Making a Shopping List -- Offense

As far as getting Runyan I have two words Michael Strahan……he eats Runyon up always has always will.

Very well though out Raf. I haven’t been able to look at alot this offseason, but I’ll have a look at ecerything when I get a chance. The one thing that is our biggest problem right now is our cap situation. We don’t have any money to spend right now. We are going to have to rework some deals to get any room in FA.

altercall,

They’ve got money. The cap is going up and they’re under it. And cutting/trading/renegotiating just one or two big contracts would buy them a lot of space.

Rafael:
They could easily get an amount like the one they had last year and they had 3 big signings (Henry, Ferguson and Rivera), 1 Medium (Bledsoe) and 4 littles (A. Glenn, Fujita, A-Train and P. Price). And still had cap space because they also signed Marcus Price, Columbo and some more change.

They should have something close to 5 millions right now, if they restructure Allen’s deal that adds something close to 4 millions, probably a little less. Glover’s deal can be restructured too or he can be traded in each scenario he would bring to the table another chunck of 4 millions. And there you have 10 to 13 millions for FA with the current cap number which goes up March 3.

lilbeast:
For how much time would you be signing Ayodele? 4 years? At least that’s the CBA restriction. For those 4 years he would be getting in Burnett’s way. Ayodele will be a high cap sign, signing him will require something close to an 8 million bonus for a total of a 12 million deal in 4 years.

He’s an OLB, he’s going to get OLB numbers and those are OLB numbers, even if he’s going to play ILB here.

The Dallas Cowboys best option is to play with the notion that Al Singleton could also play inside, he’s good against the run and reliable in coverage and can blitz if he runs straight and doesn’t has to get around a Tackle. Backing him up would be Burnett, which if a I remember correctly got praise coming from Banks last year in the mini camps and he definitely looks like an ILB in the 3-4. Add an insurance policy, a 2nd day selection, and make him compete with Shanle and Fowler and take the winner.

Is anyone else wondering whether Burnett is damaged goods? Of all our rookies, he seemed to be the odds on favorite to start right away. Instead, he was injured early, sat the bench throughout the season, and then, injured again.

He blew out his ACL for the 2nd time.

Most perplexing, however, is that BP never had anything good to say about him during press conferences.

madcowboy:

I mentioned this in another post already, but I’ll chime in here too. I think at this point Burnett was by far the weakest pick of the Cowboys 2005 draft. I read somewhere that Parcells was fairly disappointed in his rookie performance, I think it was either in the DMN or the Star-Telegram. I definitely hope he does like B-James and suddenly turns it up a notch. I’m just not sure yet. I have read that it is not even certain that he’ll be ready to start the season on time with his injury and rehab, etc.

When you consider the Cowboys could have drafted Lofa Tatupu in the 2nd round, Burnett’s performance really feels like a letdown. I kind of think Parcells was wanting a proven 3-4 ILB for the experience factor and to have someone who knew the gap responsibilties well and could help the other LB’s learn that. I remember reading Rafael’s training camp reports where he said Burnett was very helpful at showing the other LB’s a lot of things about playing 3-4. I just hope he recovers well from the injury and steps his game up next season.

i thought we were like 12 million under the cap, figuring 94 million cap for 2006???

Chandus:

I don’t think Ayodele will be as expensive as you think, and we have to get another LB to replace Dat, since that is one less LB on the team next season. Why do you think Ayodele would be that much more expensive than Singleton? He would cost more, but not that much more. Singleton has been in the league a lot longer, and is not going to come cheap. Ayodele is about 5 years younger, a FAR better pass rusher, and he hits a lot harder than Singleton. By putting him both inside and outside you create a 3rd legit pass rush possibility with Ware and the other OLB, and that will cause offenses a lot of problems reading blitzes. Another thing to consider is that the Cowboys could probably offer him the same amount as any other team in the league (including Jax) and he would probably come to Big D because he still lives in DFW and would like to play at home. The Cowboys wouldn’t have to top another bid, only match it.

When you take Fujita’s and Singleton’s salaries combined I would be willing to bet that they would be equal to or maybe only slightly less than Ayodele and a 1st/2nd round OLB. I’d take the latter package any day of the week, as I think it is a tremendous upgrade in quality.

I also don’t think Ayodele would be in Burnett’s way. Burnett seems to have been in his own way with his injuries. Hopefully he gets better, but there are no guarantees, and why not sign a guy like Ayodele who can also add depth at OLB in the event of injuries there? We aren’t even sure about Burnett’s abilities post-ACL.

I think the best WR in this draft is Chad Jackson from Florida. He tore it up at the Skills Competition, and he’s a lot taller than Santonio Holmes. He’s got great hands, is tall, and very fast. I’d be shocked if he makes it out of the 1st round without being picked.

I would take Vernon Davis over him as a playmaker though.

