Dallas Cowboys Discussion

[leroyisgod]

I haven't noticed the name Kendall Langford pop up at all. Might be someone to look at.

[TheFinisher]

Texans have come out and said they will not be franchising Super Mario if they cannot agree on a new contract. His number would be around 23 Mil if they franchised him. It's gonna be pretty interesting to see what happens there. Their cap number heading into the season was hovering right around 120, so they're gonna have to try and get creative if they want to re-sign both Foster AND Williams. They also have Chris Meyers to re-sign who is a key anchor to their dominant running game.

If Mario hits the open market it's going to be a feeding frenzy, but we'll have the room to offer him a monster contract if we want to make a play.

[leroyisgod]

Texans have come out and said they will not be franchising Super Mario if they cannot agree on a new contract. His number would be around 23 Mil if they franchised him. It's gonna be pretty interesting to see what happens there. Their cap number heading into the season was hovering right around 120, so they're gonna have to try and get creative if they want to re-sign both Foster AND Williams. They also have Chris Meyers to re-sign who is a key anchor to their dominant running game.

If Mario hits the open market it's going to be a feeding frenzy, but we'll have the room to offer him a monster contract if we want to make a play.

To me this is a very interesting proposition. If we go after Mario it might only leave enough cash for maybe one other decent FA. I'd feel more comfortable with it if there was a CB in the first round that I'm excited about, but there's not at 14. Maybe if we trade back into the mid 20's I'd be fine with taking Kirkpatrick if he runs a solid 40 time at the combine. But then again if we do not address G/C in FA, I'd want us to grab someone in the draft that can start from day one.

[E-Man]

I love Mario, but I wouldn't want them to overpay for him. If they overpay for someone I'd want it to be Nicks, but even then I wouldn't want them to do that. There are too many areas of need to fill.

[MetSox17]

I just want Michael Griffin, a solid option at CB and a fatbody to plug in at NT. I'd be a very happy camper if we did that in free agency and took the best talent available to us in the draft. That would give us a ton more flexibility in the first to either move down or completely out of the first, or simply take BPA. This really is one year where we're stuck in that second tier of players in the draft where we could benefit greatly from moving out of the first.

[pocketaces]

Here's a good read about our D and how they use Rat and formations.

http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2012/02/cowboys-email-bag-with-pat-kirwan.html

[Trogdor]

Holy gawd. Who do I need to pay for next season to make sure fumbles never bounce to an opponent? If we could set that deal up I like our chances :)

[leroyisgod]

Holy gawd. Who do I need to pay for next season to make sure fumbles never bounce to an opponent? If we could set that deal up I like our chances :)

I hear ya, but also notice how the Giants players were hustling towards the ball too.

[leroyisgod]

Here's a good read about our D and how they use Rat and formations.

http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2012/02/cowboys-email-bag-with-pat-kirwan.html

Interesting read. I think Bob's priorities for the off-season are pretty close to what I personally think. I'd say that you cannot forget about another OLB in there too, but hard to disagree with his top three. Interesting to see him defend Elam. I'm not opposed to bringing Elam back for a year and drafting someone to eventually replace him.

[Macarthur]

I think it's even more evident after tonight that we have to fix the pass rush. I think we have to sign someone like Mathis or Avril and STILL draft someone in the front 7 early.

[Bonzai]

Holy gawd. Who do I need to pay for next season to make sure fumbles never bounce to an opponent? If we could set that deal up I like our chances :)
I thought I was the only one that notices that, its unreal. Against us, the miners, now the pats there were multiple fumbles that should have not gone their way, yet they did EVERY TIME!

[yanksknicks]

7 inexplicable mistakes were the difference for the Gmen. Any one of these goes the other way ....

1) Romo to Austin miss
2) 2 fumbles on PR in SF
3) Forward progress fumble in SF
4) 2 fumbles in the open field recovered in the SB
5) Welker drop

Any one of those 7 go the other way and no party in NY. These are events that had nothing to do with the GMen executing, just a bounce here or there or an opponent dumb mistake.

To me it shows just how little difference their is between a 6-10 team (which the GMen were this year) and being a SB Winner. Frankly, I am still dumbfounded by the genie they got in the bottle. Very unlucky with injuries early in the season but dear god every single bounce went their way and Eli Manning made almost ZERO mistakes in 6 straight games.

Charmed life indeed in NY ... at least the Champs are in the NFC East. Only goes to show you what confidence might mean for this team if it ever got tough enough and stop making dumb mistakes.

[Damix]

I'm not sure how we are a 6-10 team when our record says 9-7.

[bigbluedefense]

You make your own luck in this league. If Hynoski quits on the play, he's not in position to recover the fumble. Ditto for Snee.

These things are coached. Dallas needs a culture change if you want to see changes.

[D-Unit]

You make your own luck in this league. If Hynoski quits on the play, he's not in position to recover the fumble. Ditto for Snee.

These things are coached. Dallas needs a culture change if you want to see changes.
Yes, you make some of your own luck, but you don't make all of it.

I don't think lazy players are the issue as much as incapable players are. I liked our effort. Just didn't like thier talent deficiencies.

Except Romo... talent is there, he just needs a brain.

[Trogdor]

You make your own luck in this league. If Hynoski quits on the play, he's not in position to recover the fumble. Ditto for Snee.

These things are coached. Dallas needs a culture change if you want to see changes.

^_^ I'll buy that coaching puts you in position but opponents making mistakes has nothing to do with making your own luck. Giants did an excellent job riding momentum and capitalizing on the opportunities they were afforded. No one is taking away from that.

I simply made an observation that someone in the organization sold their soul for this season :) Hit replay on any of the situations from Yanks and I guarantee at least half go the other way. That's the way it works but none of it involves "making your own luck".

I know you are a major JG supporter so I'm unsure as to why the parting shot at Dallas. He's majorly changed the attitude of the team after years of influence from Mr. Awshuck's camp cupcake routine -_-

[D-Unit]

^_^ I'll buy that coaching puts you in position but opponents making mistakes has nothing to do with making your own luck. Giants did an excellent job riding momentum and capitalizing on the opportunities they were afforded. No one is taking away from that.

I simply made an observation that someone in the organization sold their soul for this season :) Hit replay on any of the situations from Yanks and I guarantee at least half go the other way. That's the way it works but none of it involves "making your own luck".

I know you are a major JG supporter so I'm unsure as to why the parting shot at Dallas. He's majorly changed the attitude of the team after years of influence from Mr. Awshuck's camp cupcake routine -_-
I know NYG=NYGiants is a big Garrett fan, but not sure about BBD.

Garrett changed some of the culture by getting rid of some folks, but he didn't change anything in regards to the playcalling and imo, that's still his biggest hurdle. Hoping Callahan challenges him and takes him to a new level.

[Trogdor]

I know NYG=NYGiants is a big Garrett fan, but not sure about BBD.

Garrett changed some of the culture by getting rid of some folks, but he didn't change anything in regards to the playcalling and imo, that's still his biggest hurdle. Hoping Callahan challenges him and takes him to a new level.

Ah gotcha. -_- Extremely long day guess I wasn't paying enough attention :D


On Garrett though I'm in 100% agreement with his playcalling. I'm hoping I can be a full Garrett believer next season and attribute his poor playcalling at times to a porous offensive line. My hope is that we'll return to the play-action deep ball threat team we were when we actually had an offensive line early on with Garrett.

This off-season is extremely exciting, at least for me, because we have cap space, a nice draft slot, and renewed hope that we can draft correctly.

[bigbluedefense]

Yes, you make some of your own luck, but you don't make all of it.

I don't think lazy players are the issue as much as incapable players are. I liked our effort. Just didn't like thier talent deficiencies.

Except Romo... talent is there, he just needs a brain.

Yeah, we definitely had some bounces. I won't deny it.

I would fault effort with the Cowboys. To me, I think the biggest issue was that final game of the season, it was a playoff game really, and Dallas came out completely flat. They quit. Unbelievable. How can you quit on a win and in game? Even during the game NFL Network cameras caught defensive players sulking saying "I hate getting my hopes up"

Wtf? The mentality of the team has to change. They're mental midgets right now. It's a lack of discipline and accountability, and until that's fixed, all the talent in the world won't mean a thing.

That game completely changed my perception of them. I could not believe how they could just come out like that. They need another Parcells type of coach to kick them into shape. They need a culture change.

^_^ I'll buy that coaching puts you in position but opponents making mistakes has nothing to do with making your own luck. Giants did an excellent job riding momentum and capitalizing on the opportunities they were afforded. No one is taking away from that.

I simply made an observation that someone in the organization sold their soul for this season :) Hit replay on any of the situations from Yanks and I guarantee at least half go the other way. That's the way it works but none of it involves "making your own luck".

I know you are a major JG supporter so I'm unsure as to why the parting shot at Dallas. He's majorly changed the attitude of the team after years of influence from Mr. Awshuck's camp cupcake routine -_-

Yeah we had some bounces. I won't deny that. But I think the defining theme of this season's Giants are they had plenty of opportunities to quit on the season and they didn't. Im guilty of calling them gutless numerous times this season, but I was wrong. They are notorious for playing up to their competition and down to it as well, and it's very frustrating as a fan.

I'm not a big Garret fan. He's still part of the old regime. You need a complete culture change, and those usually come out of house. But honestly, the problem is Jerry Jones, not the coaching staff. He can't undercut his coaching staff the way he does. How is a player going to respect the coach when the GM/Owner is overruling him whenever he wants? Who is the player going to listen to?

That's something that has to get fixed. I think Mike Zimmer would be a great HC for you guys. He knows Dallas, he's tough, Parcells disciple, and he won't tolerate any ********.

[D-Unit]

Yeah, we definitely had some bounces. I won't deny it.

I would fault effort with the Cowboys. To me, I think the biggest issue was that final game of the season, it was a playoff game really, and Dallas came out completely flat. They quit. Unbelievable. How can you quit on a win and in game? Even during the game NFL Network cameras caught defensive players sulking saying "I hate getting my hopes up"

Wtf? The mentality of the team has to change. They're mental midgets right now. It's a lack of discipline and accountability, and until that's fixed, all the talent in the world won't mean a thing.

That game completely changed my perception of them. I could not believe how they could just come out like that. They need another Parcells type of coach to kick them into shape. They need a culture change.



Yeah we had some bounces. I won't deny that. But I think the defining theme of this season's Giants are they had plenty of opportunities to quit on the season and they didn't. Im guilty of calling them gutless numerous times this season, but I was wrong. They are notorious for playing up to their competition and down to it as well, and it's very frustrating as a fan.

I'm not a big Garret fan. He's still part of the old regime. You need a complete culture change, and those usually come out of house. But honestly, the problem is Jerry Jones, not the coaching staff. He can't undercut his coaching staff the way he does. How is a player going to respect the coach when the GM/Owner is overruling him whenever he wants? Who is the player going to listen to?

That's something that has to get fixed. I think Mike Zimmer would be a great HC for you guys. He knows Dallas, he's tough, Parcells disciple, and he won't tolerate any ********.
I don't know if they quit. Both of our TDs came in the 2nd half. You guys went into the half dancing with a 21-0 and we made it 21-14... before you sealed it with less than 2 min left in the game.

What I sensed was the team losing too many match ups that burned them. There's no denying that the Dallas defense, especially in the secondary was too weak to hold up against your passing attack. The way Eli operates is magnificent too. All he needs is one guy back there not doing his job and he consistently targets that. It can be demoralizing for a defense trying to do their best. So to suggest the problem was more to do with mental capacity than talent accummulation is misguided, imo. But it's fine to disagree. I would swap our defense with yours and keep the same coaching staff. I think we win.

Can you give me some examples of what's going on in your head when you say Jerry Jones undercuts his coaching staff? I hear this from time to time, but I don't know what people mean or which players they are thinking about.

I do blame Jerry for not spending wisely all the time, having issues not properly addressing the same positions of weakness year in and year out, and he's an average drafter, but I don't fault him for being cheap or letting good players go or being too hands on or conflicting with the coaching staff. In fact the media has tried every chance they get to get Jerry to take a giant crap on his staff, but Jerry has always showed extreme faith in them. He's a part of the problem because every GM who does't win shares some blame, but I don't think that as long as he is here that the team will never win. He's not the game killer.

Garrett was a rookie HC who made some rookie HC mistakes, but help has arrived at least for him, with the arrival of Bill Callahan to be a second opinion/advisor for him.

I think talent is definitely the main problem. Not overall team talent, but in the areas of weakness. Where we are weak, we are REALLY weak. ...and getting exploited over and over without being able to overcompensate, really lies the root of the problem. Going into the season with unproven and untalented interior OL was a major fault, and not fixing the secondary was equally at fault. I call it Garrett being naive about the OL and Rob Ryan being new, lockout issues, and not really knowing the players he was inheriting.

Another year, another offseason of trying to fix the team. We'll see what they can do. As for the coaching staff in place... and the new additions we made. I love what we have!

[yanksknicks]

You make your own luck in this league. If Hynoski quits on the play, he's not in position to recover the fumble. Ditto for Snee.

These things are coached. Dallas needs a culture change if you want to see changes.

You know, if they simply said, yeah we got some big breaks through the luck of the die ... but no, gotta keep insisting. Enjoy it, you gave the NFL a bad beat. Pot is yours no matter how awful your play was.

I guess that is why Vegas puts them at 15-1 in spite of. Cuz they are stooooopid Cowboy homers out there who know nothing of football also.

Again, the difference between 6-10 and a SB Champion is so minute as to be negligible at this time in the NFL. So long as your QB is hot ... sky is the limit.

With respect to the Cowboys, I agree they need a heart transplant but I have been saying this for years.

[yanksknicks]

I'm not sure how we are a 6-10 team when our record says 9-7.

Annoying when folks never miss an opportunity to miss the entire point.

Point: Their is little to no difference between a 6-10 team and a SB winner other then a Hot QB. League is in full on parity.

[Damix]

Annoying when folks never miss an opportunity to miss the entire point.

Point: Their is little to no difference between a 6-10 team and a SB winner other then a Hot QB. League is in full on parity.

Then make that point and don't make little condescending remarks towards the Giants after. You are what your record says you are.

[Witten4HOF]

You know, if they simply said, yeah we got some big breaks through the luck of the die ... but no, gotta keep insisting. Enjoy it, you gave the NFL a bad beat. Pot is yours no matter how awful your play was.

I guess that is why Vegas puts them at 15-1 in spite of. Cuz they are stooooopid Cowboy homers out there who know nothing of football also.

Again, the difference between 6-10 and a SB Champion is so minute as to be negligible at this time in the NFL. So long as your QB is hot ... sky is the limit.

With respect to the Cowboys, I agree they need a heart transplant but I have been saying this for years.

From a Cowboys fan that knows nothing about football, let me drop some knowledge on you. If you apply your theory of a "Hot QB" is the difference between an ok team and a Superbowl Champion the Cowboys would replace the Giants. Romo was far better then Eli over the last eight games of the season:

Romo: 18 td/3 int.... 169/239 71% completion ratio... and with the exception of the Eagles game where he tossed two passes he only had one game with a QB rating less then 95.

Manning 14td/10int.... 183/309 59% completion ratio... and three performances less than 75.

Still I will tip my hat to Eli for playing with great testicular fortitude and leading his team it the championship, but there is a much larger explanation to the G-Men catching fire then his play alone.

The Giants Defense particularly the defense of line started to dominate the second half of the season. Ranking 3rd in sacks with 48 (2 behind #1) and 4th in takeaways. Over the last 8 games the defense racked up 23 sacks and an abundance of pressure that lead to additional takeaways.

On the Flip side of the ball the O-line finally secured stability halfway through the season only allowing 14 sacks over the last 10 games... that's allowing about one and half sacks per game. Couple that with the emergence of Victor Cruz and his Vacuum threat on safeties, creating one on one matchups for Nicks and Manningham on vertical routes = Instant Explosiveness.

[TheFinisher]

Nice discussion on GAC with Broaddus about what I've always believed our main problem was, mental toughness.

zdX-mImwu1k

[D-Unit]

Seeing as how effective Romo was towards the end of the season even further disuades me from wanting to spend a 1st rounder on a Guard.

LET'S GO DEFENSE!!! :)

[D-Unit]

Nice discussion on GAC with Broaddus about what I've always believed our main problem was, mental toughness.

zdX-mImwu1k
Just had a discussion with BBD on this too. IMO, I don't think that's our biggest problem. I still think our biggest problem is too many trashy players.

I bash Romo, but I've come to realize that he's not mentally weak. He's just too confident for his own good. He trusts that he'll make a delivery that he can't cash in on. That to me is not being mentally weak. He is tough.

Witten is tough. Dez has swag that oozes out of his pants... so much that he loves to show America his butt crack every time he has the ball in his hands. Miles is damn tough and damn clutch. Murray will be a leader on this team soon with the way he runs. We haven't had someone who could break a tackle like him since the prime of MB3. It's all about not giving up on the play. Hell... even Costa was called a bulldog by Garrett and that was arguably the weakest spot on offense. My point is it's not about desire and mental toughness as much as it simply was just not being good enough at our areas of weakness. Our weaknesses were not average weaknesses. They were BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD.

On defense we really only had 2 guys doing their job right all season. Ware and Lee. Everyone else struggled and most struggled badly. That side of the ball is simply a joke. We need an infusion of talent. We need to do what the Texans did last year. Aggressively pursue elite defensive talent in FA and load up in the draft, early and often.

[TheFinisher]

Just had a discussion with BBD on this too. IMO, I don't think that's our biggest problem. I still think our biggest problem is too many trashy players.

I bash Romo, but I've come to realize that he's not mentally weak. He's just too confident for his own good. He trusts that he'll make a delivery that he can't cash in on. That to me is not being mentally weak. He is tough.

Witten is tough. Dez has swag that oozes out of his pants... so much that he loves to show America his butt crack every time he has the ball in his hands. Miles is damn tough and damn clutch. Murray will be a leader on this team soon with the way he runs. We haven't had someone who could break a tackle like him since the prime of MB3. It's all about not giving up on the play. Hell... even Costa was called a bulldog by Garrett and that was arguably the weakest spot on offense. My point is it's not about desire and mental toughness as much as it simply was just not being good enough at our areas of weakness. Our weaknesses were not average weaknesses. They were BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD.

On defense we really only had 2 guys doing their job right all season. Ware and Lee. Everyone else struggled and most struggled badly. That side of the ball is simply a joke. We need an infusion of talent. We need to do what the Texans did last year. Aggressively pursue elite defensive talent in FA and load up in the draft, early and often.

Oh I definitely agree that we were just poor at certain positions, but I've always felt there's been a huge gap between us and the Giants in the mental toughness department and that was the key reason why I had no faith going into those games at the end of the season. We have two completely different cultures, Coughlin doesn't take any **** in that locker room... hell he benched Bradshaw against us in what was probably their biggest game of the regular season. He's well respected on that team and they've taken on his strong minded approach to the game. Do you really think Garrett would have done the same with Murray if he violated team rules? Or maybe the better question would be, do you think Garrett would bench him without Jerry's blessing? You see, the reason I have a hard time believing Garrett can turn this thing around is because I have a hard time believing our players respect him the same way the Giants respect Tom Coughlin. There's no questions about accountability on that team, if you F up you're answering to the HC. But with us, we have an unqualified yes man that's more worried about pleasing his boss than he is trying to create a tough minded championship environment. I mean it's to the point where Jerry can come down to the sideline in the 1st Qtr and tell Garrett that he needs to rest his QB. Have some self respect for god sakes and man up, set boundaries. You know how bad that looks to the players when their coach basically gets told he's not in charge of in-game personel decisions? And worse yet, takes it like the carrottop ***** he is?

I'm beginning to rant but whatever, I'm passionate about the team. Yes we do need to upgrade the weaknesses on this team because they are very weak areas, but you can forget about Superbowls until they get some backbone... and that starts up top.

[FreshBoy!]

From a Cowboys fan that knows nothing about football, let me drop some knowledge on you. If you apply your theory of a "Hot QB" is the difference between an ok team and a Superbowl Champion the Cowboys would replace the Giants. Romo was far better then Eli over the last eight games of the season:

Romo: 18 td/3 int.... 169/239 71% completion ratio... and with the exception of the Eagles game where he tossed two passes he only had one game with a QB rating less then 95.

Manning 14td/10int.... 183/309 59% completion ratio... and three performances less than 75.

Still I will tip my hat to Eli for playing with great testicular fortitude and leading his team it the championship, but there is a much larger explanation to the G-Men catching fire then his play alone.

The Giants Defense particularly the defense of line started to dominate the second half of the season. Ranking 3rd in sacks with 48 (2 behind #1) and 4th in takeaways. Over the last 8 games the defense racked up 23 sacks and an abundance of pressure that lead to additional takeaways.

On the Flip side of the ball the O-line finally secured stability halfway through the season only allowing 14 sacks over the last 10 games... that's allowing about one and half sacks per game. Couple that with the emergence of Victor Cruz and his Vacuum threat on safeties, creating one on one matchups for Nicks and Manningham on vertical routes = Instant Explosiveness.

I'm probably the biggest Romo fan on this board.......but....stats don't take into account the big or "clutch" plays. The Eli throw to manningham in the SB was a thing of beauty, came exactly at the right time, in exactly where it needed to be. At that point in the game it didn't matter how good or bad Eli played, that one pass made the difference.

In comparison...That ONE pass that Romo missed to Austin vs. The Giants in the first game is the difference in my opinion. Maybe it's luck...hell it probably is, seeing as how the ball bounced the Giants way in so many games. But at the end of the day. Romo was whathe always was, a statistically great QB that faltered in various moments of the season.

Blame the defense, blame the line, blame Austin in the Giants game, Blame Dez in the Jets game, blame Special Teams for giving up a easy FG against arizona, or a punt block, blame whoever you want to...but at the end of the day....The Boys needed a play or two to make the playoffs, and they didn't.
Romo is partially responsible for at least a few of those plays.

With that said...Romo will win a SB before he's done in Dallas.


I hope:(

[leroyisgod]

Just had a discussion with BBD on this too. IMO, I don't think that's our biggest problem. I still think our biggest problem is too many trashy players.

I bash Romo, but I've come to realize that he's not mentally weak. He's just too confident for his own good. He trusts that he'll make a delivery that he can't cash in on. That to me is not being mentally weak. He is tough.

Witten is tough. Dez has swag that oozes out of his pants... so much that he loves to show America his butt crack every time he has the ball in his hands. Miles is damn tough and damn clutch. Murray will be a leader on this team soon with the way he runs. We haven't had someone who could break a tackle like him since the prime of MB3. It's all about not giving up on the play. Hell... even Costa was called a bulldog by Garrett and that was arguably the weakest spot on offense. My point is it's not about desire and mental toughness as much as it simply was just not being good enough at our areas of weakness. Our weaknesses were not average weaknesses. They were BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD.

On defense we really only had 2 guys doing their job right all season. Ware and Lee. Everyone else struggled and most struggled badly. That side of the ball is simply a joke. We need an infusion of talent. We need to do what the Texans did last year. Aggressively pursue elite defensive talent in FA and load up in the draft, early and often.

I agree with you about it's the players on defense mainly. However, I'd say Jenkins played well for us as well. Granted was dinged up a good bit.

[Witten4HOF]

I'm probably the biggest Romo fan on this board.......but....stats don't take into account the big or "clutch" plays. The Eli throw to manningham in the SB was a thing of beauty, came exactly at the right time, in exactly where it needed to be. At that point in the game it didn't matter how good or bad Eli played, that one pass made the difference.

In comparison...That ONE pass that Romo missed to Austin vs. The Giants in the first game is the difference in my opinion. Maybe it's luck...hell it probably is, seeing as how the ball bounced the Giants way in so many games. But at the end of the day. Romo was whathe always was, a statistically great QB that faltered in various moments of the season.

Blame the defense, blame the line, blame Austin in the Giants game, Blame Dez in the Jets game, blame Special Teams for giving up a easy FG against arizona, or a punt block, blame whoever you want to...but at the end of the day....The Boys needed a play or two to make the playoffs, and they didn't.
Romo is partially responsible for at least a few of those plays.

With that said...Romo will win a SB before he's done in Dallas.


I hope:(

The Superbowl toss to Mario was a helluva toss, but the most of the clutch plays Eli made this season were created by his WR rather than Manning "throwing them open" per say. How many plays did Cruz turn routine routes into explosive YAC and TD's and what effect did that have on safeties cheating down on underneath slot routes creating one on one's on the outside? Absolutely no knock on Eli but if you but Romo on that team he is as effective if not more imo.

[E-Man]

Nice discussion on GAC with Broaddus about what I've always believed our main problem was, mental toughness.

zdX-mImwu1k

Mental toughness is a definite issue. It's not so much as getting outplayed. That sucks when it happens too often, but the bigger problem is people not giving a damn or caving in under pressure.



On defense we really only had 2 guys doing their job right all season. Ware and Lee. Everyone else struggled and most struggled badly. That side of the ball is simply a joke. We need an infusion of talent. We need to do what the Texans did last year. Aggressively pursue elite defensive talent in FA and load up in the draft, early and often.

I think you're really undercutting Hatcher here. He was incredible all last season, and I don't know how it has gone under the radar. He was everything that you want from a 3-4 DE and more. Jenkins was great, but hurt too often, but beyond that I agree with you on guys not doing their job right. The defense really needs a major face lift.

[D-Unit]

Mental toughness is a definite issue. It's not so much as getting outplayed. That sucks when it happens too often, but the bigger problem is people not giving a damn or caving in under pressure.



I think you're really undercutting Hatcher here. He was incredible all last season, and I don't know how it has gone under the radar. He was everything that you want from a 3-4 DE and more. Jenkins was great, but hurt too often, but beyond that I agree with you on guys not doing their job right. The defense really needs a major face lift.
I have people in mind, but who do you guys think are the ones that carve under pressure?


As for Hatcher, sure, he did his job as a rotational DE.

[D-Unit]

I agree with you about it's the players on defense mainly. However, I'd say Jenkins played well for us as well. Granted was dinged up a good bit.
Yeah being dinged up and not playing means he didn't do his job imo.

