment. Preparing and continuing to fight. One of the reasons I believe Dallas can hold the fort down so to speak while missing their two top players is because of the fighting mentality and they have a head coach who won't allow the team to wallow or make excuses. This is a no excuse league and the Cowboys haven't done anything yet.

Brandon Weeden must take care of the ball, but I don't believe he'll strictly be a game manager. We know about his arm and how he's capable of big throws down the field. Question is can he harness it? Dallas will need to throw deep just to loosen things up. They will need to run the football to help Weeden out. As Romo often says the running game makes everything smoother and better overall. Makes coverages easier to dissect, takes pressure off the quarterback, frees up your receivers more, and gives the defense a lot of rest as Dallas saw a season ago.

I believe the Cowboys can and will win with Brandon Weeden. All indications are that he's a much better quarterback than he was in that disaster against Arizona last season. He's gonna have to show it. He's gonna have to play within himself, but I don't believe he should play super conservative because you can't win by playing scared. Certain situations of course you have to dial it back, but you can still be aggressive and take care of the ball. Shielding the football away from defenders and putting the ball in a place where only your receiver can catch it, being on target and decisive, using your eyes to move defenders as Weeden did in his lone TD pass to Terrance Williams. All these different things that we'll see if Weeden will be able to do.

There's no shortage of weapons on this team even with Bryant out. You have Jason Witten albeit banged up is still a threat in the passing game. Escobar is athletic and has good hands. Can he hang on to the ball? Can he consistently run precise routes? When a safety comes over the middle to light him up on a slant or a drag we'll see how tough Escobar is. Beasley has to do a better job against press coverage. He struggled last week with that and teams will continue to play him that way until he proves he can beat it. Beasley is not the biggest guy, but he has the short range quickness to be able to beat that type of coverage. Terrance Williams needs to continue to progress and continue to make big plays down the field. He's the team's #1 guy now and he needs to play like it as he did on Sunday. It's not just about Brandon Weeden. This will be a team effort.

 

[JD_KaPow]

tl;dr. Threw you a like for the title alone.

 

[sureletsrace]

tl;dr. Threw you a like for the title alone.

It is a good read. I enjoyed it. Thanks for posting this @RunDMC

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Was going to read that. Might have to copy and past into a text to audio reader. Which I will.

 

[JoeKing]

This is Brandon's team for the time being. He has all the skills needed to make full use of all of our offensive weapons.

 

[Corso]

In what has been one of the more injury riddled starts to the season for a football team in quite some time. Injuries are one thing, but injuries to key cogs and when I say key cogs I mean superstar/all Pro type players. Tony Romo, the argument can be made in the last year plus he's played as well as any quarterback in that time frame. Led the league in QBR, led the league in completion percentage, was unbelievable in December. Damn near flawless. Had another amazing comeback victory in Week 1 against the New York Football Giants.

Dez Bryant is as dominant a force as there is at the wide receiver position. He makes the kind of plays especially vertically that most can only dream about. He's absolutely sensational. Even when doubled and tripled he can go up over anybody, his physical play at the line of scrimmage and is a big part of the Cowboys run game as well.

Then once you get past these guys what looked like it would be a much improved defensive line and somehow someway it still has been is decimated by injury and suspension. Randy Gregory is out with a high ankle sprain and according to Stephen Jones is likely out till after the bye. Jeremy Mincey, the Cowboys top pass rusher a season ago is concussed and out. Terrell McClain recently went on IR because of a toe injury. Greg Hardy is still serving a suspension as is linebacker Rolando McClain. They lost their top defensive back from a season ago in Orlando Scandrick to a torn ACL.

How is this defense possibly ranked 3rd in total yards and have been so suffocating so far? Well for one it's only been two games and two they've had some of their young guys really elevate their play. Byron Jones has been terrific in nickel packages as a free safety. Often matched up with a tight end and has been stout. Scandrick's replacement Tyler Patmon has played very Scandrick like. Broken up some passes, done a good job being physical, has come close to some picks, and has done a good job tackling. Morris Claibourne has played like the #6 overall draft pick from 2012. Carr has played at the Pro Bowl level as he did in Kansas City. JJ Wilcox who was often a liability last year has looked a lot rangier this season as well as being an enforcer. Just ask Odell Beckham Jr.

