Free Agency Update

I think Abraham would be a great pick up opposite DWare. Bentley will surely be franchised.

It’s looking less likely that Glover and Ellis will both be on the team next year, but I would bet that Glover will be the one to stay, and Ellis will be gone.

With the sorry state of our offensive line, I don’t think Larry Allen will be going anywhere. JJ will pay him the money. He’s the anchor of the o-line.

No way we keep Glover with a cap hit of over $7 mil. Yet, a sign and trade deal would increase his value substantially.

Ellis at under $4 mil is still a decent bargain.

Don’t get me wrong, Glover is the better player, but in the Cowboys’ scheme, Ellis is the better fit. Not a good fit, but a better one.

At nearly $8 mil, LA will have to be restructured or released.

There are only 2 Jets I’m interested in, Fabini and Abraham. If BP signs Martin I will be pissed. The guy is way too old and can’t run anymore. I live in NJ and watched him play and hes really bad now.

The Glover issue I’m really up in the air about. We need Glover more than Ellis, but 7.5 mil to almost 4 mil is a huge difference. With Glover gone, what do you do at NT? Pepper Johnson is a nice pass rushing DT but we can’t rely on him. What if Fergie gets hurt? We’re screwed then, and the 3-4 goes out the door. The only NT that is a sure thing is Ngata, and we won’t get him. Watson is still a possibility because of his size, but we will have to wait for the combine to see.

i cant remember where but someone was interviewing curtis martin about the jets situation, and he said if released he would play for parcells in a second. i know we dont really need curtis but kinda thought how much respect his former players have for him.

“Donâ€â"¢t look now, but it seems increasingly possible that Abraham, and not LeCharles Bentley, will hit the market unfettered.”

So which is it? Just 12 hours before you said the opposite.

It will be very interesting to see what the Saints indeed end up doing with Bently. I am still not convinced they will franchise him. If they do they will have to pay him the average of the top 5 offensive lineman in football (not the top 5 centers). According to Raf, this amount is 7.0 million per year. In other words, they will have to pay what teams are paying the best left tackles in the league to their center. I am not specifically familiar with the Saint cap situation, but they have never struck me as a team that is willing to pay (yet a lone overpay) big bucks to its players. My guess is that they might be using the potential franchise as leverage to try and get Bently to sign a long term deal in the 5 million a year range. I for one would be willing for the Boys to spend that much (5 million) to lock up one of the best young centers in the game! I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens.

I’m extremely interested in this years draft. There are so many good players in different positions, positions that are concerns for the boys. I know there’s now way to know for sure, but does anyone have a good idea of who we will draft with our first pick? An OL, a S, that Vernon Davis guy, or maybe even a QB?

At 18, I think our choices are:

1. Michael Huff (proly gone)
2. Winston Justice (proly gone)
3. Vernon Davis (proly gone)
4. Bobby Carpenter
5. Ko Simpson
6. Chad Greenway
7. Santonio Holmes
8. Jon Scott
9. Marcus McNeil

I would have to say after 5 or 6 we trade down. I am pretty positive that Cutler and Ngata will be gone, and for sure Fergunson will be gone.

If we trade down, the rest of my choices goes like this:

10. Manny Lawson
11. Max Jean Gilles
12. Gabe Watson
13. Nick Mangold
14. Chad Jackson
15t. Kamerion Wimbley
15t. Sinorce Moss

Theres alot of talent there too, mid to early second round. Add in guys like Charles Spencer, Kai Parham, and Eric Winston, and I think we should def stockpile 2nd and 3rd round picks.

Sinorice Moss is Santana Moss’s bro right? Hehe wouldn’t it be great if we drafted him? gettin’ beaten by ur lil bros team…it’s classic

DJRun:
For all the reasons for which we have stated for us to sign Bentley he could be franchised, he’s just too good and young. The franchise tag can be placed just to give the Saints more time to sign him long term, they have the cap space to sign him to the tag, why wouldn’t you do it?

Vincent Brown was just signed as our ILB coach and Pasqualoni as overall LB coach…thus rounding out the D staff.