Rafael,

I think your hypathetical of aquiring Fabini would open up some nice possibilities for the Cowboys. With Fabini in as the veteran guy, Parcells might be able to gamble on Barry. … Its been my assumption that Parcells will bring in a vet RT to solidify the starting team, and then use a post 1st round selection on another OT/OG. I think Parcells has been licking his lips since he became coach of the Boys to adorn the personel to allow him to put mamouth blockers out on the field against those smaller defenses. Since he has been here, his depth on the line has been paper thin, and he has not been able to wear them out. But with 5 vets starting and some developing players with expierence, I wouldn’t doubt it if he throws six linemen out there in the fourth quarters of games daring defenses to stop the run. .. I think it all satrts with filling in the missing pieces on defense, which I think are 1st round LB, a big young NT, and a play making FS. With that Dallas can be very good on that side of the ball. Then give me a vet (possibly Fabini), a young lineman (possibly Spencer), and a good blocking FB and then …. I think we are officially a “Parcells team”. … Add in a young QB and a fast, young WR to return kicks and play a little on offense and we can be really really good next season, and for seasons to come.

My wish list:

Free agents:

a vet RT (Fabini, Backus, Black, or Barry)

a play making S (possibly a CB with speed and good ball skills to play FS)

maybe a FB (Richardson)

Draft:

RD1- Bobby Carpenter
RD2- Charles Spencer
RD3- Kai Parham (selection aquired in a trade)
RD3- Brody Croyel
RD4- Steve Fifta (selection aquired in a trade)

RD5- Adam Jennings
RD6- Matt Bernstein
RD7- Jon Scifers

any wish list needs to include a FA kicker. maybe ill change my name to broken record but im surprised to see alot of lists with no FA kicker.

as to the offense, rafael covers it about as thoroughly as ive seen, well done.

Chandus
Yes I would be getting Ayodele for 4 years. He would not be hurting Burnett or our draft pick because he has versatility in that he can play OLB and ILB in the 4-3. So why would he not be able to do the same in the 3-4. He is big enough and i don’t know how some of you say he is not big because he’s 6-2 and 253. Big enough for me. By signing Ayodele he gives Burnett and Carpenter time to develop into good players. This way we don’t rush either Burnett or Carpenter into playing. Now if they outright beat their competition then like i have said before that is a great problem to have. If Burnett is ready to play this year then he plays ILB and Ayodele plays OLB and if Carpenter is ready to play OLB then Ayodele plays ILB. Now if both Carpenter and Burnett are ready to play let them battle it out. All this would create is great depth in our LB corps. I think eventually you could have a very good LB corps either way. I would still keep Fujita because you never know if Kalen Thornton is going to pan out. Take this scenario. If we signed Ayodele drafted Carpenter and resigned Fujita and just in case you haven’t realized it yet Singleton is out of the picture what if Ware gets hurt next year. Now you can have Carpenter,Burnett,James,and Ayodele out there starting. or would you rather have Thornton and Fujita. Right now Ayodele seems like a great FA pickup to me. As for some of you that said that we should have drafted Lofa Tatupu instead of Burnett i give you one word. SIZE. Burnett has it Tatupu doesn’t. Tatupu is not the prototypical LB for Parcells. Some of you might be saying well all he does is make plays well so did 2 undersized LB by the names of Dat Nguyen and Dexter Coakley. And everyone here loved those 2 classy guys but you could see by the drafts that Parcells was doing that he was trying to get bigger with his LB. That is why Burnett was drafted to be the heir aparent to Nguyen.

Sterling
I couldn’t agree with you more. I also don’t think Ayodele will carry that high of a price tag. When Ayodele was drafted he had said his favorite team growning up was you guessed it The Cowboys and he’s from Irving, TX so you know he would love to come back to his stomping grounds. You also took the words right out of my mouth with WR Chad Jackson. I would love for us to get a WR soon for our future i don’t think it will happen this year but who knows.

This is a successful FA period for the offense.
Sign Jeff Backus for our RT this year
LeCharles Bentley for C trade or release Al Johnson let Larry Allen go and put Peterman to the test at Lg. With our 2nd or 3rd rounder draft Max Jean Gilles. Keep Gurode. Then the following year let Rivera go and put Max Jean Gilles as our RG. Let Flozell go and put Backus over to LT and put Petitti at RT
AND MOST DEFINITELY GET A KICKER THIS YEAR my pick Longwell. Vinateri is to expensive and Vanderjag doesn’t kickoff well. Longwell isn’t as expensive and is pretty reliable up in Green Bay. Plus he at least makes 3 extra field goals here in Dallas because of the weather. I know i am asking for alot but it sure does make sense i think. Our big FA pickups would be Backus & Bentley and Ayodele on defense. Then our second tier would be Will Demps for FS and Fred Beasley as our FB. If not Will Demps then find a FS to trade with Greg Ellis. Man there’s just so many scenarios. Cory Chaveous could also be a possibility. I know that is alot of FA to get but by letting Larry Allen,Al Johnson,and Singleton go and trading Ellis and Glover we would have enough cap room to sign all of these FA.

lilbeast,

I’m guessing the odds are better than 50% that Backus gets franchised.

As for Bentley, I love the guy, but if you sign him — and he just might be the most expensive FA OL because he’s good and young — you’ve still got a gaping hole at RT.

Johnson is a decent player. Petitti was a horrible one last year. Just my opinion, but I fix the bigger hole first.