Now obviously New York and Philadelphia both played very sloppy football and in particular the Eagles who played about as bad a game as you can play. Penalties, dropped passes, numerous missed blocks, and horrific quarterback play. Keeping things in perspective this Cowboys defense has looked good, but with it being two games they still have a lot to prove. Marinelli has done a fantastic job with this defense and with some of the added pieces in the coming weeks the talent is there for this unit to be able to continue and even elevate their play further. It's something they must do for Dallas to hang in without Romo. Sean Lee is playing like an MVP candidate, but can he stay healthy?

They will be facing some high powered offenses in the next few weeks. Atlanta, who features a guy in Julio Jones who is arguably the best receiver in the league right now. They're down Tevin Coleman, their rookie back who has played very solid in the first two weeks and given them balance. It's not just Jones the Cowboys have to deal with there is veteran receivers Roddy White and Leonard Hankerson. Both who've shown they're capable of winning one on one match ups with the attention that Jones receives.

New Orleans could be without Drew Brees, but if he is able to get back next week he's a guy who had torched Dallas in the past and while the mystique the Saints have had at home isn't present it still won't be an easy place to win.

Then there is the defending champion New England Patriots. Tom Brady looks as calm and collective and flat out good as ever. Rob Gronkowski will get the bulk of the attention, but then there is Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.

Cowboys can't afford to look ahead and they won't because their coach Jason Garrett has preached staying in the moment. Preparing and continuing to fight. One of the reasons I believe Dallas can hold the fort down so to speak while missing their two top players is because of the fighting mentality and they have a head coach who won't allow the team to wallow or make excuses. This is a no excuse league and the Cowboys haven't done anything yet.

Brandon Weeden must take care of the ball, but I don't believe he'll strictly be a game manager. We know about his arm and how he's capable of big throws down the field. Question is can he harness it? Dallas will need to throw deep just to loosen things up. They will need to run the football to help Weeden out. As Romo often says the running game makes everything smoother and better overall. Makes coverages easier to dissect, takes pressure off the quarterback, frees up your receivers more, and gives the defense a lot of rest as Dallas saw a season ago.

I believe the Cowboys can and will win with Brandon Weeden. All indications are that he's a much better quarterback than he was in that disaster against Arizona last season. He's gonna have to show it. He's gonna have to play within himself, but I don't believe he should play super conservative because you can't win by playing scared. Certain situations of course you have to dial it back, but you can still be aggressive and take care of the ball. Shielding the football away from defenders and putting the ball in a place where only your receiver can catch it, being on target and decisive, using your eyes to move defenders as Weeden did in his lone TD pass to Terrance Williams. All these different things that we'll see if Weeden will be able to do.

There's no shortage of weapons on this team even with Bryant out. You have Jason Witten albeit banged up is still a threat in the passing game. Escobar is athletic and has good hands. Can he hang on to the ball? Can he consistently run precise routes? When a safety comes over the middle to light him up on a slant or a drag we'll see how tough Escobar is. Beasley has to do a better job against press coverage. He struggled last week with that and teams will continue to play him that way until he proves he can beat it. Beasley is not the biggest guy, but he has the short range quickness to be able to beat that type of coverage. Terrance Williams needs to continue to progress and continue to make big plays down the field. He's the team's #1 guy now and he needs to play like it as he did on Sunday. It's not just about Brandon Weeden. This will be a team effort.

You basically paraphrased what many of us, including yourself, has been saying for the past few days and I have to say...

I agree. I look forward to Sunday noon. I'm Queuing up some falcon meat on the barbie... got some friends coming over... My neighbor across the street is from Atlanta.
The poor sap... we're going to make him miserable for 3 hours.

I hope.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

Hate to be a party pooper but let's take it one game at a time. These next games would be hard even with Romo. We're missing one or more key players at every positional group. That's very hard to overcome. Missing our 1) starting QB, 2) #1 RB and yet to find a replacement, 3) start LG, 4) elite WR, 5) four DL and our two best pass rushers, 6) star MLB, 7) star CB. Let's take it one game at a time. We probably won't get Romo back until Thanksgiving and in our next 8 games we play two division opponents and both teams that played in the Super Bowl. Not to mention possibly the best WR in the game, a HOF QB, and the best DT in football. I'd be ecstatic with 6-4 by the time Romo returns. And I'd even take 5-5.

