Making a Shopping List -- Special Teams

Hi Everybody!

They could always go sniffing around Austria again.

I’d go with Longwell, too. Have to confess I’ve never been inside Texas Stadium. Is wind and drafts really a zero factor there like in a dome? I always figured the open roof would create unique swirls.

I believe K is going to be one of the first positions we upgrade in FA. When I say upgrade any of the kickers you mentioned Rafael are upgrades which is exactly why you want to get the best quality for quantity. For this reason i like you have mentioned Vinateri will not be for us. He’s too expensive and there are other options that might just be as good. Vanderjagt doesn’t kickoff well and that is a big no no for Parcelss. Brown will most likely get resigned by Seattle. He’s a very consistent kicker i know he was my fantasy kicker the last 2 years. Very reliable. My money is on Longwell but it may well be Bryant. Longwell is like you pointed out almost as good as Vinateri but won’t break the bank. He is one of the better kickoff specialist in the NFL. Same goes for Bryant. But the thing about Bryant is that he is still rather young. I believe this was his 3rd or 4th year. Parcells wants a more trusted veteran and Longwell is a 9th year veteran. One thing about Longwell is also that until this past year he had converted 45 consecutive field goal attempts within 40 yards. Exactly what parcells needs CONSISTENCY. And i’m sure he wouldn’t mind playing 8 games at Texas Stadium instead of Lambeau Field. My pick is Longwell. Also don’t count out a guy like Nedney.

Kicker will be an interesting position to watch in FA. There are so many teams, even within the NFC East, that are looking to upgrade at kicker that there will almost certainly be a very high premium paid this year. I am sure the Giants are going to sign a FA Kicker this offseason, and most likely one of the big name ones after losing to Seattle like they did. The Redskins kicker missed a short one in the playoffs against the Seahawks too, and I seem to recall him missing a few others throughout the season in the clutch too. There are a lot of teams who lost heartbreakers because of Kickers missing close ones last season. The question will be who wants to pay top dollar to be rid of the headache, and which teams will take a chance on ulcers and coronary problems to save their money for other positions?

I hope JJ shells out the $$$$ and saves us all the health problems.

I am pretty sure the World Cup is this summer too…could be interesting to see if any soccer players get invited to NFL teams’ camps for a look this August.

lilbeast,

I didn’t include Nedney, who is worthy, because the 49ers have stated resigning him is priority one for their offseason. I doubt he hits the market.

Kicker should be the #1 priority. Dallas finished dead last in FG % from 30-49 yards last season. Considering they kick in a dome-like stadium conditions, that’s beyond horrible.

However, their special teams coverage unit did pretty well statistically, definitely top 10 in the league. If they can get an upgrade at FS and get Keith Davis to play special teams on a full-time basis, they could have a top 5 coverage unit.

So, I would suggest to Parcells that he’s better off worrying about finding a good field goal kicker than finding a good kickoff guy. The coverage unit has been very good under Parcells for 3 years despite having Cundiff who was a below average kickoff guy anyway.

I’d suggest Joe Nedney. He’s got a stronger leg on kickoffs than anybody available (used to be one of the very best kickoff guys in the league) and he was 2nd last year in field goals from 30-49 yards. He did it in SF and that also included that ridiculous windy game in Chicago.

The other thing they have to look at is a punt returner. I don’t really want a starting CB, and our best CB, and probably the best CB in the league, to be returning punts too often. Crayton finished 2nd to last in punt returns last season.

How about prying Rackers away from Arizona? Here is a guy who is very good kicking field goals, but also boots kickoffs into the end one. … I doubt this one, but he is the best “weapon” at his position (IMO). … I love a K who boots the ball into the end zone on kickoffs, period, but he is also accurate kicking FGs.

What about kick returner too? Tyson Thompson was pretty good, but I think Parcells will add a player that can return kicks and be an offensive threat. …. Brandon Williams of Wisconsin fits that mold. He is an explosive returner, and Dallas can have him in there a few plays a game on offense and throw some screens and reverses.

Also a later first day selection may yield another LB that can immediately impact our coverage, especially if we do not resign Davis.

Eric R:

The Cardinals locked up Rackers a few months ago with a 4-year, 6.5 million dollar contract. With bonuses he’s going to get nearly 4 million in the first year alone. He’s one of the top paid kickers in the league now.

So…I doubt if they are going to want to trade him.

I agree about the punt returner idea. TT did great at KR, but I don’t like the idea of T-New returning punts at all. I know he’s tough, and Deion used to do all that stuff, but if T-New went down to an injury the secondary would be in big trouble. Getting a PR who can be paired with TT on KR duty would be a great idea for a late round draft pick, IMO.

Hey Raf,

“lost” Smith? I remember Smith finishing that game in one of the most heroic efforts ever by any football player I ever watched. Now if you meant he would have been lost in the first round game of the playoffs……perhaps……but I would not have placed a bet against Emmit being back on the field…..seperated shoulder or not. Still the kick counted and we won one of the tougher games on the way to a super bowl. Phil Simms talks about that game and the Cowboys defense all the time. He and James Washington are two guys that continue to mention Tolbert as the great football player that he was……he just quietly went about his business.

Also…..Texas Stadium for how much longer? When is the new stadium scheduled to finish? Isn’t it going to be like Seattles with a retractable roof and roll out roll in turf so the stadium can serve as special events mecca as well??? I don’t remember all the stadium details not living in the lone star republic.

I heard we just signed a safety. who was it? And how good is he?

clam625:

His name is Abram Elam. He played SS for Notre Dame until he got busted for some sort of sexual assault. It looks like he was briefly picked up by the Dolphins. I wouldn’t put too much into this yet, there are a lot of players who get signed at this time of year to get a better look at them or to give them a shot.

We should sign Eddie Drummond as a return man. If we signed him we would have one of the best young return men in the L. It would push Thompson into a back up role though.

Here’s the story on Abram Elam, has talent and good size, but he seems to end up in the wrong places at the wrong time, might he learn from his mistakes ala Keith Davis, I dont know, but their is alot of red flags on him.

http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/2004-04-07/news/feature_1.html

Any player signed between the first of the year and the date that teams are allowed to cut players for cap reasons (a week or two before free agency starts), is a player who did not have a job in 2005. By now, such a player probably wasn’t even on a practice squad, as almost all of those players have been re-signed weeks ago.

I wouldn’t count too much on Abram Elam being a major contributor.

We signed several of these guys a year ago — Willie Blade, Marq Cerqua, Woody Dantzler, Kevin DeRonde, Zuriel Smith. None of them made it until September.

We have gotten contributors in the past, including Blade (in 2003), and Keith Davis (in 2004), but the odds are long for these guys. Note also that both Blade and Davis had been Cowboys previously.

