Tony Romo, quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, suffered a broken clavicle during the game against the Eagles last weekend, and it seems that he will be out for a long time. The injury occurred in the third quarter of a week-two NFL game in Philadelphia. It was the result of strip-sack by Jordan Hicks, an Eagles linebacker, after falling on his shoulder. Prior to this incident, the Cowboys lost pro-bowl wide receiver Dez Bryant due to a broken foot in week-one against the Giants.
The Cowboys have about another eight weeks without their starting quarterback and no sufficient replacement. The third loss was when DeMarco Murray was traded to the Eagles in the off-season. Even though they are 2-0 to start the year, they have now lost their three biggest stars from last season. Brandon Weeden is expected to take over the starting role with Romo out, but if it goes anything like it did in his one appearance last year, the Cowboys could be in for a long season.
The Cowboys lineup would make one think that they would struggle with their plays. You notice their two top-notch player right off the bat, Romo and Bryant, who pretty much help boost each others' statistics each week with their deadly combination. Other than that, the Cowboys don't have their "power" at wide receiver, which does not help Brandon Weeden's case anymore. Then, to make it worse on Weeden, the team does not have a strong, proven running-back corp with Joseph Randle leading the way. But, we must give credit where it's due: Weeden did come in for the injured Romo and complete all seven of his passes including a 42-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Williams.
But will it be enough? Do the Cowboys have enough right now to keep winning games? I say the answer is no.
One must now try to fill the "star" void. Weeden is certainly not the man to do that and, honestly, not many players on the Cowboys offense impress me enough to think that they would be able to do that. Terrence Williams looks like he might be able to grow into a star over the course of the season, but with Weeden throwing him the ball, I don't think it is easy. In my opinion, they need to go out and look for a quarterback.
According to an article on NFL.com, the Cowboys offensive system is based on short passes. An option quarterback like Tim Tebow or Johnny Manziel don't have particularly strong arms, so it would benefit them to throw short passes. It would also help the Cowboys run game because it would give them another dimension, and make the defense have to focus on the quarterback as well as the running back. If you look at the big picture, the Cowboys have nothing to lose, and I think this would severely benefit their offense and help them win more games over this span that they are going to be without their two best players. It's not up to Dallas to make the decision on what to do with the quarterback position for the next eight weeks.
