I have been doing this for many seasons now and I want everyone to know that I have a perfect record so far when it comes to season predictions.
Hopefully, that will change this year and I get one right.
Anyway,
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1. Tyler Smith will be mostly successful at LT. He will have early season struggles but will improve incrementally as the season progresses. His only issue will be penalties. Although they will be more frequent than they should be, they will not be crippling and he won't be one of the league's leaders in that category.
2. While everyone was focusing on LT prior to the season, they will have some issues at RT. Steele will struggle and they will eventually attempt to fix the issue by replacing him with a veteran RT that may or may not already be on the team.
3. Jason Peters will not be a factor on the field for the Dallas Cowboys.
4. By the end of the season it will be clear that the Cowboys won't need Dalton Schultz. One of the rookie TE's will produce beyond expectations.
5. CeeDee Lamb will flat out dominate. He will set a new Cowboys record for both receptions and yardage. Tolbert will not contribute to the degree that most are assuming. His rookie season will be very up and down. Brown will surprise. Gallup will take time before returning to his previous level of productivity. However, he will be very valuable during the playoffs.
6. The 2nd leading receiver on the team will be Pollard. It will become clear that the Cowboys will have to make a very difficult decision after the season. He will prove to be a very valuable asset in the playoffs.
7. Zeke Elliot will have more carries this season than any other in his career. His average yards per carry will return to around 4.3 and his receiving numbers will be about 60 receptions, slightly less than his 2018 numbers. However, his greatest improvement will be in TD's where he will set a new personal record. Zeke will truly be a workhorse in the 2022 regular season. It will be his last as a Cowboy. Fatigue will hit him in January. Pollard will pick up in the running game at that time.
8. The offense this regular season will be all about the "triplets", Dak, Zeke, and CeeDee. The playoffs will be all about the "other" guys rising to the occasion while opponents focus on the triplets
9. The defensive turnovers will be less than the previous season, but not drastically. However, they will be more evenly distributed and not concentrated to one DB. There may be as many as three players with 5 or more INT's.
10. The greatest improvement on the team will be the run defense as the DT group greatly improves from the previous season. One of the DT's will get to the Pro Bowl.
11. Injuries to the LB squad will force Parsons to be used more as a LB although he will continue to pass rush on occasion. This will turn out to be a blessing in disguise as the Cowboys discover the benefits of utilizing Parson's diverse set of talents. He may not achieve the sack goals given to him by fans but he will make up for that in generating more turnovers than last season.
12. Special teams will represent both ends of the spectrum. Turpin will burst onto the scene early, recede a little in the middle of the season and return to high productivity in the last quarter of the season. Maher will be inconsistent, and the Cowboys will continue to look at other kickers only to keep Maher.
13. The Eagles will flatline but there will be a surprise team in the division. The Cowboys will look as though they are running away with the divisional title only to experience some hardships in the middle of the season as the Commanders catch up. The "least in the east" will have the last laugh as the Commanders and Cowboys will have the best and second best records in the NFC. To everyone's shock, game #17 against the Commanders will not only decide the division but also the #1 seeding in the conference. The Cowboys will win a close game.
14. The Cowboys will proceed beyond the divisional round of the playoffs. The results of the conference championship will be razor thin, no prediction here.
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This is all for laughs and giggles, don't take it too seriously. I obviously didn't.
My worse historical predictions:
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– Jason Garrett will be remembered as the "next great innovator" and will go down in history as an equal to Tom Landry and Jimmy Johnson.
– Bruce Carter will go down in history as the second coming of Lawrence Taylor.
– The Cowboys will win the Super Bowl in 2010 while becoming the first team to play in their own stadium.
– Stephen McGee will take over for an injured Tony Romo in 2011 and succeed in keeping the starting job.
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