Dallas Cowboys: Winners and Losers at the Season's Quarter Mark

It's been a roller coaster of a first quarter to the 2011 season for the Dallas Cowboys, who sit at 2-2 entering their bye week.

The Cowboys have all the glorious stats you could ask for so far this year, but with two catastrophic second half meltdowns to their name, sit a mediocre .500 start.

There have been members of this ball club that have helped Dallas reach their highest highs and lowest lows of this regular season. Here are the top winners and losers for the Cowboys through the season's first quarter mark.

Winner: Rob Ryan

Say what you want about defensive coordinator Rob Ryan's antics, but the man has taken bits and pieces of his old Cleveland Browns and 2010 Cowboys defense and produced the league's fourth best defense.

He doesn't have any big name corners like Nnamdi Asomugha, but this secondary made up of Alan Ball, Terence Newman and Abram Elam have proven many analysts wrong so far. The largely no-name defense Ryan has strung together has held their opponents to an average of less than 300 yards of total offense.

The long-haired Ryan brother has also been able to give opposing quarterbacks fits with his blitz packages, consistently moving linebacker DeMarcus Ware from the right to left side of the field multiple times through out the course of games.

Ware has benefited from the new 3-4 system as has fellow linebacker Sean Lee, who has excelled in his role as a starter since earning the job from veteran Keith Brooking.

Loser: DeMarco Murray

Remember when it was the preseason and there were talks that DeMarco Murray may beat out Tashard Choice as Felix Jones' backup? Looks like that's not going to happen.

Albeit, Murray is a rookie and didn't exactly have a normal offseason to prepare for his first year in the NFL, but he just hasn't received nearly as many carries as many believed he might before the regular season began.

The former Oklahoma Sooner has just 14 carries on the year, and hasn't done much when head coach Jason Garrett has given him the football. Murray is averaging just 2.8 yards per carry through his first four NFL games.

Winner: Laurent Robinson

Laurent Robinson did his best to look like Dallas' old No. 81 against the Detroit Lions last Sunday, putting up Terrell Owens-like receiving numbers against the Motor City based team.

With Dez Bryant still playing injured with his deep inner thigh bruise and Miles Austin sitting out again due to his own injury, the 'Boys needed one of their receivers to step up.

Robinson answered the call, posting seven receptions and 116 yards against the Lions defense, providing a much needed threat in the passing attack.

The former St. Louis Ram also helped his new team out against the Washington Redskins two weeks ago with Austin out, posting three clutch receptions for 49 yards.

Jason Garrett said to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that "Robinson played really well opposite [Bryant]" against Detroit and it seems as if he's earned the slot receiver spot when Austin returns to action.

Loser: Miles Austin

This statement is based purely on the fact that Austin has been out due to injury since Week 2. The Monmouth University graduate had two impressive performances against Rex Ryan's New York Jets defense and the San Francisco 49ers respectively but has sidelined due to his hamstring injury.

Austin is Tony Romo's favorite target at wide receiver and his absence was certainly felt against the Redskins a few weeks ago when his replacements look like deer in headlights a few times after breaking an offensive huddle.

Robinson and Dez Bryant performed admirably in No.19's absence, but Dallas needs their veteran wide out on the field if they want to recover from their Week 4 loss in a few weeks when the take on the Patriots in New England.

Winner: Jason Garrett

The Cowboys may be 2-2 to start Jason Garrett's first full season as Dallas' head coach, but his success is outweighed by his faults.

Garrett's offense currently sits at sixth best in the NFL, while his defense headed by Rob Ryan is fourth in the league. His quarterback has a near 93 QB rating and is the 10th best in the league at his position statistically so far this year.

The stats all look good for Garrett, and considering the injuries this team has played through and worked around, 2-2 isn't horrible considering their opponents.

The issue for the head coach is that if not for some bonehead decisions by Romo whom Garrett has worked with for many season, he could find himself with an undefeated team—no he should find himself with an undefeated team.

Loser: Tony Romo

Look, I'm a Tony Romo believer, but I can't defend against the fact he has been the primary cause for the two losses on Dallas' 2011 record.

Romo has shown flashes of brilliance as he did coming back into the game against San Francisco to orchestrate the winning drive, and playing through cracked ribs and a punctured lung to defeat the Redskins on Monday Night Football.

If he had played as well as he did through the first half of both the Jets and Lions games, then the media would be anointing the Cowboys NFC East champions, but due to crucial turnovers at the worst of times, some analysts are calling for Romo to be benched.

It's difficult to defend the costly mistakes, but Romo still gives his team the best chance to win on Sundays and he has proven that he can lead this team to the playoffs.

People want to disregard the Eastern Illinois alum and he's been giving them reasons to do so through the first quarter of 2011, but given his regular season history, there's reason to believe Romo puts his early season demons behind him and turns in another productive year for the Cowboys.