This team has really done a nice job of drafting the past few years with Jason Garrett at the helm. It really should come as no surprise seeing that Jim Garrett is his father and Jason grew up around one of the NFL’s most revered Scouts. Jason Garrett trusts his scouts and that would explain the initial sour look Garrett had when “The Trade” was made in this year’s draft; but then again once Frederick was announced the Garrett grin was shining bright again. Another bright spot for Cowboys fans is that it certainly seems as though The Dallas Cowboys are highly successful with their undrafted free agent acquisitions.

Mar 27, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks former player Devonte Holloman makes a reception during pro day in Columbia. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Barring injury set-backs this has all the making of an exciting offseason for the fans of the boys with the blue stars on their helmets. Monte Kiffin was recently quoted in having confidence in the defensive line, but really made a priority of acquiring linebackers. This is what brings me to the first position battle that has many fans salivating with intrigue.

Strong-Side Linebacker (SAM):

The strong side of the offense is where there are more personnel and often a Tight End. The SAM is usually the more physically stronger linebacker and is responsible for calling blitzes. Along with those duties the SAM also is often relied upon to tackle the runner but also possess a Strong Safety’s skill set in covering Tight Ends. This offseason the Cowboys resigned Ernie Sims, signed former Lions Linebacker Justin Durant, drafted DeVonte Holloman, and handsomely rewarded Brandon Magee out of Arizona State with $70,000 guaranteed. The Cowboys also have Alex Albright and Caleb McSurdy listed as linebackers. The Cowboys seem to have Alex Albright as a backup for Sean Lee, because Albright does have instincts and intelligence to play the MIKE. Here is how the Linebacker Core is preset in my mind.

*Starter   x-denotes primary backup

Free Safety & Strong Safety:

Much like the emphasis on Linebackers, the Dallas Cowboys have shown a commitment to adding depth to the Safety position. With the uncertainty of Barry Church coming off an Achilles injury and Matt Johnson having not played at all for a 4^th round pick, Can you blame them? A lot has been made of Matt Johnson’s abilities from not only coaches but scouts as well. The NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” league. The 4-3 Tampa 2 Scheme requires a Free Safety to follow the ball constantly with his eyes. Cover-2 defenses often split the field, where the Strong Safety stays closer to the Middle to cover Tight Ends and Slot guys, whereas the Free Safety covers the back side and plays as the last line of defense. The Dallas Cowboys will enter this offseason with 7 players listed as a Safety. This will be an interesting battle to say the least, because 1 maybe 2 will not be here when the Cowboys face off against the Giants on September 8^th. Here is how everything shakes out in my humble opinion.

*Starter   x-denotes primary backup     ^Special Teams

Offensive Guard:

Although there weren’t any new additions to this position thus far, I think many forget that there are some young guys returning either from injury or were on The Practice Squad last year and are ready for competition. The Offensive Guards are crucial in this offense because Tony Romo is going to need that “extra second” Jerry keeps talking about. The Guard’s objective is to keep interior defensive linemen from penetrating the middle and keeping the pocket clean. Last year was difficult to create any type of consistency at the position with all the injuries this team suffered before and during the season. The Cowboys are betting that if they can keep a starting 5 healthy, that this team can finally keep people out of Tony Romo’s lap. At this point I believe that one of last year’s Free Agents will probably lose his starting job this year, and if I were a betting man it would most likely be Nate Livings. Here is Depth Chart in my opinion once September 8^th rolls around. 

*Starter   x-denotes primary backup

Running Back:

It’s safe to say that DeMarco Murray and Joseph Randle will be penciled in as 1 and 2, but that’s not where the intrigue ends for this Cowboys backfield. Philip Tanner, Lance Dunbar and UDFA Kendial Lawrence will be fighting it out for a roster spot. The last few years have seen The Cowboys keep 4 backs so one of these maybe the odd man out. If you haven’t watched the tape on Kendial Lawrence, go to find it now. This guy makes what Bryan Broaddus calls “violent cuts”, that is very intriguing to any Cowboys fan. Both Murray and Randle are One-Cut runners and that bodes well for this offensive scheme, but if the Cowboys want a change of pace back then Lawrence may beat out both Tanner and Dunbar. If Dunbar can be consistent on Special Teams that may give him an edge, however if Lawrence shows well on teams too, then Dunbar will most likely land on the Practice Squad. Let’s shake the Depth Chart out once again.

