Return Unit

Punt Returning
The Dallas Cowboys punt returning was one of the best in the NFL during the 2012 regular season, all thanks to Dwayne Harris. Coming into the season the Cowboys were a bit unsure about the punt returning job, Dez Bryant isn't doing it anymore because he is too important too the offense. So the Cowboys decided to use Harris, and that decision payed off.

Harris averaged an amazing 16.1 yards a return and took one punt to the house to help secure a win over the Eagles. 16.1 yards is hard for even some of the greatest of all time to accomplish. With 16.1 yards per return Harris was able to set this offense up in great field position. Harris has great speed and has the ability to make any tackler miss. Harris does not have as big as a part in the offense as returning but still make a huge impact on the Cowboys.

Harris remains very cheap for the Cowboys, heading into his 3rd year of a 4 year 2,040,000 dollar contract. When his contract is up Harris knows that he is worth a lot of money and will probably ask for more, but the Cowboys need to push for him because he is a valuable asset to this team.

Kick Returning
Lance Dunbar was a very pleasant surprise for the Dallas Cowboys this year. He was undrafted, was picked up in the off season, had a very good pre season, but did not make the final roster. But about half way through the season the Cowboys kick return unit was struggling, so the Cowboys decided to call up Dunbar from the practice squad to give him a chance.

Dunbar came in and did great for the Cowboys, by the end of the season he had the most return yards then any Cowboy during the season and the highest average at 21.8 yards, and a high of 44 yards. 21.8 may not be a great return average but Dunbar was a still a rookie and can only get better.

Dunbar is also very cheap with a 3 year 1,440,000 dollar contract. I expect him to improve and get a lot better through out the rest of his contract and will most likely get an extension from the Cowboys.

The Cowboys return unit is the least of their worries this year. They have two very young, and very good returners that can only get better in the years to come.

Kicker/Punter

Kicker

Dan Bailey is an unbelievable young talented kicker. He was perfect with in 50 yards, and was 3/4 on game winning kicks. Not to mention that one kick being over 50 yards and with wind against him. Going perfect inside 40 yards is about what every kicker in the NFL should be able to do, not many can stay perfect inside of 50 yards. Dan Bailey is amazing and should certainly be getting a contract extension from the Cowboys soon. Bailey has one year left on his contract and I am certain that the Cowboys do not want to let this one get away. The Cowboys will be able to have a kicker they can trust for many years to come with Bailey, getting him a big contract is not a question at all. The Cowboys were a bit lost for a few years in the kicker spot, but have found one of the best kickers in the entire league.


Punter
The punter situation is a bit trickier but I think the Cowboys have found a great punter. Chris Jones, has been with the Cowboys for a bit but has not punted much for the Cowboys, but he  played fairly well, in the 4 games we saw him. The Cowboys injury bug also hit the punters pretty hard this year as well. Chris Jones got hurt and Brian Moorman was also injured for a bit. Moorman can not be a long term solution since he is 36, Chris Jones needs to make sure he can avoid injury so he can become reliable for the Cowboys. If Jones stays healthy he could among the top punters in the NFL, Jones had a totally of 12 punts all season, half of them were inside of 20, and he had an average of 45.2 yards a punt.

These Cowboys have a great grip right now in this year, they have two very young players with very bright futures and can be relied on.

Breaking Down the Cowboys

Over the next few weeks I will be going over every position, seeing what they need to improve on, what they should do in free agency, and what they should do in the NFL draft. Seeing what the Cowboys will have to do in order to make it to the super bowl.

Updated draft predictions

The Cowboys draft position is finalized and Taylor Lewan decided to stay in college, so who should the Cowboys go for next?

Dream pick - Luke Joeckel - OT - Texas A&M
This choice is clearly the dream pick, Luke is the top offensive line men in the entire draft. Picking him would really help to make this offensive line better. They would have Smith who is also very good and then they could draft other line man and get some in free agency to make this offensive line one of the best. Tony Romo would then be under much less pressure to throw, which would limit his turnovers. The only problem is he is expected to go very high, and at 18 in the draft I do not think the Cowboys will get away with just giving up one second round pick like last year for Claiborne. It is a possibility but also very likely that it will not happen.



Reasonable Pick - Chance Warmack - OG - Alabama
Warmack is one of the best offensive line man in the entire draft, but the Cowboys would not have to trade to get him. He has great run blocking skills and is excellent at picking up blitzes. Which is exactly what the Cowboys need in order for their offense to really improve. Warmack would be able to start and make a huge impact on this team and could be selected right where the Cowboys are at 18.

Reasonable Pick - John Jenkins - NT - Georgia
The Cowboys run defense was very badly hurt by the end of the season and was one of the main reasons why they lost the NFC East championship game. John Jenkins is huge at 6 foot 3 and 360 pounds and would make an instant impact on this defense. He would be able to use his strength to get right to the quarter back or open up lanes for blitzes. Jenkins will most likely still be there at 18 for the Cowboys to select.

Best available if those are gone
Johnathan Hankins - DT - Ohio State
Hankins is another huge defensive line man who would be great at stopping the run and and opening up lanes to the quarter back. He would also be able to step up and be able to start and make a huge impact on the Cowboys run defense. He will most certainly be on the board for the Cowboys if every body else they were looking at are taken.

Go Cowboys!

