Dallas Cowboys: Do Not Underestimate the Miracles of this Season
By Reid Hanson
The Dallas Cowboys 5-1 start to the 2016 season is nothing short of miraculous once you take a moment, sit back, and consider all that they’ve overcome.
It’s easy to take the Dallas Cowboys start to the 2016 season for granted. After all, it kinda snuck up on us like a baseball bat to Glen’s cranium (was I supposed to say “spoiler alert”). But take a moment to consider all that the Cowboys have overcome, all that they have achieved, and you’ll probably come to the same conclusion as me – this season is nothing short of miraculous.
The 2016 season started out poorly before it even began. Early in the offseason Cowboys Nation learned that their two expected starting edge rushers, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory, would begin the season on the suspended list.
To make matters worse, the starting MIKE, Rolando McClain, was going to miss 10 games for a suspension himself. Losses like this would be tough for a talented defense to survive, but for a defense as poor as the Cowboys’, these losses appeared to be crippling.
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The NFL Draft didn’t appear to do the 2016 Dallas Cowboys many favors either. The Cowboys, desperate for defensive help, opted to go offense with their #4 overall pick.
In the second round, the Cowboys added the supremely talented LB Jaylon Smith out of Notre Dame.
The only problem was Smith blew up his knee and would likely spend the entire 2016 season on IR.
Not until the third round did the Cowboys add to their defense and not until the fourth round did they address the thinnest position on the defense, defensive end. The Cowboys would go on to have a fairly average draft according to most analysts.
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The icing on the cake came in the preseason when the Dallas Cowboys’ most irreplaceable player, QB Tony Romo, broke his back. BROKE HIS BACK! Things looked bleak for the Dallas Cowboys that day.
But then it started happening.
Very slowly things started falling into place. The Cowboys would see role players on the defense start stepping up. They’d see their rookie RB flash the skills that he showed so often in college. Most of all, they saw their rookie QB, a consolation pick in the fourth round, showing the skills of a real seasoned NFL QB.
The Dallas Cowboys would go on to lose their first game of the season. They’d also lose their best WR, Dez Bryant and their best CB, Orlando Scandrick.
The changes flew under the radar to many of us because the good things that were happening were mixed with so many bad things. But very quietly the Cowboys started winning. Then very loudly they started winning.
Suddenly the Dallas Cowboys are 5-1 and leading, the surprisingly strong, NFC East. But agains, look what was overcome:
- The best two DEs were out.
- The best MIKE was out.
- The best CB was out.
- The best WR was out.
- And most importantly, the QB1 was out.
We saw how the Dallas Cowboys do without their QB. It was only last season the Cowboys went 1-11 in Tony Romo’s absence. This wasn’t the Patriots. This wasn’t a good team capable of treading water sans their top signal caller. This was the Cowboys. And somehow they became something else.
Credit “The 214” for leading the way and carrying the team this season. Without #21 and #4, none of this would be possible. But players everywhere are making this happen. Before we start arguing again about who the starting QB should be, who to trade, and what to expect, let’s take a moment to appreciate all that has happened.
The Dallas Cowboys have seemingly achieved the impossible this season. They won without Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Orlando Scandrick…everything that doomed them last offseason. Optimists and pessimists alike have to take a step back and appreciate all that the Dallas Cowboys have achieved this season.
It’s nothing short of miraculous.