Sport DFW
FanSided

Cowboys: Injuries Reaching Ridiculous Pace

By Christian Blood

facebooktwitterreddit

The Dallas Cowboys have quickly fallen to 2-2 as unexpected injuries begin to wreck a season that came with Super Bowl expectations.

It already seems like months ago that quarterback Tony Romo engineered a last-minute touchdown drive to defeat the New York Giants back on September 13.

In fact, did that Week 1 victory even happen?

It’s humorous to think that the season-ending injury to cornerback Orlando Scandrick near the end of training camp was the only major injury concern the Cowboys had to worry about.

More from Dallas Cowboys

Man, that was just the beginning of a list of casualties that’s mounting faster than games can even be played.

Sunday night against the 0-3 Saints in New Orleans went from ‘The Big Easy’ to ‘The Big Not-So-Easy.’

At this point, it’s really hard to tell exactly which side of the ball is in worse shape, the offense or defense. Perhaps it’s time for a poll that might help us reach a consensus.

We know all about the injuries to Romo and superstar wide receiver Dez Bryant, neither one expected back in the lineup before mid-November. Those injuries are old news at this point.

The new list of downed soldiers, at least on offense, includes running back Lance Dunbar and wide receiver Brice Butler.

Dunbar had been far and away the most explosive remaining skill position player on an offense that had still shown the ability to move the football for points, at least in the first half of the last two losses. He’s currently tied with tight end Jason Witten with 21 receptions, but he leads the way in yards with 215 – or at least he did.

This small, but lightning quick, runner out of North Texas was injured on the opening kickoff of the second half against the Saints and all signs point to the worst possible news.

Butler, on a lighter note, was just acquired via trade with the Oakland Raiders before the smoke had cleared due to Bryant’s unfortunate diagnosis. I had a great feeling about this receiver getting integrated into an offense that could utilize his blend of size and speed – yet, this was when we thought Romo would be throwing him the ball.

Somehow, backup quarterback Brandon Weeden managed to get a deep ball into Butler’s hands that traveled about 40 yards. Butler continued running for another 26 which created the biggest Cowboys offensive play of the night – it also cost Butler one of his hamstrings. He was out of the game in the 3rd quarter.

Don’t think that the Dallas defense escaped unscathed.

In what’s becoming both a weekly and annual tradition, outside linebacker Sean Lee left the game with an apparent concussion, this coming a week after he missed significant time against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3 due to a split lip that required stitches.

Throw in the remaining missed playing time for players like defensive ends Greg Hardy and Randy Gregory and also middle linebacker Rolando McClain, and you can see that the Cowboys simply can’t afford to be without Lee for much more than a play here and there.

No, things don’t seem to be getting better for this franchise that probably should, as defensive end Jeremy Mincey proclaimed on Monday, be a perfect 4-0.

Next up is the New England Patriots, a team that probably shouldn’t need deflated footballs or illegal videotape of Cowboys assistant coaches and their signals.

Can the Cowboys rebound from a second-straight loss which has brought them down to .500 and falling?

In the words of Cowboys radio broadcaster and former backup quarterback Babe Laufenberg, rebounding against the defending Super Bowl chumps could be quite daunting.

Next: Cowboys At Saints Film Review: Standouts And Observations

More from Sports Dallas Fort-Worth

Home/Dallas Cowboys