It seems like in life everything needs fixing. The toilet needs fixing, relationships need fixing and even the United States of America needs fixing. All of this is well and good but America’s Team needs fixing too. They are a mediocre team in need of fixing, starting at the top and working their way down the ladder. There is not much of this team that is not in need of some kind of change or serious renovating. Two off seasons ago the Cowboys did not go out in Free Agency to improve their football team and last off season they signed only three new players to contracts. This is by far the least FA activity in the league during that stretch. These are some of the reasons why the Cowboys did not make the playoffs the past two years as well.
Fixing the #14 Ranked Defense
I know that #14 is in the middle of the pack, but it’s surprising that it is even this high given how poorly they executed at times. The Cowboys had the 23rd ranked pass defense which is utterly atrocious. Two problems: we’re getting consistent pressure on the QB, and a secondary that is so depleted for depth that it cannot sustain itself.
The Cowboys had 42 sacks last year as a team and at first glance you think “How is that bad, isn’t that top ten in the league?” Well yes, but that does not tell the whole story. Demarcus Ware produced 19.5 of those sacks; that’s almost half of the team’s sacks from one player. The next nearest was Anthony Spencer with 6.0 sacks. At the end of the season Ware was playing with a hurt neck and was not nearly as effective. During this period the Cowboys had a rough time getting to the QB. Demarcus Ware is now 29 years old and will be 30 at the beginning of next season, so it stands to reason that they need to get a better and more viable option to play opposite him. Although Spencer was second on the team in sacks he does not cut it moving forward, and providing Ware relief on the other side.
Mike Jenkins missed four games which hurt the pass defense, but even when healthy he was average at best. Newman also missed time and on the field gave up big play after big play. Newman’s only defense was pass interference. Outside of those two players the rest of the secondary probably should not be in the NFL, or at least remotely close to a contending football team. Good QBs torched them and then Rob Ryan had to stop running his blitz packages to provide more linebacker help in coverage, sometimes taking Ware out of pass rushing.
The secondary needs to be addressed first and foremost in order for the Cowboys to have a suitable defense. This could be done through the draft, and in hopes that maybe Morris Claiborne from LSU will fall down to them with the 14th pick in this year’s draft, or trade up a few spots to get him. In the second round they need to take the best safety available. There is not much in FA to go after by way of CB and S, but maybe Griffin, Barber, Finnegan and Porter could be options for them to use as veterans that are better than Ball, Church, Scandrick and Walker. It is going to be a process to fix this team and will take more than one off season but this would help solidify them, and give Rob Ryan some more horses to utilize in the defense. Especially since Jenkins is having shoulder surgery.
The defensive line is to be desired, and there are plenty of options via free-agency that would ease the burden off of Demarcus Ware. Robert Mathias, John Abraham and Mario Williams are at the head of the list. Although I do not believe that their teams would let them go, it is intriguing to think about. They could also use their first round pick for DL, but they need more help in the secondary so the pick should be used there.
They need more middle linebacker help as well. They should let Bradie James and Keith Brooking go via FA and try to get younger players at the position. Lee is a great 2nd round pick and it remains to be seen if Bruce Carter, last year’s second round pick, can get healthy and make an impact next year. The Cowboys just cannot make future picks in the 2nd round; they need players.
Stay tuned for Part two
Fixing the Offense
This is an area of less concern, but is still problematic. Even with first round draft pick of Smith last year, the offensive line still struggled to protect Romo. They did a fair job of addressing this problem last off season but still could improve. They could do this late in the draft as it is still possible to find offensive line help there. Another avenue would be players for Saturday or Mckenzie. This will only help in other areas of offensive issues as well.
Even with the emergence of Demarco Murray last year the running game had issues. It shouldn’t take a full back to be able to run for more than 4.0 yards per carry, but that is what Fiammetta did to help the running attack. It does go back to the run protection that the offensive line gives and they need to step it up. The problem with the running attack is that they do not score touchdowns: period. The Cowboy’s ranked 31st in the league in rushing touchdowns per game, while that could have been better if Murray and Jones could have stayed healthy it certainly is a problem. The running game was in the bottom half of the league in rush yards per game as well.
This could be fixed by improved execution through the offensive line, but largely they need depth at the RB position. This is because the big knock on Murray was his durability coming out of Oklahoma, and Jones is always dinged up. Having an extra back would help in second half running the football and clock possession to preserve leads for a defense that has a tendency to relinquish big leads. There are plenty of options in FA with Hester, Grant, Rice, Forte and Lynch are all available. Rice and Lynch are touchdown machines, however they would be costly and not too likely for the Dallas to pick them up. The rest would be welcome additions that could help preserve Jones and Murray so they can stay fresh throughout the game.
I have faith in the wide receiving core, but they could use more depth as well. When Austin and Bryant got hurt this season it was difficult to find production to replace them, even with Robinson as a potent third receiver. I feel like one more solid receiver would make this passing attack even more dynamic. There are a plethora of good receivers on the market which could drive down the market price on some of them. The list includes Wayne, Colston, Bowe, S. Johnson, Welker, Ginn. Jr, Garcon, Llyod, Royal, Gonzalez, and Mason. Each of them is better than the Cowboy’s current fourth receiver.
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