Jon,

He played all day with one arm, but they knew there was no way he was playing the following week. That’s what I meant.

On the bright side…it does show that the team is looking around for bargain basement safeties to see if they can locate a diamond in the rough. This guy looks very rough to me. Like I wrote in my previous post though…a lot of scrubs get signed at this time of year simply to bring them in and get a better look at them on the off chance there is something there.

Kind of off-subject, but not too far off. Not that this is any indication, but I still hold to my idea of a while back that unless Huff falls to the Cowboys in the 1st round or Davis gets another shot, I doubt if many of us will be too familiar with the Cowboys next FS. Parcells seems to like to sign under the radar guys like Anthony Henry instead of the bigger names.

Sterling……i remembered Cleveland playing TO and the Eagles tough…but did not know it was cuz of A Henry’s performance…..what a find he was. Hope he is healthy for 19 games this year……..do the math……16 plus two home games and the super bowl of course.

while i welcome another find like that…….we PAID Henry a lot…..I still think LB and O-Line are more of a priority than FS. Who knows maybe Pete Hunter shows up and tries out at FS since he can’t cut it at cb.

Jon Barlett,
Pete Hunter is head french fryer at Mcdonalds, so I cant see him giving that up mai job to play Safety

If Hunter was only that smart. He should have done what he was asked to do and that was to be at least a part time FS. Wasn’t he out of a job for most of the year. Think he regrets it now.

There are lots of FS out there that could fit the Henry mold as a find. Luckily FS is not a spot that gets paid high dollar. Guys like:
Idres Bashir-Carolina
Will Demps-Baltimore
Dexter Jackson-Tampa Bay
Ifeanyi Ohalete-Cinncinati
and as i have said before we could sign CB Juran Bolden to play FS he’s got the cover skills is big enough (6’3 210) and he’s a pretty good tackler. Hey we could also pursue a guy like R.W. Mcquarters as a KR/PR.

Just read that Jerry Jones says that the 1st round pick could deffinately be spent on a WR. If thats the case i say trade down and pickup Sinorce Moss. I know it depends on who is still on the board at 18 but thats a scenario i could live with.

lilbeast
I like R.W. Mcquartersas as our return man although I don’t know if we have enough room on our roster for another corner. BP likes Reeves so he will play.

As i have said a few times now I can see us taking Santonio Holmes with pick 18.

Im not too familar with Big Ten Football. What type of WR is he? Possecion, deep threat, big, small, fast? IMO we need another guy to stretch the field. We were lucky that Terry Glenn made it a whole season. As much as I like GLenn, I dont think we can count on that again.

I think after the Combine everyone here will agree that Bobby Carpenter will have a bigger impact than the WR’s in the draft. Moss is rising up boards but there is a shot he could fall to the 2nd. Its doubtful but you never know.

I like Chad Jackson better than Moss or Holmes, and I don’t think any of those 3 are worth the #18 pick. My guess is JJ is blowing smoke again. When you’re drafting from the spot where the Cowboys are you don’t want to tip your hand too much to other teams. Besides, it’s not like TG and Key dropped a lot of balls or cost the team a lot of games last year. The talent at WR is not compelling enough for the Cowboys to draft a WR in the 1st round when it’s not a pressing need, IMHO. I’m sure JJ knows this and is bluffing on purpose with the hopes that another team will reach and a better player may drop as a result.

Although he did cost the team two 1st round draft picks for a WR. Imagine where the team could be if he hadn’t made that personnel move. Maybe the Super Bowl, since that’s where Seattle ended up.

I think Santonio Holmes is a mix between Terry Glenn and Steve Smith.

CKnight:

If Holmes is that good then I don’t see how he would get past the Eagles, Falcons, and Dolphins…all of whom are going to need a great receiver and pick before the Cowboys.

I think he’ll probably be an ok NFL WR, despite his lack of size. For the Cowboys, I would rather they wait until next year or the year after and try to get a guy like Jarrett or Ted Ginn, who I think will be a lot better pro players than Holmes.

Sterling,

     Your absolutely right about JJ not tipping his hand. If he did im sure BP would bitch slap him ala Todd Haley. But whats with the comparison that CKNIGHT made, saying hes somewhere between Glenn and Steve Smith??? I dont know anything about Santonio Holmes but damn, that sounds a little to get for a late 1st round pick.

Sterling,

Agree on everything said. Next year’s will be better IMO. Holmes probably isnt worth a top 20 pick, and you could get guys like Chad Jackson or Derek Hagan in the 2nd round.

nfldraftcountdown.com has comparisons for the top 5 at each position. Holmes is compared to Steve Smith, while Jackson is compared to Reggie Wayne.

Some Cowboys listed,
Jesse Mahelona – La Roi Glover

Marcus McNeil-Flo

Richard Marshell- T-New

DeMeco Ryans-Dat

Brian Calhoun-JJ

As you can see, they are comparing Richard Marshell to Newman. Ive never heard of Marshall before, but I doubt he will become a Newman. The comparisons are just for fun, and I see Holmes more of a Glenn type player.

Pete Hunter can’t be a head french fryer at McDonald’s. They don’t serve Philly Cheesesteaks there.

Special cyber points to those who got the joke.

A more pressing matter that is off topic, but now that the Pro Bowl is over needs to start being considered is the Larry Allen situation. I think his roster bonus is coming up isn’t it?

How are the Cowboys going to handle this? I’ve been reading a lot of different things about how they can do this. One scenario has the Cowboys asking LA to renegotiate his contract voluntarily, if he does fine, is he doesn’t to tell him and his rep they are going to cut him. Presumably no other NFL team would claim him off waivers because of the size of his contract and he’d clear waivers and then have to renegotiate either with the Cowboys or another team. Other things I have read claim he will be cut as a cap casualty right off and then they will talk. I don’t believe this, especially considering the risk involved with such a shakey O-Line as it is.

I don’t know enough about the protocol involved in these kinds of contract situations. Does anyone have knowledge of how these situations are typically handled?

Sterling,

I don’t know the answer, hopefully someone here will, but aren’t we also facing the same issue with Glover?

Certainly the play of Santana and Steve have made the smaller kind of receivers a hot topic, well, something for you to chew upon, both weren’t productive until late in their second years as they struggled too much as their speed wasn’t enough anymore.

You draft in the 1st 2 rounds because you want the player to start if not by the season opener at least by midseason, a receiver in that mold won’t start.

And do I need to mention that Moss is 5-7?

I’d love to Draft Ben Obomanu of Auburn with a 4th (If JJ manages to get one) or 5th Rounder as I really ponder that WR is a need.

Dallas waved goodbyes to Hutchinson, Coakley and Robinson and they got some playing time, so what do you think that Dallas is going to receive as compensation, a fifth?