Coaching Shuffle

The Cowboys biggest off season move so far was the firing of Rob Ryan, 2 year defensive coordinator with one year left on his contract.

I must say this came as a bit of a surprise to me, the Cowboys defense was a lot better in 2012. They did show a lack of depth when many players got hurt and gave up a lot of yards in their final two losses of the season, but Ryan really improved this defense since he started. I would have liked to see one more year with him though. He would get guys back from injuries, and with the hurt players this year it showed him where he needed to get more defenders. Getting defenders was already a priority for the off season and I would have liked to see who Rob Ryan would bring in. But the Cowboys defense was lost in their last two games and injuries can not be an argument for failure.


However the Cowboys really made sure they picked up someone who they knew would be great. The Cowboys hired Monte Kiffin which is a very good hire. Many coaches were fired this season and the Cowboys picking up one of them could have definitely been an option. But getting Kiffin is a very good choice. Kiffin has tons of knowledge and experience about football. He has been in the NFL a long time before going back to being the defensive coordinator at USC. His experience would not only improve this defense but also improve Garrett. He could help with giving Garrett advice, since Monte Kiffin has been to the super bowl before and could be a great mentor for this team.


As much as I would have liked to see Rob Ryan stay for one more year, I have faith that Monte Kiffin will really improve this team.

Another big question involving the coaching staff is the offensive play calling. Garrett had a lot of moments in the 2012 season where they had opportunities to win games but just ended up wasting time on the clock. Trying to get one of the coaches that was fired this season would be an option along with college coaches that might have what it takes to coach at the next level.

The Cowboys still have plenty to do, but are already getting things done.

More awards

I gave out my season awards to the Cowboys already, but the players have recently been winning some real awards of their own.

Dez Bryant - Pro Football Weekly's Most Improved Player

Dez is a clear choice for the award he earned. Through out his first two seasons injuries hit him along with dropped balls that took away what could have been amazing seasons. This year Dez showed us why the Cowboys used a first round draft pick on him. Bryant went from 63 catches last year to 92 this year. He went from 928 yards to 1,382. He went from 9 touchdowns to 12. Dez Bryant exploded in the second half of the season and the Cowboys know that they have an amazing talent with plenty of years left on him.

Jason Witten - The Associated Press All Pro Second Team - Bart Starr Award

Jason Witten was really questioned at the beginning of the season with a spleen injury he got in the pre season. But after a few games Witten got back to his former self, a beast. He proved to be Tony Romo's go to guy once again, breaking the record for most amount of receptions in a single season by a tight end. The only reason why he fell 5 votes short of Gonzalez is because he did not have very many touchdowns this year. But he is still a great player, leader, and helps out in his community which is why he got these 2 very amazing awards.

Demarcus Ware - The Associated Press All Pro Second Team

Despite Ware not getting as much sacks as everybody is use two he is still a monster on the field. Offenses need to plan around him and Ware still gets to the quarter back. Ware had yet another double digit sack season and did something that most players on the front 7 for the defense couldn't, he stayed healthy. With his whole team falling to the injured reserve list one by one, Ware stepped up, made plays, and was a leader for all of the young back ups. Which is exactly why Ware gets this award.

Congrats guys!

Surprise Quarterback?

Romo is not getting any younger and waiting to find a replacement at the last second is always a bad idea. Romo will not be retiring in the next 2 seasons but should the Cowboys look for a replacement this offseason?

Kyle Orton the current back up is a good reliable quarter back but he too is getting old. And the free agent quarterbacks this year feature Alex Smith, Mark Sanchez, and Tim Tebow. Both Sanchez and Tebow are not an option what so ever, they both have terrible throwing abilities and both were benched to let a third string quarter back start. Alex Smith is also out of question, he too is getting old and is not an amazing quarterback. He heavily relies on his defense and run game to help and make big plays.

So basically the Cowboys would have to draft a quarterback or sign a rookie free agent after the draft. After all Tony Romo was a rookie free agent and what if the Cowboys find someone like Tom Brady in the 6th round?

Right now I think the Cowboys should have their eyes on 2 quarterbacks.

Aaron Murray - Georgia - Junior
Aaron Murray is a very young quarter back that shows signs that he can be a great quarterback. He would need some development but he already flashes signs of greatness in his play at Georgia. He would also be picked where the Cowboys would not have to trade up any spots. Potentially a 3rd round pick.

Landry Jones - Oklahoma - Senior

Like Murray, Jones also flashes signs of greatness when he plays. He was very successful at Oklahoma and has a lot of potential in him. But Jones would also require a lot of development. But he would be a 5th round or 6th round pick so the Cowboys would not have to use up high draft picks to get him.

The thing about picking up a young quarter back in this draft is that it would allow them to also learn from Tony Romo. Like I said Romo still has years left in him and could really help in the development with one of these quarterbacks.

Some people are even saying that the Cowboys could go for Matt Barkley from USC. His stock did go down since the beginning of the season because of some losses but Barkley is a great pocket passer and would take much less development to be ready for the pros.

Do I think they will go for one? I highly doubt they will go for Barkley or Murray. Those would be wasted picks that they could be for drafting offensive lineman or quality run stoppers. Picking a quarterback early on would only be if the Cowboys want an immediate replacement. Landry Jones might be picked by the Cowboys though. They might be able to find a secret talent in the late rounds and potentially Romo's replacement.