I don’t think we can afford Bently along with another RT. RT is more important than C, esp with Johnson being alot better than the RT’s we have. I’ve seen free agent lists that say Bently is the 3rd best free agent, and best non-Seahawk.

If we let Allen, AJ, Singleton, Ellis, and Glover go, I think we are giving up too many vets. Eveyone talked about how these guys were helping the rooks out so much in training camp and helping them along, who’s going to help our next class? Ware Canty and Spears?

Parcells def seen something when he drafted Burnett. I trust that he knew what he was doing. He was supposed to be taught by Dat and learn to play inside in the 3-4, but his injuries and Dat’s injury hurt that. He has the size to play inside, hes 240 I think.

Its only Feb but I think I have made up my mind on our 18th pick. Bobby Carpenter. IMO hes better than Greenway, and only Hawk is probably better. I think he could start right away, or we sign Adoyele and have Carpenter start next year.

lou c:

I don’t agree with letting LA go at all, so I’m with you on that one. I’d like to see him play it out and retire as a Cowboy. Ellis and Glover is a situation where I think at least one, maybe both, of them should be shopped around to see what we can get for them. If the price isn’t right, I say keep them. They may not fit perfectly for the 3-4, but about 40% of the defensive packages are nickel anyway where they are very useful. I’d like to see Singleton and Fujita go, especially Fujita.

Bentley is unfortunately a luxury we can’t afford. Too bad, but maybe we can get Mangold or Eslinger in the draft. AJ doesn’t have what it takes IMHO. I have also read that Parcells’ patience with him has worn thin, and I believe it. Perhaps Andre the Giant Gurode will be retained and play the position better. I certainly think that from the standpoint of potential I’d take him over AJ.

Burnett didn’t have to learn to play ILB in a 3-4…he came out of college playing that position. If anything, he was the one showing Dat and James how to cover the run gaps in a 3-4. Dat had play MLB his whole life and had never played in a 3-4. Parcells may have seen something when he drafted Burnett, but I’m sure he saw something in Jacob Rogers too…and we all know how that turned out. Burnett is going to have to stay healthy next season. I don’t expect too much from him as a 2nd year player or last season as a rookie, but I do want to see him play and show some potential. He didn’t do that last year.

I agree 100% on Carpenter. He is far more physical than Greenway, and that is the most important change I want to see in the Cowboys defense next season. Last year I think the defense didn’t intimidate other teams enough, they didn’t impose their will enough. They played good, but not dominating or aggressive enough for my taste. You are right that only Hawk is better…Hawk is unbelievable, too bad we can’t trade up to get that guy.

One more point about Burnett. I think he was drafted more with the idea of him playing alongside Dat, not replacing him. If he would have been projected to replace anyone the thinking last April would have been him replacing Bradie James. Also, I think Parcells truly liked Dat and he told him that out of all the LB’s he would be the one he would to keep the most. No one could have foreseen Dat’s early retirement last April, if they could have they probably would have traded him for Darren Howard when they had the chance. I remember seeing Parcells press conference when he made the announcement about Dat and he seemed truly sad and talked about how important a player he had been to the team. That didn’t sound like someone he was happy to see go so that Burnett could get his shot.

Burnett needs to recover and rehab and be ready to play next season, that’s the bottom line. I wouldn’t want the Cowboys to go into next season banking on him being there for 16 games given his injury record so far. That means someone has to be acquired to play inside in Dat’s place and if Burnett can’t play all 16 games. I like the idea of Ayodele best, because he can also provide depth at OLB, and he’s a very physical player.

A name to watch for a possible 1 or 2 year deal at NT might be Sam Adams. I have been reading that he may be a cap casualty in Buffalo. I wonder if he might want to come back to Texas to finish up his career in his home state? He’s not expected to get many offers if he’s cut due to his age, but I think he’d fit great in the 3-4. He’s probably got at least a couple more good years left in him.

anyone else notice this in the write up? >>My take is that the team was very happy with her performance.

HER performance? what are you saying about Drew? I thought Terry Glen was the subject of the “her” comments by Parcells! ;-)

Dammit,

You read the script ten times before you hit the publish button but if they’re all BEFORE the coffee kicks in, stuff like this happens.

Good catch, BuckeyeMark.

Sterling:
Why do I think that Ayodele’s going to get paid as much as I said he would be?

You already gave the answer:

Ayodele is about 5 years younger, a FAR better pass rusher, and he hits a lot harder than Singleton

Don’t you believe that a 4-3 team is going to offer that amount of money with him being an ideal fit as an OLB in the scheme? Yeah, he’s from Irving, yada-yada, Football is a business, money’s ahead of hometowns. If they pay me a million to move my hometown I’d ask where am I going?

Now, am I willing to shell money into another LB? Last year Dallas drafted Ware with a 1st Rounder, this year there’s this big notion that they’re going to draft another OLB, Dallas is going to shell big money to Bradie James in the near future as he’s a RFA and there’s another 2nd rounder that everyone wants to see sitting on a bench.

