Happy 4th: 4 reasons to be excited for the upcoming Dallas Cowboys season

Happy Independence Day to all of our BTB readers in the USA!

The Fourth of July involves eating burgers and hot dogs, enjoying the pool or lake, and watching fireworks throughout the night with friends and family.

As you celebrate today, we give you four reasons to be excited about the upcoming Dallas Cowboys, also known as America’s Team, season!

Dak Prescott

The Cowboys franchise quarterback is set to receive a big payday in the near future, but Prescott is not the type of player to become complacent. All offseason, we have heard that Prescott is improving in a handful of different areas: footwork, ball placement, accuracy, and — maybe most importantly — confidence.

Prescott recently talked about wanting his teammates and coaches to hold him accountable, which is something you want to hear from your franchise quarterback.

“It’s elevating, it’s standards, it’s expectations,” Prescott said. “Why get mad at somebody if they’re trying to raise my expectations? My expectations are already (high), and that’s my point. Anybody that’s coached me or trained me knows that it’s not a sense of having to ride somebody’s ass. Some players are like that, some players need that.”

If you are concerned about paying Prescott, consider this:

2019 has a chance to be Dak Prescott’s best season yet. That’s a big reason to be excited as a Cowboys fan.

Kellen Moore

On the topic of Dak, you have to mention Kellen Moore. The former backup-quarterback-turned-offensive-coordinator has taken over the reigns of the offense, which has many wondering how the offense will change. While the base of the offense will remain the same, there is reason to expect (hope?) for some new wrinkles to be added.

Moore was a prolific quarterback during his time with Boise State, when the Broncos were known to use a trick play or two under Chris Peterson. Moore is also described as an intelligent football mind, so that kind of background cannot hurt.

Many have been begging for Dallas to use Prescott more often in the run game — after all, he is a tank and was a prolific runner in the SEC — and it appears that Moore is on the same page.

With new wrinkles, a full season with Amari Cooper, and the addition of Randall Cobb, Kellen Moore has a chance to have some fun with this offense in 2019.

Kris Richard

It can not be overstated how big the hiring of Kris Richard was last season. The architect of the Legion of Boom immediately helped take the Dallas Cowboys defense to the next level. From moving Byron Jones to corner to helping create effective game plans, it seemed as if Richard was pushing all of the right buttons.

The Cowboys did not add a big name safety through free agency or the draft, but there is still reasons to expect the Cowboys secondary to continue to improve with Richard’s coaching. Anthony Brown developed into a very solid slot corner and Xavier Woods has shown flashes of potential.

Be excited for the second season with Richard in charge of the defense.

LVE and Jaylon

Leighton Vander Esch and Jaylon Smith took the NFL by storm last season en route to becoming one of the better 1-2 LB punches in the league. The bruising LVE and the athletic Smith wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. Deshaun Watson learned how fast Smith is:

While the Eagles discovered how good Vander Esch is:

LVE (23) and Smith (24) are both young with incredibly bright futures. These two are a big reason to be optimistic about the upcoming Cowboys season.