 

[JDSmith]

Just rewatched the Eagles game after Weeden took over. I thought he looked decisive, he had good placement and velocity on his passes and he seemed in command of the offense. He took what the Eagles gave him, including running for a first down, and he made smart plays all around. If there was nothing there he checked down, but he hit Williams on the slant and we know he can throw the long ball if the opportunity arises. I know the slant was only a 10 yard pass, but he hit Williams in stride and allowed him to make a nice run after the catch. Maxwell kinda sucks, but that's besides the point. Weeden and Williams made the play that was there.

I also thought our RBs both ran really hard with him in there. They made some positive runs on plays that could have been losses. They helped him out. Unfortunately we had a couple of plays called back for penalties, but overall I thought the RBs did a good job against one of the better defensive lines, one that gives us fits every year.

A couple of the presnap penalties seemed to come from the different cadence between Romo and Weeden, I expect that to get ironed out with a full week of practice. Overall I really think this team can win with Weeden. Our offense should be able to do enough, and I expect our defense to carry us through this stretch. 2 more games until we get some much needed reinforcements on that side of the ball. But even without them I think we can win vs the Falcons.

Then we'll worry about the Saints.

 

[Corso]

Hate to be a party pooper but let's take it one game at a time. These next games would be hard even with Romo. We're missing one or more key players at every positional group. That's very hard to overcome. Missing our 1) starting QB, 2) #1 RB and yet to find a replacement, 3) start LG, 4) elite WR, 5) four DL and our two best pass rushers, 6) star MLB, 7) star CB. Let's take it one game at a time. We probably won't get Romo back until Thanksgiving and in our next 8 games we play two division opponents and both teams that played in the Super Bowl. Not to mention possibly the best WR in the game, a HOF QB, and the best DT in football. I'd be ecstatic with 6-4 by the time Romo returns. And I'd even take 5-5.

Your expectations are mine.
5-5 and I will be content. 6-4 and I will be happy. Anything more? Shoot...
I'll be setting myself up for a letdown.


Here we go bud. Two more days and we'll have new narratives.
I'm ready.
Just let the music play,
you won't get away...

 

[JDSmith]

Your expectations are mine.
5-5 and I will be content. 6-4 and I will be happy. Anything more? Shoot...
I'll be setting myself up for a letdown.

I go the other way. My expectation is 19 - 0. If we lose one I'll adjust it to 18 - 1. That will continue as long as we're still in the playoff hunt. I'm like a cornerback, I may get burned but I've got a short memory and just move on to the next play.

 

[Corso]

I go the other way. My expectation is 19 - 0. If we lose one I'll adjust it to 18 - 1. That will continue as long as we're still in the playoff hunt. I'm like a cornerback, I may get burned but I've got a short memory and just move on to the next play.

God bless you. You my Main Man.

 

[Aven8]

Hate to be a party pooper but let's take it one game at a time. These next games would be hard even with Romo. We're missing one or more key players at every positional group. That's very hard to overcome. Missing our 1) starting QB, 2) #1 RB and yet to find a replacement, 3) start LG, 4) elite WR, 5) four DL and our two best pass rushers, 6) star MLB, 7) star CB. Let's take it one game at a time. We probably won't get Romo back until Thanksgiving and in our next 8 games we play two division opponents and both teams that played in the Super Bowl. Not to mention possibly the best WR in the game, a HOF QB, and the best DT in football. I'd be ecstatic with 6-4 by the time Romo returns. And I'd even take 5-5.

Actually after seeing the rest of the league in action I beg to differ. I think we could have won all the games up until NE, but now I'm not so sure. I think we can win the next 2, but it will be shaky. Wish freaking Mince wasn't out, as this will be all on the D IMO.

 

[conner01]

I have confidence Weeden can do enough to make the offense effective
Loosing another de who was our best pass rusher last year actually worries me more
Lawrence has got to really step up and take up the slack of loosing another pass rushet

 

[AsthmaField]

You basically paraphrased what many of us, including yourself, has been saying for the past few days and I have to say...

