Former NFL player/ESPN commentator says Cowboys could represent NFC in Super Bowl

The Cowboys offseason has been filled with talk of contract extensions, a new offensive coordinator, suspensions, possible suspensions and trips to the commissioner’s office among other things. There was the chaos of free agency and the thrill of the draft. As usual with NFL offseasons, there are storylines going in all kinds of directions and there is plenty of time to find faults among the optimism that a new season inevitably brings.

With all that, there is a feeling among many NFL observers that the Dallas Cowboys are serious Super Bowl contenders. Sometimes it’s good to take a step back and realize how good this team has become. Over the last three years, no NFC team has won more games than the Cowboys. They have won two division titles in those three years, and won one playoff game. The team hasn’t reached the heights that the fanbase and the organization crave, but it’s hard to argue that they haven’t been making the right moves to get there.

Jay Glazer recently had the Cowboys in his top five rosters for 2019, and Gil Brandt has the Cowboys second in roster strength.

Thanks to a clip from ESPN, we have another believer (hat tip to The Landry Hat). Damien Woody is an NFL commentator on ESPN, but before that he won a couple of championships with the New England Patriots and spent a long career in the NFL. He was on a segment where they were discussing the news that Ezekiel Elliott wouldn’t be suspended and was asked about the Cowboys’ chances this season. His response included this...

“I think the Dallas Cowboys can represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. The way that Dak Prescott played after the trade of Amari Cooper from Oakland, the numbers speak for themselves. Across the board, completion percentage, yards per attempt, third down, all those numbers were significantly better with Amari Cooper … This team in general, to me, is one of the better teams in the National Football League.”

This is a good point about Cooper. Before he came to the Cowboys the team was lopsided with an emerging defense but an offense that was struggling for consistency. Once Copper arrived, the offense started to click, especially for Dak Prescott.

The Ringer recently ran an article where they contrasted Prescott’s stats with and without Cooper in 2018. The results were startling.

All of that was done with somewhat of a patchwork line in 2018. If Travis Frederick is back and effective, and Connor Williams really has improved over his rookie year, the offense should be a much better unit. Of course, there is also the Kellen Moore factor.

Regardless, this team is certainly a contender. The pieces are there, it’s up to Jason Garrett and Co. to get the most out of them.

Here is the entire segment containing Damien Woody’s comments.