Minnesota v. Dallas comparison

[big dog cowboy]

On a neutral field I'm betting Minny would be favored by at least 4.

4 would be a surprise. Try 6 or 7. Until we prove something, we are still that 6-10 team from last year. The Vikes are simply better than us now. Culpepper makes a huge difference.

 

[SuspectCorner]

Philadelphia is still the class of the NFC. The question is who has the best chance to dethrone them. Most people say Minnesota. I think we have as good a chance as Minnesota. We'll see.

i really like the way Carolina stacks up against Philly. when healthy they have the power running game to rock the eagles back on their heels (something i strongly suspect Dallas will be able to do this year). and their pass rush can be as good as any you'll see in the league (this is a make-or-break area for the Cowboys. if it's on Dallas will contend. 'cuz i think the secondary will be "solidario".) while having the linebacking to contain the shifty McNabb (this will probably be the Cowboys 'achilles heel' on D).

right now the Panthers are my pick to represent.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

4 would be a surprise. Try 6 or 7. Until we prove something, we are still that 6-10 team from last year. The Vikes are simply better than us now. Culpepper makes a huge difference.

That's probably true BDC. The fact is that Culpepper is nearly all-world and at his best Bledsoe might be the 2nd best QB in our division. At his worst he's not very good.

 

[jterrell]

OL
Vikings: 7.5 Injury concern w/ Birk who was probably most proven OL.
B. McKinnie
Liewinski
M. Birk??
Goldberg
A. Rosenthal

Cowboys: 8.5 Rivera is already back working out and only whole is at worst last years starting RT.
Flozell Adams
Larry Allen
Al Johnson
Marco Rivera
Torrin Tucker/Jacob Rogers


QB: 9.5 Just short of greatness and that can only come in the Super Bowl.
Vikings: Daunte Culpepper

Cowboys: 7.50 Just above average by a smidge. Veteran w/ strong arm but bad tendencies. Having BP ride him worth .25
QB: Drew Bledsoe



RB's
Vikings:9.25 Bennett and Moore are quite good. With Onterrio whizzing himself they are still a top 5 RB corps group.
M. Bennett
M. Moore
C. Fason

Cowboys: 8.85 JuJo has to stay healthy and ATrain needs to show he cna make someone miss. Barber is a newbie.
Julius Jones
A. Thomas
M. Barber

WR-TE's
Vikings:8 Solid group who needs to forget about Moss and play with max effort.
Kleinsasser
Burleson
M. Robinson
T. Taylor
Troy Williamson

Cowboys:7.75 Depth at WR is thin at best and age is a concern but TE's are very good.
Witten
Campbell
K. Johnson
Terry Glenn
Q. Morgan

DL
Vikings:8.0 Erasmus and Udeze need to show they can rush the passer as expected when drafted.
Kneche Udeze
Pat Williams
Kevin Williams
Darrion Scott
Erasmus James

Cowboys:8.0 See above and apply it to Ware. Glover needs to ge tback to wrecking havoc.
Greg Ellis
J. Ferguson
Laroi Glover
Marcus Spears
(DeMarcus Ware)

Vikings:7.75 Good players but no real studs. Nap Harris needs to live up to draft selection.
Napoleon Harris
Sam Cowart
D. Thomas

Cowboys:7.5 If you use Ware here in the 3-4 rank could be a bit higher. Dallas needs Burnett to perform as Shanle or another unheralded guy to outperform expectations.
Shanle
Nguyen
Ware
Singleton/Burnett

Secondary:
Vikings: 9.0 Adding Smoot/Sharper was a good move but the age has to be a concern.
F. Smoot
Winfield
Chavous
Sharper

Cowboys:9.25 Boys have youth, experience, depth w/ Glenn.
Newman
Henry
Roy Williams
Keith Davis

Coaching
Vikings: 7.5 Tice unfortunately has been undercut too long by Randy Moss to regain this team. Maybe a better coach in a future stint. Needs to really get a great defensive coordinator.

Cowboys: 9.0 BP may be stubborn to a fault but he knows how to win games and push guys buttons to get the majority of them to excel.

When I add all that up Minny gets a very, very slight edge....
I believe the home team would win.