So what does that mean for Lee and who is going to coach TEs? Also missing a quality control guy.

I like the bringing in of Brown, a former ILB in the 3-4 defense for something like 8 years. Pasqualoni moves to OLB and overall LB’s coach where he is better suited.

The way I see the needs on our team and how would I address those:

OT
This is off course the biggest need as Parcells and Jones last year were caught with their pants down as their most

consistent player, the one that hadn’t been injured once in the last 7 years, went down with a season ending injury and they

just had 2 other OT’s in the roster, one being a 6th Round rookie at RT with no College experience in the right side and the

other a bellow average RT. Last season you can make a case out of the team not singing a veteran at the position, as it’s

been writen before, Dallas had Jacob had Rogers to count for the position and he did looked good before his injury and the

only FA’s (Kareem McKenzie, Oliver Ross and Jonas Jennings) that may have been enough to challenge him in Training Camp and

beat him where to expensive if you take into consideration that Parcells was already looking to make 3 big signings already.

This season they need to make at least one signing.

How do I see the need being addressed?
Jason Fabini seems to be the front runner for the job, at least in my eyes, as he has experience working under Parcells and

because he doesn’t have as much thread on his tires than Runyan as he has only played 7 full seasons in his body. Other

options: Tom Ashwort, Jeff Backus (if Martz allows him to walk), LJ. Shelton and Kevin Barry.

OLB
I’m not saying that Dallas needs a SSLB because if Ware truely gets to 260 pounds he could become that player, and WSLB would

be filled by another player (John Abraham?). If Dallas doesn’t go the FA route they could Draft Carpenter and they wouldn’t

need to move Ware, but if they don’t manage to take their hands on Carpenter and they do in another tweener, then look again

for the move. Both, Fujita, Singleton and Thornton would mean ideal and low cost depth for the summer, with the winners

taking the backups jobs.

How do I see the need being addressed?
I think that Abraham will be available as the Jets won’t be capable of taking 30 millions out of their payrolls, if they take

Fabini and Abraham’s big chunks of cap space and they restructure some deals they will be fine and they could even sign Law

back. The fact that we could see Greenway and Carpenter gone by the 18th pick add more punch to this signing (Of the teams

drafting ahead of Dallas Oakland, San Francisco, St. Louis, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Minnesota have LB as a need and

Greenway and Carpenter should be high on their Draft Boards). Other options: Julian Peterson, Tommy Polley, Carpenter

(Draft-1st Rd.), Akin Ayodele, Greenway (Draft-1st Rd.), Kamerion Wimbley (Draft-2nd Rd.), Thomas Howard (Draft-2nd Rd),

Spencer Havner (Draft-2nd Rd.), Stanley McClover (Draft-2nd Rd.), Gerris Wilkinson (Draft-3rd Rd.) and Roger McIntosh

(Draft-3rd Rd.).

K
Not much to say about this need, just that it’s huge.

How do I see the need being addressed?
Longwell’s the perfect mix of bang for the bucks. Other options: Vinatieri, Vanderjagt and Matt Bryant. Josh Brown and Joe

Nedney seems to be retained by Seattle and San Francisco.

OG
Behind LA you would find Peterman, behind Rivera you would find Gurode. There’s lots of room for improvement there,

especially if LA isn’t signed to an extension that would lower his contract demands and if Rivera doesn’t change our

conceived opinion of his level of play. I won’t carve this in stone, but look for a 4 year contract extension in Allen’s deal

that basically would be a 2 year deal and for a resemblance of the Rivera of Green Bay, not in that level, but alot better

than the Rivera we saw last year.

How do I see the need being addressed?
Stephen Neal of NE and Montrae Holland are certainly interesting, but in FA other needs should be addressed instead. Then you

look to the Draft and you see lots of talent between Rounds 2 and 3. Max Jean-Gilles is the best of the bunch followed

closely by Charles Spencer, both look prepared for the NFL and that’s the main reason for which I’m starting to believe that

both may be gone for pick 50. If one of them slips, I’ll jump at him, else look for: Davin Joseph (2nd Round), Jason Spitz

(2nd Round), Taitusi Lutui (3rd Round) and Kevin Boothe (3rd-4th Round). Don’t start yelling if Spencer or Gilles are still

on the board and Dallas picks Joseph or Spitz, as they bring value that neither of those guys bring as they could be backups

to other positions, Joseph can play Tackle and Spitz C.

