Walrussmuglr
Starter
Dallas Cowboys
Quarterback
Last season, Tony Romo shined throwing for 3600 yards and 32 touchdowns. While he is still playing at an extremely high level, he’s getting old, and the end of his career is close. While there wasn’t a true successor to his throne in free agency, and the draft being bare-bones on QBs, Dallas elected to not keep Kellen Moore, and instead go with a vetern backup in Tim Tebow. Timmy Teebs doesn’t the most accurate of arms, but he has the skill set to keep the ship straight if His Heiness Romo happens to get injured.
Running Back
Last years rushing attack was putrid at best. Christine Michael barely eclipsed the century mark, rushing for 1027 yards on 250 carries. While Michael was servicable for certain roles for the Dallas offense, he never took hold of games, and made teams stop him. Dallas wasn’t impressed with his body of work, and elected to release the RB, a long with Darren McFadden to free up space on the RB depth chart for former Jets back Chris Ivory. Dallas is expecting big things from the Ivory/Randle combination this year, hoping for the “thunder and lightning” duo to be the rock that holds the Cowboys offense upright. With the switch from a verticle offense to a more run based offense, Ivory and Randle will need to really step up and show teams they have what it takes, otherwise it will be a long season for the Cowboys.
Wide Receiver
The cowboys didn’t make any signings in Free Agency for a wideout. They feel their core WR crew has the skill set to keep defenses honest, even when Dallas is running the ball. Dez has had another year to progress in to an absolute beast, and Williams is looking to have a break-out year, unlike his 2015 campaign, catching just 22 balls for a measley 270 yards, and not sniffing the endzone a single time all year. Dallas will be looking for a WR in the draft or in a trade that will move Williams to the slot, and give the Cowboys a better blocking wideout opposide Dez.
Tight End
Dallas still holds arguable the best TE tandem in the league. Witten, Fleener, Escobar, and Hannah are all great receiving tight ends, who can also hold their own blocking a lineman or linebacker. While Witten is definitely getting older, look for Fleener to take a few of the snaps from Witten to keep him fresh all season.
Offensive Line
Dallas really has a problem here. After trading away Travis Fredricks to the Colts last season, the O-Line did a little shuffle, moving Zack Martin to C, and insterting rookie Collins in the the starting lineup. In the offseason, lineman Mackenzy Bernadeau refused to resign with the team, and Ronald Leary’s asking price was too pricey for what the cowboys considered a replaceable piece of the line. In free agency, Dallas signed a few new pieces in Free Agency, and will look for them to mold in to the line the run game will need to succeed.
Defensive Line
The cowboys elected to keep the D-Line exactly the way it was last year, after they produced some great numbers after the bye-week reshuffle following an embaressing loss to the Patriots the week before where the line didn’t snuff Brady for most of the game. Hardy and Gregory anchor the outside with a ferocious pass rush, while Tyrone Crawford will hold the middle of the line down, with Terell McClain coming in off the bench to keep the DTs fresh. With much trade interest in both Randy Gregory, and Demarcus Lawrance it looks like one of them may be on the way out of Dallas. If it is gregory, Dallas will need to fill the LE position either through free agency, draft, or trade.
Linebackers
Don’t underestime the Dallas LB crew. While they may not be the youngest group of guys with 3 of the 4 starters being over 28, they still have plenty of tread on the tires. This isn’t a fly around the field crew like you see on other teams, these guys hit hard, and make you think twice about running it. Dallas is looking for them to continue to play as crew, gang tackle, and sniff the ball out when the offense tries to get tricky.
Defensive Backs/Safeties
The weak point for the Cowboys last year continues to be the weak point this season. Dallas shook up their depth chart in free agency, letting CB Claiborne test the market, and electing to no re-sign a few guy lower on their depth chart, and signing some new names for CBs to try and disect. While there were no big names signed, Dallas felt they were just a few role players away from a great secondary. Look for Byron Jones to step in to a starting role, and Brandon Carr to fill in as the nickle corner.
Season Expectations
The cowboys are expecting some rough competition this season. With the Eagles finally getting the chance to get the personel that they like on their roster, and the Redskins building around their already successful run game from last season, the ‘Boys expect more competition from the division. Being defending superbowl champs won’t help the cause, as there is some fresh meat this season that will be looking to make a statement during the course of the year and knock off the champs.
Season Prediction:
· Divisional Record – 5-1
· Overall Record 10-6
· Division Standing: 1st