Dallas Cowboys: Dark Predictions For the 2017 Season
By Erik Lambert
The Dallas Cowboys are coming off one of their best regular seasons in franchise history. They finished 13-3 and claiming home field advantage in the playoffs.
Doing so with a pair of rookies in Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott leading the way no less. It’s for that reason many fans and experts in the state of Texas and beyond believe this team is ready for a main event push towards Super Bowl LII. The drought has gone on long enough. High time America’s team got back into the championship, yes? Well not according to Marc Sessler and others at NFL.com.
There is a belief from some of them that the hype around the Cowboys is getting a little out of control. That there is a good reason to think they will not only fail to reach the Super Bowl, but that they could be in store for a steep decline from last season. He explained in his recent column why that may be.
"“History is on the side of my colleague Dan Hanzus, who points to a recent track record of Dallas following double-digit-win seasons with crash-and-burn campaigns. How could it happen this autumn? Let’s start with a defense that lost cover men Brandon Carr, Morris Claiborne, Barry Church and J.J. Wilcox in free agency, stripping the team of a combined 2,645 regular-season snaps from 2016. A potential DWI-related ban for cornerback Nolan Carroll would only further deplete one of the league’s thinnest secondaries. It’s a rough dynamic for a club set to face Odell Beckham, Alshon Jeffery, Jamison Crowder and Terrelle Pryor twice next season, along with the likes of Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, Demaryius Thomas, Keenan Allen and Jordy Nelson.The hope in Dallas is that last year’s formula — unleashing Ezekiel Elliott behind the NFC’s best O-line — continues to work wonders. Even so, second-year quarterback Dak Prescott could find himself under pressure to score points in bundles to keep up. There’s a lot of talent on this team, but expecting another 13-win juggernaut is suspect when Dallas has serious depth issues on defense.”"
Hard truths
There’s a reason Bryant is trying to bring in Revis. Even he can see the potentially devastating situation. A thin secondary can often be exposed when the defensive line isn’t able to apply pressure. Dallas had 36 sacks last year. That’s not terrible, but it wasn’t enough to cover up how underwhelming the back end could be. Aaron Rodgers proved that in the playoffs.
It’s a big reason Taco Charlton was made the 1st round pick in the draft. It’s also why they spent 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th rounders on the secondary. They’re hoping and praying a couple of the young kids can step up this year to correct an obvious major flaw in their roster. They may get lucky, but history says it’s never that easy.