.... for some reason the article focused on
the Cowboys offense, saying it would be
a "top 7 offense".

Last year, the Cowboys were 4th in points
scored & 11th in offensive yardage. Weak-
nesses included being 3rd-worst in Inter-
ceptions thrown. The article hopes Dak
will improve in that area, saying "Dak Pres-
cott needs to bounce back."

The article hopes Lamb+Cooks+Gallup =
3 1,000 yard receivers. Last year, no team
had 3 1,000 yard receivers & only 5 teams
had just 2 receivers over 1,000 yards, the
Eagles, Seahawks, Bucs, Bengals, Dolphins
(all 5 of those teams made it to the playoffs):
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2022/receiving.htm#receiving::rec_yds

1 Justin Jefferson*+ .... MIN ... 1809
2 Tyreek Hill*+ .............. MIA ... 1710
3 Davante Adams*+ ..... LVR .... 1516
4 A.J. Brown* ............... PHI ..... 1496
5 Stefon Diggs* ............ BUF .... 1429
6 CeeDee Lamb* .......... DAL .... 1359
7 Jaylen Waddle ........... MIA .... 1356
8 Travis Kelce*+ ........... KAN .... 1338
9 DeVonta Smith .......... PHI ..... 1196
10 Terry McLaurin* ........ WAS .... 1191
11 Amon-Ra St. Brown* . DET ..... 1161
12 Amari Cooper ............ CLE ..... 1160
13 Mike Evans ................ TAM .... 1124
14 Christian Kirk ............ JAX ...... 1108
15 Garrett Wilson ........... NYJ ...... 1103
16 D.K. Metcalf .............. SEA ...... 1048
17 Ja'Marr Chase* ......... CIN ....... 1046
18 Chris Olave ................ NOR ..... 1042
19 Tyler Lockett ............. SEA ...... 1033
20 Tee Higgins ............... CIN ....... 1029
21 Chris Godwin ............. TAM ..... 1023
22 Brandon Aiyuk ........... SFO ...... 1015

* Pro Bowl
+ All-Pro

~~~

Defensively, the Cowboys were 5th in few-
est points allowed, 12th in fewest yards
allowed, & 1st in takeaways. Weaknesses
included being 7th-worst in rushing yards
allowed.

All the article says about the Cowboys
defense is "we can probably safely say
the defense will still be elite", neglecting
to mention that rushing yards allowed
shortcoming in 2022.

Hopefully, the addition of 1st round draft
pick DT Mazi Smith, cornerback Stephen
Gilmore, & the return of Leighton Vander
Esch (who missed the last 3 games of
2022 regular season, albeit his standout
year & Pro Bowl appearance happened ...

.... just once, his rookie year of 2018) will
bode well for the Cowboys defense in
2023.

Stephen Gilmore
(peaked in 2019, NFL Defensive Player
of the Year, All-Pro, & 2018, All-Pro;
made Pro Bowl in 2016 & 2018-2021)
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/V/VandLe00.htm

Leighton Vander Esch
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/V/VandLe00.htm

~~~

The Cowboys won all 7 of the games in
which they held the opponent to < 100
rushing yards in 2022. They were 6-6 in
the 12 2022 games where the opponent
rushed for more than 100 yards.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2022.htm

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