Jason Garrett: Cowboys made ‘great strides’ during offseason
By Mike Dyce
The Dallas Cowboys lackluster season, and third consecutive 8-8 record meant the offseason would start early for them as they missed out on the playoffs yet again. Because of salary cap issues the Cowboys were once again spectators during free agency. Still, Jerry Jones is giving head coach Jason Garrett another chance with a new set of coordinators.
They saw veteran and defensive leader DeMarcus Ware leave for the Denver Broncos after being released, couldn’t afford to keep Jason Hatcher who signed with divisional rivals Washington Redskins. They replaced them and bolstered their defensive line with free agency spare parts Terrell McClain and Henry Melton, as well as drafting DeMarcus Lawrence.
If you were grading the Cowboys’ offseason, they probably wouldn’t score that well. Garrett would disagree with that and has a different view of the
“We’ve made great strides here over the course of the offseason,” Garrett said, via Rainer Sabin of the Dallas Morning News. “I like how our team works and now it’s time for them to get away from it and come back recharged, ready to go, and get ready for training camp.”
Rampant optimism at this time of year is always abound as teams think this season will be better than the last, true of every team in the league. But to hear the adjective “great” used instead of a more subtle we got better or we improved is interesting.