When it Rains, It Pours

Well, more injury news came down yesterday and in addition to Tony Romo being out 4 weeks minimum and Terrance Newman being out 4-6 weeks because of surgery on a sports hernia, Matt McBriar is out 6-8 weeks, Felix Jones out 2-4 weeks, Sam Hurd is out (possibly for the season) and Pac Man Jones may possibly get suspended by the commissioner. So, the injury bug Dallas had avoided the last 4-5 years caught up with them within 2 weeks. Add to these injuries the fact that the offensive line is playing like dog poo, the defensive secondary can't cover very well and the special teams are in major disarray. Did I miss anything?

I’m trying to be optimistic though. The team still has a plethora of talent. They still have T.O. Owens, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Marion Barber and Tashard Choice on offense and DeMarcus Ware, Greg Ellis, Jay Ratliff, Tank Johnson, Zach Thomas, Marcus Spears and Anthony Henry on defense. And Brad Johnson, while not being as good as Romo, is a capable and experienced backup that can manage the offense. Injuries are a part of the game and Dallas has been fortunate enough where they didn’t have to deal with injuries that much recently. No one is going to feel sorry for them so they can’t feel sorry for themselves. But the team, as a whole, needs to find a way to fight through this. They need to stop playing the lazy, unfocused and undisciplined football they have played the last few weeks.

I’ve had a few friends tell me, as well as hearing on the radio, that the Romo injury is just what the team needed to jolt them back to reality and that losing an integral part of the team will make them come together more than they are right now. My question is, why would they need an injury to bring them together as a team? I thought I remember hearing that the playoff loss to the Giants was motivation enough for this team. If an injury is needed to galvanize the team, then I don’t think they were a Super Bowl contender from the start.

A silver lining to this is that the Giants lost last night, surprisingly, to Cleveland so they still have only a 1 game lead on Dallas in the division. IF Dallas can somehow get through the next 3 weeks, losing only 1 game, then they will get to their bye week at 6-3. Then, hopefully, they can return from their bye week, get a few guys back that are injured right now and hit the ground running. That’s what needs to happen because Dallas’ schedule after the bye week doesn’t get any easier with games at Washington, at Pittsburgh, at Philly and a home game against the Giants. The next several weeks will show what this team is made of…or not made of.