[D-Unit]

Oh I definitely agree that we were just poor at certain positions, but I've always felt there's been a huge gap between us and the Giants in the mental toughness department and that was the key reason why I had no faith going into those games at the end of the season. We have two completely different cultures, Coughlin doesn't take any **** in that locker room... hell he benched Bradshaw against us in what was probably their biggest game of the regular season. He's well respected on that team and they've taken on his strong minded approach to the game. Do you really think Garrett would have done the same with Murray if he violated team rules? Or maybe the better question would be, do you think Garrett would bench him without Jerry's blessing? You see, the reason I have a hard time believing Garrett can turn this thing around is because I have a hard time believing our players respect him the same way the Giants respect Tom Coughlin. There's no questions about accountability on that team, if you F up you're answering to the HC. But with us, we have an unqualified yes man that's more worried about pleasing his boss than he is trying to create a tough minded championship environment. I mean it's to the point where Jerry can come down to the sideline in the 1st Qtr and tell Garrett that he needs to rest his QB. Have some self respect for god sakes and man up, set boundaries. You know how bad that looks to the players when their coach basically gets told he's not in charge of in-game personel decisions? And worse yet, takes it like the carrottop ***** he is?

I'm beginning to rant but whatever, I'm passionate about the team. Yes we do need to upgrade the weaknesses on this team because they are very weak areas, but you can forget about Superbowls until they get some backbone... and that starts up top.
I dunno about that. Garrett definitely showed some boldness by cutting a bunch of guys prior to the season starting. He preached accountability and the need to have swag....attitude.

IMO, he's trying to preach discipline and he carries himself in a way that you would respect him as a coach. I definitely don't think he's a "players coach" and I don't think he gives guys free passes. Did we have someone with discipline problems that should've been punished that I missed? If so, who?

Garrett is a guy that I think values character so much that I have a deep feeling that we would never draft a guy like Vontaze Burfict who I would want if I were calling the shots. I think he just wants to avoid poor characters...which means Janoris Jenkins is probably out of the mix too.

My only problem with Garrett is really in his poor playcalling and game clock management. Last year he was a rookie HC and I expected rookie HC mistakes and surely, he enough, he made them. I think the addition of Bill Callahan is going to be huge for this team. HUGE.

[yanksknicks]

From a Cowboys fan that knows nothing about football, let me drop some knowledge on you. If you apply your theory of a "Hot QB" is the difference between an ok team and a Superbowl Champion the Cowboys would replace the Giants. Romo was far better then Eli over the last eight games of the season:

Romo: 18 td/3 int.... 169/239 71% completion ratio... and with the exception of the Eagles game where he tossed two passes he only had one game with a QB rating less then 95.

Manning 14td/10int.... 183/309 59% completion ratio... and three performances less than 75.

Still I will tip my hat to Eli for playing with great testicular fortitude and leading his team it the championship, but there is a much larger explanation to the G-Men catching fire then his play alone.

The Giants Defense particularly the defense of line started to dominate the second half of the season. Ranking 3rd in sacks with 48 (2 behind #1) and 4th in takeaways. Over the last 8 games the defense racked up 23 sacks and an abundance of pressure that lead to additional takeaways.

On the Flip side of the ball the O-line finally secured stability halfway through the season only allowing 14 sacks over the last 10 games... that's allowing about one and half sacks per game. Couple that with the emergence of Victor Cruz and his Vacuum threat on safeties, creating one on one matchups for Nicks and Manningham on vertical routes = Instant Explosiveness.

Learn to read. Some breaks plus a hot QB is the difference between 6-10 and SB winner..

And I was being sarcastic on the Cowboys fan point, but you missed that too.

[yanksknicks]

How fans can see this Cowboys team, year after year, lose games in the most improbable ways (while the GMen win) and not think mental toughness is not 80% of the problem ... I just don't get it.

Did Eli Manning miss one opportunity this season to win a game for the GMen on their last drive?

Did the GMen give up any TDs in the last two mintues of any halves or games to give up leads?

.... sorry, but I have way tooooooo many under 2 minutes drives for points given up by this team right before half time and at the end of the 4th Q.

..... sorry but I have seen way tooooooo many turnovers in tight games simply from dumb execution by the QB or players on the field.

...... sorry but I have seen way tooooooooo many penalties to dig us into holes

...... sorry but I have seen way tooooo much almost with this team to think otherwise.

Be great to have far and away the best talent in the NFL but that is impossible with the Salary Cap so you need to make up for this with shrewd personnel decisions, great coaching, great player development and getting tough players. The anti-Cowboys .......... sad but true.

[yanksknicks]

I have people in mind, but who do you guys think are the ones that carve under pressure?


As for Hatcher, sure, he did his job as a rotational DE.

Romo to start. Kosier. Free. Sensabaugh. Newman. Ratliff. Martellus. Dez. Bradie. Spencer. Heck, even Bailey and the Aussie punter choked hard inkey spots.

Quite a few.

[D-Unit]

Romo to start. Kosier. Free. Sensabaugh. Newman. Ratliff. Martellus. Dez. Bradie. Spencer. Heck, even Bailey and the Aussie punter choked hard inkey spots.

Quite a few.
Romo is not mentally weak.... if you define weak as a guy who gives up when the going gets tough. I used to think he was, but I have a better understanding of him now. He in fact is a fighter and an overconfident one at that. His mistakes are not made because he's playing with a given up attitude and refuses to fight. He does not sulk and let that affect his play. His mistakes are made because he thinks he can do things that he can't cash in on. He's overconfident in what he thinks he can do. He's a gunslinger. He will fight, but his weakness is poor decision making. If you define that as being mentally weak then you have a case. But imo, being mentally strong comes from within and Romo's inner strength is strong. He just needs to learn to make better decisions.

Dez is a damn fighter, so I don't even know what you mean by him being mentally weak. He's clutch 99.9% of the time and he's one of the rare guys on the sidelines firing guys up. I want more barkers like him on the team. Guys who thrive when the pressure is on and will step up and be leaders.

The rest of those guys ... thier problem is more about lacking talent and skill for the position. Not mental strength. I keep preaching that it's a talent deficiency. These guys would be a helluva lot more confident and mentally strong if they had the skill and talent to dominate. ...but they just don't. At least with Ratliff and Free you could move them to a different position and they would be fine. Ratliff to DE and Free to RT.

[D-Unit]

How fans can see this Cowboys team, year after year, lose games in the most improbable ways (while the GMen win) and not think mental toughness is not 80% of the problem ... I just don't get it.

Did Eli Manning miss one opportunity this season to win a game for the GMen on their last drive?

Did the GMen give up any TDs in the last two mintues of any halves or games to give up leads?

.... sorry, but I have way tooooooo many under 2 minutes drives for points given up by this team right before half time and at the end of the 4th Q.

..... sorry but I have seen way tooooooo many turnovers in tight games simply from dumb execution by the QB or players on the field.

...... sorry but I have seen way tooooooooo many penalties to dig us into holes

...... sorry but I have seen way tooooo much almost with this team to think otherwise.

Be great to have far and away the best talent in the NFL but that is impossible with the Salary Cap so you need to make up for this with shrewd personnel decisions, great coaching, great player development and getting tough players. The anti-Cowboys .......... sad but true.
How fans can think we have enough talent to win, but just don't have the mental toughness to make it work... that is what I don't get.

Our talent, especially on defense... it's pathetic. ...and on offense, the same... interior OL is a joke of talent assembly. You could put the incredible hulk's brain in them and they'd still stink.

STOP OVERRATING OUR PLAYERS PEOPLE.

[leroyisgod]

Stanford Routt anyone? Just got released.

[D-Unit]

Stanford Routt anyone? Just got released.
Might not be as bad as we got, but he does nothing to significantly improve our situation, so I would pass on him rather than add him and falsely think that our problems are solved and stop looking at others.

The worst would be signing him and then going into the draft thinking... we don't need to draft Brandon Boykins or Jayron Hosely in the 3rd because we have Stanford Routt.

[dsc1600]

How fans can think we have enough talent to win, but just don't have the mental toughness to make it work... that is what I don't get.

Our talent, especially on defense... it's pathetic. ...and on offense, the same... interior OL is a joke of talent assembly. You could put the incredible hulk's brain in them and they'd still stink.

STOP OVERRATING OUR PLAYERS PEOPLE.

So we were good enough to be leading the Giants 34-22 w/ 5:41 left with not that much talent? What about leading thr Lions 27-3 in the 3rd qtr? Dumb luck? We CONSISTENTLY play like crap in big games, period. We're not the most talented team in the league, but we're in the top half.

Mental toughness is part of the equation, it just is.

[D-Unit]

So we were good enough to be leading the Giants 34-22 w/ 5:41 left with not that much talent? What about leading thr Lions 27-3 in the 3rd qtr? Dumb luck? We CONSISTENTLY play like crap in big games, period. We're not the most talented team in the league, but we're in the top half.

Mental toughness is part of the equation, it just is.
Whoa whoa whoa... we are not dearth of talent EVERYWHERE. We are not so incapable of winning or playing well. I hate having to repeat myself clearly after every post. I may driven the point in my recent posts that the Cowboys lack talent... but I've said mutliple times prior to that that where we are weak, we are REAAALLY WEAK. It's a lack of talent at THOSE positions that's the cause of our shortcomings. But outside of that, we are HELLA STRONG! Romo and his arsenal of weapons are near tops in the league. They can compete with ANYONE when healthy. But the interior OL often times became the culprit of blame because they flat out suck talent wise. Additionally, the defense (where I think our talent on that side of the ball is the worst in the NFC East at the very least) just simply doesn't stack up to being adequate enough.

It's not like Tom Caughlin's coaching style would make Newman able to blanket a receiver... it's not like mental toughness is holding Brooking and Bradie run like they did in their prime... it's not like Ratliff lacks the grit to compete, he's just playing out of position... it's not like being more strong minded would make Alan Ball, Frank Walker, Bill Nagy and Phil Costa better players...they just suck. Anthony Spencer would be no different in any other scheme or under any other coach. He's just not that special.

Mental toughness is a cop out excuse. Our guys have the desire to win. Some of them just aren't good enough to get the job done. Period.

[D-Unit]

I will say this... mental toughness can be tied to physical toughness and the guys who can't play through playable injury do have issues with being mentally tough.

That's why I won't call Romo mentally weak. Dude played with a broken ribs and that IS the definition of being mentally tough.

Austin and Jenkins are very talented, but not being able to play through injury makes me question their mental toughness. That said, I wouldn't place blame on them or that for the reason why the Cowboys didn't make the playoffs. That factor is just not significant enough. There were much bigger reasons.

The reason why I asked Bob to name the players he thought were the culprits of being mentally weak was because I knew the majority of those names would be our crappy players or the players who played crappy at that position (like Ratliff and Free; move them and they'd be fine).

[MetSox17]

Mental toughness is a cop out excuse. Our guys have the desire to win. Some of them just aren't good enough to get the job done. Period.

Someone should take a picture of this, cause i'm about to agree with you. While we do have a stupid team that lacks some mental toughness, i agree it's a cop out excuse. It's amazing how "mentally tough" a team is when they're just flat out more talented than the opposition.

[Witten4HOF]

Learn to read. Some breaks plus a hot QB is the difference between 6-10 and SB winner..

And I was being sarcastic on the Cowboys fan point, but you missed that too.

I can read and that was a major part of your argument... as for luck/breaks.. hustle and drive create alot of these bounces imo not fortune and instead of disagreeing with me or coming up with a counter argument you choose to insult... good job, sorry to piss on your cornflakes.

[Witten4HOF]

I want to see Nagy worked in as TE in jumbo sets... It was a role Wisconsin used him in occasionally and was effective in short yardage situations. The ability to run the football inside the 5 yardline is a major concern of mine heading into the season. The inability to execute any push limits the play calling so much especially since the area the defense has to cover is so constricted at that point of the field. Retaining Fiametta and upgrading at guard should help in this area as well.

[leroyisgod]

FA is quickly approaching us. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm excited to see how it shakes out for us. That will shape our draft and what we do from there. When does T-New get cut?

[leroyisgod]

Rumor is the Raiders might release Huff and Wimbley. I'm not a fan of Huff's, but Wimbley would be an interesting one. He's never really had the opportunity to play with another great pass rusher opposite him. He's always had to be the top guy. Ryan is familiar with him too. I'd have some interest here.

[MetSox17]

I was a huge fan of Kam Wimbley's coming out. Huff goes without being said.

[D-Unit]

I want to see Nagy worked in as TE in jumbo sets... It was a role Wisconsin used him in occasionally and was effective in short yardage situations. The ability to run the football inside the 5 yardline is a major concern of mine heading into the season. The inability to execute any push limits the play calling so much especially since the area the defense has to cover is so constricted at that point of the field. Retaining Fiametta and upgrading at guard should help in this area as well.
If Nagy makes the team.

I do like when coaches use players in versatile roles. We saw some of that with Spears and Brent at FB in short yardage situations.

[D-Unit]

Rumor is the Raiders might release Huff and Wimbley. I'm not a fan of Huff's, but Wimbley would be an interesting one. He's never really had the opportunity to play with another great pass rusher opposite him. He's always had to be the top guy. Ryan is familiar with him too. I'd have some interest here.
I'd take 'em both. I wouldn't eliminate adding a young pass rusher or safety even with those additions though.

[bigbluedefense]

If you guys do go after Mario Williams, then I think my suggestion of the Cowboys switching to a 4-3 defense would have to happen.

LE: Mario
NT: Spears
UT: Ratliff
RE: Ware

WILL: Carter
MIKE: Lee
SAM: Curry? (Possible FA pickup)

That would be a sick front 7.

[D-Unit]

If you guys do go after Mario Williams, then I think my suggestion of the Cowboys switching to a 4-3 defense would have to happen.

LE: Mario
NT: Spears
UT: Ratliff
RE: Ware

WILL: Carter
MIKE: Lee
SAM: Curry? (Possible FA pickup)

That would be a sick front 7.
That's not really a suggestion that deviates from what we already do. Rob uses a ton a 4 man fronts and we don't really draft or sign guys that are pigeoned holed to one specific scheme over another.

I hope your Mario Williams mention has some real legs to that kind of rumor though. :)

I would give up our 1st round pick for him.

[bigbluedefense]

That's not really a suggestion that deviates from what we already do. Rob uses a ton a 4 man fronts and we don't really draft or sign guys that are pigeoned holed to one specific scheme over another.

I hope your Mario Williams mention has some real legs to that kind of rumor though. :)

I would give up our 1st round pick for him.

4 man fronts in a nickel defense and a base 4-3 defense are not the same thing though.

Every team in the league runs 4 man fronts. Even and odd spacing too. There's very few exclusive 2 gap 3-4 teams in the league, probably only Pittsburgh, Arizona, and San Fransisco. NE runs a lot of 2 gap, but they run some 4-3 too.

Having that said, I see no reason for Dallas to run any odd fronts with their talent on defense. It doesn't make sense to me, your defense is more talented and more effective when you run an even front.

You don't have the 3-4 DEs to run any odd fronts. It's one of the bigger weaknesses on this defense. Run more even fronts and you eliminate that problem.

If you guys drafted JJ Watt, that would be a different story. That's the guy I had Dallas taking last year (I thought Smith would be a bust, he's proven me wrong). But without that kind of DE, I see no reason for this team to run any odd fronts.

[bigbluedefense]

And how scary would it be to see Mario Williams on one side in a 3 point stance, and Ware on the other?

I hope it doesn't happen, but it's the smart move. Forget all these mediocre FAs you guys want to get in the secondary, go after Mario and switch to a 4-3.

With that front 7, you'll be able to run a lot more Cover 2 shells in the secondary to hide it, (I dislike Cover 2 but you can run it while you go out and draft and develop secondary players).

[D-Unit]

4 man fronts in a nickel defense and a base 4-3 defense are not the same thing though.

Every team in the league runs 4 man fronts. Even and odd spacing too. There's very few exclusive 2 gap 3-4 teams in the league, probably only Pittsburgh, Arizona, and San Fransisco. NE runs a lot of 2 gap, but they run some 4-3 too.

Having that said, I see no reason for Dallas to run any odd fronts with their talent on defense. It doesn't make sense to me, your defense is more talented and more effective when you run an even front.

You don't have the 3-4 DEs to run any odd fronts. It's one of the bigger weaknesses on this defense. Run more even fronts and you eliminate that problem.

If you guys drafted JJ Watt, that would be a different story. That's the guy I had Dallas taking last year (I thought Smith would be a bust, he's proven me wrong). But without that kind of DE, I see no reason for this team to run any odd fronts.
Understandable, but we have to go with the scheme our DC runs. ...and a full fledged Rob Ryan scheme is... as they say... very "exotic". You might see 4 DL or 0 DL. We didn't have the talent or time due to the lockout to implement his scheme to the level he wanted to. In fact, he rolled back as the season progressed because our secondary was so bad that his blitz calls were beat too regularly. He played handicapped and so we have yet to see the beauty of Rob Ryan's scheme in full glory. The biggest area of need for us is in the secondary. That's where it all starts for him and his scheme. He NEEDS to have players that can cover on an island as well as have that physicality to bump receivers off thier routes and disturb their timing. They also need to be able to shed blocks off WRs, be sure tacklers in addition to being excellent at the blitz. His defense is a high pressure blitzing defense, but if you don't have the guys in the secondary that can cover, then it blows up the whole scheme. ...and when I say cover, I'm not saying cover 30 yards down the field (that's nice and all)... but what I'm saying is that they need to be excellent short yardage inside the box cover guys with the physicality to disrupt or blitz themselves. West Coast offenses built off short passing will kill this defense if we can't cover the short passing routes with enough time to buy for our exotic blitzes.

[D-Unit]

And how scary would it be to see Mario Williams on one side in a 3 point stance, and Ware on the other?

I hope it doesn't happen, but it's the smart move. Forget all these mediocre FAs you guys want to get in the secondary, go after Mario and switch to a 4-3.

With that front 7, you'll be able to run a lot more Cover 2 shells in the secondary to hide it, (I dislike Cover 2 but you can run it while you go out and draft and develop secondary players).
It's true... I don't really see the type of secondary players available in FA or the draft that are going to be great for Rob's scheme. I can see them being good, but I have a hard time finding someone who would be a big time difference maker.

It's no secret why Rob and Rex go hard after cornerbacks. I hope he finds what he's looking for.

[bigbluedefense]

I'm personally not a big Rob Ryan fan. I appreciate some of his work, but I don't see him as a top flight DC. He never has been, I don't understand why he gets that credibility.

If this team doesn't make the playoffs next year, Garrett and Rob are probably not coming back anyway. To pass on Mario bc he doesn't fit the scheme would be a bad mistake in hindsight.

You can always adjust to great players. Rob ran a 4-3 in Oakland. He'll make it work. Get him the lettuce, tell him to make a salad out of it. He'll figure it out.

[D-Unit]

I'm personally not a big Rob Ryan fan. I appreciate some of his work, but I don't see him as a top flight DC. He never has been, I don't understand why he gets that credibility.

If this team doesn't make the playoffs next year, Garrett and Rob are probably not coming back anyway. To pass on Mario bc he doesn't fit the scheme would be a bad mistake in hindsight.

You can always adjust to great players. Rob ran a 4-3 in Oakland. He'll make it work. Get him the lettuce, tell him to make a salad out of it. He'll figure it out.
Whether you're a fan or not doesn't make him bad just because you don't like him. He has a proven track record, so I don't really know if you know your facts anyways. ...and who says he's got the reputation of being a top flight DC? I don't know what you're following or what you're trying to infer.

Secondly, you're all over the place. Why are you suggesting that passing on Mario because he doesn't fit the scheme is even an argument? No one has said that. If you're just saying that to say because it's something that you thought of, then I would agree and say that it doesn't sound like a logical reason if Jerry ever came out and said that. Because in regards to Mario, I just said if it were me that I would give up our 1st rounder to get him. I also said the Cowboys don't add scheme specific type players, and that Rob runs all kinds of fronts. There's no doubt in mind mind that he could work wonders with a guy like Mario Williams on this team.

[CDCB14]

Whether you're a fan or not doesn't make him bad just because you don't like him. He has a proven track record, so I don't really know if you know your facts anyways. ...and who says he's got the reputation of being a top flight DC? I don't know what you're following or what you're trying to infer.

Secondly, you're all over the place. Why are you suggesting that passing on Mario because he doesn't fit the scheme is even an argument? No one has said that. If you're just saying that to say because it's something that you thought of, then I would agree and say that it doesn't sound like a logical reason if Jerry ever came out and said that. Because in regards to Mario, I just said if it were me that I would give up our 1st rounder to get him. I also said the Cowboys don't add scheme specific type players, and that Rob runs all kinds of fronts. There's no doubt in mind mind that he could work wonders with a guy like Mario Williams on this team.

This is completely false, and I'm a diehard cowboys fan. How is rob ryan proven? He's never had a defense in the top 12 in the league in scoring or yards per game, and he's never coached a team with a winning record. He was never on a team that was even .500 before this year, and the cowboys went 8-8.

Now, i'm not saying he is garbage, but I do agree with BBD. He is average and get's undeserved praise because of his mouth and his last name. His "exotic schemes" are bogus. They didn't do anything this year. You either produce or you don't. I don't care if your playing a simple pop warner defense our a defense from outer space. Rob Ryan is average, period. Do I think we can win with him if we get better players? Yes, but he isn't some god send at defensive coordinator.

BBD is right. We need better players. Rob Ryan is an average coach with a loud mouth.

[Trogdor]

He's known for maximizing output with crappy talent. I'd say turning our defense from the worst in the league to a middle-of-the-road defense with Alan Ball, Frank Walker, and Terence Newman playing major minutes is a success.

He's not elite but give him a chance with decent players before trashing him. I'd be willing to bargain that once we get some reliable corners he'll have us in the top ten.

[CDCB14]

He's known for maximizing output with crappy talent. I'd say turning our defense from the worst in the league to a middle-of-the-road defense with Alan Ball, Frank Walker, and Terence Newman playing major minutes is a success.

He's not elite but give him a chance with decent players before trashing him. I'd be willing to bargain that once we get some reliable corners he'll have us in the top ten.

I don't want to hear excuses. Look at what Wade Phillips just did in Houston. Now I know he got a few players in the secondary like Joseph and Manning, but it's not like that unit is full of pro-bowlers. They we're garbage last year, and he made them the number one defense in the NFL.

Not to mention, he also had a lockout and switched to a 3-4 and still was great, and lost Mario williams in week 5.

Don't give me rob's schemes are too complicated so it's harder than other teams. The bottom line is that he is just loud mouthed, his last name is ryan, and he is fat with long hair so he's in the media all the time, and if you're in the media people tend to think you're good even when you're not.

Again, can he put a good defense on the field with some better players? Sure, but he's no better than 75% of defensive minds in the league. I hope he somehow gets a head coaching gig next year so we get somebody with actual substance with a history of winning. But whoever would hire him as a HC is an idiot, so I won't keep my hopes up.

[FreshBoy!]

Wade's a great def coord, and not a great coach. Texans went extremely defense heavy in FA and the Draft....That makes a difference, they were a different team in both scheme and personnel from last year.
I don't understand why people try to compare the two besides them both working in Dallas. Wade was the coach/def coord of the worst Defense in Dallas history...but hey, he turned around the Texans!!!!

Fact of the matter is the Cowboys are devoid of talent outside of 2 or 3 players on that side of the ball. That's what it comes down too, scheme can only cover so much.

[Trogdor]

Lets see. Houston's major problem was the secondary which they solved by signing great talent and grabbing an excellent defensive coordinator (not HC) in Wade Phillips.

Wade fell apart with our secondary too does that mean his addition to Houston meant zero? You can't it both ways.

Fix the defense talent-wise and the scheme will work.

[MetSox17]

Whether you're a fan or not doesn't make him bad just because you don't like him. He has a proven track record, so I don't really know if you know your facts anyways. ...and who says he's got the reputation of being a top flight DC? I don't know what you're following or what you're trying to infer.




So back to the point, a full time move to the 4-3 is a silly suggestion, imo. We have a genius DC who just needs talented players to help him get the job done. We can run any front or scheme with him. Just get him the talent.


Well you did call him a "genius DC", so that may be what BBD is referring to.

[D-Unit]

Well you did call him a "genius DC", so that may be what BBD is referring to.

I can't believe bbd's perception of Ryan is based on how I view him.

[bigbluedefense]

I'm just not a Ryan fan. There's this misconception that he runs the same scheme as Rex, and it's simply not true. He's not a great DC. He's a middle of the pack DC. I do like some concepts that he runs, but for the most part, I think he's a mediocre DC who lives off his family name.

Anyway, more importantly, so am I the only one who feels that signing Mario Williams and switching to a 4-3 defense is the best offseason move you guys can make?

I don't understand the desire to get a Wimbley, or a Huff, or a Griffin, or even a Porter. All of those guys suck, Porter is a decent CB who's overrated bc of his pick 6 in the SB. None of those guys are the answer. You'll spend money on mediocre talent, it'll get you no where.

Mario is an impact player. I'll lay out my offseason blueprint in the next post

[Witten4HOF]

I'm just not a Ryan fan. There's this misconception that he runs the same scheme as Rex, and it's simply not true. He's not a great DC. He's a middle of the pack DC. I do like some concepts that he runs, but for the most part, I think he's a mediocre DC who lives off his family name.

Anyway, more importantly, so am I the only one who feels that signing Mario Williams and switching to a 4-3 defense is the best offseason move you guys can make?

I don't understand the desire to get a Wimbley, or a Huff, or a Griffin, or even a Porter. All of those guys suck, Porter is a decent CB who's overrated bc of his pick 6 in the SB. None of those guys are the answer. You'll spend money on mediocre talent, it'll get you no where.

Mario is an impact player. I'll lay out my offseason blueprint in the next post

It would def be under consideration but while it looks good on paper the team would have severe depth issues at linebacker. Someone like Luke Kuechly would fit in nicely at the Will, while Sean Lee manned the mike and Carter the Sam leaving three potential back up slots that need to be filled.

[bigbluedefense]

Offseason moves:

Step 1: Cut the fat
Bradie James, Keith Brooking, Terrance Newman, Allan Ball, Martellus Bennett, Felix Jones, Anthony Spencer. Yes, I'm aware that some of those guys are FAs, just let them go.

