Auditions important for Dallas, too

Sunday, November 18, 2012

— By the time we get to next weekend, the Dallas Cowboys could be sitting on the high side of .500, riding a three-game winning streak and carrying playoff hopes that have advanced from remote to realistic in a surprisingly short span of time.

I think simply beating the 2-7 Cleveland Browns and 3-6 Washington Redskins in Cowboys Stadium ranks as more of a challenge than some are willing to consider. Dallas’ past four games aren’t any more impressive than the Browns’ past four (competitive losses to Baltimore and Indianapolis, victories over San Diego and Cincinnati).

Regardless, a 6-5 record with the low-flying Philadelphia Eagles on their way to Arlington is a distinct possibility for Dallas.

But that’s not what the second half of this season is about. Not solely, anyway.

While no one’s quitting on 2012, the auditions at key positions for 2013 and beyond are under way. In fact, I can’t recall a time when the Cowboys were heading into an off season and, specifically, a draft with so many needs at skill positions.

I’m talking about all the skill positions. It’s the sort of thing that makes for interesting draft talk but not the kind of problem an organization easily embraces.

Start with running back, which wasn’t supposed to be a need for this team, but apparently is. DeMarco Murray already has missed four games with a sprained foot. He has missed seven games in his first two seasons and there could be more. The argument that he’s not dependable enough to be a true No. 1 back isn’t going to go away.

The Cowboys don’t have a rusher in the league’s top 30. Mostly, this is a team trying to scrap its way into the playoff picture without any sense of offensive balance.

That’s not to say there aren’t questions at wide receiver going forward. How comfortable are you with the backups to Miles Austin and Dez Bryant? Thoughts on that front have changed dramatically since Kevin Ogletree’s 114-yard opening night in New York.

For that matter, are you completely confident with Austin and Bryant, given the number of drops and miscommunications with Tony Romo this season? Austin and Bryant rank 14th and 22nd in receiving yards. Those are the numbers of a good combination, not a great one. Regardless, unless Cole Beasley gets the opportunity to show he is the next Wes Welker and delivers on it, help is needed here.

We know the Cowboys’ wide receiver numbers are diminished slightly by Romo’s reliance on Jason Witten. The club’s all-time leading receiver has been targeted 91 times in nine games.

The fact that he has caught more balls than Michael Irvin doesn’t necessarily mean the end is near. But Witten has played with some major injuries, and he takes a beating working the middle of the field.Maybe he’s capable of going the Tony Gonzalez route and lasting seemingly forever, but it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to start looking for his successor soon. There’s no way of telling if John Phillips or James Hanna are the future.

Then, of course, there is the quarterback issue to address. If the Cowboys fail to make a considerable second-half turnaround, it will be the third consecutive year the team missed the playoffs. Romo turns 33 in April. He’s almost certain to finish 2012 with the worst passer rating of his career.

If you have watched the games, you know how often his receivers have undermined him. Still, quarterbacks moving into their mid-30s without more than one playoff victory on their resumes don’t maintain a high level of job security.

You can argue whether the team should have been making more of an effort to groom a young replacement than the Stephen McGee experiment. But either way, there’s no question that it’s not too soon to start looking this off-season.

Today’s opponent features rookies starting at quarterback (Brandon Weeden), running back (Trent Richardson) and wide receiver (Josh Gordon). Normally, you don’t get in that position by choice. It happens mostly through a failure to keep an eye on the future.

The playoff push will last as long as the Cowboys can maintain a winning streak. The auditions at the game’s most prominent positions for 2013 will go right up through Dec. 30 in Washington.

Sports, Pages 26 on 11/18/2012