The New NFL

I had the proverbial college vs NFL debate this morning in church. A couple of my buddies love today with the college games on, but I, like you, am about to burst today. It just feels like an NFL day doesn’t it? I just don’t understand how you don’t like the better quality product more.

Now, I also have to agree with them that I HATE the lack of rivalries now, or having the dynasty teams that face off like the Cowboys-Niners of the 90s, but I’m not upset enough to enjoy this Sunday more than, say, next Sunday. Oh what I wouldn’t give to go to sleep for a week!!!

You know Altercall, I have friends who say the same thing, that they love college football more. I don’t get it. Sure, there are weeks where the new, watered down NFL just doesn’t provide that many compelling games. But how does a 60-3 or a 59-14 mismatch between a top power and Cupcake U. qualify as compelling? What’s to love in that? I was offered a free ticket to the Texas/ Louisiana-Lafayette game and turned it down. That would be like watching the Cowboys play some middle of the pack college team. It’s just not football in my book. It’s an exhibition.

I agree, the NFL starts the season too late. The Sunday during Labor day weekend would be perfect. As the first poster said, today FEELS like an NFL sunday.

Big Jim,
Was that fast enough for ya? Wheres’s my raise boss? LOL!

The only time I feel “compelled” to watch college ball is when I think a particular player the Cowboys might be interested in drafting is being showcased.

Maybe there was a time when universities and colleges played football for nothing but pride, but that time has passed. Now it is for money and more money. Therefore, except for the talent level and, as Rafael pointed out— lopsided scores, there seems to be little difference between college and pro ball. It is “an exhibition” I can do without. And I usually do.

College football does have crazier fans, and the student enthusiasm cannot be matched, BUT the NFL competition just dominates it on every level. Besides better players and a much deeper overall talent level, the games are just more crisp and dramatic. College football players are generally playing to keep a scholarship, while NFL players are battling to feed their families

Interesting how people distinguish the two.

I went to see Star Wars a few months ago with some friends. After the movie, all of them had at least one major criticism (dialogue, actors, etc.). I had none, because I decided to watch it like I was a ten year old – and I had the most fun!

I’ll be watching College ball this weekend from the spirit of what competition is at that level, and I’ll be doing the same thing next Sunday when the big boys line up.

Let’s enjoy it all. As I used to tell my nagging (ex) girlfriend, “Hey, there’s only 16 of these!”

FOOTBALL IS BACK!

James,

’bout time!!!!!

The one thing i will say for the college game is overall the refereeing
is much better.They seem to control the game better there is no hesitating
or looking to other officials with a lost look on their faces.And pass interference is called on much much much more consistent basis.

1st week vegas sportsbook has san diego as 5 point favorites over the boys with over/under for game of 41 points. iggles2 pt favorites over atlanta, deadskins 5 pt favorites over chicago, giants 2 point favorites over the cards.

I would take the pts on all 4 games and the over (41pts) on the boys game, what do you guys say?

i dont think ive been this excited for football in years, prolly 96. i wish it would start a lil earlier but then it would take away from the college thunder anyways 7 days and its go time.

according to espn transactions the boys signed rb Keylon Kincade, wr Tom Crowder and Jamaica Rector, te Tony Curtis and Sean Ryan, guard Matthew Tarullo, dt Chris Van Hoy, kicker Shaun Suishan to practice squad.

Any surprises?

Hmmm…I thought they couldn’t get their practice squad together until after Monday. Nope, no surprise on the players they chose.

Joe

I thought the same as you, that it would be Monday before that could happen. A lot of other teams were also on the transactions page with only a handful of cut players being claim by other teams.

Surprised about Rector since he was one of the early cuts.

Big Jim

With the Boys taking most of the young guys they had on their roster were there many others players that they cut that were able to be placed on the practice squad?

rmac,

The only surprise to me was that Reggie Love wasn’t signed to our practice squad. In fact, no linebacker made it. I would have signed Love over Kincade. We have plenty of running backs, and not all that many linebackers.

