The Dallas Cowboys faithful might not always be the biggest fans of Tony Romo, but they sure do miss their quarterback right now. Not eligible to return to play until Week 11, the Cowboys are not getting anything going with Matt Cassel under center. Both he and Brandon Weeden cannot find rhythm to get Dallas a win regardless of the playmakers on the field and that could continue until Romo gets heathly. Will it be too late by then?
The Cowboys continue to slip in the NFC East and while anything is still possible at Week 8, if they do not begin to string together wins, they will be on the outside looking in come January. Most of their season officially rests on the play of the quarterback position. Cassel and Weeden are not the guy. In Week 8, the Cowboys managed just 220 yarsd of total offense. They had 91 passing yards altogether. Even the return of Dez Bryant could not put a spark in the Cowboys as Cassel knows this loss falls on him.
--UPDATE: Per Rand Getlin: "I'm told Tony Romo won't practice this week. He feels good and is excited about coming back, but likely needs "the full eight weeks"."
"I'm getting outside the pocket and it kind of becomes a desperation play at that point," said Cassel, via ESPN.com. "I tried to get the ball down the field to get ourselves in field-goal range. Unfortunately I felt him at the very end. When you play good football teams, you've got to score. Those would be the difference-makers."
Until Romo returns, the Cowboys' season is on ice. Cassel recorded just 97 yards passing on Sunday, never having a play that went longer than 15 yards. That means Bryant, Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley were merely bystanders in this matchup. Until Romo can return, fantasy owners would be wise to look elsewhere for receivers that are going to get down field better. Darren McFadden was the leader of the offense with 64 yards on the ground and another 49 through the air. One thing is celar, McFadden will remain the starting running back regardless of the status of Joseph Randle moving forward.
So when will the Cowboys get Romo back to save the day? According to head coach Jason Garrett, the quarterback has been throwing the ball and is hopeful to get back to practice soon following his injured collar bone. However, the issue is that Romo cannot play until Thanksgiving at the earliest. That means the Cowboys could be 3-7 at that point if things continue the way they are. Will the return of Romo even matter at that point?
"Obviously you want to get him out there doing something," Garrett said, via CBSSports.com. "He has been throwing the ball a little bit lately and he looks good that way. You try to ease him back into it without compromising our preparation with the other guys to get ready for the game, so we'll talk about that more specifically when we get closer to it."
