Overrated And Overhyped: Cowboys Underwhelming In Loss To Bears; Slip to 0-2

Brad Sham, the voice of the Cowboys, said it best in the third-quarter of Sunday's game, "Dallas has not played that well, and that's why they're losing."

Plain and simple.

The Cowboys didn't play well in the preseason.

The Cowboys didn't play well last week in Washington.

And on Sunday, they didn't play well against the Chicago Bears, which is why Dallas is now on brink of an all out fiasco, at 0-2.

There are no excuses left to be made.

There are no ‘vanilla game plans'.

There weren't any second-string offensive lineman starting.

So what's the problem then?

Find out after the jump...

It might be Jason Garrett and his lack of desire to establish an offensive balance or identity.

It might be the players, in general, and their knack for making mistakes and miscues at the most inopportune times.

It might be David Buehler, who has destroyed any sliverof offensive momentum, by missing a field goal apiece in each of the last two games

It might be the aging offensive line and their inconsistent performances.

Or maybe, the Cowboys just aren't very good.

It's quite possible that the Cowboys are just an average team. A team that wins nine games. A team that looks good one week and terrible the next (or in this case terrible both weeks).

At the moment, that's what this Dallas Cowboys team looks like: 9-7.

The Cowboys offense, while better against Chicago, still looks lethargic and lacks intensity.

Yes, the defense is solid, but definitely not dominant, and was dismantled by the Jay Cutler and Co. once offensive coordinator Mike Martz made some minor in-game adjustments.

The youth and inexperience of the special teams units is beginning to show. Without Patrick Watkins, Steve Octavien and Deon Anderson, the Cowboys only have one experienced and consistently effective special teams player, Sam Hurd. Danny McCray and Barry Church are athletic, young players with potential. But, right now, they're just not getting the job done, and are turning what was a great strength for this team last season into a weakness.

With the amount of talent at the skilled positions, how can this be?

Lots of talent does not mean lots of wins. It might mean lots of offensive yardage and lots of gaudy statistics. But, in the end, as the Cowboys have discovered, not many points.

This team has dug itself into a hole. They're not at the point of no return yet -- but they are getting close. And the schedule doesn't get any easier. The Cowboys travel to Reliant Stadium this Sunday, to face the other team in Texas (the one that wins) - the Houston Texans - for what should be described as a must win game. Heading into a bye week winless is a nightmare for any team. Instead of having to wait one week until they can attempt to redeem themselves, the players must wait two -- usually resulting in players over thinking what they should or should not have done in the games lost, instead of preparing for their next opponent.

The Cowboys need to start winning and winning now.

Step 1: Back to basics. Find offensive balance and execute simple plays.

Instead of pointing the gun at the feet, point it at the opposition.