According to Eatman on dc.com, tomorrow is a big day with a big announcement. Speculation is that Price will SIGN his contract tomorrow and that a trade will be announced. Hope that some sportswriters will be working so that we can get some details. LOL!

Big Jim, I had a feeling Rector would make the PS. They cut him early and hid him in preseason games, but everything I read from early camp was about how good but raw he looked. I think the team deliberately hid him to get him onto their own practice squad, and may activate him later if one of the “old ones” at WR break in half.

Mr Bill, Love is not ready in any way, but Kincade ran as hard as any of the five who made the roster when he was let into the ends of preseason games. He probably needs to learn protections and so forth, like any young RB does, but he might be a possibility for promotion if the team loses two of the RBs they have to injury later in the year.

LBs, the Cowboys have plenty of, especially ILBs. None are Pro Bowlers, at least yet, and Love would add nothing to that assessment. Besides, if any of the PS players are promoted or signed elsewhere, Love could always be added later.

Is it correct that Van Hoy had been moved to Guard during camp and the preseason?

yeah, Van hoy played a bit at guard when Rivera was out with a bad hammy.

Thanks Derrick,

Question #2. As of last night there seemed to be confusion about Nate Jones being on the roster or not.

I feel like a Enron CPA, can’t get the numbers to add up. My roster shows 54 active, including Jones.

KCE

I thought I read that Van Hoy had alternated back and forth DL to OL.

rmac,
That’s gotta be tough, knowing the defensive and offensive play books.

I think that Morgan will be traded if he isn’t cut. I think that Dallas is going to trade for another Safety, alot of talk about Jerome Woods,from KC who is not happy with the backup role, who went to the probowl two years ago.

right now there is 53 on the roster pending the signing of Price tomorrow, so their is going to be a roster move too.

I need to get a hot key set that says “Thanks Derrick”.

My 54 man roster includes Price and Jones, so yeah somebody’s dead meat Monday.

do you guys think sign and trade with price or sign and another move for someone else???

My first cut at trade bait is Ogbogu. 2nd theory maybe Gurode or Al Johnson?

i hope its morgan and maybe a 5th or 7th for woods??? i think is looking for wr depth, so maybe morgan could help them out, which would be good for morgan, who really hasnt been a cancer just upset with his role.

Price isn’t going anywhere, it will probably be Morgam.

KCE, are you including Price on your 54, he’s not officially signed, so you cant count him

sorry last post shouldve read “i think kc is looking for wr depth”

Derrick,
The “Thanks Derrick” hot key remark was from me. I’m so busy trying to talk Cowboys and watch the Hokie/NCSU game that I’m doing both poorly.

you could prolly get something for gurode, hes looked good in preseason same with al johnson. i hope its neither though, i like the depth at center. worst case gurode can play guard if needed.

Derrick,
Yeah I was counting Price, so if a scratch him from the roster I’m down to 53. Which means somebody has got to be straight cut asap.

Trade bait is Morgan, Ogbogu, and Singleton. Remember, we dumped Robinson for Condo @ LS. He is also a LB that can play ST. Between Condo and Fujita, Singleton may be squeezed out.

If safety K Woods is picked up from KC do you think they would take wr Q Morgan or wr/st T Copper since they just got rid of Fred ex the former iggle wr, or would it be a draft pick? They just sent the Boys LB Fujita so they probably wouldn’t want Ogbogu.

Mike, remember, Gurode is a free agent after this year and right now we only have 9 offensive linemen on the squad, cant see us trading either one,Obogu could be trade bait ,I remember Bill saying in a press conference the other day that He’ll be playing “somewhere” this year, so Obogu could be on the move.

rmac,
If we were to trade a wr, it would be morgan, not copper, since your fifth reciever is a special teams player, and Morgan isn’t and Copper is a gunner on special teams.

Derrick,

Wild idea,,,Tarullo is a center so the loss of either A. Johnson or Gurode doesn’t necessarily leave us in a total vacuum.

Why would we want a guy who complains about being a backup to come in and be the backup to Keith??

