All of a sudden the Cowboys have won three straight games and sit at 3-1 after a nightmare start week one against Tampa Bay that had fans melting down.
A lot has gone right for the Cowboys over the past three weeks and it is no accident, the roster that Jerry, Stephen, and Will McClay have put together is deep, complete, and proving fans wrong.
The powers that be inside the front office made unpopular decisions over the offseason. Trading away Amari Cooper, letting Randy Gregory, Cedrick Wilson, and La’el Collins walk in free agency, giving Cooper Rush the nod for QB2, and bringing back Brett Maher to kick just to name a few.
All of these were questioned by fans and media familiar with the team and so far, we have simply been wrong.
Cooper Rush has proven that he was the right decision going 3-0 in Dak Prescott’s absence and keeping the Cowboys’ season alive. Noah Brown, who was spoken very highly of in training camp, has filled the void of receiver depth. Without Randy Gregory, the Cowboys have the most sacks in the NFL and guys like Dorance Armstrong and Quinton Bohanna are stepping up on the interior of that defensive line.
Cedrick Wilson has done nothing for the Dolphins so far with just two receptions so far this season and I don’t think anyone is missing La’el Collins too much on the offensive line.
The roster that Jerry, Stephen, and Will McClay have built has proven to be one of the more complete rosters in the NFC. Despite Dak Prescott, Michael Gallup, Connor McGovern, Dalton Shultz, Tyron Smith, and even Jayron Kearse all suffering injuries; the Cowboys are finding ways to win.
The front office trusted CeeDee Lamb to be the No. 1 guy on the outside to replace Amari Cooper. In the last two games, Lamb has 14 receptions for 184 yards and two touchdowns.
They have been high on Dorance Armstrong since drafting him in 2018; he has three sacks and three tackles for loss this season.
Their first-round draft pick, Tyler Smith, has impressed and Brett Maher is 10 for 11 on field goals with his only miss coming from 59 yards. Most importantly, they named Cooper Rush as Dak’s backup and he has yet to lose an NFL start.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1576674446483628033
Like it or not, you have to acknowledge the personnel decisions that the front office has made for this roster and give them credit.
Now the Cowboys are gaining reinforcements as Gallup returned against the Commanders catching two passes and a touchdown, Connor McGovern is back and Jason Peters is getting more run on the o-line, and Dak Prescott is eyeing a week five return against the Rams.
The Cowboys season is not lost, after all, something that seemed impossible after week one.
I gotta admit it, when I first saw the schedule, I was expecting them to be 1-4 after the first 5 games. (Haven’t played LAR yet) even with Dak Prescott healthy. This is a marathon, not a sprint, as the saying goes. But, I’m pleasant surprised at this point.
Yes, the FO made some moves that are working out well, credit to them. But all those OFFSEASON moves and almost all the injuries mentioned happened BEFORE the season even started. But in-between that first pathetic loss and the following three wins, what was the MAIN difference on the team? Hmm…
The main difference is the offense line played itself into being a good blocking group . It is still learning to work together but it is far from the disorganized group of week one. That has allowed a backup QB to work and not be behind the chains .
Kudos to the offense line coaches.
Vam…. The I know what you THINK the MAIN difference is, but your wrong!! The MAIN difference is that we’re running the ball a lot more!! And the offensive line is holding up a lot better too!! The QB playing now is definitely not the reason for the wins the last few weeks!! If Dak was playing in the games we have won and we ran the ball and the offensive line held up as good for him, we would have won these games by way more points!!
Yes, we could probably do better if Dak was running the offense over the past three games, but it still would have been ALL about his production not the TEAM. During his absence everyone on the team appears to have stepped up their games instead of depending on him to carry them. He is a good QB, but he isn’t TB or AR. I just hope the team continues to play at the high level it has while he’s been out. If they do we should have a season to remember.
One last note, everyone seems fixated on replacing our HC but let’s give him the credit for keeping the ship on its current course and not panicking when Dak went down. JJ and SJ get all the credit for their FO moves, DQ and KM as respective coordinators, but let’s give MM credit for what he brings to the table as well. He deserves credit it too!
Things are moving along for sure. Good for those guys! The next 2 weeks will tell us where our team is.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, ! Let’s just wait and take our breath a minute!! Sure we have won a few games but the season has only begun so let’s give a LITTLE credit where credit is due but let’s wait till December and January before we start making the front office famous!! It’s not how we start it’s how we finish that will tell the story!!
Of the players the front office moved on from…Gregory is going on IR and his issue was always availability…..Collins is having an undistinguished season….Wilson is buried in Miami roster….Cooper is producing at less than Brown so far.
So, those guys cost about 50 million in cap and are replaced with guys costing around 12 million in cap.
Yes, the front office does deserve to hear they were right.
The whole point of the offseason is to be better than you were the year before. The cowboys appear to be the same. They have an awesome team with great players on it. The NFC is there for the taking. Instead of using all the possible cap to bolster the roster, they saved cap space to roll over. When we have an injury late in the year and need an extra receiver or pass rusher then you can judge their offseason moves.
Yep Matt
Yours is a good take on considering that there’s still 13 games to be played and injuries will happen.
Credit where credit is due for these first 4 games but let’s not anoint the FO just yet if that saved cap space could have further solidified positions of need for later.
Everyone in the NFL realizes that the Cowboys were fleeced in the Cooper trade. The Cowboys did not let Gregory go – that’s just not accurate. They also made Cooper Rush available to anyone in the league. Let’s reassess after the games against the Rams and, more importantly, the Eagles
Would argue that the Cooper deal was a washing-of-the-hands and not a matter of being fleeced. Granted, I hoped for a better return but didn’t expect one … he was gone as soon as 2021 ended.
Rush was not made available to everyone. He did not have to clear waivers and end up wherever he was taken … he was able to be cut with a handshake agreement that he would be returned to the team. A prudent move that allowed others to be put on IR.
Gregory was indeed one of their lucky maneuvers … but the good teams make those too.
I understand that it’s with the benefit of hindsight, but the WR market that evolved after the trade makes it pretty clear to me that we got fleeced.
I don’t know the rules well enough (or at all) to counter your argument. My point is that Rush’s performance has far exceeded their perception of him. That is abundantly clear.
“Good” team? Seriously? The Dallas Cowboys have a record of 209-191 between September 25, 1997 and September 25, 2022 the Cowboys have been the very definition of average or mediocre for 25 years.
Roland October 4, 2022 At 8:39 pm
I understand that it’s with the benefit of hindsight, but the WR market that evolved after the trade makes it pretty clear to me that we got fleeced.
I don’t know the rules well enough (or at all) to counter your argument. My point is that Rush’s performance has far exceeded their perception of him. That is abundantly clear.
“Good” team? Seriously? The Dallas Cowboys have a record of 209-191 between September 25, 1997 and September 25, 2022 the Cowboys have been the very definition of average or mediocre for 25 years