2009 NFC North and East team analysis - COMPLETE

[Azrael]

Skins

[Azrael]

Panthers

[bagobonez]

I'm not touching any of the Dallas players with a 10 foot pole.

Roy Williams had single coverage all last year with TO opposite him and did absolutely NOTHING. How on earth is he supposed to produce now with all the coverage his way?

And I don't buy the argument that it takes some time for a WR to adjust to his new team and system. Williams has been in this league for several years now, he knows how to play football, is a physical specimen, and he and Romo should have been able to capitalize on some one on one matchups down the field. Maybe he was hurt, who knows, but that complete lack of productivity scares me away from Dallas this season.

Dallas' offence struggled last season even with TO in the lineup, and now I expect them to struggle immensely. And I think it will have to be a RBBC to have any success whatsoever in the ground game, which diminishes Barber's value considerably.

I think Roy Williams is nothing. He's no better than an NFL WR3. His biggest problem is his attitude- he doesn't apparently put in the work. A player with his physical attributes and number of years in the NFL should have shown consistent results, rather than tantalizing glimpses. Azrael is right- in essence, Dallas' top 3 WRs have all been about hype, not production.

I anticipate Dallas will try to win using the offense they've tried recent years. But, those WRs won't win you games and likely won't even keep you in them. Instead, they'll have to rely on their strengths- a 3-headed RB group with complimentary skills and 2 top-tier pass-catching TEs. They could line Martellus up opposite Roy, 2 RBs in the backfield all the time, Felix Jones and Marion Barber taking screens or serving as a fail-safe option. Hell, I'd probably line Bennet tight to the line, have Jones setting up beside Romo- and then screen or flare Jones behind the stronger side of the line and Bennett's superior run-blocking. In goalline/late-game situations, you could line Choice and Barber in the "I" with Barber the dot. In this formation, you could do 3 things:
a) Choice plow into the line as the ball-carrier;
b) Choice plow into the line as Barber's fullback;
c) swing a pass to Barber out of the backfield.
That's not even mentioning what options would be out there with the WRs or TEs.

Either Dallas' offense will shift to the RBs and TEs, where their strengths lay, or this season will be horrible for the 'Boys. Evolve or suffer.

You make alot of good points and don't think that Jason Garrett isn't smart enough to get the most out of what he has. The good news is that Owens is gone, meaning that Garrett can actually run the offense HIS way instead of having to try to find ways to force the ball to Owens. If you notice last year, the games in which Dallas' offense wasn't getting it done are the same games in which Romo kept trying to force the ball to Owens (especially the Redskins game) Here's a list of reasons the offense will improve.

* Now Romo can just sit back, make his reads, and find the open receiver without having to pacify T.O.
* Roy Williams is now healthy and has had nearly a full season and a full off-season to learn the offense and develop a rapport with Romo.
* Romo himself wasn't the same with the broken pinky issues he had, which took zip off his ball. That problem should now be gone.
* Felix Jones returns from injury and should give the offense a HUGE boost and game-breaking plays.
* Barber also will once again be healthy, and won't have to shoulder the entire load like he did most of last year when Felix went down.
* LG Kyle Kosier returns to the lineup. I think he is the most underrated player on the line, as their pass pro dropped off significantly once he got injured. The running game and passing game should both get a boost with his return.
* Miles Austin returns from injury and seems to be developing into a solid WR and is the Cowboys biggest deep threat in the passing game.
* Martellus Bennett has another year under his belt and will make teams pay for doubling Witten as well as keeping defenses guessing if he'll be staying in as as blocker or going out as a receiver, as both he and Witten are very well rounded in both aspects.

The list just goes on and on and on. I think people forgot how beat up this offense was last year. I'm expecting the offense to make tremendous strides this year and be more like the 2007 offense where Romo finished as the #2 fantasy QB. The only negative thing you can really say about the offense for 2009 when compared to 2008 is that Owens is gone, and I really believe that's a positive thing. I think a re-emphasis on the ground game will have Romo taking less hits, which means less potential for injury, fumbles and interceptions. It will also keep the defense off the field more and will keep them fresh. Ware just may break the sack record this year. Get ready guys, THE BOYS ARE BACK!

[Azrael]

falcons up happy 4th

[Azrael]

looks like I may have to break this down into parts because of character limitations. When I tried to add the Saints I got some kind of weird message about having too FEW characters and gave me a blank posting screen. When I cut out the preface of the original post it added the Saints fine. Might have to do like 2 divisions per thread.

[Azrael]

There will now be 4 threads eventually. This one is complete.