Dallas Cowboys
2010 record: 6-10
Last playoff appearance: 2009, 11-5, won NFC East, W34-14 PHI, L34-3 MIN
General Manager: Jerry Jones
Head Coach: Jason Garrett (interim Head Coach during 2010 – current, 5 – 3 record as Head Coach)
Offensive Coordinator: Jason Garrett
Defensive Coordinator: Rob Ryan
Defensive Alignment: 3-4
2010 NFL Rankings:
OFF: 24.6 PTS (7th) 364.2 YDS (7th) 252.6 PASS (6th) 111.6 RUSH (16th)
DEF: 27.2 PTS (31st) 351.8 YDS (23rd) 243.4 PASS (26th) 108.4 RUSH (12th)
Jeremy’s Outlook: The top things to look for with the Cowboys in 2011 are…1. Tony Romo’s bounce back season from a broken left clavicle. 2. The offensive line’s youth movement. 3. The secondary’s expected improvement.
When Tony Romo went down last year, they were already struggling, but that was just the icing on the cake. The season was down the toilet and they ended up with a 6-10 record, a huge disappointment. Marion Barber was let go to test free agency, so Felix Jones will get more carries this season, although Tashard Choice and rookie Demarco Murray are going to get a fair share of touches, too. Roy Williams was finally let go and I think with Dez Bryant and Miles Austin on the outside, the Cowboys will be as dangerous as ever on offense. The question with this unit is how will the offensive line play? Doug Free played well at left tackle last season and Kyle Kosier is another hold over from the starting front for the Cowboys from last year. But three new starters need to have cohesiveness and may need time in order to gel together.
The defense, particularly the secondary, needs to improve if the Cowboys are going to get back to being the class of the NFC. They only really added Abram Elam from the Browns, so I think they’re just thinking last season’s poor play was a fluke. The Boys did hire a new defensive coordinator though, Rob Ryan. This guy looks like a slob, but don’t let that fool you. He’s a pretty good football mind and could be a head coach someday, just like his brother Rex Ryan.
Prediction: The Cowboys are so happy to have Romo back from injury and all is right again. There are a few changes on offense, but I think the offensive line is the key. If they perform solidly, the team will get back to expectations of where they should be. Same for the secondary. These are the two key positions for Dallas. I’m predicting a 10-6 record for Dallas, but that’ll only be good enough for second place in the NFC East. I don’t think they will get past the wild-card round however, unless they play the NFC West winner.
Projected Starters:
QB: Tony Romo
RB: Felix Jones
WR: Miles Austin
WR: Dez Bryant
WR: Kevin Ogletree
TE: Jason Witten
OT: Doug Free
OG: Bill Nagy
C: Phil Costa
OG: Kyle Kosier
OT: TyRon Smith
DE: Kenyon Coleman
DT: Jay Ratliff
DE: Marcus Spears/Jason Hatcher
OLB: Anthony Spencer
MLB: Bradie James
MLB: Keith Brooking/Sean Lee
OLB: DeMarcus Ware
CB: Orlando Scandrick/Terrence Newman
CB: Mike Jenkins
FS: Gerald Sensabaugh
SS: Abram Elam
K: David Buehler
P: Mat McBriar
Fantasy Performers:
1. Tony Romo QB
2. Miles Austin WR
3. Felix Jones RB
4. Dez Bryant WR
5. Jason Witten TE
2011 schedule:
1 Sep 11 at Jets 8:20 PM Tickets
2 Sep 18 at 49ers 4:05 PM Tickets
3 Sep 26 vs. Redskins 8:30 PM Tickets
4 Oct 02 vs. Lions 1:00 PM Tickets
5 Bye
6 Oct 16 at Patriots 4:15 PM Tickets
7 Oct 23 vs. Rams 4:15 PM Tickets
8 Oct 30 at Eagles 8:20 PM Tickets
9 Nov 06 vs. Seahawks 1:00 PM Tickets
10 Nov 13 vs. Bills 1:00 PM Tickets
