Cowboys' 2007 Preview: Can Romo Bring It Again?
by Sportz Assassin
AOL FanHouse
2006 Record: 9-7
2006 Offense: The Cowboys found their QB of the future and present with Tony Romo. Despite getting slammed for dropping passes, Terrell Owens still came up with huge plays and led the league with TD receptions. Only LT and Larry Johnson rushed for more TDs than Marion Barber. Needless to say, that this was one of the league's most potent offenses.
2006 Defense: The defense was pretty good. They had one of the best run defenses in the league ... so-so against the pass. The two-gap zone scheme from last year will be replaced by a more aggressive one-gapper under new head coach Wade Phillips.
2006 Special Teams: Vanderjagt! Maybe that's Swedish for "unemployed". One of the most interesting developments from last year was that the "idiot kicker" was unceremoniously axed for Martin Gramatica ... who hadn't kicked in the NFL is some time.
Coaching: Wade Phillips takes over for Bill Parcells, which means the news conferences won't be as fun this year. The main difference will be on defense, where the Cowboys will blitz more often and try to confuse opposing offenses. Also, Tony Romo has been given a myriad of coaching support. Tony Sparano takes over as "assistant head coach" and former Dallas QBs Jason Garrett is the offensive coordinator and Wade Wilson the quarterbacks coach.
Draft: Anthony Spencer will be the future of the linebacking corps, but won't be relied on heavily this year. However, he will be groomed to take over for Greg Ellis. The same thing could be said about OT James Marten, who could be Marc Colombo's future replacement.
New Additions: The main addition was Leonard Davis to the offensive line. Davis will be the right guard and could be a key component to getting the line back to a level where they can both pound the football plus give Romo time to find his receiving weapons.
Three Keys:
1) Tony Romo's development is tops. Romo was all the rage last season, but sort of wore down as the season went along. Now, with defensive coordinators with a ton of film on him, will they figure him out or will Romo rise above it?
2) The defense had its ups and downs, but will be committed to being aggressive this year. Will that help with the somewhat shaky secondary?.
3) It will be interesting to see how Terrell Owens acts. Thus far, he's been pretty quiet. However, if there is a down patch, will he revolt? I mean, Andy Reid and Bill Parcells struggled to keep T.O. on task ... so how will a "player's coach" in Wade Phillips deal with him?
Prediction: There is plenty of talent to win a questionable NFC East. They could also make a deep run in the playoffs. Personally, I think it will end in the NFC Championship game. Still an 11-5 or 10-6 should be expected.
AOL FanHouse
2006 Record: 9-7
2006 Offense: The Cowboys found their QB of the future and present with Tony Romo. Despite getting slammed for dropping passes, Terrell Owens still came up with huge plays and led the league with TD receptions. Only LT and Larry Johnson rushed for more TDs than Marion Barber. Needless to say, that this was one of the league's most potent offenses.
2006 Defense: The defense was pretty good. They had one of the best run defenses in the league ... so-so against the pass. The two-gap zone scheme from last year will be replaced by a more aggressive one-gapper under new head coach Wade Phillips.
2006 Special Teams: Vanderjagt! Maybe that's Swedish for "unemployed". One of the most interesting developments from last year was that the "idiot kicker" was unceremoniously axed for Martin Gramatica ... who hadn't kicked in the NFL is some time.
Coaching: Wade Phillips takes over for Bill Parcells, which means the news conferences won't be as fun this year. The main difference will be on defense, where the Cowboys will blitz more often and try to confuse opposing offenses. Also, Tony Romo has been given a myriad of coaching support. Tony Sparano takes over as "assistant head coach" and former Dallas QBs Jason Garrett is the offensive coordinator and Wade Wilson the quarterbacks coach.
Draft: Anthony Spencer will be the future of the linebacking corps, but won't be relied on heavily this year. However, he will be groomed to take over for Greg Ellis. The same thing could be said about OT James Marten, who could be Marc Colombo's future replacement.
New Additions: The main addition was Leonard Davis to the offensive line. Davis will be the right guard and could be a key component to getting the line back to a level where they can both pound the football plus give Romo time to find his receiving weapons.
Three Keys:
1) Tony Romo's development is tops. Romo was all the rage last season, but sort of wore down as the season went along. Now, with defensive coordinators with a ton of film on him, will they figure him out or will Romo rise above it?
2) The defense had its ups and downs, but will be committed to being aggressive this year. Will that help with the somewhat shaky secondary?.
3) It will be interesting to see how Terrell Owens acts. Thus far, he's been pretty quiet. However, if there is a down patch, will he revolt? I mean, Andy Reid and Bill Parcells struggled to keep T.O. on task ... so how will a "player's coach" in Wade Phillips deal with him?
Prediction: There is plenty of talent to win a questionable NFC East. They could also make a deep run in the playoffs. Personally, I think it will end in the NFC Championship game. Still an 11-5 or 10-6 should be expected.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:56 AM
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