Now I know some of you are seeing Felix's name and thinking "why Felix?" Simply put, he's a backup RB who is not worth the price tag. Let's face it guys, he is what he is. And he's not worth the money. A change up to Murray can be had in the middle rounds for much cheaper, and Murray is vastly superior to Jones. Cut the fat, save the money.

Step 2: Free Agency Moves
Sign Mario Williams, switch to a 43 front. Sign Manny Lawson to shore up SAM. This puts Ratliff in his natural UT position, he's been a UT his whole career, he was never a NT. This instantly upgrades your interior push. Spears provides no pass rush, but has always been a 4-3 NT who can be great in that role. Ware is a beast anywhere, don't worry about him. Mario is a beast off the edge.

Now you instantly upgrade your front 7. You have to compete with the division. All your division opponents can rush with 4. NYG has the best dline in the NFL, Philly led the league in sacks with mostly their front 4, Washington can rush with 4 with Rak and Kerrigan on the edges and Bowen up the gut.

You all know the East is an arms race, you gotta compete with the division. Getting Mario instantly puts your dline in that conversation. Now the addition of Lawson gives you versatility up front. Lawson is long and strong, can set the edge in the run game in an Over front, can reroute TEs at the line, and can cover with the best of them. Plus he can put his hand in the dirt on 3rd down and allow you to move around Mario and Ware along the dline, providing scheme versatility.

Those 2 moves gives you guys one of the better front 7s in the league. Plus Lee and Carter will probably be better in space as well anyway.

Now I know you guys are saying "but our secondary sucks still" Who cares. Jenkins and Scandrick are good enough. With that front 7 and those LBs, along with the pressure you get from the front 4 now, you can play a lot more umbrella coverages to mask the secondary.

Yes, I hate Cover 2 as well, but guess what? Look at the Bears. You can't tell me their secondary is any worse than yours, but they get after it with 4 and they have 2 LBs who can patrol the middle of the field, and last time I checked, their defense is pretty damn good.

Step 3: the draft

1. DeCastro
Again, the East is an arms race. You have to compete on the dline, but also prevent the division from getting to your qb. You have bookend OTs, that's a good start. Getting DeCastro gives you an interior guy who can take on the Jenkins, Bowens, Canty/Tucks of the world. You need that guy.

2. Best available interior pass rusher/DT
Ratliff is getting older, and you need a guy who can develop behind him plus give you another interior pass rushing DT who can come in on 3rd downs and obvious passing formations.

3. Brewer C/G Ohio
I'm not thrilled with him as a Center, I feel he's better at Guard. He's a little lanky and long to play Center, and I think he can be a good pulling guard. Either way, you draft him and find a spot for him. His versatility can't hurt.

4. Best available TE/RB
You need a change up to Murray, and Witten is getting slower and slower and slower. You need to develop a TE behind him.

5-7: BPA

I also like the CB from Texas A&M, but he's an injury liability. I don't know where he'll fall in this draft. He can even move to FS if necessary, but it all depends on his medical to me.

That's my plan for the Cowboys. You can't fix everything overnight, but I feel that's the best plan for this year. You can concentrate on upgrading the secondary next year. As for Laurent Robinson, you'll probably lose him. Look, you gotta trust Romo to be that guy to make everyone around him better. He has it in him, he can make what he has work. Your offense is plenty talented, it's up to Romo to maximize it.

What do you think? Yay or nay?

[bigbluedefense]

It would def be under consideration but while it looks good on paper the team would have severe depth issues at linebacker. Someone like Luke Kuechly would fit in nicely at the Will, while Sean Lee manned the mike and Carter the Sam leaving three potential back up slots that need to be filled.

It's not like you guys have good backup 34 ILBs anyway, so what difference does it make?

[D-Unit]

I'm just not a Ryan fan. There's this misconception that he runs the same scheme as Rex, and it's simply not true. He's not a great DC. He's a middle of the pack DC. I do like some concepts that he runs, but for the most part, I think he's a mediocre DC who lives off his family name.

Anyway, more importantly, so am I the only one who feels that signing Mario Williams and switching to a 4-3 defense is the best offseason move you guys can make?

I don't understand the desire to get a Wimbley, or a Huff, or a Griffin, or even a Porter. All of those guys suck, Porter is a decent CB who's overrated bc of his pick 6 in the SB. None of those guys are the answer. You'll spend money on mediocre talent, it'll get you no where.

Mario is an impact player. I'll lay out my offseason blueprint in the next post
Signing Mario Williams is not a unique idea. ...and quite frankly neither is switching to a 4-3 defense. Bob has been talking about that here for years.

My thing is you have to run the defense that your DC has a preference for. Sure a good coach will make adjustments to the players he has, but ultimately you have to build for what he can excel best at. Parcells ran the 4-3 here for 2 years before he had to make the switch. Ultimately, he had to go back to his success forumula.

As for Rob Ryan's track record, I'll make a post on that.

[CDCB14]

Offseason moves:

Step 1: Cut the fat
Bradie James, Keith Brooking, Terrance Newman, Allan Ball, Martellus Bennett, Felix Jones, Anthony Spencer. Yes, I'm aware that some of those guys are FAs, just let them go.

Now I know some of you are seeing Felix's name and thinking "why Felix?" Simply put, he's a backup RB who is not worth the price tag. Let's face it guys, he is what he is. And he's not worth the money. A change up to Murray can be had in the middle rounds for much cheaper, and Murray is vastly superior to Jones. Cut the fat, save the money.

Step 2: Free Agency Moves
Sign Mario Williams, switch to a 43 front. Sign Manny Lawson to shore up SAM. This puts Ratliff in his natural UT position, he's been a UT his whole career, he was never a NT. This instantly upgrades your interior push. Spears provides no pass rush, but has always been a 4-3 NT who can be great in that role. Ware is a beast anywhere, don't worry about him. Mario is a beast off the edge.

Now you instantly upgrade your front 7. You have to compete with the division. All your division opponents can rush with 4. NYG has the best dline in the NFL, Philly led the league in sacks with mostly their front 4, Washington can rush with 4 with Rak and Kerrigan on the edges and Bowen up the gut.

You all know the East is an arms race, you gotta compete with the division. Getting Mario instantly puts your dline in that conversation. Now the addition of Lawson gives you versatility up front. Lawson is long and strong, can set the edge in the run game in an Over front, can reroute TEs at the line, and can cover with the best of them. Plus he can put his hand in the dirt on 3rd down and allow you to move around Mario and Ware along the dline, providing scheme versatility.

Those 2 moves gives you guys one of the better front 7s in the league. Plus Lee and Carter will probably be better in space as well anyway.

Now I know you guys are saying "but our secondary sucks still" Who cares. Jenkins and Scandrick are good enough. With that front 7 and those LBs, along with the pressure you get from the front 4 now, you can play a lot more umbrella coverages to mask the secondary.

Yes, I hate Cover 2 as well, but guess what? Look at the Bears. You can't tell me their secondary is any worse than yours, but they get after it with 4 and they have 2 LBs who can patrol the middle of the field, and last time I checked, their defense is pretty damn good.

Step 3: the draft

1. DeCastro
Again, the East is an arms race. You have to compete on the dline, but also prevent the division from getting to your qb. You have bookend OTs, that's a good start. Getting DeCastro gives you an interior guy who can take on the Jenkins, Bowens, Canty/Tucks of the world. You need that guy.

2. Best available interior pass rusher/DT
Ratliff is getting older, and you need a guy who can develop behind him plus give you another interior pass rushing DT who can come in on 3rd downs and obvious passing formations.

3. Brewer C/G Ohio
I'm not thrilled with him as a Center, I feel he's better at Guard. He's a little lanky and long to play Center, and I think he can be a good pulling guard. Either way, you draft him and find a spot for him. His versatility can't hurt.

4. Best available TE/RB
You need a change up to Murray, and Witten is getting slower and slower and slower. You need to develop a TE behind him.

5-7: BPA

I also like the CB from Texas A&M, but he's an injury liability. I don't know where he'll fall in this draft. He can even move to FS if necessary, but it all depends on his medical to me.

That's my plan for the Cowboys. You can't fix everything overnight, but I feel that's the best plan for this year. You can concentrate on upgrading the secondary next year. As for Laurent Robinson, you'll probably lose him. Look, you gotta trust Romo to be that guy to make everyone around him better. He has it in him, he can make what he has work. Your offense is plenty talented, it's up to Romo to maximize it.

What do you think? Yay or nay?

I wouldn't be thrilled, but I wouldn't mind this off-season either. I love the DeCastro pick. Think the draft is pretty weak after that. I agree with you that secondary is overrated and pass rush is 80% of the equation, but we can't just not address CB or safety at all.

As for Felix, cutting him would be stupid. Trade him for a 5th and pick up a RB like Herron who you know can get north and south and handle 25 carries if Murray goes down. Lennon Creer, Borderick Green, anyone in that mold.

Felix's price tag this year is $1.17 million. The running back you replace him with will probably cost close to the same about of money. Cutting him is just stupid. You can get a 5th for him on draft day for a team that needs a RB and doesn't like anyone left in the draft. Maybe even a late 4th.

Also, I hear we are getting a compensatory 4th, perfect spot to pick a running back with size and durability and get what we can for felix instead of having him run for 500 yards, no touchdowns, get hurt, and then leave in free agency.

btw, everyone should go to 103.3 on espn dallas radio and listen to the football show. Broaddus and Tim MacMahon have some good discussion.

[bigbluedefense]

I wouldn't be thrilled, but I wouldn't mind this off-season either. I love the DeCastro pick. Think the draft is pretty weak after that. I agree with you that secondary is overrated and pass rush is 80% of the equation, but we can't just not address CB or safety at all.

As for Felix, cutting him would be stupid. Trade him for a 5th and pick up a RB like Herron who you know can get north and south and handle 25 carries if Murray goes down. Lennon Creer, Borderick Green, anyone in that mold.

Felix's price tag this year is $1.17 million. The running back you replace him with will probably cost close to the same about of money. Cutting him is just stupid. You can get a 5th for him on draft day for a team that needs a RB and doesn't like anyone left in the draft. Maybe even a late 4th.

Also, I hear we are getting a compensatory 4th, perfect spot to pick a running back with size and durability and get what we can for felix instead of having him run for 500 yards, no touchdowns, get hurt, and then leave in free agency.

btw, everyone should go to 103.3 on espn dallas radio and listen to the football show. Broaddus and Tim MacMahon have some good discussion.

Yeah, I won't deny that my draft is weak, I'm still in the process of studying guys and getting an idea of who I like. I was also unaware that Felix was that cheap, in that case, I would keep Felix.

Honestly, I don't think your DBs are that awful, not Jenkins or Scandrick at least. I think the scheme makes them look worse than they are, bc you are blitzing a ton to make up for no pressure from the front, plus leaving CBs on an island who aren't good enough to be left on an island. I think if you ran more umbrella coverage you can hide them fairly effectively as long as your front gets there.

Like I stated, there's no way your secondary is any worse than Chicago's. If Chicago can mask their secondary with an elite front 7 and play 2 deep, I don't see why you can't do the same for at least a year until you go and fix the secondary next year.

Who knows, maybe you draft a guy in the 2nd round or a guy falls in the 4th that you can plug in to fix the secondary. That front 7 gives you versatility.

[Witten4HOF]

It's not like you guys have good backup 34 ILBs anyway, so what difference does it make?

I agree that the depth at ILB is pretty horrid but you are taking a position that you can generally rotate three players and have a fourth for development in a 3-4 due to the similarities of both ILB positions and attempting to transition to a 4-3 where the seperate LB responsibilites vary a lot more imo. Creating the need to sign or develop at least two more players to fill the back ups.

[D-Unit]

I don't want to hear excuses. Look at what Wade Phillips just did in Houston. Now I know he got a few players in the secondary like Joseph and Manning, but it's not like that unit is full of pro-bowlers. They we're garbage last year, and he made them the number one defense in the NFL.

Not to mention, he also had a lockout and switched to a 3-4 and still was great, and lost Mario williams in week 5.

Don't give me rob's schemes are too complicated so it's harder than other teams. The bottom line is that he is just loud mouthed, his last name is ryan, and he is fat with long hair so he's in the media all the time, and if you're in the media people tend to think you're good even when you're not.

Again, can he put a good defense on the field with some better players? Sure, but he's no better than 75% of defensive minds in the league. I hope he somehow gets a head coaching gig next year so we get somebody with actual substance with a history of winning. But whoever would hire him as a HC is an idiot, so I won't keep my hopes up.
Wade Phillips inherited an entirely new revamped defense from the one the Texans fielded in 2010-11. It didn't just start and stop with Jonathan Joseph and Danieal Manning. They drafted JJ Watt, Brooks Reed, Brandon Harris, Rashard Carmichael and Shiloh Keo as well in a VERY HEAVY defensive oriented draft. So let's not pretned the Cowboys did the same thing.

Rob Ryan got Abram Elam, Kenyon Coleman, Frank Walker and an unusable Bruce Carter. Yet Rob turned this defense around from a defense that gave up 27 ppg good for 31st in the league last year to one that gave up 21 ppg good for 16th in the league. The improvement speaks for itself.

As for his track record, I think it speaks for itself if people simply cared to look it up before they trashed him.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/team/team_biosCoachExec.cfm?newName=Rob_Ryan

The Dallas Cowboys added a coach with an aggressive coaching style and fiery personality when they named Rob Ryan as the team's defensive coordinator on January 15, 2011. Ryan replaces Paul Pasqualoni, who became the club's defensive coordinator midway through the 2010 season. Ryan arrives in Dallas with 24 years of coaching experience and 13 years of NFL experience. He has spent the previous seven years as an NFL defensive coordinator - Oakland Raiders (2004-08) and Cleveland Browns (2009-10) - and has four years of experience heading up defenses at the collegiate level.

In 2010 Ryan's defense in Cleveland tied for eighth in the NFL with 19 interceptions. Ryan's work as the head of the Browns defense saw six different players post multiple interceptions on the season to tie for the third-most players with two-or-more interceptions on a team this season. Rookie defensive back Joe Haden led the team, tied for fifth in the NFL and tied for second among rookies with six interceptions. Haden's six picks were the most by a Brown since Leigh Bodden had six in 2007, and they were the most by a Browns rookie since Anthony Henry had a team-record 10 thefts in 2001. Also among Ryan's secondary was the club's leading tackler in T.J. Ward. Ward, also a rookie, became the first Cleveland rookie to lead the team in tackles since linebacker Wali Rainer in 1999. On the ground, Cleveland allowed just seven rushing touchdowns which tied for the fourth-fewest in the league.

In Ryan's first season in Cleveland, the club did not allow a touchdown in three games - the most games in which a Browns defense did not yield a touchdown since 2003. Ryan's defense posted 40.0 sacks to tie for eighth in the league and the most for a Cleveland defense since racking up 43 in 2001. Over the second half of the season, Ryan's defense saw an improvement as they yielded less points allowed (-5.3 per-game), total yards allowed (-39.9), rushing yards allowed (-52.0), sacks (+1.0) and first downs allowed (-2.7).

Before landing in Cleveland, Ryan spent five seasons as the Oakland Raiders defensive coordinator. In his time guiding the fortunes of the Raiders defense, Ryan tutored a pair of Pro Bowlers in defensive end Derrick Burgess and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. In his four seasons playing for Ryan, Burgess amassed 38.5 sacks, including an NFL-best 16.0 in 2005. Asomugha finished 2006 third in the league with eight interceptions. In that same season, the Raiders defense led the league in pass defense (150.8 yards-per-game) and third in total defense (284.8 yards-per-game). For his work in 2006, Ryan was named the USA Today All-Joe Coordinator of the Year.

Ryan spent four seasons (2000-03) as the linebackers coach for Bill Belichick's New England Patriots. In his time with the Patriots, Ryan was a part of two Super Bowl championship teams - XXXVI and XXXVIII - while working with one of the league's top linebackers in Teddy Bruschi. He also mentored 2003 Pro Bowl linebacker Willie McGinest.

Ryan began his NFL coaching career in 1994 as the defensive backs coach under his father, Buddy, for the Arizona Cardinals. In his first season in Arizona, the Cardinals boasted the NFL's third ranked defense. Under Rob, cornerback Aeneas Williams earned two trips to the Pro Bowl (1994 and 1995) and the Cardinals led the league with 42 takeaways in 1995.

Ryan entered the coaching ranks in 1987 as a graduate assistant with Western Kentucky. He assumed similar responsibilities at Ohio State in 1988. He then spent five seasons (1989-93) at Tennessee State where he coached running backs (1989-91), linebackers (1992) and the defensive line (1993).

Ryan spent three years at outside linebacker with Southwestern Oklahoma State. His twin brother, Rex, is the head coach of the N.Y. Jets.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Ryan
Ryan was a graduate assistant at Western Kentucky in 1987 and at Ohio State in 1988. Ryan then spent 5 seasons at Tennessee State, where he coached running backs (1989–91), wide receivers(1992) and the defensive line (1993). He served as defensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College in 1996, where they led the nation in total defense (228 yards per game) and in sacks (56). His defense also set a national record by forcing 49 turnovers. Ryan originally entered the NFL coaching ranks in 1994 as defensive backs coach on his father's staff at Arizona Cardinals. He also coached Cardinals cornerbacks and safeties in 1995. With Ryan as his position coach, cornerback Aeneas Williams earned two trips to the Pro Bowl in 1994 and 1995. In 1995, the Cardinals led the NFL with 32 interceptions and 42 total takeaways. The 1994 Cardinals ranked second in the NFL total defense, second in run defense and third in pass defense. From 1997–99, Ryan was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, where the Cowboys defense continually ranked among the best in the nation, also he was named Coordinator of the Year by The Sporting News in 1997.

In 1999, they were ranked 10th in the nation in total defense. In 1998, they were second in the nation with 41 sacks. In his first season at Oklahoma State, the Cowboys defense finished among the nation top-20 in turnover margin, rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense, allowing just 302.7 yards per game. It was an over 100-yard improvement per game from the year before and helped the Cowboys produce an 8–4 mark and capping the 1997 season with a berth in the Alamo Bowl.

From 2000 to 2003, Ryan was the linebackers coach for the New England Patriots.[1] In 2003, the Patriots ranked first in the NFL in fewest points allowed 238 while ranking seventh overall in the NFL in total defense. Ryan's unit also contributed to one of the best scoring defenses in franchise history in 2001, as the Patriots allowed just 17 points per game and produced Pro Bowlers Willie McGinest and Tedy Bruschi.

From 2004 to 2008, Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders.[1] In 2006, the Raiders ranked third in yards allowed per game and eighteenth in points allowed per game.

Former Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini named Ryan as defensive coordinator on January 14, 2009.

He was officially named the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator on January 19, 2011.[3]

[bigbluedefense]

I really don't understand why you love Rob Ryan so much D. I just don't get it.

[D-Unit]

Offseason moves:

Step 1: Cut the fat
Bradie James, Keith Brooking, Terrance Newman, Allan Ball, Martellus Bennett, Felix Jones, Anthony Spencer. Yes, I'm aware that some of those guys are FAs, just let them go.

Now I know some of you are seeing Felix's name and thinking "why Felix?" Simply put, he's a backup RB who is not worth the price tag. Let's face it guys, he is what he is. And he's not worth the money. A change up to Murray can be had in the middle rounds for much cheaper, and Murray is vastly superior to Jones. Cut the fat, save the money.

Step 2: Free Agency Moves
Sign Mario Williams, switch to a 43 front. Sign Manny Lawson to shore up SAM. This puts Ratliff in his natural UT position, he's been a UT his whole career, he was never a NT. This instantly upgrades your interior push. Spears provides no pass rush, but has always been a 4-3 NT who can be great in that role. Ware is a beast anywhere, don't worry about him. Mario is a beast off the edge.

Now you instantly upgrade your front 7. You have to compete with the division. All your division opponents can rush with 4. NYG has the best dline in the NFL, Philly led the league in sacks with mostly their front 4, Washington can rush with 4 with Rak and Kerrigan on the edges and Bowen up the gut.

You all know the East is an arms race, you gotta compete with the division. Getting Mario instantly puts your dline in that conversation. Now the addition of Lawson gives you versatility up front. Lawson is long and strong, can set the edge in the run game in an Over front, can reroute TEs at the line, and can cover with the best of them. Plus he can put his hand in the dirt on 3rd down and allow you to move around Mario and Ware along the dline, providing scheme versatility.

Those 2 moves gives you guys one of the better front 7s in the league. Plus Lee and Carter will probably be better in space as well anyway.

Now I know you guys are saying "but our secondary sucks still" Who cares. Jenkins and Scandrick are good enough. With that front 7 and those LBs, along with the pressure you get from the front 4 now, you can play a lot more umbrella coverages to mask the secondary.

Yes, I hate Cover 2 as well, but guess what? Look at the Bears. You can't tell me their secondary is any worse than yours, but they get after it with 4 and they have 2 LBs who can patrol the middle of the field, and last time I checked, their defense is pretty damn good.

Step 3: the draft

1. DeCastro
Again, the East is an arms race. You have to compete on the dline, but also prevent the division from getting to your qb. You have bookend OTs, that's a good start. Getting DeCastro gives you an interior guy who can take on the Jenkins, Bowens, Canty/Tucks of the world. You need that guy.

2. Best available interior pass rusher/DT
Ratliff is getting older, and you need a guy who can develop behind him plus give you another interior pass rushing DT who can come in on 3rd downs and obvious passing formations.

3. Brewer C/G Ohio
I'm not thrilled with him as a Center, I feel he's better at Guard. He's a little lanky and long to play Center, and I think he can be a good pulling guard. Either way, you draft him and find a spot for him. His versatility can't hurt.

4. Best available TE/RB
You need a change up to Murray, and Witten is getting slower and slower and slower. You need to develop a TE behind him.

5-7: BPA

I also like the CB from Texas A&M, but he's an injury liability. I don't know where he'll fall in this draft. He can even move to FS if necessary, but it all depends on his medical to me.

That's my plan for the Cowboys. You can't fix everything overnight, but I feel that's the best plan for this year. You can concentrate on upgrading the secondary next year. As for Laurent Robinson, you'll probably lose him. Look, you gotta trust Romo to be that guy to make everyone around him better. He has it in him, he can make what he has work. Your offense is plenty talented, it's up to Romo to maximize it.

What do you think? Yay or nay?
That draft is simply horrible merely from the standpoint that we only spend 1 pick in the first 4 rounds on defense. Scandrick and Jenkins are always hurt bro.

[D-Unit]

I really don't understand why you love Rob Ryan so much D. I just don't get it.
He's the whole package. Coaching isn't just about schemes. He inspires and holds accountability. He sticks up for his players and they try hard for him too. He's had jack crap to work with. That's undeniable.

[bigbluedefense]

That draft is simply horrible merely from the standpoint that we only spend 1 pick in the first 4 rounds on defense. Scandrick and Jenkins are always hurt bro.

Yeah, I won't deny that draft is weak. I still have to scout players, don't know nearly enough about guys outside the first round just yet.

My concern is, there really isn't any CBs available in FA that I feel are worth the money, nor is there any CBs in the draft that I like at the moment. I hate drafting talent in a need position just bc you have to draft someone at that position. Talent>>> need all day every day.

[Witten4HOF]

He's the whole package. Coaching isn't just about schemes. He inspires and holds accountability. He sticks up for his players and they try hard for him too. He's had jack crap to work with. That's undeniable.

I agree to a certain point... that he is the anti Wade Phillips... he encourages challenges and adds swag to the defense. On the flip side of the coin his schemes are not personel friendly.... they are carved in stone no matter what the strengths and weaknesses of the players are. His schemes demand at least one player that is a + man coverage corner who can survive on an island. Without a player how can take away half the field his zone schemes are stretched and easily attacked. Wade was much better at adapting to his players and was the reason Ratliff was sucessful at NT and James at ILB. Rather then drawing up players over and over that put Bradie in a position to play in space or Rat to occupy to blockers he continued to change. He bit off more then he chewed attempting to run the entire team and call the defense which was his major downfall.

[bigbluedefense]

The Cowboys need discipline. Rob is a loudmouth who has more bark than bite. That's the last thing the Cowboys need. Wade was a brilliant DC but also a softy. Garrett doesn't get respected bc he's basically Jerry's puppet. Seriously, how do you expect the team to respect the coach when the GM/Owner comes down to him during the game and tells him to bench his qb?

The Cowboys need a tough discipline oriented approach with credibility (key word there, he has to have credibility). I'd go hard after Cowher if Garrett doesn't make the playoffs this year.

[Trogdor]

The Cowboys need discipline. Rob is a loudmouth who has more bark than bite. That's the last thing the Cowboys need. Wade was a brilliant DC but also a softy. Garrett doesn't get respected bc he's basically Jerry's puppet. Seriously, how do you expect the team to respect the coach when the GM/Owner comes down to him during the game and tells him to bench his qb?

The Cowboys need a tough discipline oriented approach with credibility (key word there, he has to have credibility). I'd go hard after Cowher if Garrett doesn't make the playoffs this year.

LOL you lost me with the Garrett comment. By all accounts JG is the first coach in a long time to put JJ in his place in terms of personnel. Even Jerry has admitted that JG has final call on the roster. He never gave that sort of comment when Camp Cupcake was in town.

JG has been described as a disciplinarian and echo'd the mantra of BP's toe the line. Laughable.

You had it until you decided to trash everyone rather than focusing on those that fit your point. ;)

[bigbluedefense]

LOL you lost me with the Garrett comment. By all accounts JG is the first coach in a long time to put JJ in his place in terms of personnel. Even Jerry has admitted that JG has final call on the roster. He never gave that sort of comment when Camp Cupcake was in town.

JG has been described as a disciplinarian and echo'd the mantra of BP's toe the line. Laughable.

You had it until you decided to trash everyone rather than focusing on those that fit your point. ;)

Come on bro. He said the same thing when Wade was coach. Same thing when Parcells was coach. Jerry has final roster say. Just because he says it doesn't mean it's true. If Jerry and Garrett disagree on a guy on draft day, guess what? Jerry is getting his guy. That's how it's going to be.

