2008 Dallas Cowboys Preview
DJ Boyer |Sep 01,2008
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 2008 Dallas Cowboys Preview
*Dallas Cowboys*
*2007 Record* – 13-3
*Head Coach* – Wade Phillips
*2007 Review*
A 13 win season and a conference leading 455 points made for a fantastic regular season. I stress regular season because as good as Tony Romo and this team has been it has been one and done for two consecutive years in the playoffs. It was remarkable to see the Cowboys finish with 13 wins considering that by most accounts they played in the toughest division in football, one that produced the Super Bowl Champions as a wild card and a last place Philadelphia Eagles squad that was 8-8.
*Offense*
The say the offense begins with the quarterback and in Dallas Tony Romo has been the starter for 1.5 years and he has a pair of Pro Bowls and 55 touchdown passes already to his credit. Dallas has to hope that Tony Romo stays healthy because they have 39 year old Brad Johnson waiting in the wings behind him on the depth chart. Romo will have some games where he throws a bunch of interceptions an is streaky but he stays away from pressure (only sacked 24 times last year) and has a number of weapons to choose from around him. No reason to think that Romo will miss the Pro Bowl, as long as Romo is healthy he should make the trip to Hawaii and this time he hopes to have at least one career playoff victory on his resume.
The biggest shakeup on offense this season comes with the running game with Julius Jones departing Dallas after losing the job as the #1 running back to Marion Barber in the middle of 2007. Jones had career lows in yards, attempts and touchdowns while Barber had nearly 1,000 yards and broke into double digits with rushing touchdowns for the second consecutive year. Another reason we started to see more Marion barber is he is a better blocker and receiver out of the backfield. Barber may not be the most electrifying runner but he is patient and with the intangibles he possesses he is one of the best in the conference. Now Dallas has a new running mate with him in the backfield in the form of first round rookie pick Felix Jones, a player that averaged over 7.0 YPC while at Arkansas. Jones is accustomed to sharing time as he platooned with Darren McFadden and he has looked fantastic in the preseason. Look for Jones to have at least 10 carries per game while handling return duties in Dallas.
So much is made of Terrell Owens and the impact he has on the offense and there is something to be said for that. Owens continues to play at a high level and is one of the top three receivers in the NFL despite the fact that you have to brace yourself for him being hurt nearly every season. While he is a big play threat the true key to the Cowboy passing game is tight end Jason Witten. Witten established himself as one of the premier tight ends in the league last season with 96 catches and 1,145 yards and 7 touchdowns. While Witten may not approach the 96 catch mark again his impact will be just as large as he always needs to be accounted for in the open field and with Owens attracting so many double teams Witten is the benefactor more often than not. The question here is the #2 wide receiver spot and if Patrick Crayton is up to the challenge of being a starter for a full season. Also look for rookie tight end Martellus Bennett to add some catches and touchdowns in the red zone as well as quarterback turned wide receiver Isaiah Stanback.
The Cowboys have a very capable offensive line…one with massive blockers built for the run the problem is the lack of depth is very noticeable. Dallas showed signs of inconsistency a season ago and Idon;t think enough was done to build the depth on the line. Leonard Davis proved to be a fantastic signing a season ago as he went to the Pro Bowl last season and Flozell Adams is a very steady tackle that gets overlooked in many circles. Andre Gurode is another player at center with Pro Bowl potential that needs to stay healthy.
*Defense*
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The defensive line is not one of the best in the NFC East but Dallas is deep and you will see them rotate their lineman a lot. With the 3-4 base you will Chris Canty and Marcus Spears play the majority of time at end but you will see Jason Hatcher and even though Greg Ellis is primarily a linebacker you will still see him line up at the end position from time to time. Dallas will be bringing most of their pressure off the ends with Greg Ellis and DeMarcus Ware, one of the best and most well rounded linebackers in the NFL today.
Other youngsters like second year player Anthony Spencer and youngster Darrell Robertson specialize in getting after the quarterback and bring a tremendous amount of athleticism. The question many would like to know is just how much Tank Johnson is going to contribute at the defensive tackle position. Johnson is listed second on the depth chart behind Jay Ratliff right now but you may see that change at some point during the year or you will see both players taking an equal amount of snaps.
The arrival of Zach Thomas bring a veteran perspective to the linebacking corps after spending the first 12 years of his career in Miami where he made over 1,600 career tackles with over 1,000 of those being of the solo variety. Kevin Burnett will be backing up Thomas and this is important since Thomas only played in five games last year due to injury. Burnett has seen his tackles increase in each of the last three seasons and contributed 53 last season while his pass coverage skills increased noticeably. Bradie James will be playing the other side and he is a player who like Burnett seems to be getting better each season. James was the only Cowboy to post over 100 tackles a season ago and his three sacks show he can get after the quarterback when needed. Bobby Carpenter has been a disappointment thus far and this should be a make or break season for him as he will be the primary backup to James.
The secondary has some questions in terms of depth and we saw the concerns when the Cowboys had to start Pat Wakins at safety last year as a rookie. We know Roy Williams hits like a runaway truck but he remains a liability in pass coverage. Dallas has a pair of nifty starters in Terrence Newman and Anthony Henry but the Cowboys gave up too many big plays for the coaching staff and they were second to New Orleans in the NFC last season in pass interference penalties taken. Adam Jones brings a playmaking element to the team and he will be ready to step in and start if needed. As much as the league talks about Roy Williams the signing of Ken Hamlin last season turned out to be one of the best moves Dallas made and Williams and Hamlin form one of the best safety combos in the NFC and possibly the hardest hitting.
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*Special Teams*
Nick Folk exceeded all expectations with 131 points as a rookie and was an impressive 9/12 from 40 yards and beyond last season. Folk also has the leg to get the job done on kickoffs and Matt McBriar has been a Pro Bowl punter in the past. The return game will see Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin as the likely return men and one has to wonder when Adam Jones will get his chance. Before his suspension Jones was one of the best punt return men in the AFC.
*Outlook*
Another division title is quite possible but another one and out playoff performance will leave a lot of fans in Dallas looking for heads to roll. Tony Romo has to show he can make things happen in the post season and while they are favorites in the east you can’t say the same for the NFC with the NFC East being so hard. The fact that the Giants were able to win the Super Bowl coming out of the NFC East last season made their post season run even more impressive. We should see double digit wins and the Cowboys look like the odds on favorite to win the NFC East.
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