By Jon Machota , Staff Writer Contact Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota
After watching the Cowboys win only four games in 2015, it would be difficult to convince many that they're close to playing in a Super Bowl.
I'm not going to attempt that task.
But after watching how the Cowboys played the previous year and how Denver and Carolina were able to make it to the sport's biggest stage, I've come up with a list.
If the Cowboys are able to follow the following five steps, perhaps they will find themselves in Houston next February.
1.) Improve the defense. If you learned anything from watching the Panthers and Broncos this season, it's that outstanding defense is what got them to San Francisco. The Cowboys aren't going to land Von Miller in this year's draft or find another DeMarcus Ware in free agency, but they can improve in two important areas: pressuring the quarterback and forcing turnovers.
Denver led the NFL with 52 sacks in 2015. Carolina was sixth with 44. Dallas was 25th with only 31. Improving the pass rush will again be one of the Cowboys' top off-season priorities. It was a huge problem in 2014, so the Cowboys signed Greg Hardy and drafted Randy Gregory in the second round. Look for them to be active in free agency and willing to spend another high-round pick on a player who can get to opposing QBs.
The back end also needs improvement. A year after forcing an NFC-best 31 takeaways, the Cowboys managed a league-low 11 in 2015. A better pass rush will help, but playmakers on the back end are needed. Carolina led the NFL with 39 takeaways. Denver was tied for seventh with 27.
"In any sport, the one constant you'll have is defense," Tony Romo said Friday on CBS Sports Radio's Doug Gottlieb Show. "Each day, they will play at their level. Offensively, scheme matters, a dropped pass on a third down, an overthrow, a missed protection. That stuff ends drives. Well, we've just seen in history, the dominant defenses are going to be in the running for a championship each year.
"At the same time, you need a quarterback. If I told you anything it's that you need both to have a chance to be successful every year. In one year, you can just play great and you can win it, your defense could be dominant and they could win it. Your quarterback can be playing lights out and he can help you win it. But to be in contention year-in and year-out, you really need a defense that plays at quite a high level."
2.) Win the off-season. To acquire the upgrades needed on defense, the Cowboys must maximize the draft and free agency. Dallas is not your typical 4-12 team. They have enough talent on the roster to be a playoff contender. But the Cowboys' disastrous 2015 season will give them the fourth overall pick in April. Picking early in each round is great if the correct decisions are made. The Cowboys have to take advantage.
It's the same deal in free agency. The Cowboys are in much better salary cap shape than they've been in previous years. The top franchises don't break the bank in free agency, but they make smart decisions. Denver would not have reached the Super Bowl without key free agency additions like DeMarcus Ware, Emmanuel Sanders, T.J. Ward and Aqib Talib.
3.) Stay healthy. Having Tony Romo on the field for 16 games instantly makes the Cowboys an NFC East contender. Add in Dez Bryant for all 16 and they're probably the favorites. In 2014, Romo and Bryant combined to miss one game. In 2015, that total was 19. Not many teams are going to contend when their two biggest stars miss the majority of the season. The Cowboys were fortunate in 2014. Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Jason Witten, Terrance Williams, Lance Dunbar, Joseph Randle and Cole Beasley were all on the field for 16 games.
4.) Improve on third down and in the red zone. Having all of those offensive weapons on the field for the entire 2014 season obviously made things run a lot smoother in crunch time. In 2014, the Cowboys converted 47.3 percent of their third-down attempts [95 of 201]. In 2015, Dallas converted only 34.6 percent [66 of 191].
When in the red zone, the Cowboys scored touchdowns only 44 percent of the time, that ranked 30th in the league. The Cowboys scored TDs in the red zone 64 percent of the time in 2014, second best in the NFL.
5.) Win the close games. The Cowboys were very good in this department in 2014, going 4-1 in games settled by seven points or less. In 2015, they were 2-6.
What's the easiest way to fix this problem? Have your franchise quarterback on the field.
"I've worked very hard," Tony Romo said last week on FOX Sports' The Herd with Colin Cowherd. "I like to think I'll stack myself up with anybody at the end of games here since I've changed a few things a few years back. That approach has really helped me take that next step to feel very comfortable and confident when I get in those situations."
"Personally, I always like to think if I'm going to play, we're going to have a chance to succeed," Romo said. "I play an important position on our team. At the same time, I've played long enough to know that from year-to-year we're not losing these games 45-10. I'd like to think that in a lot of these close games I would have been able to probably help and close out some of those close games."
