A 13-3 splash can play crazy tricks on the mind, especially around these parts. It turns the offseason into a trippy fear and loathing adventure, wrought with alternating bouts of self-aggrandizating and self doubt.
What just happened? Was that real? Way down deep, we all know last year came with some smoke and mirrors. Last year's purpose didn't happen with a bit of happenstance.
We know that because the team Dallas beat in October went up and down the field against Dallas in the playoffs, then got pig-slaughtered in Atlanta. Pittsburgh got equally torched by New England. The Packers and Steelers really weren't that good this year.
We also know because Dallas came dangerously close to being 0-6 in the division. The Giants beat the Cowboys twice, the Commanders semi-gifted Dallas twice, and the Eagles strangely collapsed with a dominant 4th-quarter lead in Dallas.
Injuries were few here compared to most teams. The timing proved perfect against the better opposing quarterbacks. Roethlisberger was coming off of an ankle injury. Rodgers was struggling mightily early on. Dalton and Flacco had terrible years by their standards. In fact, the whole league was down in 2016. Injuries were rampant, and offensive line play was putrid overall.
Make no mistake, hope rightly abounds with such a young cast of talent in key positions, but there's still a laundry list of questions to address.
Still no pass rush, and those don't get built over a single offseason. Lawrence may be done for good with a bad back. Jaylon Smith offers hope, but can Lee stay healthy again? Scandrick looks old, Claiborne is likely gone, and Carr will cost a pretty penny. That leaves one corner, a 6th round pick that came out of nowhere to play surprisingly well. It's either Church or Wilcox, but not both.
The whole defense remains a lump of yuck and what-if. The free agent pool is drying up in pass rush threats, not that the Joneses dabble in high-priced free agents anymore anyway. Draft picks typically take a few years to become effective pass rushers.
This defense is more than 2-3 guys away from being great. Average will likely be the best possible scenario again in 2017.
Offensively, all seems well, perhaps, we hope.
I'm still haunted by those terrible performances from Dak against New York, Minnesota, and Philly. Physical defenses that stopped Zeke really gave Dak fits. He was a rookie, I know, and an offseason is very much in his favor. But defensive coordinators are scouring those tapes, and they always find you. This will be an adjustment season for him for sure.
The offensive line is superb, but if Leary walks, and another gets hurt for an extended period, things could get very average in a hurry. The cocoon of perfection Zeke and Dak have enjoyed could turn ugly, and those big holes and eons of pass protection could evaporate instantly. Offensive lines rarely stay as healthy as Dallas' did, even with Tyron playing through neck issues.
So when, if, suddenly, the team plods to 4-4 by midseason, the environment will be very different for these young'uns. (Especially if Romo is still upright elsewhere, and doing what he does.) The scrutiny around here will divorce this team from last year's honeymoon lickety split.
Atlanta, Kansas City, Green Bay, Seattle, Denver (Romo?), Oakland, and six more games against a division that the Cowboys played ugly football against....this is going to be a more difficult gamut to circumnavigate.
In deference to Saint Parcells, sometimes your record can indeed be misleading. The Cowboys were good last year, but they weren't great. Significant pieces and improvement are sorely needed. There's a razor-thin difference between Tennessee and Dallas in talent. Things can change in a whisper.
I suspect everybody but Jerry knows this in Frisco. While he's celebrating his gold jacket, let's hope a more focused team arrives in Canton in five months with some ultra critical additions.
This franchise and fan base has been known to rest on its laurels for some time now. This ain't the time for that.
