With their defense carrying the load, the Dallas Cowboys picked up a big win in their season opener against the Cleveland Browns. We went into the game with certain notions about the strengths and weaknesses of the roster, so how did Week 1 change those perceptions?

Remember, this isn’t a ranking of how the different positions performed in just the previous contest. This is a living list that will change as we move through the year. The first edition was based on past performance and offseason moves, so now we finally have some more concrete evidence of where various Cowboys stand.

1. Guard (Last Week: 1st) – It wasn’t a standout night for the interior line. One of the ugliest plays was actually on Zack Martin, who got beaten badly by Dalvin Tomlinson for an early sack. That was the only glaring breakdown, but we didn’t see much push up front to help the run game either. The guards need a much stronger showing against New Orleans to avoid losing the top spot.
2. Defensive End (LW: 3rd) – It’s not often that DeMarcus Lawrence gets to shine as brightly as Micah Parsons, but both were outstanding in Cleveland. They combined for three sacks and harassed Deshaun Watson all day, including Parsons tipping a pass that led to Eric Kendricks’ interception. Marshawn Kneeland also had a strong debut with a pass deflection and two QB hits.
3. Quarterback (LW: 2nd) – Dak Prescott didn’t have big numbers but he played a clean game despite plenty of pressure. There were a few near misses, but he finished with no turnovers and some pretty throws to CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks. Returning home will help, but the Saints’ defense is stingy against the pass.
4. Linebacker (LW: 8th) – A great debut for Eric Kendricks and DeMarvion Overshown leads to a big jump in the rankings. We said last week that this group was held back by the unknown and, for at least one week, they gave evidence of having gone from a liability to a strength for the defense.
5. Safety (LW: 4th) – It was a quiet night for the safeties but that’s because the front seven was doing most of the damage. They didn’t really get chances to make plays.
6. Cornerback (LW: 7th) – Diggs had a pick, Caelen Carson held up well against Amari Cooper and other Browns receivers, and Jourdan Lewis had a strong game overall. They’ll miss DaRon Bland at some point but the Browns weren’t in a position to make them feel it.
7. Wide Receiver (LW: 5th) – There wasn’t much volume for the receivers but the starters made plays when given chances. Only one catch for Jalen Tolbert was disappointing but he should get more looks in the weeks ahead.
8. Tight End (LW: 6th) – Jake Ferguson’s knee injury was the scariest moment of the game but he appears relatively unscathed. No other TE even got a target.
9. Offensive Tackle (LW: 10th) – Tyler Guyton passed the Myles Garrett test, grading as one of the top rookie OTs in Week 1. We still need to see more in the run blocking from both the rookie and Terence Steele, but they won’t see too many defenses this year as good as Cleveland’s.
10. Center (LW: 11th) – When Tomlinson burst through the line and swallowed Prescott, we all assumed that was on Cooper Beebe. But the rookie center actually gave up no pressures in his debut. He won’t get noticed the same way Guyton does out on the edge, but Beebe’s first outing showed he’s in the right job.
11. Defensive Tackle (LW: 9th) – There were no big plays from the DTs but no major breakdowns either. They tread water this week, holding the Browns’ running game in check but failing to make any singularly noteworthy plays.
12. Running Back (LW: 12th) – If not for a few sweeps by Lamb to boost the average, the rushing offense would’ve averaged just 3.5 yards per carry. Zeke had a few nice plays, leaping a defender and scoring a TD, but it was crickets for the most part in the ground game.

Did we give anyone too much praise, or perhaps not enough? What would your list look like? Share it with us in the comments!

This is going to be a franchise-altering season for the Dallas Stars. 

On the ice, the Stars are Stanley Cup contenders once again. Off it, the team is at the forefront of a new, in-market streaming deal and taking more control of its distribution. The Stars have also been posturing for more control of the off-ice ventures around American Airlines Center. When the Texas legislature meets again in January, which only happens every two years, legalized sports gambling in Texas most likely will be heavily discussed. That could be a boon event for the NHL franchise when it comes to additional revenue streams and sponsorship. As if all of that weren’t enough, the Stars are also helping USA Hockey host the 2025 IIHF Under-18 World Championships in Frisco and Allen, a move that will make Texas the center of the NHL scouting world next spring. 

While there are some major risks with the TV deal, the franchise has positioned itself to be more of a power player in the NHL on and off the ice. 