Were Fowler and Shanle so disgusting as ILB’s? They were good enough at times and at times they weren’t so good, but they’re cheap and that compensates.

Chandus
You are right that Ayodele is going to receive more money than Singleton but that is because he’s worth more money. I simply don’t think he’s going to break the bank for us. There are plenty of LB in free agency like S so there is plenty to choose from. I simply like Ayodele’s style of play and how he goes about his business. The fact that he is young helps. These are some comments about him from ESPN.

He is a good athlete with very good playing speed. He is an explosive player – can uncoil and hit with excellent pop taking on blocks or tackling. He shows good play speed and range – shows a burst to close on the football. Has pass rush ability – can get pressure from blitzing or with his hand down. Physical take on player that plays with solid knee bend – can come off and un-load on the TE.

Now another player that we could look at which is young but you just never know what kind of player your going to get and might be expensive as well is Lavar Arrington. Just a thought. Other players that we can make a run for that aren’t as expensive as OLB are: Tommy Polley 6’3 240, David Thornton 6’2 230, Rocky Boiman 6’4 240, Antwan Peek 6’3 250. From this group only Polley and Peek have played in the 3-4. As for ILB there are players like: Sam Cowart 6’2 245, Matt Wilhelm 6’4 245, Dashon Polk 6’2 242, Rocky Calmus 6’3 238, Brad Kassel 6’3 240, Orlando Ruff 6’3 253, Derek Smith 6’2 245, out of all those guys Cowart, Polk, Ruff, and Smith have played in the 3-4. Now none of these guys will break the bank but they play just like Singleton. The only other OLB/ILB out there that are better would be Peterson, Whitherspoon, June, Ayodele, Arrington and you can put Abraham in there too. Me i would take Ayodele and Abraham if we traded Ellis and Glover for Abraham.

Chandus:

I see your point, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see how many teams pursue him in FA in a few weeks. He’s not one of the really hot names on the market, and I seriously doubt he would cost too much more than Singleton. I honestly don’t think too many teams that play a 4-3 will pursue him other than Jacksonville. Wouldn’t you agree that it would be worth it to pay a little more to a player like him that would be a significant upgrade and add young depth? When you take away Dat’s base salary, and any money that would go to Fujita and Singleton, I am sure there would be more than enough to spend on both Ayodele and a 1st/2nd round OLB.

The 2nd rounder sitting on the bench is never going to get off the bench if he doesn’t stop getting injured. He has been constantly getting hurt since he showed up on crutches for rookie camp. I don’t want to count on him next season.

Shelling out the money in the future for B-James shouldn’t be an excuse for not refilling the roster spot left by Dat and if Singleton and Fujita go. Yes, Shanle and Fowler are very disgusting IMHO. That’s part of the reason BP went out and got the broken down Michael Barrow in the middle of the season last year.

lilbeast:

No way on Arrington. I was briefly advocating to pick him up last fall when the rumors started flying that he won’t be back in DC next season. Then I watched him for awhile and heard him shoot off his mouth about his team a few times and started to think maybe not. The clincher was at the end of the Bucs playoff game when they interviewed him. He acted like a space case. I wouldn’t want that guy on the team, he could cause problems and I’m not even sure that he’s as good as Ayodele anyway.

Just a little something i just read but FS Troy Vincent might become a cap casualty in Buffalo this year. I remember just 2 years ago when the iglles let him go that he wanted to come play for Dallas. He could be a good stop gap for FS this year. Just a thought

I would love to see Troy Vincent signed and Anthony Smith drafted. Vincent can teach Smith for 2 years and let him take over after that. That solves our FS problem and doesnt cost us alot.

I wouldnt mind signing Adoyele, drafting Carpenter, and telling them and Burnett they will fight it out for the ILB and OLB spots. I think that would motivate Burnett to step up his game. If we don’t go that route, the only other OLB I would want to see is Abraham. He and Ware could get 10 sacks each playing opposite each other.

Sterling:
Barrow wasn’t signed because Shanle and Fowler played bad, he was signed as depth, what would have happened if either Shanle or Fowler went down with an injury? Dallas would have been with just 2 ILB’s. As we all know, Barrow went down, Dallas was left with just 3 and that’s why Burnett started training inside.

My point isn’t that I’m not willing anymore to sign another LB, price is what bothers me. Consider that we sign Ayodele and Carpenter this season and James gets his deal next year, that would mean that Dallas would have 4 starters with high salaries next year. That would mean great depth and great level of play, but we’re in the salary cap era and you just can’t have that anymore.

Instead of Ayodele I would be after Brad Kassell, I saw him play twice and he plays hard, he is young, he can play special teams and he won’t cost that much.

All the back and forth on Ayodele so I did some research on him. What I find is that he’s lousy in coverage. So I have to ask, how much better would this guy be than Scott Fujita?

If you’re going to spend a roster spot and money on a guy, he should be a dramatic upgrade over Singleton, who’s pretty good in coverage, in all areas of his game. I don’t see it here.

Eric R:
Let me compliment your wish list.