Derrick

With Price coming tomorrow, will that cause Crayton to play special teams a little more so Copper could possibly be available for trade?

KCE,

 I dont think that Tarullo is ready at this level, needs another year on the Practice squad.

Lou,

If Woods is brought in, he might be your starter in a couple of weeks, I think bill is alittle unsure of Davis, Bill likes him on special teams more.

Help me out here,

If we have 54 after Price signs, who gets cut?

Lou

If the KC safety was a pretty solid player maybe BP thinks he could start in front of Davis since Davis beat out L Scott who was an average player.

rmac, I dont know about Crayton playing special teams, Copper is a gunner and I cant see anyone real eager to trade for Copper since he is only starting his second year in the league and they were spot starts at that. you never know, stranger things have happened

KCE

My guess is Morgan or possibly Ogbogu

rmac,

You don’t think of them as trade bait.

I was expecting the answer to be Nate Jones since nobody seemed to know if he was even on the roster last night. And I can’t recall him getting a single bit of press during camp or preseason.

KCE,
 If we cant trade Morgan, he gets the AX, but if we do trade him, say to KC for Woods, then that leaves us with 54 players on the roster with the signing of Price, so I see one of the DB’s getting cut, Jones,or Thornton since we 6 on the roster.

Don’t think we can trade Gurode since he’s now our backup guard (+ Noll & Peterman).

A team like KC might like Ogbagu for their 4-3. Might we give them O and Morgan for Woods?

If Woods comes in, he will probably start (maybe not week 1). Parcells said Davis is the starter “for now”. This will allow us to keep Davis on ST, yet still use him some at safety, especially at nickle.

God bless us if these three turn into Evrett, Washington, Woodson.

Cowboy Bert, very insightful on Rector, didn’t even think of that.

Thanks Derrick!

I was thinking that if Newman was expected to do the punt returns that BP would keep and extra cb in case he gets hurt, but I am not sure.

Big Jim,
I was wondering if a two for one trade might be appealing to someone.

I also have friends who enjoy the college game better than the pros. I just tell them, that if given the choice to watch the best of the best I’ll take it everyday especially on Sunday.

Big Jim,

Ogbogu and Morgan for Woods, that sounds intriging, might want to get a late round draft pick from KC to go along with Woods

Why not? We’re probably going to cut them anyway. Maybe we could give two, and get one + a conditional pick or something.

Ha, you type faster than me. THANKS DERRICK!

Cash,

My grandma use to play for Ohio State!

aaaarrrrgggghhhhh,,,,
I hate the Hokies,
What the hell’s a Hokie anyway.

I’m alittle worried about the tackle position too, on this team.If petitti or Adams goes down, that is SCARY

Pettite the rookie starting and Tucker backup, probably smart to worry about that.

Maybe cut Tucker straight out and sign a veteran FA?

Derrick

Do you think that the Boys are waiting til after the first game which they probably think they can get through with 3 tackles which might drive down the price of the two OT’s that have been getting some name time on this blog, and if they sign someone after the first game then their salary isn’t guaranteed for the season, isn’t that right?

Bill loves tucker for some reason, I just wish that Tucker can get his head out of his azz and stop making the same stupid mistakes everytime he gets in there.

After the signing of Price how is our cap status?

rmac,
 I think you definitely hit the nail on the head, I can see a veteran tackle signed after week one, then the contract wont be guaranteed

KCE,
 not sure, I know we save some money cutting Robinson( 1.1ml), but I think its around 2 mil.

There is no way the season starts with 6 corners and 2 safeties. Somebody needs depth at corner, and somebody else needs edge rushers. Those are two of the hardest positions to fill for most teams, and the Cowboys have extras. Linebackers and safeties (and even right tackles) are much easier to fill, generally. This is not the final roster—there may be several interlocking moves made before the dust settles. It just stands to reason.

Derrick, that Robinson money already went to get Price away from New England.

