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Cowboys: FAIL

I know that the first few weeks of the NFL season are the most over analyzed weeks of any sport in North America. With that in mind, the preseason is not that far behind. The games mean nothing, teams are playing at half speed and everyone is just hoping not to get hurt.

With that being said, the more I look at the 2012 version of the Cowboys, the more I see a team that will have a LOT of problems in the coming season.

First off injuries. Most of them (with the exception of Jason Witten) seem to be minor. But the problem is they are beginning to pile up. Miles Austin's reoccurring hamstring problems are of concern because they don't seem to get better and he is a MUST for the offense to be productive this season. If he cant go...its ALL on Dez, and that's not something anyone wants to see.

Secondly, the offensive line. If you aren't worried about this as a Cowboys fan, you are CRAZY! Three of the 5 needed to have a basic offensive line are HUGE question marks at best and most of them are hurt anyway. Tyron Smith is a corner stone, but the others are up in the air. Even Doug Free, whom the Cowboys paid big money to last season, didn't play up to expectations to say the least.

Just watch the first preseason game against the Raiders to see what I mean. Romo was sacked twice in the 7 plays he ran. Murray ran twice for 1 yard before Garrett said enough. This group needs to come up with answers quick or the team is dead in the water.

Thirdly, last year. Last year has left such a bad taste in my mouth, I am not sure if this years team can do much to change that. Other than Brandon Carr and Mo Claiborne, how is this team any different? Is the defense going to be that much better with those two? Where is the pressure from the defensive line going to come from? I just don't see this team defensively being THAT much better.

And how is it that I am suppose to have faith that Garrett will be a better coach because he has last year to build on? He is saying and doing the same things, but what does that mean? 8-8? I don't really have much faith in this coaching staff to make this team a playoff team, much less a Super Bowl contender.

So unless I see something in the next few weeks that blows my mind, I think the Cowboys will once again miss the playoffs. The Giants and Eagles are clearly better. The Redskins are on their way up. So once again, we are in for a LONG season, full of excuses and what's more...losses.

(© Copyright 2012 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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