Sneak Peek to '06

I’d love to have Chavous. I would hope he could bring some of his study habits and help with coverage. He could be just what the Dr. ordered.

Why is Pasqualoni on the hot seat? Our tight ends haven’t been flourishing but how can they when they have to block every play.

As far a Sparano goes, Does the revolving door do us much good? Is this Sparanos 2nd or 3rd yr? It seems more like we have a poor mix of players trying to play a scheme that doesn’t fit them. Al Johnson would be very good in space in a Denver/Atlanta system. Pulling is certainly his strength where as drive and holding ground are not.

Just the opposite is true these days with LA. Still controls his zone well but is not efefctive in space.
It just seems like a batch of ingredients thrown together with the hopes of making a cake and they end up with a scrambled eggs instead.

Raf,
We need some house cleaning in our coaching staff… I am not too high on Payton’s offensive calling..
I am all for getting Corey Chavous.. Sure could use a guy with his credential in our team.
I think William’s departure from skins would be the most devastating for them.. Which by the way breaks my heart… NOT!
What do you thin about Zim? Is it the time for him to leave?

When you get older, you gravitate towards the familiar Payton and Zimmer are his two pillars and very familiar where would BP go without having to train a new DC or OC? My money is on both staying - unless the chemistry is so bad that one or the other quits for another job-nah
Question: Is there any other team that is similarly situated like Dallas insofar as being close to playoffs but having archillees heel type weaknesses?

Rafael:

Great call on Chavous. If we can afford him and at least one FA LB & OT that would be a great move. I’d rather have a vet in the secondary than a rookie.

Sean:

I agree totally about not circulating assistants in and out just to feel like something big will change. It’s the players with this bunch, not the coaching so much. A few of these guys just don’t have what it takes. Torrin Tucker comes to mind.

linus:

There are a lot of teams situated close to the playoffs but having achilles heel type weaknesses, especially in the NFC.

All 4 teams in the NFC East next year will be a potential playoff team. As long as injuries don’t shift the balance of power too much, next year might end up being the toughest year ever in the NFC East.

The NFC South has three potential playoff teams. Any one of them could possibly be a player or two away from being a Super Bowl caliber team.

sterling
I guess my question was more at which teams and why. It seems like we get tunnel vision on Dallas’ weaknesses and forget there are other playoff teams with problems. I was kind of wanting someone to say we weren’t the only weak sister around

Rafael, you read the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Newsday for football news?

I bet Arrington leaves DC as well.

linus:

Ok, I see what you are after. We are far from the only weak sister around. Here’s a few possible playoff teams with problems:

Atlanta: Needs at least one good receiver and better run defense.

Tampa Bay: QB is questionable, does Cadillac become the RB they need?

Minnesota: Who plays QB next year? suspect defense and running game.

Washington: Who plays QB?

Philadelphia: Needs receivers, consistent RB who can run between tackles. Defensive secondary is starting to become suspect.

Giants: Special teams are highly suspect. Might need a new kicker.

dad gum sterling man, you must live and breath this

linus:

I’m just a Cowboys fan. I really only pay attention to other teams to see how good the competition is. That’s why I don’t watch many AFC games or even pay attention to them unless it’s a team the Cowboys might face.

Joey2zs,

I read the cnnsi and Fox rumor reports that come out every day at noon. They canvass all the major papers in NFL cities. I just follow the links when I see a story with a Cowboys angle.

Board,

Is there a bigger hole we should spend our money on? Like Oline? WOLB? ILB?

Why are we trying to improve something that isn’t our achilles heel?

Improve every where you can, when you can. If its either/or I’d work on the line why not do both(all three)?

I would like to see us trade either Ellis or Glover as neither is ideally suited for the 3-4.

Question, if we were to trade either straight-up for a draft pick, what could we realistically expect to get in return. Or if we traded either and a 3rd round draft pick, what type of draft pick could we expect in return. To me the potential of Ratliff makes this all the more doable. I understand that depth at DL is a nice problem to have, but with all the holes on this team, it is a luxury this team canâ€â"¢t afford.