Yes

I would love Ben Obomanu, I think he will go in the 3rd or 4th tho. I think the 3rd round pick should go 2 a FS, look at this list of some safeties picked in the 2nd or 3rd or later rounds:

Ken Hamlin 2nd
Mike Doss 2nd
Chris Hope 3rd
Idrees Bashir 2nd
Dwight Smith 3rd
Mike Brown 2nd
Dexter Jackson 4th
Corey Chavous 2nd
Lance Schulters 4th
Darren Sharper 2nd

Those are some big names and really good players who were picked in the 2nd round or later. I would like to see a FS picked up in the draft even if we sign one, so we could develop him in a couple of years. A guy like Anthony Smith from Syracuse would be great.

Does anyone think we may get involved in the LeCharles Bentley sweepstakes?

I know we need an OT, but I think our OLine play warrants at least 2 upgrades.

The way I see it, given the available talent level, the best we can hope to do is sign an average to slightly better than average RT.

Bentley, on the other hand, represents a dramatic improvement at center (IMO).

I know we need a OT more than we need a center, but don’t we really need both, especially given how shaky Riverra played last season?

Lou,

How did those FS’s do during their first year?

I think, given our other needs, that if we sign a veteran FS, we should wait until day 2 to draft our future FS.

My day 1 draft would address these positions:
Round 1 — OLB
Round 2 — Oline or ILB
Rouund 3 — Oline or ILB

lou c
don’t forget that we drafted Tony Dixon in the 2nd round.

On the FS topic, I think there is a chance that Parcells will draft a CB and convert him to FS. Just my opinion, but I think speed and ball skills is the best fit at FS for this defense. … So during interviews, Parcells may drop the question of how a player (CB) feels about playing S at the pro level. … Give me speed and a smart football player and I can see our next FS.

Im not saying draft a FS in the third round and start him, draft him and sign a guy to a 2 year deal and develop the guy. I dont think we will draft a OLB and ILB back to back, we have way bigger needs.

lou c
so since we don’t draft an OLB and ILB back to back who is going to fill Nguyen’s slot and our other OLB spot.

Carpenter/Abraham-Burnett-James-Ware

Why draft an ILB and OLB? Get rid of Burnett after an injury riddened year then. This guy was going as high as 10 last year and some said was a better player than Ware. We can put Burnett in, do you trust him or Petiti again? Or Peterman?

We will draft a G or a C or a T before we draft an ILB. We have Shanle, Fowler, and Burnett. Thats alot better than Johnson, Petiti, and Peterman.

Burnett may not even be able to play at all most of next season. It depends on how fast he recovers from his torn ACL. That can take quite a long time to recover from, you never know. It doesn’t matter how high he ranked before the draft. Jacob Rogers was a 2nd rounder and he couldn’t stay healthy enough to play so Parcells cut him last August after 2 years. It happens to every team, injuries bad draft picks, etc.

I agree with not drafting an ILB, but Parcells was complaining about how thin the LB corps was last year coming out of training camp and that was when Dat was still there with all these other guys. Now he’s gone, and who knows if they will re-sign Singleton and/or Fujita. If they don’t draft an ILB, then they are almost certainly going to have to get one through FA or an undrafted rookie FA. Also, I thought Shanle was playing at OLB at the end of last year after Burnett’s injury before the Rams game.

There’s also no guarantee that the Cowboys will draft Carpenter. A lot of us would like that to happen, but that’s not a certainty to count on. He may not be on the board and they may have to take the best available player, or they may trade down and take an OL. Even if they do draft Carpenter, who knows…maybe Parcells would want to play him at ILB with Bradie James because he wants more of a pure speed rusher on the edge. You never know. I can see at least one LB acquisition through FA of some degree of quality though…with Dat gone, they have to have more depth and quality at that position to effectively run the 3-4.

I looked it up, and it turns out Shanle played ILB in the Rams game, bot OLB, but Fowler had to back up both him and James as the only other ILB in that game. That’s not nearly enough depth at that position, to say nothing of the quality. If this team is going to be a deep playoff or Super Bowl level team and play a 3-4 defense, they are going to have to get better play out of Shanle than he has shown to this point in his career or get a new ILB.

Also, Burnett’s torn ACL usually takes between 6-9 months from the date of the surgery to recover from. I don’t know when he had the surgery, but most doctors don’t want to perform ACL surgery until a few weeks after the injury occurred (not clear why, though). The good news, if there is any in this, is that Burnett knows the rehab process well, since he blew out his other ACL and had to undergo reconstructive surgery on it a couple of years ago. Maybe that experience will help him with his recovery and rehab this time.

The torn ACL is concerning.
More concerning, however, is that even when healthy, he couldn’t earn his way on the field.

I’m not giving up on him, but at this point, we have to prepare like he won’t be there.

eric,

if that were the case why not just start Aaron Glenn at CB and put TNew at FS? Slide Newman into the Nickel or Glenn and Davis or Bierault or somebody comes in on Nickel downs as your FS? I mean we all know Glenn Henry and Newman can cover and tackle…….any of them could play FS. Who knows perhaps we would have seen some of that if Henry had stayed healthy.

I ain’t so sure Bierault is not a forgotten Dark Horse. Also Davis started one year so far…..he and a pro bowler Roy Willimas got caught staring into the backfield and wanting to make big hits. That shows a lack of discipline at the FS position. Can he improve? He certainly has shown the knack for making tackles on the field and special teams. Bierault could be an FS or SS. I ain’t sure about his ball hawk skills…….I sort of saw him as the new Bill Bates type to play special teams and maybe some nickle….John Lynch is an FS…maybe move Roy to LB on Nickle downs and let Bierault play some SS in that case.

At any rate…….the pay scale for the corner back is through the roof….and that is making every one of these guys want cb pay……even a guy like Hunter who played some Safety in college balked at playing in the pros?

I say LB, O-Line…….we will have a dozen kids from undrafted FAs, current players, walk ons, and FAs like the one added this week in camp vying for the FS position.

Draft LBs. Ask yourself if you took our LBs from our team…..as they are and sent them all to the Steelers……..who would even make the team? Demarcus Ware…..and probably Bradie James……that would be about it. Nguyen would have but he is gone……Fowler, Singleton, Fujita, Shanle, we need some more big bodies up there to make this 3-4 dominant. Porter was 3rd rounder out of Colorado state and he gives 10 sacks a year…..find us one of those Bill!!!!

Give me a Bookend to Ware!!!! Henry and Newman are shutdown corners when healthy R.Williams a pro bowler how delivers the wood…….we need another OLB and at least another ILB who also deliver the wood!!!