I know Garrett has instilled discipline to the best of his ability, but he lacks the credibility part that I emphasized in my post. You think Jerry would come down and tell a Jeff Fisher or a Bill Parcells or a Bill Cowher to sit his qb? Those guys wouldn't have it. And when players see that, trust me, you lose credibility in that locker room.

Put yourself in a similar position as the players. Let's say you're at your job, and you have a direct supervisor, and a manager above him. Your manager is constantly telling your supervisor what to do in front of you and the rest of the team, and when he doesn't agree with your supervisor on something, he'll force him to do what he wants.

As a worker, would you fear your supervisor? Of course not. He's just a yes man. I know that I don't have to do what he says, I just have to appease my manager. So his words are falling on deaf ears. As long as I'm cool with my manager, I'm good. My supervisor's words don't mean ****. The only time I'll listen to my supervisor is when I know my manager wants the same thing. If not, then hell with what he says.

See the problem?

[LonghornsLegend]

Yeah, I won't deny that draft is weak. I still have to scout players, don't know nearly enough about guys outside the first round just yet.

My concern is, there really isn't any CBs available in FA that I feel are worth the money, nor is there any CBs in the draft that I like at the moment. I hate drafting talent in a need position just bc you have to draft someone at that position. Talent>>> need all day every day.



That may be so, but when your CB's are as bad as ours you just can't ignore it. Stanfort Routt or Tracy Porter would be welcomed additions here big time. We need a guy like that, and an early pick. How would we win a game when our only CB's are Jenkins and Scandrick? Two CB's in this day and age? Lol we would be a laughing stock of a defense.


That's aside from the fact that they both get injured too. You need at least 5 solid CB's, we are a long way away. We just can't ignore CB in FA and in the draft and think it'll due us any good. There is not way around that.

[bigbluedefense]

That may be so, but when your CB's are as bad as ours you just can't ignore it. Stanfort Routt or Tracy Porter would be welcomed additions here big time. We need a guy like that, and an early pick. How would we win a game when our only CB's are Jenkins and Scandrick? Two CB's in this day and age? Lol we would be a laughing stock of a defense.


That's aside from the fact that they both get injured too. You need at least 5 solid CB's, we are a long way away. We just can't ignore CB in FA and in the draft and think it'll due us any good. There is not way around that.

If that's the case, I would still go after Mario in FA, then draft a CB in the 1st round. I'm just not thrilled with this CB class so far. I'm iffy on Dre, and Dennard reminds me of Ike Taylor so far in my study of him.

I just don't think Porter can be that guy. Routt...maybe. I didn't think he was that bad when I saw him play. But both will command a contract that I wouldn't feel comfortable handing out. I just hate giving out bad contracts. You go in circles doing that.

But I really think a dline of Ware and Mario on the edges would be dominant.

[D-Unit]

Yeah, I won't deny that draft is weak. I still have to scout players, don't know nearly enough about guys outside the first round just yet.

My concern is, there really isn't any CBs available in FA that I feel are worth the money, nor is there any CBs in the draft that I like at the moment. I hate drafting talent in a need position just bc you have to draft someone at that position. Talent>>> need all day every day.
At least that clears up why you chose that draft. When you don't include players at certain positions because you don't know them, that severely limits the options in a mock.

BTW, the Brewster pick seems exactly what you criticized. Need over talent. No??? I dunno, I personally think he's more hype than substance and that he'll eventually end up at Guard in the NFL.

[D-Unit]

I agree to a certain point... that he is the anti Wade Phillips... he encourages challenges and adds swag to the defense. On the flip side of the coin his schemes are not personel friendly.... they are carved in stone no matter what the strengths and weaknesses of the players are. His schemes demand at least one player that is a + man coverage corner who can survive on an island. Without a player how can take away half the field his zone schemes are stretched and easily attacked. Wade was much better at adapting to his players and was the reason Ratliff was sucessful at NT and James at ILB. Rather then drawing up players over and over that put Bradie in a position to play in space or Rat to occupy to blockers he continued to change. He bit off more then he chewed attempting to run the entire team and call the defense which was his major downfall.
I don't know if it was so much that Wade made adjustments to his scheme to accommodate players as much as our players simply fit his scheme better. Moving from Parcells 2 gap 3-4 to Wade's 1 gap 3-4 was a much better fit for Ratliff. As for Bradie, I don't think he was committed to learning a new system at this point in his career. Last year of his deal combined with age, I think with any new DC, his outcome would've been the same and rightfully so as Sean Lee's emergence justified.

I have the view point that players take on the personalities of their coaches to a large degree and that's another reason why I am a big supporter of Rob Ryan.... because he exudes the fire that I want to see from the players on the field.

I think he adjusted plenty to our personnel this past season. What we saw was not a full fledged Rob Ryan scheme at all. Yet he showed the versatility to accommodate to our players weaknesses. He didn't keep doing what wasn't working. He didn't force "his system". He made adjustments. Also, he ran the 4-3 in Oakland, and ran the 3-4 in New England and Cleveland. I think he's pretty versatile. But I do get what you were trying to say in that his scheme needs a top cover corner to be in full effect. I agree that that limits him to a degree.

[LonghornsLegend]

If that's the case, I would still go after Mario in FA, then draft a CB in the 1st round. I'm just not thrilled with this CB class so far. I'm iffy on Dre, and Dennard reminds me of Ike Taylor so far in my study of him.

I just don't think Porter can be that guy. Routt...maybe. I didn't think he was that bad when I saw him play. But both will command a contract that I wouldn't feel comfortable handing out. I just hate giving out bad contracts. You go in circles doing that.

But I really think a dline of Ware and Mario on the edges would be dominant.


Yea I wouldn't be opposed to Mario, I'm just not one of the guys pushing to do it. Not sure why, I'm just luke warm on the idea of giving him a massive contract.


I probably like Jenkins at CB in the 1st more then most, he's just naturally fluid in his hips, and with how much we like to blitz he seems like he could be left on an island with his man. I like Jenkins a lot when healthy as a #2 CB, people bash him a lot but his pro bowl year was no fluke, if were getting consistent QB pressure and have a potential shut down #1 CB he'll be great.


Scandrick is solid as a slot, and we need depth. It could be fixed in one off-season if we approach it correctly, but hell Routt as a 4th CB would be awesome, Rob Ryan knows him and it'd be a massive upgrade over Alan Ball.


Then again if we did get Mario, I'd want to spend an early pick on a DE and just try to dominate up front. ILB depth is horrible too though, smh we just have some holes. I like Bruce Carter, but hell, if he gets hurt we might have to switch to a 4-3 mid season.

[D-Unit]

The Cowboys need discipline. Rob is a loudmouth who has more bark than bite. That's the last thing the Cowboys need. Wade was a brilliant DC but also a softy. Garrett doesn't get respected bc he's basically Jerry's puppet. Seriously, how do you expect the team to respect the coach when the GM/Owner comes down to him during the game and tells him to bench his qb?

The Cowboys need a tough discipline oriented approach with credibility (key word there, he has to have credibility). I'd go hard after Cowher if Garrett doesn't make the playoffs this year.
The Cowboys do need discipline. You know where at? At the exact areas where we have talent deficiencies. They are at the same source. If we improve our areas of weakness, and the defense improves, then the discipline/mental weakness excuses will go out the window. Get me a lockdown corner, get me a safety that can cover, get me an OLB to replace Spencer, get me another ILB next to Lee, get me a NT that doesn't struggle at his position, get me a stud DE. Get me those talent upgrades and I'll show you that the mental toughness criticism and poor coaching excuses are erased.

I know you don't like our coaching staff and you think the problem starts with Jerry and trickles down to his coaches. But I'm not convinced. I think the main problem is our talent level and our lack of ability to compete at the same level of the elite teams in the NFL. We have invested A LOT on the offensive side of the ball and it shows. We have not invested A LOT on the defensive side of the ball and it shows there as well. If the Cowboys want to get to the top, they need to make smart personnel moves to address our areas of weakness.

Coaching credibility is overrated in the way you make it sound. Players don't blankly ignore NFL coaches unless they have personal reason to. I don't think they play any less hard or listen any less based off credibility.

[Trogdor]

With Free Agency A Month Out, Cowboys Have Eighth Highest Amount Of 2012 Cap Space :)

After we cut Newman we'll end up at 5th most space.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2012/2/12/2793977/with-free-agency-a-month-out-cowboys-have-eighth-highest-amount-of

[CDCB14]

Yea I wouldn't be opposed to Mario, I'm just not one of the guys pushing to do it. Not sure why, I'm just luke warm on the idea of giving him a massive contract.


I probably like Jenkins at CB in the 1st more then most, he's just naturally fluid in his hips, and with how much we like to blitz he seems like he could be left on an island with his man. I like Jenkins a lot when healthy as a #2 CB, people bash him a lot but his pro bowl year was no fluke, if were getting consistent QB pressure and have a potential shut down #1 CB he'll be great.


Scandrick is solid as a slot, and we need depth. It could be fixed in one off-season if we approach it correctly, but hell Routt as a 4th CB would be awesome, Rob Ryan knows him and it'd be a massive upgrade over Alan Ball.


Then again if we did get Mario, I'd want to spend an early pick on a DE and just try to dominate up front. ILB depth is horrible too though, smh we just have some holes. I like Bruce Carter, but hell, if he gets hurt we might have to switch to a 4-3 mid season.

You need to get these wild fantasy CB situations out of your head. If Routt came here, he'd be a starter. 4th CB? This isn't madden bro. Stanford Routt as our 4th CB? LOLOLOLOLOL.

As for Janoris Jenkins at 14, it isn't happening. Broaddus has inside info in the organization and he said on the football show that they aren't going to pick him at 14. They want to get bigger at CB. If they pick a CB at 14 it will be Kirkpatrick. Depends on free agency and who else is on the board.

Jenkins at 14 would be a mistake anyway. He's a solid CB but he's small and nothing spectacular. At 14 it would be terrible. Good thing they aren't going that direction.

[TheFinisher]

Come on bro. He said the same thing when Wade was coach. Same thing when Parcells was coach. Jerry has final roster say. Just because he says it doesn't mean it's true. If Jerry and Garrett disagree on a guy on draft day, guess what? Jerry is getting his guy. That's how it's going to be.

I know Garrett has instilled discipline to the best of his ability, but he lacks the credibility part that I emphasized in my post. You think Jerry would come down and tell a Jeff Fisher or a Bill Parcells or a Bill Cowher to sit his qb? Those guys wouldn't have it. And when players see that, trust me, you lose credibility in that locker room.

Put yourself in a similar position as the players. Let's say you're at your job, and you have a direct supervisor, and a manager above him. Your manager is constantly telling your supervisor what to do in front of you and the rest of the team, and when he doesn't agree with your supervisor on something, he'll force him to do what he wants.

As a worker, would you fear your supervisor? Of course not. He's just a yes man. I know that I don't have to do what he says, I just have to appease my manager. So his words are falling on deaf ears. As long as I'm cool with my manager, I'm good. My supervisor's words don't mean ****. The only time I'll listen to my supervisor is when I know my manager wants the same thing. If not, then hell with what he says.

See the problem?

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to bigbluedefense again.

Excellent post and echoes what I've been saying for a while now, really since the Garrett hiring. Some here don't want to open their eyes to the fact that Garrett is just a Yes Man that doesn't command the same respect from his players as other, more credible coaches around the league.

Players aren't oblivious to what goes on in the organization, they see it just as clearly as fans do, if not MORE clearly. If damn near everyone who watches football knows that Garrett is just Jerry's Yes Man then you better believe the players are thinking that in the back of their mind's too... and no one respects a Yes Man.

I'm happy that a fan of another team is coming in here and voicing the obvious, thanks BBD. I'd love to see a poll in the NFL Topic thread on what percentage of posters thinks JG is just a Jerry Yes Man, because I think it'd be an overwhelming response and maybe open some eyes up in here to what unbiased fans are seeing from the outside.

[leroyisgod]

With Free Agency A Month Out, Cowboys Have Eighth Highest Amount Of 2012 Cap Space :)

After we cut Newman we'll end up at 5th most space.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2012/2/12/2793977/with-free-agency-a-month-out-cowboys-have-eighth-highest-amount-of

How much dead cap space will cutting Newman cause us if any?

[Trogdor]

How much dead cap space will cutting Newman cause us if any?

Dead money would be the prorated portion of his signing bonus (2million per year) for a total of 6 million. That's where the "saving up" part comes into play. If we cut him before June 1st it saves us 4 million and we take the entire cap hit this year (no dead money next year). If we cut him after June 1st then we save 6 million on this year's cap and take a 2 million dead money hit next year.

So we'll have anywhere between 21 million and 23 million to spend this offseason. With current salaries that projects to between 18 and 20 million on free agency.

A lot of people within the organization have given a TON of credit to Stephen Jones for the salary cap wizardry.

[Macarthur]

Wade was a brilliant DC but also a softy.

I generally respect your opinions, but you don't help your case with hyperbole. Wade is a good to very good DC. He is not 'brilliant'. I think you need to go back at look at Wade's defensive numbers. He's a had a few really good year, but he's also a several years where things were very average.

[D-Unit]

I like Wade's schemes and abilities... heck, I even hoped there was a way for us to keep him on as DC but at the same time see him relinquish the gig as HC. But it wasn't happening and it didn't happen. I respect him a lot, but that said, he is getting way too much credit for turning around that Texans defense. I say the majority of the credit goes to their GM for significantly upgrading the talent level first and foremost. Any half way decent DC could do a good job with that defense. So I'm not going to be too quick to go above and beyond what I initially thought of Wade (which was high already).

[D-Unit]

Excellent post and echoes what I've been saying for a while now, really since the Garrett hiring. Some here don't want to open their eyes to the fact that Garrett is just a Yes Man that doesn't command the same respect from his players as other, more credible coaches around the league.

Players aren't oblivious to what goes on in the organization, they see it just as clearly as fans do, if not MORE clearly. If damn near everyone who watches football knows that Garrett is just Jerry's Yes Man then you better believe the players are thinking that in the back of their mind's too... and no one respects a Yes Man.

I'm happy that a fan of another team is coming in here and voicing the obvious, thanks BBD. I'd love to see a poll in the NFL Topic thread on what percentage of posters thinks JG is just a Jerry Yes Man, because I think it'd be an overwhelming response and maybe open some eyes up in here to what unbiased fans are seeing from the outside.
For me, I am not a fan of Jason Garrett. I criticized the hire because I knew it came with growing pains of a young HC. Sure enough, we saw plenty of those in his first year being an NFL HC. From his overconfidence in his young OL, to his poor game clock management, to his continued playcalling woes, to his handling of Romo... we can go on and on. Oh yeah, I can't stand his robotic interview answers either...

But with that said, I don't think that he is all bad. He's got a stiff one up his ass and it's hard to see him as a genuine guy, but I don't think the team disrespects him. Not at all. I don't think the players question his credibility and I don't think there is a distraction because of it. I don't think there is a wall built up between him and the players. I don't think they question his directions to the team. I don't think they have the attitude of "why should I listen to you?" and I don't think the team is thinking "I only need to listen to Jerry". I don't think there is ANY confusion on that part.

Jason is the HC of the team and the players take coaching direction from him and his staff. I think the issues Jason had last year can be mitigated by the hire of Bill Callahan. I think that hire will help a lot more than people think. Jason's problems were emphasized in running the ball and OL play. Passing wise, he's a shark. Callahan will bring that improvement in the run and the OL, so I think our offense next year will be better than ever in Garrett's reign here. At least I'm willing to give him the chance of that.

Bottom line, I don't see Jason Garrett as a reason why the Cowboys can't win next year. While I don't love him, I realize that the issues are correctable. I know he holds player accountability at a high priority and I don't think he's lost the team because of Jerry. I'm not gonna sit here and say all is lost until we get a new HC.

[leroyisgod]

For me, I am not a fan of Jason Garrett. I criticized the hire because I knew it came with growing pains of a young HC. Sure enough, we saw plenty of those in his first year being an NFL HC. From his overconfidence in his young OL, to his poor game clock management, to his continued playcalling woes, to his handling of Romo... we can go on and on. Oh yeah, I can't stand his robotic interview answers either...

But with that said, I don't think that he is all bad. He's got a stiff one up his ass and it's hard to see him as a genuine guy, but I don't think the team disrespects him. Not at all. I don't think the players question his credibility and I don't think there is a distraction because of it. I don't think there is a wall built up between him and the players. I don't think they question his directions to the team. I don't think they have the attitude of "why should I listen to you?" and I don't think the team is thinking "I only need to listen to Jerry". I don't think there is ANY confusion on that part.

Jason is the HC of the team and the players take coaching direction from him and his staff. I think the issues Jason had last year can be mitigated by the hire of Bill Callahan. I think that hire will help a lot more than people think. Jason's problems were emphasized in running the ball and OL play. Passing wise, he's a shark. Callahan will bring that improvement in the run and the OL, so I think our offense next year will be better than ever in Garrett's reign here. At least I'm willing to give him the chance of that.

Bottom line, I don't see Jason Garrett as a reason why the Cowboys can't win next year. While I don't love him, I realize that the issues are correctable. I know he holds player accountability at a high priority and I don't think he's lost the team because of Jerry. I'm not gonna sit here and say all is lost until we get a new HC.

I concur with D on this. JG went took his lumps this year and I believe he'll learn and grow from them. While he's not very charismatic and pretty vanilla when it comes to his personality, I actually like that.

[CDCB14]

I concur with D on this. JG went took his lumps this year and I believe he'll learn and grow from them. While he's not very charismatic and pretty vanilla when it comes to his personality, I actually like that.

I agree. Garrett is not the problem. I think he is going to be a fine coach.

In fact, I compare with pretty well to Bill Belichick. Did anyone think Belichick was some mastermind with the Browns or his first year with the patriots when he went 5-11? Hell, if Drew Bledsoe doesn't get hurt Tom Brady might not be in the league right now and Belichick may have been fired from New England before all of the super bowls.

Garrett is a genius and he knows it, just like Belichick. They know what they are doing, and they are as vanilla as it gets when it comes to talking to the media.

Now, i'm not saying Garrett is going to win 3 super bowls like Belichick by any means, so don't jump on me. But I do think he is capable of handling the job and will have this team in contention pretty much every year.

Not to mention, Garrett can actually evaluate players. Broaddus called him a great player personnel guy, and I value his opinion highly.

Bill Callahan is also a huge hire, I agree with D-Unit on that. Perfect shoulder to lean on for Garrett. Let's not forget Belichick had coordinators like Wiess and Crennel. It isn't just the head coach. Eric Mangini said on First Take that he loves the Callahan hire (worked with him on the Jets) and it could be one of the best under the radar moves of the off-season. I respect his opinion as well he is very objective on that show.

People always want to point the finger at polarizing figures like Romo and Garrett because they make the headlines on ESPN, but they are the farthest thing from the problem.

[TheFinisher]

For me, I am not a fan of Jason Garrett. I criticized the hire because I knew it came with growing pains of a young HC. Sure enough, we saw plenty of those in his first year being an NFL HC. From his overconfidence in his young OL, to his poor game clock management, to his continued playcalling woes, to his handling of Romo... we can go on and on. Oh yeah, I can't stand his robotic interview answers either...

But with that said, I don't think that he is all bad. He's got a stiff one up his ass and it's hard to see him as a genuine guy, but I don't think the team disrespects him. Not at all. I don't think the players question his credibility and I don't think there is a distraction because of it. I don't think there is a wall built up between him and the players. I don't think they question his directions to the team. I don't think they have the attitude of "why should I listen to you?" and I don't think the team is thinking "I only need to listen to Jerry". I don't think there is ANY confusion on that part.

Jason is the HC of the team and the players take coaching direction from him and his staff. I think the issues Jason had last year can be mitigated by the hire of Bill Callahan. I think that hire will help a lot more than people think. Jason's problems were emphasized in running the ball and OL play. Passing wise, he's a shark. Callahan will bring that improvement in the run and the OL, so I think our offense next year will be better than ever in Garrett's reign here. At least I'm willing to give him the chance of that.

Bottom line, I don't see Jason Garrett as a reason why the Cowboys can't win next year. While I don't love him, I realize that the issues are correctable. I know he holds player accountability at a high priority and I don't think he's lost the team because of Jerry. I'm not gonna sit here and say all is lost until we get a new HC.

I have a polar opposite view to the bolded. The guy iced his own kicker to lose a game, you don't think players talk amongst themselves about that and begin to have doubts? Then when Jerry comes down on the sidelines in the middle of a game and tells Garrett that he needs to sit Romo, you don't think players second guess who's really in charge after seeing that?

Players are heavily opinionated just like us, JG doesn't have the credibility in this league for the players to just hand their respect over to him because of his title. We recognized JG was in over his head this season, but you don't think the players saw the same thing? Sorry, just can't buy that.

[Macarthur]

There's a lot of talk on a couple of sites about Sturm's article about putting the franchise tag on Spencer.

I think that would be a horrible idea.

[Macarthur]

The guy iced his own kicker to lose a game, you don't think players talk amongst themselves about that and begin to have doubts?

Can we all please stop with this idiocy? He did not ice his own kicker.

[TheFinisher]

Can we all please stop with this idiocy? He did not ice his own kicker.

lol what would you call it then?

[Macarthur]

lol what would you call it then?

His ST coach told him they weren't ready and to call the TO.

[TheFinisher]

There's a lot of talk on a couple of sites about Sturm's article about putting the franchise tag on Spencer.

I think that would be a horrible idea.

It was on PFT too.

And yes it would be a disaster.

[TheFinisher]

His ST coach told him they weren't ready and to call the TO.

Well then that's a whole nother can of worms. In his presser he said they were comfortable from 48 and were settling at that distance, that's why they weren't more aggressive. My question is, if that was the plan then why is the FG team not ready to go on the sideline? If you already made that decision that you were in FG range and were content there, there is no excuse to have confusion on the sideline when the FG team runs out.

Either way you look at it he handled the situation terribly and cost us the game.

[leroyisgod]

It was on PFT too.

And yes it would be a disaster.

I just think this is all chatter right now. If we spend $9mi on someone, it's gonna be a player like Mario and we'll spend more than that.

[CDCB14]

Broaddus said that there is a good chance they franchise spencer. The only way I wouldn't hate it is if we get a true NT and ratliff moves to DE. Maybe Rob Ryan actually believes Spencer isn't that good.

As for this "the players aren't scared of garrett" garbage, that's such a pathetic excuse. They are professionals who are making millions of dollars. This isn't little league. That's a joke. If the team is winning, the players buy in, if they don't, then you just have to see how they handle the adversity and hopefully fight out of it.

This "the players don't respect garrett because of jerry" is garbage. Garrett has control, and these guys are NFL players. Not a high school JV team. gtfo.

And even if they don't respect garrett.. what does that even matter? They are still going to do their jobs. If they win it's because they we're good enough. This Garrett stuff is a joke.

Thought people on this board were better than getting sucked in to ESPN gossip..

[Macarthur]

Well then that's a whole nother can of worms. In his presser he said they were comfortable from 48 and were settling at that distance, that's why they weren't more aggressive. My question is, if that was the plan then why is the FG team not ready to go on the sideline? If you already made that decision that you were in FG range and were content there, there is no excuse to have confusion on the sideline when the FG team runs out.

Either way you look at it he handled the situation terribly and cost us the game.

I never said they managed the situation well up to that point. I think they managed that very poorly and I think Garrett will learn from his mistakes.

All I'm saying is that it's silly and hyperbole to say he iced his own kicker because that is not what happened.

[TheFinisher]

I never said they managed the situation well up to that point. I think they managed that very poorly and I think Garrett will learn from his mistakes.

All I'm saying is that it's silly and hyperbole to say he iced his own kicker because that is not what happened.

I think it's more embarrassing than silly/hyperbole, because essentially that is what happened. He didn't mean to do it, but it doesn't change the fact that he did.

[D-Unit]

I have a polar opposite view to the bolded. The guy iced his own kicker to lose a game, you don't think players talk amongst themselves about that and begin to have doubts? Then when Jerry comes down on the sidelines in the middle of a game and tells Garrett that he needs to sit Romo, you don't think players second guess who's really in charge after seeing that?

Players are heavily opinionated just like us, JG doesn't have the credibility in this league for the players to just hand their respect over to him because of his title. We recognized JG was in over his head this season, but you don't think the players saw the same thing? Sorry, just can't buy that.
We can agree to disagree, but it sounds like you think there is an existing mutiny going on in the lockerroom. I don't think JG has a credibility problem in this lockerroom. He's been here for a long time already. He's gone through the same wars with them WAY before he was the HC here. This is a situation unlike a new foreign HC coming in with no history between him and the players. Totally different. Credibility is not in question. He's had success here and the players on offense, especially the leaders are ALL IN with Garrett. With the whole Jerry went down to tell Garrett to take Romo off the field... Do you think Romo now feels confusion on who to take play calls from? Sounds silly to me.

[D-Unit]

I think it's more embarrassing than silly/hyperbole, because essentially that is what happened. He didn't mean to do it, but it doesn't change the fact that he did.
NO DOUBT it turned out to be one of the stupidest things I ever saw from a HC, but it didn't turn into a situation where now the players are now disinterested in anything Garrett has to say.


BTW, I'm happy with all this Cowboys talk. It'zzzzz fun! ^_^

[leroyisgod]

Thank god the combine and free agency is coming up, we need something new to talk about. :)

[Macarthur]

Thank god the combine and free agency is coming up, we need something new to talk about. :)

Amen!!!!!!!!!

[bigbluedefense]

If Clairborne starts falling to say, 8 or 9, do you move up and get him?

What would it cost? I have a feeling we see a lot more trades this year.

[D-Unit]

If Clairborne starts falling to say, 8 or 9, do you move up and get him?

What would it cost? I have a feeling we see a lot more trades this year.
I'm sure the new CBA will stir up more trades than every before. So much less risk in signing these new rookie deals. Teams could go berzerk, especially teams fighting for the #2 spot to get RG3.

For Claiborne, the most I'd be willing to give up would be our 1st plus a 3rd and even then, I'm not so sure.

For this draft, I'm much more inclined to want to trade down to add picks. The talent at 12 is very underwhelming.

[leroyisgod]

I'm sure the new CBA will stir up more trades than every before. So much less risk in signing these new rookie deals. Teams could go berzerk, especially teams fighting for the #2 spot to get RG3.

