(Editor's Note: Each day we will take the 2 best questions for our staff writers to answer from the Mailbag. "Click here" to email questions now.)

RICH V - FREDERICKSBURG, VA: I think it's safe to say nothing is coming easy for the team this season. I kind of like that. When teams have things go easily or too perfect every game, they set themselves up for a letdown or failure just as the Cowboys did in the 13-3 season.

Nick: That's one way to look at it - very glass-half-full like. That's fine. You can also say that teams that have things go perfect for them are generally very good and they're just better than most. Teams that have to struggle all the time are probably not as talented and susceptible to getting beat by anyone at any time.

Josh: Yeah, I think you can make an argument that most championship teams are kind of hardened by fire at some point in the season. Maybe the Cowboys can learn to win some of these tough games that have given them problems over the years. As always, that's why we say December's so important.

Rob: They'd still like to be playing better offensively heading into December - not because of any past "curse", but because they'll be facing some very good defenses over the final five games, plus the Saints can really score. These types of grind-it-out games do help build a belief in each other, though.

MIKE SCHWARTZ - POCATELLO, ID: Do you think Nick Folk is over the hip injury he had surgery on this summer? I have had no confidence in him since the preseason when he missed some kicks he never would have in the past. He still doesn't seem 100 percent.

Nick: Well he might not be 100 percent. But he's not saying that and the Cowboys aren't saying that, and he's still kicking. So healthy or not, they're trotting him out there and if so, he needs to be making kicks. If he's not able to make every kick because of that injury then he doesn't need to be kicking.

Josh: I think you can tell by how far the ball is going and the pop it has leaving his foot that the injury is no longer a problem. What's more likely the issue is he went a while without being able to kick this summer. Maybe that's what's got him off schedule, or out of rhythm, or whatever. It's got to get better.

Rob: He says it's not a health issue. It's more about technique and finding a rhythm after a relatively late surgery in the off-season. Plus he's got a new holder, and that's a very underrated part of the operation. He needs to get a couple of makes and try to get a streak going.

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