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Originally Posted by dwl318
I think injuries will hamper them all year. Expect that line that went mostly clear of injuries last year to become much less effective with out the quality running back they had last year.
Defense is still not where it needs to be.
Hardy's return too little too late take two or three games to get into the flow of the defense.
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Injuries are a part of the game; that's a given. Predicting injuries is akin to predicting turnovers. Bottom line, no one can do that. Some teams are fortunate, stay in good health, and don't lose key players while others suffer the injury bug and watch their season fritter away. Time will tell the tale, as they say.
That said, Dez Bryant, is gone from Dallas' offensive game plan for the next 4-6 weeks....and his absence will have its effect, no doubt. He's a stat machine and his production will be difficult to replace. However, losing Jason Witten might have been more damaging to both ways Dallas attacks opposing defenses. Either way, time for others to pick up the slack while he mends.
Rest assure, OC Linnehan and Garrett have an entire section of their playbook scripted with Bryant out of the lineup. By the way, did anyone predict rb Dunbar would be the leading receiver for Dallas Sunday night let alone be the catalyst on that final drive of the night?
Looking ahead, it's difficult to gauge Dallas and Philly based upon their opening week's performances. Both teams faced mediocre opponents coming off 6-10 records; both struggled with any kind of consistency throughout their respective contests. The only difference in the end, Dallas capitalized on the Giants mistake(s) in those final minutes while Sam Bradford & his Iggles did not.
Philly dodges a bullet with Dez out of the line up. They will also miss seeing Greg Hardy and Rolando McClain in this weekend's game (and super rookie, Randy Gregory) from Dallas' defense. That should be incentive enough for the Iggles to come out with a ot more energy than what they did in Atlanta and get their offense into a high tempo rhythm.
Dallas' goal will be to do what they did vs the Giants....take the air out of the ball and ground & pound behind their talented O-line. Should be interesting to see whose game plan has the most affect.
The Cowboys will look forward to seeing old friend DeMarco Murray; he'll certainly get the attention he deserves. What they cannot afford to do is let down their guard when sub rb Darren Sproles takes the field. IMO he's that X-factor you cannot overlook. While he's not Brian Westbrook, he's pretty darned close....and he'll make you pay if you give him a sliver in open space.