"Get your ring fingers ready." With that single quote, head coach Wade Phillips has the media buzzing. His Cowboys team had one of its best seasons in the last 20 years last year, and it appears they are ready to put their first round exit behind them.
They have locked up their core of talented pro bowlers consisting of Terrence Newman, Marion Barber III, and Ken Hamlin for the next six years and had a fantastic draft. Felix Jones is set to have a great year teaming up with Barber. Cornerback Mike Jenkins was added to a secondary already loaded with talent, including Anthony Henry and recently acquired Adam Jones.
All this, in addition to the resigning of Terrell Owens and the drafting of TE Martellus Bennett, makes the upcoming season one that any Cowboys fan would anticipate to be one for the record books. It appears that anything but a Super Bowl win is flat out unacceptable.
The Cowboys entered this offseason attempting to achieve the three goals every team in the NFL looks at: improve weaknesses, draft high quality and high character players, and create competition at key positions. In most opinions, they have indeed accomplished these goals.
Take a look at the secondary. Behind Newman and Henry, they were sorely lacking depth at the cornerback position and safety was in flux due to the impending free agency market. Hamlin wanted a long-term deal, and Roy Williams was in the midst of one of his "worst" years in the league, a year in which he still turned in a pro bowl caliber year.
They addressed the corner position by drafting Jenkins and trading little to nothing for Jones, a No. 6 overall pick in the 2005 draft. Both, as well as Felix Jones, should add some much needed energy to a special teams unit that has not returned a kickoff for a touchdown since 2006.
In addition to Newman, both possess the ability to become lock down corners for the Cowboys and stop teams from burning them deep because of their electrifying speed.
As for safety, Hamlin received his long term-deal—six years totaling $39 million with a $9 million signing bonus and $15 million guaranteed—making him one of the highest paid safeties in the league. In 2007, he turned in one of his better years, totaling 62 tackles, 15 pass deflections, and five interceptions which resulted in his Pro Bowl berth and lucrative contract.
Beside him is four-time pro bowler Roy Williams, one of if not the hardest hitting safety in the league. He totaled 115 tackles, five deflections, and two interceptions. He has changed his number and rededicated himself to the weight room and film room in hopes of erasing the ridiculous idea that he cannot cover the pass.
This tandem is one of the best in the league and will solidify the safety positions for years to come.
As for the offense, it can be summed up in two words: record breaking. That is exactly what they did all last year, setting team records in points scored, passing touchdowns, total yards, and tying a team record with 13 wins. Everybody returns from a unit that sent seven players to the pro bowl and has all of them returning to the team.
1 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
brn nor 11 months ago
something tells me we are goin to win the superbowl and go there too
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