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Cowboys: Can Brandon Weeden Keep Them Alive?

By Reid Hanson

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With Tony Romo out for the foreseeable future with a broken clavicle, backup Brandon Weeden takes the reins of the offense.

When it rains, it pours, and it appears to be torrential downpour in Dallas today. Two weeks into the 2015 NFL season and the Cowboys are without every single member of last season’s “Triplets”. DeMarco Murray left in free agency, Dez Bryant is out the next 6-10 weeks, and now Romo faces 6-10 weeks himself. My, how things change.

The Cowboys now embark on the heart of their schedule with Joseph Randle as their leading rusher, Terrance Williams as their leading receiver, and Brandon Weeden as their one and only signal caller. How’s that for a reality check?

The Cowboys will be in great shape once all their stars start returning to the lineup, but will it be too late by then? Few will question, Tony Romo is the Cowboys most valuable and most irreplaceable player on the roster. After all, the talent fall-off after the starting QB is probably greater than at any other position.

The good news is the NFC East appears to be at an all-time low across the board. The Giants fell apart once again and stand 0-2, the Eagles join them at 0-2, and the madhouse from Washington evened their record at 1-1. The Cowboys may be shells of their former selves, but their 2-0 record buys them significant cushion in the competitively uncompetitive NFC East race.

Brandon Weeden will be tasked with keeping the team afloat until Romo can return. He turned in a strong performance in relief of Romo on Sunday, but his track record is considerably more questionable when digging deeper.

Last season, Weeden started in place of an injured Romo in a match-up against the Arizona Cardinals. In that game Weeden completed 18 of 33 giving him a 55% completion percentage. Despite seeing single man coverage most of the day, Weeden struggled hitting wide open receivers and survived primarily on check-down passes short of 1st down territory.

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Oddly enough, Weeden struggled when NOT facing pressure. Arizona packed the box against the run and dared Weeden to beat them with his arm. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Weeden dropped back 24 times without pressure. He completed 12 of those passes for 159 yards and two interceptions. His performance clearly left something to be desired.

What is most concerning about Weeden is his blatant disregard for the entire left side of the field. In the Arizona game, Weeden only threw left twice. In his preseason action, he again ignored the left side of the field. Once again on Sunday, Weeden fixated on the right.

Brandon Weeden isn’t a very tough code to crack and when teams realize his neglect of the offense’s port side, they will scheme to take advantage. Brandon Weeden doesn’t need to be Tony Romo to win every game, but he has to be better than he was last season.

"“I think he’s probably the most improved player,” coach Wade Wilson said of Weeden before training camp. “He has a greater understanding of the concepts, the protections, calling plays, all those kinds of things. He’s made a big jump this year. His confidence and his demeanor, his complete understanding and grasping exactly where he’s supposed to go with the ball, handling blitzes and things like that, he’s been very improved.”"

I sure hope coach Wilson is right because this Cowboys team has a chance to make some real noise in the playoffs — if they can just survive the journey. For better or for worse, Brandon Weeden will be leading them on that journey.

Life without Romo begins now.

Next: Are the Cowboys Still Contenders?

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