As for the draft, I would like to see an OL with our 1st pick and Carpenter from Ohio State with our 2nd pick, possibly positioned up via Ellis / Glover trade.

bring back Hoffman…..for 15 years kickers were not a problem and we never spent a draft pick on one….he was probably the most valuable unsung assitant in the NFL….and worth whatever we were paying him…….

an offensive line coach that actually has coached an offensive line in the NFL would be nice too!!!

why do Denver, Atlanta and Washington get it done every year on the offensive line? Coaching!!!

Has free safety cost us as many games as the offensive line play? Bierault should be healthy next year and help out on special teams and nickel situations……maybe it even moves Roy Williams in as a nickel linebacker……with Henry, Newman and Glenn we have three great corners……a pro bowl SS….until our defense starts beating teams ala the monsters of the midway and as long as Drew Bledsoe is QB who resembles the heros of the Confederacy along with Arthur Ashe on Monument Avenue in Richmond….(statues)……we need help on the offensive line!!!

this season ain’t a lost cause yet we win both I think we make it in…..despite the mathematical problems.

I also want to see this team go compete after a but whoppin like that. We have shown heart all year but last week is tougher than those cardiac kid games. It looked bad from the first offensive snap and went from bad to worse. We need a good showing regardless of playoffs or not……and I think these next two games ought to be some decision time for BP as far as the offensive line goes. Some of these characters are up for contract renewals and not all of em deserve walmart wages let alone NFL salaries!

For everyone calling Ware a bust, remember some things:

1. He’s changing positions, unlike Merriman.

2. He needs more seasoning than Merriman coming from Troy.

3. HE NEEDS HELP! Our other LB’s cant blitz. In a 34, the LB’s need to be able to blitz. James, Shanle, and Fujuita aren’t good blitzers. Only Roy and he hardly blitzes any more.

4. Ware has been getting extra attention since about Week 3. Merriman is just starting to get extra attention.

Merriman is a monster blitzer, but do we watch him play? All we see is the highlights on Sportscenter, we dont know if he is only in on passing downs or if he has to drop into coverage constantly like Ware.

Give Ware some time and help before we start saying we wasted a draft pick.

I have seen nearly every SD game as my brother is a huge fan and I have access to every game in the NFL. And I can tell You Merriman plays on nearly every down. However, seeing both men play(Merriman and Ware) I prefer the upside on Ware. He will be a beast, if the other LBers can put some pressure. Merriman has the likes of Cesaire(8 sacks), Castillo(4 sacks)those sack numbers maybe a little off, and others blitzing on every down so he isn’t the only one bringing pressure.

Sorry I meant Phillips not Cesaire.

I agree with everyone about Ware. If he stays healthy he will end up being a great pass rusher someday and people will look back at Parcells as a genius for drafting him. I’d rather him have a bad rookie year and a great career afterward than have a huge rookie year and then slip into oblivion like a lot of players do.

Aside from Chavous, I notice William Henderson from the Packers is going to be a free agent this offseason. We could use a good fullback, and even though he’s getting up there in age he’s still among the best blocking and pass catching FB’s in the league. After hearing his comments after last night’s beatdown it doesn’t sound like he’s going to sign with the Packers again. I wonder if Parcells would go for a guy like him in free agency?

Sterling:
Henderson is the best option of the players that could be available, he’s a great blocker and while not a Richie Anderson he’s a pretty good pass catcher.

As of right now this are the FB’s that seems to be available for FA: obviously Henderson, Fred Beasley (SF), Tony Richardson (KC), Cory Schlesinger (Det.), Mack Strong (Sea.) and Andrew Pinnock (SD).

The need gets solved with at least one of this players, look up for Pinnock he’s a pretty good special teams player, he’s young and been playing under Neal’s big shadow and in the same mold. Really productive in College while playing in South Carolina. Neal is signed for 2 more years, so he could elect to see if he can get a starting job elsewhere. The nfl.com analysis can be checked here:
http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/pinnock_andrew

Chandus,

To me the FB list is Beasley and everybody else, for two reasons.

