Will this be Tony Romo's last shot at a Super Bowl? The NFL odds makers are not giving the Dallas Cowboys much of a chance this year, but can America's Team silence the critics and bring the title to the Lone Star State?
America’s
team was not who they thought they were last season, and another season is
getting closer each and every day. With all of the NFL beginning their OTA’s,
let’s take the time to breakdown the Cowboy’s weaknesses and discuss what
aspects of their team they should focus on to put their club back into
contention.
Jason Garrett’s warm behind
In an
article published Tuesday, the NFL Network reported that Jerry Jones stated
that the “window is getting shorter” with the current Cowboys roster. If you
think that Jason Garrett’s job is safe because he is Jones’ boy, you are sadly
mistaken.
The
eventual Super Bowl champion Giants single handedly embarrassed the Cowboys at
the end of the season, as New York dropped 68 points in two games against
Dallas in weeks 14 and 17 to take the Wild Card spot, and then eventually they
went on to win the Super Bowl.
Dallas DeMarcus and his band of
misfits
Last
season, Dallas’ defense did a pretty good job of stopping the run. The
emergence of young middle linebacker, Sean Lee helped, but their inability to
stop the pass attack left them incapable of utilizing their talent to the
fullest.
Aside
from DeMarcus Ware’s 19.5 sacks last season, there was not a whole lot to get
excited about when talking the Dallas pass defense. Ware can’t drop back into
coverage when he is making quarterbacks have nightmares. The Cowboys picked mostly
defensive players in the draft, so maybe that will help them to improve in this
area. If the Cowboys want to compete for a Super Bowl, an average defense will
not cut it, as we hear time and time again that “Defense wins championships.”
Romo-licious
As Jones
said, the window is getting smaller by the day, and that is increasingly true
with Tony Romo. Despite the solid career he has put together in Dallas, fans
only see to care about post season results. Tony Romo is not known as a leader,
but rather a player who fails to pull through in clutch situations.
Romo and
Dallas’ offense will be looking up this season if Dez Bryant can take the next
step and Miles Austin can stay healthy. The emergence of DeMarco Murray is
going to be their main threat, but last season’s injury has raised some
concerns.
Star Strike
After
Romo, I mentioned some more of the Cowboys’ offense above that will be crucial
to their success. Below I get into DeMarco Murray, who looks to be back healthy
after fracturing his ankle last season, but who else on the Cowboys offense
will need to elevate or re-elevate their game to get Dallas to a Super Bowl?
The easy
answer is Jason Witten. Witten regressed last season after being the undisputed
number one option in Dallas, even though he still led the Cowboys in receiving yards,
just a few more Dez Bryant. He did not have the impact of past years though,
only catching five touchdown passes. Laurent Robinson’s emergence didn’t help
Witten last year, but Robinson is gone now and Witten will have to make up for
a majority of those 858 yards and 11 touchdowns. Bryant is still not proven
himself reliable, and Austin hasn’t proven he can stay healthy.
Knee of Murray
The 24
year-old Murray caught fire in his rookie season with the Cowboys, and set the
NFL on fire. In his first start as a pro, Murray ran for 253 yards and a
touchdown, which turned out to be one of the best single-game performances of
any running back in 2011.
Murray’s
breakout season was shorter than hoped, as he didn’t really emerge until late
in week 6 against the Patriots, and he got hurt in the middle of week 14 with a
fractured ankle. Although he told everyone he is back to 100%, he will have a
lot to carry in a sophomore season with a lot to pressure.
Cowboys' future odds and
predictions
The
Cowboys are +2500 to win the Super Bowl this season, which means that ten teams
have better NFL Odds to win it all, and this list includes the Eagles and.
Dallas is also at +1200 to win the NFC, which puts them behind seven other NFC
teams. Apparently, the sportsbooks don’t give the Cowboys much of a chance, but
I’m on the other side.
The Dallas Cowboys have the parts and the ability to win it all. Obviously the salary cap hit they
took with the NFL ruling that last season’s salary stacking was against the
rules. However, they will compete to win a very tough NFC East, and if the
Cowboys don’t make the playoffs, major changes might be coming to Big D. They
have the offense, and I think the draft helped them on the defense side of the
ball. I see the Cowboys as a 9 win football team and a wild card slot.