CFZ Answers to these questions will determine the Cowboys success this season

[Bobhaze]

At the beginning of each NFL regular season, optimism is usually high, especially for teams like the Cowboys who have a realistic shot at raising a Lombardi in February, 2024 if things play out as we hope.

Every team - even the best teams - have questions going into season, and the answers to those questions will ultimately determine a team’s results for that season.

Here are some of the key questions that seem most relevant to me for the Cowboys to have success this upcoming season:

• Will the Cowboys be able to produce a third straight 12 win (or more) season for the first time since the mid-90s?
• Will the Cowboys make the playoffs for the third straight year for the first time since the mid-90s?
• Will Mike McCarthy’s new offensive wrinkles be more or less effective than the Kellen Moore led offense?
• Will Dak reduce the number of interceptions from last year to this year?
• Will the offensive line be able to stay healthy enough to remain effective?
• Will Tyron Smith be able to stay healthy for at least 12 games for the first time since 2019? (If not, will there be enough depth in the OL to compensate for his loss?)
• Will the defense continue to be as good or better than the offense?
• Will Micah Parsons be as dominant or even more dominant than his first two seasons?
• Will the defense improve its ability to stop the run?
• Will new K Brandon Aubrey be a reliable and steady weapon for the entire season?
• Will Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, Deuce Vaughn, and the other young players on the roster develop into reliable players this season?
• Will this team remain relatively healthy?
• Will the Cowboys be able to give Trey Lance enough opportunities in practice and/or games to develop?
• Will this team be mentally tough enough to handle the adversity they will encounter?
• Will this team prove to be as physically tough (or tougher) than the other physical teams like SF and Philly?

There are probably a lot more questions. What are some q’s you have?

 

[shabazz]

Will the offense be CONSISTENT this season and will the trenches be equal to the Niners and Eagles on both sides of the ball?

 

[Bobhaze]

Will the offense be CONSISTENT this season and will the trenches be equal to the Niners and Eagles on both sides of the ball?

I think the trenches are always underrated. Sure QB and skill position play are critical too but looking at Joe Burrow and the bengals‘ SB run in 2021, they probably would have won that SB if they had a better OL.

 

[viman96]

The OL is the team's biggest concern by a wide margin and then kicker. The rest of the team is solid.

 

[Bobhaze]

IMO, the thing that has road blocked this team in recent years from at least getting to an NFC championship game mostly comes down to one thing: we simply have not been as physical as SF and PHI. Hopefully that has changed.

 

[InPhiltraitor]

MM stated a renewed interest in running the ball more this year. How long will he stay committed to this philosophy when the results will more-than-likely show that our strength is in passing the ball? Also, add wear and tear on Pollard that may show itself since he's never been asked to be a workhorse. The backfield position warrants close monitoring.

 

[VaqueroTD]

If everyone stays healthy (which we've been lucky on for the most part lately) I believe a 12 win season is possible again.

Biggest question -- can we shake the Playoff bug? More specifically, can we finally beat those freaking Niners!?

 

[Bobhaze]

If everyone stays healthy (which we've been lucky on for the most part lately) I believe a 12 win season is possible again.

Biggest question -- can we shake the Playoff bug? More specifically, can we finally beat those freaking Niners!?

For sure. If this team can get more physical on both sides of the ball we can beat anyone at anytime. To me that’s what the niners have been able to do to us the last two years in the playoffs.

 

[Einstein]

Will the Cowboys be able to give Trey Lance enough opportunities in practice and/or games to develop?

The new 3rd QB rule would allow if we get up big in games to allow him to play... but do we know if it is like the old 3rd QB rule was where if the 3rd QB comes in neither of the guys ahead of him could come back in?

 

[Captain-Crash]

dang bob, you not going to bring up choking again? or cpr?

 

[RonWashington]

At the beginning of each NFL regular season, optimism is usually high, especially for teams like the Cowboys who have a realistic shot at raising a Lombardi in February, 2024 if things play out as we hope.

Every team - even the best teams - have questions going into season, and the answers to those questions will ultimately determine a team’s results for that season.