1. He’s the top rated guy anyway. He runs better than the rest and he’s faster than the rest. His game is well rounded, though I don’t know if he plays special teams, which any Parcells signee would have to do.

2. Parcells has referred to FB as “a collision position” along with SS. He says players at those positions have shorter careers because their primary job it to batter people play after play. Think of Daryl Johnson. He was done as a premier FB after ’96, his 8th season, because his body could no longer stand being used as a cudgel 400 times a year.

Beasley is an 8 year vet. He’s played in a WCO so he’s got less wear on him than the Moose. But every other guy on the FA list, save Pinnock, who I have not seen, has at least 11 years of service. They’re just too risky, in my opinion.

This is a good time to ask for an assessment of the job our defensive coordinator has been doing. Any thoughts on Zimmer?

Rafael,

for rumors, prosportsdaily isn’t a bad place to look either.

One thing(or aspect) this team needs is a huge dose of “hustle”,I was just stunned by the Cowboys laziness as the game started against the Redskins.On one early particular play I saw our entire defensive line just stand there after engaging their man and watch,waiting for someone else to make the play on the perimeter.Not a one of them even attempted to run out in the flat and help make the tackle.They just stood pretty much in the same place they were lined up in before the snap.Numerous times many players just stood around and watched the game like spectators.It seems to me that we always seem to come out flat,is that lack of pride by the players?You’d think with so much on the line and the playoffs within reach,our team would be fired up and ready to go!In addition to this,we don’t seem to be able to adjust mid-game should our opponent throw us a curve that we didn’t game plan for all week.Why do you think this is? I have my opinion……

From Don Banks Sports SI on teams that are going down—————————

“Dallas — Bill Parcells is fond of reminding us from time to time that you are what your record says you are in the NFL. And that means the Cowboys appear to be a slightly above average non-playoff club with a 9-7 finish written all over them.”
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/don_banks/12/20/rookie.awards/2.html

considering the injuries Zimmer has dealt with and the new 3-4 and all the new FAs and rookies……I give Zimmer two thumbs up.

I think we could make better use of Demarcus Ware by letting him tee off and rush the passer but then do you want him to learn the OLB position and be able to play all the time or be a situational rusher…..so there are merits to letting him play regardless.

I think the O LINE COACH has got to go!!! Parcells and Payton seem to be ok as far as the offense goes…..I think the offensive line is much bigger concern than play calling or a qb. However, if you don’t fix the offensive line then put another mobile qb back there. One or the other……it is painful to watch teams tee off on Drew Bledsoe. I think he will be fine at QB once we fix the line.

These last few games for him have been like Aikmans rookie year that took years off his playing life. Give Bledsoe credit for staying in the game and taking a beating.

Matt…..but look at what the chargers are asking Merriman to do….line up and pressure the qb or backfield……and they move him around. Earlier in the year he was hurt and missed time and he was on and off the field earlier as well I ain’t seen em enuff lately…..maybe he is on the field more…..but he is not being asked to sit on the OLB position regardless of scheme and play it…….they are just letting him rush the qb. And you are absolutely right he has better surround cast at LB and the scheme has been in place there for how long now? They are a playoff team(last year) with a pretty healthy running game also. All those things help a young player on defense. Ware will be fine.

Romo should have played Sunday just like last year Henson should have played at the end of last year. BP is always saying he want to get him in but when its time he doesn’t do it. If we loose this game I would like to see Romo in the finally game. Ware looks like a DE out there not a OLB. I would like to see him moved around. The last time the offense played well against a good D was the Denver game and Bledsoe still gave them 7 points.

Rafael:
Beasley can also catch the ball, but doesn’t play ST’s, while Henderson does. Beasley will be 32 at the beginning of next season, figuring that Henderson will be 35 that kind of upsets the fact that he doesn’t play ST’s…

aw,

I’m with you that Romo should get the start vs. the Rams if the Cowboys lose Saturday, but I don’t see any point in playing him vs. the Redskins. All we would have learned is that he can get sacked, smacked and picked too.

rafy yeah but that’s going to be part of the learning experience for romo.bottom line is we are not going anywhere with bledsoe.seen him play for years here in mass.no pocket presence whatsoever he’s done!!!

rafy how do you think the pats discovered brady.bledsoe went down and they just threw brady in the mix.here they are 3 super bowls later.

a lot of times you can’t judge a player by what he does in camp or practice.game situations are much different.i’ll bet you bledsoe does very well in practice but when it’s time to step up he can’t handle the pressure.

