Jerry Jones is really rolling the dice on quarterback Quincy Carter, throwing him to the wolves right off the bat. Carter was a second-round draft choice, but was considered a very raw prospect by most scouts, and most had him rated as a fifth-rounder at best. Carter was not really that exceptional in college, and if Jones' gamble doesn't pay off, Anthony Wright will be called on to replace him. The Cowboys are dangerously inexperienced at quarterback with Carter, Wright, and Clint Stoerner compiling just two career starts amongst them.

The Cowboys still have future hall of fame running back Emmitt Smith, but he is 32 years old now and won't be able to do everything himself. And with the quarterback situation, Emmitt will consistently face defenses that are stacked against the run. Until Carter proves that he can make plays through the air, defenses will keep eight men in the box most of the time, with one of the linebackers spying on Smith at all times.

Carter may not be helped much by his receivers either. Starting wide receivers Joey Galloway and Raghib Ismail are coming off serious knee injuries and there is not a whole lot of talent behind these guys if they should go down. Mike Lucky, a seventh-round pick in 1999, is penciled in as the starting tight end despite missing all of last season after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery.

The Cowboys had the league's worst run defense in 2000, and it doesn't appear they have improved significantly since last year. Dimitrius Underwood is the key to the defensive line, and they need him play like the first-round pick that the Minnesota Vikings used to get him. He is very athletic, and shows great quickness for at 6-6, 320 pound lineman.

Dat Nguyen, Dexter Coakley and Darren Hambrick will be a decent set of linebackers, but the undersized Nguyen must prove that he can play every down. The secondary is just about as inexperienced as the quarterbacks are, so look for them to get burned on a consistent basis. Overview

The Cowboys are going to have a terrible time moving the ball this year, and on defense, they will not be very successful at stopping the opposition. This team lacks talent on both sides of the ball and has a lot of inexperienced players in key positions.

This is clearly the start of a long rebuilding process, but I'm not sure Jerry Jones has a clear plan for improvement, or the ability to evaluate the talent to get him where he wants to go. This is going to be a very long season for the Boys and their fans, and a finish in the NFC East's basement is almost guaranteed!