Dallas Cowboys 2016 Season Preview

(photo credit: sportsday.dallasnews.com)

The Dallas Cowboys are heading into the 2016 season coming off their worst season since 1989 when they went 1-15 with a rookie quarterback named Troy Aikman. Last year's quarterback, Tony Romo, only played in two games, while only managing to play in less than three quarters of two other games. As in 2010, Romo broke his left collarbone. Romo wasn't the only causality of last year's 4-12 team. Star wide receiver Dez Bryant and Orlando Scandrick also missed games. Between Romo, Bryant and Scandrick, they missed a combined 35 games.

For the Cowboys to have any chance in 2016, they need their 36-year-old quarterback to stay on the field. Even though Romo enters the season fully recovered from his injury, the Cowboys would prefer not to have Romo shoulder the load. Dallas can ill afford to have their franchise quarterback go down yet again. With only Kellen Moore and rookie Dak Prescott behind Romo, they would find themselves in the same boat as last year if he goes down. Even though Romo isn't quite the quarterback he once was, he can still produce at an elite level, but this year he should have more help.

The Cowboys drafted running back Ezekiel Elliott out of Ohio State with the fourth overall pick, and Dallas hopes he can be the difference maker. The Cowboys have arguably the best offensive line in the NFL which helped enable Darren McFadden to rush for over a 1,000 yards last season. So the Cowboys expect the former Buckeye, McFadden and their off-season signing of Alfred Morris to lead this offense.

Having Dez Bryant back completely healthy is just as important as having a healthy Tony Romo back. Bryant is one of the elite receivers in the league who requires double-coverage the majority of the time, which opens up other receivers for Romo to find. Those other targets include receivers Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley who can be extremely effective when Romo has a healthy Bryant to dictate coverages. Even though tight end Jason Witten isn't as effective as he used to be, he's still only a season removed from being the NFL's second-highest graded tight end, and will be an integral part of the offense.

Dallas' defense will be handicapped to begin the season due to suspensions. Middle linebacker Rolando McClain will miss the first ten games of the season, as will both of their starting defensive ends who are out for the first four games. Expect the Cowboys front-seven to struggle if their defense spends a lot of time on the field.

The Cowboys secondary was one of the worst units in the league last season, allowing a combined 14 touchdowns, while failing to intercept a single pass. Having Orlando Scandrick back should provide a huge lift for a suspect secondary. Last year's rookie, Byron Jones, will have to step up his game if he is to have an impact. Both Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne were suppose to lock down the secondary, but have failed to live up to the hype to this point. But both will have a significant role in the Cowboys secondary yet again, and this season they need to make their presence felt.

Luckily for the Cowboys they play in a relatively weak NFC East division. If they're able to successfully run the football and keep their defense off the field, than there's no reason why shouldn't compete for a division title.