FA:
RT (Fabini, Ashworth, Backus and Barry)
FS (Demps, Chavous, Schulters and Vincent)
DT (Ryan Pickett, Ma’ake Kemoeatu, Willie Whitehead and Justin Bannan)
K (Longwell, Vanderjagt and Peterson)
FB (Beasley, Wells and Richardson)

From those only the RT and the DT can be considered medium to big contracts.

Draft:
RD1- Bobby Carpenter, OLB
RD2- Charles Spencer, G
RD3- Joe Klopfenstein, TE (selection aquired in a trade)
RD3- Gerris Wilkinson, ILB
RD4- Barrick Nealy, QB (selection aquired in a trade)
RD5- OL depth
RD6- OLB/ILB depth
RD7- WR/PR

Rafael:
That’s because he was a DE in College, he’s still young so in time he could become a better player all around. Right now he’s really good against the run and blitzing.

peek is a guy we might wanna look at..being that i live here in houston and am stuck several times a year only having texan games to watch..he’s a real young raw guy, but at times he was the only one doing anything on their d, and teams still couldn’t stop him..might be someone to watch for..

Chandus
you make it sound as if Burnett and if we were to draft Carpenter are sure things. Believe me i would love for both of them to be ballers but the reality is that you just never know. Ayodele not only is an insurance policy but he is a very steady player in his own right. How many teams loose good players every year. We haven’t lost anyone in a while because we haven’t had this much quality on the team but don’t think that we won’t loose any of these quality players. Ayodele would definitely be holding the fort down as an OLB or ILB until both Burnett and Carpenter are ready. Now if they are both ready what do you think the odds are that Ware,James,Ayodele,Burnett,Carpenter,Fujita,Thornton,Shanle,Fowler won’t get hurt the next 2 years straight. It makes sense to have all of these players.

jerryw
I too have said that Peek would be a good pickup for this team.

Rafael
Ayodele is definitely better than Singleton in the pass rush and run defense. Sure he might need to be better in pass defense but so did James this year. the move to the 3-4 was very helpful to James and since Ayodele has been playing OLB in the 4-3 like James used to play he would benefit being a 3-4 OLB or 3-4 ILB since he was a DE in college. You can’t tell me you don’t always hear that the Jacksonville Defense isn’t always one of the top defenses the last 4 years. I believe that Ayodele has been part of those defenses.

Chandus
I like your draft picks but 1. your 2nd rounder. I think you had the position right but the wrong player. the player i think we should be getting as our G should be Max Jean Gilles.

Chandus
also in regards to a high salary for 4 starters next year i don’t think is right. Any rookie that we sing really isn’t that high a salary because most of the salary is towards the end of his contract so that it can be salary cap manageable. the same goes for FA. Now it might get a little more complicated due to the CBA but either way we will be good with the salary cap. One reason why you haven’t seen James or Witten get singed to extension is because owners can’t sign someone for more than 4 years i believe. you have to know JJ wants to sign Witten to a 7 year deal so that the 6 and 7 years are were the brunt of the cap hit is at.

Chandus,

Yep, I forgot about K. …. Your list parallels mine, but I think Fifta and Parham would give the Cowboys better size at the respective positions. Fifta can be a steal if he is drafted were he is projected to go. Lets cross our fingers and hope he is still there, if we don’t get a NT earlier in the draft. …. Out of your list for FS, I would prefer Vincent, but then again you all know who I would like to see there for us.

EricR:
Yeah, I know…

lilbeast:
The point of drafting a 1st Rounder is to have him starting by the season opener if he stays healthy and if he isn’t a QB. As Ware was capable of starting last year at OLB, I can expect Carpenter to be capable knowing that his duties wouldn’t change from College to the NFL. That’s why his name makes sense.

And, yeah, I’m sure that I may not be right with the Carpenter pick, but you can’t also be certain that Ayodele is going to walk out of Jax, as far as I know they have the cap to sign him. Him saying that he wants to test the FA waters might be to put pressure to the Jax front office to get a better deal.

BTW, add another name for as a possibility at OLB in the 2nd Round, Stanley McClover, the Auburn DE that measures at 6-3 and 260 pounds. He can chase the QB and can play the run. Could Parcells be willing to train from scratch another OLB? He may be a better option than what you could find at OLB in the 2nd Round.

EricR:
About Fifita, why do you think that I would be after a DT in FA?

I already mentioned Ma’ake Kemoeatu from Baltimore as the size factor, he’s a 6-5 and 340 pounds golem.

Dallas could go cheaper with a guy like Bannan from Buffalo, he’s a 6-3 and 300+ pounds NT that was productive last year.

There’s depth at the position in FA and it’s proven, as far as I know, Fifita is a 6-0 DT.

