The Cowboys are on a bye this week, leaving them with four days off to do anything they might like before coming back to work.
Most of the rest of us aren't quite so lucky. We're working and around these parts that means writing about the Cowboys every day of the week. Since we don't have a game to look forward to, we'll spend the time looking back at the first four weeks of the season in order to see whose stock has risen and whose has fallen while the Cowboys were getting off to a 2-2 start.
Stock Up: Sean Lee keeps showing more layers to his game and it's getting harder and harder to think of inside linebackers who bring their team more than Lee brings to the Cowboys on a weekly basis. There have been a lot of reasons why the Cowboys defense has improved this year, but the leadership and consistency of Lee in the middle of it can't be ignored.
Stock Down: It is actually impressive that the offensive line's stock has dropped because it opens up the mindblowing possibilities of what exists beyond absolute zero. That's where the line was last season and it is where they hope to return to this season after a totally brutal start to the schedule all around. They aren't good enough as blockers for the pass or the run, something that obviously needs to change in order for the Cowboys to thrive.
Stock Up: For some reason, the presence of Dez Bryant has served to make Miles Austin's star dim a little bit in the last couple of years. That's too bad, since Austin has simply continued to be a consistent producer while Bryant remains a guy whose performance can't be counted on from week to week.
Stock Down: Jason Witten's tough guy credentials can't be questioned. His hands can be, though, and the unexpected unreliability of the veteran tight end has been one of the worst developments of the early season. Things looked up last week, so perhaps this is a buy low opportunity for traders in the imaginary Cowboys stock market.
Stock Up: Jay Ratliff hasn't played a game yet this season, but his stock has gone up as a result. The Cowboys haven't been able to generate a consistent pass rush from anyone but DeMarcus Ware to this point in the season and you can't help but wonder if part of the problem isn't Ratliff's absence. He should be back for Week Six, so we'll get a chance to put this hypothesis to the test.
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Stock Down: Jason Garrett's been the head coach of this team for a good long time now and it is damning to see the team consistently get sunk by the same problems. Some of them aren't his fault, most notably the personnel, but there's plenty that falls onto his plate and then through the cracks as his style either isn't conducive to consistent winning, the players in Dallas or both. That's a fairly significant problem, albeit one we don't expect to see the Cowboys even attempt to change.
