The excitement of organized team or training activities (OTAs) beginning inevitably brings the disappointment of seasons ending. As soon as players start running around and working out together, the injuries begin.
Yesterday what figured to be a bad defense got worse, when oft-injured Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee tore his ACL. Lee, when healthy, is a difference-maker in the middle of the Cowboys defense. Last year Dallas gave up more than 31 points four times, and three of those were games where Lee missed some or all of them due to injury.
It should be noted, though, that Dallas' defense was still pretty bad even with Lee in the lineup. Dallas ranked 26th in points allowed last year, giving up 27 points per game. Lee played in 11 of those games.
Dallas giving up huge points each week should result in plenty of shootouts, although that's not necessarily a rule. Plenty of teams gave up plenty of points last year without being big scorers themselves. Of the 10 teams that gave up the most points in 2013, only three of those offenses ranked higher than 15th in scoring. The numbers on that are below.
The Cowboys, though, were 5th in scoring offense, and it's hard not to believe their lousy defense was a factor in them having to continue to pile up the points.
For Dallas, which was hoping to move Lee from middle linebacker to outside linebacker, Lee's loss is huge. They will likely turn to fourth-rounder Anthony Hitchens, a weak side linebacker in college, as their new middle linebacker (IDP alert). And they'll need to hope somebody else can step up, or it will be another season where their defense gets pushed around by good offenses.
| 2013 SEASON, POINTS ALLOWED (A) VERSUS POINTS SCORED (S) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pts A | Rk | Pts S | Rk |
| Minnesota | 30.0 | 32 | 24.4 | 15 |
| Chicago | 29.9 | 31 | 27.8 | 2 |
| Washington | 29.9 | 30 | 20.9 | 23 |
| Oakland | 28.5 | 29 | 20.1 | 24 |
| Jacksonville | 28.1 | 28 | 15.4 | 32 |
| Atlanta | 27.7 | 27 | 22.1 | 20 |
| Dallas | 27.0 | 26 | 27.4 | 5 |
| Green Bay | 26.8 | 25 | 26.1 | 8 |
| Houston | 26.8 | 24 | 17.3 | 31 |
| Cleveland | 25.4 | 23 | 19.3 | 27 |
| Denver | 24.9 | 22 | 37.9 | 1 |
| Tampa Bay | 24.3 | 21 | 18.0 | 30 |
| Buffalo | 24.3 | 20 | 21.2 | 22 |
| NY Jets | 24.0 | 19 | 18.1 | 29 |
| NY Giants | 23.9 | 18 | 18.4 | 28 |
| Philadelphia | 23.9 | 17 | 27.6 | 4 |
| Tennessee | 23.8 | 16 | 22.6 | 19 |
| Detroit | 23.5 | 15 | 24.7 | 13 |
| Pittsburgh | 23.1 | 14 | 23.7 | 16 |
| St. Louis | 22.8 | 13 | 21.8 | 21 |
| Baltimore | 22.0 | 12 | 20.0 | 25 |
| San Diego | 21.8 | 11 | 24.8 | 12 |
| New England | 21.1 | 10 | 27.8 | 3 |
| Miami | 20.9 | 9 | 19.6 | 26 |
| Indianapolis | 20.4 | 8 | 24.6 | 14 |
| Arizona | 20.3 | 7 | 23.7 | 17 |
| Cincinnati | 19.1 | 5 | 26.9 | 6 |
| Kansas City | 19.1 | 6 | 26.9 | 7 |
| New Orleans | 19.0 | 4 | 25.9 | 10 |
| San Francisco | 17.0 | 3 | 25.4 | 11 |
| Carolina | 15.1 | 2 | 22.9 | 18 |
| Seattle | 14.4 | 1 | 26.1 | 9 |
--Andy Richardson