Cowboys need to avoid injuries for success

Twice in the last three days, Stephen Jones has given his thoughts on the best way for the Dallas Cowboys to improve on their 8-8 finish to the 2012 season. Drafting well has obviously been mentioned but even that has taken a back seat to his ultimate deciding factor – improved health.

Only the Washington Redskins and Green Bay Packers were hit harder by injuries than the Cowboys last season. By the end of December, Dallas was without defensive starters Sean Lee, Bruce Carter, Jay Ratliff and Barry Church. Nickel cornerback Orlando Scandrick also had his season ended prematurely because of injury and DeMarcus Ware played through multiple setbacks, which included a right shoulder that was surgically repaired in January.

Jones, the club's executive vice president, said Friday that he expects all of them to be healthy and ready to participate in training camp.

"Obviously, we got our eyes on not only getting them healthy but keeping them healthy," Jones told the Elf & Slater Show on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. "We got some good ideas on that in terms of how we're going to manage different players. I've said from the beginning, the best way we can improve upon our football team from last year is keep guys healthy. That had to be one of our toughest years in terms of the number of injuries, especially to really good football players. If we can really do a better job there then I like our chances of making some significant improvements on 8-8."

Jones made similar comments on the Elf & Slater show on Tuesday, saying that the Cowboys "have a chance to be a lot better football team if some of our key guys could come back and have a full year this year."

He's probably correct. If Lee and Carter played all season and Ware had full use of both arms, the Cowboys likely would've won a couple more games and reached the postseason. On the other hand, if those guys stay healthy in 2013 and Tony Romo is injured because a poor offensive line fails to provide adequate protection, then the Cowboys aren't any better than 2012.

The defense probably won't be hit as hard by injuries, however, upgrades on the offensive line are required if the Cowboys want a decent chance of keeping Romo under center for 16 games.

Follow Jon Machota on Twitter: @jonmachota