With that in mind, I wanted to take a deeper look within the organization to see who wields that influence when it comes to everything in the team’s orbit–a power ranking in the most literal sense of the term. 

“Power” for this exercise essentially relates to the pull and clout an individual has. How much does his or her decision impact everyone else? The easy answer for lead billing is Tom Gaglardi, who will top this list every year he owns the team. So for the sake of creating some suspense–and, who knows, maybe this becomes an annual project–we’ll exclude him from this exercise. Everyone else is fair game. To be clear, this is my ranking and my interpretation based on 12 years covering the franchise. But I also reached out to members of the organization both to check my work and to build a more comprehensive picture.

Here’s who shapes the Stars into who they are:

13. Damon Boettcher, Senior Vice President, StarCenter Facilities 

One of the key reasons the Stars have succeeded in North Texas has been the building and operation of the rinks. The Stars have eight of them across North Texas, and those rinks have also been praised by USA Hockey, which in turn has helped the Stars land IIHF international events and USA Hockey national tournament. It’s telling that when consulting with people in the organization for this story, Boettcher’s name was brought up often by people on both the business and hockey sides.

12. Daryl Reaugh, Stars broadcaster 

Yes, a broadcaster made the list. No solely local broadcaster in the NHL wields as much power within an organization as Reaugh, who is believed to be one of the highest-paid local broadcasters in the NHL. The Stars’ radio with the Ticket is highly contingent on Reaugh being part of the broadcast, and he’s going to be one of the stars of the new Victory+ platform. In addition, Reaugh is involved in many non-broadcast business decisions, including being in the room for all branding and jersey design meetings. All of that plays into why he has turned down multiple national opportunities to stay in Dallas.

11. Jake Oettinger, Stars goalie 

The Stars have reached the final four in back-to-back springs, and Oettinger has played a major role in their getting that far. He also has played a role in their going home early: Oettinger was outplayed by his counterpart in both of those matchups. The 25-year-old has had stretches where he plays himself into “best goalie in the world” conversation, and he’s a pending restricted free agent. His play this season will determine whether the Stars take the next step as a Cup contender, as well as how much of the salary cap he’ll eat up next summer. 

10. Pete DeBoer, Head Coach 

DeBoer would probably be higher on this list, but the fickle nature of NHL coaching makes it hard for anyone in this position to wield long-term power. Still, DeBoer is one of the NHL’s highest-paid coaches at $4.25 million per season, the highest of any coach without a Stanley Cup ring. He will largely determine which way things go on the ice this season, which in turn impacts the long-term effectiveness of decisions Jim Nill has made, most recently the bet to bring back Nils Lundkvist as a restricted free agent. 

9. Joe McDonnell, Director of Amateur Acouting 

McDonnell runs the draft, and he has been on a heater in recent years with Dallas landing Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, and Mavrik Bourque with picks well outside the top 10 in addition to building the team’s core by landing Oettinger, Miro Heiskanen, and Jason Robertson in 2017. His next chapter comes with an added degree of difficulty: McDonnell lost his second-in-command this summer when Mark Leach was hired away to run amateur scouting for the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

8. Therese Baird, Chief Financial Officer

Baird worked for the Stars in the 1990s and rejoined the franchise in 2018 as the CFO. She is responsible for managing financial operations of the team, budgeting, and compliance within NHL rules on various projects. The fact that you don’t know her name means she’s doing her job well.

7. Matt Bowman, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer 

Bowman has been with the Stars for more than 12 years, moving his way up from a vice president role in ticket sales to Chief Revenue Officer. Bowman has been a key voice in conversations on the financial sustainability of the Victory+ platform and is helping lead in the marketing of the venture. 

6. Scott White, Assistant GM/Texas Stars GM 

Based on his work building a consistent contender in the AHL with the Texas Stars, it’s always a bit surprising to me that White’s name doesn’t come up in GM conversations. White has been tasked with delivering a winning product in the AHL while also being a key figure who has helped the Stars in college free agent signings over the years. He has delivered on both counts.

5. Rich Peverley, Director of Player Personnel 

Peverley has shot up the ranks of the organization during his post-playing career. He’s now effectively a third assistant GM as the Director of Player Personnel, in which he works with both player development and professional decisions, he’s a key part of Jim Nill’s brain trust when it comes to shaping the team. Many believe Peverley will one day be an NHL general manager, potentially even as Nill’s heir apparent. 