Rafael-the point to playing Romo would have been to have him sacked,smacked and beat up instead of the QB you need to be healthy to win the next game. Let them tee off on Romo and not Bledsoe. At least the Skins would have had to slow down a little bit to get to Romo since I assume he has better wheels than Bledsoe.

Hey guys I am new to this site. I am a huge Cowboys fan who is now living in South Carolina. I am taking my son to the Boys/Panthers game this Saturday. I was hoping to find out what hotel the Cowboys are staying at on Friday night to try and get some autographs. I have done this before with great success at the Marriott in Dallas. If anyone knows any way of finding out which Charlotte they will be at, I sure would appreciate the tip.

aw that’s like parcells saying our best shot was quincy carter.a guy who couldn’t get the ball to his recievers.look at the season joey galloway is having.when he was here carter could not get the ball to him.romo was here when carter was the qb.take a shot you’ve got nothing to lose we are going nowhere anyway.

As a longtime Cowboys fan in Central NY, I’ve been watching this year for news of coach Pasqualoni. He’s been invisible on the sidelines…does he sit in the booth maybe? The TEs have been playing fine, IMO. Is he really on the hot seat? I hope not, because he’s a great coach and I think he got a raw deal in Syracuse.

As far as the O-line blues go, I think they might want to consider throwing some money at a quality veteran center. This line hasn’t been quite right since Ray Donaldson, IMO.

Raf
I say he should have played against Washington in the second half for one Bledsoe was taking a beating and two the game was over. Other teams do it all the time just like on Monday Night. Romo would have gain a lot from playing in that game, plus I’m sure they would have had him roll out. Think about this if Romo would have went in it wouldnt have been just throwing they would have ran it too.

vlad,

There have been no media reports of Pasqualoni being in trouble. It’s my speculation. I think the TE blocking is poorer this year and that has been a factor in the poorer running game overall.

Boys all done
I don’t know what’s up Joey this year but I wasn’t mad he was traded. We could use a player like that. He is a playmaker this year because their passing game is not great. We don’t have any playmakers but when is the last time we have had a good offense??

This is my take on BP…
Like him as the Cowboys coach.. Don’t like the fact that he doesn’t play the young QB’s.. I am a big fan of Hansen.. If he would have played last year, when we were pretty much out of it.. we would have known where we stand with him.. or Romo..
What bothers me is the fact that BP is more concern about his “legend” wins and loses at the end of his career than what is good for the TEAM.. Example… see what happened when giants played Ely his first year, granted he lost first 7 games.. but look at him now.
We are getting close to have good young team.. Pieces are being put together.. In a year or two we should be in a good position to get back on top again. Not sure about Parcels’ priorities.

BTW.. vald.. wellcome aboard..

Hey Cowboy Fans,

Following BP since his early days with the Giants.As far as QB`s go his style offense is not QB oriented. A good offense for BP is a good running game which opens up play action , which gives the QB time to throw. All this starts with a solid line up front. BP asked Bledsoe if he wanted to come out ! DB said no he wants to stay with his offense. BP granted his wish. With the way the line was playing against the skins what were you going to find out about Romo anyway ? Can he take a hit ? Can he throw into a defense that was soley playing against the pass ? The 4th quarter of that game was not the best time to throw him in anyway. Our line couldn`t block the sun . Saturday is it. If this team has any heart left they will win, if not next year we must find replacements on the O line.

Johnson: Too small, never gets a good push off the line

LA: He is done. he was one of the best but now he is old & slow & I would not rely on him next year.

Rivera: Certainly has not played up to his reputation or his signing bonus. Also he can be counted in for at least 1 penalty a game.I guess I would go with him next year but very dissapointed with him this year.