FS
Can Dallas live another year with Roy Williams and Keith Davis starting? Yeah, it wouldn’t be flashy and they would make for

some more headaches, but they would be limited again for lots of cover-two and Williams is great while he’s near the Line.

Upgrade is necessary if you’re planning to play Williams closer and I want to see him closer, so signing one of the top

safeties in coverage is a huge upgrade for the position. Beriault has to recover first to even be accounted for a backup job,

practice squad seems more probable right now as we haven’t heard anything from his progression.

How do I see the need being addressed?
Chris Hope is the best guy in coverage in FA, he managed to have more tackles and interceptions even when his fellow Safety

was allowed to roam the field and to look to the backfield and you know? That’s huge. Other options: Will Demps, Corey

Chavous, Ko Simpson (Draft-1st Rd.), Daniel Bullocks (Draft-2nd Rd.), Jason Allen (Draft-2nd Rd.), Donte Whitner (Draft-2nd

Rd.), Anthony Smith (Draft-3rd Rd.), Roman Harper (Draft-3rd Rd.) and Pat Watkins (Draft-3rd Rd.).

FB
Polite has room for improvement as a FB, hands of stone can’t be softened. That’s quite a predicament.

How do I see the need being addressed?
You can address this in two ways, signing a more complete FB or leaving FB as it is. If there’s no signing then you can bet

that another TE will be added in the Draft, one in Witten’s mold, Witten can already play in the backfield imagine if you

have 2 that can do so and still get open and catch. Whoa! Days of no sleep for D Coordinators. If you sign a FB, that’s a two

horse race between Fred Beasley and Jonathan Wells.

C
If the play of the players by his sides improves, the Center becomes a better player, if he gets stronger, the Center becomes

a better player. That should be taken as gospel for Al Johnson after his first full season of work under center. He can play

in the shotgun, he’s effective while pulling and can dominate when he isn’t facing top competition. I could see a move being

made if a scenario comes to pass.

How do I see the need being addressed?
What would happen if a team like Denver that has a really old Center in Johnson’s mold offers Dallas a 4th Round pick for

him, I would pull the trigger and I’d sign the 2nd best C available in FA, Justin Hartwig. If there’s no offering, I pass.

ILB
Just like FS, can Dallas live with a combination of Bradie James, Kevin Burnett, Ryan Fowler, possibly Singleton and Scott

Shanle inside? Yes, they would, but it wouldn’t be flashy, and you can have better if the price is right.

How do I see the need being addressed?
Exactly what’s the type of players that you would be looking for the right price of player? A player that went through

several injuries and comes from a low production season? A player that was a career backup until the starter went down

injured? You can find 2 players that fill those descriptions and both have played in 3-4 schemes, the first is Kendrell Bell

who had a sports hernia while in Pittsburgh that took too much to heal and they cutted him and he wasn’t physically prepared

for this past season, the second is Bart Scott of Baltimore who was a career backup until this past season when Ray Lewis

went down.

TE
Just like FS and ILB, we can live with what Dallas has, but there’s an added variable, the FB situation, if no FB is signed a

TE has to be signed and still a TE could be signed if one is high on the Draft Board in the 3rd, 4th or 5th Rounds. In FA

there’s no value, but the Draft is crowded.

How do I see the need being addressed?
The only thing that could change is how high would Dallas pick a TE, if they don’t sign a FB they could look in the 3rd Round

and they would find Klopfenstein, Garrett Mills, Cooper Wallace and Tim Day. If Dallas indeed signs a FB, they could grab in

later rounds the one that falls or you could also name David Thomas, Anthony Mix and Troy Bienemann.

