Questions Waiting for Answers: Week 2
Dallas Cowboys News in Brief
A few news items before we get started with the questions for the week:
* Tony Romo was named as the NFC’s offensive player of the week for his performance vs. the Giants.
* Terry Glenn elected to have arthroscopic surgery on his knee instead of microfracture surgery. Here is more from Mick’s Shots:
That Terry Glenn opted to go the arthroscopic surgery route to remove torn articular cartilage from his right knee is not some elixir procedure. This gives him a chance to return this year, possibly in four to six weeks, but that is not guaranteed and certainly does not guarantee he will not require microfracture surgery either at the end of the season or at the end of his career. The scope removes the loose bodies in his knee but does not address the hole created by the torn cartilage, and further wear and tear in there will cause that opening to enlarge, the degeneration increasing the probability of an eventual painful bone on bone condition.
* Both Greg Ellis and Terence Newman returned to the practice field. From DallasCowboys.com:
Newman was a little more active than Ellis, as the 10th-year linebacker only participated in individual drills but at least had his pads on this second day of practice this week. Newman, who missed the first game of his career against the Giants this past Sunday, took part in some team drills and practiced with the first-team nickel defense.
As a result, Newman is more likely to participate in Sunday’s game at Miami than Ellis, and is being classified as a game-time decision by Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips. Phillips said he would like to see Ellis participate in team drills before considering playing him.
Questions Waiting for Answers
1. Will the Cowboys be able to use the running game effectively?
The Washington Redskins ran for 191 yards against Miami last week, averaging 4.7 yards per carry on 41 carries. This looks like a good week for our duo of Julius Jones and Marion Barber to shine.
2. Will Miami head coach and former San Diego offensive coodinator Cam Cameron find ways to take advantage of the injuries to the Cowboys’ defense?
Even with the injuries, the Dallas defense has more talent than Washington’s. And given the fact that the Dolphins had fewer than 200 yards passing and fewer than 100 yards rushing against the Redskins, I would think that the Dallas defense would rebound nicely.
3. Should every team’s receiving corps scare us?
Plaxico Burress looked all-world last Sunday, but I don’t see anyone on Miami’s team that will cause so many problems. That said, Chris Chambers had nearly 100 yards against Washington.
4. Can the Dallas defense keep Miami’s offense off the field?
Miami had four four-and-out drives last week out of a total of 11 drives in the game. With Dallas having so many injury (and now depth) problems, it would certainly be nice to keep the Cowboys’ offense on the field.
5. Will the Cowboys win?
Each week last year, I tried to give a prediction– and according to me, Dallas should have gone 14-2. I’ll avoid scores this year.
Yes, Dallas should win. The Cowboys have more talent, and the injuries on defense should not be a huge problem. The receiving corps looks to be in good shape, so the offense should continue to move the ball effectively.