 

[Banned_n_austin]

T
Ultimately, I think we may be a better team than some are giving us credit for. But after looking at the teams on paper, I think the Vikings may not be as good as some expect. They picked up some people, but losing Moss, (while I agreed with the logic of the trade), I don’t think they are immediately better without him.

Oh brother! We are a better team than people give us credit for ... I've been keeping my homeristic rhetoric saved up until at least pre season though ... but this is going to be a great year for the Dallas Cowboys.

And I agree on Minnesota ... Randy Moss was Minnesota. That team will be 8-8 at best ... Culpepper will not be nearly as effective w/o Moss.

 

[ghst187]

I can give us an advantage at TE but not WR
Their DL is superior to ours unless Spears and Ware play at least up to expectations and the unit as a whole gels. Theirs was very superior to ours last year and both teams added 2 quality starters.
I definitely give us the adv at RB and coaching.
I have to give them a solid adv at DB. Until we find a FS, Newman plays like we expect him to, and Glenn or Henry lock down the other side, Minny has a superior unit.
Yes, Culpooper is better than Bledsoe BUT we haven't seen Culpooper play much without Moss, at least not a full season. I do believe they were struggling without him. He's a huge game changer as much as I hate to admit it about that juvenile deliquent punk a**. We haven't yet seen Bledsoe play for BP with our toys. I think Bledsoe will be exponentially better in our system with JJ, JW, and BP than he was in Buffahoe.
I think Minny will win their weak, lame division but they certainly aren't very scary without Moss and O Smith, not scary at all. I think that outside Philly, there will be about 4-5 AFC teams that can beat any NFC team, again this year's.
NFC is weak right now, like the AFC was in the 80's and early 90's.

 

[WilmingtonHeel]

LOL! That kids head is messed up! But I agree with most of what you guys have said. UNTIL we produce on the field Filthy, Minny, Carolina and even Atlanta gets mentioned as the teams to beat. I'm glad we don't have to play the Vikings this year at least in the regular season they've had our number

 

[kartr]

Franchise quarterbacks carry you in this league.
Daunte Culpepper is a franchise quarterback.
Drew Bledsoe is no longer a franchise quarterback.

The Minnesota defensive line will hands down be one of the best in the NFL with Kevin Williams, Udeze, Pat Williams, and James.

- Pat Williams is a better 4-3 run stopper than Fergy is a 3-4 NT.
- Udeze and Kevin Williams are budding stars while Ellis and Glover are headed for the bench.
- Erasmus James may be just as good, worse, or better than either Ware or Spears, and is not being counted upon to start.

Totally agree.

 

[kartr]

i really like the way Carolina stacks up against Philly. when healthy they have the power running game to rock the eagles back on their heels (something i strongly suspect Dallas will be able to do this year). and their pass rush can be as good as any you'll see in the league (this is a make-or-break area for the Cowboys. if it's on Dallas will contend. 'cuz i think the secondary will be "solidario".) while having the linebacking to contain the shifty McNabb (this will probably be the Cowboys 'achilles heel' on D).

right now the Panthers are my pick to represent.

As an anti-homer, I think that Philly,Carolina,Minny, Rams,Saints,Falcons are all still better than us. And if Warner plays like he did for the Giants, them too. We're getting way ahead of ourselves.

 

[lspain1]

Oh brother! We are a better team than people give us credit for ... I've been keeping my homeristic rhetoric saved up until at least pre season though ... but this is going to be a great year for the Dallas Cowboys.

And I agree on Minnesota ... Randy Moss was Minnesota. That team will be 8-8 at best ... Culpepper will not be nearly as effective w/o Moss.

Banned, I have to disagree with you. Culpepper did a good job against us even when he wasn't throwing to Moss. He makes generally good decisions, has excellent mobility, good pocket presence, and he has elusiveness in the pocket when he needs it. He is one of the top QBs in the NFL and as was stated before is a "difference maker" and he will continue to be one without Moss.

All of that being said we have seen that Culpepper can be hurried and makes poorer decisions when rushed (something the Cowboys were unable to consistently do). Like all QB's, he has weaknesses that can be exploited by a talented and well coached defense. With all of that I would easily trade him even up for Bledsoe. Wouldn't you?