Here are some of the key questions that seem most relevant to me for the Cowboys to have success this upcoming season:

• Will the Cowboys be able to produce a third straight 12 win (or more) season for the first time since the mid-90s?
• Will the Cowboys make the playoffs for the third straight year for the first time since the mid-90s?
• Will Mike McCarthy’s new offensive wrinkles be more or less effective than the Kellen Moore led offense?
• Will Dak reduce the number of interceptions from last year to this year?
• Will the offensive line be able to stay healthy enough to remain effective?
• Will Tyron Smith be able to stay healthy for at least 12 games for the first time since 2019? (If not, will there be enough depth in the OL to compensate for his loss?)
• Will the defense continue to be as good or better than the offense?
• Will Micah Parsons be as dominant or even more dominant than his first two seasons?
• Will the defense improve its ability to stop the run?
• Will new K Brandon Aubrey be a reliable and steady weapon for the entire season?
• Will Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, Deuce Vaughn, and the other young players on the roster develop into reliable players this season?
• Will this team remain relatively healthy?
• Will the Cowboys be able to give Trey Lance enough opportunities in practice and/or games to develop?
• Will this team be mentally tough enough to handle the adversity they will encounter?
• Will this team prove to be as physically tough (or tougher) than the other physical teams like SF and Philly?

There are probably a lot more questions. What are some q’s you have?

Good post . The O line depth will be critical .

 

[rambo2]

At the beginning of each NFL regular season, optimism is usually high, especially for teams like the Cowboys who have a realistic shot at raising a Lombardi in February, 2024 if things play out as we hope.

Every team - even the best teams - have questions going into season, and the answers to those questions will ultimately determine a team’s results for that season.

Here are some of the key questions that seem most relevant to me for the Cowboys to have success this upcoming season:

• Will the Cowboys be able to produce a third straight 12 win (or more) season for the first time since the mid-90s?
• Will the Cowboys make the playoffs for the third straight year for the first time since the mid-90s?
• Will Mike McCarthy’s new offensive wrinkles be more or less effective than the Kellen Moore led offense?
• Will Dak reduce the number of interceptions from last year to this year?
• Will the offensive line be able to stay healthy enough to remain effective?
• Will Tyron Smith be able to stay healthy for at least 12 games for the first time since 2019? (If not, will there be enough depth in the OL to compensate for his loss?)
• Will the defense continue to be as good or better than the offense?
• Will Micah Parsons be as dominant or even more dominant than his first two seasons?
• Will the defense improve its ability to stop the run?
• Will new K Brandon Aubrey be a reliable and steady weapon for the entire season?
• Will Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, Deuce Vaughn, and the other young players on the roster develop into reliable players this season?
• Will this team remain relatively healthy?
• Will the Cowboys be able to give Trey Lance enough opportunities in practice and/or games to develop?
• Will this team be mentally tough enough to handle the adversity they will encounter?
• Will this team prove to be as physically tough (or tougher) than the other physical teams like SF and Philly?

There are probably a lot more questions. What are some q’s you have?

They look to be ready for that 3rd 12 win season in a row.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

Are they going to invest in making the passing game better by throwing in favorable situations and not wasting downs on the run game?

If the answer is yes, everything else falls into place.

 

[TheMightyVanHalen]

At the beginning of each NFL regular season, optimism is usually high, especially for teams like the Cowboys who have a realistic shot at raising a Lombardi in February, 2024 if things play out as we hope.

Every team - even the best teams - have questions going into season, and the answers to those questions will ultimately determine a team’s results for that season.

Here are some of the key questions that seem most relevant to me for the Cowboys to have success this upcoming season:

