Filed under: Cowboys, NFC East
It's happiness week in Big D. The Cowboys got off the schneid last Sunday by knocking off cross-state rival Houston to head into their bye with smiles on their faces.You know there's not much substantial or controversial going at Valley Ranch when the big story in the Metroplex newspapers is how top draft choice Dez Bryant had to cough up nearly $55,000 for a dinner with his offensive teammates after refusing to carry fellow receiver Roy Williams' helmet off the field during training camp.
Dallas is just 1-2, but San Diego is the only other team whose offense and defense rank in the top eight in the league. But look deeper at the numbers and the Cowboys have trouble.
The only franchise that employed two of the top seven rushers of all-time, Emmitt Smith and Tony Dorsett, is off to a horrible start on the ground. Dallas ranks 26th in rushing with the same trio of backs, Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, that wound up seventh last season.
While Dallas' opponents, Washington, Houston and Chicago, are all ranked in the top 11 in rush defense, only the Texans finished in the top 15 last year and none are considered among the elite at stopping the run.
Certainly the Cowboys were hurt by the absence of left guard Kyle Kosier and right tackle Marc Colombo in the opener with ailing knees. Kosier's flared up again last week. But that's not enough to explain the precipitous drops in the backs' averages. Starter Barber has slipped from 4.4 yards per carry to 3.5. Speedster Jones has fallen from 5.9 to 4.0. And Choice has crashed from 5.9 to 2.6.
There's plenty of time for Dallas to reverse what's on pace to be its worst year on the ground since its 1960 expansion season. On the other hand, the Cowboys still have dates with the usually excellent run defenses of Green Bay, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Tennessee.
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