Optimistically…….Flo comes back…..Rivera is in better shape BACKWISE than last year…….Johnson and Gurode both improve and return……..we add a RT in FA…….LA comes back…….Petitti, Peterman, Rogers, Tucker, a player to be named later, the pepsi machine, whoever……compete for the backup spots……which is where they all belonged last year!!!

Barber Jones and Thompson are not a folk group or some outlaw cowboys but are renamed Thunder, Lightning and SHAZAM!!! For the hard yards, the great runs, and the speed that kills.

Drew Bledsoe finds Ponce de Leon’s fountain of youth while vacationing in the offseason…….discovers an Elway like ability to scramble for the first time in his career. Ok this one is a fantasy but still he comes back in good shape and gets a RT and FLO at LT…..and he goes back to that 100+ qb rating he was working on early in the season.

The steelers won a super bowl with a 22. something passer rating. Granted it looked like they bought the officials…..but still……Bledsoe can get it done.

Sterling,

Surgeons only delay ACL surgery when there is swelling in the knee. In that case, they wait for the swelling to go down before opening the player up. It’s usually a matter of days, not weeks.

I’m not as worried about Burnett’s recovery, as I am about his seeming propensity to get injured time and again. Doctors have improved their techniques so that the recovery time is now routinely closer to the 6-month figure. But, Burnett spent an awful lot of time last year on various injury reports. It may be a trend.

Obviously, this poses a dilemma for the Cowboys. Burnett is a very talented player, who, if he fulfills his great potential, could solve one of our ILB slots for years, IF he stays healthy. But, can they count on that?

To me, Burnett raises two questions. One, will he actually fulfill that potential? Two, even if he does, will he stay healthy enough to be reliable.

These are not the questions I like to ask of a second-round draft choice. There are just too many unknowns with Burnett to have any decent comfort level regarding him.

Mr. Bill:

I don’t know whether there was swelling or not, but the injury happened a few days before the New Years holiday which likely interfered with the matter of days idea.

Burnett has had 3 surgeries since being drafted. He missed an entire season in college because of reconstructive knee injury. That’s a lot of injuries in a short span of time. Canty had his problems, but he seemed to come back quickly and when he was on the field he contributed far more than Burnett. I’m not writing Burnett off, but I hope the Cowboys aren’t counting on him too much.

For some reason the 2nd round has really been Parcells’ achilles heel with injury prone players. Rogers had so many injuries he got cut because he couldn’t get on the field. Burnett’s are almost as bad as Rogers. Of course, Julius Jones is an outstanding RB when he’s healthy, but he has missed an awful lot of games in his 2 year career. I hope this year BP stays away from Marcus McNeill or any other player with a history of serious injuries.

If we sign Ayodele and draft Carpenter we are set at LB. I have thought all along that Burnett is playing out of position at OLB. He sounds great at ILB, not OLB. He just needs to prove he can stay healthy and work on his coverage skills. We would let the 3 guys fight it out for 2 spots. Carpenter is a beast, hes over 255 lbs I think. He would be my favorite to win the OLB, with Adoyele inside. If Burnett is damaged goods, then we have Adoyele and could lock him up. Look at our depth now:

Carpenter-Adoyele
Adoyele-Burnett-Fowler
James-Shanle
Ware-Thornton

off topic:
just read espn is thinking of doing a doubleheader for the first monday night next season. i think they should do that i cant get enough football anyways, so id watch both

Bartlett,

I like your optimism. I agree we need to think OL and LB.

But I really hope we make a bid on Bentley. With Bledsoe, we need a good OL, not an average OL.

Our OL was slightly below average before losing Flo. After Flo’s injury, we were horrible.

We need Flo back, sign an average RT, and finally, sign Bentley. That would do it.

mad,

i wonder if it was the o lines knowing each other. I mean the successful lines have the same coach and for the most part the same players year after year.

I have not looked at all the FAs out there….but I say add an FA RT…..tucker and petitti can play backup…..Rivera, Allen and Flo are as good as good as any if healthy…….wasnt AJ hurt 2nd half? I am not sure he has shown us he is the answer maybe it is gurode…..or FA or draft…..I just believe that teamwork is key along the offensive line…..plugging in FAs and rookies is even worse……

I mean when an offensive line fails to run block well……that is a bad sign. Flo needs to play to his full potential along with Rivera a bust for last year………if that happens…….look out. Also MB3, JJ, and TT get going early and often next year. I liked what I saw in Charlotte……give me that kind of rushing attack and I will show you a super bowl team!!!

think about this though…..there are ten teams that have new HCs….new staffs….and don’t have near the plan for the draft…..training camp…..defense and offensive shemes or plays we have…..

this is the year Parcells and Zimmer should get to “take the gloves off” on some players like Newman, Ware, James, Canty, Spears, and the vets……while 1 in 3 teams in the league is shuffling staffs continuity at the top is pretty steady……..sure Payton and Gibbs left….but that is miniscule considering Payton just got play calling clearance from BP anyway…..

now you put the chess match of Parcells vs a bunch of new coaches……unfortunately no turnover in our own division…….but still we should be very good next year.

Anyone heard of a WR for University of Louisiana @ Monroe by the name of Drouzon Quillen. 6’6" 215 lbs. Probably not on the draft radar, but worth a look by the Cowboy staff.

Well, Madcowboy, I’ll respond to you….we need all these positions being talked about, but if I had to pick one position to fix on offense I’d pick center even ahead of Tackle! Johnson was just not able to handle a push up the middle-it was ridiculous! Once teams see that they just feast on it, and the whole timing of the passing and running games are off. I don’t know who these guys are on the other teams or who it should be, but a solid anchor at center would go a long ways to solidifying the whole OLine. And if gurode was going to be a starting center we’d know by now

Sharpgator:
Interesting prospect, there’s just one tiny problem with him, he only has 2 years of Football in his body and wasn’t even invited to the Combine. He was productive in his 2 years as he catched a total of 89 balls for 1465 yards for an average of more than 16 yards per catch. He’s going to have just his Pro Day to try to impress the folks there, we will see how he does there.

I think what we all agree on by spending so much attention on LB’s and OL is that this team needs to be more physical and aggressive.

My biggest disappointment with the O-Line wasn’t the pass protection. What bothered me the most was the inability to open big holes for the RB’s and get the necessary push to knock the defense off the line. Remember how the Super Bowl 90’s teams O-Line would not only open the hole for Emmitt, but would literally drive D-Linemen back about 3 or 4 yards every play? That’s what this team needs up front. That nasty, physical style of play that demoralizes defenses because they know it’s coming and still can’t stop it. If the O-Line can play like that next year, Bledsoe won’t have to be asked to do so much for the team to win.

