What I’m seeing from the Dallas Cowboys: Replacing 2 injured standouts won’t be easy

Around The Star in Frisco, Texas, "September Football" is spoken like an entity all on its own. It's not preseason football — the results have real consequences for all 32 teams. But with the lack of game action before the start of the regular season, there are kinks each team has to work through on the fly.

The calendar has flipped to October. The Dallas Cowboys are 2-2, right in the thick of the NFC East race. The bottom-line standing of the team isn't far from where many predicted after four games but the journey has been far more chaotic than most would have imagined.

Let's dive into what we've seen over the first month of the season and what it means.

Key injuries to defensive front

Despite knowing for a few days that injuries will sideline Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence for some time, it was still jarring to walk into the locker room Monday afternoon and see both players in walking boots and riding around on knee scooters. The last time both were seen, in the locker room after the game in East Rutherford, N.J., on Thursday night, they spoke optimistically about their status on the field.

Those comments aged poorly the next day.

"I feel like I'm letting people down," Parsons said. "I kind of figured myself invincible for a while. (It's) humbling."

Parsons hasn't ruled himself out from playing Sunday but the Cowboys' training staff told him "you're probably not going to be able to go" in Pittsburgh. At that point, the Cowboys would have just one game — home against the Detroit Lions — before their bye week. Although there's an outside chance that Parsons could play against the Pittsburgh Steelers and/or the Lions, it's most likely he returns after the bye week against the San Francisco 49ers .

Lawrence's Lisfranc injury is expected to sideline him longer. The veteran defensive end could be headed to injured reserve this week, shelving him for a minimum of four weeks.

The Cowboys have players on the roster they will look to help fill the void and are evaluating external options, too. It's unlikely that any of the veterans cut at the end of training camp are brought back but there are other options available. The team had a personnel meeting Monday afternoon to go over scenarios.

DaRon Bland getting close

Third-year cornerback DaRon Bland appears to be nearing his return to the active roster. Bland has been working off to the side during practices with Cowboys athletic trainer Britt Brown but, as of Monday evening, Dallas had not officially opened up his practice window. The team is on the cusp of doing that, with the expectation it could be as early as this week. Once the Cowboys open his practice window, they have 21 days to activate Bland, otherwise he would revert to IR and be out for the season. Playing in Pittsburgh would be surprising for Bland but, depending on how his ramp up goes, he could be a candidate to return the following week against the Lions.

In Bland's absence, the Cowboys initially turned to rookie fifth-round pick Caelen Carson as the outside cornerback opposite Trevon Diggs . Carson missed Thursday's game against the New York Giants with an injury but it is minor enough that had the Cowboys had a full week, Carson may have been able to play. He should be back in the mix against the Steelers.

Context clues

Media availabilities are interesting to gauge. Yes, the vast majority of words spoken are cliches and non-answers but there's a lot to glean from observing body language, tone, context and more. Because of the drastic ups and downs of this Cowboys season, there have been some good examples that help understand the temperature of things around the team.

The days after the loss to the Baltimore Ravens , which came the week after the blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints , are a good example. CeeDee Lamb did not speak to reporters after the game, which is highly unusual of a star player (he did speak a few days later at practice and took full accountability for his play and demeanor). The day after the Ravens' game, head coach Mike McCarthy was noticeably short (and a little snippy) with his answers.

Things were more upbeat in the aftermath of the win over the Giants. Most noticeably, Mazi Smith spoke to reporters immediately after the game and again Monday in the locker room. Smith, who spoke to the media at large a handful of times since being drafted, had his best game as a pro on Thursday.

The information coming from players and coaches isn't always authentic or insightful, but there is plenty to gain about where the temperature of the team is based on the context around their media availabilities.

Running back committee

The running back situation has been as confounding as it has been disappointing. The Cowboys are starting to drift away from a pure committee approach, in the sense that Rico Dowdle 's snap counts and rush attempts are noticeably greater than Ezekiel Elliott or Deuce Vaughn 's.

Elliott, who started in the backfield in the season opener and hurdled a defender on his first play, has played 15 and 10 snaps the last two weeks, respectively. There may be value that Elliott brings to the Cowboys — leadership, locker room camaraderie, pass protection — but it has not been in the form of purely running the football.

The Cowboys rank dead last in the NFL in rushing yards per game and are tied for 31st in yards per attempt. The offensive line carries some blame as well but the running backs haven't been doing enough. It will be worth monitoring when the Cowboys feel it will be time to give Dalvin Cook a look.

The veteran has been getting acclimated on the practice squad after being a late addition but has gotten the language of the offense down. The injuries on defense could impact when he gets his shot — there may be a greater need for depth along the defensive front — but Cook's time could be coming soon.

Time of possession

If there is one basic stat that is keeping the Cowboys up right now, it's time of possession. Entering Monday night, the Cowboys ranked 29th in the league in time of possession per game at 27:03. There's culpability on both sides of the ball. Thursday notwithstanding, the defense has obviously struggled in stopping the run and has generally not done a great job of getting off the field. The offense stands to be better, too, ranking middle-of-the-pack in third-down conversions and struggling to get any semblance of a decent running game.

"Right now, we're not playing to the complementary football that we played the last two years," McCarthy said.

While third down is the surface-level issue, the greater issue is the Cowboys' play on first and second down. According to TruMedia, when the Cowboys have third-and-5 or shorter, they are the No. 1 third down team with a 75 percent conversion rate. When they are faced with third-and-6 or longer, they convert 16.7 percent for first downs, which was tied for 28th in the NFL, coming into Monday night.

If the Cowboys can be better on first and second down, their third downs will be more manageable. If they convert more of those manageable third downs, the offense will be on the field longer and the defense will be exposed less. All of it goes hand-in-hand and feeds to the cliché of the importance of playing complementary football.

Special teams

Personnel usage will be worth monitoring in the coming weeks as the defense works through its injuries. Whenever there are major shifts in player availability on offense or defense, there's a residual impact on special teams. For example, Marshawn Kneeland was on all special teams units at the start of camp, but was exclusively on defense after Sam Williams got injured. Kneeland worked his way back on some special teams units this season but his role — and importance — on defense catapults without Parsons and Lawrence, meaning there could be more change on special teams.

The Giants chose to boot their kickoffs deep into the end zone, limiting the Cowboys' chance at kickoff returns. One thing to watch for is their creativity, once they have the opportunities for returns again. Will the two returners be split on either side of the field, or begin together in the middle and then split out? Will Juanyeh Thomas still be the second returner or will the Cowboys try out Vaughn or somebody else?

(Top photo of Micah Parsons: Michael Owens / )