Dallas Cowboys Midseason Report Card

 meant to do a quarterly grading series, but since I had some laptop trouble back in October, I was unable to deliver. Instead, I will grade the Dallas Cowboys only twice this year. Behold, the midseason report card.

QB: A-

Tony Romo would have had a B- after the first four games, but his A over the last four have brought him up to an A-. I am seeing better decision making, and better protection of the football. The numbers are there too. He isn’t just being a bus driver. He’s making plays, and winning games. He has missed a few throws here, and there, but overall I am extremely pleased with his play.

RB: A

I think all running backs have played well. Only Felix Jones has lost a fumble. All have been good in blitz pick up, and all moved the chains. Most importantly, they’ve all hit pay dirt. I think Tashard Choice has been the best of them all, mainly because he hasn’t been hurt. Can’t really complain about what we’ve seen from the backs.

WR: B+

Miles Austin raises this grade tremendously. Roy Williams brings it down even though he had a decent game Sunday night. Patrick Crayton’s punt returns helps this grade too. Kevin Ogletree and Sam Hurd have been good in extremely limited reps.

TE: B+

Witten has been great as a blocker, but his yards are down. Still, he has been getting open a lot, and making receptions. Martellus Bennett has been somewhat disappointing as a pass catcher. He’s screwed up a couple of routes, and may have lost the coaches' trust. However, his blocking has been good. John Phillips’ name has only been called when committing penalties.

OL: B+

Outside the Denver game, the pass protection has been stellar. Run-blocking was great early on, but has slowed a little bit over the past few games. Penalties still plague this group, but for a line that’s supposedly “too old” according some “experts”, they’ve been one of the best in the league, and are one of the reasons the Cowboys have the league’s second best offense.

DL: A

They are definitely the most underrated unit on the team. You can’t overemphasize the production from Jay Ratliff. He is outstanding. Igor Olshansky has been a nice replacement for the departed Chris Canty, and Marcus Spears has improved.

I also like the backups. Jason Hatcher, Stephen Bowen, and Junior Siavii are disruptive situational players. They all play hungry whenever they get in the game. I was watching a replay of the fourth quarter debacle in the 2006 at Philadelphia on the NFL Network, and the defensive line was slow, passive, and could never get push. This six-man rotation they have now is light years better. I must give Wade credit for this.

LB: B

With DeMarcus Ware’s slow start in the sack department, and Anthony Spencer’s inability to finish what could be a great play, I can’t give these guys anything higher than a B. However, Ware has gotten back in a groove, and all four of the starters play the run well, which can’t be taken for granted.

I love Keith Brooking, and Bradie James has been solid. Victor Butler has been awesome in the limited amount of snaps he has played (three sacks), but Carpenter is still mediocre, at best. He’s coverage has been all right, which is his main job as a nickel LB, but man this guy is shy against the run (though against the Eagles he had a couple of nice tackles).

These guys have played better over the last month, but Spencer needs to start making some plays. Dallas didn’t make him a starter to only be a good run defender. The missed interceptions (see Denver game), and the “man Spencer almost had a sack” moments need to cease. If Butler can get there in limited opportunities, then Spencer has no excuse. Anthony needs to get these sacks. That’s really all that is lacking from this unit.

DB: B-

I will first give props to Gerald Sensabaugh, who has been a godsend for this secondary. He covers, tackles, is always in position, and makes interceptions with a cast on one arm.

Mike Jenkins is having an awesome season, and I said in August that either he, or Orlando Scandrick needs to make an impact for this defense to reach another level. Scandrick has been all right, but he needs to turn his head a little earlier as quarterbacks are picking on him with his back turned to the ball.

I give this unit a somewhat low grade, because I still don’t like what I see from Ken Hamlin (though against the Eagles he was decent). The “hammer” is hardly even a plastic mallet when it comes to tackling, and he seems to be late in breaking up passes. The square-in is still a route the secondary struggles with.

Terence Newman hasn’t had his best season, but his hitting has improved. He needs to stop dropping interceptions. The secondary has been better, but they were very bad against the Giants, and nearly blew the game in Kansas City. Nevertheless, I must credit them for doing a great job stopping DeSean Jackson.

K: A

I include Matt McBriar in this group. Buehler is a beast. McBriar is back to his old self, and the only thing that prevents an A+ is Nick Folk’s two misses. They’ve all been great.