11 Nov 20 at Redskins 1:00 PM Tickets
12 Nov 24 vs. Dolphins 4:15 PM Tickets
13 Dec 04 at Cardinals 4:15 PM Tickets
14 Dec 11 vs. Giants 8:20 PM Tickets
15 Dec 17 at Buccaneers 8:20 PM Tickets
16 Dec 24 vs. Eagles 4:15 PM Tickets
17 Jan 01 at Giants 1:00 PM Tickets
Re-signed:
Sam Hurd WR – 3 yrs, 3.97 million
Doug Free OT – 4 yrs, 32 million (17 million guaranteed)
Kyle Kosier OL – 3 yrs, 9 million
Marcus Spears DE – 5 yrs, 19.2 million
Jason Hatcher DE – 3 yrs, 6 million
Leon Williams MLB – 1 yr, 530,000
Alan Ball CB – 1 yr, 1.2 million
Gerald Sensabaugh SS – 1 yr, 2.5 million
Free agent acquisitions:
Kenyon Coleman DL (Browns) – 2 yrs
Abram Elam S (Browns) – 1 yr, 2.5 million
Free agent losses:
Marion Barber RB – signed by Bears
Roy Williams WR – Signed by Bears
Alex Barron OT – signed with Saints
Leonard Davis OL
Stephen Bowen DE – signed by Redskins
Picks in 2011 Draft: (overall draft grade: B-): The Cowboys took an offensive lineman in the first round for the first time since 1981. The Cowboys are a team that didn’t necessarily have to pick players that needed to help them right away (like Bruce Carter, DeMarco Murray, and David Arkin). With Tony Romo coming back, the offense should be back to normal. However, I was surprised they didn’t address the defensive backfield more. Mike Jenkins had an off year and Gerald Sensabaugh could leave for free agency. They could just look to free agency and maybe fifth rounder Josh Thomas can contribute a little.
(! Indicates draft pick who was interviewed, had a private workout, etc. prior to the draft according to my compiled list):
Rd 1, Pick 9 (9) TyRon Smith OT, USC! – Lots of mocks had this pick happening. The Cowboys loved him for the longest time.
Grade: B+ Rated: 12
Rd 2, Pick 8 (40) Bruce Carter LB, North Carolina – Second year in a row the Cowboys take a chance on a linebacker with an injury concern (Sean Lee). Despite that, both Carter and Lee, if they can recover fully, will provide huge dividends.
Grade: B Rated: 51
Rd 3, Pick 7 (71) DeMarco Murray RB, Oklahoma! – Marion Barber had his worst season since his rookie year in 2010 (3.3 YPC). Murray is an excellent pass catching running back.
Grade: B Rated: 81
Rd 4, Pick 13 (110) David Arkin OL, Missouri State – started all 44 career games at Missouri State. He’s got the size and showed that he can play with top competition at the East/West Shrine game. This is just too early for such a project. He needs to improve his pad level and pad level. Upside pick.
Grade: C Rated: 224
Rd 5, Pick 12 (143) Josh Thomas DB, Buffalo – quick, but smallish and tends to gamble too much.
Grade: D+ Rated: 264
Rd 6, Pick 11 (176) Dwayne Harris WR, East Carolina – has good hands, is physical, and elusive. Very nice pick here.
Grade: A Rated: 173
Rd 7, Pick 17 (220) Shaun Chapas FB, Georgia – team captain, stock dropped after ankle injury.
Grade: D Rated: NR
Rd 7, Pick 49 (252) Bill Nagy C, Wisconsin Andre Gurode made the Pro Bowl, but according to some, his season wasn’t Pro Bowl caliber.
Grade: C Rated: NR
2010 Stat Leaders
Jon Kitna 209-318 65.7% 2365 7.4 YPA 16 TD 12 INT 88.9 RTG
Felix Jones 185 ATT 800 YDS 4.3 YPA 1 TD
Jason Witten 94 REC 1002 YDS 10.7 YPC 9 TD
David Buehler 24-32 75.0% 53 LNG
Bradie James 118 TCK
DeMarcus Ware 15.5 SCK
Gerald Sensabaugh, Terence Newman 5 INT
Out of Season Storylines (Because there is no offseason)
Jason Garrett Named Head Coach
Rob Ryan Hired As Defensive Coordinator