Cowboys will spend bye week evaluating Weeden, Cassel
Dallas Cowboys coaches returned to work Monday, still seeking answers for what ails their struggling offense. They are evaluating whether to replace Brandon Weeden with Matt Cassel, who very well could start at quarterback Oct. 25 against the New York Giants.
On their bye week, the Cowboys have time to think about it.
“When you talk about evaluating the quarterback, you look at [everything],” coach Jason Garrett said Monday. “You look at what we’re asking him to do and how he handles that, and then how he executes those plays on a consistent basis, week in and week out, and you look at the overall production of the quarterback.
“The quarterback is one of those positions where you don’t isolate him. His impact on the offense is important. His impact on the football team is important. You put all of those factors together, and you try to make your best judgment.”
On Sunday against the New England Patriots, Weeden, 31, had his worst game since replacing Tony Romo, who fractured his left collarbone in the Week 2 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Weeden completed 26 of 39 passes for 188 yards with no touchdowns, an interception and a 67.0 passer rating in losing his 11th straight game as a starter.
“I think every quarterback needs confidence, and every player needs confidence,” Garrett said. “One of the things that we try to do as a staff is to try to instill that confidence in them through preparation, practicing the right way, getting them ready to play, and then certainly trying to create a mentality and a mindset in the player and certainly in our whole football team.
“That applies to everybody. Nobody needs more confidence than a quarterback. They have a lot of responsibility each week. I think Brandon is a confident player. I think he has an understanding of what we’re asking him to do. At times, he has done a very good job here over the last few weeks with his opportunity to play.”
The Cowboys have not won without Romo, going 0-3 and falling out of first place and into a second-place tie with the Eagles and Washington Redskins in the NFC East. Romo will miss at least four more games while on short-term injured reserve.
In Romo’s absence, the Cowboys have averaged 315.3 yards per game, including 201.3 yards passing. They have scored only 18 points a game and have gone 8-for-32 on third down.
It has been anything but pretty.
For the first time since the Cowboys acquired him in a Sept. 22 trade with the Bills, Cassel served as the backup to Weeden on Sunday. He has a career 33-38 record as a starting quarterback, having lost his last two starts, which came last season for Minnesota.
Cassel has completed 59 percent of his passes for 15,727 yards with 96 touchdowns, 70 interceptions and an 80.1 passer rating.
“He’s certainly comfortable enough [to play],” Garrett said. “We wouldn’t have put him in that situation [Sunday] to be the backup quarterback with a possibility of going into the game if something were to happen to Brandon. He’s worked hard. He’s a veteran player. He’s a smart guy. He’s been here for a little bit.
“There are always levels of knowing something. The more you’re around something, the more experienced you are with the people doing it together, the better you’re going to be at it. But he’s certainly comfortable with our system.”
Charean Williams: 817-390-7760, @NFLCharean
This story was originally published October 12, 2015 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Cowboys will spend bye week evaluating Weeden, Cassel."