Players want as much $ as they can get, but players want to play, so after missing 1 game would they risk missing the season or who knows how many games waiting to see if an injury might get their phone to ring?

cowboy bert,
Thats why I think we still have about 2 mil left for cap space.

Cowboy Bert,
I think on paper we have 5 CB’s and 3 safeties.

Reeves (on paper) is a Safety, yes?

Reeves, played corner and has played alittle safety in the nickel defense situations.

KCE, the roster on DC.com lists him at CB.

They also list him at 5’11", 190, which sounds like he could get the hell beat out of him having to make a lot of tackles in run support at safety.

I believe all of us have common ground in one regard,
The roster as it stands today is going to undergo some interesting changes in the next few days.

On a yesterday’s thread, someone quoted a source saying the Cowboys had about 6 mil in cap room before all these cuts and trades were made.

We also have to account for Fujita’s salary. Anyone know what that is?

KCE, I concur, I see more roster changes coming tomorrow and after week one.

Big JIm,
I dont think it’s 6 mil, I thought I heard the Spags say the other day on the ticket that it was around 2 to 3 mil after the signing of Price

I cant see Fujita’s salary being all that much since he was a low round pick, I think he’s in the final year if his contract and I think the conditional pick to KC is tied to if we sign him after this year.

Regarding change,
When exactly do we have to be down to 53 players. Soon as Price signs we seem to agree we will be at 54.

Were at 53 now, but we will have to do something when we sign Price tomorrow, in the way of a cut or trade to fit him on the roster.

Derrick,

2 to 3 mil sounds more accurate to me. That’s what I thought we had.

Rafael, can you enlighten us with the facts.

I went to sportsline KC transactions and it said that KC signed Scott Fujita to a 1 year contract 4/8/05, so after his first 3 years to only give a 1 year contract I would guess it would not be to much.

To repeat myself,

aaaaaarrrrgggghhh,,,
I hate the Hokies, etc. etc. etc.

This sounds a little fishy. Thanks, rmac btw.

They just signed him. I understand that they drafted DJ, but now they have to eat any signing bonus, and they don’t have him on the squad as insurance, since his salary is probably low for this year.

Then they’re willing to give up their leading tackler for a 6 and a conditional 7?

Either their a very poorly run org., or something’s up.

Delete last posting.

My bad, I read it wrong – as 3 year contract.

I was just looking at the KC wide recieving core, and they seem to be a little thin there, and they cut some players to clear cap space this weekend, freddie mitchell needs surgery and he was cut because KC wanted his knee operated on earlier this summer, but they might bring him back if he get the surgery, Jerry, call KC up and talk Morgan up like he’s an all pro..

James,

Singleton isn’t going anywhere. We really can’t expect Fujita to waltz in here and start from day one. As for Condo, if he sees the field for anything but special-teams plays, we are in big trouble.

Burnett has been backing up Singleton, but I doubt if Parcells wants Burnett starting just yet. Ogbogu is really a DE and pass rusher, and would be a detriment if forced to play OLB in the 3-4 for any length of time.

Other than Ware, that’s all we have at OLB — Ware, Singleton, Burnett, Fujita, Ogbogu, Condo. All our other LBs are ILBs and haven’t been practicing at the outside positions. If we start anyone other than Ware and Singleton against the Chargers, we could have big problems trying to stop Tomlinson.

rmac,

That’s how I see our offensive tackle situation.

Remember, even though we only have 3 OTs right now, that’s probably all we would activate for a game anyway. I think we are safe to go to San Diego with Adams, Petitti and Tucker. If we have a real emergency, Allen or Noll could play tackle.

ProFootballTalk had our cap space at $6.18 million as of September 1. If anyone has access to ESPN Insider, John Clayton has published his cap figures, and they could be checked against PFT’s.

Scott Fujita’s salary for 2005 is $656,000.

Might as well give up the Woods dream, at least trade-wise. Just read on NFL.com that a trade would cause a $4 mil hit against KC’s cap this year, whereas if he’s released, it would count $3.5 NEXT year. Cheaper to keep ’er.

