The Cowboys will need to make quite a few strong picks in the 2021 NFL Draft to reinforce a roster that needs a substantial defensive makeover. But before we look forward, I want to close the book on the rookie class that came before them.
https://theathletic.com/2359699/2021/02/02/dallas-cowboys-draft-lamb-diggs/
The Cowboys’ 2020 season was long and disappointing. It ended at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on a tiny margin that seemed a proper cap to a season that couldn’t end soon enough.
https://theathletic.com/2329759/2021/01/19/cowboys-jaylon-smith-film-coaches-nfl/
So much of football is about zooming in on specific strengths and weaknesses and isolating them to diagnose a problem. Were this golf or even baseball, where things do often work in isolation, we would have much more success. But when we examine the 2020 Cowboys defense to seek specific reasons why the team suffered and the defense was often to blame, we come back with an overview that lacks real specifics. They were just really bad. Well, OK. But where were they weakest? Who was bad?
https://theathletic.com/2315603/2021/01/11/dallas-cowboys-mike-nolan-coordinator-hire/
Mike McCarthy’s first season as Cowboys head coach ended with a 6-10 finish. Numerous key injuries prevented the offense from ever reaching its full potential, and a defensive scheme change during a pandemic proved to be a mistake. To gain a better understanding of how things went in Year 1 of the McCarthy era, Jon Machota and Bob Sturm discussed what went right, what went wrong and where things could go in the near future. Here is a transcript of their back-and-forth on several topics.
https://theathletic.com/2309288/2021/01/08/dallas-cowboys-nfl-coach-mccarthy-analysis/
Most people were starting to feel slightly better about the Cowboys defense heading into Week 17 after they stomped Jalen Hurts and the Eagles in the home finale. The takeaways flowed like a sweet river of forgiveness for all of the blown coverages and gap fits in a mess of a season.
https://theathletic.com/2305847/2021/01/06/dallas-cowboys-defense-nolan-draft-improve/
If you want to destroy an offensive gameplan, simply attack the offensive line. Better yet, attack previous offensive lines and spook a team before the game even begins.
https://theathletic.com/2303267/2021/01/05/dallas-cowboys-offensive-line-future-connor/
And so it ends, just as frustratingly as it began. As you may recall, when this journey awkwardly began with all of the bodies healthy and dreams fully intact back in September, the Cowboys went on the road to measure themselves against a nice roster in an empty stadium. They had a somewhat similar outcome.
https://theathletic.com/2300908/2021/01/04/dallas-cowboys-nfl-loss-giants-mike-mccarthy-challenge-jerry-jones/
One hundred and forty days since the truncated Dallas Cowboys training camp held its first full practice in Frisco, 37 days until Super Bowl 55 in Tampa (we still assume) and just two days until the noon start at MetLife Field in East Rutherford, NJ, against the New York Giants…. The stakes are high. Much higher than anyone could have imagined a few weeks ago, when the number of things that had to fall right appeared far-fetched.
https://theathletic.com/2296289/2021/01/01/dallas-cowboys-giants-prediction-nfc-east-preview/
