NFL 2000 Preview - NFC East
By: James AlderDateline: August 13, 2000
Dallas Cowboys
This year's Dallas Cowboys are hoping to recover from last year's fall to mediocrity. The Cowboys struggled last year due to a combination of key injuries and the failure of Chan Gailey's system. Adding to the Cowboy's problems were the off season losses of two key veteran players, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin.Deion Sanders signed a deal with the rival Washington Redskins during owner Daniel Snyder's off season spending spree. Michael Irvin decided to take his doctor's advice and call it quits after suffering a devestating spinal injury.
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, addressed the loss of Michael Irvin by signing Seattle Seahawk's speedy wide receiver Joey Galloway. Galloway possesses great speed and explosiveness which when teamed up with Ragib Ismail gives quarterback Troy Aikman two of the fastest receivers in the league.
Emmitt Smith, once again, will be the main man on the ground. In 1999 he finished the season fourth in the league in rushing with 1,397 yards. He no longer has Daryl Johnston leading the way, but he still has one of the best offensive lines in the game. Larry Allen, Erik Williams, Mark Stepnoski, and Flozell Adams are among the best offensive linemen in the league.
On the defensive side of the ball the Cowboys obviously needed to plug the gaping hole left by the departure of Deion Sanders, so they went out and signed the best corner available in Ryan McNeil. The 30-year old McNeil has 21 interceptions in his seven-year career and most recently played for the Cleveland Browns.
The Cowboys lost a little depth at linebacker with the losses of Randall Godfrey and Lemanski Hall, but they still have Pro Bowler Dexter Coakley and Dat Nguyen shows a lot of promise.
The 'Boys also continued their experimentation in rehabilitating troubled defensive lineman when they signed Dimitrius Underwood. Dimitrius was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of last year's NFL draft. After going AWOL from the Viking's training camp for several days, he announced he was not committed to football and returned his $1.7 million signing bonus and packed his bags and went home. Last season they brought in the troubled Alonzo Spellman in a move that proved to be somewhat successfull.
The Cowboys will miss Deion Sanders' ability to take half the secondary away from a quarterback, and they will miss his special teams play as well. Deion is the type of player that makes big plays that change the course of a game... when he is healthy.
The Cowboys have shown a few cracks in the armor as their nucleus grows older, and while they may not be the team they were a few years ago, they do have the one thing all football fans want... an owner that wants to win at all cost.
And love him or hate him, as long as Jerry Jones owns the Dallas Cowboys they won't stay down long.
Arizona Cardinals
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Redskins
How Will They Finish?
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