Will the Dallas Cowboys Overcome All Odds? I'd Still Bet On It

By halftime this weekend, the season will be a third of the way over and the Cowboys will be sittin' at the bottom of the NFC East with a 1-4 record.

It's a tough one to figure.

There are tons of questions.

Is it coaching? Or maybe it's desire? Or is it that the players just aren't as good as we thought? 

And what's goin' on with the kickoff coverage?

What if every team the Cowboys have lost to, had somehow played their best game of the year?

I think all of these questions have been pondered by who knows how many people.

You could point a thousand fingers and they might all be a little off. Or you may have to add them all together to get a correct answer. But that could be wrong too.

But I'll throw some ideas around anyhow.

As for the coaching, I don't always like it. I don't always like their game plan. Jason Garrett's hair doesn't match his hat. Wade Phillips is way too calm for an NFL head coach. 

But they haven't missed any blocks, or fumbled. Or thrown any interceptions. They haven't had any excessive celebration or holding penalties. No pass interferences or gettin' beat on a corner route for these guys.

Whether it's right or wrong, they still get a big part of the blame for the last place start.

But let's move on to the players.

It's really mind-boggling. The Cowboys have several of the top players in the NFL on their team, on both offense and defense.

Their defensive line is top-notch. With names like DeMarcus Ware, Jay Ratliff, and Anthony Spencer leading the way. But for this team to be great, these superstars have got to cause more havoc with things like forced fumbles and altered passes. 

One or all of of this dominant front line needs to take command of this defense.
They've got to be a big factor. And they can be.

A pair of inside linebackers are the glue that holds this defense together. Bradie James leads the team in tackles and Keith Brooking is the vocal leader.

It'd be nice to see any one the reserve backers step up their game and make a positive impact.

I've given the defensive backs a pass for the first few games. They're young and haven't played as much together. But they've really got to get some chemistry going quick if they want to succeed. In order for these guys to take more risks, they have to work as a team of defenders.

There's no real stars among the DBs. But at least one of these guys has got to make a name for himself for the Cowboys defense to excel.

On offense the Cowboys arguably have more weapons than any team in the NFL. This list at the skilled positions could come close to filling the starting rosters on two very good teams.

The pair of Miles Austin and Roy E. Williams have begun the season with what could be career type numbers. But they'll need to not repeat their mistakes to have stellar years.

A third receiver named Dez Bryant is waiting his turn to show what he can do. This past weekend, he finally got his first career receiving touchdown. I'm hoping that we'll see more of him in the very near future.

The tail back list is way too long for a team that has averaged 24 carries a game to start the season.

Tashard Choice is a guy that many believe should be starting or at least be the second option. He's a talented guy but hasn't seen much action since a costly early season mistake.

Marion "The Barbarian" Barber is another starting quality tailback. He seems to be taking a more slippery approach to running the ball this year. But he still maintains his toughness.

Speedster Felix Jones is the third head on the Cowboys' monster. He's got big play ability that rivals the league's best. But up until the past two games, he hasn't seen a lot of touches per game. The results have been great and not so great against the Tennessee Titans' 13th and the Minnesota Vikings' sixth-ranked rushing defenses. He needs to keep getting his fair share of touches. The big plays will come.

Fullback Chris Gronkowski has looked like a productive blocker and he's made five catches. Call me old school, but I'd like to see the fullback included in more plays.

In the past, tight end Jason Witten has seemed like an extension of the quarterback's hand. But we haven't seen that connection this year. History needs to repeat itself here.

Another TE that was supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread hasn't lived up to the hype to this point.

And how about that quarterback? Big numbers have been the theme of Tony Romo's season. Nothing new there. What is new is the only number that counts in the end is way lower than expected.

Last year it appeared the Romo had taken a different approach to the game by eliminating turnovers. So far this year, that control over his game seems to be missing. But he appears to have regained his ability to run. In the last game, Romo had two scrambles for big plays.

Speaking of scrambled, that's a good way to describe the bunch of players that have seen action on the offensive line. No offence to the guys who have been solid, but they'll need to come together as a unit for me to start throwing names around.

They've done some good things, but have had more than their share of mistakes. But like the defensive secondary, they've had little time to gel. So I'm expecting a better group going forward.

The special teams have been lackluster at best.

The kick coverage has given up two of the biggest plays of the year. Improvements here are the easiest to achieve. Changes should be made.

And the kick off returns have been less than electrifying. Forty yards is the long in 21 returns. And that's the only kick return over 30 yards this year.

The dynamic, but underused Dez could change all that and be a threat to take it to the house at any time.

The truth of it all?

Recently, in a previous article, I came up with some numerical formula to try and explain the Cowboys misfortunes. And even though RPY appears to have some statistical value, the Cowboys seem to be running up against a different wall.

There has obviously been something going wrong.

But there are no statistics that can explain why the ball bounces a certain way. The Cowboys have just been a victim of the bad luck that they have created for themselves. And every team that has beat them has taken full advantage of it.

Looking past all the flaws that have surfaced and mistakes made, the team still looks good enough to make the playoffs. But every team is still gunnin' for the the 'Boys and they'll have to quit shootin' themselves in the foot in order to extend their season. 

If they can put it all together quickly and get over some of the mistakes that they are going to make, the Dallas Cowboys have more than enough talent to take them all the way.

But the balls going to have to bounce their way more often than not from here out.

As to the title, I haven't gambled in years. But right now, the odds are right. It's 40 to 1 against the Cowboys winning Super Bowl XLV. I think the Cowboys are worth the risk for sure. Put $50 on it for me.