For Claiborne, the most I'd be willing to give up would be our 1st plus a 3rd and even then, I'm not so sure.

For this draft, I'm much more inclined to want to trade down to add picks. The talent at 12 is very underwhelming.

The Rams are sitting in a beautiful spot IMO. Someone is going to pay a heavy price to pick him at #2 and Fisher hasn't denied the fact that he'd like to trade down. I think they really want someone like Blackmon and can still get him later in the top 10.

Our #14 spot is in an interesting one. Unless we fall in love with someone or if by a miracle Claiborne some hows drops, there's probably no reason to pick at that spot. So many of these players we can get in the 20's and pick up a 2nd and possibly more picks.

[D-Unit]

Ahmad Bradshaw says Cowboys won’t win with Tony Romo at QB

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ahmad-bradshaw-says-cowboys-won-t-win-tony-192548301.html

"I don't see it happening," Bradshaw told the NFL Network when asked if the Cowboys will ever win a Super Bowl with Romo at the helm. "I don't think they believe it, and they're America's Team. If America don't believe it . . ."

Bradshaw was asked to clear his comment, about whether he was referring to the team itself or the fans.

"It all comes together," Bradshaw said. "If the fans don't believe it, the team doesn't. They're kinda doubtful with Romo."


----------------------------

Has Bradshaw been reading my posts? LMAO.

[bigbluedefense]

Bradshaw needs to ****. He's not the runner he used to be. Dances way too much. Be worried about your own job security Bradshaw. I think Romo will be starting for the Cowboys much longer than you'll be starting for the Giants.

[D-Unit]

Bradshaw needs to ****. He's not the runner he used to be. Dances way too much. Be worried about your own job security Bradshaw. I think Romo will be starting for the Cowboys much longer than you'll be starting for the Giants.
Bradshaw does have a point though. There are still doubts on Romo's ability to "finish". I certainly have doubts that he'd ever win a SB. Romo is a gunslinger which is both a blessing and a curse. If you ever want to talk about him being a top QB, he'll always be in that conversation because of his aggressive passing style that puts up a lot of fancy stats, but if you want to argue whether he can win it all... let's just say... there's a distinct difference there. The rest of the team has to be damn near perfect. He's not a guy who carry the team on his shoulders. He's gotta have protection, he's gotta have a strong running game, he's gotta have good receivers and he's gotta have a strong defense. Give him all those things and he can be a part of the solution, but he will never be one to carry a faulty team to victory.

[CDCB14]

Ahmad Bradshaw says Cowboys won’t win with Tony Romo at QB

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ahmad-bradshaw-says-cowboys-won-t-win-tony-192548301.html

"I don't see it happening," Bradshaw told the NFL Network when asked if the Cowboys will ever win a Super Bowl with Romo at the helm. "I don't think they believe it, and they're America's Team. If America don't believe it . . ."

Bradshaw was asked to clear his comment, about whether he was referring to the team itself or the fans.

"It all comes together," Bradshaw said. "If the fans don't believe it, the team doesn't. They're kinda doubtful with Romo."


----------------------------

Has Bradshaw been reading my posts? LMAO.

Yeah cause he's in the locker room right? What a joke. The media today is pathetic. If you actually take anything from that then I don't even know what to tell you..

[TheFinisher]

We can agree to disagree, but it sounds like you think there is an existing mutiny going on in the lockerroom. I don't think JG has a credibility problem in this lockerroom. He's been here for a long time already. He's gone through the same wars with them WAY before he was the HC here. This is a situation unlike a new foreign HC coming in with no history between him and the players. Totally different. Credibility is not in question. He's had success here and the players on offense, especially the leaders are ALL IN with Garrett. With the whole Jerry went down to tell Garrett to take Romo off the field... Do you think Romo now feels confusion on who to take play calls from? Sounds silly to me.

Not a mutiny, I just don't think the current structure of our organization is the best fit for a young inexperienced coach like Garrett and I have my doubts that he's the one that can change the culture within the lockerroom. Garrett's familiarity with our vets is not a good thing IMO, there's undoubtedly a comfort level between him and the players and I was looking for them to feel uncomfort after that horrendous 2010 campaign. There needed to be a major shake up, promoting the in-house guy was too knee jerk and it was a missed opportunity. That all ties in to the mental toughness issues we talked about a few pages back, the last thing a mentally weak team needs after a season like that is to feel a sense of comfort. When Garrett was named HC our underachieving lockerroom breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that we're still making the same stupid mistakes and blowing leads in mind numbing fashion has me worried that I am right.

Anyway, Stanford Routt is set to visit Dallas this week according to Matt Mosley.

[CDCB14]

Bradshaw does have a point though. There are still doubts on Romo's ability to "finish". I certainly have doubts that he'd ever win a SB. Romo is a gunslinger which is both a blessing and a curse. If you ever want to talk about him being a top QB, he'll always be in that conversation because of his aggressive passing style that puts up a lot of fancy stats, but if you want to argue whether he can win it all... let's just say... there's a distinct difference there. The rest of the team has to be damn near perfect. He's not a guy who carry the team on his shoulders. He's gotta have protection, he's gotta have a strong running game, he's gotta have good receivers and he's gotta have a strong defense. Give him all those things and he can be a part of the solution, but he will never be one to carry a faulty team to victory.

Again, completely false. Did you watch the San Fran comeback? Your saying that wasn't all on Tony Romo's back? Besides, what QB doesn't need help? Football is the ultimate team sport. Put Joe Montana is his prime with an average to below average defense, OL, recievers, and running back and watch him finish 8-8. Then get back to me....

Ahhh, the power of ESPN these days. Terrible.

[TheFinisher]

Again, completely false. Did you watch the San Fran comeback? Your saying that wasn't all on Tony Romo's back? Besides, what QB doesn't need help? Football is the ultimate team sport. Put Joe Montana is his prime with an average to below average defense, OL, recievers, and running back and watch him finish 8-8. Then get back to me....

Ahhh, the power of ESPN these days. Terrible.

Our defense also played out of their minds in the 2nd half of that San Fran game. Romo played big and he earned a lot of respect for playing with the broken ribs, but it wasn't all on him.

[CDCB14]

Not a mutiny, I just don't think the current structure of our organization is the best fit for a young inexperienced coach like Garrett and I have my doubts that he's the one that can change the culture within the lockerroom. Garrett's familiarity with our vets is not a good thing IMO, there's undoubtedly a comfort level between him and the players and I was looking for them to feel uncomfort after that horrendous 2010 campaign. There needed to be a major shake up, promoting the in-house guy was too knee jerk and it was a missed opportunity. That all ties in to the mental toughness issues we talked about a few pages back, the last thing a mentally weak team needs after a season like that is to feel a sense of comfort. When Garrett was named HC our underachieving lockerroom breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that we're still making the same stupid mistakes and blowing leads in mind numbing fashion has me worried that I am right.

Anyway, Stanford Routt is set to visit Dallas this week according to Matt Mosley.

Wait, can Routt be signed right now because he was released or does he need wait until March 13th too?

He might be the best bang for your buck free agent, but I would hate to sign a guy who is turning 29 to anything more than a 3 year deal. No need for another Terence Newman situation.

[CDCB14]

Our defense also played out of their minds in the 2nd half of that San Fran game. Romo played big and he earned a lot of respect for playing with the broken ribs, but it wasn't all on him.

The defense was solid, but my point is that to say Romo can't carry a team when other's can is idiotic. Football is a team game. With the interior OL and RB situation besides that 5 game stretch from Murray, Romo hardly had elite type help, and still had the best season of his career. He was outstanding. And Miles wasn't 100% when he was on the field, and their timing was off as well.

Romo is fine. He can carry a team just as well as anyone can. Look at the first giants game. Could he have played any better? And don't give me the overthrow to miles austin, it never shouldn't have come to that. The defense folded like a paper figurine. If our defense could have done anything in a two minute drill or a game tying/winning drive we would've been 12-4.

Romo is a stud. Period.

[TheFinisher]

Wait, can Routt be signed right now because he was released or does he need wait until March 13th too?

He might be the best bang for your buck free agent, but I would hate to sign a guy who is turning 29 to anything more than a 3 year deal. No need for another Terence Newman situation.

I'm pretty sure he can sign right now because he was cut before the new league year, but I'm not 100% on that.

[TheFinisher]

The defense was solid, but my point is that to say Romo can't carry a team when other's can is idiotic. Football is a team game. With the interior OL and RB situation besides that 5 game stretch from Murray, Romo hardly had elite type help, and still had the best season of his career. He was outstanding. And Miles wasn't 100% when he was on the field, and their timing was off as well.

Romo is fine. He can carry a team just as well as anyone can. Look at the first giants game. Could he have played any better? And don't give me the overthrow to miles austin, it never shouldn't have come to that. The defense folded like a paper figurine. If our defense could have done anything in a two minute drill or a game tying/winning drive we would've been 12-4.

Romo is a stud. Period.

No doubt Romo can play with the best of them, but he's got his issues with consistency. I don't think it's as up and down as some make it out to be, but that's particially due to the fact that his hiccups occur on the big stage when everyone's watching. I don't know what it is, could be caving into pressure or just bad timing... but no one will mistake him for being one of the most clutch QBs in the game. And I know you said don't bring up the missed throw to Austin, but it's another example of missing in the clutch. Eli makes that throw, Romo doesn't.

That said, I'm not sure a QB that can carry a team by himself even exists.

[D-Unit]

Yeah cause he's in the locker room right? What a joke. The media today is pathetic. If you actually take anything from that then I don't even know what to tell you..
What does that have anything to do with needing to be in the lockerroom?

[D-Unit]

Not a mutiny, I just don't think the current structure of our organization is the best fit for a young inexperienced coach like Garrett and I have my doubts that he's the one that can change the culture within the lockerroom. Garrett's familiarity with our vets is not a good thing IMO, there's undoubtedly a comfort level between him and the players and I was looking for them to feel uncomfort after that horrendous 2010 campaign. There needed to be a major shake up, promoting the in-house guy was too knee jerk and it was a missed opportunity. That all ties in to the mental toughness issues we talked about a few pages back, the last thing a mentally weak team needs after a season like that is to feel a sense of comfort. When Garrett was named HC our underachieving lockerroom breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that we're still making the same stupid mistakes and blowing leads in mind numbing fashion has me worried that I am right.

Anyway, Stanford Routt is set to visit Dallas this week according to Matt Mosley.
I dunno about that... Garrett dumped a lot of "vets" before the season even began. He started his reign as head coach with an iron fist dumping a lot of guys who weren't earning their keep. Also, this was hardly a knee jerk hire. Had he been hired as our HC over Wade in the first place, then that would've been pretty knee jerk, but he was being groomed for this job and it started when he first got here. Your talk for needing a major shake up? Say hi to Rob Ryan. ;) That said, you don't get a major shake up on defense if all you do is add Elam and Coleman while keeping Newman and extending Spears. lol.

[D-Unit]

Again, completely false. Did you watch the San Fran comeback? Your saying that wasn't all on Tony Romo's back? Besides, what QB doesn't need help? Football is the ultimate team sport. Put Joe Montana is his prime with an average to below average defense, OL, recievers, and running back and watch him finish 8-8. Then get back to me....

Ahhh, the power of ESPN these days. Terrible.
One game does not make a player. TheFinisher is right. It's about consistency, which is something you fail to see.

BTW, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees go better than 8-8 on this team. What Romo did with this team... most any average middle tier NFL starter can do. Jason Garrett did about the same thing wtih Jon Kitna when he took over as interim HC.

[CDCB14]

What does that have anything to do with needing to be in the lockerroom?

What do you mean? How does it not? Bradshaw is a new york giant and just talking about what he hears in the media. This "they don't believe in Romo" crap was garbage. Back in 2005 and 2006 everyone was calling for Eli's head and I doubt the "team believed in him" but look at it now?

It's a joke.

[CDCB14]

One game does not make a player. TheFinisher is right. It's about consistency, which is something you fail to see.

BTW, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees go better than 8-8 on this team. What Romo did with this team... most any average middle tier NFL starter can do. Jason Garrett did about the same thing wtih Jon Kitna when he took over as interim HC.

Actually, I doubt brady and brees going much better than 8-8 on this team. Romo probably avoided 25 sacks this season with his hoodini acts. They would get murdered. You forget that those guys get pampered behind there perfect pass protecting OL's. Brees at least.

[D-Unit]

What do you mean? How does it not? Bradshaw is a new york giant and just talking about what he hears in the media. This "they don't believe in Romo" crap was garbage. Back in 2005 and 2006 everyone was calling for Eli's head and I doubt the "team believed in him" but look at it now?

It's a joke.
I get it now. You didn't read Bradshaw's quote right. He was only speculating on what the players in the Cowboys lockerroom thought. The same thing we all do. You don't need to be in the Cowboys lockerroom to have an opinion about them. By your own logic, you yourself have no substance to your own posts because you're not in the Cowboys lockerroom.

I'm not saying Bradshaw is right, but he brings up a question mark many people have including me.

[D-Unit]

Actually, I doubt brady and brees going much better than 8-8 on this team. Romo probably avoided 25 sacks this season with his hoodini acts. They would get murdered. You forget that those guys get pampered behind there perfect pass protecting OL's. Brees at least.
Yeah that's because Romo doesn't make his reads fast enough and he holds onto the ball too long. There are different ways of looking at that picture bro.

[LonghornsLegend]

You need to get these wild fantasy CB situations out of your head. If Routt came here, he'd be a starter. 4th CB? This isn't madden bro. Stanford Routt as our 4th CB? LOLOLOLOLOL.

As for Janoris Jenkins at 14, it isn't happening. Broaddus has inside info in the organization and he said on the football show that they aren't going to pick him at 14. They want to get bigger at CB. If they pick a CB at 14 it will be Kirkpatrick. Depends on free agency and who else is on the board.

Jenkins at 14 would be a mistake anyway. He's a solid CB but he's small and nothing spectacular. At 14 it would be terrible. Good thing they aren't going that direction.


I really don't mind your post, but this kinda stuff makes it hard to even take you serious, and is the exact reason why people don't take Cowboy fans serious here. Guess I'm crazy in the fact that annoys me.

Routt obviously wouldn't be the 4th CB on the depth chart but if we signed him I don't think he is good enough to warrant you changing your plans at the position, and if we like a guy at #14 at the position we still take him. Routt won't beat out Jenkins in base set, so he'd only be playing in Nickle and Dime sets, Scandrick has a decent size deal so if he out performs him that's exactly where he'll be.


I don't know how the situation will play out but none of it has anything to do with Madden.


As far as those "sources", that has nothing to do with it. I would just be hapy with him at the pick until I'm proven otherwise. I never said it will be the pick or that's who I'm expecting but right now I'm leaning towards him until the combines. I'd love Dre but doubt he makes it. If I had to take my choice it'd be Jenkins because I prefer the more pure, smooth cover CB, with better hips.


The size is nice but it's not doing Antonio Cromartie any good. I always prefer CB's with better technique and hip swivel. It's just a preference for me. I could be absolutely wrong but Jenkins looks like a stud to me.


I firmly expect him to go between picks 14-22. I don't think the value is off at all. Then again, I'm probably a bigger fan of addressing CB then most. Because while it does all start up front, I want more talent at he position.

[LonghornsLegend]

I like Wade's schemes and abilities... heck, I even hoped there was a way for us to keep him on as DC but at the same time see him relinquish the gig as HC. But it wasn't happening and it didn't happen. I respect him a lot, but that said, he is getting way too much credit for turning around that Texans defense. I say the majority of the credit goes to their GM for significantly upgrading the talent level first and foremost. Any half way decent DC could do a good job with that defense. So I'm not going to be too quick to go above and beyond what I initially thought of Wade (which was high already).


It depends how you want to look at it. Did Wade have any input on those defenders? Then he gets even more credit. I know the GM's job and all, but with the transition, and Wade being head man in charge of the switch, I get the feeling he had both feet in on selection of defensive players. He got guys who he thought fit his scheme and while we don't know how much input, he very well could have hand picked alot of those rookie studs.


Then again, Wade has always ran great 3-4 defenses, but he does deserve a ton of credit for the fact that he kept them ticking at an elite level without their premiere pass rusher in the scheme. It also didn't take long to re-tool that secondary which was far worse then ours. I don't know that say, Rob Ryan does as good of a job there. Wade, when he can focus on just that side of the ball, can come up with some great schemes.








I'm happy that a fan of another team is coming in here and voicing the obvious, thanks BBD. I'd love to see a poll in the NFL Topic thread on what percentage of posters thinks JG is just a Jerry Yes Man, because I think it'd be an overwhelming response and maybe open some eyes up in here to what unbiased fans are seeing from the outside.




I think he is a Yes Man, but also a solid Head Coach. I think anybody Jerry hires will be the same type of guy though, so I don't think there is anything we can do about it. Maybe Bill Cowher could get some Parcells type of power, but Jerry is still going to have his antics and answer report questions about injuries 100% honest on Tuesday before the head coach, and walk down on the sideline when he is in panic mode.

[FreshBoy!]

Wait?...Bradshaw is the same RB to fumble in the NFC division game?
The same guy to fumble in the superbowl?
The same guy that nearly lost the game by falling into the endzone instead of kneeling on the 1?


Yea....That guys "clutch!" I want to hear more from him.

[D-Unit]

Wait?...Bradshaw is the same RB to fumble in the NFC division game?
The same guy to fumble in the superbowl?
The same guy that nearly lost the game by falling into the endzone instead of kneeling on the 1?


Yea....That guys "clutch!" I want to hear more from him.
hahahaha. made me laugh.

[CDCB14]

I really don't mind your post, but this kinda stuff makes it hard to even take you serious, and is the exact reason why people don't take Cowboy fans serious here. Guess I'm crazy in the fact that annoys me.

Routt obviously wouldn't be the 4th CB on the depth chart but if we signed him I don't think he is good enough to warrant you changing your plans at the position, and if we like a guy at #14 at the position we still take him. Routt won't beat out Jenkins in base set, so he'd only be playing in Nickle and Dime sets, Scandrick has a decent size deal so if he out performs him that's exactly where he'll be.


I don't know how the situation will play out but none of it has anything to do with Madden.


As far as those "sources", that has nothing to do with it. I would just be hapy with him at the pick until I'm proven otherwise. I never said it will be the pick or that's who I'm expecting but right now I'm leaning towards him until the combines. I'd love Dre but doubt he makes it. If I had to take my choice it'd be Jenkins because I prefer the more pure, smooth cover CB, with better hips.


The size is nice but it's not doing Antonio Cromartie any good. I always prefer CB's with better technique and hip swivel. It's just a preference for me. I could be absolutely wrong but Jenkins looks like a stud to me.


I firmly expect him to go between picks 14-22. I don't think the value is off at all. Then again, I'm probably a bigger fan of addressing CB then most. Because while it does all start up front, I want more talent at he position.

While I completely agree with you that Routt shouldn't change the plans at CB, it will. When does Jerry every get good overkill at a position? Barely ever. We never do things like what the Giants do with their DL. If we sign Routt, he will be a starter opposite Jenkins, with Scandrick as the #3, and I bet we don't go after our #4 until the middle rounds. That's just the way Jerry does it. One of his main faults is that he doesn't build on strengths.

I agree with you. I'd be all for Routt and then still taking Kirkpatrick at 14. But under Jerry we just won't do it. It's sad, but it's the truth.

As for Jenkins, he isn't going to be the pick. Broaddus knows people of value in the organization. He said they don't rate him that high and they want to get bigger at CB. If we pick him it will be in a trade down.

Anyway, I'm still on the Nicks bandwagon. If we land him and Arkin pans out we could be looking at a pretty nice OL for the foreseeable future. Smith and Free at the tackles, Nicks at one gaurd spot, and Arkin can take over for kosier by 2013. Anyone would be good enough at center with those four.

[leroyisgod]

I'm very curious to see how Doug Free bounces back this year after a pretty bad 2011 and also moving to RT.

[CDCB14]

hahahaha. made me laugh.

After reading over the past few pages, what has me laughing is the hypocritical nature of your resent posts regarding Romo and Rob Ryan.

You say Romo needs people around him and can't carry a team, but Rob Ryan is a "genius DC" who gets a pass because he has never had anything to work with....

So why the double standard? If anything, you're point has no validity because Romo is the farthest thing from the problem and has been a top 10 QB for the last 5 years, and Rob Ryan has never been on a team with a winning record and never had a team in the top 12 of points or yards per game. That's a joke. So he needs a better pass rush and secondary to win? I thought he was some genius? This defense made Rex Grossman, Matt Moore, and Kevin Kolb look like Montana is his prime in a 2 minute drive. Pathetic.

Again, just to let it sink in, Rob Ryan was the DC of all losing teams before this year were the Cowboys went 8-8, and never has had a unit finish in the top 33% of the league in yards per game, or scoring. And obviously his units aren't clutch/good at holding leads, so that isn't even a point against Romo, because Rob Ryan's units have blown more leads/games in the 4th quarter than Romo.

Let's just look to the Jets game. We were up 24-10 and the defense let Mark freakin' Sanchez go right down the field like we were butter in the 4th quarter and score to make it 24-17 with about 8 minutes left. Force a punt there and Romo's fumble and INT to revis don't even happen and we win the game. They gave up 2 TD's to calvin johnson against the lions too. We still had a 10 point lead after Romo's two pick 6's... what about that too?

I could go on and on. He's a loud mouth living on his last name and is an average coordinator. Now, he is good enough to win with with better players, which I will openly admit, but he's nothing special.

So, please do clarify your double standard regarding Romo and Rob Ryan.

[bigbluedefense]

I'm one of Romo's bigger supporters on here.

I'll ride with Romo. He's a top 7-8 qb in this league. Those don't grow on trees.

[D-Unit]

I'm very curious to see how Doug Free bounces back this year after a pretty bad 2011 and also moving to RT.
Is he moving to RT for sure? I haven't heard anything official, but I'm slow with that kind of news since I come here for my news. LOL.

[leroyisgod]

Is he moving to RT for sure? I haven't heard anything official, but I'm slow with that kind of news since I come here for my news. LOL.

It's not written in stone, but both Garrett and Callahan have made public statements about considering it.

[leroyisgod]

Let's take a look at John Elway for a minute. Until he had a great running game and a solid defense did he finally win a championship. And at that point, he was doing much less with his arm and legs than he did when he was losing super bowls. So I think that it can be unfair to say that Romo "needs" a good running game and "needs" a good defense to do well.

Also, let's look at Eli this year. He did have a pretty solid and consistent year altogether, but I don't think the Giants win the super bowl this year if Bradshaw doesn't get health and the running game doesn't pick up and if they do not get healthy on the DL and gel on defense. I highly doubt they make the play-offs if those 2 things do not happen.

When Brady was winning his championships, their defenses were ones that teams were afraid to play. I'm not taking anything away from Brady, but I don't know if they win all three of those if the defenses were dominant.

My point is that there aren't a lot of QB's in recent history that can take a team completely on their back and take them to a championship. Peyton Manning's do not grow on trees.

There's simply a lot of expectations for our QB position with our storied franchise. By no means am I defending Romo, but rather saying it's unfair to make statements saying he needs both a good defense and running game to win when other winning QB's in recent history have needed them as well.

[D-Unit]

After reading over the past few pages, what has me laughing is the hypocritical nature of your resent posts regarding Romo and Rob Ryan.

You say Romo needs people around him and can't carry a team, but Rob Ryan is a "genius DC" who gets a pass because he has never had anything to work with....

So why the double standard? If anything, you're point has no validity because Romo is the farthest thing from the problem and has been a top 10 QB for the last 5 years, and Rob Ryan has never been on a team with a winning record and never had a team in the top 12 of points or yards per game. That's a joke. So he needs a better pass rush and secondary to win? I thought he was some genius? This defense made Rex Grossman, Matt Moore, and Kevin Kolb look like Montana is his prime in a 2 minute drive. Pathetic.

Again, just to let it sink in, Rob Ryan was the DC of all losing teams before this year were the Cowboys went 8-8, and never has had a unit finish in the top 33% of the league in yards per game, or scoring. And obviously his units aren't clutch/good at holding leads, so that isn't even a point against Romo, because Rob Ryan's units have blown more leads/games in the 4th quarter than Romo.

Let's just look to the Jets game. We were up 24-10 and the defense let Mark freakin' Sanchez go right down the field like we were butter in the 4th quarter and score to make it 24-17 with about 8 minutes left. Force a punt there and Romo's fumble and INT to revis don't even happen and we win the game. They gave up 2 TD's to calvin johnson against the lions too. We still had a 10 point lead after Romo's two pick 6's... what about that too?

I could go on and on. He's a loud mouth living on his last name and is an average coordinator. Now, he is good enough to win with with better players, which I will openly admit, but he's nothing special.

So, please do clarify your double standard regarding Romo and Rob Ryan.
Tony Romo has been surrounded by top shelf talent basically his entire career here. The amount of resources that the team has committed to the offense has been terribly unbalanced compared to what has been invested in the defense. The fact that he still can't get the job despite all that puts the microscope heavily on his shoulders.

If Rob Ryan had a defense with top shelf talent and still wasn't getting the job done, then he would receive equal criticism. Rob improved our defense dramatically from last year using the same (albeit a year older) players that Wade used. So to hear someone praise Wade and criticize Rob when the players were basically the same is lunacy to me. That is the epitome of giving someone praise based off name.

Tony Romo has been starting for 7 years and Rob Ryan has been here 1. Why would I criticize them both equally relative to the Cowboys? Especially when Ryan made our defense perform better in his first year?

You talk about double standard as if it's wrong or unfair. That's the facts of life. They exist! ...and it IS FAIR. I'm not gonna hold David Arkin and Kyle Kosier on the same level. I'm not gonna hold Jason Garrett's first year as HC on the same level as Wade Phillips' last year as HC. You need to factor in the circumstances before you start to compare apples to oranges.

Tony Romo is not THE problem. Yes, he has made idiotic decisions that have cost this teams wins and yes, he has made great decisions that have given this team wins. He's not a bad QB. I agree that he is a top 7-10 QB in the league and I'm happy to have him as the Cowboys QB. IS THAT CLEAR???

