Season Preview: Dallas Cowboys

Last season the Cowboys had the world in front of them. They had a team stacked with talent, a favorable schedule, and analysts across the country thinking it was going to be their year. Instead the Cowboys were a media circus as crippling injuries,  arrests and suspensions as well as players complaining about opportunities and heartbreaking losses in December left them at a mediocre 9-7 and missing the playoffs. Can the Cowboys put it all together this season after getting rid of all their distractions?

Offense:

Last year the Cowboys finished 13th in the NFL in total offense which isn't bad when you consider that Tony Romo went down for four weeks, Running Back Felix Jones missed the last 10 weeks of the season and Terrell Owens spent the second half of the season crying for the ball while not getting open. This season with T.O. gone and Jones healthy the Cowboys should be better on offense.

Romo can now throw to whoever is open between Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, and his favorite target, Tight End Jason Witten without having to worry about what will be said after the game. The three headed running attack of Jones, Marion Barber and Tashard Choice will take the pressure off the passing game provided Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett doesn't get pass happy. Backup Jon Kitna should provide stability as Romo's backup and he'll have an offensive line that will actually protect him. The Cowboys should be excited as they play the AFC West where each team's defense was ranked 25th or worse in defensive yards per game, as well as Green Bay, Atlanta, and New Orleans – all who were at the bottom of the pack in total defense last season. 

The Cowboys might run the ball more this year to protect Romo and the young receivers; they ran the ball a ton before Jones got hurt using him as a speed compliment to Barber and going back to that could be successful. Romo's interceptions are a small concern, but like the Packers with Brett Favre, you take the bad with the good.

Defense:

The Cowboys defense finished the season ranked eighth in the NFL and took off once Wade Phillips became active in the play calling and took the duties from Brian Stewart, who was fired after the season ended. The Cowboys were a lot more aggressive in the second half of the season and finished first in the NFL in sacks with 59. Their rushing defense was 12th and their passing defense was 5th. The good news is the Cowboys didn't lose much on defense; Roy L. Williams has left for the Cincinnati Bengals but was falling out of favor for getting burnt on deep passes. Chris Canty went to the division rival New York Giants but the Cowboys signed Igor Olshansky who is basically the same player.

Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick will fight to play opposite Terrence Newman at Cornerback because of Anthony Henry being traded to Detroit. Kevin Burnett has signed with San Diego Chargers and that leaves room for Bobby Carpenter who's had a rough three years in a Cowboys uniform but now has his chance to prove he belongs here. Tank Johnson also left for the Bengals but was expendable with Jay Ratliff starting for the last two years.

The Cowboys should have no problem finishing in the top 10 in defense once again barring injuries. Phillips will make sure that the Cowboys are still aggressive in going after the quarterback and forcing turnovers. They should also be better against the run this season because of their aggressiveness. The biggest concern is scoring defense which the cowboys finished 20th giving up 22.8 ppg, however some of their losses were huge blowouts so the number is inflated a bit.

Special Teams:

The return teams were good even with Jones' injury but the Cowboys were one of the worst coverage teams on kickoffs and punts. However the Cowboys hired new Coach Joe DeCamillis and most of their 2009 draft picks have experience playing on coverage units. 

Overall:

The Cowboys can go as far but in recent years they've lost games they should've won and have been horrible in the month of December, they'll need to exercise those demons in order to be successful but the fact that so much went wrong last season and they still won nine games is encouraging to optimists. If they put it all together and get some luck they can be 13-3 again. The question is will they?