After watching the Cowboys win only four games in 2015, it would be difficult to convince many that they're close to playing in a Super Bowl.
I'm not going to attempt that task.
But after watching how the Cowboys played the previous year and how Denver and Carolina were able to make it to the sport's biggest stage, I've come up with a list.
If the Cowboys are able to follow the following five steps, perhaps they will find themselves in Houston next February.
1.) Improve the defense. If you learned anything from watching the Panthers and Broncos this season, it's that outstanding defense is what got them to San Francisco. The Cowboys aren't going to land Von Miller in this year's draft or find another DeMarcus Ware in free agency, but they can improve in two important areas: pressuring the quarterback and forcing turnovers.
Denver led the NFL with 52 sacks in 2015. Carolina was sixth with 44. Dallas was 25th with only 31. Improving the pass rush will again be one of the Cowboys' top off-season priorities. It was a huge problem in 2014, so the Cowboys signed Greg Hardy and drafted Randy Gregory in the second round. Look for them to be active in free agency and willing to spend another high-round pick on a player who can get to opposing QBs.
The back end also needs improvement. A year after forcing an NFC-best 31 takeaways, the Cowboys managed a league-low 11 in 2015. A better pass rush will help, but playmakers on the back end are needed. Carolina led the NFL with 39 takeaways. Denver was tied for seventh with 27.
"In any sport, the one constant you'll have is defense," Tony Romo said Friday on CBS Sports Radio's Doug Gottlieb Show. "Each day, they will play at their level. Offensively, scheme matters, a dropped pass on a third down, an overthrow, a missed protection. That stuff ends drives. Well, we've just seen in history, the dominant defenses are going to be in the running for a championship each year.
"At the same time, you need a quarterback. If I told you anything it's that you need both to have a chance to be successful every year. In one year, you can just play great and you can win it, your defense could be dominant and they could win it. Your quarterback can be playing lights out and he can help you win it. But to be in contention year-in and year-out, you really need a defense that plays at quite a high level."
2.) Win the off-season. To acquire the upgrades needed on defense, the Cowboys must maximize the draft and free agency. Dallas is not your typical 4-12 team. They have enough talent on the roster to be a playoff contender. But the Cowboys' disastrous 2015 season will give them the fourth overall pick in April. Picking early in each round is great if the correct decisions are made. The Cowboys have to take advantage.
It's the same deal in free agency. The Cowboys are in much better salary cap shape than they've been in previous years. The top franchises don't break the bank in free agency, but they make smart decisions. Denver would not have reached the Super Bowl without key free agency additions like DeMarcus Ware, Emmanuel Sanders, T.J. Ward and Aqib Talib.
3.) Stay healthy. Having Tony Romo on the field for 16 games instantly makes the Cowboys an NFC East contender. Add in Dez Bryant for all 16 and they're probably the favorites. In 2014, Romo and Bryant combined to miss one game. In 2015, that total was 19. Not many teams are going to contend when their two biggest stars miss the majority of the season. The Cowboys were fortunate in 2014. Dez Bryant, DeMarco Murray, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick, Zack Martin, Jason Witten, Terrance Williams, Lance Dunbar, Joseph Randle and Cole Beasley were all on the field for 16 games.
4.) Improve on third down and in the red zone. Having all of those offensive weapons on the field for the entire 2014 season obviously made things run a lot smoother in crunch time. In 2014, the Cowboys converted 47.3 percent of their third-down attempts [95 of 201]. In 2015, Dallas converted only 34.6 percent [66 of 191].
When in the red zone, the Cowboys scored touchdowns only 44 percent of the time, that ranked 30th in the league. The Cowboys scored TDs in the red zone 64 percent of the time in 2014, second best in the NFL.
5.) Win the close games. The Cowboys were very good in this department in 2014, going 4-1 in games settled by seven points or less. In 2015, they were 2-6.
What's the easiest way to fix this problem? Have your franchise quarterback on the field.
"I've worked very hard," Tony Romo said last week on FOX Sports' The Herd with Colin Cowherd. "I like to think I'll stack myself up with anybody at the end of games here since I've changed a few things a few years back. That approach has really helped me take that next step to feel very comfortable and confident when I get in those situations."
"Personally, I always like to think if I'm going to play, we're going to have a chance to succeed," Romo said. "I play an important position on our team. At the same time, I've played long enough to know that from year-to-year we're not losing these games 45-10. I'd like to think that in a lot of these close games I would have been able to probably help and close out some of those close games."
