West Conference. Although Lawrence wasn’t considered a big-time recruit coming out of high school, he finished his career with 34 tackles behind the line, including a conference record 20.5 in 2012. He may not reach his stated total this year, but one has to imagine Lawrence will be a good piece of the puzzle before long. Cowboys Special Teams This is a definite area of strength for the Cowboys and should be good for a win or two this year. Kicker Dan Bailey made 28- of-30 kicks last year, including 16-of-17 from 40 and beyond and 6-of-7 from 50 and longer. That’s about as good as it gets. Chris Jones isn’t a dominant punter, but his 45.0-yard average is robust and certainly enough to help the Cowboys get a field position advantage. The team has a real return strength in receiver Dwayne Harris, who averaged 12.8 yards on his punt returns and 30.6 bringing back kicks. Those are big numbers. Dallas also has a strong coverage crew that didn’t allow a score last year. Prediction The Cowboys have some talent on offense; you can’t deny that. The question is whether that awful D can stand up. The feeling here is that while it will improve a bit, it won’t be good enough to put Dallas atop the division, even if the NFC East is one of the weakest around. Another close call is in order, but no title. SCOREBOARD 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 PLAYOFF FINISH - - - - DIV WON-LOSS 8-8 8-8 8-8 6-10 11-5 POINTS/GAME 27.4 23.5 23.1 24.6 22.6 OPP POINTS/GAME 27.0 25.0 21.7 27.2 15.6 YARDS/GAME 341.0 374.6 375.5 364.3 399.4 YARDS/ALLOWED 415.3 355.4 343.2 351.8 315.9 TURNOVERS 20 29 21 30 19 TAKEAWAYS 28 16 25 30 21 Key Additions: DT Henry Melton, DE Jeremy Mincey, LB Rolando McClain, QB Caleb Hanie, QB Brandon Weeden, DT Terrell McClain Key Subtractions: DE DeMarcus Ware, DT Jason Hatcher, QB Kyle Orton Rookies: OT Zach Martin, DE Marcus Lawrence, LB Anthony Hitchens, WR Devin Street, DE Ben Gardner, LB Will Smith, SS Ahmad Dixon, DT Ken Bishop, CB Terrance Mitchell Dez Bryant LEON HALIP/GETTY IMAGES SPORT opponents completed 64.7 percent of their passes and averaged 4.7 per carry. It was an awful performance, and it went a long way to explaining how Dallas couldn’t prevail in one of the NFL’s weakest divisions. The bad news is that the Cowboys aren’t likely to be that much better this year, despite Rod Marinelli’s taking over as the team’s fifth coordinator in six seasons. The loss of middle linebacker Sean Lee to a torn ACL during mini-camp was a crushing blow and took away the team’s second-leading tackler and top interceptor from 2013. The Cowboys were already susceptible up the middle, but this makes them even more vulnerable. Folks in north Texas weren’t too happy to see DeMarcus Ware released, either. He only had six sacks in 13 games last year, but that was second on the team. He’s been a standout, and replacing his production won’t be easy. Gone, too, is tackle Jason Hatcher, who led the team with 11 sacks last year. Things remain a little unsettled up front, with newcomers Jeremy Mincey and Henry Melton in the starting four, at least until Anthony Spencer returns from injury at the end spot. Nick Hayden is solid at one tackle, and rookie Demarcus Lawrence will be asked to provide pass-rushing push from the other end position. Lee’s job could belong to Justin Durant, who made just 24 tackles in 10 games last year, although Iowa rookie Anthony Hitchens could be there before too long. Bruce Carter is productive at the weakside linebacker position, while DeVonte Holloman and Kyle Wilber will fight it out on the strong side. The defensive backfield needs some help, despite a pretty good year from free safety Barry Church, who led the team with 107 tackles last year. Brandon Carr had three picks from the cornerback position last season, but other projected secondary starters Morris Claiborne and J.J. Wilcox combined for one. Defensive Player to Watch Rookie Demarcus Lawrence made some headlines when he announced that his goal this season was double-digit sacks from his end position. That may be a bit of a stretch, since not even DeMarcus Ware could put that kind of production together last year. But give Lawrence points for confidence, and that’s important to have. The 6-3, 251-pounder picked up 20 sacks during his two seasons with Boise State, good for sixth all-time in the Mountain
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