# Practice Squad

Wide Receiver:

This position may be the strongest Depth on this team. Last season when Miles and Dez went down in the last game at Washington it became a little scary, but after the acquisition of Terrance William, fans can feel pretty good. Dwayne Harris made strides last year and even Cole Beasley had some shining moments. The only major question mark comes from that of last year’s 5^th Round pick Danny Coale. This team currently has the rights to 12 Wide Receivers. Just for those who don’t know their names:

Dez Bryant                          Tim Benford

Miles Austin                       Jared Green

Terrance Williams            Carlton Mitchell

Dwayne Harris                  Anthony Armstrong

Danny Coale                      Anthony Amos

Cole Beasley                      Eric Rogers

I’m inclined to believe the Cowboys will go long at this position but they will not be keeping all 11 of these guys. I think 8 is the right number and that includes the Practice Squad guys.

With more OTA’s and Mini-Camps coming up in the next few weeks, a lot of fans will be glued to the respective websites for information. If you haven’t created a twitter account, now is the perfect time to follow all of The Dallas Cowboys beat writers for news updates during the practices. I’m sure that there will be even more intriguing battles throughout the OTA’s and leading up into The Preseason opener against Miami. With so many young players on the depth chart, some of these veterans better be ready for the challenge. As the old saying goes Let the Battle Begin!

The NFL playoffs allow 6 teams from both conferences for a total of 12 teams. In 2012, only Green Bay, Indianapolis and Atlanta finished with a rushing yards per game average that ranked in the 20′s. Cincinnati finished with a ranking of 18. Those four teams all finished below the half way point of the 32 teams. Denver finished at 16 exactly half way, and Baltimore finished just outside the top 10 at number 11. Houston and New England finished numbers 8 and 7 respectively. San Francisco, Seattle, Minnesota and Washington were the top 4 rushing teams in the league. These numbers show that even as the total accumulation of yardage via the run has gone down, the importance on having a decent running game still exists.

Dec 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) runs with the ball against New Orleans Saints cornerback Elbert Mack (44) at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys have struggled to run the ball over Jason Garrett’s entire career as a play caller, not just as head coach but in his days as the offensive coordinator as well. The Cowboys have gone through a litany of running backs during his tenure (Julius Jones, Marion Barber, Felix Jones and now DeMarco Murray). No matter who is in the backfield, the head coach seems to be allergic to allowing his team to run the ball. There is no greater example of that than the Cowboys dismal 31 ranking in terms of rushing yards per game at 79.1ypg. Where the Cowboys really hurt themselves (sorry for the pun) was in the games in which starting running back DeMarco Murray was out with injury. In those 3 games he missed, the Cowboys did not have a ball carrier handle the ball more than 15 times in each game.

The media loves to talk about the play of the quarterback and shine a spotlight on the passing statistics, when as is true in almost all forms of life, but increasingly more important in the NFL is balance. There is no greater show of balance than in New England where a 4th ranked passing attack and a 7th ranked rushing attack made the Patriots the number 1 offense in all of football. Proof of the media blackout around the running game is in 2011, when passing records were shattered, ESPN went out of their way to declare the year of the QB. This past season Adrian Peterson was the NFL MVP as a running back and he finished a mere 9 yards shy of the NFL rushing record, but there have not been any media coverage of what he will do for an encore and he has actually been mocked by media members for talking about having a better season next year.

The increase in passing statistics makes it even more important for teams to work on the running game out of passing sets on offense. As the passing numbers rise, defenses are reacting with more defensive backs on the field in their base defense. The more defensive backs on the field create greater holes for a good running attack to take advantage of. The increase in the athletic quarterback has also opened a new wrinkle for defense to worry about in the running game to create an 11 on 11 scenario rather than the traditional 10 on 11 when the quarterback was handing the ball off and taking himself out of the play.

The truth is that the media loves the passing game because they love to glorify the quarterback position. They like to see the ball sailing down the field and players making athletic, acrobatic catches and running after the catch in open field. The casual fans like to see passing numbers high because high passing numbers create high scores, which draw eyeballs to the television sets. Smash mouth football is trying to be legislated out of the league with new rules to prevent concussions and discouraging offensive players from protecting themselves against oncoming defenders.

Despite the increase in the statistical data in the passing game, when it comes to what is most important; WINNING, the running game is as equally important to an NFL team. The amount of successful teams to make the playoffs from the top 10 in rushing offense proves beyond a doubt that a well rounded ground game is important for the team. The Dallas Cowboys have been boarder line allergic to running the ball under head coach Jason Garrett, so much so that they actually hired Bill Callahan as an offensive coordinator to boost the interest in the running game. Hopefully in 2013 the Cowboys starter, Murray, can do something he has yet to do in his brief career, finishing the season without missing a game due to injury. If the Cowboys focus more on the running game they expose their quarterback to less hits and less pressure, while also providing him with less chances to make the big mistake that has plagued this team during his tenure under center. Balance is so important and the Cowboys need to have the ability to take advantage when defenses go smaller and try to take away the passing offense. As is usually the case in the NFL the passing game will be an attraction while the running game will provide the substance when it comes to winning on the field.