The Cowboys are only averaging 69.5 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry so far this season and that just won’t cut it.  Defenses are going to gang up on the Cowboys’ passing game if they don’t start running the ball more effectively.  It’s not like the Cowboys don’t have talent at running back as Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice are all quality backs.  Barber leads the Cowboys in rushing with 70 on 19 carries (3.7 ypc) so far this year.  Felix Jones has carried the ball 15 times for 45 yards (3.0 ypc) and Tashard Choice has 6 carries for 17 yards (2.8 ypc) so far this year.  Barber, Jones and Choice have combined to catch 9 passes for 43 yards (4.8 avg) this season.  So the running backs are not helping the Cowboys at all this season so far and the offense won’t click on all cylinders until they do.

28-year old Roy Williams has really been a disappointment since coming over from the Lions a year and a half ago in a huge trade where the Cowboys gave up a lot to get him.  Williams played in 15 games for the Cowboys last season and he caught 38 passes for 596 yards (15.7 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Don’t let the TDs fool you as Miles Austin quickly replaced Williams as the #1 WR on the Cowboys during the year.  Williams has now played in 25 games for the Cowboys and he has caught 57 passes for 794 yards (13.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  The Cowboys would probably love to trade Williams but I just don’t see much of a market for him based on his play last season.  It looks like the Cowboys are stuck with him for now.

28-year old WR Roy Williams needs to step up or teams are going to start double teaming Miles Austin more often.  Williams has caught 38 passes for 596 yards (15.7 avg) with 7 TD this season.  Those numbers aren’t terrible but Williams has still been a disappointment this season especially when you consider all of the draft picks the Cowboys traded the Lions to acquire him last season.  In his two years with the Cowboys, Williams has played in 24 games in which he has caught 57 passes for 794 yards (13.9 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  The Cowboys need Williams to start playing up to his ability as his poor year will be forgiven if he steps up the rest of the way with the games getting bigger.

Despite his struggles the Cowboys are going to stick with Nick Folk as the starting kicker.  Folk has played in all 13 games for the Cowboys this season and he has connected on 17 of 26 field goals (65.4%) and all 33 of his extra points good for 84 points.  The Cowboys don’t really want to give up on Folk because he was outstanding in his first two years in the league.  In Folk’s first two seasons with the Cowboys he made 46 of 53 field goals (87%) and he also made all 95 of his extra points good for 233 points.  The Cowboys hope that standing by Folk doesn’t cost them a game that they can’t afford to lose.

UPDATE:  The Cowboys have cut Nick Folk after he missed a chip shot that would have sealed the win last Saturday. 

With December just around the corner the Cowboys need Tony Romo to step up.  He has been awful in games in December and January since becoming the starting QB of the Cowboys and they can’t afford to have that continue.  Romo has completed 183 of 303 passes (60.4%) for 2,466 yards with 14 TD passes and 6 INTs (93.5 QB Rating) so far this year.  Romo has also carried the ball 23 times for 86 yards (3.7 ypc) so far this year.  If Romo can finish the year with his current QB Rating the Cowboys will be happy because they will be in the playoffs.  With all of the weapons that Romo has at his disposal this season it’s hard to believe that he will fail as usual late this year.

The Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo has been receiving a lot of criticism this year, and most of it is well deserved.  Romo had a huge game in week one against the very weak Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but had a terrible three interception game the next week against the New York Giants.  Romo insists he is still confident in himself, but ever since his pathetic game against the Giants Romo has looked timid and has been playing poorly.  Romo has four touchdowns and four interceptions, throwing for 990 yards on 76/131 (58%) attempts so far this year.

Romo continues to speak out about how he is confident in his abilities and all that, but its not his physical abilities that are in question, it is his decision-making and the psyche he has going into games.  The criticism has obviously gone to Romo’s head, and he can continue to say otherwise but its obvious.  Romo lacked rhythm and played timid against one of the worst teams in the NFL, the win-less Carolina Panthers.  He followed that up with another bad game against the Denver Broncos where he failed to throw a touchdown pass and threw a costly interception.  Romo needs to stop caring about the critics and just go out and play football the way he is capable of playing.

The Cowboys are giving up 303.0 yards passing per game but it’s not all the fault of the DBs.  The Cowboys are not getting any pressure on the opposing QBs as they have 0 sacks this year.  With a OLB like DeMarcus Ware this is a stunning development.  The front seven of the Cowboys are getting pushed around in the running game this season also as the opposing team in averaging 135.5 yards rushing per game.  The Cowboys better start getting better play from the front seven on defense or this is going to be a very disappointing season.

Tony Romo is usually a fast starter and the Cowboys should be concerned with his play so far this season.  After all, the running game is averaging 184.5 yards rushing per game which should help loosen up the coverage on his WRs.  Romo has completed 29 of 56 passes (51.8%) for 480 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (82.4 QB Rating).  The Cowboys should try to show more short passes as it seems like Romo is only throwing bombs to his WRs and the short stuff is all going to TE Jason Witten.  With the NFC East being so tough the Cowboys can’t afford to have Romo digging them a hole they can’t get out of.