Worrisome Cowboy: Will Dallas Stick with the Running Game?

Last week against the hated New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys racked up 251 rushing yards. The majority of those yards came from Marion Barber, as he toted the ball 18 times for 124 yards and one touchdown.

But what worries me about the Cowboys' running attack isn’t the team’s ability to actually run the ball; it’s their willingness to completely give up on the running game.

That willingness to abandon a successful game plan may be more evident next week against the Panthers simply because the team may be without their star runner Barber.

Against the Giants this past Sunday night, Barber pulled up lame on his longest run of the night, straining a quad muscle.

With Barber possibly out next week, backup runners Felix Jones and Tashard Choice will have to shoulder the majority of the load. Both backs are fully capable of sustaining a potent running attack, as evidenced in Choice’s performance against the Steelers last season.

If the Cowboys aren't able to rack up the kind of yards they had playing the Giants this Sunday against the Panthers, will Garrett divert to the passing game again?

Better yet, if quarterback Tony Romo has another abysmal performance, will Garrett continue to put the ball in Romo’s hands?

While I do not believe that Romo will have two bad games in a row, I am afraid that Garrett will try to force Tony into a passing rhythm. But doing so may take too much attention from running the ball.

The Panthers have been very susceptible to the run this season, and it seems to be in Garrett’s best interest to exploit Carolina’s most glaring weakness.

On to the defense that has shown a little weakness in the first two games of the year. What was once the team’s strongest suit is starting to show a little wear.

The defensive secondary has been nothing short of a liability this season.

Roy Williams was let go and signed with the Bengals in the offseason, and Anthony Henry is no longer a member of the team, so we cannot blame either for the Cowboys' lack of success in the defensive backfield.

Against the Giants, the team allowed Eli Manning to dice them up in the last three minutes and 50 seconds of the game. Unproven wide receivers Mario Manningham and Steve Smith came up big, combining for 20 catches for over 200 yards.

Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme is looking for a bounce-back game, and the way the Cowboys' secondary looks, this may just be his chance to prove the naysayers wrong.

Former Cowboys head coach Dave Campo is responsible for coaching the secondary, and head coach Wade Phillips is the defensive coordinator. Whether there is a lack of creativity or abilities, something has to change going forward.

Last season the Cowboys led the league in sacks with 59, but this season they have laid a big fat goose egg with zero.

Star linebacker DeMarcus Ware has come up injured in both games this season, and while there have been quarterback knockdowns, none have gone for sacks.

There is also the absence of linebacker Greg Ellis. Owner Jerry Jones let Ellis walk to the Raiders in the offseason, and that may have been a mistake. Ellis has three sacks in two games this season, and his replacement on the Cowboys, Anthony Spencer, has been a no-show thus far.

Phillips has to figure out a way to put more pressure on the opposing quarterback if the secondary has any chance of success. Cornerback Terence Newman has played well at times, but Orlando Scandrick and safety Gerald Sensabaugh have yet to play up to their abilities.

The numbers for the secondary might be a little different if the Cowboys had been able to provide a sack in the first two games, but with contests coming up against teams that feature top-flight receivers, I suspect more creative blitz packages or extra help may be needed to aid a secondary that’s nothing less than pedestrian.

-JH