By DaVince “Dino” Wright
2023 Season
The Dallas Cowboys finished the season with a 12-5 record but failed to beat the young upstart Green Bay Packers in their Wild Card game at home. Every season Dallas Cowboys fan say, “This is our year!” Year in and year out the Cowboys have come up short in the playoffs. Quarterback Dak Prescott lead the league in passing yards with 4,516 with 36 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Wideout CeeDee Lamb lead the NFL in pass receptions with 135 catches for 1,749 receiving yards. The Cowboys offense led the league in scoring again while the defense was in the top 10 in every category. What I don’t understand about this team is why do they fail to go deeper into the playoffs and have a realistic shot to get back to the Super Bowl. Keep in mind that this team has all of the key components of being a championship squad but always find a way not to complete the assignment of winning a super bowl and really carry the name, “Americas Team”.
Transactions: Draft and Free Agency
Dallas drafted some pretty good talent heading into this season. They drafted young bulls in OT Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma, DE Marshawn Kneeland from Western Michigan, Cooper Beebe OT from Kansas State, LB Marist Liufau from Notre Dame, CB Caelen Carson from Wake Forest, WR Ryan Flournoy from SEMS, OT Nathan Thomas Louisiana-Lafayette and DT Justin Rogers from Auburn. Dallas has a few notable free agents they signed: (welcome back) Ezekiel Elliott RB, CB Jourdan Lewis, RB Rico Dowdell, RB Royce Freeman and LS Trent Sieg. The two players Dallas released this year were LB Leighton Vander Esh and WR Michael Gallup. Keep in mind that CeeDee Lamb is in his last year of his rookie deal and is currently a training camp holdout. Dallas has contracts to sign with quarterback Dak Prescott and LB Micah Parsons on the horizon. The talent is there but putting the right guys on the field will be key. The departure of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn who is now the head coach for the Washington Commanders will bring some spice between these two franchises. Dallas brought in defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer from the Minnesota Vikings to lead the defense.
What to watch for:
The Dallas Cowboys will be one of the teams to watch this season. It’s getting rather hard watching teams like the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears get better through free agency and the Cowboys standing still not wanting to pay players to come in and get the job done. Dallas can’t afford to go one more year without making the NFC championship game! If this is one of the richest sports team in the world, why can’t they sign the best players to come here? The answer sits in his sky box clapping his hands and frowning when they lose! Dallas needs a general manager with the reigns to pull the trigger and rebuild this brand. Plain and simple!
My thoughts…
The Dallas Cowboys can make some noise in the NFC East but will fail to win another championship. Every team in the NFC East has gotten better in every major category across the board. The New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders went out and brought in some veterans to lead these organizations to the promise land. Dallas allowed 4 of the top 6 free agent running backs to sign elsewhere but brought back Ezekiel Elliott. They basically gave the Washington Commanders 2 starters from their offensive line and the Giants got better on the defensive side of the ball. This will be a hard season to watch the Cowboys. “You need horses to win a horse race, and you need football players to win football games!”
Season Prediction
Last season Dallas finished the season at 12-5. My heart wants to tell you that Dallas will go undefeated and win the Super Bowl and become “America’s Team” once again. Here’s the reality of this team: They will win 10 games and fall in the middle of pack this season. They won’t win the
NFC East because the division has gotten better through free agency and the draft. Until Dallas signs key players and lock in the cornerstones of this team, they will forever be in mediocrity!
Final record: 10 – 6, 3rd in the NFC East