The LB’s are the flipside of this. The biggest problem I saw with LB play wasn’t the lack of pass rush in certain games, although that needs improvement next year as well, it was the inability to stop the run in at least 4 of the last 6 games of the season. I remember the turning point was the Broncos game, that Ron Dayne run in OT. After that, it seemed like the defense got totally ran over by Barber, Portis, Larry Johnson, etc. There was also all the passes caught by the Redskins TE/FB Cooley in that blowout loss, many because of breakdowns in LB coverage. All those are very much a symptom of bad LB play in general, since they are supposed to be the playmakers who step up and fill the run gaps in the 3-4. One thing I noticed against the Redkins and Chiefs in particular was that those teams were running a lot of off tackle and pitch plays that strung the D-Linemen down the field and then the RB turned it up and would drive into or past the LB’s for a 5 or 6 yard gain. This needs to be corrected next year, since the Giants and Redskins both have really good running attacks.

These things go hand-in-hand. If the O-Line can’t establish a power running attack, like every game except Carolina…and the 4 LB’s can’t stop the run…we can’t expect the team to win against the better teams. They both have to be fixed. I think it will take new 2 players on each side to make it work right.

The reason Burnett was sidelined last year was the difficulty he had in learning the OLB position, which, prior to the signing of Fujita was the weakness that Parcells talked about.

During the season, Burnett was backing up both OLB positions. He started as Ware’s backup, and actually saw some time early. He looked average at best, struggling with pass defense and read/react recognition.

After Singleton went down, he backed up both OLB positions. And struggled, but Parcells continually praised his development.

At the end of the season, once Shanle proved inadequate as Dat’s replacement, Burnett started moving inside and showed improvement. Then he got hurt.

Give the guy a break! 3 Position changes in your rookie year is tough and he naturally struggled.

Look for him to make a significant improvement next year as our starting ILB. The kid is a stud…he’s not injury prone…and he’s not an idiot

Fighter,

how can you say Burnett is not injury prone? Stud? maybe. Injury prone? for sure.

Jon,

I think Newman would be a great safety, but he is much more needed at corner.

Beriault is not a forgotten man. He is one of the biggest reasons I say go get speed at the S position. Right now we have 2 safeties that are good tacklers capable of blitzing. If we add a player that can make plays on the ball and cover a lot of ground with his speed then the front 7 can be more agressive, as could Beriault and Roy. Plus the NFL with its rule changes, and espescially our division, calls for the FSs to cover TEs. So speed and coverage skills would be a benifit for playing S.

Last year if you remember Newman covered Shockey, and did a nice job. With more speed in the secondary, the Cowboys become more capable of playing man coverage and blitzing from anywhere. … If Beriault or Roy get into a situation of man coverage it takes away from their strengths (IMO).

He was last injured in ’02 with a torn ACL.

ACL injuries are not pre-disposed. There is nothing you can do to prevent them…no body type is more or less likely to get them…etc. They are impact injuries to a joint not intended to take an impact.

Bad luck, maybe. Injury prone, no.

AJ did an average, up and down, job at center for us last year. He is young, so maybe he improves.

I don’t care. We should sign Bentley if possible. You rarely have the chance to sign a 3-time pro-bowl lineman who is only 26 years old. He is young and one of the best at his position. Moreover, the guy is 315 pounds, yet still very quick. He can pull and get to the next level like AJ does, and yet he can also push the NT on a 4th and 1.

He could be a long-term centerpiece in our SB puzzle, not a quick fix.

I found an article written in December that said Bentley could probably be signed for about $4M against the cap. I have no idea if this is true, but whatever the market rate, how can we not make a bid? Who had a worse line than we did?

We still need a RT, but looking at the available players, the best we can hope for is probably a 30+ year-old, average, veteran OT. Yes, we have to get an OT, but Bentely is a whole different kind of investment for us.

Larry,

I agree. The run blocking was terrible. If you fix the run blocking, the pass protection also gets better. Teams can’t go hell-bent toward the quarterback when they’re worried JJ is going to gash them for 9 yards up the middle.

Everything starts with the running game. To fix it, we need an average RT, a healthy Flo, and one LeCharles Bentely.

Fighter15:

ACL is an impact injury, not a systemic one, but there is no question Burnett has a seriously troubling record of injuries in the last 3 years. He showed up for his first post-draft appearance at rookie mini-camp on crutches and couldn’t work out. He has undergone 3 surgeries just since he was drafted last April. No one is blaming him as a player for poor conditioning or his lifestyle or anything, but you also can’t excuse the fact that this is undeniably a disconcerting trend for such a high draft pick. Stud or not, we won’t know until he is capable of showing what he can do. So far all he has shown is that he gets hurt a lot. That’s not someone I would want to count on for a title run.

I realize changing positions was hard, but B-James did it, Ware played very well with an even bigger position change. Burnett’s a LB, he was able to switch from playing SS in college, I’m sure he can handle going from OLB to ILB. Also, I never heard the point about Parcells praising his development last season. The only things I remember from Parcells was complaining about Burnett’s performance and lack of being physically able to play. That was around the middle of last season, before Dat went down, so maybe Parcells changed his tune later, but I never heard him praise Burnett outright if he did. I would also point out what Parcells said in training camp about Jacob Rogers. His quote was something along the lines of not wanting to cut a guy because of injuries, but he also can’t justify keeping a guy on the roster spot simply because he was a high draft pick if he doesn’t know what he is capable of on the playing field. Since Rogers could never seem to string together a long enough stretch of practice and playing time without injuries sidelining him, Parcells had no choice but to cut him and give the RT job to Pettiti. It is kind of like if you have an employee who calls in sick to work all the time. You may like them and want to keep them, but if they don’t show up enough for you to even know if they can handle the job…how can you not replace them with someone who can? Hopefully Burnett can shake this streak of bad luck with the knee injuries and be the player we hoped for, but I hope the team doesn’t plan their LB depth based solely on that happening.

To hell with average…we’ve had that long enough at RT since Tui left.

I want Flo, LA + replacement, Bentley, Rivera + replacement, and Backus/Runyan + replacement.

Bentley + Runyan is gonna cost ~$7 – $8 mil against the cap. LA gets restructured to get the total net under $5 m. 2 draft choices plus either Colombo or Peterman blossoming.

Add t.o. and we’re the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

;)

Sterling,

Wasn’t it you and EricR that were carping on Brady James last year in training camp and throughout the first part of this season?

I did forget about Burnett’s minor back surgery, but he played through it. Not well, but not bad either. Rogers wouldn’t play through pain, a whole different animal and his injuries were systemic. Unfair analogy.

My point is you can’t give up on him. ILB won’t be a huge priority. Now OLB?

I’ll take one second day flier, a healthy Thornton and Singleton/Fujita to create a nice rotation. Add huge improvement by James and Ware and we are more than adequate at the position.

