NFL preview: Dallas Cowboys
I'm hesitant to bury the Cowboys, if only because they improved so much defensively after coach Wade Phillips took over play calling late last season, but I don't think they're good enough on either side of the ball to really compete in a still loaded NFC East.
Projected finish: 7-9 (4th in NFC East)
While the Cowboys still have above-average talent, I see much more going wrong for them than their new scoreboard getting in the way of punts. Tony Romo is a nice fantasy football QB, but still not near the top of my list of guys I want winning the big game for me. Getting rid of his best receiver, Terrell Owens, was the right move, but the result is that Dallas is now below average at the position. And on defense, I think we'll see more of the unit that struggled early in the year than the one that came on late.
For all the often gaudy numbers that Romo puts up, he remains mistake prone, particularly in big moments, and posted his lowest QB rating (91.4) in his three seasons as a starter in 2008. He does still have his favorite target, by far, in TE Jason Witten, though Witten will be keyed on by opposing defenses more than any TE in the league. That's partially because the WRs, the very overrated Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin, won't command nearly as many double teams together as Owens did by himself.
The combination of proven feature back Marion Barber and young talents Felix Jones and Teshard Choice seems capable of making for an elite running game. Remember that Barber has never rushed for 1,000 yards in a season, and Jones battled injuries last year. Flozell Adams, Kyle Kosier, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis and Marc Columbo together should be able to create running room for Barber and company, provided that Romo is able to make opponents pay for stacking their defenders near the line of scrimmage.
Jay Ratliff sure put up numbers (51 tackles, 7.5 sacks) for a nose tackle in the Cowboys' 3-4 scheme. I'm not sure ends Marcus Spears and Igor Olshansky are good enough for me to rate the Cowboys' defensive front as even average, however. Solid OLB addition Keith Brooking should help improve a linebacking corps that includes sack machine DeMarcus Ware and the very productive Bradie James in the middle and Anthony Spencer, who hasn't really done much in the two years since the Cowboys used a first-round pick on him.
I've always been pretty high on Terrence Newman, the Cowboys' No. 1 corner, but I like very little else about the configuration of their secondary. Mike Jenkins, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008, should start opposite Newman, though neither he nor backups Orlando Scandrick and Alan Ball quailfy as proven NFL corners, and both Newman and Jenkins have been banged up in the preseason. Gerald Sensabaugh, an import from Jacksonville, and Ken Hamlin will try to fill the shoes of Roy Williams, who's now with Cincinnati, at safety.
