I have Dallas winning the NFC East this season. They have all the pieces to the puzzle in place, including a much-improved defense.

The Cowboys upgraded their team with Ken Hamlin at free safety, Leonard Davis at right guard, Anthony Spencer at defensive end and former Super Bowl QB Brad Johnson backing up starter Tony Romo.

Johnson, a 15-year veteran, brings leadership qualities that will undoubtedly help Romo, who went 5-1 in his first six starts under center last season but ended the season 1-4, including a playoff loss.

The Cowboys offensive line is extremely solid this season and should provide lots of protection for Romo and open up the running game that ranked No. 13 in the NFL last season. Team owner Jerry Jones calls this O-line the best he has seen since the 1995 Super Bowl season.

The Cowboys will likely make their fullback a bigger part of the running game in 2007. Lousaka Polite will probably get the starting FB job, while Julius Jones will again be the No. 1 running back and will share third-and-goal duties with Marion Barber.

The receiving corps for the Cowboys is getting up there in age with Terry Glenn turning 33 at the start of the 2007 season and Terrell Owens turning 34 at mid-season. But this is still the best wideout combo in the NFL when both receivers are healthy.

Patrick Crayton will be the third WR for the Cowboys with Pro Bowl TE Jason Witten and rookie TE Anthony Fasano making up the rest of the receiving corps. I'll be looking for Coach Wade Phillips to utilize the tight ends more than Bill Parcells did last season.

The Cowboys defense will be a lot better this season with Coach Phillips. He is defensive-minded and he will definitely be able to get more out of his defensive players than Parcells did. Look for better production out of DEs Marcus Spears and Chris Canty, who combined for just 59 tackles and two sacks last season.

The Cowboys 10-year veteran DT Jason Ferguson was the top linemen last season and I look for him to perform even better this season as he continues to earn his $21.5 million. I also look for LB DeMarcus Ware to have a huge season under Coach Phillips and be the MVP on the defense.

On the negative side, the linebacker corps was hurt last season by the absence of Greg Ellis, who has yet to train this preseason. Ultimately, Dallas will really need him to be healthy this season.

The Cowboys defensive backs will be a lot better thanks to the key addition of Hamlin, whose presence at free safety will allow S Roy Williams to play closer to the line of scrimmage. A healthy Anthony Henry and Terence Newman should also improve this season.

Overall this is a solid Cowboys team with an improved defense and, in my opinion, an improved head coach. Last season the Dallas defense was ranked No. 20 in points allowed and No. 24 against the pass. The Boys need a defensive-minded coach like Phillips.

I'm taking Dallas to win the NFC East.
 

Vernon Croy
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