Comparing this team to 2017

[waldoputty]

at least 12 wins with offense scoring points like it did before zeke suspension. defense will be much stronger with much improved pressure and could be dominant if irving come back strong. depth has been improved in ol, wr, dl, lb. ol depth was biggest offense weakness last year but is now a strength pending tfred situation. lb weakness was biggest defensive weakness last year but is now a strength.

offense - significant improvement from zeke availability and ol depth, and will continue to improve over the season.
OL - big improvement - swing tackle, the biggest weakness, was addressed. backups are much better. lg is weaker but more agile and will improve over the season.
QB - at least as good and probably improved. dak should have worked on his game. having wrs that match his talent will improve his play.
WR - similar in beginning but improves over season to be significantly better. lost dez who has declined and replaced with wrs that are better in route running. replace with hurns, austin and gallup.
TE - TBD - but rico potentially replaces dez threat in red zone as well as witten for 3rd and between 3 to 8.
RB - big improvement due to zeke all season (knock on wood). austin also adds speed out of backfield

defense - big improvement from front 7. pressure will help dbs that may provide improved corner play.
DL - big improvement - de's are now scary with gregory and depth. dt's have more depth than last year and can be dominant if irving comes back in shape.
LB - big improvement - jaylon is better. lee is lee, and depth is much better in case of injury with lve and thomas.
CB - at least incremental improvement. perhaps big jump if jones plays well and chido's progress is real. depth is good as both jordan and brown were starters.
Safety - about the same.

 

[Bob-Lillys-War]

yay!

playoffs her we come ! , we got this...

 

[waldoputty]

yay! ARE we are gonna make it this year to the playoffs ! ?

it will be a war to win nfc east

 

[StarBoyz83]

Agree with some but still see problems that will prevent this team from having much success. See 8-8

Swing tackle is upgraded. Overall oline is worse.
Young qb with no safety valve and center that's not very expierenced and cant help dak near as much as tfred.
Tes are worse.
Wrs could be worse or better.
Dline should be better but I think it's being overhyped.
Jaylon will be better plus better depth.
Same hc
Same oc
Rougher schedule

 

[big dog cowboy]

dak should have worked on his game.

You don't think he has been since March?

 

[ESisback]

First post—glass half full
Second post—glass half empty

 

[waldoputty]

Agree with some but still see problems that will prevent this team from having much success. See 8-8

Swing tackle is upgraded. Overall oline is worse.
Young qb with no safety valve and center that's not very expierenced and cant help dak near as much as tfred.
Tes are worse.
Wrs could be worse or better.
Dline should be better but I think it's being overhyped.
Jaylon will be better plus better depth.
Same hc
Same oc
Rougher schedule

dont agree.

what sank this team last year?
1. tsmith injury
2. zeke suspension
3. bad lb play

what has happened - ALL 3 have been solved - and should get us at least 2 games.
1. tsmith seems as healthy as last year. fleming is proven swing tackle. furthermore, williams can play tackle as needed. that is 2 backups for tsmith.
2. zeke suspension - lets hope zeke behaves all season and there is currently no pending investigation.
3. jaylon is better. thomas is good backup for lee. lve is depth piece that could force his way into starting lineup during the season.

what else improved
1. passrush - dlaw and gregory bookends - both can get more than 10 sacks. if irving returns, that is 3 major passrush threats. with each passrusher, the pressure gets much more intense.
2. corner play should be as good if not better with chido more experienced
3. austin provides a threat that takes some of the attention away from zeke - making zeke more effective.
4. richards is now running the defense and may not do the marinelli prevent defense when we are winning.

other question marks
1. dez gone - i believe rico replaces dez on fade/jump ball routes. dez was no longer top 10 wr last year.
2. witten gone - sure he was safety valve but rico can be a huge massive target that can catch with contact going on.
3. wr's are better match for dak skills in that they should have better separation. hurns had better average separation than dez did - almost double.
4. tfred - big question though it seems they caught it early. question is who is backup c.
5. kicker

 

[waldoputty]

You don't think he has been since March?

my point is that he has worked on his game.

 

[exciter]

Irving was in the off season program and training camp last year. He missed the last 4 games of last season, mini camps (out of shape) and training camp. If anything is reliant on him this season then they might as well forfeit. Time to move on!

