2011 Dallas Cowboys Free NFL Picks: Things did not go according to script for the Cowboys in 2010. In what was supposed to be a championship run that ended up with a victory in Super Bowl XLV in their home stadium, ended up as a total nightmare with a 1-6 start, a season-ending injury to quarterback Tony Romo, and a mid-season change at head coach.
Team owner Jerry Jones remains confident that everything is back in place for a return to the level of play his team put forth in the 2009 season when Dallas won the NFC East.
Former offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was promoted to the permanent head coaching position after salvaging a 6-10 record from such a dreadful start. The 2011 version of the Cowboys is already guaranteed to be better with the return of Romo to the starting lineup.
He was coming off is best season as a pro in 2009 and completing close to 70 percent of his passes last year before going down in Week 6 with a broken collar bone. Also back is WR Dez Bryant, who broke his ankle returning a kickoff in early December.
They will be joined by a crowded backfield that includes veteran RB’s Felix Jones and Tashard Choice, along with third-round pick DeMarco Murray. Romo will quickly look to reconnect with his two favorite receivers, Miles Austin and TE Jason Witten, while working rookie WR Dwayne Harris into the mix.
Even with backup Jon Kitna at the helm, Dallas finished the 2010 season ranked seventh in both yards and points per game, so with Romo back at the helm, the Cowboys have the potential to be one of the top offenses in the league.
The real fun could be on the defensive side of the ball with addition of Rob Ryan as Dallas’s new coordinator. He has already tried to stir things up in the division by calling Philadelphia the “all-hype team”.
In the same vein as his father Buddy and brother Rex, he looks to motivate his own players by antagonizing the competition. He has to hope that there is enough talent on this squad to back these words up, especially given the fact that Dallas finished last season ranked 23rd in the league overall and 31st in points allowed.
The addition of LB Bruce Carter in the second round of the draft along with DE Kenyon Coleman and DB Abram Elam through free agency will help to add some depth, but the Cowboys will be going with basically the same players as last year.
There is still a wealth of talent up and down Dallas’s roster, but the trick for guys like Garrett and Ryan is to get them to play to their potential on a consistent basis, which is something that previous head coach Wade Phillips could never seem to accomplish.
The good news for Cowboy fans is that Garrett has already seemed to win this team over with his performance as the interim coach last season and Ryan is the perfect guy to light a fire under a defense that tended to just smolder under Phillips’ direction. Overall, it will be a tall task to keep up with the Giants and the Eagles in the East, but this year’s Cowboys will be much more competitive than last year’s squad.
2011 NFL Prediction: 9-7 and third in the NFC East.
2011 NFL Team Betting Previews- Dallas Cowboys Odds by Free NFL Picks
NFL Picks to win the NFC East +300
NFL Picks to win the NFC +1200
NFL Picks to win the Super Bowl +2000
Win Total 9
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