• Will the Cowboys be able to produce a third straight 12 win (or more) season for the first time since the mid-90s?
  Yep! 13-4.
• Will the Cowboys make the playoffs for the third straight year for the first time since the mid-90s?
  Yes sir! They will have a first-round bye. Like Steve Young did with our team in the early 90's, Dak will get the monkey off his back and finally beat the 49ers.
• Will Mike McCarthy’s new offensive wrinkles be more or less effective than the Kellen Moore led offense?
  More! I believe we will be less predictable. More RB screens and lead draws. Something we've all been calling for.
• Will Dak reduce the number of interceptions from last year to this year?
  Yes. 30 TD's & 6/8 INT's. Half will come from tipped balls like we saw last year.
• Will the offensive line be able to stay healthy enough to remain effective?
  I believe so, brother Bob.
• Will Tyron Smith be able to stay healthy for at least 12 games for the first time since 2019? (If not, will there be enough depth in the OL to compensate for his loss?)
  That's my man right there, so tread lightly. Lol I have faith he will stay healthy and be the best lineman on our team like he's been in the past when healthy.
• Will the defense continue to be as good or better than the offense?
  I think they will both be ranked around the same. Top-5 offense and a top-5 defense. They will help each other out. The defense will give our offense some short fields and more opportunities, and the offense will give our defense some long drives so they can stay fresh.
• Will Micah Parsons be as dominant or even more dominant than his first two seasons?
  DPOTY, baby! 20+ sacks.
• Will the defense improve its ability to stop the run?
  We will see an improvement but that still will be our weakness.
• Will new K Brandon Aubrey be a reliable and steady weapon for the entire season?
  Yes. Steady being the key word there. 85 percent on FG's. He won't kick any game winners because he won't be put into that situation. Okay okay, maybe one game winner.
• Will Mazi Smith, Luke Schoonmaker, Deuce Vaughn, and the other young players on the roster develop into reliable players this season?
  Not sure about Mazi. He's hard to read from the position he plays. He will contribute though. Luke will be used mostly in double TE formations, which I think we will run a lot. I see us running the ball more this season. He won't have very many TD's, maybe 3 at the most, but his blocking will be huge. Deuce? He's winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. 1200 total yards, 10 TD's.
• Will this team remain relatively healthy?
  Yes! Which is why I'm talking big here.
• Will the Cowboys be able to give Trey Lance enough opportunities in practice and/or games to develop?
  Not sure on this one. Maybe in practice. We will have about 4-6 garbage time games. But I'm thinking it will be Rush who will get that opportunity to have some fun. Garbage time games is going to give Deuce his opportunity to shine, and he will. Which is why I'm giving him the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.
• Will this team be mentally tough enough to handle the adversity they will encounter?
  Yes. They will put it all together this year. I don't think the opposing teams will be able to handle the adversity we will put on THEM!
• Will this team prove to be as physically tough (or tougher) than the other physical teams like SF and Philly?
  We will kick their ***! Oops. I forgot *** is banned. My bad.

There are probably a lot more questions. What are some q’s you have?
Penalties. I'm concerned about them.

COWBOYS 34 CHIEFS 20 in the SB.

 

[bigE79]

IMO, the thing that has road blocked this team in recent years from at least getting to an NFC championship game mostly comes down to one thing: we simply have not been as physical as SF and PHI. Hopefully that has changed.

Actually,,the thing that blocked us from the championship game the last 2 years was daks boneheaded plays and the defense lack of stopping the run.. thats what needs to be fixed to make a sb run a real thing..imo

 

[Cowboys93]

Can this team actually win a divisional round matchup and make it to the NFCCG or is this season going to be another “step in the right direction”

 

[glimmerman]

I want to see our Offense. We showed vanilla stuff in preseason. Did it look different than when Moore was here. With Dak behind center it should look good. Will Dak be calling his own plays. He called some in the last game. Seemed pretty good. Let’s see how we use these young RBs.

Defense should be dominant. If DT1 stays healthy we should see us being able to stop the run. Keep those LB clean.

We will have 12+ wins IMO if we stay healthy at key positions.

 

[Bobhaze]

Actually,,the thing that blocked us from the championship game the last 2 years was daks boneheaded plays and the defense lack of stopping the run.. thats what needs to be fixed to make a sb run a real thing..imo

Dak played very poorly in both of those games for sure. But losing is not all on him. In 2022 we couldn’t stop the run at all. The niners had 170 yards rushing in that game and pretty much told us going into that game that’s exactly what they were going to do…and they did it. We got physically manhandled in that game.

We were better against the run last year in the game at SF but they still averaged 5 yards per play while being led by a rookie QB. We had chances to stop them in critical moments in that game and we just didn’t do it.

I‘m not defending Dak at all. He was not good. But we lost both of those SF games because of more than our QB’s play.

 

[Coogiguy03]

Will this run defense be better, will guys be able to step up if someone sustains an injury and is out for awhile

 

[75boyz]

Will Mike McCarthy speed up Dak's ability to process?

Will Mike McCarthy have any type of actual run the damn ball, TOP, field position and rest the dee type game plan or was that offseason quote a lie?