The Dallas Cowboys will have to do better than an 8-8 record this year to avoid spending the fourth consecutive season watching the playoffs instead of participating in them.The only part of this team that’s been outstanding in recent years is their famous cheerleading squad. For a team with the most expensive stadium in the NFL, the Cowboys of late must be a huge disappointment to their ultra-competitive owner, Jerry Jones.
The draft class for this year includes seven new players, all at different positions.
The first selection was Travis Frederick from Wisconsin. The 6-foot-4, 312-pound center was the 31st overall pick and also has experience at guard. The team's next pick was a second-rounder at No. 47 overall. That selection adds another solid pass-catching tight end to the mix in Gavin Escobar from San Diego State.
Baylor wide receiver Terrance Williams went to the Cowboys in their third pick at No. 74 overall. Free safety J.J. Wilcox of Georgia Southern (80th), cornerback B.W. Webb of William and Mary (114th), running back Joseph Randle of Oklahoma State (151st) and outside linebacker DeVonte Holloman of South Carolina (185th) made up the remainder of draft selections for Dallas.
The new blood adds a little more youth to a team that sorely needs it.
The team needs major work on offense and defense. They finished the 2012 season with a -13 turnover ratio and just 1,265 rushing yards to 2,003 for their opponents. They managed just eight total rushing touchdowns. They gave up 45 touchdowns while only scoring 41 and only managed seven interceptions on defense.
They scored 376 total points and gave up 400. Out of all the team's turnovers, 19 came by way of interceptions thrown by quarterback Tony Romo (425-648, 4,903 yards, 28 TDs), who was also sacked 36 times on the season for a loss of 263 total yards. Still, the Cowboys locked up Romo for another six-year contract extension in March.
The team also had a dismal year as far as kick and punt returrns, scoring only one touchdown on a punt return by Dwayne Harris and none on kick returns. Their opponents out-returned the team on kicks by 361 yards and a touchdown. Dallas finished third in their division in 2012, behind the New York Giants (9-7) and Washington Redskins (10-6).
They haven't made many major off-season moves as far as free agency goes. They need more big name talent, and they haven't been shopping around for it. There's still plenty of time to go before the September 8 season opener against the Giants, so they better start stacking both sides of the ball with whoever they can afford to bring in to bolster this squad.
A 10-6 record won the division last season, so winning two more games is not out of the question by any means, but that's only good enough if the other teams in the division don't improve. A healthy Robert Griffin III in Washington will definitely be better this year, and the Redskins' only off-season problems have focused on the naming of the team.
Prediction
Jerry Jones will wind up regretting to extend Tony Romo's contract. The talented, but clumsy, QB will continue to have interception troubles. Dez Bryant and Jason Witten will continue to lead the team in receptions and receiving yards, but they won't have enough touchdowns to carry this team to more than nine wins.
The lack of a potent running game will also force Romo to drop back for more passes, which will mean he'll get sacked even more this year than he did last year. Coach Jason Garrett will get a pink slip at the end of the year if their nine wins doesn't get this team deep into the playoffs.
