Adrian Fedkiw
Each day leading up to the official start of the NFL football season, I will be providing you with player rankings, team previews, analysis, predictions, opinions and a whole lot more.
When all of the pieces are together, the Dallas Cowboys can cause some havoc, evidenced by their 12-4 season two years ago when they nearly beat the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Divisional Playoff.
Dez Bryant still thinks he caught the ball.
But that’s the problem, the question of when didn’t come to fruition last year and now the Cowboys are dealing with more suspensions and another major injury to Tony Romo before the season even started. Both starters at defensive end, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory are suspended the first four games and starting middle linebacker Rolando McClain will miss his first 10. Romo injured his back and is expected to miss at least a quarter of the season if not half of it.
Fourth-round rookie Dak Prescott had Twitter buzzing during the preseason, but it’s going to be a different animal when defensive coordinators start scheming exotic blitzes to come after him and disguise coverages to force a potential rookie mistake. Yes, he looked comfortable in the pocket and delivered the ball accurately and on time when he saw vanilla defenses. We’ll see if that will continue.
At least Dallas will be able to run the ball behind the best offensive line in football and a potential workhorse in Ezekiel Elliott. Playing the time of possession game that head coach Jason Garrett finally implemented a few years ago should help.
The problem is on the defensive side of the ball. Even before the suspensions, the Cowboys had a top five worse defense in the league. Defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has done a remarkable job the last few years, but this is his toughest task yet.
Grading the Roster
QBs- Tony Romo (8), Dak Prescott (7.2)
RBs- Ezekiel Elliott (8), Darren McFadden (7.3), Alfred Morris (7.3)
WRs- Dez Bryant (8.1), Terrance Williams (7.3), Cole Beasley (7.3), Brice Butler (7.1)
TEs- Jason Witten (7.7), James Hanna (7.2)
Ts- Tyron Smith (8.6), Doug Free (7.3), Chaz Green(7.1)
Gs- Zack Martin (8.1), La’el Collins (7.3), Ronald Leary (7.3)
Cs- Travis Frederick (8), Joe Looney (7.2)
DEs- Demarcus Lawrence (7.7), Randy Gregory (7.3), Benson Mayowa (7.1), David Irving (7.1)
DTs- Tyrone Crawford (7.6), Cedric Thornton (7.5), Terrell McClain (7.1), Maliek Collins (7.1)
OLBs- Sean Lee (8), Kyle Wilber (7.2), Justin Durant (7.3), Andrew Gachkar (7.2)
ILBs- Anthony Hitchens (7.2), Rolando McClain (7.6)
CBs- Orlando Scandrick (7.3), Brandon Carr (7.2), Morris Claiborne (7.1), Anthony Brown (7.1)
Ss- Byron Jones (7.5), Barry Church (7.3), J.J Wilcox (7.2)
K- Dan Bailey (7.4)
P- Chris Jones (7.3)
KR- Lucky Whitehead (7.3)
PR- Lucky Whitehead (7.3)
Team Rankings
Team- 7.411 (8/32)
Offense- 7.548 (4/32)
Defense- 7.324 (28/32)
Quarterbacks-7.6 (11/32)
Running Backs- 7.53 (4/32)
Receivers- 7.45 (3/32)
Offensive Line- 7.61 (1/32)
Defensive Line- 7.31 (16/16)
Linebackers- 7.42 (5/16)
Secondary- 7.24 (31/32)
Special Teams- 7.33
Coaches- 7.3
PREDICTION– 8-8 (1st NFC East)
QUARTERBACKS
Romo had the best year of his career in 2014 when he led the NFL in passer rating at 113.2 and tossed 34 scores as opposed to just nine picks. But he missed 12 games last year after breaking his clavicle twice and now he’s on the shelf again.
Romo is at his best when ad-libbing, using his head, shoulder and pump fakes to manipulate defenders. He also likes using that patented spin move to escape pressure. Even at 36 Romo can spin it with the best of them.
Prescott is in the perfect situation for a rookie quarterback, though. Dallas has the best offensive line in the league and drafted a beast at running back in Ezekiel Elliott.
RUNNING BACKS
All hail the crop top.
Elliott has the prototypical size and athleticism for a workhorse running back to go with the balance, vision and patience to attack in between the tackles. He doesn’t hesitate and powerfully finishes his runs with natural forward lean to pick up every inch he can. When the Cowboys go on one of those methodical 12, 13, 14-play drives against a fatigued defense, who’s going to stop Elliott near the goal line?
Darren McFadden carried the ball a career-high 239 times last year and was one of seven running backs to go for over 1,000 yards. Alfred Morris will also be in the fold after rushing for over 1,000 in three of his first four seasons with the Washington Redskins.
RECEIVERS
Dez Bryant missed the first five games of the season with a broken foot and never really recovered from it. He lacked the explosiveness we’ve seen from him and had a lot of drops.
He’s a freakish athlete who high points the ball better than anyone in the game right now. I just got done talking about this with Green, but Bryant does it even better, It doesn’t matter if he’s double-teamed, triple teamed, he can go up and get it. Due to his high pointing ability he’s fantastic in the red zone, He’s tough and barrels through defenders after the catch.