Chandus,

If Romo is developing well, and Parcells is happy with him, then getting a player like Brandon Williams instead of a QB is a possiblity. I would love to see him returning kicks for us, and then use his speed on offense with a couple of screens or reverses. Williams is an explosive returner!!

wiil someone please show me where drew bledsoe can make a play other than needing 8 seconds to throw.he can’t take a 3 step drop and make a play,he can’t throw a short pass,he can’t roll out,he can,t step up in the pocket,can’t throw a screen pass,doesn.t throw the ball away when he needs to.we can talk about stats all day and the o line but this guy just doesn’t have most of the tools.you guys are the experts and are making it sound like you didn’t know the book on drew bledsoe yhis is nothing new in the football world.

yada yada…

The only reason for you to mention that stats doesn’t say all is because Bledsoe managed good stats even when:

he canâ€â"¢t take a 3 step drop and make a play,he canâ€â"¢t throw a short pass,he canâ€â"¢t roll out,he can,t step up in the pocket,canâ€â"¢t throw a screen pass,doesn.t throw the ball away when he needs to

Sure, you have to be right…

don’t matter if drew bledsoe had better stats than troy aikman.he don’t have the balls aikman did.

chandus why are you avoiding the issue with bledsoe because you’re a cowboy.are we just saying yeah he sucks but i’m a cowboy and i’m not suppose to criticize my qb.

Oh, you just served up the most hittable straight line, biz.

But because I run a civil site, I’m gonna let it pass.

But man, you gave me a good laugh.

Noup, I’m a Cowboy fan and I’ve criticized him. I don’t like that he takes the sacks when he goes by 5-Mississippi with the pair of Tackles he had last year, he should had counted to 4 and thrown the ball ob. But actually he made more than 5 plays when clinging to the ball, so there’s a plus and a minus.

The fact that he can make all the throws is what I like out of him, last season I defended his acquisition, saying that he had a horrid OLine, a system established by Mularkey that wasn’t according to his skills and still managed good numbers I said that with Parcells system he would do much better. As a result, last season he had an arguably same level OLine and he managed better numbers, so I was right.

He could do better with an above average OLine, I’m not asking for an Indianapolis like OLine, I’m asking for an average one.

But that’s my notion. Last year I was right, I’m sure that I’m right again.

rafy. stop being a cowboy for a second and tell me what you thought about drew bledsoe before he came here.i’m pounding this issue because when this team is ready to make a run bledsoe is going to be our problem.

chandus how can you say he can make all the throws.

I’ve asked you on several occasions to offer up an alternative, biz.

You offer this premise:
1. the cowboys are ready for a run;
I don’t think they’re there yet, but I think they will be at the end of this offseason;

Okay, so we actually agree on something. So:

2. Where’s the veteran who’s available, whose acquisition will not set the team back so far that they are no longer ready to make a run? Where?

You conveniently duck this question. In fact, you change the variables as they suit you. Not too long ago, you were lamenting that it would be five years before Dallas got a good young Qb. You offered no concrete proof why, but let’s take your argument at face value.

Let’s say Dallas traded two number ones for Philip Rivers, or two number ones to get to San Francisco’s place to get Jay Cutler. They’re no longer ready, are they? They’re starting with a green rookie who will at best three to four years away.

So you’ve undercut your own position #1.

Who’s the savior, biz? The reason you take so much abuse here is that you only criticize. Here’s your chance. Give us a constructive assessment. Where is this budding Kurt Warner who nobody else knows about who Dallas can acquire for a six pa,ck of Shiner?

and this team is much closer than we think.seattle got robbed out of a super bowl and who blew that game in seattle,little bit of pressure and here i go. i don’t want to throw it away let me just throw it and hopefuly my wr is there.silence in big d.

what i said was if parcells had developed somebody when he got here we might have a young franchise qb,instead bp want’s to win now so let’s settle for bledsoe because he gives us the best chance to win.not!!

Answer the question, biz. Who’s the savior? Stop equivocating. If you’re gonna throw stones here, you’re gonna stand on your hind legs like an adult and put some facts and ideas next to your rants.

Who’s the savior, biz?

and as i said we are 5 years away,that’s right when bledsoe leaves then we will give somebody a chance.like you said romo has looked good,but no we can’t play romo we can play romo when bledsoe leaves that’s why i said 5 years!!

you answer the question speak honestly about woody in toy story.

he does look like woody.

we don’t know who the savior is because we’ve given nobody a chance.we signed henson to be the savior but with no real playing time you don’t know what you got.and here we go again bp wants now and you won’t know what you got rotting on the bench,if he had tried romo or henson from the start you might have something but we won’t know that for about 5 years like i said a number of times.

You’re gutless, biz.

You only want to take shots at Bledsoe and call him all types of names. But when asked who you think Parcells should have drafted or traded for instead of him you duck the question, over and over again.

And you claim that Bledsoe doesn’t have balls? You’re one to talk.

Until you answer the question you’ll be talking to yourself. I’ve got no time for somebody too scared to even answer a question on a blog.

what question your savior might be on the bench.who cares who you draft he ain’t gonna play anyways. so there is no solution until bp is gone and we start from scratch at this position.hey rafael don’t take this personal i really enjoy this blog i’m just trying to prove a point.you might disagree but on sundays there’s no one rooting for the boys more than me even with drew in there.

romo or henson those are your saviors pick one.

you’ve never agreed on bp wanting to win now and not trying to develop anyone.it’s all biz who’s the savior,you tell me who the savior is you can ignore me that’s okay.at least i’m not afraid to speak the truth unlike you i’m all boys.you can’t tell me you’ve got nothing negative to say about bledsoe but i’m the one with no balls.what is this mr roger’s neighborhood nobody can disagree with anyone and can’t speak their mind.