Some of you guys get in an uproar because I name QB as a future draft need. Some of you guys get in an uproar if anyone in the world doubts Romo's ability to win a SB. Some of you guys are overly supportive and overly forgiving of his mistakes. Why can't you call it like it is? When he does good, praise him. When he does bad, don't brush it aside and point the finger elsewhere. That's what I see. I don't see many calling out Romo for his mistakes.

If you wanna talk about double standard, why give Romo excuses and Rob none? Because one is ranked higher in their profession than another? Really? A rankings list??? Rob has 2 Super Bowl rings. How many does Romo have?

[D-Unit]

It's not written in stone, but both Garrett and Callahan have made public statements about considering it.
Sweeeeeeeeeet! Just the kind of news to make my day. ^_^

[D-Unit]

Let's take a look at John Elway for a minute. Until he had a great running game and a solid defense did he finally win a championship. And at that point, he was doing much less with his arm and legs than he did when he was losing super bowls. So I think that it can be unfair to say that Romo "needs" a good running game and "needs" a good defense to do well.

Also, let's look at Eli this year. He did have a pretty solid and consistent year altogether, but I don't think the Giants win the super bowl this year if Bradshaw doesn't get health and the running game doesn't pick up and if they do not get healthy on the DL and gel on defense. I highly doubt they make the play-offs if those 2 things do not happen.

When Brady was winning his championships, their defenses were ones that teams were afraid to play. I'm not taking anything away from Brady, but I don't know if they win all three of those if the defenses were dominant.

My point is that there aren't a lot of QB's in recent history that can take a team completely on their back and take them to a championship. Peyton Manning's do not grow on trees.

There's simply a lot of expectations for our QB position with our storied franchise. By no means am I defending Romo, but rather saying it's unfair to make statements saying he needs both a good defense and running game to win when other winning QB's in recent history have needed them as well.
I'm not really saying he "needs" them. IMO, he's got it already. The only thing he needs on offense is a Guard and Center. He should be able to get by with an average starting caliber players there. There's no need to spend a 1st rounder on a Guard. There's no need to sign a Franchise player in FA there. It's OVERKILL. We CANNOT keep ignoring the defense and then blame them for not getting the job done. That is the theme of this Cowboys forum.

We should spend all of our picks on defense and spend the majority of our cap on more defensive players. I guarantee that we see the most improvement for this team. Sign an average OG and C and call it day. Those are cheap positions to fill compared to DT, DE, OLB, DB.

Romo did well last year with what he had, isn't that what I'm hearing? So let's address our real needs.

[leroyisgod]

I'm not really saying he "needs" them. IMO, he's got it already. The only thing he needs on offense is a Guard and Center. He should be able to get by with an average starting caliber players there. There's no need to spend a 1st rounder on a Guard. There's no need to sign a Franchise player in FA there. It's OVERKILL. We CANNOT keep ignoring the defense and then blame them for not getting the job done. That is the theme of this Cowboys forum.

We should spend all of our picks on defense and spend the majority of our cap on more defensive players. I guarantee that we see the most improvement for this team. Sign an average OG and C and call it day. Those are cheap positions to fill compared to DT, DE, OLB, DB.

Romo did well last year with what he had, isn't that what I'm hearing? So let's address our real needs.

I'm all for spending a majority of our FA pick ups and draft picks on defense. But I do not want to ignore helping the offense out some. I don't know of many teams that would do that. I do think we need to resign Robinson, look for a future TE and QB along with a G.

I do believe you did make the comments that Romo needed those things. But whatever, not gonna argue over that. I just am not a fan of completely spending the off-season on defense. We do need help there and think we will spend some time on it. But let's just remember that this league has turned more into an offense driven league. We need to make sure we have the weapons on the side of the ball as well.

[CDCB14]

Anyway, and interesting idea was brought up today on the Lunch Break. If we switch to a 4-3, could Victor Butler be the SAM with Lee at MIKE and Carter at WILL?

It was just a hypothetical, but it's an interesting idea.

[leroyisgod]

Anyway, and interesting idea was brought up today on the Lunch Break. If we switch to a 4-3, could Victor Butler be the SAM with Lee at MIKE and Carter at WILL?

It was just a hypothetical, but it's an interesting idea.

So is there really that much chatter coming out of Valley Ranch about a potential switch to a full time 4-3?

[CDCB14]

So is there really that much chatter coming out of Valley Ranch about a potential switch to a full time 4-3?

No no no, they are staying with the 3-4. Victor Butler was brought up and they thought of that potential idea because he obviously can't start in a 3-4 because he can't stop the run.

Complete speculation, no substance from the organization behind it.

[D-Unit]

I'm all for spending a majority of our FA pick ups and draft picks on defense. But I do not want to ignore helping the offense out some. I don't know of many teams that would do that. I do think we need to resign Robinson, look for a future TE and QB along with a G.

I do believe you did make the comments that Romo needed those things. But whatever, not gonna argue over that. I just am not a fan of completely spending the off-season on defense. We do need help there and think we will spend some time on it. But let's just remember that this league has turned more into an offense driven league. We need to make sure we have the weapons on the side of the ball as well.
We all know that won't happen too. I'm just saying, the emphasis needs to be placed back on defense.

As for me saying Romo needing all those things... that was a direct response to the people claiming that we need to surround Romo with high expenditures in FA and 1st round pick usage on OFFENSE. I was reguritating what was being said here. Those weren't my feelings. I'm fine with using picks outside of Round 1 on OL. I'm fine with not getting Nicks in FA. But everytime I say that, I get the reasons WHY WE SHOULD.

People saying we need to get Nicks and DeCastro are essentially telling me that Romo NEEDS to have those things in order to do his job. That's adds more fuel to my fire that Romo isn't ALL THAT, if he needs to have those caliber of players in order to do his job.

[CDCB14]

We all know that won't happen too. I'm just saying, the emphasis needs to be placed back on defense.

As for me saying Romo needing all those things... that was a direct response to the people claiming that we need to surround Romo with high expenditures in FA and 1st round pick usage on OFFENSE. I was reguritating what was being said here. Those weren't my feelings. I'm fine with using picks outside of Round 1 on OL. I'm fine with not getting Nicks in FA. But everytime I say that, I get the reasons WHY WE SHOULD.

People saying we need to get Nicks and DeCastro are essentially telling me that Romo NEEDS to have those things in order to do his job. That's adds more fuel to my fire that Romo isn't ALL THAT, if he needs to have those caliber of players in order to do his job.

It's more about the running game than Romo. Obviously it would help pass protection, but 5 rushing TDs all season is pathetic, and one was a QB sneak. Our situational running game is a joke. Look up the amount of times a team has made the playoffs with single digit rushing touchdowns in a season.. I bet it's less than ten in the 90+ year history of the NFL.

If our running game doesn't get more consistent we'll always have the same problems. 5 rushing touchdowns.... that's embarrassing. Some teams run for 3 or 4 in one game week in and week out. 5 in 16 games? Pathetic.

[D-Unit]

It's more about the running game than Romo. Obviously it would help pass protection, but 5 rushing TDs all season is pathetic, and one was a QB sneak. Our situational running game is a joke. Look up the amount of times a team has made the playoffs with single digit rushing touchdowns in a season.. I bet it's less than ten in the 90+ year history of the NFL.

If our running game doesn't get more consistent we'll always have the same problems. 5 rushing touchdowns.... that's embarrassing. Some teams run for 3 or 4 in one game week in and week out. 5 in 16 games? Pathetic.
Yeah that's pretty pathetic, but I also blame a lot of that on Garrett's playcalling and lack of trust in the run. Plus, Felix Jones was bad this year.

Let's just put it this way... as bad as those rushing TD numbers are concerning, they are nothing compared to the concern we have on defense.

[Macarthur]

Yeah that's pretty pathetic, but I also blame a lot of that on Garrett's playcalling and lack of trust in the run. Plus, Felix Jones was bad this year.

What's he gonna call when he's got Costa getting driven back into Romo's lap and guys like Hollan and Koiser that can't move?

The issue wasn't play calling. The issue was talent in the interior OL.

Let's just put it this way... as bad as those rushing TD numbers are concerning, they are nothing compared to the concern we have on defense.

I agree that the defense is MORE important, but that interior OL has to be addressed, at least the C position.

[D-Unit]

What's he gonna call when he's got Costa getting driven back into Romo's lap and guys like Hollan and Koiser that can't move?

The issue wasn't play calling. The issue was talent in the interior OL.



I agree that the defense is MORE important, but that interior OL has to be addressed, at least the C position.
That was part of it, but there was also an issue with the playcalling. I don't mean simply calling "run" or "pass". I'm talking about the design of our run plays. They were piss poor and very predictable to defend. This is one area that I hope Callahan will improve on this ball club. Bringing in more innovative run schemes. You know who's run schemes I love? Bob Stoops at OU. Man the stuff they run is bad ass compared to what Garrett showed.

...and like I said... addressing the OL needs to be done... but it doesn't have to be with our 1st rounder and it doesn't have to be with franchise caliber players. The more we use there, the less we have to address our main concerns on defense.

[Macarthur]

That was part of it, but there was also an issue with the playcalling. I don't mean simply calling "run" or "pass". I'm talking about the design of our run plays. They were piss poor and very predictable to defend. This is one area that I hope Callahan will improve on this ball club. Bringing in more innovative run schemes. You know who's run schemes I love? Bob Stoops at OU. Man the stuff they run is bad ass compared to what Garrett showed.

...and like I said... addressing the OL needs to be done... but it doesn't have to be with our 1st rounder and it doesn't have to be with franchise caliber players. The more we use there, the less we have to address our main concerns on defense.

Well, it's hard for us to have that debate because I don't care how well things are designed, if you have a kid that simply can't play (Costa), the design won't matter for sqat. It's kind of a chicken and egg.

I do agree that Callahan should be a great help to Jason.

[D-Unit]

Well, it's hard for us to have that debate because I don't care how well things are designed, if you have a kid that simply can't play (Costa), the design won't matter for sqat. It's kind of a chicken and egg.

I do agree that Callahan should be a great help to Jason.
Not really looking to have a debate there. NO question our interior OL is weak and needs improvement. The degree on that improvement is where we may have some disagreement.

Knowing how far along Arkin is would help. Was 1 redshirt year long enough for him to catch on and beef up? Can he start next season? I liked what I saw of him in the preseason. If Garrett thought Nagy could start, I hope Arkin is close.

[Macarthur]

Knowing how far along Arkin is would help. Was 1 redshirt year long enough for him to catch on and beef up? Can he start next season? I liked what I saw of him in the preseason. If Garrett thought Nagy could start, I hope Arkin is close.

True. I would like to think that between Arkin, Nagy & Kowalski one of those guys would be ready to hold down one of those guard spots.

[Paul]

All this talk about Spencer staying for nearly 9 mill makes me want to choke a *****.

[D-Unit]

All this talk about Spencer staying for nearly 9 mill makes me want to choke a *****.
AAAAAAAAMEN! That would be both typical for this franchise and a massive mistake. For all the talk of clearing up $20M in cap space, it seems pretty idiotic to me that this team would use almost half of it on Spencer. BARF.

[CDCB14]

Not really looking to have a debate there. NO question our interior OL is weak and needs improvement. The degree on that improvement is where we may have some disagreement.

Knowing how far along Arkin is would help. Was 1 redshirt year long enough for him to catch on and beef up? Can he start next season? I liked what I saw of him in the preseason. If Garrett thought Nagy could start, I hope Arkin is close.

I don't get what you mean though. You are saying average improvement is all we need on the interior OL... that is exactly what we did with Holland, Dockery, etc. and it obviously didn't work.

It's time to bite the bullet and get one elite interior OL. Whether it's Nicks or a top 2 round pick in the draft, we need one. My flavor of the month right now is a trade down for Konz while picking up an extra third. It seems like a win on all fronts. Hopefully arkin is the future at one guard spot, but center and the other guard need to be significantly upgraded. The Dockery's and Holland's just aren't going to cut it.

It's the same situation as ILB with brooking, akin ayodele, etc. We have too many average players. That's why we are always in close games, and we win some and lose some, and end of finishing 8-8. We need more studs, period. Whether it's at CB, NT, interior OL, or DE i don't care.

As for franchising spencer, I think it would be stupid, but we may have no other choice. They really must not like any of the 3-4 OLB prospects at 14.

[FreshBoy!]

My feeling on Spencer is this.......

Who do you get to replace him? I want real answers here..not "Gwarr gwarr Spencer sucks, ANYONE would do better". That's simply not true...Victor Butler is a liability against the run, a huge liability.

There's nobody in the draft that's going to contribute more than what Spencer would...He has his faults at rushing the passer but he's great at stopping the run and shedding blocks.

Who else is out there as a FA?
Besides Mario Williams of course...but then that would be breaking the bank.


So again....the thought of keeping "Almost Anthony" is a bit discouraging...but Bob Sturm puts it best in this article:
http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2012/02/think-like-general-manager.html

If you're going to replace a guy because he's a 6 or 7 on a 10 point scale, then you better be replacing him with a player that's a 8 to 10....because "Anybody besides Spencer" is more than likely going to be a 4 or 5.

I am certainly not sure that Twitter and 140 characters is the best way to discuss the play of a football player in proper detail, but I hope my point is clear from those tweets and this previous essay on Spencer; You better understand what he is and that what he is will not be replaced "with a warm body".

He is the 2nd OLB in a 3-4 defense and therefore should be compared to those in that same category. To compare him to other #1's like Brian Orakpo, Tamba Hali, or Cameron Wake is not practical. That is DeMarcus Ware's job. He matches up against the other guy, and let's see how that works. Let's look at the "2nd Best" in terms of sack totals that outperformed Spencer of the 3-4s in the NFL in 2011:


Player, Team Sacks Tackles
Kerrigan, Wash 9 40
Harrison, Pitt 9 38
Taylor, Mia 7 11
Spencer, Dal 6 53



That is your entire list of OLBs in 3-4 defenses (11 teams in NFL ran true 3-4s in 2011) that had more productive sack seasons than Anthony Spencer did in 2011. So, if you can get Ryan Kerrigan in here to replace Spencer, I would do that (of course, he is under contract in Washington for 4 more seasons). Jason Taylor is strictly a pass rusher and James Harrison is usually Pittsburgh's #1 but had a banged up season (LaMarr Woodley had 10 sacks). However, the 3-4s in San Francisco, Kansas City, Houston, San Diego, Green Bay, Arizona, and New York all had 2nd LBs that were either at Spencer's 6 or well below.

Obviously, this is not an apples to apples comparison. Some have dominant defensive lines (Arizona, San Francisco) and some have ensemble casts that use a strength in numbers attack.

But, the idea that a warm body can outperform every other 2nd LB in the scheme with the exception of those 3 teams seems worth noting. Next, look at the same category in 2010:


Player, Team Sacks Tackles
Woodley, Pitt 9 30
Spencer, Dal 5 53



We need a dominant force opposite Ware.....That's a fact....Spencer isn't a dominate force...Also a fact. What he is though...is an above average LB'er in the NFL. Another fact.

Who do you guys get to replace him?

[D-Unit]

My feeling on Spencer is this.......

Who do you get to replace him? I want real answers here..not "Gwarr gwarr Spencer sucks, ANYONE would do better". That's simply not true...Victor Butler is a liability against the run, a huge liability.

There's nobody in the draft that's going to contribute more than what Spencer would...He has his faults at rushing the passer but he's great at stopping the run and shedding blocks.

Who else is out there as a FA?
Besides Mario Williams of course...but then that would be breaking the bank.


So again....the thought of keeping "Almost Anthony" is a bit discouraging...but Bob Sturm puts it best in this article:
http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2012/02/think-like-general-manager.html

If you're going to replace a guy because he's a 6 or 7 on a 10 point scale, then you better be replacing him with a player that's a 8 to 10....because "Anybody besides Spencer" is more than likely going to be a 4 or 5.



We need a dominant force opposite Ware.....That's a fact....Spencer isn't a dominate force...Also a fact. What he is though...is an above average LB'er in the NFL. Another fact.

Who do you guys get to replace him?
I don't think above average earns you the Franchise Tag... an average of the Top 5 at your position.

I do think a better DL will help him though... if you wanna take something positive away from it all.

Why do you think it's so certain that nobody in the draft is better than him at that position? I certainly don't think that's the case. Not for dead sure that is...

[D-Unit]

I don't get what you mean though. You are saying average improvement is all we need on the interior OL... that is exactly what we did with Holland, Dockery, etc. and it obviously didn't work.

It's time to bite the bullet and get one elite interior OL. Whether it's Nicks or a top 2 round pick in the draft, we need one. My flavor of the month right now is a trade down for Konz while picking up an extra third. It seems like a win on all fronts. Hopefully arkin is the future at one guard spot, but center and the other guard need to be significantly upgraded. The Dockery's and Holland's just aren't going to cut it.

It's the same situation as ILB with brooking, akin ayodele, etc. We have too many average players. That's why we are always in close games, and we win some and lose some, and end of finishing 8-8. We need more studs, period. Whether it's at CB, NT, interior OL, or DE i don't care.

As for franchising spencer, I think it would be stupid, but we may have no other choice. They really must not like any of the 3-4 OLB prospects at 14.
Holland and Dockery were left over scraps. They are not average. Brian Waters would've been great. He's exactly the type I'm talking about.

...and truthfully, before they were hurt... Romo and the offense were doing just fine there with Holland and Dockery. It was Nagy and Costa that were horrific.

[FreshBoy!]

I don't think above average earns you the Franchise Tag... an average of the Top 5 at your position.

I do think a better DL will help him though... if you wanna take something positive away from it all.

Why do you think it's so certain that nobody in the draft is better than him at that position? I certainly don't think that's the case. Not for dead sure that is...

Who? Name them....Obviously the draft is a crap shoot...and players like JPP are the right fit away from being dominant. I just don't see ANYONE that I'd take in the first or 2nd round to replace Spencer.

I'm not even arguing FOR "Almost Anthony"...I want him gone...If they're going to pay top dollar for a Free Agent, then it better be Mario and a transition to a 4-3.

But if you're staying in a 3-4....there's more pressing issues that can be addressed via the draft. I'd much rather take Dre Kirkpatrick, Decastro, or take a flyer on J. Jenkins in the first...

And then address the defensive line in the 2nd.

And then the defensive line in the 3rd. Lol....

Franchising Spencer obviously would be a sucker punch to the gut, but it's almost buying time for a better LB'er class and stocking the shelf at positions with greater need.

[LonghornsLegend]

My feeling on Spencer is this.......

Who do you get to replace him? I want real answers here..not "Gwarr gwarr Spencer sucks, ANYONE would do better". That's simply not true...Victor Butler is a liability against the run, a huge liability.

There's nobody in the draft that's going to contribute more than what Spencer would...He has his faults at rushing the passer but he's great at stopping the run and shedding blocks.

Who else is out there as a FA?
Besides Mario Williams of course...but then that would be breaking the bank.


So again....the thought of keeping "Almost Anthony" is a bit discouraging...but Bob Sturm puts it best in this article:
http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2012/02/think-like-general-manager.html

If you're going to replace a guy because he's a 6 or 7 on a 10 point scale, then you better be replacing him with a player that's a 8 to 10....because "Anybody besides Spencer" is more than likely going to be a 4 or 5.



We need a dominant force opposite Ware.....That's a fact....Spencer isn't a dominate force...Also a fact. What he is though...is an above average LB'er in the NFL. Another fact.

Who do you guys get to replace him?


That's a very good post, both really. Still, like D said I'm not sure that nobody at 14 will be better. That article points out how he would take Kerrigan over Spencer now, yet one year ago he was a rookie drafted in roughly the same spot we are in now. Had we taken one in the 1st last year we'd have upgraded the position, so why is it so impossible now?


Just because they are unknown talents doesn't mean you can't improve, and when you've been an average player like he is you draft to replace him. I think he's more like a 5-6 player on a scale of 1-10, you don't need an 8 to replace that. It'd be nice, but you don't stick with average because your afraid you won't get someone in return that's at least average. That's gonna happen no matter what.


I find it hard to believe that with the 14th pick in a draft that's pretty top heavy in O lineman, that all the good pass rushers are gone, or nobody left who can be a stud OLB. That's a very important position in a 3-4 and if we really like someone there I'd be happy with the pick.


We spent a 1st rounder on it before, even when we had Greg Ellis, so I doubt we are over looking it this year.

[FreshBoy!]

I guess my perspective has more to do with what's going to be the greatest impact on the team?

Decastro/Kirkpatrick/Jenkins vs. Spencer's replacement.(Ingram or Upshaw maybe are probably the closest to a blue chip right?)

I'm moreso asking...throw out names, who else do you guys see stepping in day one for another hole that needs filling? Again..I'm not advocating signing him longterm...but IMO, there are positions of need greater than OLB on the team. That's what I'm weighing against...not necessarily whether or not we can find an upgrade for Spencer, because I"m sure we can, I just feel he's not bad enough to where it's necessary to create another hole.

[CDCB14]

I'm not even arguing FOR "Almost Anthony"...I want him gone...If they're going to pay top dollar for a Free Agent, then it better be Mario and a transition to a 4-3.

I completely agree with this. If your going to franchise Anthony Spencer for nearly 9 million, why not just spend another 2-3 and get mario williams and switch to a 4-3. If you really look at how it would change our defense, we would probably be a lot better:

LE- DeMarcus
NT- Lissemore
UT- Ratliff
RE- Mario Williams

Add Hatcher, Brent, Spears, etc. rotating in and that would be a pretty dominant DL.

Now to the linebackers:

WILL- Carter
MIKE- Lee
SAM- Butler/free agent/draft pick

Obviously we would have no depth, so our draft would need to probably consist of 2 linebackers, 1 in the top 3 rounds and another later on accompanied by an average veteran free agent.

Rob ran the 4-3 in Oakland, and with that front 7 I doubt anyone could screw it up. The more I look at it, the more I would want to do it. Think about how dominant that front 7 would be if we landed mario williams... Land a decent free agent linebacker and draft someone like Audie Cole in the 3rd and we'd be set.

EDIT: Just tweeted at Broaddus this idea (signing williams instead and switching to a 4-3) and he replied with the following:

I don't know how to say this any differently but They are not signing Williams and they aren't switching to 4-3. Sorry.

I then asked him if he thought franchising spencer was a smart move and he said this:

They don't care what we think. It just tells me they don't like what is in FA and they might going different route in draft.

So they really must think little of the free agents and players in the draft.

[D-Unit]

All the signing talk for Mario Williams is nice and all...

BUT... the Texas are gonna Franchise him, I'm pretty sure. We can trade for him, like I've been saying... but we can't sign him in FA like he's gonna be readily available.

Even trading for him is something that I'm not completely sold on because it uses both our 1st round AND our FA cap space.

[leroyisgod]

Just curious, what is everyone's profession? Me, I own my own online marketing company.

[leroyisgod]

We all know that won't happen too. I'm just saying, the emphasis needs to be placed back on defense.

As for me saying Romo needing all those things... that was a direct response to the people claiming that we need to surround Romo with high expenditures in FA and 1st round pick usage on OFFENSE. I was reguritating what was being said here. Those weren't my feelings. I'm fine with using picks outside of Round 1 on OL. I'm fine with not getting Nicks in FA. But everytime I say that, I get the reasons WHY WE SHOULD.

People saying we need to get Nicks and DeCastro are essentially telling me that Romo NEEDS to have those things in order to do his job. That's adds more fuel to my fire that Romo isn't ALL THAT, if he needs to have those caliber of players in order to do his job.

It's not about Romo needing it, it's about the offense needing it. There's no way we can continue on with the interior line we currently have.

[leroyisgod]

All this talk about Spencer staying for nearly 9 mill makes me want to choke a *****.

I agree as well. On paper Spencer didn't look all that bad, but the numbers don't do him justice.

[leroyisgod]

I guess my perspective has more to do with what's going to be the greatest impact on the team?

Decastro/Kirkpatrick/Jenkins vs. Spencer's replacement.(Ingram or Upshaw maybe are probably the closest to a blue chip right?)

I'm moreso asking...throw out names, who else do you guys see stepping in day one for another hole that needs filling? Again..I'm not advocating signing him longterm...but IMO, there are positions of need greater than OLB on the team. That's what I'm weighing against...not necessarily whether or not we can find an upgrade for Spencer, because I"m sure we can, I just feel he's not bad enough to where it's necessary to create another hole.

I'm not sure it's one single player that will step in day one and be Spencer's full time replacements. We're gonna see a replacement by committee until either a rookie or Butler takes ownership over the position. As for names, I'd like to take a shot at Curry in the 2nd round if he's there. Take a G or CB with our 1st round pick and then grab Curry.

[Macarthur]

What he is though...is an above average LB'er in the NFL. Another fact.

Who do you guys get to replace him?

A fact? I disagree. YOu and I havea diff definition of above average.

[FreshBoy!]

A fact? I disagree. YOu and I havea diff definition of above average.

We're parsing words, semantics dear friend...semantics....how about slightly above average? A little better than a JAG? Not quite great, but better than 50% of the OLB's in the league?
Strange you ignored my entire post to pick out that.

Again, give me some scenarios where the Boys can create that hole, while still filling the other holes..I'd love to hear them. That's not sarcasm either. I'd love to hear them.

Spencer isn't a bad OLB. Whatsoever. For people to say he is...well, I'd say they're only worried about sacks.

Again, re-read what I've discussed. I don't think Spencer is deserving of 8 million a year. I think Dallas can very well find a replacement for him and get similar production. The only thing I'm attempting to say here is...Do you create another hole to get similar or lesser production?

Again, you'll get no qualms from me, replacing Spencer is a priority...Just isn't at the top of that list of priorities in my opinion. I'd rather them use the draft to fill more pressing needs...

He's just always been...ONE STEP too late...let's see if he can get home with a better DL in front of him?, or without T.New or Alan Ball being instant completions. Or with the offense actually being able to run the ball with a decent O-line and give the defense a rest here and there.

Basically...there's a number of ways this offseason shakes out...and there's a few scenarios where I don't mind franchising Spencer for a year, and filling that hole next year instead of this one....See what I"m saying?
He's not T. New bad(who Dallas paid 9 million for last year, I believe)....He's not Keith Brooking bad....Not Phil Costa bad....

