Jones, Cowboys all-in to win this season despite injuries

Quarterback Tony Romo is out for at least seven games with a broken collarbone.

Wide receiver Dez Bryant, who is out with a broken foot, is not expected to be ready to play until Oct. 25 against the New York Giants, at the earliest.

Defensive end Randy Gregory is still a couple of weeks away with a high ankle sprain.

With all of those injuries piling up, particularly the latest blow when Romo went down Sunday in Philly, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admitted feeling as “low as a crippled cricket’s [butt].”

But, instead of sulking about his injury-riddled hand, Jones is going all-in to save his championship hopes for the season.

The Cowboys have already made a few trades, acquiring Seattle running back Christine Michael and Oakland receiver Brice Butler and then reaching a deal with Buffalo for veteran quarterback Matt Cassel.

Expectations remain the same at Valley Ranch. The Cowboys are not ready to fall off the map.

“I don’t see that at all,” Jones said. “The game is not designed that way. There’s too many people that have to get on the field and play the game. Now, do we depend inordinately on Tony Romo? Yes. There’s no question. But we’re going to have him. We just don’t have him right now.”

Yes, if all goes according to Jones’ plan, the Cowboys will be a dangerous team down the stretch with midseason reinforcements rejoining along the way.

Romo, who is on short-term injured reserve, is eligible to return for the Nov. 22 game at Miami. Bryant is expected to miss another three games, and Gregory could return in a couple of weeks. Plus, the Cowboys will get a boost when linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive end Greg Hardy have served their four-game suspensions.

For the time being, though, it would seem the goal would simply be to stay afloat. If backup Brandon Weeden or Cassel can help the team go 3-4 over the seven games Romo is expected to miss, the Cowboys should gladly take that given their 2-0 start.

That doesn’t seem too far-fetched considering the Cowboys face only two playoff teams from last season in that seven-game stretch. But Jones wasn’t on board with the phrase “staying afloat.”

“We’ve got several players on this team that are really starting or excelling, their arrows are going up,” Jones said. “They’re not trying to stay afloat. They’re trying to get out here on an individual basis for the team and make us have a better team than we had on the field last week.

“I have been one of the biggest daydreamers that anyone has ever seen. Growing up, I could play a complete football game in my front yard with just me, and I could play a complete World Series in the back yard with just me and a broom pole and a ping pong ball. I know how to daydream. This is the kind of thing that fits itself in dreaming about the story we could have here. I can write the story.”

It would be a fairytale story if the Cowboys are somehow able to manage a championship run despite their star quarterback and receiver missing significant playing time during the season.

The Cowboys are only 6-9 without Romo since he became the starter in 2006. They lost the only game he missed last season, as Brandon Weeden went 18 for 33 for 183 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and a 55.5 passer rating. It marked the eighth consecutive loss for Weeden as a starting quarterback.

With that being said, Jones acknowledged that the running game has to improve in Romo’s absence. They have averaged a full yard less per carry compared to last season (3.4 to 4.6), and must do a better job to keep pressure off Weeden.

And the defense must continue being a strength after an impressive showing so far.

“I do think that we can win, yes, but competition is going to have a lot to say about it,” Jones said. “I certainly know that if Tony Romo were not available to us at any time, I know what all of our expectations are. The wagon train has got to get to California, as Barry Switzer used to say. We may burn these wagons as we go, float the Mississippi but anyway, the wagon train has got to go not trying to be cut.

“But, no, the team, the Cowboys, we have to figure out ways to excel and win, and when we do it should be inspirational.”

The players feel the same way, expressing full confidence in the “next man up” mantra. They expect to win Sunday against Atlanta, as they would any other week.

It doesn’t matter who takes the field.

“We feel good and it’s not just, ‘Let’s keep this thing afloat,’ ” tight end Jason Witten said. “It’s, ‘Let’s go win a football game and take it one week at a time.’ I think this team has done a real good job in that regard.”

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Jones, Cowboys all-in to win this season despite injuries."