Best LB corps we’ve had since Doomesday.

I would love to get a guy like Bentley. I have said it before but the more i read into the CBA the more i feel that we won’t be signing many big money FA this year. JJ would love to sign someone like Bentley but only for like a 5-7 year deal so that the last maybe 2 years of the contract are the big cap hits. Also on Burnett i think he will be a good contributor this year but i don’t think he’ll be a full time starter. He might play the nickel alot but i don’t think he’ll be a full time starter. I still believe that we will draft an OLB with our 1st pick but it won’t be the 18th pick. We’ll probably trade down maybe 4-6 spots and still try and get a guy like Carpenter. From previous drafts OLB/ILB always fall come draft day. I mean Derrick Johnson as a 15th pick for the Chiefs was a steal. Johnson was a top 5 pick on all the mediots boards just like Hawk is this year but the fact is that OLB fall every year. I do think Hawk will go in the top 10 because alot of those teams picking in that are need a good OLB but i just can’t see in the 10-20 range guys like Greenway,Carpenter,Ryans and guys that have inproved their stock like Lawson and Wimbley all be taken in that range. Some of these guys will fall. My guess it’s Carpenter. Heck even though they suck at it the mediots all have Carpenter going to the Steelers at #32. I say trade down and get that 4th rounder we don’t have and still get Carpenter. Now if we went something other than OLB in the 1st round then we should have our pickins in the 2nd for a guy like Parhman.

Sterling
your argument to me sounds like exactly what i have been saying and going for Ayodele in FA. Not because we have given up on Burnett but because we just don’t know exactly what we got in him. He could be the next Bradie James in that he breaks out or he could be Jacob Rogers. We all saw what happens when you keep relying on often injured guys like Rogers we end up having to play a Rookie for a RT and strugle all year. I don’t want to strugle at such and important position in the 3-4 like LB. Sign a contingency plan. My choice and all of you know by now is Ayodele.

I would like us to sign Abraham and Bentley but I think they will both get the franchise tag.

I like Akin Ayodele. He is a good player for us because I think he can play OLB or ILB.

CKnight
my point exactly

Fighter15:

I don’t remember ever “carping” on Bradie James, ever. The guy was pressing Coakley for the starting job early in his career when Coakley was a perennial Pro Bowler. You must be thinking of someone else.

If you think a healthy Thornton with Singleton and Fujita will mean the team is “more than adequate at the position” or “the best LB corps since Doomsday”, all I can tell you is that your opinion is definitely in the minority. Also, if you are advocating re-signing both Singleton and Fujita, are you saying you don’t think the team should draft an OLB in the 1st round? If not, and you think a 1st round OLB is the way to go…then why would Singleton be retained? Either him or the 1st rounder would not be able to start…that makes no sense to me.

The analogy of Burnett and Rogers is not unfair at all. The question was not about if Burnett was in pain on the few occassions he did play, it was if he can overcome the bad luck he’s had with so many injuries in a short span of time and show the team that he is capable of being a starter someday soon. If he can’t, then the team is going to need someone else to be a starting ILB, it is that simple. The question is whether he projects more as a backup or a starter, and no one knows that yet because he hasn’t been able to stay free of injuries long enough.

I am confused by the way you place so much faith in a rookie to play ILB who hasn’t played enough due to injuries to even know if he’s good enough, but yet you advocate blowing the salary cap on Runyan, Bentley, and T.O.

Hey have you guys read the story about Ellis staying put. Here’s a scenario for you guys. How would you like this lineup. On 3rd and long and our nickel defense comes in. If Glover leaves
DL—Ellis-Canty-Spears-Ware
LB—Ayodele-James
DB—Glenn-Newman-Roy-Chaveous-Henry
with Roy blitzing. or say Ellis leaves.
DL—Canty-Glover-Spears-Ware
LB—Burnett-James
DB—Glenn-Newman-Roy-Demps-Henry
Glover and Ellis leaves via trade
DL—Abraham-Canty-Spears-Ware
LB—Carpenter-James
DB—Glenn-Newman-Roy-Hope-Henry
As you can see the constant names that come up are Canty,Spears,Ware,James,Glenn,Newman,Roy,and Henry. So that tells you that we need to draft or via FA an OLB/ILB,DE/DT,FS to make our defense in the nickel work.

CKnight,

I don’t think Bentley will be franchised. The problem I see in signing him is Cleveland. He is from Cleveland. Cleveland has more money than we do, and they’re supposedly interested in signing him.

JJ needs to get it done.

Fighter,

I agree with Sterling, there is no way we can count on Burnett next year or maybe ever. For the last 4 years he has been injured to some degree (at least 2 serious knee injuries) affecting his playing time. What possible cause for optimism can be gained from his past injury history?

The optimism comes from a second year player in the system that was first round talent with a year under his belt vs. a true rookie draft pick.

Carpenter is also injured, albeit a high-ankle sprain.

What makes ANY of the current top rated LBs in the draft a sure thing?

Too many other needs at other positions to give up on Burnett. Too many options currently on the roster.

However, I have pointed to OLB as a possible pick up in the draft…just not as a first day need.

Sterling:
I’ve been reading you posting time and time again that you don’t see Singleton be signed back… He’s not a Free Agent, he signed a 4 year deal in 2003 and this is his fourth and last year under contract in a rather low cap deal. I can definitely see him coming back and finishing his deal.

In other news:
I just read an article of Pat Kirwan at NFL.com, which is one of the guys that I respect the most when FA arrives, as he’s the most experienced member of the media in that mather (He earn several meals doing that in NY…), and he says that 3 players in which we have shown some interest are going to receive Franchise or Transition tags and they are: Steve Hutchinson, Reggie Wayne and LeCharles Bentley. He also points out 3 interesting players that will be available: Chris Hope, John Abraham and Julian Peterson.

I think he’s right on.

I wouldn’t give up on Burnette. He played well in one game this year, I think it was against the Cheifs. But I do agree we need a plan B just in case it doesn’t work out. Ayodele along with an early draft pick should do the job.

Fighter I think it was you that carped on James and Burnett being “dumb as rocks”…..not Eric or Sterling.

Chandus
I don’t know that the Saints are going to put the franchise tag on Bentley. If they do he will get paid as much as the top OT in the L,.

I know we all would like to get Bently but I give it a 5% chance of happening. He is going to get a huge deal. There are alot more teams out there (Cleveland, Pitt, Buffalo, NO) who would offer more money. Some people on here may thing C is more important than RT, but BP and JJ don’t think so. BP complained all year about a RT, and JJ has already said its a top priority. LA could get restructured, but hes still going to get alott of money.

