As Jerry Jones, Jason Garrett, and Rob Ryan prepare to lead the Dallas Cowboys into free agency and the 2012 draft, they must all be focused on the obvious fact that the defense is the weak leak on this team. The defense gave up 24 or more points in almost half their games last year (7 out of 16); the Cowboys lost 3 games when they scored 24 or more points.

The offense is fairly solid: the interior line and a 3rd WR (if Laurent Robinson isn’t resigned) are the only big needs other than the need for depth behind the starters. Expect the Dallas Cowboys brain-trust to be focused on rebuilding the defense this off-season.

Despite having no off-season and very little new talent (just Kenyon Coleman, Abe Elam, and Sean Lee were new starters) Rob Ryan significantly improved the defense last season. This season made it painfully obvious that Ryan needs better players before we can evaluate his ability as a Defensive Coordinator (or potential Head Coach.) Expect Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett to make all reasonable efforts to get the players that Ryan wants for his defense.

Click on the link to read about the re-building that has been started and what is left to accomplish.

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