Jason Garrett: 2015 Cowboys squad influenced by '90s dynasty

Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett stopped short of comparing his current roster to the Cowboys teams of the mid-90s, but those teams played a role in the construction of his current squad.

"I'm not one to make comparisons," Garrett said on KTCK-AM, per The Dallas Morning News, "and certainly don't want to make comparisons with a team that won three Super Bowls in four years. But I was a part of those teams and was influenced significantly by those teams. So much of why those teams were so good was how they played and the makeup of those rosters. Having a big, strong physical offensive line where you can run the football, having playmakers outside; having a quarterback who plays at a high level; having a defense that can really run, make plays and take the ball away.

"Those are all models that I live with, and we had a lot of success here during that time. You can never really recreate another team based on an earlier team, but I do think you can learn from the experiences you've had."

In 2014, the Cowboys finished as the third-best unit in pass protection and the second-best in run blocking, per Pro Football Focus. The team returns all five starters on the line, and talented rookie La'el Collins will compete to upgrade their weakest starter Ronald Leary at left guard. The only piece of the model that seems to be missing is at running back. Instead of trying to find one back like they had in the mid-90s with Emmitt Smith, they will turn to a committee that features several unproven backs.

(h/t Dallas Morning News)

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