Which ’90s Dallas Cowboys team does the 2017 squad resemble?
The 1991 Dallas Cowboys, despite not winning the Super Bowl, still had a great season. They went 11-5, had an offense with the league leaders in rushing yards and receiving yards (Smith and Irvin), and won a wild-card playoff game against the Chicago Bears.
The season came to an end when they encountered the Detroit Lions a game later and were obliterated, 38-6 (and the Lions famously haven’t won a playoff game since).
After recapping a lot of Cowboys’ history, your answer to the question asked at the beginning of the article likely comes down to the following question: how optimistic do you feel about the Cowboys’ defense in 2017?
Clearly a good defense matters quite a bit. The Atlanta Falcons, despite being the league leader in points scored per game in 2016, were beat by the New England Patriots in one of the most humiliating Super Bowl defeats a fan-base has ever witnessed because they couldn’t stop the Patriots from scoring 25 points in a single half.
If the Dallas Cowboys had been in the Falcons’ place, would they have fared any better? What about their 2017 roster as it gets closer to the end of the season?
Dallas will be relying heavily on their 2017 rookie class to make the defense into a respectable unit. And they will get experience against some of the top NFL offenses in the NFL fast.
Their 2017 schedule consists of playing some of the best QBs in the game, including Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, and another appearance from Aaron Rodgers.
Next: Dallas Cowboys - Three keys to another successful season
To ensure I don’t end this article on a negative note, remember this: the Cowboys went from having the 17th ranked defense in yards allowed per game in 1991 to the 1st ranked defense in 1992. Significant change has proven to be possible.
So who do these Dallas Cowboys best resemble to you?