DT
This depends on the status of Glover, if he’s on Parcells plans then this isn’t a need, if a desperate team throws a 3rd

Rounder for him his departure brings a need.

How do I see the need being addressed?
In FA you can find proven talent and low cost, the guy that jumps at me the most and that has those caractersitics is Justin

Bannan of Buffalo. Other options (but much more expensive): Ryan Pickett, Ma’ake Kemoeatu and Willie Whitehead.

If Dallas walks out of FA with:
OT – Jason Fabini
OLB – John Abraham
ILB – Bart Scott
K – Ryan Longwell

Then I would look in the Draft for:
1st Round – FS – Ko Simpson
2nd Round – OG/OT – Davin Joseph (Dallas trades down to the 60’s and gets a 4th rounder in return)
3rd Round – TE/FB – Garrett Mills
4th Round – WR – The one of Auburn that’s still in the board, Obomanu or Aromashodu.
5th Round – C/G – Patrick Ross
And from there depth.

Dang, my note pad made all that I wrote look like s#!t….

billy cundiff was signed by tampa today so thank the lord we wont be seeing him again….

Good work Chandus. I agree with pretty much all your conclusions. Even if all they got in FA was Fabini, Abraham, and a solid kicker I think that the team would be an immediate Super Bowl contender. Add a guy like Scott or Bell inside, Chavous at FS, and the defense would be tops in the league.

if anyone is curious on teams salary heres a link to them, i found it kinda interesting

http://www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/numbers.asp

Chandus,

I don’t like your draft at all. IMO, you have Dallas taking a bunch of players projected to go a bit later than where the Boys would select them. … Although I think you are right about LB needs and Carpenter and Greenway getting drafted before our selection at 18.

mike:
It seems that Dallas would just have 2 millions of cap space for this FA, as a mather of fact that website takes into consideration that the salary cap next year will be of 92 millions, now it’s expected to be around 94, so Dallas would have as of now 4 mills to work with.

Dallas is going to cut Ogbogu, that’s nearly a million as he’s an 8 year old veteran working for the minimum, that makes for 5 millions.

Then you find that Allen’s going to make 7.55 mills this season so one of two things are in his path, the first one and the most likely is a contract extension, probably a 4 year deal that would be basically a 2 year deal that would pay him more than what he would have made in this year, something like a 12 mills deal with 5 millions of bonus and most of that cap charge located in the last 2 years, that would make him a 2 to 3 mills charge this year and that would free at least 4.55 mills and that makes for 9.55 mills in cap space.

Then it’s Glover’s turn, if a team wants to trade a 3rd Rounder before the opening of Free Agency he will be shipped, if no one is willing then, look for Dallas to pay the roster bonus and then trading him for at least a 3rd Rounder, that would free 5.8 mills and that makes up for 15.35 mills in cap space.

I can also bring Keyshawn Johnson as he wants an extension, he’s scheduled to earn 3.6 mills this year, let’s say he gets a 3 year extension that pays him 3 mills a year, I think that he would be happy and that adds .6 mill for a total of nearly 16 mills.

And if you want to add more cap space, I could mention rescinding Ellis and Singleton’s deals which would free at least 4 millions more for a grand total of 20 mills, enough to sign at least 2 big FA’s, 4 mediums and the rookie pool.

Eric:
Simpson is the 2nd best Safety, he’s probably the main target of San Diego and they own the 19th slot and do I need to mention that I don’t see Huff at 18th? Now, if Dallas can trade down out of the 1st Round, take another second and change and another 1st Rounder for next year I’m up for it and I’d select with the new 2nd Rounder Bullocks but with a Draft like this one, as in a great depth Draft, I don’t see many team willing to trade up for a player that has 1 or 2 close competitors, which is the case of Safety, TE, OT, CB and OLB. Unless Cutler falls to 18th, I don’t see that kind of trade.

Then I’ll defend the Davin Joseph selection, he has lots of value for a top 60 pick, in fact he’s mentioned as the 62nd player in Scott Wright’s top 100 and do I need to mention that players that can play LG, RG and RT are in vogue?

