Is this years team right back to 2014 status?

[Denim Chicken]

In 2014 Romo was coming back from off season surgery and his heath was in question. We went on to establish a dominate running game with Murray and really form a team identity, ultimately wining the division and ending one game out from the NFC championship. We were ranked 7th in offense and 19th in defense.

In 2015 we lost our captain and the ship sank. Our running game arguably suffered from the lack of a complete back, while still being top 5 due to the best OL in football. We all know the story. Offense ranked 22nd, defense ranked 17th.

Now in 2016, we again see Romo returning from off season surgery. We again have our bell cow RB to enjoy our dominate OL. Our defense, while still a work in progress, should be again mediocre. Obviously Romo's heath is paramount, but keeping faith that he stays upright, 2016 is shaping up to look a lot like 2014. If we can keep Romo healthy and find a way to move the defense from mediocre to good (like top 15) then this team has every chance of being a contender, just like they were in 2014.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Nope.

Asking your RB to gain 1,800+ yards rushing in his rookie year is outrageous. And it's all for not if Romo isn't sharp. Given his age and the injuries, optimistic to think he will as sharp as he was in 2014.





YR

 

[Denim Chicken]

Nope.

Asking your RB to gain 1,800+ yards rushing in his rookie year is outrageous. And it's all for not if Romo isn't sharp. Given his age and the injuries, optimistic to think he will as sharp as he was in 2014.





YR

We had 1900 yards with RBBC last year. I don't think you have to have Zeke do all 1800, but I don't think its a stretch to exceed 2000 in 2016.

 

[Dundalis]

Nope.

Asking your RB to gain 1,800+ yards rushing in his rookie year is outrageous. And it's all for not if Romo isn't sharp. Given his age and the injuries, optimistic to think he will as sharp as he was in 2014.





YR

If everyone stays healthy, I absolutely think Elliott could do 1600+ in 16 games. It really isn't that far fetched at all when you consider how good this line is (and most of them can still get better), and what RB's have done behind it recently.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

We'll see. These coaches already know how to work with a top RB, as evidenced in 2014. I really don't understand what they were doing early in 2015 before Romo got hurt. They weren't running it the same way they were the year before. Granted, we were still trying out a RBBC but that's still no reason not to stick to what made us successful. The offensive philosophy finally went back to what it was after Romo got hurt and Randle got kicked off the team. Hopefully we don't waste any time this year. If Romo can stay healthy, I don't see why this offense won't be better than 2014. The O-line is more experienced than it was and Elliott projects to be a better RB than Murray.

But our defense is still pretty bad. But I don't know if it's much worse than it was in 2014. As it stands now, I think our secondary is currently better than it was in 2014. We're the same exact secondary with the addition of Byron Jones going into his 2nd year. I think our LBers are even currently better than what they were in 2014 considering we're basically the same exact LBer corps with the addition of a healthy Sean Lee (he was injured all of 2014). But I was say, in its current state, the DL looks worse than it was two years ago. But not by much. In 2014, our DL consisted of a Tyrone Crawford in his first year as a starter, a rookie D-Law who missed most of the season anyway, the Golden Cock, and newly added veteran Mincey. After the draft, I can see us being about as good as, if not slightly than, what we were going into 2014.

 

[CowboyRoy]

In 2014 Romo was coming back from off season surgery and his heath was in question. We went on to establish a dominate running game with Murray and really form a team identity, ultimately wining the division and ending one game out from the NFC championship. We were ranked 7th in offense and 19th in defense.

In 2015 we lost our captain and the ship sank. Our running game arguably suffered from the lack of a complete back, while still being top 5 due to the best OL in football. We all know the story. Offense ranked 22nd, defense ranked 17th.

Now in 2016, we again see Romo returning from off season surgery. We again have our bell cow RB to enjoy our dominate OL. Our defense, while still a work in progress, should be again mediocre. Obviously Romo's heath is paramount, but keeping faith that he stays upright, 2016 is shaping up to look a lot like 2014. If we can keep Romo healthy and find a way to move the defense from mediocre to good (like top 15) then this team has every chance of being a contender, just like they were in 2014.