We all know the O-line needs to be fixed, but we are not going to go out like Dan Synder and sign the top C and one of the top 2 T. We could win the Super Bowl in 06-07 but would be screwed for years to come. I still say sign Ashworth, draft Jean-Gilles, and sign the Okabi guy from Pitt. Then use another draft pick on an OLine, whatever the best prospect available is. JJ spent alot last offseason, he still needs a OLB, FS, possibly FB, maybe a blocking TE. He has to use the cap conservitly.

Knowing how BP goes about recruiting his old draft picks if there is a way to get Abraham he will find it. Althought I would not give up anything crazy for him maybe Glover & A 3rd round pick , the man is an animal. I watch the jets regularly here in NY & to see him on this Defense would be awesome. He would immediately become the dominate player on Defense!

we lost Nguyen……Singleton is over 30 and he is what he is…….Fowler, Shanle, Fujita, all look like role players. Burnett has two more years to develop he is a young guy with a lot of potential. I hope he picks up more than just special teams next year and is healthy. The bad thing about his injury is it keeps him out of the full offseason workout and muscle gain that would really benefit him. Remember what Parcells said of James after his first offseason……when he got here he couldn’tlift a thing…..or something to that effect. Plenty of us were calling for James to step up it was year 3 after all, and he did it after Dat went down…..the light bulb went off and we got ourselves a solid LB for the future and for now.

We still need a threat from the other side that keeps the TE to Ware’s side from ruining our pass rush. I think we could use an FA pickup at LB and a first day draft pick. This is a 3-4 defense…..compare our linebacker corp to any other team running the 3-4. New England? Pittsburgh? Our guys just don’t stack up…..Porter, Bruschi and others were not first rounders…….maybe Shanle sort of showed some flashes last year…..i just think with losing Dat……and with James and Ware as the only guys that were solid…..and Ware has plenty of room for improvement…..which I think happens…….you gotta throw another OLB in that mix.

Our Defensive line got a major upgrade last year……I think if you are running a 3-4 defense you are probably drafting a LB every year just about. It is the highest number of players at the key position in the most used defensive formation we will run. Bill made the switch……..he drafted for it….and he went into FA for it……he worked with Zimmer on it….and he ain’t stopping that move now…..and neither is Jerry.

OLB, ILB….draft or FA……..we need some more bodies in that mix. Another year under the belts of Canty and Spears…..along with Ratliff, Pepper and we should continue to improve at every position.

The other thing we need is a running attack. Give Drew Bledsoe and the offense 130 yards a game and the clock management and then let the defense play all out for 25 clock minutes……..and we will win the NFC East…..which is the first step to the SB!

Fighter15,

OK! Burnett is not ‘injury prone’. He just kinda gets hurt a lot.

Bad luck, maybe. Injury prone, no.

He seems to have had a lot of ‘bad luck’ lately. Many players don’t have as much ‘bad luck’ in their entire careers as Burnett had in 2005 alone.

Some players are plagued throughout their careers by ‘bad luck’. Courtney Brown and Fred Taylor come immediately to mind. We can only hope that Burnett’s ‘bad luck’ is a temporary phenomenon. It doesn’t make much difference that a player is a ‘stud’, if he spends the majority of his time in the hot tub.

My point is you can’t give up on him. …

I agree. It is much too soon for such talk. My point is, how much can you count on him?

… ILB won’t be a huge priority …

Perhaps not. But, when I look at the roster, I see James, Burnett, Shanle and Fowler. Only one of those players has proven himself as a quality starter in the NFL. Can the Cowboys rely on Burnett improving both his play and his durability? If he does, they are set. If he cannot, they are in deep trouble. Then, what if James gets hurt?

I suggest that the Cowboys don’t have a clue as to what will happen with Burnett. I predict they will act accordingly. That is, bring in at least one other player who can man the position at an NFL level.

How about this:

If we get John Abraham:
- Draft Ko Simpson and Kai Parham. Parham is our ILB and Burnett comes in for Abraham for more speed. Abraham can go play on the line in the nickel too.

If you sign Adoyele,
- Draft Carpenter and then Max Jean Gilles. Burnett Carpenter and Adoyele sets up the future LB corps.

I like Bently too especially after hearing the Saints might not tag him.
I have not heard Colombo mentioned alot.
I know in 2002 draft he went 1st rnd #29 to Chicago, and did well and then got hurt and now has rehabed. We took Gurode at 37 and the saints took Bently at 44 both in the 2nd in the same draft. Whats wrong with
Colombo/Petitie
Rivera/ Gurode
Bently/AJ
Allan/2nd rnd pick D. Cooledge
Flo/D.Cooledge
If he,s not their at 49 then both Joseph and Lutui could be and can both play the left side. worst case Tucker/Peterman as depth at LG
Parcells said he saw something in Tucker but sure as hell not as a tackle. Then we have 18 to use on BPA.
I would like to see as FA’s
Longwell, Bentley, and Hope
Draft
18 Carpenter SOLB
49 Cooledge LOG/OT
80 Oshinwno NT
Then if we could get a 4th i would take Thomas from UT as an H Back…of course if Vernon davis falls to 18 all this changes.

Fighter15:

Tony Dixon missed a lot of games his rookie year like Burnett did, but when he was able to get in the games he showed some potential. That is a similar situation to Burnett, and it also didn’t stop the team from drafting Roy in the 1st round the next year when they had even more pressing needs at other positions. How does that look in retrospect? Nobody gave up on Dixon, but they had questions about him, and although he came back and had a few strong years in Woodson’s place…look where he ended up. I truly hope Burnett recovers fully and plays to his potential, but with a defensive scheme that relies heavily on LB’s making plays to succeed, hope is too much to hang your hat on, IMHO.

Chandus:

I keep reading in a lot of places that it is a big question as to whether Singleton will be back with the team next year, like Ellis and Glover. Thank you for clarifying this though, as there is a big difference between cutting and re-signing a player in cap terms, although the net effect would be the same with the player no longer on the team. Since I don’t know if he would be viable trade bait, I am assuming he will have to either be cut, kept as backup depth, or that the team will be drafting for other positions in the 1st round. If he is ‘retained’, where will he play? Will he start at OLB in front of a potential 1st or 2nd rounder, or be used for depth and have his time reduced like Ellis and Glover? Would Parcells move him inside like James and start him there? I admit he would be a far better backup than Fujita at OLB…but is he worth the price to be a backup?

Also, I just read that Ellis’s agent and Parcells sat down and “had a talk that would really please his client.” Parcells told the agent Ellis would be playing more next season.

Remember the only reason we were able to draft guys like Burnette & Canty was because of their injuries. Canty seems fine & Burnette has been taking awhile to come around & now another set back. But if he was 100% at draft time we never would have been able to draft him. Give him time & he will come around.

The more I think about it the more I want John Abraham ! I hope BP can work something out ! Like I said earlier he would immed be our dominate player on “D”.