Reeves is playing nickel Safety when Williams moves into the “box”. I’m sure a backup may be signed, but a veteran tackle would be a higher priority. If an injury occured, Reeves would take over and Lynn Scott (most likely) would be resigned. Remember, trades are a lot easier from now ’til October.

My guess is that we’ll stand pat through Game 1, then begin to look in earnest to fill the holes with some vets. That way they won’t have to guarantee the salary.

mr bill
i have espn insider but cant fnd the cap salary for any teams. i can still us doing a few more trades or additions in the next couple days. i dont think bp wants to wait to get different players after the season has started. he wants them in practice this week and ready to go asap.

Mr Bill,

Heads up play! Nice work on the cap space #. Rafael must be sleeping (maybe with my grandma who played with the Browns and Ohio St as Cash pointed out).

The Chiefs probably won’t be willing to take a 4 or 3.5 mil cap hit.

Antuan Edwards is still out there.

Big Jim,

Hey now! It’s a holiday, for cripes sakes.

Dookie:

Dude, give it up. You ain’t postin’ here no more. You had your shot and tried your impostering. Ain’t gonna happen.

So cool it with the “Hello out there” posts.

damn Rafael,

Only holiday ever heard of was Super Bowl Monday!!!!!!!!

You also have to remember that we get $1.1 mill on the cap for cutting Robinson, and $750K when we get rid of Morgan. So in the end, it’s almost a wash with Price’s contract.

The thing that you have to remember about Fujita’s contract is that it only counts about $350-400K more than the person that we cut to make room for him.

Here’s what I’ve come up with on our cap #. As of 4/29, the most common number I found was $9.35 mill. The roster moves we made were resigning Romo, adding Thomas, adding Fujita, adding Price, dumping Robinson, and I’m already counting Morgan leaving. We also had the draft, for which I used our rookie pool number of $4.9 mill. Every player we added had resulted in the loss of another salary (I used a base $350K salary for bottom of the roster players) and every cut resulted in the gain of said salary to the cap figure. (You only count 53 players toward the cap.)

So, you do all that, and I get a cap number a little under $7 mill. I think that the $6,18 mill number sound about right.

Raul,
Dookie? Do you mean the guy from the “Whassup Farts” cartoon? “Yo, where’s Dookie?”

Mr. Bill,
My post mentioning Singleton was referring to the future.

James:

He/she knows who he/she is. He keeps trying to post but I’ve got his IP and it’s all over… :lol:

hey what about trying to trade for minisota’s fs corey chaveous. minisota’s de was just suspended for 4 games so they could use ogbogu and maybe a draft pick. i by the way hate that we keep giving up draft picks. i think it’s inevitable that morgan will not be on our team this year. i hope we get something for him maybe a draft pick probably a 5th rounder. i don’t think we would just drop him because you know the iggles could use him.

just some added info on fujita he played as a fs/ss in college. he is pretty fast. just some info i don’t think this will happen but just a thought

I think adding Fujita will be a definate upgrade to our defense and help our special teams immensely!KC was stupid for letting him go,the guy is a tackling machine!A few more “tweaks” and we are gonna be tough to beat…….safety and kicker are next!

Hey guys, on another subject…

What happened to LT coming in to tutor Ware?

I’m not exactly a fan of letting a coke-head and me-first guy be a mentor for our future, but the guy did have skills. Seems like LT reverted to his usual unreliable self.

lilbeast
if we get chavos thatd be perfec,t i think he’d help jell this unit that guy can play. he might be the last remaining major piece.

quincy waas released today.

Yup! Quincy Morgan has left the building! The DMN is reporting that his agent has confirmed Morgan’s release.

About that cap figure,

It is obviously already out of date and obsolete. It was reported as of September 1, and counted only the top-51 contracts, plus ‘dead money’. The cap figure from today would have to take into account the full 53-man roster, ‘dead money’ [which would increase with some of the players we cut], players on injured reserve, waived-injured settlements, and the 8-man practice squad. We have also traded for a veteran (Fujita). Morgan’s release and Price’s signing (and anything else we might do today) will factor in as of the close-of-business today.

