Cause for concern? Maybe it's time for Dallas to panic

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Owner Jerry Jones doesn't seem overly concerned with the decline and fall of his Dallas Cowboys, but he should be. Rewind the videotape of a 35-14 waxing by the New York Giants, and you'll discover why.

The Cowboys couldn't run. They couldn't pass. They couldn't tackle. They barely defended the pass. And, oh yeah, they couldn't win.

Coach Wade Phillips is running out of time to find a cure for the Cowboys. (US Presswire)

Again.

In fact, they got waxed ... again ... with the loss -- the Cowboys' fourth in six games -- putting Big D in the Big Dumpster. Yep, that's the defending division champs you find in last place in the NFC East, two-and-a-half games behind the Giants and desperately clinging to the hope that this week's bye will make everything better.

And maybe it does. But I'm -- how do I put this? -- less optimistic than Jerry Jones.

For one, the Cowboys have more losses through nine games than they had through 16 a year ago. For another, they have to survive in the brutal NFC East, where there is not a losing record. Lastly, they have more concerns than wondering when Tony Romo returns.

For the record, the Pro Bowl quarterback is back for the Nov. 16 date with Washington, and that can't help but boost an offense that limped through the past three games. But the game's at Washington, and Romo was the quarterback when the Redskins dumped Dallas in September in Big D.

Romo was the quarterback when the Cowboys lost the next weekend in Arizona, too, though he did stage an improbable rally to take the game to overtime ... where the Cowboys promptly wilted.

So pinning the future on Romo is risky, especially considering what's going on everywhere else with the Cowboys. The secondary is shaky. The pass protection is dreadful. The running game can't get going. And the Cowboys can't win.

In short, they stink.

But that's where Jerry Jones believes there's hope. Dallas doesn't play this weekend, and seldom has there been a sick patient more in need of a bye. Romo can heal up. Cornerback Terence Newman will return. Running back Felix Jones comes back. And offensive lineman Kyle Kosier should be back.

"We do have these guys," Jones said. "It's not a figment of our imagination. We do get these guys back."