Dallas Cowboys News: Are the Cowboys NFC East Favorites?

Strong defense, easy schedule will lead Cowboys to division title - NFL.com
Bucky Brooks believes the Cowboys ultimately will claim the division crown and offers these three reasons why: 1. The Cowboys have the best defense in the division. 2. The Cowboys will fix their red-zone issues on offense. 3. The schedule works in their favor.

Are the Cowboys NFC East favorites? - ESPN
Dan Graziano from ESPN's NFC East blog agrees with Bucky Brooks. He thinks the Cowboys have played better than any other team in the division so far, even though they're 2-3 and in third place, and if they can stop tripping over themselves, the East is theirs for the taking.

Week 7 Playoff Probabilities Show Cowboys Taking NFC East - Advanced NFL Stats
Despite dropping to 2-3, the stat hounds at Advanced NFL Stats see the Cowboys as the favorites to take the NFC East, and give them a 63% chance of reaching the playoffs.

Cowboys face soft offenses the rest of the way - Football Outsiders
FO haved broken down the DVOA-Based remaining Strength of Schedule for each NFL team, based on the offenses each team has yet to face. The Cowboys face the 28th-ranked passing offenses and the 32nd-ranked running offenses in the remaining 11 games.

Cowboys Jason Garrett: "There is absolutely no issue with my trust level in Tony Romo" - The Dallas Morning News
Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said no one should question his trust in quarterback Tony Romo, and addressed that question extensively in Thursday's press conference.

"There is absolutely no issue with my trust level in Tony Romo,'' Garrett said. "Anybody who has followed our football team understands the kind of trust and belief I have in him and our football team has in him."

"Playing quarterback in the NFL, there is a tremendous amount of responsibility that comes with that. Tony knows that. He prepares for that. We give him a lot of responsibility on Sunday and that's the way we like it. He's certainly responded well to that, really, really well over the last four-and-a-half years and there's no reason for us to think otherwise."

"I think if you look at his season so far, he's really shown he can play really, really well as a quarterback in this league. We believe very strongly in him, I believe very strongly in him. We're just going to keep going forward.''

Romo comes to Garrett's defense on play-calling vs. Patriots - NFL.com
Coach Garrett appeared to take the ball out of Romo's hands late in the Patriots game, but Romo doesn't see it that way, and dropped his nice-guy demeanor on Thursday when the subject turned to Garrett's play-calling.

"Did you guys watch the game at all? The defense played outstanding," Romo said. "Like I said, it's easy for the Monday morning quarterback to say something the day after. But I trusted our defense, too, and felt very comfortable with them on the field at the end of the game."

Where's Dez? Cowboys WR has 2 catches in 2nd half - The Buffalo News
Tony Romo addressed an issue that appears to be quickly mushrooming into something bigger than it actually is. According to Romo, defensive coverages are to blame for Dez Bryant catching only two passes after halftime this season. Romo explained there are plays where he has to choose whether to throw to Bryant, Miles Austin or Jason Witten. Romo called it happenstance where the ball ends up going and emphasized that making a conscious effort to get the ball to a specific receiver will get you into trouble in the NFL.

Dez second half disappearance? Cowboys receivers coach says there is no conspiracy - The Dallas Morning News
Robinson said he doesn't believe too much should be read into Bryant's lack of receptions in the second half. He said the second-year player is diligent and works hard in practice to do what the coaches want.

DeMarcus Ware: Cowboys are not desperate - ESPN Dallas
Ware says the team is not desperate after a 2-3 start, saying the Cowboys' main issue is successfully closing out games. No more, no less, for a "great team that has everything in place," according to Ware.

Keith Brooking OK with role - Dallas Cowboys Blog - ESPN Dallas
Brooking has a similar take to Ware's above:

"At the end of the day I think this team is going to be very special. I don’t care what anyone says. Obviously we haven’t shown it the first five weeks but we’re really close. We’re almost there. We’ve got to keep grinding and we’re going to be where we want to be and I want to be a part of it. If it’s a small part, if it’s a big part, whatever it is, I want to be a part of it."

Spears' performance against Patriots shows 'what he's capable of,' Garrett says - Star-Telegram
Coach Garrett said Marcus Spears had one of his best games as a Cowboys, after recording five tackles and a sack against the Patriots. Spears, who's long been thought of as only a run stuffer, was explicitly praised by Garrett both as a run defender and a pass rusher.

Inside the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Locker Room (PHOTOS!) - Thesportsbank.net
What initially sounds like a teenage boy's fantasy is actually a pretty short article on - you guessed it - the DCCs locker room. Warning: Photos do NOT show actual cheerleaders in the locker room.