Oh, we can disagree, I’ve disagreed with lots of folks here, but this discussion heads nowhere… It’s been discussed before and we had the same result.

In the end you can have better than Bledsoe, yes, you can have better than Bledsoe. But if I’ve the option of having Bledsoe and someone worst than Bledsoe (at least that’s what Parcells seems to think of Romo and Henson and I find no reason whatsoever to start doubting him) I’ll pick Bledsoe.

Your problem might not be that you have been doubting Parcells all along, if you’re doubting him, then you’re on a very lonely island.

Error:
Your problem might not be that you have been doubting Parcells all along,

The not is something that escaped through my fingers.

Let’s see:

— according to you, you’re the only one who tells the truth and is “all boys.” Wow. A messiah complex AND the ability to project your foibles onto others all wrapped up into one. I ask you to name the QB savior and you get mad because I won’t name one?

YOU are the one issuing juvenile ad hominems of Bledoe EXCLUSIVELY. It’s all you do. You never discuss any other aspect of the team. Well if he’s not the answer, who is?

You finally mention Romo, while in the previous breath chastising Parcells for not developing a QB for the future.

Well who drafted Romo, biz? Who’s been developing him? Who has good things to say about his intelligence, progressing and improved arm strength?

I’m not in the game of naming saviors because I’m not the one ripping Bledsoe. The responsibility for offering the alternative is therefore yours, not mine.

Is Bledsoe the best QB in the league? No. But who here has ever claimed that. I’m of the opinion that he’s good enough to make this team a winner. And after seeing your darling Ben Roethlisberger win a Super Bowl with a 22 rating, I’m not changing my mind.

There are only two highly regarded college QBs who the Cowboys have passed on during the Parcells era. One is Byron Leftwich. The Cowboys took Terence Newman 5th overall in ‘03 and Leftwich went 7th. Newman was, according to the DMN’s Rick Gosselin, who canvasses front offices, the top rated player overall that year. He’s turned into a fine cornerback. He filled a crying need on the Dallas defense. He was rated higher than Leftwich.

I have no problems with that pick. And since you’ve never mentioned Leftwich as a lost opportunity, you can’t claim you did either.

Besides, what’s the book on Leftwich? That he’s got a gun and is intelligent, but that he’s too statuesque. That he holds the ball too long. That he takes too much abuse.

Sounds like a Drew Bledsoe clone to me.

The other guy was J.P. Losman. Do you really want to argue that Dallas would be better off with him?
You can try, but since you’ve never mentioned him either you’ll come off sounding like a phony.

My problem is that you want to pop off and do nothing but. You’re too lazy or too careless to offer support for your bile. You’re entitled, but most people here will back up their claims, even if they’re unpopular.

You can play the martyr all you want, biz, but until you actually show your own work, you’re gonna get called on it.

biz is winning:

Relax, if the team can establish a dominating power running game it won’t matter who is handing off the ball. Bledsoe is a far more capable QB than you give him credit for in your caricature adjectives. I think the key next year will be to get an early lead and let the defense and RB’s take over. That is what was working for most of the fist 10 games last year. If you are relying on a QB to put a team on your shoulders and lead the team to victory your mind is in the wrong decade. That may have worked in the ’80s, but not in the current NFL era.

Rafael:

I agree Ayodele may not be great in coverage, but neither is B-James. My idea was to have him move to ILB like James did and play in Dat’s old spot at WILB. With him and Ware on the weakside, either one of them could be blitzers which would cause offenses a lot of blitz recognition difficulty. Dat did this only a couple of times last year, but at least once I can remember it totally blew up the QB and resulted in a turnover. Ayodele is a far better pass rusher than Dat, so I think this could be highly effective in blitz packages and in planting fear in offenses. I believe Ayodele is a good enough LB, tackler, and hard hitter to be very effective at stopping the run, which is why I’d like to see him play ILB as James did when the Cowboys switched to a 3-4.

Chandus:

I agree with a lot of what you are saying, I hope I didn’t sound snarky. I happen to believe 4 really good starters would be better for the team than having backups like Fujita playing. You never know who will get injured, but you have to plan on always putting the best team you can on the field in those roles. Fujita is clearly not worthy of starting at OLB for this team unless there is an injury, IMHO. Singleton was, but as a 8 or 9 year veteran his price tag is going to be pretty high. Maybe not as high as a Pro Bowler like Coakley’s was, but let’s remember it was Coakley, not Singleton, who was in danger of losing his starting job to B-James a couple of years back in training camp. Seasoned vet’s don’t come cheap, and there are a lot of teams who think they are on the cusp of a run who would prefer a vet like Singleton to a younger player like Ayodele. I don’t happen to agree, but this is similar thinking to why Runyan will likely command more money in FA than Ashworth. I believe Runyan has been in the league about the same time as Singleton, and Ashworth has been around about as long as Ayodele. The fact is, we have to replace Dat because we can’t faithfully rely on Burnett to be capable of taking this role yet…or ever.

leftwich or losman even if we had them they would be on the bench.because we can’t do what normally teams do throw a guy to wolves for a year or 2.no we bring in good ol vinny and woody to be our saviors.im really excited about those two.

