Dallas Cowboys Hoping Brandon Weeden Improves In Week Four
By Shawn S. Lealos
The Dallas Cowboys lost their two best offensive players in Dez Bryant and Tony Romo, and the team couldn't overcome the high powered Atlanta Falcons offense in Week 3. They now have to hope that they can improve as they face a New Orleans Saints team in Week 4 with an injured Drew Brees at quarterback. However, the biggest thing that Dallas needs to do is find improvement from their quarterback Brandon Weeden, who played well, but didn't take any chances against the Falcons. Here is a look at the news heading into the Cowboys and Saints matchup this week.
Stephen Jones blames coaching on Brandon Weeden's struggles
Against Atlanta Falcons, Stephen Jones had a statistically good game from the look at the stat sheet. He completed 22-of-26 passes, for an impressive 84 percent, but he only threw for 232 yards, which averaged out to be 8.9 yards a pass. He only completed passes to one receiver, and that was slot receiver Cole Beasley. According to vice president Stephen Jones, it wasn't so much Weeden's fault as the coaching staff.
"Our game plan was early, and obviously it worked real well, is we thought that we could work the underneath part of their coverage and run the football," Jones said. "We didn't probably adjust as well as we needed to. We probably needed to be going to the outside group [of receivers] as they changed and adjusted there in the second half."
Terrance Williams blames himself
When Dez Bryant was lost for the next two months, secondary receiver Terrance Williams was the man who was supposed to step up. With Tony Romo at the helm, he caught four passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. It was nice numbers yardage wise, but wasn't as big as he could have been. Then, against the Falcons, he disappeared. He was targeted only twice and caught neither pass. While some fans were blaming Weeden on social media, Williams blamed himself. "There are no excuses for dropping passes or stuff like that," Williams said. "I have to cash in on my chances because you have guys depending on me. Whether it's the last quarter, the last minute or the last second you have to fight throughout the whole game."
Cowboys working patiently with Matt Cassel
The Dallas Cowboys did bring in some backup in case they decide that Brandon Weeden isn't doing a good job. They traded last week for Matt Cassel, but this week will be his first full week of practice. The plan now is for him to completely learn the playbook and work him in slowly. There is also the case that the Cowboys want to insure themselves in case Weeden suffers another concussion. They are also leaving the door open for a change.
"There's always a competition," Stephen Jones said. "Brandon knows Cassel is in here, and if he doesn't play well there's a competition there. Jason (Garrett) has been pretty clear about that."
La'el Collins improving but not yet ready to start yet
La'el Collins was supposed to be a first round draft pick, but went undrafted because of a murder of his ex-girlfriend at college. It turned out he was not guilty of anything and the Cowboys grabbed him as an undrafted free agent; many fans expecting he would take the left guard spot immediately. That didn't happen, as Ronald Leary did nothing to cost himself the job. However, even while Leary was hurt, it was Mackenzy Bernadeau who got the start. Jason Garrett said that Leary will remain the starter, but Collins will rotate in because "he's getting better and he's taking advantage of the opportunity. I think he's learning from his game experience."
Shawn S. Lealos is a freelance writer who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism. He writes for a variety of national publications and has over 15 years of sports journalism experience. Follow Shawn on Twitter @sslealos. Examiner.com.