Zeke is head and shoulders better than Murray ever was. And we have better backups as well. The only problem is the defense is worse and Romo is two years older. Like 2014 it will come down to health and injuries.

 

[Doomsday101]

I think 2016 depends on Romo staying upright. If they can get back to running a balanced offense as they did in 2014 then we can do a lot to limit the snaps the defense gets. As for defense they were not great in 2014 but they managed to create turnovers and that is one thing they must be able to do more so that yards allowed or any other stat they must get the ball back

 

[erod]

Nope.

Asking your RB to gain 1,800+ yards rushing in his rookie year is outrageous. And it's all for not if Romo isn't sharp. Given his age and the injuries, optimistic to think he will as sharp as he was in 2014.

YR

How about 1,600 yards and more TDs with fewer fumbles?

 

[Yakuza Rich]

We had 1900 yards with RBBC last year. I don't think you have to have Zeke do all 1800, but I don't think its a stretch to exceed 2000 in 2016.

He's going to have to get the majority of it, probably close to 1,500 yards. Even Peterson did not have 1,500 yards rushing last year.




YR

 

[Yakuza Rich]

How about 1,600 yards and more TDs with fewer fumbles?

Yeah, because no RB in the league got that last season. Even Adrian Peterson. And we are expecting Keith Byars 2.0 to come in and do it.





YR

 

[QT]

Everything falls on Romo. Do you think Murray gets all those yards in 2014 without a healthy Romo, who lead the league in pass ratings? That's why I always said that Romo was the MVP of the team in 2014.

 

[Craig]

Who lnows. If romo gets hurt in the second game again we can expect another sub .500 record. As far as i can tell they never left 2014 status.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Our defense sucks!

 

[lostar2009]

Nope.

Asking your RB to gain 1,800+ yards rushing in his rookie year is outrageous. And it's all for not if Romo isn't sharp. Given his age and the injuries, optimistic to think he will as sharp as he was in 2014.




YR

The myth of Zeke. What if he does? Lol. But realistically I expect this guy to rip for a cool 1k this year.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Our defense sucks!

It's sucked for a decade.

 

[DogFace]

Yeah, because no RB in the league got that last season. Even Adrian Peterson. And we are expecting Keith Byars 2.0 to come in and do it.





YR

Byars 2.0? I guess you're being funny.

If not give me two characteristics they share and leave out hair color.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Byars 2.0? I guess you're being funny.

If not give me two characteristics they share and leave out hair color.

Both went to Ohio State. Both big recruits out of high school. Byars was drafted 10th overall, Zeke was drafted 4th overall. About the same amount of explosiveness for that time frame, but had football smarts.





YR

 

[DogFace]

Both went to Ohio State. Both big recruits out of high school. Byars was drafted 10th overall, Zeke was drafted 4th overall. About the same amount of explosiveness for that time frame, but had football smarts.





YR

Incorrect.
Byers had the same perceived or real explosiveness?
I knew you'd say schools. Somehow that's significant to some people. Explain to me why? Is it the "what's in the water thing"??

 

[erod]

Yeah, because no RB in the league got that last season. Even Adrian Peterson. And we are expecting Keith Byars 2.0 to come in and do it.

YR

Who cares? If it creates 8-man fronts and he picks up blitzes for Romo and Dez and Dallas wins, what's the problem?

Elliott creates huge defensive problems. Play action because devastating. Short yardage is easier. And he finishes runs.

Stats are for the paste eaters.

 

[Proximo]

Not going to compare directly to 2014, but this offense has a real chance to be reenergized, and VERY good in 2016.

Franchise QB.
Elite WR.
Elite O-line; probably best in the league.
Formidable slot WRs.
HOF tight end.
And now a legit blue chip prospect in the backfield.

I'm not afraid to be confident at this moment.