2009 Dallas Cowboys Season Preview

Tampa Bay (Week One)

The Cowboys need better secondary play in 2009 and it starts right off the bat against the Bucs in week one. Dallas registered 59 sacks in 2008 but this was complemented by only eight interceptions. A unit that puts this much pressure on opposing passers needs to get more turnovers out of its secondary.

The Cowboy defensive backfield will have a golden opportunity to make some plays against Tampa Bay. The Bucs still don’t know who their starting quarterback is going to be. It will either be the well-traveled Bryon Leftwich, a relatively inexperienced Luke McCown, or possibly rookie Josh Freeman. No matter who takes snaps for Tampa, none of these candidates are serious threats to carve up the Cowboys defense.

It is mandatory that the Dallas corners and safeties produce turnovers in this game.

New York Giants (Weeks Two and 13)

In the last four games (playoffs included) with Tony Romo at the helm versus the Giants, Jason Witten has amassed 20 receptions for over 250 yards. The Giants’ linebackers and safeties have not seemed to have an answer for the Romo to Witten connection and the Cowboys needs this passing tandem to click against a perennially tough Giants team.

Carolina (Week Three)

While the Panthers look to be a challenging opponent, this is a game where the Cowboys need Romo to step up and make plays in the passing game. Carolina had a mediocre pass defense last year ranking 16th in yards allowed although they were ninth in the NFL with 37 sacks.

Nevertheless, Carolina had trouble preventing Aaron Rodgers, Jeff Garcia, and Drew Brees from racking up 298, 321, and 386 yards, respectively. Of course, in the playoffs, everyone witnessed Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald play catch all night. Romo should provide some Monday Night magic.

Denver (Week Four)

I love the Cowboys running back trio in this game to dominate.

Denver’s defense was awful last year, being one of only three teams that surrendered an average of five plus yards per carry. Transitions to a 3-4 defense are usually rough especially for defense like Denver’s with lots of holes. Since this is an early season affair the Broncos will unlikely have adjusted to their new scheme and the Cowboy running attack must go wild.

Kansas City (Week Five)

This should be a game for Roy Williams to bust out. Only four teams surrendered more passing yards than Kansas City in 2008. Down the stretch last year, wide receivers such as Lee Evans, Vincent Jackson, and Brandon Marshall all had big games versus the Chiefs. Roy Williams should deliver in this contest.

Atlanta (Week Seven)

Marion Barber sealed the victory with some clutch runs against Atlanta in 2006. Now that alone is probably not too relevant given that it occurred three years ago, but the Falcons were in the bottom 10 in rushing touchdowns allowed in 2008 and gave up an average of 4.9 yards per carry, with only three teams worse than them.

Barber’s nose for the end zone should make him highlight player for the Cowboys in this game.

Seattle (Week Eight)

While Walter Jones is a formidable challenge for any pass-rusher, I still like DeMarcus Ware to have another big game against Seattle like he did last Thanksgiving. I witnessed in person his domination of the Seahawks and the Cowboys will need him to replicate his success in order to stop what should be an improved Seattle air attack with the newly-acquired T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Philadelphia (Weeks Nine and 17)

The Cowboys need Felix Jones to step up here and Jason Garrett needs to make sure No. 28 touches the ball at least 10 times in this affair. The Eagles love to blitz and the best way to counter that is with speed on the edges.

Fejo is the perfect answer for an aggressive Philadelphia defense. It is imperative that he be an intricate part of the game plan.

Green Bay (Week 10)

Miles Austin’s best two games in his young career have come against the Packers. In 2007, he drew those two huge pass interference calls by beating man coverage. Last September, he caught a Tony Romo bomb down the sideline that gave the Cowboys the separation for the victory.

The Cowboys need to use Austin to exploit the Packers’ secondary again. In two games, they haven’t had an answer for No. 19.

Washington (Weeks 11 and 16)

The Redskins currently do not have a lot of experience at right tackle. Current starter Stephon Heyer only has a handful of starts in his career, while third stringer Mike Williams hasn’t played since 2006. Second stringer Jeremy Bridges is the only Redskin right tackle with a considerable amount of experience with close to 40 career starts.

What this means is that the Cowboys need to move Ware around to create mismatches against whomever the Redskins start at right tackle. It also means Anthony Spencer needs to come up big whenever Ware is lined up against Chris Samuels. While Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell did a good job of protecting the football last year (only six interceptions), he struggled down the stretch failing to surpass even the 200-yard mark in his last three games.

It is crucial that the Cowboys hit him often and not allow him to gain any confidence with short passes. Finally, for good measure someone on the Dallas defense needs to lay out Chris Cooley. I think every Cowboy fan wants to see that.

Oakland (Week 12)

Only the Lions surrendered more rushing yards than the Raiders in 2008. Oakland’s pass defense led by cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was 10th best so looking at this game the Cowboys should use their running back trio to attack the Raiders.

I would expect a heavy dose of Marion Barber and Felix Jones with a touch of Tashard Choice in this Thanksgiving match up. For what its worth, Barber and Jones totaled five carries for 27 yards (5.4 yard/carry) on Thursday against the Oakland first team defense.

San Diego (Week 14)

This game should be fun to watch as both teams are evenly matched and given Wade Phillips’ history with the San Diego defense.

In addition, there are players who have crossed over such as Cowboys defensive end Igor Olshansky and Chargers inside linebacker Kevin Burnett. In fact, it is Burnett who Dallas must expose in this game. Phillips and Jason Garrett should have a great scouting report on the former Cowboys linebacker/special-teamer.

Burnett was primarily used as a coverage linebacker in the Cowboys nickel packages and does not have a tremendous amount of experience playing the run. This means the Cowboys should send Marion Barber out to test his former teammate.

New Orleans (Week 15)

Tony Romo must carry the Cowboys with his arm in this game. The Saints struggled against the pass all of last year. Only nine teams surrendered more passing yards than New Orleans’ 3,547.

However, what is more intriguing is that the Saints gave up 53 plays through the air of 20 plus yards. Only the Seahawks and Jaguars were worse. Romo has a great opportunity to improve those December stats and lead his team to win in what may be a shoot out in the Superdome.