COWBOY CORNER – WEEK 6 Bye Week

Time to forget Dallas’ NFL odds to win the Super Bowl for now. After a hot/cold first five games of the season, the Cowboys are still a respectable 3-2 with plenty of time to improve. Let’s grade their offense and defense to date while they’re on a bye.

Week 6 DALLAS COWBOYS – BYE WEEK

Cowboys Passing Offense: C+

It may seem strange to grade the Cowboys’ passing game so poorly considering that Tony Romo’s yardage is right in line with his career norms and that Dallas has the NFL’s No. 8 passing attack. The reality, however, is that the stats are padded by some easy matchups and two particularly big games.

The Cowboys lit up Tampa in Week 1 and the Romo/Miles Austin connection put on a show in an overtime game against Kansas City, but Romo was mediocre-to-bad in between, throwing one touchdown compared to four picks against the Giants, Panthers and Broncos. Terrell Owens is gone and Roy Williams is not only hurt but had lost a step anyway. The Cowboys have to hope Austin is for real and must get Jason Witten more involved to pass the ball effectively. Week 9 will be a true test when America’s team travels to Philadelphia. The Cowboys will be underdog NFL picks.

Cowboys Rushing Offense: A

Dallas ranks third in the NFL on the ground, averaging 161 yards per game. Most impressive is that they move the chains no matter who gets the ball. Marion Barber hurts his quad – Felix Jones comes in to hit home runs. Jones hurts his knee – Tashard Choice carves up defenses. If the Cowboys are smart enough to ride the underrated Choice until Barber and Jones are fully healed, their grade will jump to an A+ by season’s end.

Cowboys Pass Defense: C+

The numbers look bad but they’re skewed by Dallas’ early-season struggles against Tampa and the Giants. In the last three weeks, they’ve held Carolina, Denver and Kansas City under 230 yards. A full season of Terence Newman in the secondary is helping. For the Cowboys’ pass defense to improve, however, they have to pressure the quarterback more. Dallas led the NFL with 59 sacks last season – 3.68 per game. The Cowboys have just 10 through five games – two per game, and that includes some easier matchups against Tampa, Kansas City and Carolina.

Cowboys Run Defense: B-

The Cowboys got gouged by Tampa’s runners in Week 1 but have survived reasonably well since – against some good running teams too. They don’t have a shutdown front seven like the Vikings have but their run-stoppers aren’t a detriment to Dallas’ sportsbook odds either. Keith Brooking and company are a solid if unspectacular group.

Perhaps a 3-2 team deserves a higher grade, but the Cowboys have fallen short of expectations thus far. Their schedule was easy enough to make them 4-1 – and that doesn’t include their winnable home loss to the Giants. If the Cowboys want to make the playoffs and save Wade Phillips’ job, they have to beat some good teams. I’m betting management will make some major changes in the offseason if that doesn’t happen.