Walsh has been in the Stars universe since 1996, first working in production and entertainment for two decades before spending another decade as a vice president and executive producer on Stars broadcast with FOX Sports Southwest/BallySports. Walsh is now the Chief Operating Officer for sports for APMC and will largely be responsible for the success or failure of Victory+ as the team’s next broadcast platform. 

3. Andy Scott, agent, Octagon Athlete Representation 

You probably don’t know who Andy Scott is, but he is the person Nill has dealt the most with this summer. Scott represents Thomas Harley, who is an unsigned restricted free agent and whose next deal will greatly impact the Stars’ cap situation for the short and long term. Scott is also Wyatt Johnston’s agent and the man Dallas will be dealing with as it prepares to lock in its top-line center of the future. Those two deals will most likely determine a ton about the future makeup of the roster, both for what it means for two franchise cornerstones as well as the trickle-down effect of whether the team can afford to keep other long-time Stars, including Jamie Benn, in Dallas. 

2. Jim Nill, Stars general manager 

Nill is the third-longest tenured GM in the league and is effectively responsible for the Stars’ culture. One of Nill’s greatest strengths as a GM has been his commitment to short- and long-term planning: he lives by the mantra that his job is to worry about the state of the franchise today, tomorrow and five years from now. If not for the unusual swath of business issues surrounding the team this season, he’d be No. 1 on this list. 

1. Brad Alberts, Stars President and Chief Executive Officer 

All of the Stars’ day-to-day operations effectively run through Alberts. He’s also the person who greenlights the ability to take big swings on projects like the 2020 Winter Classic, the Victory+ streaming deal, and working with USA Hockey to land the Under-18s. And whenever Nill steps down, Alberts will be a key part of the group that will appoint his successor. 

Three years in, the Dallas Police Department’s leaders say their plan to reduce violent crime is paying off.

New numbers show overall violence is down more than 19% compared to the three years before the plan started.

Still, after a South Oak Cliff High School student was shot near campus on Monday, some in the community say there’s more work to be done to make Dallas safe.

Minutes before students were dismissed at South Oak Cliff High School, an emergency broke out down the street.

“I heard like four or five gunshots very loud,” said Roberto Arellano, who lives on Overton Avenue.

A Dallas ISD official told NBC 5 that a freshman student was at nearby South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park when she was shot and ran back to campus to seek medical help.

The school held up dismissal while police launched an investigation.

Dallas ISD officials said the victim was not believed to be the target. Dallas police said the student was grazed by a bullet and would survive.

“It weighs very heavy on our hearts, most definitely,” said Carolyn King Arnold, Dallas City Council representative for District 4. “Because we keep seeing the headlines of young people whose lives are being taken at a very, very early age.”

The shooting came three days after Kimball High School senior David Washington was shot and killed in south Dallas, with a 16-year-old now charged with his murder.

On Monday, Dallas police leaders gave an update on the city’s overall state of violent crime.

“All of your usual crime counts are down year to year,” said UTSA professor Dr. Michael Smith, an architect of the city’s violent crime reduction plan.

Dallas Police leaders said violent crime in Dallas was down 19.2% from 2021 to 2024 compared to the three years before.

They said it was the impact of the police department’s violent crime reduction plan, an ongoing effort made up of three phases: Hotspot Policing, a grid system that assigns more officers to high-crime areas in the city; Place Network Investigations, which sends code enforcement and investigators to problem apartment complexes; and Focused Deterrence, which helps get resources to people deemed high risk for violent behavior.

“This crime plan would not work if the men and women of this department did not buy in,” said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia. “They have completely bought in; they’re doing tremendous work.”

The numbers weren’t all positive: data showed the total number of homicides from 2021-24 was up 7% compared to the three years before the plan.

But murders in Dallas this year were down nearly 25% compared to 2023, and police said they hoped to expand this violent crime plan.

“Our hope is that this is going to be a longstanding, that this is going to be in the fiber of the Dallas Police Department where it’s about building stronger communities,” said Garcia.

On Monday, NBC 5 also learned for the first time how much that violent crime plan is costing the City of Dallas: Garcia said police have spent a total of $24 million since 2021 to implement and run the effort.