 

[waldoputty]

First post—glass half full
Second post—glass half empty

first point - 3/4 full.
running game covers up a lot of inexperienced wrs and tes
pressure greatly improves db play

 

[StarBoyz83]

dont agree.

what sank this team last year?
1. tsmith injury
2. zeke suspension
3. bad lb play

what has happened - ALL 3 have been solved - and should get us at least 2 games.
1. tsmith seems as healthy as last year. fleming is proven swing tackle. furthermore, williams can play tackle as needed. that is 2 backups for tsmith.
2. zeke suspension - lets hope zeke behaves all season and there is currently no pending investigation.
3. jaylon is better. thomas is good backup for lee. lve is depth piece that could force his way into starting lineup during the season.

what else improved
1. passrush - dlaw and gregory bookends - both can get more than 10 sacks. if irving returns, that is 3 major passrush threats. with each passrusher, the pressure gets much worse.
2. corner play should be as good if not better with chido more experienced
3. austin provide a threat that takes some of the attention away from zeke - making zeke more effective.

other question marks
1. dez gone - i believe rico replaces dez on fade/jump ball routes. dez was no longer top 10 wr last year.
2. witten gone - sure he was safety valve but rico can be a huge massive target that can catch with contact going on.
3. wr's are better match for dak skills in that they should have better separation. hurns had better average separation than dez did - almost double.
4. tfred - big question though it seems they caught it early. question is who is backup c.
5. kicker

I think the online will struggle. Rookie that's undersized and lacks upper body strength next to a center that's not starting caliber.

Lb play will be better

Have a bad feeling they will lean on and overuse zeke to the point he gets hurt.

Think rico can be good but he will be suspended and not totally sure hes even still here come week 1.

Thinking safety will not be as good either.

 

[buybuydandavis]

1. dez gone - i believe rico replaces dez on fade/jump ball routes. dez was no longer top 10 wr last year.

They also kept Brown, and close quarters jump balls are supposed to be his thing. Rico and Brown are big physical mismatches when blocking guys who might cover them.

 

[waldoputty]

I think the online will struggle. Rookie that's undersized and lacks upper body strength next to a center that's not starting caliber.

Lb play will be better

Have a bad feeling they will lean on and overuse zeke to the point he gets hurt.

Think rico can be good but he will be suspended and not totally sure hes even still here come week 1.

Thinking safety will not be as good either.

cooper had his own issues. cooper is stronger but williams has better foot speed. i think that is a draw at the beginning. williams will get better over the season. if williams cannot cut it, ehinger is decent guard.

dont think they will overuse zeke. and it will get easier for zeke because austin will be a second threat the d has to always watch for.

i dont think they will cut rico unless they have someone who is about the same talent. so chances are they are keeping rico.

so u are saying safety not as good due to loss of jones, who will still be on the same field. jones is faster but reads slower.

 

[waldoputty]

I suppose you mean strength but his a big improvement

yes that is what i meant.

 

[waldoputty]

They also kept Brown, and close quarters jump balls are supposed to be his thing. Rico and Brown are big physical mismatches when blocking guys who might cover them.

think brown going on ir for quite a while and may stay on it.

 

[StarBoyz83]

cooper had his own issues. cooper is stronger but williams has better foot speed. i think that is a draw at the beginning. williams will get better over the season. if williams cannot cut it, ehinger is decent guard.

dont think they will overuse zeke. and it will get easier for zeke because austin will be a second threat the d has to always watch for.

i dont think they will cut rico unless they have someone who is about the same talent. so chances are they are keeping rico.

so u are saying safety not as good due to loss of jones, who will still be on the same field. jones is faster but reads slower.

Theres no depth at all at s and itll have a new starter or 2.

The loss of tfred will be a lot more severe than people think also

Dallas never seemed to know how to use players like austin.

 

[waving monkey]

yay!

playoffs her we come ! , we got this...

I think we do

 

[waving monkey]

Theres no depth at all at s and itll have a new starter or 2.

The loss of tfred will be a lot more severe than people think also

Dallas never seemed to know how to use players like austin.

Fred is a big big loss

 

[waldoputty]

Theres no depth at all at s and itll have a new starter or 2.

The loss of tfred will be a lot more severe than people think also

Dallas never seemed to know how to use players like austin.

first, improved pressure will greatly help safety and corner play. no depth at safety, but they can trade for a safety if really needed. they have enough picks next year. they dont need ET but quality depth.

tfred is a concern, but did u notice that tfred did not play as well last year? one way to stop pressure up the middle is to have another threat like austin in motion.

dallas runs jet sweeps, but switzer was too slow

 

[buybuydandavis]

I think the online will struggle. Rookie that's undersized and lacks upper body strength next to a center that's not starting caliber.

Lb play will be better

Have a bad feeling they will lean on and overuse zeke to the point he gets hurt.

Think rico can be good but he will be suspended and not totally sure hes even still here come week 1.

Thinking safety will not be as good either.

I share the worry about Williams next to Looney.

LBs should be great. We kept 7, all our depth looks great, and Jaylon was 90% and heading upwards, and it shows. Even without LVE, we'd be in great shape. We shouldn't have the collapse of the LBs that we had last year.

Between Austin, Dak, and Olawale, we should take a chunk of carries off of Zeke's plate. I'd convert those to receptions. More balls for Zeke in space, fewer balls between the tackles.

If Rico is suspended, he doesn't count a roster spot. If he doesn't accrue a league year this year, it's all on him. I'm fine with developing him and keeping his rights.

Safety is thin, but Heath and Frazier were my preferred pairing anyway. I hope they shine and never give up their spots. But we definitely do need to add another S to the roster.