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However, the odds of that happening in 2016 suffered a big blow Thursday. Because apparently you won't find the word "discipline" in that dictionary, either.
For the third time this offseason, the Cowboys received news that a starter on defense will be beginning 2016 on a league-mandated suspension. Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, this time it's starting middle linebacker Rolando McClain—and the suspension is a whopping 10 games:
It's deja vu for the 26-year-old, who opened 2015 with a similar (albeit shorter) suspension before racking up 80 tackles for the Cowboys in 11 games. Pro Football Focus graded the sixth-year veteran 13th among inside linebackers for the season.
That ranking aside, the loss of McClain—in a vacuum—isn't necessarily a killer. Yes, he's a good young linebacker when he's on the field. He was even a top-10 inside linebacker in pass coverage a year ago, per PFF. But McClain isn't Luke Kuechly or NaVorro Bowman, and in Sean Lee and Anthony Hitchens the Cowboys have a pair of linebackers who are both capable of sliding inside and have experience doing so.
The real problem is that McClain's suspension is far from the Dallas defense's only problem.
For starters, as Gil Brandt of NFL.com pointed out when McClain opens the season on the sideline he's not going to be alone. Far from it, in fact:
That's over 40 percent of the Dallas front-seven in time-out to start the season, including their two best pass-rushers.
As ESPN reported, Lawrence's appeal of his four-game suspension for amphetamine use was denied by the NFL on Thursday as well (banner news day in Dallas). The odds of the result being any different with Gregory rank somewhere between slim and none.
And things get even better from there.
With McClain out, there's even more pressure on Lee to carry the linebacking corps. To be on the field for every snap. To cover backs and tight ends while a toothless pass rush gives opposing quarterbacks all day in the pocket.
The same Lee who has never made it through a full 16-game season. The same Lee who is coming off "minor" knee surgery at the end of April.
That isn't the only thing that happened at the end of April that may come back to haunt the Cowboys in 2016. With the 34th overall pick in the 2016 NFL draft, the Cowboys selected Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith, fully aware that Smith would most likely miss the entire 2016 season as he recovers from a torn ACL. In doing so, the Cowboys passed on a similarly talented linebacker coming off an injury in UCLA's Myles Jack.
Sure enough, ESPN's Ed Werder tweeted recently that Smith's recovery hasn't progressed much since the draft:
Meanwhile, all indications are Jack will be a full-go for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1.
Now, it's still possible the Cowboys will get the best of that deal in the long term, especially if Jack's knee condition one day requires microfracture surgery. But we aren't talking about three years from now, or five years from now.
And as Cameron DaSilva of Fox Sports wrote, right now having Jack in their back pocket would be a lifesaver for the Cowboys:
Now, the Cowboys will be forced to go with inexperienced and inferior players at middle linebacker. Anthony Hitchens is a good run defender but gets exposed in coverage. Damien Wilson is another candidate to take over, as is Mark Nzeocha, but neither are as talented as McClain, Jack or Smith.
McClain's suspension exposes the very concern that so many had on that Friday night in April: Should Dallas have drafted Jack, a linebacker who could contribute right away, over Smith? At this moment, yes. The Cowboys were also foolish to trust McClain. This is the second time in a year that McClain has been hit with a suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
For the Cowboys, now is what it's all about. Yes, the team added some young talent in Smith and tailback Ezekiel Elliott. Players like Lee, wide receiver Dez Bryant and offensive linemen Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick all have plenty of good years ahead of them.
The same, however, cannot be said for quarterback Tony Romo. And we saw what happened to Dallas last year without him.
This year, assuming Romo stays on the field, the Cowboys offense will be fine. It's not hard to imagine Dallas turning back the clock a couple of years and pounding away at opponents with Elliott just as they did with DeMarco Murray in 2014.
The concern is that the defense will slide back one year farther to 2013—when the Cowboys gave up well over 400 yards a game and ranked dead last in the league.
The Cowboys are going to be hard-pressed to generate any consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks without Lawrence and Gregory. That, in turn, is going to place a lot of pressure on a now-depleted cadre of linebackers and a secondary that might be "OK" on a good day.
Not to mention the pressure it's going to put on Bryant, Elliott, Romo and the Dallas offense to outscore people. Winning shootouts may be a recipe for early-season success borne of necessity.
None of this is surprising. McClain's propensity for missteps off the field and Smith's bad knee were hardly state secrets. The surprise came in April, when the Cowboys rolled the dice that the former wouldn't happen long enough for the latter to improve. It was a gamble Jerry Jones thought was worth taking.
And on Thursday, he and the Cowboys crapped out.
Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.
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