National Football League

32 to 1: How long will the No. 24 Cowboys remain mediocre? (VIDEO)

Published Jul. 9, 2014 12:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Mike Garafolo

Jerry Jones isn't a big fan of mediocrity, which hasn't been great for him because that's what his team has been the last three seasons: 8-8 (read: mediocre).

The Cowboys spend enough to stay in contention. They have good enough personnel evaluators and coaches to win their share of games. And quarterback Tony Romo, for all of his faults in crunch time, makes enough plays to spark an offense. The Cowboys just haven't had enough to get themselves over the hump and anywhere near the true competitiveness they displayed as a franchise in the 1990s.

Looking at the moves they've made in the offseason, as well as the unfortunate loss of linebacker Sean Lee to a torn ACL on the first day of OTAs, it seems the Cowboys will have to do some work to get on the plus side of .500 this year. Cutting DeMarcus Ware creates a huge talent and leadership void on defense. The Cowboys added defensive tackle Henry Melton and end Jeremy Mincey, but depth on that side of the ball just doesn't seem to be there.

On offense, the Cowboys made no splashy moves and will likely ask rookie guard Zack Martin to step right in and start. The team will need a monster season from Dez Bryant, who has had 90-plus catches in each of the past two seasons to go with 25 total touchdowns. And who knows? Maybe second-year tight end Gavin Escobar will sneak up as a secondary threat to Jason Witten, thus giving the Cowboys another weapon to cover.

As it stands, this looks to be an interesting season for Jones, who has shown plenty of support for head coach Jason Garrett. At some point, mediocrity just won't cut it for Garrett, Jones, Romo and the rest of the organization.

Disagree with our ranking? Vote for your own rankings right here and visit our 32 to 1 index page to keep track of the teams as they are revealed.

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League