I agree. I look forward to Sunday noon. I'm Queuing up some falcon meat on the barbie... got some friends coming over... My neighbor across the street is from Atlanta.
The poor sap... we're going to make him miserable for 3 hours.

I hope.

Oh.... I didn't get my invite.

I'm sure it was just an oversight.

 

[AsthmaField]

Hate to be a party pooper but let's take it one game at a time. These next games would be hard even with Romo. We're missing one or more key players at every positional group. That's very hard to overcome. Missing our 1) starting QB, 2) #1 RB and yet to find a replacement, 3) start LG, 4) elite WR, 5) four DL and our two best pass rushers, 6) star MLB, 7) star CB. Let's take it one game at a time. We probably won't get Romo back until Thanksgiving and in our next 8 games we play two division opponents and both teams that played in the Super Bowl. Not to mention possibly the best WR in the game, a HOF QB, and the best DT in football. I'd be ecstatic with 6-4 by the time Romo returns. And I'd even take 5-5.

Party Pooper.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Hate to be a party pooper but let's take it one game at a time. These next games would be hard even with Romo. We're missing one or more key players at every positional group. That's very hard to overcome. Missing our 1) starting QB, 2) #1 RB and yet to find a replacement, 3) start LG, 4) elite WR, 5) four DL and our two best pass rushers, 6) star MLB, 7) star CB. Let's take it one game at a time. We probably won't get Romo back until Thanksgiving and in our next 8 games we play two division opponents and both teams that played in the Super Bowl. Not to mention possibly the best WR in the game, a HOF QB, and the best DT in football. I'd be ecstatic with 6-4 by the time Romo returns. And I'd even take 5-5.

We are not missing our starting rb.

That'd be like me saying we're also missing Irvin and Emmitt.

 

[AsthmaField]

In what has been one of the more injury riddled starts to the season for a football team in quite some time. Injuries are one thing, but injuries to key cogs and when I say key cogs I mean superstar/all Pro type players. Tony Romo, the argument can be made in the last year plus he's played as well as any quarterback in that time frame. Led the league in QBR, led the league in completion percentage, was unbelievable in December. Damn near flawless. Had another amazing comeback victory in Week 1 against the New York Football Giants.

Dez Bryant is as dominant a force as there is at the wide receiver position. He makes the kind of plays especially vertically that most can only dream about. He's absolutely sensational. Even when doubled and tripled he can go up over anybody, his physical play at the line of scrimmage and is a big part of the Cowboys run game as well.

Then once you get past these guys what looked like it would be a much improved defensive line and somehow someway it still has been is decimated by injury and suspension. Randy Gregory is out with a high ankle sprain and according to Stephen Jones is likely out till after the bye. Jeremy Mincey, the Cowboys top pass rusher a season ago is concussed and out. Terrell McClain recently went on IR because of a toe injury. Greg Hardy is still serving a suspension as is linebacker Rolando McClain. They lost their top defensive back from a season ago in Orlando Scandrick to a torn ACL.

How is this defense possibly ranked 3rd in total yards and have been so suffocating so far? Well for one it's only been two games and two they've had some of their young guys really elevate their play. Byron Jones has been terrific in nickel packages as a free safety. Often matched up with a tight end and has been stout. Scandrick's replacement Tyler Patmon has played very Scandrick like. Broken up some passes, done a good job being physical, has come close to some picks, and has done a good job tackling. Morris Claibourne has played like the #6 overall draft pick from 2012. Carr has played at the Pro Bowl level as he did in Kansas City. JJ Wilcox who was often a liability last year has looked a lot rangier this season as well as being an enforcer. Just ask Odell Beckham Jr.

Now obviously New York and Philadelphia both played very sloppy football and in particular the Eagles who played about as bad a game as you can play. Penalties, dropped passes, numerous missed blocks, and horrific quarterback play. Keeping things in perspective this Cowboys defense has looked good, but with it being two games they still have a lot to prove. Marinelli has done a fantastic job with this defense and with some of the added pieces in the coming weeks the talent is there for this unit to be able to continue and even elevate their play further. It's something they must do for Dallas to hang in without Romo. Sean Lee is playing like an MVP candidate, but can he stay healthy?