RP & TT : obviously not happy with the play of these 2 but they are rookies & maybe this year was a valuble lesson for them, leave these 2 up to BP.

Flo: The only sure thing we have. He was not having the best season before he was injured but we all seen what happend when he left. It all came apart.

BP has his work cut out for next year. If he doesn`t get this line playing well nothing else really matters.

Toast: Thanks. Been lurking awhile. I’m pretty pleased with the current coaching staff. Sparano’s been dealt a tough hand, I think, and Zimmer seems a bit slow to adjust his schemes sometimes (I say seems, because I’m just a schmuck watching on tv). I do think the whole team could use better conditioning, which seems an odd concern for a BP-coached team. And I really hope they bring Hoffmann back.

I suspect that a big upgrade at center would improve the offense dramatically, provided that Adams makes a complete return and Petitti continues to improve. I’m still not entirely sold on the 3-4 D, but it looks like they’re committed to it, so I’d better get used to it. FS also needs an upgrade, and would someone please PLEASE grab Roy Williams by the facemask and teach him how to cover?

Toast:

BP has said on many ocassions that a player has 3 years to prove himself in his system. At that rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if either Romo or Henson or both are gone by the end of training camp next year. If we draft a QB this April I bet both are gone.

BP’s legend/legacy/whatever depends on the next two games and next season with the Cowboys. He looked like a genius in 2003 to seemingly turn things around so quick. Last year it all fell apart. This year he was looking like a genius again for about 10 games. If we finish 9-7 his regular season record in Dallas will be 25-23 (25-24 if you include the 2003 playoff loss).

That isn’t as bad as his first 3 years with the Giants or the Patriots, but he also took both those teams to the Super Bowl in his 4th year there. He had his best first 3 years with the Jets, but when they slid to 8-8 the 3rd year he called it quits.

This tells me one thing. Either we are going to the Super Bowl next year, or BP is gonna call it quits for the 2007 season. Maybe he’ll stay if we get close and come up just short, but it is more likely that the outcome will be more clear-cut than that.

That’s Parcells style. He gives players 3 years to prove themselves…he gives himself 4…unless he thinks it’s a lost cause.

Now that the sting of Sunday is starting to wear off a little and I can get a bit of perspective on things without feeling so much blind fury I have finally found one redeeming thing from Sunday’s debacle.

The only good thing I can say about last Sunday is that now the expectations are low. Probably the lowest they have been all season, and hopefully the lowest they will be for this season. If we lose, a lot of people were expecting us to anyway. If we win we are very pleasantly surprised, have a hope for a possibility of being in the playoffs, and immediately prove we can play with the best in the NFC and beat them in their own house. Either way we don’t feel as bad as we are this week (unless somebody gets injured).

I saw Brentson Buckner on Jim Rome yesterday and Rome was joking that Carolina must be really happy about seeing the Cowboys this Sunday after what happened against the Redskins. Buckner said it was just the opposite. He said the Cowboys are the LAST team they want to face because the Boys are in a must-win situation and are going to be playing with pride and toughness to save face after being humiliated the week before. He said he’s afraid his teammates are going to be looking past this game because they are at home, their next game is such a big one for the division title, and their last one against the Saints was such an easy one. It all adds up to a trap game for the Panthers.

I hope he’s right…but unlike the rest of this season (especially last week) I am keeping my expectations low.

BTW- Wahle made the Pro Bowl. Rivera’s status for Sunday is still up in the air. Too bad we didn’t sign Wahle.

Jesse NY
The last game was the perfect time to get Romo in. When other teams are getting blow out or up big they put in the back up why cant BP do it. Romo needs to play some. I don’t think Romo is going to get to play unless Bledsoe gets knock out even if we lose the next game. Last year we were out of it and he still didn’t let Henson play. If I was Bledsoe I wouldnt have wanted to come out either. Bledsoe can afford some young guy moving around in the pocket and looking good.