I won’t defend the rest of the picks, because truely I don’t see those coming to fruiction, that was just for fun.

did anyone look at our precious website?there’s an article in there by nick eatman[don’t expect cowboys to dabble in qb frenzy]with 2 unproven and untested qb’s you could make a strong case for the cowboys needing to think about our future at qb,like i’ve been trying to say for the longest and all i hear is,who is the savior?like i said before all we’ve done is bring in 2 has beens and roll the dice because they give us the best chance to win and parcells wants to win now.but what happens when bp leaves no qb start from scratch with no clue who it is going to be.the article also states parcells is not going to start from scratch with a new qb.so what happens when he leaves and bledsoe?he should have started from scratch when he came in too late now,we pray and hope bledsoe gets it done or this team is doomsday at this position until we decide to find a franchise qb.and no i don’t have an alternative nobody does.where’s my boy aw!!

So you’re leaning on Nick Eatman now for personnel expertise, biz?

That speaks for itself.

no iam not i needed someone to finally justify what i’ve been trying to say.you’re more of an expert than i am you should have known this.

no one ever disagrees with you as far as i can see.

If all the other team needs get taken care of through FA and the early rounds of the draft and Henson bombs in Europe, then I wouldn’t mind seeing the Cowboys use their 5th round pick on Drew Olson from UCLA. I watched him play a lot, and he is an extremely accurate and underrated QB who I think is intelligent and talented enough to be very successful in the NFL with the right team.

I am not exactly sure why he is projected to go so late in the draft, and maybe he won’t, but I think he will be the sleeper steal of this draft at QB. He isn’t too mobile and does take some sacks, so that may deter some teams from taking him. If he gets on the right team, I think he may have a career at least as good as Leinart’s in the end. He also looked very impressive in the skill competition, extremely accurate with a strong arm.

Sterling here’s Drew Boylhart profile
Strengths
Drew has good size and arm strength for the QB position. He throws the ball with good velocity and touch. He moves well in the pocket and is starting to show good toughness in the pocket. He is a pocket passer that throws well on the run, but thatâ€â"¢s not his strength. Drew is another QB that is making much better decisions on the field this year and along with his growing confidence, is starting to become a respected leader.

Needs to Improve
In the past, Drew has had happy feet in the pocket after he took a couple of hits. He has shown a lot of improvement in this area this year, but still has a way to go to prove to his teammates that this will not be a problem in the big games against big time talent.

Bottom Line
I like this kidâ€â"¢s improvement in his overall play and toughness this year. I still think that he will always have a problem being a little squirmy in the pocket, but if a team that uses the west coast offense (WCO) drafts him, then heâ€â"¢ll be just fine and even flourish. He has the talent and the brains to be an excellent WCO QB. He has the arm strength and accuracy needed and he should like the precise techniques that are required of a QB in the WCO system. The reason why I think the WCO is the system for Drew is because that system gets the ball out of the QBâ€â"¢s hand quickly and uses precise drops and steps and rhythm that a player like Drew should flourish in. If the wrong team drafts him, he will struggle. There are a lot of QBâ€â"¢s that have problems with staying in the pocket and getting hit and then coming back on the very next play and standing tall. It is not easy. The difference in Drew and the others is his accuracy, velocity and intelligence. My belief is that he fits the WCO system like a glove, but may struggle in a vertical game system. I like this kidâ€â"¢s game. I think he can have a hell of a career at the next level. He has an intelligence about his game that is similar to Montana when he came out.
 
by Drew Boylhart THR
 November 2005

biz:

Perhaps if you state your feelings about Bledsoe and Parcells, etc. in a less visceral and bitter tone people might want to discuss the matter further. No offense, but we are all aware of the QB situation, and most of us don’t find it nearly as alarming as you do. If you want to discuss the future, then make some suggestions, don’t just call Bledsoe names and complain about his agility, that was already a topic all last summer and after the 2nd Redskins game. I have read people that advocate trading for Matt Schaub from the Falcons, so there is one suggestion…think of others if you want to. I think it would be a bad deal, but who knows. If all you want to do is complain about things though…well, maybe you could help the Cowboys cause more by going to a Redskins blog and writing the things you do about Bledsoe but change the name to Brunell instead. Stir up the Skins fans about a QB controversy with Campbell or Ramsey. Around here, most of us see more pressing matters this offseason.