Terrance Williams is a solid route runner and is a deep threat, but drops too many passes. The underrated Cole Beasley is quick and shifty and is a reliable target on 3rd-and-shorts. Brice Butler has size and speed and is an intriguing talent if he can put it together.
Jason Witten might not be the receiving threat he used to be, but is still the best blocking tight end in the game. And that’s scary considering how dominant Dallas’ offensive line already is. When the Cowboys run the wide-zone scheme, Witten is exceptional at setting the edge. And due to Dallas’ commitment to the run the last few seasons, Witten has stayed in to block more, which is why his receiving numbers have been down.
While Witten may not be a deep threat, he’s still a dependable third-down and red-zone target. He’s at his best finding the open spaces in zone coverage. He’s more crafty than the agile and smooth route runner he was earlier in his career. Witten is still as fearless as they come when going over the middle and didn’t drop a single pass last year.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
The Cowboys’ decision to extend left tackle Tyron Smith a few years ago for eight years through 2023 is already looking like a brilliant move. At only 25, he’s emerged as a building block for the franchise and the captain of the best offensive line in the league.
In pass protection, he uses his power to finish blocks and lock down edge rushers. He has size, balance and great technique, with his exceptional footwork allowing him to stay in front and mirror defenders. There may not be a more athletic lineman in the league than Smith, who uses his speed and great power to get on the perimeter and take on the outside linebacker and get upfield to pounce on the middle linebacker in run blocking. Doug Free is still the starter at right tackle.
The decision to pass on Johnny Manziel has been long forgotten in Dallas thanks to right guard Zack Martin.
Martin is so damn good in pass protection that he played on an island a lot of the time with center Travis Frederick helping out either Ronald Leary or Lael Collins at guard.. His experience as a tackle for Notre Dame really came in handy. He moves well, has long arms and has great technique with his hands.
Martin plays with a mean streak in the run game and while he did get a lot of deserved credit for DeMarco Murray leading the league in rushing, I do think there is room for improvement with his ability as a drive blocker. Nevertheless, there’s a lot of 1st team All Pro’s and Pro Bowls in Martin’s future.
Center Travis Frederick has had three phenomenal years to start his NFL career. He has a lot of strength, using it to neutralize a nose tackle and to drive down a gap defender.
He’s the best run blocking center in the game. He has fantastic technique and quickness, but is also powerful at the point of attack whether he’s going downhill or pulling to the outside. As a pass protector, Frederick has great body control and balance and plays with a low center of gravity. This helps him in recovery.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Lawrence had a breakout sophomore campaign and led the team with eight sacks. He’s a great athlete, has a really good get-off and the flexibility to bend the edge. He’s purely a pass-rush specialist at this point of his career and needs to improve his run defense. Gregory is another great athlete with a great get-off and possesses very good spin and swim moves. Benson Mayowa and David Irving will start while Lawrence and Gregory serve their suspensions.
Emerging defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford comes off a solid campaign where he recorded five sacks. He’s very quick and agile. The run-stuffing Cedric Thornton will start alongside Crawford.
LINEBACKERS
Sean Lee has still never made it through a full season without getting hurt during his five year career, but he did play in 14 a year ago.
Lee is the best out of all the outside linebackers in coverage. He’s very fluid with his drop backs and baits the quarterback into making poor decisions. His instincts allow him to close windows very very quickly. As a run stuffer, Lee is a tackling machine. He plays with great instincts and can stack and shed. Lee doesn’t get asked to get after the quarterback often, but registered his first sack of his career last year and finished with 2 ½.
McClain is a solid run stuffer and good in coverage. Anthony Hitchens will start in the meantime and Kyle Wilber will start at the other outside linebacker spot. Justin Durant provides depth and can start if need be.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
It might be ugly early with Lawrence and Gregory out and the Cowboys struggling to generate pressure as Orlando Scandrick and Brandon Carr have to hold up in coverage. Scandrick is solid, but is coming off a torn MCL and ACL.
Safety Byron Jones is the one glitter of hope in the Cowboys’ secondary. He is a hybrid player who is an exceptional athlete and is versatile. He’s instinctive and smart as well. Barry Church is the other starter at safety and J.J. Wilcox provides Dallas a third option.
TEAM PREVIEWS
AFC East: Buffalo Bills | New England Patriots | Miami Dolphins | New York Jets
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens | Cincinnati Bengals | Pittsburgh Steelers | Cleveland Browns
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts | Houston Texans | Jacksonville Jaguars | Tennessee Titans
AFC West: Denver Broncos | Kansas City Chiefs | San Diego Chargers | Oakland Raiders
NFC West: Los Angeles Rams | San Francisco 49ers | Seattle Seahawks | Arizona Cardinals
NFC South: Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Atlanta Falcons | New Orleans Saints | Carolina Panthers
NFC North: Chicago Bears | Detroit Lions | Minnesota Vikings | Green Bay Packers
NFC East: New York Giants | Washington Redskins |
NFL PLAYER RANKINGS
Dan baily only a 7.4? You lost all credibility with that one .
He’s a kicker lol, I don’t give kickers high ratings, and you didn’t spell his name right