Sterling
I thought we made the wrong choice just by the fact Wahle is young and can get better. I couldn’t believe my ears when Joe Buck said Rivera has been solid for us this year. Our line is sad real sad. I think if the line was good the other problem with the offense would come to the light but its just so easy to blame everything on the oline.

aw:

Last Sunday reminded me of playing football as a kid. The team is getting blown out and the coach keeps his son in at QB because…well…it’s HIS boy.

Face it guys, neither Romo or Henson are going to be the future quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. One is there because the owner went out on a limb and traded a 3rd Round draft pick (who turned out to be RB Vernand Morency, I wouldn’t mind having him) for a former 6th round QB who hadn’t played in 3 years, then signed him to an 8 year contract. If he was as good as anyone hoped he would be higher than #3 on the depth chart.

The other is there because the coach doesn’t think he’s as BAD as the guy the owner signed and he needs somebody in case HIS boy goes down to an injury.

I have no idea who the quarterback of future for the Cowboys is, but I know who it isn’t as long as Parcells is here.

Besides, if Parcells had put one of those guys in last week and they got slammed like Bledsoe did a lot of people would have been second-guessing that, that he threw them to the wolves to save HIS boy. If one of them had done well then he would have a quarterback controversy on his hands with 2 huge games left that are going to require the team’s total focus. That stuff is what the pre-season is for, not must-win games at the end. He was in a no-win situation, just like the rest of the game.

Sterling,

Romo won’t go anywhere. Henson could well be cut, since he hasn’t progressed at all since he was signed.

One thing about last year. I had a lot of arguments with people over this who were saying Henson should have been thrown in. Henson wasn’t close to being able to run an NFL team. The game overwhelms him. I saw it this year in camp.

If you’re a fight manager, do you put your young prodigy in the ring with the champ before he’s ready? Would you say getting him knocked out because he’s over his head is an effective way to develop him?

You can say what you want about Brady getting his chance in N.E. but I’m guessing Brady was getting it done in practice when he got his chance. I think the reason Parcells didn’t put the young guys in last year is that they didn’t show anything in practice.

I don’t know where Romo was last year but I think he will get to play now. He could move the team in camp against the first defense. Henson could not.

Sterling,

One other point about Parcells’ “boy.” Bledsoe fits that category to a T, but one of the national announcers, I believe it was Phil Simms, mentioned a few weeks ago that Parcells was glowing in his praise of Romo in their in-week interviews.

If Parcells is being on the level, I’m guessing he’s treating Romo with kid gloves.

Believe me, Romo is light years ahead of Henson. If Drew were not “Jerry’s boy” Parcells would have cut him in camp. He was that bad.

Rafael:

I agree, if one gets cut it will be Henson. I am going off of seeing 2 quarters of him against the Bears on Thanksgiving last year and what you reported from Oxnard last August, since there is nothing more to go on.

I have no clue about Romo. All I know is what you reported from camp and the preseason, which sounds pretty good…or at least not bad. I am guessing that he’s improved since last year since BP didn’t play him when the 2004 season was already down the tubes. I think there are a lot of curious Cowboys fans who would like to see even a glimpse of what he can do in a real game situation. I don’t think last Sunday qualified as a real game at the point he would have come in.

Somehow I feel like the QB position for this team has time-warped back to the 80’s. Staubach hung it up in 1980 and we had Danny White, then Gary Hogeboom, then Steve Pelluer, then some guys I can barely remember because the team got so bad CBS quit showing the Cowboys games where I lived unless they were playing a top team.

Aikman hung it up in 2000. We have had a revolving door ever since. I sure hope we don’t have to go through what we went through last time to find another elite quarterback.

All I know is Romo should have play period. Nobody was talking about Tom before he played he only got to play because Bledsoe got hurt. I understand what you are talking about with Henson not being ready last year. I do know the qb from NY has not ready to play and I’m not saying he is a starting qb now but they do know what he can do now and he is a lot better now than when he first started.

aw:

I see your point too. I remember at halftime against the Bears on Thanksgiving last year Jerry Jones saying something I have to agree with. It was about giving the fans some hope for the future of the team. Admittedly he was contrasting playing Henson against playing a 40 year old guy, but I think the spirit of what he was saying is that the fans want to have something or someone to look forward to. He took a lot of heat for saying that because everyone thought he was up to his old tricks of trying to coach the team himself.