TM:

That description fits the player I have been watching to a tee. I think he will be a gamer at the NFL level with the right coach and team, and most likely a late round steal. Now the question is if the Cowboys will want to use a draft pick on another QB if Henson doesn’t pan out in Europe, or do they look to Romo down the road to step into the role eventually?

biz,

I agree that Dallas should look into adding a QB of the future. But in Parcells defense who has been available the past two years? … Who is available this year? Parcells has done a good job simply to upgrade that position, and like I have been saying all along … only the coaches really know how well Romo nad Henson have been developing. …. If a QB like Croyel falls to us in RD #3, I think Parcells and company will think long and hard about selecting him, especially if they are not pleased with the other two. …. If your idea is to trade up to grab someone, then no thank you! Not now! There is so much more to a team then just the QB. ….. My thinking is take a shot this year in the low to middle rounds if the right guy falls to us, other than that look for a QB early in next year’s draft (I like Drew Stanton or Brady Quinn better than any of the QBs in this year’s class). We may also be able to shop around because in my opinion it seems as if teams are giving up on young QBs too early these days. So if Brees, Harrington, or Carr becomes available, they may be able to thrive under better coaching, and give Parcells another option for the QB of the future.

….. But everyone seems to give up on players we haven’t seen much of. Some positions take time to develope and some players are stuck on the bench for a few years before they get their chance. Romo, Henson, Peterman, etc. lets cut them all some slack before we send them off. I wouldn’t want to become a developemental squad for the other 31 NFL teams.

Sterling
You would make a great profiler. Boylhart is the best I have found. His evaluates film of all the players and has a good football perspective.
As to Romo or Henson who knows bill is the only one who gets to see them play but I say we have to fix the O-line first before any quaterback evaluation can be done. IMO Bad o line was the excuse for “Q” and Hutchinson getting second years and it’s still not fixed. As far as Qb is concearned I am happy with Bledso, alot of other teams would love to have him. As JJ said he was the FA which allowed them the time to build the team. I think the O line will be fixed this year and we draft a QB next year.

eric r finally someone other than aw finally agrees that we need to address this position.no i don’t think they should trade up,they have other positions they need to fill.i agree with brady quinn.even i’f they could get someone like leinart, i’m not totally convinced with the team thay had a loy of qb’s could have put up those numbers.harrington in the right system other than detroit you are right could blossom.i think they are going to have to make a decision in san diego with brees and rivers.but again we’re going to have to get through this era in dallas to give us a chance to find our own qb instead of picking up guys other teams don’t want.

biz:
As Sterling and Eric have commented, I would also want to have a backup to groom, but they’re also right, who’s that guy? In this FA you could find a decent backup like Ramsey or McCown, but they’re going to get paid much more than what a backup makes and I just can’t see them sitting Bledsoe, even with all his inmovility, there’s no way, even if you say there is because you’re biased. And the money spent on one of them would make impossible the signing of a contributor on Defense or in Offense. Then, do I see a QB being Drafted, I just can’t see one that could be better in 2 or 3 years than Romo if they’re not named Leinart, Young or Cutler. Croyle and Whitehurst have serious flaws in their games, Croyle getting injured too much (like 2 torn ACL’s, torn labrum and one dislocated elbow) and Whitehurst being too inconsistent.

In another blog I mentioned that through his history Parcells hasn’t left a team with future at QB, he just hasn’t. And you know? Jerry Jones isn’t dumb, he knows that Bledsoe isn’t the future, he’s just a bridge. A darn good bridge according to his numbers.

In another blog I mentioned that through his history Parcells hasnâ€â"¢t left a team without future at QB.

tm who want’s bledsoe,who want’s to focus on one thing only for this guy and that’s all protection even with protection he holds the ball too long at times.we can do better we are a class organization and there is no reason we have not found a qb since aikman left.