[Macarthur]

I've never said he's terrible, but he is the epitome of JAG, IMO. Certainly not someone you would give $9 million to spare us to death.

[FreshBoy!]

Certainly not someone you would give $9 million to spare us to death.

Yea me either.

But.....thereinlies the problem.

What do you propose the Boys do? I'm curious.

[Macarthur]

Yea me either.

But.....thereinlies the problem.

What do you propose the Boys do? I'm curious.

There are several options. Obviously there is the big one that is probably not very likely, but I'll list them here.

FA:
1. Super Mario - Not very likely
2. Mathis - Not a true OLBer but a huge upgrade as a passs rusher
3. Avril - Not a true OLBer but has the skill set.
4. Abraham - Wouldn't commit huge money, but is an upgrade.
5. Brooks
6. Sergio Kendle - Interesting name

Those are some FA names that would at least give you similar results and most would carry a much cheaper price tag.

Draft:
1. Upshaw - I know some think he's a Spencer clone, but he has a high motor.
2. Mercilus - Huge upside, but bust potential there.
3. Irvin - Might be the most explosive pass rusher in the draft
4. Curry
5. Cam Johnson

Those are a minimum of around 10 options to Spencer.

[D-Unit]

Yea me either.

But.....thereinlies the problem.

What do you propose the Boys do? I'm curious.
What I sense from your POV is that you are not comfortable in taking any risks in improving the position. That's not a crime. It's certainly a fair assessment. But at the same time, you cannot sit there and say with conviction that there are no other options. Just because you are afraid of the unknown doesn't make the unknown a worse option.

In turn, we cannot sit here and tell you that there ARE better options, because we would be purely speculating as well.

The points that you made that intrigued me were using Spencer as a stop-gap to a better solution in 2013. But I feel that projection has too many holes in it. What if we're picking in at the bottom of Round 1? Out of range to nab an elite level OLB prospect? Right now at 14, we are certainly within range to choose from the cream of the crop.

I do imagine that a better secondary and DL would improve things for Spencer... and that is a thought that I can invest in. I just don't know how much it will improve himi. But a better year for Spencer after being franchised means that he'll be looking for a way bigger pay day in 2013.

If you believe in Spencer then we sign him to an affordable deal this year and live with the consequences. If you truly and honestly believe that he'll perform better with a better supporting cast, then that's what you do. Sign him to a long term affordable deal now. Because if he does improve, then you'll no longer want to keep him for just 1 year and after the good season he has he'll look for a big pay day. It'll cost us more in the future than it would be today. So I ask you, how much do you REALLY believe in Spencer? If you REALLY believe in him, then screw the franchise tag option and just give him a deal. If he continues being the same player, then you're at least paying him fair price. The biggest drawback is the possibility that we don't ever get the pass rush we want because we invested in Spencer.

If you don't really believe in Spencer then, DON'T Franchise him. If you are unsure if he'll ever deliver the kind of pressure that we want opposite of Ware, then let the guy go and start the new search NOW. Even if there is risk that the player we draft will be a bust, it's STILL worth the investment to try, imo, than to continue on the path of mediocrity.

So imo, it boils down to how much you believe in Spencer. If you believe in him, then give him a new long term deal. If you don't, then let him go. The last thing you do is Franchise him. You'll either end up paying more or end up prolonging the process in replacing him another year.

[FreshBoy!]

What I sense from your POV is that you are not comfortable in taking any risks in improving the position. That's not a crime. It's certainly a fair assessment. But at the same time, you cannot sit there and say with conviction that there are no other options. Just because you are afraid of the unknown doesn't make the unknown a worse option.

In turn, we cannot sit here and tell you that there ARE better options, because we would be purely speculating as well.

The points that you made that intrigued me were using Spencer as a stop-gap to a better solution in 2013. But I feel that projection has too many holes in it. What if we're picking in at the bottom of Round 1? Out of range to nab an elite level OLB prospect? Right now at 14, we are certainly within range to choose from the cream of the crop.

I do imagine that a better secondary and DL would improve things for Spencer... and that is a thought that I can invest in. I just don't know how much it will improve himi. But a better year for Spencer after being franchised means that he'll be looking for a way bigger pay day in 2013.

If you believe in Spencer then we sign him to an affordable deal this year and live with the consequences. If you truly and honestly believe that he'll perform better with a better supporting cast, then that's what you do. Sign him to a long term affordable deal now. Because if he does improve, then you'll no longer want to keep him for just 1 year and after the good season he has he'll look for a big pay day. It'll cost us more in the future than it would be today. So I ask you, how much do you REALLY believe in Spencer? If you REALLY believe in him, then screw the franchise tag option and just give him a deal. If he continues being the same player, then you're at least paying him fair price. The biggest drawback is the possibility that we don't ever get the pass rush we want because we invested in Spencer.

If you don't really believe in Spencer then, DON'T Franchise him. If you are unsure if he'll ever deliver the kind of pressure that we want opposite of Ware, then let the guy go and start the new search NOW. Even if there is risk that the player we draft will be a bust, it's STILL worth the investment to try, imo, than to continue on the path of mediocrity.

So imo, it boils down to how much you believe in Spencer. If you believe in him, then give him a new long term deal. If you don't, then let him go. The last thing you do is Franchise him. You'll either end up paying more or end up prolonging the process in replacing him another year.

Pretty well stated. And it's mostly true.

I honestly don't have an answer. I think it's a little bit of both, I think with upgrades in the secondary and the DL, that Spencer will undoubtedly play better...Potentially even have a probowl type season.

On the flipside, he could be exactly what he has been.

There was a discussion a few pages back regarding how people rated different positions, and I forget the poster who said it...but they said that all positions are equal. I don't subscribe to that thought process. I think by taking care of the weakest links first, it will potentially raise the play of the better players.

And again, that's what it comes down to for me. I don't think Spencer is a bad enough player that he's got to be replaced at the expense of losing out on other positions of need.

[Trogdor]

What I sense from your POV is that you are not comfortable in taking any risks in improving the position. That's not a crime. It's certainly a fair assessment. But at the same time, you cannot sit there and say with conviction that there are no other options. Just because you are afraid of the unknown doesn't make the unknown a worse option.

In turn, we cannot sit here and tell you that there ARE better options, because we would be purely speculating as well.

The points that you made that intrigued me were using Spencer as a stop-gap to a better solution in 2013. But I feel that projection has too many holes in it. What if we're picking in at the bottom of Round 1? Out of range to nab an elite level OLB prospect? Right now at 14, we are certainly within range to choose from the cream of the crop.

I do imagine that a better secondary and DL would improve things for Spencer... and that is a thought that I can invest in. I just don't know how much it will improve himi. But a better year for Spencer after being franchised means that he'll be looking for a way bigger pay day in 2013.

If you believe in Spencer then we sign him to an affordable deal this year and live with the consequences. If you truly and honestly believe that he'll perform better with a better supporting cast, then that's what you do. Sign him to a long term affordable deal now. Because if he does improve, then you'll no longer want to keep him for just 1 year and after the good season he has he'll look for a big pay day. It'll cost us more in the future than it would be today. So I ask you, how much do you REALLY believe in Spencer? If you REALLY believe in him, then screw the franchise tag option and just give him a deal. If he continues being the same player, then you're at least paying him fair price. The biggest drawback is the possibility that we don't ever get the pass rush we want because we invested in Spencer.

If you don't really believe in Spencer then, DON'T Franchise him. If you are unsure if he'll ever deliver the kind of pressure that we want opposite of Ware, then let the guy go and start the new search NOW. Even if there is risk that the player we draft will be a bust, it's STILL worth the investment to try, imo, than to continue on the path of mediocrity.

So imo, it boils down to how much you believe in Spencer. If you believe in him, then give him a new long term deal. If you don't, then let him go. The last thing you do is Franchise him. You'll either end up paying more or end up prolonging the process in replacing him another year.

^ This.

My personal opinion? If he's willing to resign for an affordable deal then bring him back. If he tries to command top dollar then he can sign elsewhere.

Resigning Spencer and drafting someone in the 2-5 rounds to build into a starter would be more than satisfactory IMHO. If we don't resign him I still want a veteran to start next season as I am not at all confident in asking a rookie to not only fulfill Spencer's "setting the edge/run defense" role but also asking him to be a dynamic pass rushing threat.

[D-Unit]

Yeah, I mean the Franchise Tag seems to be the worst option to me. If it costs $9M to do that, then that takes up nearly half of our $20M in cap space. There are so many other things I can imagine doing with that kind of money.

[pocketaces]

Looks like we might go LB early, per Walter's football

The Cowboys have had an obvious need at the cornerback position since the beginning of the 2011 season. It would not be surprising to see them make a run at some free agent corners and/or potentially use their first-round draft pick on the position. Aside from corner, the Cowboys need help at safety and on the interior of their offensive line, but interestingly, sources have told WalterFootball.com that the Cowboys are putting immense effort into scouting the linebacker position.

Dallas has two impending free agents in Bradie James and Anthony Spencer. Some reports have stated that Spencer could be slapped with the franchise tag despite being inconsistent since entering the league out of Purdue. The former first-rounder would carry an expensive price tag of $8.8 million for the 2012 season, and that doesn't equate to his production of six sacks last season. Dallas may look to the second day of the draft to add an edge rushing linebacker. Some candidates include Marshall's Vinny Curry, Oklahoma's Ronnell Lewis and Troy's Jonathan Massaquoi. The Cowboys could keep Spencer around for another season and develop a draft pick to replace him.

Behind James, the Cowboys have 2011 second-round pick Bruce Carter. Aside from Carter and Sean Lee, Dallas could use more depth at inside linebacker. Sources have said they are showing a lot of interest in mid-round inside linebacker prospects. Some players who might be fits include North Carolina State's Audie Cole, TCU's Tank Carder and Nevada's James-Michael Johnson.

While most predictions have Dallas going hard at the secondary and offensive line with their early picks in the 2012 NFL Draft, free agency could change that, and a position that Dallas could turn their attention to is linebacker. That would become especially apparent if they decide to let both Spencer and James sign with other teams.

[leroyisgod]

Say we choose to give Spencer a 3yr deal. What is the market going to be like for a player like Spencer? With not a lot of 3-4 OLB's out there, he might bet more money than what he truly deserves. I'm not terribly opposed to an affordable 3 year deal and still draft someone in the first 2 rounds as his eventual replacement.

[CDCB14]

Looks like we might go LB early, per Walter's football

The Cowboys have had an obvious need at the cornerback position since the beginning of the 2011 season. It would not be surprising to see them make a run at some free agent corners and/or potentially use their first-round draft pick on the position. Aside from corner, the Cowboys need help at safety and on the interior of their offensive line, but interestingly, sources have told WalterFootball.com that the Cowboys are putting immense effort into scouting the linebacker position.

Dallas has two impending free agents in Bradie James and Anthony Spencer. Some reports have stated that Spencer could be slapped with the franchise tag despite being inconsistent since entering the league out of Purdue. The former first-rounder would carry an expensive price tag of $8.8 million for the 2012 season, and that doesn't equate to his production of six sacks last season. Dallas may look to the second day of the draft to add an edge rushing linebacker. Some candidates include Marshall's Vinny Curry, Oklahoma's Ronnell Lewis and Troy's Jonathan Massaquoi. The Cowboys could keep Spencer around for another season and develop a draft pick to replace him.

Behind James, the Cowboys have 2011 second-round pick Bruce Carter. Aside from Carter and Sean Lee, Dallas could use more depth at inside linebacker. Sources have said they are showing a lot of interest in mid-round inside linebacker prospects. Some players who might be fits include North Carolina State's Audie Cole, TCU's Tank Carder and Nevada's James-Michael Johnson.

While most predictions have Dallas going hard at the secondary and offensive line with their early picks in the 2012 NFL Draft, free agency could change that, and a position that Dallas could turn their attention to is linebacker. That would become especially apparent if they decide to let both Spencer and James sign with other teams.

Love love love this. Get me some young athletes at ILB, not these old retread vets who couldn't cover an AARP member in a phone booth. One of the most over looked things that has help this defense back.

As for Spencer, you guys need to remember that the organization knows that they are doing. They aren't going to franchise Spencer with no reason behind it. If they do, they know they'll still have enough money to get who they want. They won't cripple free agency for Anthony Spencer. You have to believe that.

Also, people are underrating spencer. He's a solid player who won't lose you games. Now, I want an upgrade just like everyone else, but what if the person we replace him with becomes a huge liability to the defense? That could be a serious problem.

Franchising spencer isn't the end of the world. It's not what I would do, but they would have a reason for it. We'd still have the money for a few good free agents.

[leroyisgod]

I was listening to Rich Gannon on Sirius over lunch and he made a good point about our secondary this past year. He said that it appeared one of the biggest issues was the lack of communication and coverage calls being made too late. I agree with his statement that Ryan should have scaled it back some last year. Maybe with an entire off-season he can implement his entire defense better.

[D-Unit]

Love love love this. Get me some young athletes at ILB, not these old retread vets who couldn't cover an AARP member in a phone booth. One of the most over looked things that has help this defense back.

As for Spencer, you guys need to remember that the organization knows that they are doing. They aren't going to franchise Spencer with no reason behind it. If they do, they know they'll still have enough money to get who they want. They won't cripple free agency for Anthony Spencer. You have to believe that.

Also, people are underrating spencer. He's a solid player who won't lose you games. Now, I want an upgrade just like everyone else, but what if the person we replace him with becomes a huge liability to the defense? That could be a serious problem.

Franchising spencer isn't the end of the world. It's not what I would do, but they would have a reason for it. We'd still have the money for a few good free agents.
What makes you believe that? All this team does is extend mediocre players that we drafted while ignoring quality FA upgrades.

Sorry, I don't blindly follow the idea that the Cowboys brass always knows what it's doing.

Stop being scared of life without Anthony Spencer. He's a career underwhelmer who has never lived up to expectations. Playing across from Demarcus Ware has been his biggest blessing. He's not an elite OLB, so don't pay him like one. Franchising him like he's a Top 5 OLB is another joke in the long line of jokes that this franchise makes year in and year out.

[FreshBoy!]

Say we choose to give Spencer a 3yr deal. What is the market going to be like for a player like Spencer? With not a lot of 3-4 OLB's out there, he might bet more money than what he truly deserves. I'm not terribly opposed to an affordable 3 year deal and still draft someone in the first 2 rounds as his eventual replacement.

This, I think this would be a great move...I think this would be the best method to take.

I want a replacement for Spencer just like everyone else. I hope nobody thinks that I'm in the thinking that we can't do better. I just don't think he's as bad as people are making him out to be...and there's much more important places we need to fixing.

[D-Unit]

I was listening to Rich Gannon on Sirius over lunch and he made a good point about our secondary this past year. He said that it appeared one of the biggest issues was the lack of communication and coverage calls being made too late. I agree with his statement that Ryan should have scaled it back some last year. Maybe with an entire off-season he can implement his entire defense better.
He did scale it back...actually.

[FreshBoy!]

He did scale it back...actually.

So did Wade.

At some point we'll stop blaming the coaches and realize that the talent just isn't there defensively to complete.

[CDCB14]

What makes you believe that? All this team does is extend mediocre players that we drafted while ignoring quality FA upgrades.

Sorry, I don't blindly follow the idea that the Cowboys brass always knows what it's doing.

Stop being scared of life without Anthony Spencer. He's a career underwhelmer who has never lived up to expectations. Playing across from Demarcus Ware has been his biggest blessing. He's not an elite OLB, so don't pay him like one. Franchising him like he's a Top 5 OLB is another joke in the long line of jokes that this franchise makes year in and year out.

You know what, this post just gave me a revelation.

It isn't Anthony Spencer at all. He's fine. Re-sign him. It's the down 3 that's the problem. Just look at the other 3-4 defense around the league. Do any of them have both OLB's getting 12+ sacks? the answer is no.

Look no further than the 49ers. They had aldon smith on one side get 14, and Ahmad Brooks on the other side get 7. On our team, demarcus got 19.5 and spencer got 6. Yet there pass rush was not a problem at all. You know why? Because they had a big NT and Justin Smith at DE. That is our problem. Sure it's great if you can get two demarcus ware's getting 15 plus sacks, but that just doesn't happen.

So Demarcus had 5 more sacks than aldon smith, and spencer and ahmad brooks were basically equal. Also, Spencer had 4 forced fumbles (one which won the redskins game) and Brooks only had 1. Spencer also had more QB hurries. So what's the problem...? The problem is the down 3.

Wow. I've shocked no one have ever brought this up before. Look at all the other 3-4 OLB's and look at the 2nd best pass rushers production.. they are all in the 5-8 sack range.

Re-sign spencer everybody, he ain't the problem.

[D-Unit]

So did Wade.

At some point we'll stop blaming the coaches and realize that the talent just isn't there defensively to complete.
Hahahahaha... THAT'S what I've been saying this whole time.

Amen brother.

[D-Unit]

You know what, this post just gave me a revelation.

It isn't Anthony Spencer at all. He's fine. Re-sign him. It's the down 3 that's the problem. Just look at the other 3-4 defense around the league. Do any of them have both OLB's getting 12+ sacks? the answer is no.

Look no further than the 49ers. They had aldon smith on one side get 14, and Ahmad Brooks on the other side get 7. On our team, demarcus got 19.5 and spencer got 6. Yet there pass rush was not a problem at all. You know why? Because they had a big NT and Justin Smith at DE. That is our problem. Sure it's great if you can get two demarcus ware's getting 15 plus sacks, but that just doesn't happen.

So Demarcus had 5 more sacks than aldon smith, and spencer and ahmad brooks were basically equal. Also, Spencer had 4 forced fumbles (one which won the redskins game) and Brooks only had 1. Spencer also had more QB hurries. So what's the problem...? The problem is the down 3.

Wow. I've shocked no one have ever brought this up before. Look at all the other 3-4 OLB's and look at the 2nd best pass rushers production.. they are all in the 5-8 sack range.

Re-sign spencer everybody, he ain't the problem.
Welcome to the party. You've finally arrived. We've been talking about it for a long time. All you needed to do was open your eyes.

This is why I've been high on Brockers at 14. This is why I am high on Fangupo and any NT in FA. Yes, I am not too thrilled with Poe and Ta'amu nevertheless, I have mocked Ta'amu to us in Round 2 in previous mocks. IMO, neither justify thier draft position.

Resigning Spencer is fine... the cost is the big question. If we can get Ahmad Brooks or Robert Mathis for cheaper, then that's the route I'd rather go. I'm just not on board with franchising Spencer and paying him basically the same salary as Ware.

[CDCB14]

Welcome to the party. You've finally arrived. We've been talking about it for a long time. All you needed to do was open your eyes.

This is why I've been high on Brockers at 14. This is why I am high on Fangupo and any NT in FA. Yes, I am not too thrilled with Poe and Ta'amu nevertheless, I have mocked Ta'amu to us in Round 2 in previous mocks. IMO, neither justify thier draft position.

Resigning Spencer is fine... the cost is the big question. If we can get Ahmad Brooks or Robert Mathis for cheaper, then that's the route I'd rather go. I'm just not on board with franchising Spencer and paying him basically the same salary as Ware.

If we don't get a true NT it won't matter. Brockers would be useless after thanksgiving when Ratliff has no legs left for the part of the season that actually matters.

If this team goes into the season with Ratliff at NT, we might as well just concede to be 8-8 (if that) and find something else to do on Sundays.

[D-Unit]

If we don't get a true NT it won't matter. Brockers would be useless after thanksgiving when Ratliff has no legs left for the part of the season that actually matters.

If this team goes into the season with Ratliff at NT, we might as well just concede to be 8-8 (if that) and find something else to do on Sundays.
Well I don't think anyone is hoping that we don't get some kind of help there, so I'm not sure why you're preaching that.

That said, Ratliff will never completely stop playing NT. At least that's my realistic take on the situation. I'm sure Rob will mix up the looks plenty to confuse offenses. Having a true NT will be great, no doubt, but if you're expecting a full time switch for Ratliff, then I think you're fooling yourself.

[CDCB14]

Well I don't think anyone is hoping that we don't get some kind of help there, so I'm not sure why you're preaching that.

That said, Ratliff will never completely stop playing NT. At least that's my realistic take on the situation. I'm sure Rob will mix up the looks plenty to confuse offenses. Having a true NT will be great, no doubt, but if you're expecting a full time switch for Ratliff, then I think you're fooling yourself.

Well in passing situations I don't give a hoot where Ratliff plays, but we need a mammoth NT for the base 3-4. If we don't get one we will continue to have the same problems year in and year out.

Why do we always shut the run down early in games and early on in the season? Because ratliff can handle it through the first half and throught week 10 or so. Come the 4th quarter and december, we averaged giving up 4.4 a clip. compared to around 3.1 before that. That's terrible. They need to stop ignoring it.

Especially if lee and carter are going to be your starters at ILB. They are both average sized with speed. That is why I have hope. At the senior bowl jerry said "if we change up a few things hopefully lee and carter can be like what they have in san francisco."

The only logical thing would be getting a huge NT. We'll see.

[FreshBoy!]

You know what, this post just gave me a revelation.

It isn't Anthony Spencer at all. He's fine. Re-sign him. It's the down 3 that's the problem. Just look at the other 3-4 defense around the league. Do any of them have both OLB's getting 12+ sacks? the answer is no.

Look no further than the 49ers. They had aldon smith on one side get 14, and Ahmad Brooks on the other side get 7. On our team, demarcus got 19.5 and spencer got 6. Yet there pass rush was not a problem at all. You know why? Because they had a big NT and Justin Smith at DE. That is our problem. Sure it's great if you can get two demarcus ware's getting 15 plus sacks, but that just doesn't happen.

So Demarcus had 5 more sacks than aldon smith, and spencer and ahmad brooks were basically equal. Also, Spencer had 4 forced fumbles (one which won the redskins game) and Brooks only had 1. Spencer also had more QB hurries. So what's the problem...? The problem is the down 3.

Wow. I've shocked no one have ever brought this up before. Look at all the other 3-4 OLB's and look at the 2nd best pass rushers production.. they are all in the 5-8 sack range.

Re-sign spencer everybody, he ain't the problem.

Couldn't of said it any better....Boys need a injection of talent on that side of the ball. Spencer has done a pretty good job...could we use an upgrade? Sure...but I think we get some help on DL and in the secondary...and we'll start to see a defense play much better.

[CDCB14]

Josh Ellis of DallasCowboys.com just tweeted this:

I spoke to Anthony Spencer about his little situation today... you can check that out later on http://DallasCowboys.com. Or, hey, do whatever.

Hopefully there is something good.

[D-Unit]

Couldn't of said it any better....Boys need a injection of talent on that side of the ball. Spencer has done a pretty good job...could we use an upgrade? Sure...but I think we get some help on DL and in the secondary...and we'll start to see a defense play much better.
Yeah, but using the Franchise tag on Spencer mostly means staying status quo versus using that money in the secondary and DL in FA to improve (unless you're relying on rookies to come to the rescue). We say we want help at the interior OL, along the DL, at ILB, in the secondary... but hey, we also have to realize that our resources are limited. Half the cap is gone the moment you franchise Spencer.

[FreshBoy!]

Yeah, but using the Franchise tag on Spencer mostly means staying status quo versus using that money in the secondary and DL in FA to improve (unless you're relying on rookies to come to the rescue). We say we want help at the interior OL, along the DL, at ILB, in the secondary... but hey, we also have to realize that our resources are limited. Half the cap is gone the moment you franchise Spencer.

Well yea....The premise of my post was based on the info that "leaked" regarding Spencer being tagged. I think if he'd agree to a decent contract, I'd be open to resigning him for another 3-5 years.

[leroyisgod]

The Spencer debate is a good one and a tough one. I just feel he's very inconsistent. When you're not facing nearly the double teams that Ware does and always playing against the 2nd best tackle on the team, he should have more production IMO. He led the team in QB pressures what was that like 2-3 years ago and was on the cusp of greatness and then POOF he turns into JAG. I ONLY sign him if it's a 3 year deal at a reasonable amount. Paying $9mi out of our $20mi cap on this guy would be a terrible mistake. Especially when we need to shell out some cash to pay Robinson, get help in the secondary and the interior line. YES, some of that can be accomplished in the draft, but you also want to sure up those holes with some vets too.

Hey D, I haven't heard you mention D'qwell Jackson's name lately. Are you still high on grabbing him in FA?

[D-Unit]

The Spencer debate is a good one and a tough one. I just feel he's very inconsistent. When you're not facing nearly the double teams that Ware does and always playing against the 2nd best tackle on the team, he should have more production IMO. He led the team in QB pressures what was that like 2-3 years ago and was on the cusp of greatness and then POOF he turns into JAG. I ONLY sign him if it's a 3 year deal at a reasonable amount. Paying $9mi out of our $20mi cap on this guy would be a terrible mistake. Especially when we need to shell out some cash to pay Robinson, get help in the secondary and the interior line. YES, some of that can be accomplished in the draft, but you also want to sure up those holes with some vets too.

Hey D, I haven't heard you mention D'qwell Jackson's name lately. Are you still high on grabbing him in FA?
Yeah, I hope we can get D'Qwell but I read that he wanted to stay in Cleveland so that dropped my hopes. :(

[leroyisgod]

I have to say that D got me thinking about Hillis a little bit. I think he'd come cheap and I'd be okay with axing Felix if we were able to get someone like James in the mid rounds.

[CDCB14]

I have to say that D got me thinking about Hillis a little bit. I think he'd come cheap and I'd be okay with axing Felix if we were able to get someone like James in the mid rounds.

I would love for that to happen with our running backs, but it won't happen. We don't build on strengths and they love Murray. The apocalypse would happen before we picked up Hillis AND James.

[D-Unit]

I would love for that to happen with our running backs, but it won't happen. We don't build on strengths and they love Murray. The apocalypse would happen before we picked up Hillis AND James.
That is true... but the point of mocks is to show possibility. 100% of every mock offseason made in the world every year is wrong in some form or fashion.

I know they love Murray... and rightfully so, as he surpassed Felix on the depth chart. But I doubt they want to be in Week 16 next year looking for Maurice Morris' phone number again. RB depth is critical and the league hasn't been unkind to RBs who get hurt a lot. I hope we cover our asses.