 

[Zaxor]

OL
Vikings: 7.5 Injury concern w/ Birk who was probably most proven OL.
B. McKinnie
Liewinski
M. Birk??
Goldberg
A. Rosenthal

Cowboys: 8.5 Rivera is already back working out and only whole is at worst last years starting RT.
Flozell Adams
Larry Allen
Al Johnson
Marco Rivera
Torrin Tucker/Jacob Rogers


QB: 9.5 Just short of greatness and that can only come in the Super Bowl.
Vikings: Daunte Culpepper

Cowboys: 7.50 Just above average by a smidge. Veteran w/ strong arm but bad tendencies. Having BP ride him worth .25
QB: Drew Bledsoe



RB's
Vikings:9.25 Bennett and Moore are quite good. With Onterrio whizzing himself they are still a top 5 RB corps group.
M. Bennett
M. Moore
C. Fason

Cowboys: 8.85 JuJo has to stay healthy and ATrain needs to show he cna make someone miss. Barber is a newbie.
Julius Jones
A. Thomas
M. Barber

WR-TE's
Vikings:8 Solid group who needs to forget about Moss and play with max effort.
Kleinsasser
Burleson
M. Robinson
T. Taylor
Troy Williamson

Cowboys:7.75 Depth at WR is thin at best and age is a concern but TE's are very good.
Witten
Campbell
K. Johnson
Terry Glenn
Q. Morgan

DL
Vikings:8.0 Erasmus and Udeze need to show they can rush the passer as expected when drafted.
Kneche Udeze
Pat Williams
Kevin Williams
Darrion Scott
Erasmus James

Cowboys:8.0 See above and apply it to Ware. Glover needs to ge tback to wrecking havoc.
Greg Ellis
J. Ferguson
Laroi Glover
Marcus Spears
(DeMarcus Ware)

Vikings:7.75 Good players but no real studs. Nap Harris needs to live up to draft selection.
Napoleon Harris
Sam Cowart
D. Thomas

Cowboys:7.5 If you use Ware here in the 3-4 rank could be a bit higher. Dallas needs Burnett to perform as Shanle or another unheralded guy to outperform expectations.
Shanle
Nguyen
Ware
Singleton/Burnett

Secondary:
Vikings: 9.0 Adding Smoot/Sharper was a good move but the age has to be a concern.
F. Smoot
Winfield
Chavous
Sharper

Cowboys:9.25 Boys have youth, experience, depth w/ Glenn.
Newman
Henry
Roy Williams
Keith Davis

Coaching
Vikings: 7.5 Tice unfortunately has been undercut too long by Randy Moss to regain this team. Maybe a better coach in a future stint. Needs to really get a great defensive coordinator.

Cowboys: 9.0 BP may be stubborn to a fault but he knows how to win games and push guys buttons to get the majority of them to excel.

When I add all that up Minny gets a very, very slight edge....
I believe the home team would win.

Good job I could almost agree with it...reduce the Cowboys by .5 everywhere and I think it would be closer to accurate..jmho

 

[ravidubey]

As an anti-homer, I think that Philly,Carolina,Minny, Rams,Saints,Falcons are all still better than us. And if Warner plays like he did for the Giants, them too. We're getting way ahead of ourselves.

I really believe Dallas will be better than Arizona, St Louis, and Carolina. I think Carolina will miss Muhammad alot more than people think. I mean this guy only LED THE LEAGUE last year. Jenkins has to prove he can still play. Wahle and Lucas were really good pickups. Stephen Davis has a few games left, but not many.

Philly and Atlanta are headed for let downs this year. Jim Mora is looking at the mandatory slump all NFC South second year coaches head into. People have stopped going ga ga over Michael Vick long enough to ask why he can't seem to pass for over 150 yards. I see the NFC South beating itself up a bit, too.

Philly has been on top too long and is due for a major letdown.

I see Dallas, New York, and Minnesota surging big time. I look for Dallas, New York, and Philly to all battle for the division crown and for Dallas to emerge from that group on top. 5 years is too long for Philly to stay competitive; there will be a major letdown in Philadelphia.

It is Minnesota's time now. Everyone on that team will be looking to prove themselves on offense and double motivated to work as a team together and show they can win in spite of Randy Moss. Their defense got remarkably better overnight. They have solid corners, playmakers at LB, and the best DL in the country (on paper). Most of all, they have Daunte Culpepper, and no NFL QB has the combination of arm strength, accuracy, range and willingness to spread the football that he possesses.

He is the rare QB who can make each and every receiver better.