Cowboys Ride Into Tampa As 6 Point Favorites To Begin Season

NFL News - September 9th, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

Before the Dallas Cowboys will officially be able to unveil their new stadium, they must first travel to Tampa to face the Buccaneers on Sunday. This game will be a chance for the Buccaneers to exact revenge against Dallas which nipped them by a score of 13-9 in week 8 of the 2008 season. Both the Buccaneers and the Cowboys have made moves during the off season. The Buccaneers are currently in a rebuilding mode while the Cowboys are trying to find the combination to lead them to a Super Bowl victory.

Dallas Head Coach Wade Phillips is once again in charge of leading the Cowboys in the 2009 NFL Season. QB Tony Romo is back once again, but this time without Jessica Simpson. Romo looks to take a more active leadership role with the team this season. Gone is distraction WR Terrell Owens. T.O. signed a contract in the offseason with the Buffalo Bills and will be spending his time close to the border. With Owens gone, WR Roy Williams will be the Cowboys go to receiver on the team with the exception of TE Jason Witten. Witten and Romo love to hook up, and would like to regain the chemistry they showed in 2007. Another 'Thunder and Lightning' duo exists in Dallas in the form of RB Marion Barber, the Thunder, and RB Felix Jones, the Lightning. The Cowboys' offense should be quite formidable in 2009. On defense, the Cowboys brought in LB Keith Brooking from the Atlanta Falcons as well as DE Igor Olshansky from the Chargers. Dallas will no longer have the distraction of DB Adam 'Pacman' Jones, who has yet to catch on in the NFL of CFL. Former 1st round pick, S Roy Williams, is also gone to the Cincinnati Bengals meaning the '09 Cowboys' defense will look much different.

The Buccaneers will have trouble across the board this year. Gone is the John Gruden era of Buccaneers' football which is being replaced by the very young Raheem Morris brand. Morris, new Head Coach of the Buccaneers, will likely struggle to find a new identity for his team. Also gone from the coaching staff is defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who left to join his son, Lane, at the University of Tennessee. The rest of the 2009 Buccaneers will look quite different as well. LB Derrick Brooks, RB Warrick Dunn, WR Joey Galloway, and QB Jeff Garcia have departed. Taking some of their places will be RB Derrick Ward, QB Byron Leftwich, and TE Kellen Winslow. The Buccaneers will likely struggle on offense but do plans for the future in QB Josh Freeman, 1st round pick in 2009 NFL draft. Once healthy, WR Antonio Bryant will be back as the Buccaneers top receiver but it is unknown how many touches he will get. Byron Leftwich will lead the offense, going into the 2009 campaign, but should he struggle, the rookie could get an opportunity to start. CB Ronde Barber, and CB Aqib Talib will be in charge of shutting down the passing lanes. The Bucs are looking to answer many questions in Week 1, however it is going to be a work in progress.

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