And the success rate of throwing a guy to the is……?

One QB in FA i hope dallas gives a look
to is Josh Mc. from the Cards.

Oh, great! Now ‘throwing a guy to the wolves’ for up to two years is somehow a virtue! Never mind all the successful quarterbacks who have been developed by NOT doing that.

Anyone want to bet that if the Cowboys did that, that ‘biz is winning’ would be howling for a new quarterback withing four weeks, much less two years.

Come on Bill that worked well with Henson,Q,Losman etc. and it seems to have real well with alex smith.

Why not just ignore the troll instead of trying to have a discussion with someone who is incapbable of it?

Parcells started Bledsoe from day one in New England. There is no proof that he stunts a youngster’s development in favor of veterans. He starts the best guy he has.

Biz simply hates Bledsoe and everything he says reflects this, facts be damned.

RAFAEL! Facil, esse.

It’s just a kid…way too ignorant to debate. And pass the Stoli…

You’re way too consumed with the TE/FB position, but I do like that Mills kid if he dropped to Round 3 or 4.

This team has a two year plan on offense. There is not a single Pro Bowl caliber lineman on the roster today that will be starting 3 years from now. Same goes for WR & QB.

That may strenghten your argument for younger FAs, but I say RT is immediate, and thus need only a two-year starter…thus Runyan.

With only two high-profile (meaning high priced) signings, this team will be set. Bentley & Runyan/Backus.

Thus having a starting lineup of:
LT – Flo (31)
LG – LA (34)
C – Bentley (26)
RG – Rivera (34)
RT – Runyan (32)

I’ll grant you all arguments that someone will go down and young studs are needed for year 3.

So we draft OL early and often. Year 3 will look like:
LT – Jonathan Scott (Round 2 ’06)
LG – Peterman (Round 3 ’04)
C – Bentley
RG – Jean-Gilles/Spencer (Round 3 ’06)
RT – Colombo (Round 1 ’02)

Also in the mix is Pettiti, late round picks in ’06 and (if needed) a 1st &/or 2nd in ’07.

Fighter,

Runyan will not want only a two year deal. I saw a list of the top 20 free agents yesterday. Four of them are RBs, who we won’t pursue. Three more are CBs, again no go…

The only players on that list who might be targets were Runyan and Bentley. But Bentley will probably be THE top FA after Shaun Alexander, when the guys ahead of him are franchised. Miami wants Bentley too, as will New Orleans and other teams.

I don’t rule him out. Parcells spent big money acquiring Kevin Mawae when he was with the Jets and New York has gotten seven years of the best C play in the NFL for the trouble.

That said if he does go after Bentley, then:

a. forget Runyan. There’s no way you have FIVE big contracts on the o-line;
b. Allen will likely be cut, unless he takes a HUGE pay reduction. See a for the reason.

I’d like to see Bentley, but I’ll say it again — if you sign him, you’re stuck with Petitti at RT again. I don’t think the Cowboys will do that.

fighter 15 you don’t have to agree with me.as a matter of fact you’re the baby.you guys expect everyone that gets on this site to be nicey nice and go with the flow.don’t work that way in real life.

I know you are but what am I

Your point about the 5 big contracts is valid. Yet, for a two-year run, the cap space is there.

Runyan gets a 4-5 year deal. Bentley even longer (unless the Collective Bargain Agreement inexplicably falls through). Our salary cap would be fine.

By the time the defense starts chewing up space, our OL (hell, our entire offense) will be in a youth movement like our D is now.

I think a lot of you are really missing the 2-year reality on this team and all FA prioritization.

The draft is a different story, but will put emphasis on areas that will need to be replaced in the long term. Skill positions don’t qualify and proven talent is required.

Thus our team.

By the way, no t.o. talk?

At this point, I would like to take on the notion that Bill Parcells is too old to go with a young quarterback.

As Rafael pointed out, Parcells was not shy in playing Bledsoe as a rookie, and using him as the focal point of his offense. Of course, as some have said, Parcells is older now and does not have as much time left in the league. I have to ask, then, what was he doing with Quincy Carter? Obviously, he was trying to develop a younger quarterback, and starting him in the process. The fact that Carter didn’t work out is not relevant. The fact that Parcells went with a young quarterback is. Went with him for a year, and would have gone with him for two, if Carter had not imploded.

I can also ask, why are Romo and Henson even on the team? Parcells could have brought in veteran backups in both 2005, and especially 2004. Those veterans — almost any veterans — would have provided more injury protection that Romo and Henson ever did.

It seems obvious to me that Bill Parcells is sensitive to the future needs of the Cowboys. That is why we still have two green quarterbacks on the roster. However, he will only start the quarterback who he believes will give the team the best chance to win. Sort of like he does with every other position.

For some reason, I don’t see trying to win games as some kind of problem. Especially, not when we have a team that is as close to being highly competitive as the Cowboys are.