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Dallas Cowboys: Three biggest positives from the 2017 season

By Tyrone Starr

ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 05: Members of the the Dallas Cowboys defense huddle before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at AT
ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 05: Members of the the Dallas Cowboys defense huddle before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at AT /
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ARLINGTON, TX – NOVEMBER 23: Tyrell Williams #16 of the Los Angeles Chargers catches a pass as Anthony Brown #30 of the Dallas Cowboys and Xavier Woods #25 of the Dallas Cowboys try to defend in the third quarter at AT&T Stadium on November 23, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Williams ran in for a touchdown after the catch. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – NOVEMBER 23: Tyrell Williams #16 of the Los Angeles Chargers catches a pass as Anthony Brown #30 of the Dallas Cowboys and Xavier Woods #25 of the Dallas Cowboys try to defend in the third quarter at AT&T Stadium on November 23, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. Williams ran in for a touchdown after the catch. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The youthful secondary’s baptism by fire

Last year, the Dallas Cowboys secondary was in a state of flux.  Long time veterans were all heading towards free agency.  The Cowboys could have made the decision to resign a few and continue the direction they were going or blow things up.

Dallas took option number two.

The Cowboys used four draft picks to rebuild a secondary in need of a makeover.  Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis, Xavier Woods and Marquez White were all brought in.  Joining second year guys Anthony Brown and Kavon Frazier, the Cowboys secondary had a whole new look.

As you might expect, things did not take off immediately.  Awuzie & Lewis were hurt all throughout training camp.  White did not make the team but did make the practice squad.  Frazier and Woods did not see much playing time early on.

In fact, things did not really seem to gel until after Thanksgiving.  Once the decision was made to give Frazier and Woods more playing time, things took off.  All of a sudden, a healthy Awuzie and Lewis became starters.

The defense allowed just 171.8 yards and 12.4 points per game over the final five. The headlining accomplishment being a shut out of Philadelphia to end the season.

Due to this, the Dallas Cowboys can now be quite optimistic about their secondary in 2018.

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