Dallas and what's in store for 09

Coming off a disappointing 2008 season which saw the Cowboys miss the playoffs after making them the two previous years; the Cowboys have an opportunity to learn from that situation and turn everything that happened negatively in 08 into a positive in 09. In 2009 the Cowboys will face an uphill battle to return to prominence, but this is a battle that the Cowboys can win with players performing to their abilities and staying healthy. The schedule does help as the Boys can realistically look to win all of the non conference games, with the toughest coming at home to both Atlanta and San Diego. If they can do this, dealing with the daunting NFC East becomes a little more bearable.

The team has split with often troubled wide receiver Terrell Owens, who has now moved on to the Buffalo Bills. This now puts the pressure at the receiver spot on Roy Williams, whom the Cowboys are banking on being to Tony Romo what Michael Irvin was to Troy Aikman, and the ‘Boys certainly paid for it as they gave up a first-round pick, a third round pick, a 6^th round pick in 2009 and a seventh-round pick in 2010. They also gave Williams a five-year contract extension worth $45 million with $20 million of that guaranteed. This is a lot to ask of a receiver who in his career has had one standout year, as Williams doesn’t have another star receiver to take the pressure off him except tight end Jason Witten. Guys like Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton, Sam Hurd, and even backup tight end Martellus Bennett will need to show they can stand on their own two feet without TO because if this group can be productive, not even great, just productive, this will help Romo, who has had his struggles late in the season and will also help the ground game. If this group doesn’t come through, you will see the Cowboys start to falter as teams will be able to stack the box in order to corral Marion Barber and Felix Jones, shutting down the offense and forcing the team to rely on Romo’s arm and decision making, which isn’t something they can do with any confidence, especially late in the season.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys return a defense that was 12^th in the league against the run and 5^th against the pass, and also includes DeMarcus Ware’s league leading 20 sacks. The biggest concern with this group is definitely the secondary. They released Roy Williams (Safety) who has struggled mightily against the pass the last couple seasons and missed most of 08 with an arm injury. Starting CB Anthony Henry was traded to the Detroit Lions for backup QB John Kitna and they only picked up Safety Gerald Sensabaugh in free agency. Outside of Terrance Newman, this group is a big question mark of who is going to fill in and do what needs to be done? Right now, we need to see how these guys perform in camp and in the preseason because this could be the glaring hole that does indeed hold the Cowboys back.  Evan as great as the pass rush is with Ware and now emerging star Anthony Spencer, and it seems Greg Ellis’ departure is eminent; this group will need to prove they can get stops on third down, not get beat on the deep ball, and be able to get off the field.

When it came to the 09 draft most experts gave Dallas a failing grade with this class and usually called it a draft for the special teams, but while it isn’t star studded there are some players that could be the proverbial diamond in the rough. OLB Jason Williams will add a speed to rush the quarterback off the edge and could prove to be a solid backup for Ware and Spencer giving those two some valuable breaks during games. 3^rd round pick Robert Brewster can add some depth to the offensive line since he can play tackle or guard.  CB Mike Mickens was a steal in the 7^th round when Dallas picked him up. Mickens has great speed, good hands, as he ended his college career with 14 interceptions, and excellent tackling. Expect Mickens to battle for the 3^rd CB spot. Dallas also drafted Mickens college teammate DeAngelo Smith and these two proved to be one of the elite coverage duos as they combined for 26 interceptions in there career together. Smith should see playing time on special teams but his ability to play either CB or Safety will provide some flexibility and get him some playing time. Mickens and Smith, along with Michael Hamlin who was also drafted could prove to be the players that can fill the void in the secondary. So while not the best of the best draft class if you go by names this class could still prove to be worthwhile down the road during the season.

Knowing how this team can play when everything is clicking gives me confidence in them getting at least 10 wins this season, but I could see them possibly getting as high as 12 wins if the secondary can hold up against the speed they will face with the Philadelphia Eagles and their speed demons; Bryan Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, Leshaun McCoy, and Jeremy Maclin. With the biggest headache in probably all of sports out of the locker room, there are no excuses this year for Tony Romo and the Cowboys to not succeed, as there should be no distractions and all the focus should be on football this year.