The Ultimate Sports Blog's
2015-16 NFL Preview
2014-15 Record: 12-4
Last Playofff Win: 2014 Wildcard vs. Detroit Lions
Last Playoff Appearance: 2014 Divisional vs. Green Bay Packers
Last Super Bowl Win: XXX vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (1995)
Last Super Bowl Appearance: XXX vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (1995)
Head Coach:
Jason Garrett (41-31 all-time in Dallas, 1-1 in playoffs)
Offensive Coordinator: Scott Linehan
Defensive Coordinator: Rod Marinelli
2014-15 Team Leaders:
Passing Yards: Tony Romo (3,705 yards, 69.9% completions, 34 TD's, 9 INT's, 113.2 QB rating)
Rushing Yards: DeMarco Murray (392 attempts, 1,845 yards, 13 TD's)
Receiving Yards: Dez Bryant (88 receptions, 1,320 yards, 16 TD's)
Tackles: Barry Church (97 tackles)
Interceptions: Bruce Carter (5 interceptions)
2014-15 Team Rankings:
Passing Offense: 16th in NFL
Rushing Offense: 2nd in NFL
Points Per Game: 5th in NFL
Least Points Allowed Per Game: 15th in NFL
2014-15 Potential Starters:
Purpe - Elite Starter
Blue - Above Average Starter
Green - Average Starter
Orange - Below Average Starter
Grey - Rookie
Red - Disgusting, Awful, Horrible, E.J. Manuel
Offense:
QB: Tony Romo
RB: Darren McFadden
WR: Terrance Williams
WR: Dez Bryant
TE: Jason Witten
C: Travis Frederick
OG: Ronald Leary
OG: Zack Martin
OT: Doug Free
OT: Tyron Smith
Defense:
DE: Jeremy Mincey
DE: Greg Hardy
DT: Nick Hayden
DT: Tyrone Crawford
LB: Rolando McClain
LB: Anthony Hitchens
LB: Sean Lee
CB: Brandon Carr
CB: Orlando Scandrick
FS: Barry Church
SS: J.J. Wilcox
2014-15 Schedule:
(September 13) vs. New York Giants
(September 20) vs. @ Philadelphia Eagles
(September 27) vs. Atlanta Falcons
(October 4) vs. @ New Orleans Saints
(October 11) vs. New England Patriots
(October 18) BYE WEEK
(October 25) vs. @ New York Giants
(November 1) vs. Seattle Seahawks
(November 8) vs. Philadelphia Eagles
(November 15) vs. @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(November 22) vs. @ Miami Dolphins
(November 26) vs. Carolina Panthers
(December 7) vs. @ Washington Redskins
(December 13) vs. @ Green Bay Packers
(December 19) vs. New York Jets
(December 27) vs. @ Buffalo Bills
(January 3) vs. Washington Redskins
Overlook: I consider myself pretty good at making predictions. I've either nailed or gotten REALLY close to nailing the Super Bowl participants over the last three seasons (I'm on an amazing streak right now). However, no one is perfect and every year there is a team that I absolutely whiff on. Last year, that team was the Dallas Cowboys. I figured that after 3+ years of mediocrity with Jason Garrett and Tony Romo, the wheels would finally come off the entire thing as the Cowboys would fall to a 3-13 record and would destroy the entire thing and start all over again. I couldn't have been more wrong. What ended up happening was the most fun Cowboys fans have had pretty much since the days of Aikman, Smith, and Irvin. Dallas sneaked up on the NFL and sucker punched every other team and not only looked like a legitimate Super Bowl contender, but they look like they could eventually be even better this year.
Everyone knows how ridiculous Dallas' offensive line is. If you want to talk about how good the Cowboys are and you don't mention the offensive line, you have no idea what you're talking about because these guys are the heart and soul of this team. Dallas has three potentially elite players on that line and the other two guys could start on any team in the league. That is impressive as hell and they are one of the biggest reasons DeMarco Murray absolutely exploded last year and Tony Romo became the "man crush" of every Cowboys fan from here to Kazakhstan. Speaking of Murray, he's gone and has been replaced with the awful Darren McFadden. That shouldn't worry Cowboys fans too much. Something tells me that you could throw almost anyone behind that offensive line and they could potentially rush for 1,000 yards. Plus, with Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, and Terrance Williams to worry about as well, it's not like the running back is going to be drawing all the attention on offense.
Things get a little less stable when you start talking about Dallas' main weakness, its defense. The Cowboys are alright defensively, but in order for this team to take the next step and become a Super Bowl contender, they need to start playing championship caliber defense. The return of Sean Lee should help as will the addition of Greg Hardy. Hardy is a troubled young man, but he's an extremely talented pass rusher who will be a force when he's on-the-field for the Cowboys. Dallas is hoping they can score huge by gambling on Hardy in the same fashion they did with Rolando McClain (another troubled young man who seems to have turned his life around and is playing great football). The main weakness on Dallas' defense will be in the secondary. Outside of Orlando Scandrick, everyone else is just average or horrible. If I'm a Cowboys fan, I'm hoping that rookie Byron Jones sees sometime this year because that means less of Brandon Carr and J.J. Wilcox, which is never a bad thing.
So, are the Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl contenders this year? I would hesitantly say "yes" but I will feel more comfortable once we can see what they do defensively at full strength. The offense will once again be a monster this year and Dallas should make the post-season without much of a sweat though. It's been 20 years since the Dallas Cowboys have seen the Super Bowl. Can they recapture the magic this year?
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