Dallas Cowboys 2009 NFL Projection:
The list of departures from the Dallas Cowboys in 2009 is almost too long to list;
Terrell Owens, Chris Canty, Greg Ellis, Kevin Burnett, Keith Davis, Anthony Henry,
Zach Thomas, Brad Johnson, Tank Johnson, and Pacman Jones.
Additions include linebacker Keith Brooking, quarterback Jon kitna,
defensive end Igor Olshansky, and strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh.
The most talked about departure is of course wide receiver Terrell Owens
who made the offense click.
Roy Williams has large shoes to fill on the field
as the new go to target. Currently he’s nursing a sore wrist.
There is also hope Miles Austin can make plays in the receiving game
deep down the field. He displayed flashes last season.
With a mobile quarterback like Tony Romo so adept at buying extra time for receivers to get open,
there’s certainly a chance the passing game can continue to click.
Romo may have to cut down on risk taking.
Meanwhile, it doesn’t hurt that Dallas fields a very solid offensive line
led by Leonard Davis, Andre Gurode, and Flozell Adams.
But they will have their work for them as division rival Washington added free agent
defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, while sack specialist Osi Umenyiora returns from injury for the Giants.
The Cowboys do plan to run the ball more this season. But I’ll believe it when I see it.
Either way, when they do run, the Cowboys have three attractive options at running back;
battering ram, Marion Barber, speed demon, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice
who racked up impressive yardage against some of the top defenses
in the league last season including versus the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens,
and New York Giants.
On defense, there’s no sugar coating the loss of Chris Canty.
What’s even worse is he signed with division rival New York.
It doesn’t come out in the wash with the signing of Igor Olshansky.
On the plus side, Dallas projects to be solid at linebacker, especially with the talented
DeMarcus Ware in the fold.
And their secondary looks promising with young cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick
joining Terrance Newman. Not to mention the departure of safety Roy Williams.
Schedule Analysis:
In 2009 Dallas finds a fairly difficult slate of games due to increasing competition in the NFC,
especially within their own division. However, they catch a break drawing the AFC West,
the weakest division on paper in the league.
However, it total we count eleven contests
against worthy competitors in ’09 as follows;
As you can see, Dallas faces a tough final 5 on paper, beginning in week 13.
Record Projection:
Overall we now forecast Dallas to finish (11-5) in 2009, a slight upgrade from our opening preseason forecast.
In spite of all the offseason losses, The Cowboys field a solid team.
Their biggest stumbling block is the competition within their own division.
The NFC East is so powerful on paper; we think it’s possible
the last place finisher could have a record above .500 with a possibility for double digit
wins.
If that happens, it might help to shakeup the NFL’s playoff system which
suffered a bit of an embarrassment last season when New England was left out of the playoffs
at (11-5), while the Chargers were in at (8-8)… Dallas could be this year’s team left out
with a good record. If not, perhaps another team in the NFC East will suffer such a
fate in 2009.
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Free 2009 NFL Predictions Note:
Remember these now archived 2009 NFL forecasts were made
during the 2009 preseason.
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football campaign which may have affected
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