If we do get Abraham, he and Ware will each get 10+ sacks. How dominant is this defense:

DE Canty
NT Fergunson
DE Spears

OLB Abraham
ILB Parham/Burnett
ILB James
OLB Ware

CB Newman
CB Henry
SS Williams
FS Simpson

Jon,

That was Tucker. I just said James and Burnett weren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer and that they needed more time to learn the systems, but that defensive players didn’t need to be smart, just mean.

Lou c:

AWESOME !

Where do we sign !!!

Jon:

Good point about other 3-4 teams’ LB corps compared to ours. When you put it in those terms it makes me feel even more that a 1st/2nd round OLB and FA who can play ILB is the way to go. If the draft class wasn’t so thin at ILB I’d say draft one, but this year isn’t such a bumper crop. I also agree that once the decision to switch to 3-4 is made, they are going to have to draft at least one LB a year at some point in each draft.

Mr. Bill:

I agree totally. If we just compare the Tony Dixon/Roy Williams experience with the Jacob Rogers/Tucker-Pettiti situations it shows that it’s better to not count on a rookie with injuries being the answer at a position when you have an opportunity to solidify the spot with another player. It’s kind of a low risk/high reward situation.

Why is everyone forgetting Thornton?

I think he’s gonna be great.

is there some rumor mill on John Abraham or is it just a pipe dream like I had last year……still a fella can dream can’t he?

Every year a 2nd or 3rd year rookie steps up & shows he can play at this level. I agree Thorton also showed along with James that he can play at this level. Crayton was another until his injury set him back. This year I think Justin Beriault off his injury last year as well as Ratciff (who very much impressed me ) can also play in this league. And let`s not forget this was Zimmer`s 1st year with the 3-4. I think this year he will be alot more comfortable with this defense .

Jon,

Nothing this year yet linking him and Dallas. The teams that are supposedly interested are Wow what a shock Washington and KC. But last year there were alot of reports that had Abraham coming to Dallas. BP drafted him, he would be opposite Ware and rack up alot of sacks on an up and coming team, I think he said he would love to live in the Dallas area, and he would fit in perfectly at OLB in the 34 defense. Make it happen JJ!

Stoke those FA rumors folks. It looks like the free agent period is going to be pushed back three weeks. Gene Upshaw and the league are making slow progress towards a new CBA and want some extra time.

Good for everyone. I’d rather wait a little longer and keep the system rolling than blow it all up.

Jon:

I have not heard of any rumor on Abraham, but if he is not franchised by the Jets & we have the cap room it will be an option. Maybe not a feasible one but some of BP`s old players want to play for him. Maybe Abraham is one of them.

figher…..referring to somebody as not the sharpest knife in the drawer…..well that could be considered “carping.”

good point about Thornton…..he is forgotten…..although it might well be extreme optimism to say he is going to be great. Still he is a body in the linebacker corp…..he is an undersized converted DE with less speed and power than Ware….but I think the guy can definitely be player……but I still don’t see us on par with NE or Pitt at that crucial position to run this defense……..which has produced 5 of the last 6 Super Bowl winners with the only exception being a very talented Tampa defense. Kills Peyton Manning…every year….and i think you can add Baltimores 2001 Boulware and Ray Lewis to the list of better LBs than are on our staff currently. Potentially…..who knows.

Jesse NY:

I agree Thornton looked pretty good in college. I hope he shines out next season, that would be a very welcome scenario. So would Jacob Rogers coming back injury free and becoming a contributor at RT, but I am not going to count on that either. I’d think Parcells would be counting more on a 2nd round pick than an undrafted free agent.

Just out of curiosity…when did Thornton show he could play at the NFL level? He was riding the pine behind Singleton, Dat, and Coakley as a rookie, and I don’t recall seeing him in the 3-4 in any games last year. I must have gone to the fridge to get a beer when he was in the game.

He was hurt in preseason with an ACL injury that held him out all year I believe. But early in training camp I think I remember BP having good things to say about him.

Sterling:

After A very impressive rookie season we took A DE & made hime a LB. When BP switched to a 3-4 he took many players out of their positions.Before Thorton went out on IR he did show promise & off his rookie year I think he can play to this level. He has shown he can when he played DE. Between switching positions & being injured I think we can cut him just a little slack.
So go ahead & have another beer.

Just so no one thinks I am down on Thornton, I really do like him and from what I heard his rookie year he showed a ton of heart. I hope he becomes a contributor to the team and has a long career.

That is different than saying that the team should gamble on him being the future replacement for Dat Nguyen. Or that Burnett will be for that matter. They are both young guys with upside that have had serious setbacks at an early point in their career, but that doesn’t mean that they will or will not necessarily have a breakout year next season just because B-James did. Hopefully they will, but if the team goes into August with that mindset they are risking having to either make a trade or hope a better LB gets waived. Look what happened last year in camp with the Fujita situation because of injuries and none of the other guys were stepping up to fill the role. I’d rather see them fix it in the spring and be set on LB’s.

Jesse NY:

Too early for beer, and no football to watch anyway.

I’m all for cutting everyone slack. All of these guys will get their chance in training camp if they are healthy enough to play. As a fan, I think we all want to see this team put the best defense and players on the field as possible. Now I’m not saying we should run out and blow the cap on high priced FA’s, all I have advocated is to upgrade the LB corps, and especially to find a reliable replacement for Dat Nguyen. What’s wrong with that? The only difference we seem to have is that some people believe that two injured young players that have shown very little in the NFL to date will be able to get the job done despite switching positions. The rest of us believe that for the defense to be Championship caliber and for the 3-4 to be successful, we would like to see a bit more proven player at that position. That’s it. Dat’s gone…if Burnett or Thornton is the heir apparent, fine. I’m an optimist, but I’m also trying to be realistic.

For everyone that thinks Bradie James is dull knife, the man was an Academic All American at LSU. Sounds like a pretty sharp knife to me.

so was Burnette…….

Thornton showed promise as a rookie. We didn’t hear much about him last summer, because he was limited by injury. But, Parcells had plenty of good things to say about him in 2004. Thornton would seem to be a perfect fit for the 3-4. I also was impressed by Ryan Fowler, after he got extended playing time over the last couple of games. He spent a lot of time making plays in the offensive backfield. If we are lucky, both will prove to be solid players.

However, neither one of them has done enough over time to show that he is worthy of reliance. A couple of good games or a good summer, two years ago, is just not enough.

A team cannot stand its ground and rely on such players as starters for a contending team. Not if it can find qualified and reasonably priced alternatives. Players like Thornton and Fowler have to earn their playing time every year until they become established. As undrafted players, nothing will be given to them. That may be unfair, but it is the way the NFL works.