My guess is that if we are getting beat bad on Sunday BP will put Romo in. If for no other reason than to silence his critics from last week. I doubt if he would start Romo against the Rams though because that would mean he would have to bench HIS boy, and thus deflate his ego and confidence…which we all know he isn’t going to do. I think BP would rather take the heat from the fans and press than mess things up with Bledsoe.

It amazes me that you all think Hansen is a lost cause.. Maybe you are right… But from what I remember him playing in Michigan, I thought he would be a Gem.. Matter of fact if I remember correctly, he was suppose to go on top 2-3 draft choices, when he left college.. and decided to play for the Yankees. Maybe he was flash in a pan..

Toast:

Big difference between playing good at Michigan and being an NFL starter. Just ask Brian Griese or Elvis Grbek.

I want to try again to see if I can generate some conversation about Zimmer. I have a friend who says that his defenses are predictable, that he doesn’t use his personnel to attack, that he doesn’t adjust well over the course of the season and, that he should be canned at the end of the year. Any comments?

dweil:

To quote Terence Newman on the postgame show after the Redskins game:

â€Å"This isnâ€â"¢t on the coaches. This is on us.”

The defense played great against the run all year and kept this team in a lot of games it maybe shouldn’t have been in. It has caved ever since Dat went out and Singleton got hurt. The linebackers are thin in numbers and relatively inexperienced in a new scheme that relies on an experienced and deep linebacking corps. This has much more to do with personnel and less to do with Zimmer.

I too think that Henson is history. Romo looked a lot better in training camp, and who knows how much longer we’ll have Bledsoe. However, QB is the least of our worries right now. The oline couldn’t protect if Steve Young, John Elway, Roger Staubach, Donovan McNabb, or any other mobile QB was back there.

Sparano may be the only coach let go, but I wouldn’t bet on it. More likely, is Hoffman coming back to coach Cundiff.

The defense as it stands, is falling apart against the run. Our linebacking corps is decimated, and Ware is playing out of position. I thought he would adjust to playing LB, but that may have been asking too much. I wonder how his season would have progressed had he been at DE from the start.

I wonder if Parcells will keep him at LB next year and continue the experiment, or will he put him back on the line? I’d hate to see his career set back 2-3 years playing out of position, then find out he’s only average as a LB, when he could be a terror at DE. It sucks watching Merriman go to the Pro Bowl, while Ware is lost playing out of position.

I say put Ware back at DE, pick up Chavous in the offseason, draft oline and LB, and trade for a stud LB. Does Dat return? Singleton?

Lots of questions with two games left, but we’re assured of at worst, an 8-8 season. I too have not given up on this season. It would be real sweet to end it 10-6 and make the playoffs. As inconsistent as the NFC is this year, it’s not out of the question.

Sterling,

I too believe Henson was considered a top 10 draft pick had he stayed his senior year.

That is a far cry from Grbac, the 219th pick by SF or even Griese, the 91th pick by Denver.

I take it back. I said that the Cowboys should have gone for Merriman instead of Ware. It was just frustration. I really do think Ware will be a Haley/LT combination type player. He’s just showing signs of fatigue as the season lingers on. By his third year he’ll be an every down terror.

TL fan:

I’m glad he didn’t stay his senior year then!! Someone would have drafted the Michigan equivalent of Ryan Leaf.

Griese and Grbac may have been drafted a lot lower than Henson, but at least they will each finish their careers with a LOT more NFL career victories…and starts.

I think you have to leave ware where he is. If you move him to DE, we have to go back to the 4-3. He’ll be great but it still a big adjustment for him. We need O-line and another solid LB or two. Maybe a OLB Greenway and a OC/OG Jason Spitz.

BTW, a lot of people have attributed Rivera’s drop due to the back injury…no thump off the line. Has anyone heard any commentary on if this can be rectified over the offseason or is his pro bowl talent days over?