The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2017 season with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. This was based, primarily, on the fact a potent offense fueled by young playmakers was returning largely intact. The defense wasn’t quite as powerful but hopes were a generally average unit, augmented by a talented group of youngsters, could perhaps be a top-10 unit.
A preseason grade of each unit of the team based on two factors (quality and confidence) might have yield the following results:
Both columns use a 1-5 grade:
Rating:
- 4 = good
- 3 = average
- 2 = poor
- 1 = very bad
Confidence level reflects how confident we are each unit will meet expectations:
- 5 = very confident
- 4 = quite confident
- 3 = reasonably confident
- 2 = somewhat confident
- 1 = not confident
We had confident expectations the running backs and offensive line would be elite, just as they were in 2016.