IRVING, Texas -- Five Wonders is back, and I won’t wonder about when the Dallas Cowboys will allow Brandon Weeden to throw the ball down the field against the New Orleans Saints this week. I promise. I won’t wonder that.
I do have some other wonders, however.
Away we go:
1. There has been a lot of clamoring for the Cowboys to draft a quarterback early for a number of years, and it hasn’t happened. While I do wonder if it happens in 2016 because Tony Romo will be 36 and coming off a year in which he misses at least seven games with a broken left collarbone, I really wonder if Matt Cassel could be the backup next season. He fits more with what the team has done in the past -- Brad Johnson, Jon Kitna, Kyle Orton -- at the spot. Weeden will be a free agent after this season, like Cassel. If the Cowboys don’t loosen the reins a little bit offensively the next few games, we will see what they think of Weeden. Cassel has started more games, had a decent touchdown-to-interception ratio and has had success as a starter (two 10-win seasons). He also has David Dunn as his agent. Dunn also represents Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan.
2. I wonder if the Cowboys will put Ronald Leary back in the starting lineup over rookie La’el Collins. Leary has missed the past two games because of a groin injury. He should be back this week, but do the Cowboys go with Collins? Garrett does not have a “starter cannot lose his job due to injury” policy. Collins seemed to fare well against the Atlanta Falcons and might be better in games than he is in practice. To me, Leary is an underrated player. He might not have the upside of Collins, but he can play. If Collins doesn’t start, then will the Cowboys dress eight offensive linemen? To do so, they would have to go lighter on gameday at another spot and wide receiver would almost have to be the spot. If they continue with seven offensive linemen, then Zack Martin would be the backup center and Mackenzy Bernadeau would be inactive.
3. I was surprised to hear Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison criticize the Cowboys for not running the ball more in the second half vs. the Falcons. I wonder if they were watching the game or just looking at a boxscore. The Cowboys ran it five times for minus-4 yards in the second half. They ran just 19 plays total in the second half and called passes on their final eight plays when they were trailing. So on five of their first 11 snaps in the second half, they ran it. When were they supposed to run it more? In the third quarter they faced second-and-16, second-and-26, third-and-23, second-and-14, third-and-14, second-and-12 and third-and-12. Hardly favorable run looks.
4. Through three games, Lance Dunbar is on pace for 112 receptions, which would be an NFL record for a running back. I don’t wonder if he will break Matt Forte’s record of 102 set last year. I do wonder if Dunbar catching so many passes is a good thing for the offense. A lot of times against Atlanta, the Falcons were willing to give up the underneath stuff and just rally to the ball, especially in the second half when it became apparent the Cowboys weren’t going to let Weeden throw outside. It’s funny, the past couple of years, many have wondered why the Cowboys couldn’t get Dunbar more involved in the offense and here I am wondering if he’s involved too much.
5. Punters need love, too. I wonder if anybody has picked up on Chris Jones’ terrific start. He's averaging 48.4 yards per punt with a 44.8-yard net average. He punted four times against Atlanta and all four needed a fair catch. Three of the four were inside the 20. For the season, six of Jones’ 12 punts have ended up inside the 20. His hang-time has been excellent. His direction has been excellent. As a result, the Cowboys have given up just 23 return yards on punts this season and 15 yards came on one return. The opposition has 8 return yards on the other 11 punts. That’s better than pretty good.
