Dallas Cowboys Season Preview: Is This The Year?
Tonight the Dallas Cowboys travel to New York to face the defending champion Giants to open the NFL season. The Cowboys have one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports and you can bet they are ready to put last season behind them and start fresh with the opportunity to win it all. We got some of the SportDFW staff together to give their predictions in a Dallas Cowboys season preview.
Brady Parker: The Cowboys travel to New York to meet the world Champs right out of the box. A win by the Dallas Cowboys would be huge for the organization; a loss would be a tough one to handle. I still believe in my Cowboys, even if we lose this one. Cowboys 31 Giants 27. The season prediction is a horse of a different color:
1. Philadelphia Eagles 12-4
2. Dallas Cowboys 11-5
3. New York Giants 9-7
4. Washington Redskins 6-10
I want so bad to say that we will pull it out, and win the East, but no doubt, we will need the help. I may be totally off base here, if so, there is always next year…again.
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Nathan Stacken: Sorry Cowboys fans, but I think you’ll be disappointed in the end. A trip to the Super Bowl champion New York Giants is going to result in a loss, because ever since 2004, the Super Bowl champion has never lost on opening night. The Giants will be excited and they will be ready. Plus the Cowboys may be without tight end Jason Witten, putting more pressure on the shoulder of Tony Romo, who doesn’t need that. They’ve dealt with some injuries this offseason including wide receiver Miles Austin’s hamstring and the on-going issues and distractions with wide receiver Dez Bryant. The x-factor is Rob Ryan’s defense. If the Cowboys’ defense shows significant improvement this year over last year (and I think it can), the Cowboys do have a chance to really turn the tables in the NFC East and win the division. Sadly, though, I think they come up just short at 10-6, losing to Philadelphia while the wild cards will come out of the NFC North and maybe one from the NFC South. Predicted 2012-13 NFC East Standings:
1. Philadelphia Eagles (11-5)
2. Dallas Cowboys (10-6)
3. New York Giants (9-7)
4. Washington Redskins (5-11)
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Erasmus: I made the appropriate sacrifices and consulted a omniscient oracle. The Dallas Cowboys will beat that team from New York. They will also win the Super Bowl and the world will be forever changed. For a complete explanation of the profound impact the Cowboys season will have on the world, you can read this post. https://sportdfw.com/2012/07/08/dallas-cowboy-junkie-on-who-will-win-the-nfc-east/
1. Dallas Cowboys (16-0)….and that’s all that matters.
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Justin Brumit: It seems as though every year recently, I feel like this team has enough talent to win it all and I believe the same thing this year. The secondary is improved significantly, something that should help Rob Ryan make this defense one of the best in the league. There are still major concerns on the o-line, and Tony Romo may be running for his life (again), but he has the ability to make special things happen in those situations and he has plenty of weapons. IF the defense is as improved as they look, this team will beat the Giants and go on to win the NFC East:
1. Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)
3. New York Giants (9-7)
4. Washington Redskins (6-10)
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Matt Barbour: As Randy Galloway likes to say, you can learn a lot by watching the damn games. Well, I watched every damn preseason game and the one thing that stood out to me was how good the first team defense looked. I truly think they have a chance to be a dominant unit. And if they are, watch out. Keep in mind that while this team went 8-8 last season, five of those losses were by less than a touchdown and in three of those, the offense put up 24 or more points. San Francisco got to the NFC title game and was one dumb decision by a punt returner away from going to the Super Bowl last season. They had an excellent
defense and a less than average offense. The Cowboys, on the other hand, have the potential to have a very good offense, but it all depends on the offensive line.
There will be games this season where protecting Tony Romo will be a challenge. I expect Kyle Orton to play in 2-3 games, but he is a more than capable backup. The defense will be the difference in some of those close games and will take pressure off of the offense starting tonight in New York. The Cowboys will frustrate Eli Manning into a couple of picks and Tony Romo will start an efficient march back to the Pro Bowl. Dallas 24 – New York 17. At the end of the regular season, it will be:
1. Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
2. Philadelphia Eagles (10-6)
3. New York Giants (9-7)
4. Washington Redskins (4-12)
All of us here are SportDFW are very optimistic about the upcoming season and we look forward to bringing you our analysis and insights over the next few months (hopefully into February). Jason Garrett had his first full off-season and has put his stamp on a team that seems to be more disciplined than in recent years. The sky is the limit for this talented team, but we feel like always find ourselves saying next year will be the year the cowboys return to glory… will this be the year they do?
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