No team in the NFL was
more exciting in 2016 than the Dallas Cowboys. After losing, Tony Romo for the
season in 2015, there really wasn’t any expectations for this Cowboys team in
2016. The 2016 season started off with another injury to Tony Romo and the spark
of something that may be special.
The injury to Tony Romo may have been the best thing that
has happened to the Cowboys since trading Herschel Walker. I never want to wish
injury on anyone but if Romo wasn’t injured in that preseason game the Cowboys
would have never noticed Dak Prescott in real game situations. He would have
been a back up to Tony Romo for three years. The Cowboys would’ve drafted
another player in the first round and Dak would be searching for another team
to play for. Dak owes Tony Romo’s back for his opportunity to start for the
Dallas Cowboys. He won’t owe any of his success to Tony Romo.
The Cowboys are lucky it played out the way it did. They
could have Kellen Moore or some other journeyman quarterback under center. The
2016 season saw the dawn of a new era in Cowboys football. An era that will be
paved by the success of the young guns; Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliot. An era
that may make the Cowboys the first team to reach seven super bowl titles.
Before we get into super bowl titles, we need to preview
this Dallas Cowboys team. Dak Prescott will be entering his second year. He has
the luxury of a great running game so he won’t be asked to do much this season.
This is good for his development. Carson Wentz set a rookie record last season
for completions, while throwing for 16 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, and 7
wins. Dak didn’t need to put up great numbers he just needed to be a great
decision maker. This season the scheme should open up more and Dak should be
able to connect on more downfield throws. If he can stretch the field this year
with the vertical passing game then the Cowboys offense will be unstoppable. The
Cowboys can win another division title with Dak being good, which is what he
was last season. Dak is going to have to be great in order for this team to win
a super bowl. When I say great, I don’t
mean stats either. He has to keep the chains moving and limit the turnovers. If
he is great at those two things then the Cowboys will have an excellent chance
of winning a super bowl. Their success will revolve around that rushing attack.
While I think Dak can go out, sling the ball 30 times,
and win some shootout games, he shouldn’t have to. The Cowboys have the best
run game in football. They have three all pro offensive lineman and a Zeke in
the backfield. The running game has allowed the Cowboys to protect that mediocre
defense and control the clock. That means Dak shouldn’t have to get into many
shootouts. This formula has been effective for the Dallas Cowboys the last
three seasons and they’ve won two division titles. If they’re able to duplicate
what they did last season and get a little more from Dak in the passing game
this offense can be special.
Dez Bryant leads the Cowboys receiving unit. He has been
battling injuries the last two season and hasn’t been the all pro receiver that
we’re used to seeing. Dez will bounce back in a big way this season. Dak will have
plenty of opportunities to stretch field and most of those balls thrown should go
in the direction of Dez Bryant. Terrace Williams has to have a better year than
he’s had the last two seasons. We have seen him go from a promising number two
option to a 3rd or 4th option at best. Williams is a “bodycatcher.”
When the ball gets into your body its harder to control and easier for
defenders to get a hand on. He has struggled with drop passes, and not making
the proper adjustment on contested passes. Terrace Williams has to be a viable
option for Dak if this offense wants to be elite. Dez Bryant could go out there,
catch 110 passes for 1800 yards, and just carry this passing game, but he
shouldn’t have to. Terrace Williams is good enough to get 50-75 yards a game on
6-7 catches. He has to balance the field out so that it opens up Cole Beasley
and Ryan Switzer underneath.
Cole Beasley has been a solid slot wide receiver for the
Cowboys. He is quick and runs great routes. I just wished he was 6’2”, 215lbs, and could play on the outside opposite
Dez. Beasley has been the Cowboys second receiver for the past three season. Last
season he lead he Cowboys in targets, catches, and yards. They’re going to need
another big year from Beasley. They also hope that Ryan Switzer can give them similar
production to what Beasley has.
Ryan Switzer was the Cowboys fourth round pick this year.
He has a similar stature as Cole Beasley and a similar skillset. He is expected
to play in the slot with Beasley and help in the return game. If Terrace
Williams is able to do his job this year and balance out his side of the field
Switzer will get some opportunities underneath along with Beasley and Witten.
With all these weapons, it’s easy to see why the Cowboys will be good on
offense. The defense is what will ultimately decide this team’s fate.
The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional
round of the playoffs because the defense didn’t make a stop. Aaron Rodgers had
been having his way with the Cowboys for most of the game. There was barley any
pass rush and he had all day to sit back and destroy that secondary. The
Cowboys have struggled since the Demarcus Ware departure with this issue. They
haven’t had a dominate pass rusher, a guy that can give you 12 sacks a season
since Ware. By the looks of things they still don’t.
