A look at the NFC EAST (Cowboys)

A look at the NFC EAST

DALLAS COWBOYS    (PROJECTED FINISH: #3)

Frustration: The word to describe the way Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and fans are feeling 17 years and 2 playoff wins after their last Super Bowl. After going through 5 other head coaches since 1995, owner Jones is optimistic about his sixth, Jason Garrett. Garrett, (13-11 in 2 seasons) and Jones are confident in the abilities of the soon to be 10th-year quarterback, Tony Romo. Romo has been under a lot of pressure from fans and press about consistency and inability to deliver playoff wins or even playoff berths. Romo had probably the best season of his career (stats wise) last season with 4,184 yards and 31 touchdowns. However, Tony could only produce a .500 season for Jerry Jones and the Cowboy faithful.

We can’t blame it all on poor ole Tony though, the atrocious pass defense of the Cowboys had a lot to do with the Cowboys not putting out more wins. The Cowboys secondary gave up an average of 244.1 passing yards per game last season. Although, not the worst in the NFL (ranked at 23) there is still plenty of room for improvement. The secondary seemed to be at it’s worst in the fourth-quarter; the Cowboys gave up five fourth-quarter leads (three of them being by 12 or more points). Noticing the problem in the secondary, Jerry Jones added CB Morris Claiborne early in the draft and signed free agent CB Brandon Carr. The Cowboys believe that with the additions at CB, along with Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware, and team leader in tackles, Sean Lee, they can make the playoffs under defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (given that Romo keeps playing like he did last season).

2011 INDIVIDUAL STATS

PASSING	ATT.	COMP.	YDS.	TD	INT.
Tony Romo	522	346	4,184	31	10

RUSHING	ATT.	YDS.	YDS/ATT	TD
DeMarco Murray	164	897	5.5	2
Felix Jones	127	575	4.5	1

RECEIVING	REC	YDs	YDS./REC.	TD
Jason WItten	79	942	11.9	5
Dez Bryant	63	928	14.7	9
Laurent Robinson	54	858	15.9	11
MIles Austin	43	579	13.5	7
Felix Jones	33	221	6.7	0

KICKING: Bailey 39/39 XPs, 32/37 FGs, 135 points

TACKLES: Lee 131, Elam 79, Sensabaugh 77

SACKS: Ware 19.5, Spencer 6, Hatcher 4.5

INTERCEPTIONS: Lee 4, Newman 4, Sensabaugh 2

*EXTRA*

Many Cowboy faithful feel that RB DeMarco Murray may be the successor to Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith. After rushing for 897 yards in 13 games before ending the season on the inactive list due to an ankle injury. He is viewed as the first complete back the Cowboys have had since Smith retired in 2002.