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GMC is teaming up with NFL great Marshall Faulk, who is now an analyst with the NFL Network, to get the answers to some questions about teams around the NFL.
Week 1 will bring surprises. But to be Professional Grade is to be consistent. @SBNation: Who will be consistent all season? #GMCPlaybook
— Marshall Faulk (@marshallfaulk) September 4, 2014
With the Dallas Cowboys, we can automatically skip over the defense. The only consistent thing there may be the constant changes that we will likely see as the coaches try to find workable solutions.
But there are some quality candidates for consistency. Here are some players worthy of mention:
Dez Bryant. He has clearly become a team leader this season, but he has been a weapon since the day he joined the team. A supreme competitor and freakish athletic talent, he promises to be a nightmare for defenses all season.
Tyron Smith/Travis Frederick. I list the two together, because the offensive line appears to be developing into such a force as a unit, and there are signs that Zack Martin may be the third lineman worth of mention here. But at least part of this is based on projection and not quite enough history for them to be the real designee.
Jason Witten. He is the very soul of both consistency and excellence. Throughout his career, now entering its twelfth year, he has been one of the most reliable targets on the field for the quarterbacks. Often described as Tony Romo's "safety blanket", he is also consistently the consummate professional and one of the hardest working players on the team.
They are all worthy of mention in this context, but to find the true exemplar of consistency for the Dallas Cowboys, you have to look to the special teams.
Dan Bailey. In only three years in the league, Bailey has become one of the most ice cold, dependable placekickers in football. After a very respectable rookie year in which he made 32 of 37 field goals, he has only missed two attempts in each of the past two seasons. He is yet to miss an extra point. When the game is on the line and three points can make the difference, Cowboys fans everywhere start to smile as the team gets into his considerable range. They know that "Split 'em" will deliver. For Dallas, he is consistency itself.
Special honorable mention: There was one other person who, it could be argued, is even more consistent than Bailey, and he has a lot to do with his success. In his nine seasons to date, long snapper L.P. Ladouceur has never had a bad snap. Never.
Join the #GMCPlaybook discussion at sbnation.com/sponsored-gmc-playbook and on Twitter by following @thisisgmc & @marshallfaulk.
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