[leroyisgod]

I really haven't noticed anyone talking about our back-up QB situation. We've had a good luxury the last few seasons with Kitna as our back-up. Now were left with McGee. At this point I'd say I'm 65% okay with that plan. However, I'd be more than happy if we went out and secured a veteran QB as our back-up. And I'd be happy if we drafted our future QB in the middle rounds as well. Here's an interesting name to throw out there. Dennis Dixon. I feel he hasn't been given his fair shot in Pittsburgh to be their back-up. He's someone that could develop into a starter. Thoughts?

[FreshBoy!]

I don't think anyones talked about it because well....It's going to be Kyle Orton. I hope.

And they've got to look towards the future and draft a QB in the middle rounds. Have to...but then I have to question the front office a bit there. A 4th round pick for McGee...who has a deer in headlights look anytime he has to throw the ball.

Kitna was a good pick up and played well.

But again, same front office that thought Brad Johnson gave them a chance to win if Tony went down.

[leroyisgod]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/16/cowboys-sound-ready-to-spend/

Sounds like were ready to spend some cash. Hopefully just wisely

[D-Unit]

I really haven't noticed anyone talking about our back-up QB situation. We've had a good luxury the last few seasons with Kitna as our back-up. Now were left with McGee. At this point I'd say I'm 65% okay with that plan. However, I'd be more than happy if we went out and secured a veteran QB as our back-up. And I'd be happy if we drafted our future QB in the middle rounds as well. Here's an interesting name to throw out there. Dennis Dixon. I feel he hasn't been given his fair shot in Pittsburgh to be their back-up. He's someone that could develop into a starter. Thoughts?
I would like David Carr. I'd even try to get Matt Leinart for cheap.

[D-Unit]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/02/16/cowboys-sound-ready-to-spend/

Sounds like were ready to spend some cash. Hopefully just wisely
This actually scares me because Jerry hardly ever uses his money wisely.

Who was the last FA we signed that actually had a really great impact for us?

La'Roi Glover?

[M.O.T.H.]

I loved Glover.

Leonard Davis was fantastic for us at one point, Colombo gave us a bunch of really good years, T.O. was a dick but beasted for two years.

I honestly dont even know what's available this year, I havent paid too much attention to it, actually. Been slacking off. haha.

[D-Unit]

I loved Glover.

Leonard Davis was fantastic for us at one point, Colombo gave us a bunch of really good years, T.O. was a dick but beasted for two years.

I honestly dont even know what's available this year, I havent paid too much attention to it, actually. Been slacking off. haha.
Didn't we trade for Davis? Can't remember. Colombo was a cheapy, but yeah TO was probably one of the latest big signings that worked.

Welcome back old timer.

[leroyisgod]

Didn't we trade for Davis? Can't remember. Colombo was a cheapy, but yeah TO was probably one of the latest big signings that worked.

Welcome back old timer.

Davis was a FA pick-up. I think we gave him like 6-7 year deal.

It's going to cost the Texans $23mi to franchise Mario Williams. I highly doubt they will franchise him at that hit to the cap for this year. Especially considering the fact that they need to resign Foster. If I were them I'd franchise Foster.

Having said that, what's it going to take to sign Mario? Last year Charles Johnson got a 6yr $72mi deal with $30mi guaranteed. I can only imagine Mario will command more than that. Say it's 6yr $90 with $35mi guaranteed. How much would actually go against the cap in '12?

If we were to land Mario, we may still have some cap to get Robinson in and just give Elam a one year deal while we develop a younger S from the draft. In this scenario here's how I'd draft our first three rounds.

1. DeCastro
2. Boykin
3. Crick
4. James

[CDCB14]

Davis was a FA pick-up. I think we gave him like 6-7 year deal.

It's going to cost the Texans $23mi to franchise Mario Williams. I highly doubt they will franchise him at that hit to the cap for this year. Especially considering the fact that they need to resign Foster. If I were them I'd franchise Foster.

Having said that, what's it going to take to sign Mario? Last year Charles Johnson got a 6yr $72mi deal with $30mi guaranteed. I can only imagine Mario will command more than that. Say it's 6yr $90 with $35mi guaranteed. How much would actually go against the cap in '12?

If we were to land Mario, we may still have some cap to get Robinson in and just give Elam a one year deal while we develop a younger S from the draft. In this scenario here's how I'd draft our first three rounds.

1. DeCastro
2. Boykin
3. Crick
4. James

No way we can only address CB with Boykin in the 2nd.

Mario Williams said he didn't need to be the highest paid defensive player today in an interview. Said he already got all the money he needed being the 1st pick in the draft and now just wants to go to a situation where he feels comfortable.

If he doesn't get franchised, i'd do it. Screw it. If we break the bank on him we would probably have enough money to get one other solid free agent. Get the best guard or corner you can get with the left over money, and fill the rest of your team (or what you can) in the draft.

Say we got Mario and Terrell Thomas. Draft DeCastro at 14 and that takes out our 3 biggest needs with VERY good players. Not just solid upgrades, but studs. Assuming Thomas is healthy of course, but he got hurt in August so i'm sure he's fine. If DeCastro isn't there trade down and draft Zeitler or Konz.

Our top 3 needs (CB, pass rusher, interior OL) are filled with quality players and we now have the entire rest of the draft for the most part to pick relative BPA.

As for the Laurent Robinson talk, it needs to stop. At this point, it's stupid. We don't have 5-6 mill a year to spend on a #3 WR with the needs on this team and our cap space. If we had 40 mill instead of 20, then sure. But we don't. With Miles, Dez, and Witten, any #3 would be fine. Ogletree is just pathetic and lazy. Pick up a veteran who gets cut in training camp or draft a guy like Ryan Broyles in the 4th. I like Robinson, but people need to let it go. Find another Laurent Robinson. Guy with some skill who just got unlucky in a numbers game and got cut. Sign him to a vet minimum deal. Pretty simple.

If he takes a discount to stay, then cool, but he isn't. He may do nothing next year. I don't think he'll be terrible because he is pretty good and he gets it, but you never know. This is his chance to get a solid contract and be set for the rest of his life. If a WR starved team offers him a good contract, say congrats and let him go.

EDIT: I know i'm a hypocrite about Mario Williams because I just said Spencer is not the problem, but Mario Williams is another breed of animal.

[leroyisgod]

No way we can only address CB with Boykin in the 2nd.

Mario Williams said he didn't need to be the highest paid defensive player today in an interview. Said he already got all the money he needed being the 1st pick in the draft and now just wants to go to a situation where he feels comfortable.

If he doesn't get franchised, i'd do it. Screw it. If we break the bank on him we would probably have enough money to get one other solid free agent. Get the best guard or corner you can get with the left over money, and fill the rest of your team (or what you can) in the draft.

Say we got Mario and Terrell Thomas. Draft DeCastro at 14 and that takes out our 3 biggest needs with VERY good players. Not just solid upgrades, but studs. Assuming Thomas is healthy of course, but he got hurt in August so i'm sure he's fine. If DeCastro isn't there trade down and draft Zeitler or Konz.

Our top 3 needs (CB, pass rusher, interior OL) are filled with quality players and we now have the entire rest of the draft for the most part to pick relative BPA.

As for the Laurent Robinson talk, it needs to stop. At this point, it's stupid. We don't have 5-6 mill a year to spend on a #3 WR with the needs on this team and our cap space. If we had 40 mill instead of 20, then sure. But we don't. With Miles, Dez, and Witten, any #3 would be fine. Ogletree is just pathetic and lazy. Pick up a veteran who gets cut in training camp or draft a guy like Ryan Broyles in the 4th. I like Robinson, but people need to let it go. Find another Laurent Robinson. Guy with some skill who just got unlucky in a numbers game and got cut. Sign him to a vet minimum deal. Pretty simple.

If he takes a discount to stay, then cool, but he isn't. He may do nothing next year. I don't think he'll be terrible because he is pretty good and he gets it, but you never know. This is his chance to get a solid contract and be set for the rest of his life. If a WR starved team offers him a good contract, say congrats and let him go.

EDIT: I know i'm a hypocrite about Mario Williams because I just said Spencer is not the problem, but Mario Williams is another breed of animal.

I highly disagree on Robinson. We have no other legit replacements for our 3rd WR spot and our top 2 WR's have been injury prone. Let's remember this is a passing league, if you don't have at least 3 legit WR's you're out of luck. And let's remember that Witten isn't getting any younger. He's going to slowly turn into not as big of a threat as he used to. Simply put, if we lose Robinson it will hurt unless we go replace him with someone not on our roster.

Maybe we were lucky with Robinson, but man you cannot just go pluck someone with his level of production last year off of a damn tree. I seriously think you're blind if you feel we can just let him go.

[bigbluedefense]

That's right guys. Hop on board the Mario Williams train. I'm telling you, it's the best move you guys can make.

Overspending for average talent in need positions won't solve anything. Paying for legit talent is worth it.

[bigbluedefense]

I highly disagree on Robinson. We have no other legit replacements for our 3rd WR spot and our top 2 WR's have been injury prone. Let's remember this is a passing league, if you don't have at least 3 legit WR's you're out of luck. And let's remember that Witten isn't getting any younger. He's going to slowly turn into not as big of a threat as he used to. Simply put, if we lose Robinson it will hurt unless we go replace him with someone not on our roster.

Maybe we were lucky with Robinson, but man you cannot just go pluck someone with his level of production last year off of a damn tree. I seriously think you're blind if you feel we can just let him go.

Romo will make it work. He's had a revolving door at his 3rd WR every year and he's made it work. You don't need to pay a 3rd WR that much money when you have other areas of concern.

He's a franchise qb, he doesn't need a stud at every position on offense.

[D-Unit]

Jason Hatcher speaks the truth...

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4690213/jason-hatcher-dont-know-who-cowboys-leaders-are

Who are the leaders on the Dallas Cowboys?

"Dude. I gotta be honest with you: That's a good question. That's a good question. I really don't know. It's just another thing we really need ... like the Ravens, we don't have that. We've got the talent. We've got everything we need. I think we get like a Ray Lewis, like, everybody buy into him. When Ray Lewis speaks, everybody listens to him. A guy like that. We really don't got that. I think we definitely need somebody like that."

[CDCB14]

That's right guys. Hop on board the Mario Williams train. I'm telling you, it's the best move you guys can make.

Overspending for average talent in need positions won't solve anything. Paying for legit talent is worth it.

Thank you BBD. The average players we've signed throughout the past 5 years (Ayodele, Zach Thomas, Sensabaugh, Elam, Coleman, Brooking, etc.) have gotten us nowhere. We need more store power. I understand you can't have a pro-bowler at every position, but this defense has too many JAGs. We need explosive playmakers. Eli picks us apart because he knows exactly what we are going to do and we can't change it because we are limited athletically. We are not dynamic at all. I don't care about Rob Ryan's garbage "exotic schemes" (which are bogus anyway, you line up and the better team wins) if you have nobody to execute.

As for your post on Romo, completely agree. Get a little better interior OL play and the offense is fine. It's already good enough, and we haven't even had a full season of DeMarco Murray. Laurent Robinson was a great luxury this year, but he's not worth it. He earned himself a nice contract from a team who will overpay for a WR. Good for him. See ya. DeMarco Murray and the running game will fill that hole just fine.

D-Unit, I think Sean Lee with take that roll over hopefully. Not every team has a Ray Lewis, and the Ravens haven't won a super bowl or even been to one in 12 years. I don't call it a super bowl champion pre-requisite.

[bigbluedefense]

Thank you BBD. The average players we've signed throughout the past 5 years (Ayodele, Zach Thomas, Sensabaugh, Elam, Coleman, Brooking, etc.) have gotten us nowhere. We need more store power. I understand you can't have a pro-bowler at every position, but this defense has too many JAGs. We need explosive playmakers. Eli picks us apart because he knows exactly what we are going to do and we can't change it because we are limited athletically. We are not dynamic at all. I don't care about Rob Ryan's garbage "exotic schemes" (which are bogus anyway, you line up and the better team wins) if you have nobody to execute.

As for your post on Romo, completely agree. Get a little better interior OL play and the offense is fine. It's already good enough, and we haven't even had a full season of DeMarco Murray. Laurent Robinson was a great luxury this year, but he's not worth it. He earned himself a nice contract from a team who will overpay for a WR. Good for him. See ya. DeMarco Murray and the running game will fill that hole just fine.

D-Unit, I think Sean Lee with take that roll over hopefully. Not every team has a Ray Lewis, and the Ravens haven't won a super bowl or even been to one in 12 years. I don't call it a super bowl champion pre-requisite.

He might not even need the oline to be honest. I think the offense is fine. The days of having a dominant 90s Cowboys type oline are over, that doesn't happen anymore in the FA era.

Look at it this way: Was there an issue in the pass game? No. The Cowboys can fling it with the best of em. Was there an issue in the run game? No, when Murray was healthy, the Cowboys can run it with the best of em.

So the pass game is fine, and the run game is fine. What's the problem? The offense is fine. I would get DeCastro bc he's BPA, and I think having an interior guy is probably going to be important moving forward in the East with the way the East is developing it's dlines (remember how we all stockpiled WRs a couple of years ago? That's happening with dline now, the results will show in a year or 2).

[D-Unit]

Not too many folks need convincing to want Mario Williams, lol.

Let's say Mario Williams is franchised by the Texans though. What is the suggestion then?

BBD, what is your take on the Cowboys potentially using the franchise tag on Anthony Spencer?


The more I think about it, the more I think our best decision is to trade down in Round 1 and add picks.

[CDCB14]

He might not even need the oline to be honest. I think the offense is fine. The days of having a dominant 90s Cowboys type oline are over, that doesn't happen anymore in the FA era.

Look at it this way: Was there an issue in the pass game? No. The Cowboys can fling it with the best of em. Was there an issue in the run game? No, when Murray was healthy, the Cowboys can run it with the best of em.

So the pass game is fine, and the run game is fine. What's the problem? The offense is fine. I would get DeCastro bc he's BPA, and I think having an interior guy is probably going to be important moving forward in the East with the way the East is developing it's dlines (remember how we all stockpiled WRs a couple of years ago? That's happening with dline now, the results will show in a year or 2).

Actually, that's false. There still is a problem with the running game. We had 5 rushing touchdowns all year. That's pathetic. I don't care how much the NFL turns into a passing league, you need to be able to run the football, run it for touchdowns, and be effective in situational football with the running game. The Cowboys are not. It may have looked like it from afar when DeMarco Murray was balling out, but he still only had 2 touchdowns over that 8 game tear he went on. It's a direct fault of the interior OL.

Also, there is a slight problem with the passing game caused by the interior OL. Romo is a short QB. Pressure in his face is what kills him. He can step up or juke out an outside rusher no problem, but when Costa/Nagy/Holland/Kosier get thrown like a rag doll at the snap and he has a guy who is 6'5'' in his face, that's when there are problems. Like you said they need to block the DL's on the East and the rest of the league. Just look at the teams on our schedule next year. Picking one team out in the Ravens, Ngata would be in Romo's lap on every play after throwing Costa 15 feet to the side like a little child. It's not a good situation.

I agree that the offense is good enough to win as is, but it definitely can be improved. When playoffs come around those major flaws could come to the forefront.

The middle of both sides of the ball need more beef. Ratliff needs to move to DE, and the interior OL needs to get better. Period. After thanksgiving they just wear down. Even in the 4th quarter of games early in the season. Our run defense drops significantly in the 4th quarter.

[Giantsfan1080]

I think the Cowboys have Nicks as their #1 priority over Williams.

[D-Unit]

I think the Cowboys have Nicks as their #1 priority over Williams.
I think so too. I just hope it comes true. I'm hesitant though because it's one of those things that sounds too good to be true. Here's hoping Callahan can play a role in convincing Nicks to sign with us.

[leroyisgod]

On our interior OL people say we need a guard and a center. I think you add one and that should be good enough. No teams are completely stacked across all 5 OL positions. You have good players that make up for your one weaker link. I will still say it, I want Robinson back but I don't want to spend too much on him. I think we'll be in a good spot because you have these guys that will get more money than he will and his market price will settle down.

-Vincent Jackson
-DeSean Jackson
-Dwayne Bowe
-Wes Welker
-Reggie Wayne
-Marques Colston
-Stevie Johnson
-Brandon Lloyd
-Mario Manningham
-Mike Wallace

IMO he's not gonna get $4-5mi/year with that crop.

At this point I'm more inclined to grab a G in the draft over spending the money on Nicks. If were gonna spend that money in FA, do it on Williams if he doesn't get franchised.

[leroyisgod]

Realistically, what is the market going to be like for Spencer? There seems to be a major lack of 3-4 OLB's in FA. And if you look at stats, he's not that bad. He may end up getting a sizeable deal out there.

[D-Unit]

On our interior OL people say we need a guard and a center. I think you add one and that should be good enough. No teams are completely stacked across all 5 OL positions. You have good players that make up for your one weaker link. I will still say it, I want Robinson back but I don't want to spend too much on him. I think we'll be in a good spot because you have these guys that will get more money than he will and his market price will settle down.

-Vincent Jackson
-DeSean Jackson
-Dwayne Bowe
-Wes Welker
-Reggie Wayne
-Marques Colston
-Stevie Johnson
-Brandon Lloyd
-Mario Manningham
-Mike Wallace

IMO he's not gonna get $4-5mi/year with that crop.

At this point I'm more inclined to grab a G in the draft over spending the money on Nicks. If were gonna spend that money in FA, do it on Williams if he doesn't get franchised.
I'm not even sweating #3 WR. Laurent will be resigned and he will be affordable. If not, Dwayne Harris will step up.

As for Nicks, if we can sign him, we do it no questions asked. That is our best plan. I just don't see him leaving is all.

I'm gonna make a mock that includes signing Nicks... Just to see what it feels like. ^_^

[D-Unit]

Realistically, what is the market going to be like for Spencer? There seems to be a major lack of 3-4 OLB's in FA. And if you look at stats, he's not that bad. He may end up getting a sizeable deal out there.
I don't think he'll get anything close to Franchise tag money. We should wait it out and see what he can get first.

[leroyisgod]

I don't think he'll get anything close to Franchise tag money. We should wait it out and see what he can get first.

I'm fully on board with that. I'd much rather sit tight and let the market dictate how much he gets instead of setting the market for him.

[Macarthur]

I would be happy to get Nicks, but I'm telling you, if we go into next season with Costa at Center again, it isn't going to matter whose next to him.

I'm with D. Trade down, get a couple of extra picks. Grab Konz and the center position is solid for the next 10 years. Then with the multiple picks later, go heavy on defense.

[leroyisgod]

Could DeCastro play center?

[bigbluedefense]

Not too many folks need convincing to want Mario Williams, lol.

Let's say Mario Williams is franchised by the Texans though. What is the suggestion then?

BBD, what is your take on the Cowboys potentially using the franchise tag on Anthony Spencer?


The more I think about it, the more I think our best decision is to trade down in Round 1 and add picks.

Horrible idea. You don't pay a guy 10 million for 6 sacks. I understand you're not gonna have a 15 sack guy on each side of the ball in most scenarios, but the bottom line is this:

Isolate the player. Is there anything about Anthony Spencer that screams out 10 million dollars? Absolutely not. He's a mediocre player. A 3-4 version of Ray Edwards. He's a guy that I feel very comfortable putting my RT on with no help.

When you look at it that way and take away the stats, even then he's not worth 10 million.

He's just not worth 10 million. It's not a good move.

[bigbluedefense]

Thank you BBD. The average players we've signed throughout the past 5 years (Ayodele, Zach Thomas, Sensabaugh, Elam, Coleman, Brooking, etc.) have gotten us nowhere. We need more store power. I understand you can't have a pro-bowler at every position, but this defense has too many JAGs. We need explosive playmakers. Eli picks us apart because he knows exactly what we are going to do and we can't change it because we are limited athletically. We are not dynamic at all. I don't care about Rob Ryan's garbage "exotic schemes" (which are bogus anyway, you line up and the better team wins) if you have nobody to execute.

As for your post on Romo, completely agree. Get a little better interior OL play and the offense is fine. It's already good enough, and we haven't even had a full season of DeMarco Murray. Laurent Robinson was a great luxury this year, but he's not worth it. He earned himself a nice contract from a team who will overpay for a WR. Good for him. See ya. DeMarco Murray and the running game will fill that hole just fine.

D-Unit, I think Sean Lee with take that roll over hopefully. Not every team has a Ray Lewis, and the Ravens haven't won a super bowl or even been to one in 12 years. I don't call it a super bowl champion pre-requisite.

Was the lack of running TDs on the oline, or the playcalling though? My impressions is you guys like to throw in the redzone. *shrug*

[D-Unit]

Horrible idea. You don't pay a guy 10 million for 6 sacks. I understand you're not gonna have a 15 sack guy on each side of the ball in most scenarios, but the bottom line is this:

Isolate the player. Is there anything about Anthony Spencer that screams out 10 million dollars? Absolutely not. He's a mediocre player. A 3-4 version of Ray Edwards. He's a guy that I feel very comfortable putting my RT on with no help.

When you look at it that way and take away the stats, even then he's not worth 10 million.

He's just not worth 10 million. It's not a good move.
Glad to hear you're in the same boat as I on that issue. FreshBoy and CDCB actually want to use the tag on him. LOL.

[D-Unit]

Was the lack of running TDs on the oline, or the playcalling though? My impressions is you guys like to throw in the redzone. *shrug*
We had a little discussion on that a couple pages back. I did bring up the playcalling as part of it. It's definitely a part of the equation. In the end, both share part of the blame.

Garrett really has tried to run the ball inside the 5 yard line, but it's beyond just calling run or pass. The design of the running plays called seemed so fundamentally flawed that they were ineffective and forced Garrett to call pass. Our running plays had no misdirection, no movement, no disguise. Just predictable straight ahead runs...and our personnel was just not good enough to push forward. I called Garrett out for that many times during the season. He just didn't seem to have a good array of running plays. 90% of our runs seemed like draws. LOL. But I think he relied on Houck for that and that was part of the problem. Callahan has a good reputation for a solid running game, so I'm extremely excited about what he can bring.

[CDCB14]

I would be happy to get Nicks, but I'm telling you, if we go into next season with Costa at Center again, it isn't going to matter whose next to him.

I'm with D. Trade down, get a couple of extra picks. Grab Konz and the center position is solid for the next 10 years. Then with the multiple picks later, go heavy on defense.

That's false. Costa would be much better with Nicks next to him.

Now, one of my favorite options on draft day at the moment would be a trade down for Konz, but Costa would be better if we sign Nicks. No doubt about that.

[CDCB14]

Was the lack of running TDs on the oline, or the playcalling though? My impressions is you guys like to throw in the redzone. *shrug*

We threw it because we had no interior OL.... lol come on man.

Jason Garrett is actually more balanced than you think, especially when Murray was healthy.

[FreshBoy!]

FreshBoy and CDCB actually want to use the tag on him. LOL.

Is that what I said? Is it?

[Witten4HOF]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7587108/cleveland-browns-tag-dqwell-jackson-barring-deal-report-says

Dqwell Jackson is out of the picture as a Veteran pick up at ILB

[leroyisgod]

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2012/2/17/2804324/nfl-writer-cornerback-brandon-carr-a-good-match-for-dallas-cowboys

I've been thinking about Brandon Carr lately and this reaffirms it for me. Thoughts on him? He wont' come cheap, but plays man well which we need with all the blitzing we do. Good sized CB too. If we opt out of the Mario Williams sweepstakes, I'd put a bid in on Carr.

[D-Unit]

Is that what I said? Is it?
Sorry. What was it? There's nobody in FA or the draft that's better?

[D-Unit]

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2012/2/17/2804324/nfl-writer-cornerback-brandon-carr-a-good-match-for-dallas-cowboys

I've been thinking about Brandon Carr lately and this reaffirms it for me. Thoughts on him? He wont' come cheap, but plays man well which we need with all the blitzing we do. Good sized CB too. If we opt out of the Mario Williams sweepstakes, I'd put a bid in on Carr.
I'd be thrilled with Carr. Alls I know is we only got a shot at one big named FA... IF that....

Carr, Nicks, Mario....

We could get none of them and I wouldn't be surprised either. Not one bit.

[FreshBoy!]

Sorry. What was it? There's nobody in FA or the draft that's better?

My stance was that I didn't want him franchised, or back for that matter...but there are a few scenarios where I wouldn't be mad if he was resigned or franchised.

I just don't want him to go and it's another hole they'd have to fill and we miss out on one of the blue chip CB's/OL.

Again, it has more to do with how the front office plays this offseason.

[CDCB14]

Listening to "The Football Show" on 103.3 ESPN Dallas, it looks like we are getting that compensatory 4th for Stephen Bowen, and Broaddus thinks we are going to make splash in free agency. He thinks it's going to be Carl Nicks.

EDIT: Hey D-Unit:

The Browns, with new DC Dick Jouron, with a lockout, finished as the #10 defense in the league this year. You know what the Brown finished in 2010 under Rob Ryan? 22nd.

This was just brought up on The Football Show. Do the Browns have better players than us too? Laughable. Rob Ryan is a JAG.

They are making a laughing stock our of Rob Ryan right now. I love it. How he proclaimed Spencer was going to go on a tear, we were the best defensive front in the league, etc. LOL. His exotic schemes are a joke.

[D-Unit]

Listening to "The Football Show" on 103.3 ESPN Dallas, it looks like we are getting that compensatory 4th for Stephen Bowen, and Broaddus thinks we are going to make splash in free agency. He thinks it's going to be Carl Nicks.

EDIT: Hey D-Unit:

The Browns, with new DC Dick Jouron, with a lockout, finished as the #10 defense in the league this year. You know what the Brown finished in 2010 under Rob Ryan? 22nd.

This was just brought up on The Football Show. Do the Browns have better players than us too? Laughable. Rob Ryan is a JAG.

They are making a laughing stock our of Rob Ryan right now. I love it. How he proclaimed Spencer was going to go on a tear, we were the best defensive front in the league, etc. LOL. His exotic schemes are a joke.
This post makes me laugh. hahahaha. LOVE IT.

I hope everyone else sees what I see.