Rob Marinelli has been an excellent defensive coordinator
and an even better defensive line coach. I don’t know what he is selling to
those defensive linemen, but they bring the hard hat every game. It’s not their
fault they don’t have the talent to be a 12-15 sack player, but Marinelli gets
production out of them. He will have some magic to work this season too.
The Cowboys drafted Taco Charlton with their first round
pick. It is well known that the Cowboys needed to get a pass rush in order to
improve that defense. Taking Charlton was getting the best player available and
addressing a need. Charlton didn’t impress with his physical numbers at the
combine but he looked good on the game tape. On the game tape he didn’t look
all that explosive but he was effective. He is the perfect player for Marinelli’s
system because he is a high energy, high effort player that will benefit and
contribute to the units success. Individually I don’t see Charlton shooting off
the line, giving a guy the swim or spin move, and blowing up the quarterback. I
do see him holding at the point of attack and getting to the quarterback while
he is trying to escape the pocket. If he is able to catch quarterbacks rolling
out toward him then he will have somewhere between 8-10 sacks.
Charlton will benefit from the pressure up the middle
generated by Maliek Collins. Collins is the wildcard for me on this defensive
line. Last season Collins jumped off the screen making play after play. He
finished the season with 5 sacks, that’s great for an interior defensive
linemen. I can see the Cowboys moving him around on that four-man front, to get
him different looks at the quarterback. It would be hard for Collins to get 12
sacks from the interior. If he can push the pocket like he did last season it
will help these edge rushers greatly. The pass rush should be much better for
the Cowboys this season, but they have to hold up on the back end with all
those young players.
Sean Lee will be his all-pro self again this season. He has
been making plays since he came in the league and is one of the better
linebackers in the NFL. Jaylon Smith is expected to join him at the inside
linebacker position and Anthony Hitchens playing on the strong side. Smith is
still recovering from a knee injury that forced him to miss all of last season.
Hitchens has been a good linebacker for the Cowboys since they drafted him. He has
played all three-linebacker positions and has shown to be good at all three. I
think he has earned one of the starting linebacker positions. They seem to
really want Smith in the middle linebacker spot and that is probably where is
his best suited. Hitches is considered undersized to play strong side
linebacker, because they must take on blocks and play up close to the line of
scrimmage, almost like a 5th defensive end. Hitchens may not be best
suited for that spot but he is clearly the second or third best linebacker on
the team. He should be out there in their base 4-3 formations but we’ll see how
that all plays out in training camp. The linebacking unit may be the Cowboys
best asset on defense, because the secondary has a ton of question marks.
The Cowboys lost some key veteran players in their
secondary. They lost both starting outside cornerbacks in Morris Claiborne and
Brandon Carr. They lost starting strong safety Barry Church and their third
safety JJ Wilcox who played a lot in their nickel formation. These four players
were key contributors for the Cowboys and they have to find replacements.
Neither one of these guys were great so finding an adequate replacement shouldn’t
be hard but may take some time. Another way to look at it is that the Cowboys
don’t need to replace them but update their scheme.
Bryon Jones is a versatile safety and has the ability and
physical tools to be an excellent free safety. Anthony Brown has shown flashes
of being a solid outside corner back. Orlando Scandrick was once a very good
slot cornerback, but has aged some. These three players give the Cowboy
secondary some continuity. It may also give them solid players at three
important parts of this secondary. The Cowboys just have to figure out who will
play Strong Safety and the other outside cornerback position.
Jeff Heath appears to the leading candidate for the
starting strong safety spot. Heath has been a solid special teams player and
has shown flashes when he is in the game. I think Heath will be a safe player
at that position. Jourdan Lewis and Chidobe Awuize will compete for the third corner
and third safety spots. The Cowboys play a bunch of nickel with three safeties
and dime with four cornerbacks. Both of those positions are essential to the success
of this defense and those young players are going to have to learn fast.
If Dak is able to progress, the passing game the Cowboys
will have a dangerous offense. Their defense will have to learn and adjust on
the fly in order for this team to reach the top of the mountain. On paper this
is the most talented team in the NFC East division so I can see them winning
it. They will have to deal with Atlanta and Green Bay for the most talented team
in the Conference. This Cowboys team is young and headed in the right direction;
we could be witnessing something special in Dallas for years to come.
Comments
Post a Comment