New York Giants: State of the NFC East

Sep 27, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Brandon Weeden (3) throws in the pocket against the Atlanta Falcons at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys will have to move forward without quarterback Tony Romo and wide receiver Dez Bryant. In their absence Brandon Weeden and Terrance Williams will attempt to shoulder the load left.

Brandon Weeden, former Cleveland Brown bust, is 5-17 as a starting quarterback. His last win came back in 2012. He played very well against the Atlanta Falcons yesterday as he completed 22 of 26 passes. Despite completing 84% of his passes Weeden still managed to do more harm then good as he threw for zero touchdowns and 1 interception. Weeden is going to need a ton of help if he is to hold down the fort while Romo heals. I don’t think the Cowboys have the talent on the roster to do this. They can’t expect 100 yards receiving out of the backfield every game. Even with that they lost. Almost half of Weeden’s yards came from dumping the ball off the Lance Dunbar.

Their turnover rate of 18% is too high for a quarterback who has more picks then scores and more losses then wins. The defense has given up scoring drives 39% of the time, that number may grow significantly if Dallas can’t maintain drives with Weeden or even Matt Cassell at the helm.

Last season Dallas’ offensive line covered up the problems on the defensive side of the ball by keeping them off the field. Without Romo and Bryant the Cowboys don’t have the threats across the board to scare defenses. More players will stack the box to stop the run and force Weeden to throw the ball. The less they can run the more they must throw and that will lead to turnovers and shorter drives, putting Dallas’ defense on the field way more then they want to be. This year will be a different story.

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