It’s a moving target.

is it just me or is dc.com about 2 days behind on everything they report. which is kinda pathtetic seeing its there damn site. anyways, im really hoping for a quality safety to come through here in the next couple days.

Alter,
Nice work on the cap.That is something alot of people don’t
get .They don’t understand what an important role it plays
in personnel decisions.And how you can tell what a coach or
Gm is thinking by they’re cap moves.B.P. has done a great
job with the cap here and that leads me to think he is going
to be around for awhile.

About our safety position,

It has occurred to me that both Coady and Scott are vested veterans, and their salaries would become guaranteed if they were on the roster for the first game. Now, I am sure the Cowboys are working all angles to get at least one decent safety in here. But, we might try to get through this weekend with just the two safeties. Then we could bring in a veteran or two next week. One (or even two) of those veterans might be Coady or Scott.

Mr. Bill,

The same thing had occurred to me, and I think that is precisely what Dallas is thinking. BTW, Morgan has been released. That makes me wonder who is going to be involved in a trade.

Very good observation and point Mr. Bill,we might see one of those guys back after ther first game if we don’t find anyone…

After reading Eatman’s re-gurgitated and warmed-over article this morning, I now know that Morgan has been cut. Well goodbye woosy boy. Eatman is also claiming that Ogbogu has been cut and that we have signed a FA safety by the name of Pile. No info about him specifically. I will now go to ESPN and elsewhere.

P.S. Apparently there were no takers on Morgan or Ogbogu. (trades)

Raul-
What does it take to get “blocked” like the above guy?

is being a fan of the enemy; like the indian themed team, or the team uses uses a green bird enuff to get ya booted?

???

Jason:
The reason for the boot has more to do with the nonsense they always seem to do first. I remember this latest Seahawk fan, he joined the blog and started talking without restrictions, he wasn’t disrepectful until JuiceJ started running all over their D and he was banned by Saturday? How much time passed? I don’t have anything against that, do you? I’m all for having fans of other teams join this blog, I’m a respectful enough fan to be respectful with them too, but just if that’s reciprocal.

Jason,
As Mcnabb said “Keep my name out of your mouth”.

theres a right way and a wrong way to voice your opinion, and alot of guys that were here did it the wrong way, which is to bad. i wouldnt mind seeing a eagles, giants, redskins, etc. fan in here and have normal conversations. i think it would be kinda cool, see what they think. but no need for people to be disrespectful.

Yes, that’s right mike, in my past experiences in the SportsLine message boards I used to talk with several fans, and there were the disrespectful and respectful kinds and I had enough of the amount of Knuckleheads there, but still found good talks with the more distinguished ones… Until one of the guys there gave the http of this great site, and I’ve made my way back to SportsLine in an insignificant manner since then.

I see that the move is on again to run me off. Good Luck.

Jason/James:

I do not ban for dissenting opinion – I ban for spam and unacceptable behavior. When someone logs on and stsrts making racially or sexually inappropriate remarks, they’re gone. If they want to talk football in a civil tone, they are welcome.

James:

Not that I’m aware of. Besides, I get to make the final decision. The person mentioned above was on here early in the weekend pretending to be other posters – you among others – and was referring to various sexual acts and not even talking football. That’s why that person was escorted out.

I would have thought you’d have known by now how I operate here…

Raul,

I don’t know if you and raf have considered it but what about
adding an Nfc east section to expand the blog since i know the
money from trolls kidneys ain’t going to last that long.Seriously
you guys would have to be more on toes maybe add a moderator
or two to keep out the language and behavior so common on
other sites.I think there are alot of people looking to talk football
in a civil manner but get put off by the vitriol found elsewhere.The
Nfc section would be a subsection the blog would still be about the
Cowboys.

Raul,
You’re good. I did not realize that the interloper had even made a visit. It sounded like people were ticked at me. Good riddance to the irresponsible and NYELKULTURNY scallawag.