Who to cheer for this season? How about the Dallas Cowboys?
Texas was, and still is, within a state, at least in terms of mentality. Everything in Texas is more significant than anywhere else in the States, and Dallas is the most considerable accumulation in all of Texas (third place if you take just the city). American football is a religion in Texas, and the Dallas Cowboys are thus the main sanctuary.
Dallas has always been able to adapt to new conditions. For example, when railroads were girding the whole country in the second half of the 19th century, local people in business gave a hefty bribe to the railroad company to have the new road go through Dallas, not 32 kilometers through Corsicana as initially planned. It allowed the city to become an important commercial center. Then, in 1930, oil was found near Dallas, and the town became the center of the oil industry. And when the oil industry moved to Houston 50 years later, Dallas began to develop technology, and the city was nicknamed Texas Silicon Valley. Note that if you want to try your hand at a simulator of American football, the best online in india has these entertainments.
Briefly about the team
“Dallas Cowboys.”
- Who it represents: Dallas, Texas.
- Division: NFC East
- NFL debut: 1960
- Stadium: AT&T (Arlington, Texas; 80,000 spectators)
- Accomplishments: Five-time Super Bowl champions (1971, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1995)
History
The Cowboys became a football powerhouse when the NFL and AFL leagues merged. Dallas was a playoff regular in the sixties, seventies, and first half of the eighties, a significant force in its conference. Then a few years of total oblivion, coach Jimmy Johnson arranges a very clever trade with Minnesota. As a result, he built a dynasty that carried everyone out in the first half of the nineties.
Since 1996, periodic forays into the playoffs have been a constant bummer. Dallas is either adored or hated in the United States, so any team result causes a storm of emotions. There’s a reason it’s been the most expensive sports franchise in the world for years.
Previous season.
12-5, first place in the division, out in the wild-card round. It’s all classic – winning the division and losing the first playoff game. The duo of Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott was hailed as the future stars of the NFL in 2016 and won one out of four elimination games in six years. But, unfortunately, the honeymoon is long over.
Starting quarterback.
Dak Prescott. He was selected in the fourth draft round and was supposed to be the backup behind Tony Romo. But Tony Romo’s back broke, and all of a sudden, Prescott started to play in the starting lineup and played very well. He even won the title of a best rookie on offense. Another thing is that Dallas gave the quarterback every comfort – the best offensive line in the league, a young and influential starting quarterback, and good receivers. While Dak played on a cheap rookie contract, everything was great, but once he was given a big contract, the value for money wasn’t as good. After all, Prescott is nowhere near Brady or Rodgers. He missed almost the entire 2020 season because of a broken leg, came back last year, and had a statistically significant season (4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns, ten interceptions), but it’s no use if things aren’t good again at a crucial time.
Head coach.
Mike McCarthy. Long considered a progressive specialist, an offensive guru. From 2006 to 2018, he led the Green Bay Packers. Under him, Rodgers won the Super Bowl in the 2010 season. But gradually, the coach’s relationship with the quarterback soured, with Rodgers bluntly ignoring the combinations McCarthy assigned and both preferring passive aggression to healthy clarification. Eventually, McCarthy was fired, and after a couple of years of downtime, he resurfaced in Dallas as a reliable, stable candidate who “knew how to win.” Apparently, he did, but he forgot.
Major acquisition.
Receiver Jalen Tolbert. That’s not to say Dallas’ offseason is all that exciting with acquisitions. Several experienced players who haven’t been doing so well lately (receiver James Washington, DE Dante Fowler, linebacker Anthony Barr) have been signed – see if anyone shoots. The first-round draft pick is traditionally an offensive lineman, but only the prominent experts in American football know how to get excited about lineman. So that leaves us with the choice of Jalen Tolbert as our opening-round pick. The sharp college kid from South Alabama didn’t go until the third round, but the same Cowboys wanted to pick him in the second. Receivers have been firing off in the NFL lately, and Prescott needs a receiver.
Major loss.
Receiver Amari Cooper. The reason Prescott needs a receiver. The Cowboys traded Amari Cooper from Oakland in the middle of the 2018 season. At the time, everyone thought, “Why so happy,” but Cooper made it to the All-Star Game two seasons in a row. But last year, for the first time in a long time, he gave up, a new contract had to be negotiated, and the Cowboys traded the guy to Cleveland out of harm’s way.
Main trump card.
Arsenal’s offense. The environment in which Dak Prescott has played his entire career can still be described as posh. Dallas’ offensive line is at an all-time high, with a surrendering but still punchy Zeke Elliott in the running back corps and a gaining Tony Pollard. Receivers: CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, James Washington, Kavontae Turpin, and the Tolbert, as mentioned above. Plus tight end Dalton Schultz. Live and Let’s Enjoy.
Main feature
Defense. As is almost always the case with NFL teams: if one place is excellent, the other place is terrible. Dallas has a clear skew this decade on offense, and the defense is dragging its feet. There are individual stars, but there’s no cohesive play. Even cornerback Trevon Diggs threw many interceptions last year, but he also failed just as badly. The center of the defensive line is especially scary.
Who’s up for grabs
Dallas has a relatively easy schedule, and the most severe opponent in the division looks to be Philadelphia. The main thing is to get through the start of the season in a usual way. In the first month and a half, in addition to games against division rivals (including a road trip to Philly), the 2020 champions Tampa, the 2021 champions Rams, and the 2021 vice-champions, Bengals will have to meet. After that, Dallas has a consecutive mid-season meeting with all the teams in the NFC North, straight up, but with a week off in the middle. And a very comfortable finish: Houston at home, a road trip to Jacksonville, Philadelphia at home, a road trip to Tennessee, road trip to Washington.
Realistic expectations for the season
Will fight the Eagles to win the division, could win it, though title defense is uncommon in the NFC East. There are enough teams of much more severe caliber in the playoffs, so one or two games out and home.
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