Now, On to The Future!

• ESPN flashed Bledsoe's career record least night — 98-94 in 14 years. FOURTEEN YEARS. Yikes. His TD-INT ratio so far this season 7-7, now 7-8 after the game. He's just not that good. As I've said before, Bledsoe is what he is  — a highly NFL-measurable QB with very average career stats. I've heard him interviewed many times, and he seems like a standup guy, but being a good guy doesn't equate to wins, as Bledsoe has shown. So, now we move on to (literally and figuratively) to...

• Romo. Seriously, what did you expect? Monday night, Giants defense, mid-game replacement...he did what most of us expected. In truth, I expect more of the same for the next few games, if not all season, but Romo gives Cowboys fans HOPE. He's essentially a rookie, and will play like one until he gets more game experience. As noted above, Bledsoe just isn't that good, and Romo may not be either, but now we can actually find out instead of imagining what might be.

What's the worst that will happen? Romo plays poorly, we lose, and Parcells retires. As a Cowboys fan, I wouldn't want any of those things to happen, but we move up the draft board, and closer to the top of the draft. Number 1 or 2 pick (Brady Quinn) is probably out of reach, but the Boys could end up in the top 10. Matt Leinart was a top-10 pick and do you think fans wish he was lining up in the backfield for the Cowboys right now?

The best thing that could happen? Romo plays like we've all been told he can, and the Cowboys go on a roll. The team catches a spark and starts to play with confidence and fire and Parcells decides to stay and finish what he's started. A Superbowl victory this season? Not gonna happen, but with the NFC as even as it is right now, the playoffs are definitely an option. Perhaps even a playoff victory that could slingshot the team into next season. That would be a nice change.

• Offensive Line stinks. This one area is why the Cowboys haven't improved much under Parcells. Poor drafts and free agent decisions have handcuffed the offense which has quite a few offensive weapons. Against good teams, they can't run or protect the passer. The team will NEVER get better until the OL has been shored up.

• Defensives line sucks. Marcus Spears isn't very good. I was VERY excited when the Boys drafted him, but he hasn't done anything of note. Canty is another highly-touted player by the coaches, who hasn't done much of anything. Jay Ratliff, a 7th-rounder, has more fire than these guys do, which isn't saying much for the rest of the guys.

• Linebackers are O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D. I watched Bradie James a lot last night, and he was mostly invisible. Akin Ayodele appears to be another poor free agent signing, because he hasn't brought much in his tenure with the Boys. Ware is great and will get better as those around him improve. Ellis is what he is - a converted defensive lineman who has good pass rush skills and OK LB skills. Maybe time to consider Carpenter and Burnett?

• Secondary is overpaid. Good-to-average players, but they are paid to be great players.

• Julius had no chance last night. I still think he'll be fine.

• Good to see Witten back in the offense, and as I've said before, I like how Crayton plays. He's not going to be a number one guy, but he should be a solid 2 or 3 for many years.

• I know it's only the regular season, but the Dallas Stars look good, if only Turco can play like this when the games really count.

• At least now there's hope. This team is pretty young and supposedly really talented, and now we can find out about the QB. In the off-season, they can assess the QB position, address the OL and other holes, but at least the rest of the season will be interested.

-M