They will be facing some high powered offenses in the next few weeks. Atlanta, who features a guy in Julio Jones who is arguably the best receiver in the league right now. They're down Tevin Coleman, their rookie back who has played very solid in the first two weeks and given them balance. It's not just Jones the Cowboys have to deal with there is veteran receivers Roddy White and Leonard Hankerson. Both who've shown they're capable of winning one on one match ups with the attention that Jones receives.

New Orleans could be without Drew Brees, but if he is able to get back next week he's a guy who had torched Dallas in the past and while the mystique the Saints have had at home isn't present it still won't be an easy place to win.

Then there is the defending champion New England Patriots. Tom Brady looks as calm and collective and flat out good as ever. Rob Gronkowski will get the bulk of the attention, but then there is Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola.

Cowboys can't afford to look ahead and they won't because their coach Jason Garrett has preached staying in the moment. Preparing and continuing to fight. One of the reasons I believe Dallas can hold the fort down so to speak while missing their two top players is because of the fighting mentality and they have a head coach who won't allow the team to wallow or make excuses. This is a no excuse league and the Cowboys haven't done anything yet.

Brandon Weeden must take care of the ball, but I don't believe he'll strictly be a game manager. We know about his arm and how he's capable of big throws down the field. Question is can he harness it? Dallas will need to throw deep just to loosen things up. They will need to run the football to help Weeden out. As Romo often says the running game makes everything smoother and better overall. Makes coverages easier to dissect, takes pressure off the quarterback, frees up your receivers more, and gives the defense a lot of rest as Dallas saw a season ago.

I believe the Cowboys can and will win with Brandon Weeden. All indications are that he's a much better quarterback than he was in that disaster against Arizona last season. He's gonna have to show it. He's gonna have to play within himself, but I don't believe he should play super conservative because you can't win by playing scared. Certain situations of course you have to dial it back, but you can still be aggressive and take care of the ball. Shielding the football away from defenders and putting the ball in a place where only your receiver can catch it, being on target and decisive, using your eyes to move defenders as Weeden did in his lone TD pass to Terrance Williams. All these different things that we'll see if Weeden will be able to do.

There's no shortage of weapons on this team even with Bryant out. You have Jason Witten albeit banged up is still a threat in the passing game. Escobar is athletic and has good hands. Can he hang on to the ball? Can he consistently run precise routes? When a safety comes over the middle to light him up on a slant or a drag we'll see how tough Escobar is. Beasley has to do a better job against press coverage. He struggled last week with that and teams will continue to play him that way until he proves he can beat it. Beasley is not the biggest guy, but he has the short range quickness to be able to beat that type of coverage. Terrance Williams needs to continue to progress and continue to make big plays down the field. He's the team's #1 guy now and he needs to play like it as he did on Sunday. It's not just about Brandon Weeden. This will be a team effort.

Nice post man.

Since you've been here, you and I haven't agreed on every subject, but this is one that we do.

For some reason I think that Weeden will be ok. I trust the coaching and the tough mentality that the team has and I think Weeden can be a game manager enough to keep it between the lines.

 

[AsthmaField]

We are not missing our starting rb.

That'd be like me saying we're also missing Irvin and Emmitt.

I think not having Emmitt is going to hurt the most.

 

[Corso]

We are not missing our starting rb.

That'd be like me saying we're also missing Irvin and Emmitt.

I miss Romo, not Murray.
I'm sure you're rowing the other oar on the same boat with me on this.

Let's hope this Weed(en) made raft keeps us up and above water til he gets back.
I like the construction of the fibers from here.
I guess we'll see how airtight she is once we get her into high seas.
Won't we?

 

[Corso]

Nice post man.

Since you've been here, you and I haven't agreed on every subject, but this is one that we do.

For some reason I think that Weeden will be ok. I trust the coaching and the tough mentality that the team has and I think Weeden can be a game manager enough to keep it between the lines.

You are one of my Top 5's here.
The Top 5 revolves, but you're always in there.

And I just hate giving credit where credit is due...
Jerk.