Cowboys Drop in ESPN Rankings - Maybe Not Low Enough?
The.Dallas Cowboys are an eye-catching presence in every single way. Little wonder, then, that this week’s ESPN Power Rankings offer an interesting Dallas take ... And little wonder that we write about it, too!
We don’t know how seriously we’re supposed to take such “rankings”; we’ve always thought one of the beauties of the NFL over college football is that the standings are the rankings.
At the same time, we respect ESPN’s Todd Archer for taking seriously his involvement in the undertaking. Archer, placing 3-3 Dallas 12th this week after sitting in eighth last week, writes:
"The Cowboys have five takeaways on the season (two interceptions, three fumbles). Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard have typically had defenses that can take the ball away, but this group just simply hasn't done it enough. The Cowboys are not pressuring the quarterback to create hurried throws. They don't poke the ball away. The last time a Cowboys defensive back had more than four interceptions was in 2010. As a result, the offense does not have many opportunities to work with a short field. Nothing is coming easy for this team ...”
To us, 12th in the NFL seems like a terribly high opinion of a club that’s lost three straight games. (And the Patriots at No. 1? Possibly not high enough.) Maybe Sunday night's visit from the Philadelphia Eagles will provide some clarity on "who the Cowboys really are.'' In the meantime, coach Jason Garrett is beleaguered and as we write here per a source, star Amari Cooper leads a list of injured Cowboys with his Sunday availability in doubt. In short, it might be a challenge for Dallas to live up to its relatively high ranking this week.
