And almost every season the first two weeks have teams that everyone thought had potential that get off to a slow start. This season was bound to produce such results with so many contenders playing each other in the first three weeks. Minnesota, for example, is 0-3 despite having a top rated offense. The Chargers are 1-3, having beat Minnesota today. The contenders are knocking each other off this year early on, but as the season progresses, they will inevitably still be challenging despite their early struggles. With starters setting out the preseason now, a lot of teams don’t know going into the season what they do or do not have. But with it now being a seventeen game season, the teams with real leadership still have a chance to fix their problems.
The NFL season, now more than ever, is a marathon. It’s not a sprint. It requires learning as you go and making the adjustments needed to reach a higher level as the teams learn their shortcomings.
But, by the end of week three the real contenders are starting to show their potential.
The Cowboys are 2-1. They jumped all over a competitive but still rebuilding Giants team by storm in the season opener, and then beat a Jets team who found themselves without a quarterback after week 1. So we didn’t learn anything about the Cowboys in the first two weeks that we didn’t know- they have a good defense but their offense struggles at times.
Now, the Cardinals are not a weak team and you shouldn’t think the Cowboys were beaten by a weak team. They are for real, and they will likely challenge for a playoff spot now that their quarterback situation is rectified. The Cardinals changed their fates when they surprised everyone by getting rid of the quarterbacks they had in camp and signing Joshua Dobbs a week before the season started. Dobbs is the real deal; he took over that team less than a week before the season started and is making a difference. I watched him at the University of Tennessee and I know he is the real deal.
Today simply reminded the Cowboys that other teams will not simply fold in their presence after seeing their stars flex their muscles in front of a microphone in a soundbite. It’s not the end. But it is a chance to review and assess what must be done before it gets too late.
The bad news is that the rest of the NFL- like the Cardinals- are settling into their true identities at this point in the season. The Cardinals have improved as the season has progressed. Some teams are vastly improved, while others have already seen the peak of their season come and go. The Lions, for example, are the real deal and will be tough. Even the Chargers and the Jaguars will be tough, despite their slow starts.
If you study the Cowboys schedule for the rest of the season, you know that there are several contenders- that really are contenders- that they must play.
The decisions McCarthy makes right now will determine the fate of the Cowboys as the season progresses. He has to decide if the Cowboys can compete with what he has seen from the offense and the defense up to this point. He must assess, and make changes, if necessary, to see the Cowboys succeed.
Like the Cardinals, the Cowboys may need to change their fate.