Bledsoe is better next year than every QB in the draft class. The only way we get a QB is on Day 2 of the draft to be groomed. Bledsoe is our starter next year and will play the whole year barring injury. We were 7-3 with a healthy line, and talking about a playoff bye. Seems like he was doing his job.

But you have attacked Bledsoe’s numbers saying that those don’t say the whole story, what’s the whole story that he was sacked alot? That alot of those sacks came in in 2 and 3 seconds counts making it impossible for Bledsoe to even give the ball to a RB once? Had those sacks been limited, Bledsoe would’ve thrown for more yards making his stats fatter.

But you may be right, maybe next season Bledsoe bombs the team for 20 or 30 Interceptions and 50 sacks and Dallas can Draft Quinn. I would recommend for you to go to Las Vegas to make a huge bid on that happening.

I’m being sarcastic, of course. But you can go and bet.

Biz Big Picture
Baring injury Bledsoe will be our QB for two more years and in that time we will add the other catalytic players around him necessary to take us to a super bowl. Bills stubborn when it comes to vetran QB’s vs rookies.
I am not advocating rebuilding the O line to just protect Bledsoe but to keep any quarterback we are evaluating from being sacked before we get a chance to see him throw the ball.

chandus it ain’t gonna matter who you can get he ain’t gonna play we have to wait ti’ll this is over in 2 years.jerry is not dumb he just want’s to win but parcells is the man until he leaves we won’t know who our qb is going to be.and when he leaves we have to struggle to develop one unless you get somebody young with nfl experience that can step right in and do the job,if not then we’re going to have wait like we are know.i’ve never seen such a scramble at qb for this team in the last few years,yeah you can talk about hogeboom,pelluer,walsh,berleuin,carter,testaverde,bledsoe,those are all temp players we need a qb for the next 12 years stop messing around.i don’t think we’ve ever had a stretch like this at qb.

Maybe biz would like Randle El as our starting QB for 2006. Hey, the man’s really really mobile at least…

lou c you tell me what is going to happen when bp and bledsoe leave are we going to have a qb to step right in and keep this team in contention.no way absolutely not.

Biz,

How many teams have a QB that they are positive will play good for them for 12 years? Can you name me 3?

i know i am going to get hammered on this blog if bledsoe does good and we make the playoffs,but that doesn’t change the fact that what holds the future for the boys at qb,are we going to continue being mediocre because it’s been to long.and we need something to get excited about we are the class of the nfl.

colts,patriots,giants,

biz:

Three more teams for you:

Patriots, Steelers, Rams

What do they all have in common?

Pats: 2nd year, 4th round QB steps in and takes the team to a Super Bowl victory

Steelers: 2nd year, lower 1st round QB steps in and takes the team to a Super Bowl victory

Rams: 2nd year, former grocery clerk steps in and takes the team to a Super Bowl victory

See the pattern? You never know what can happen and how long it will take from the time a team puts a QB on the roster until they can win the big one.

I might also add that a dominant running game can make almost any QB a lot more effective.

sterling bledsoe got hurt that’s how the pats found that miracle,maybe he should get hurt here to.and i believe maddox got hurt and big ben stepped right in and never looked back.warner i believe they had no choice and it turned into look what i found,goes to show you,you never what you have sitting on your bench of course we will never know what’s sitting on our bench.hey bledsoe turned 34 yesterday!

sterling got to get to work tomorrow take it easy pal,good night.

Biz,

You said 12 years. Manning has played for 8 already. He is going to play for 20 years in the NFL? Brady 18?

Oh yeah, and what has Manning exactly proven to you? What happens when Tiki is gone? He isn’t a sure thing yet, so you can’t count him. Ben Rothlisburger is one, but its really hard to think of any others.

Eric R:

I agree with your point about giving guys enough time to prove themselves and not cutting them loose too soon. The only thing I wonder about is at what point have you seen enough? It varies by position, but the average seems to be around 3 to 4 years for early round draft picks who have been getting a some starts and playing time. Guys like Tony Mandarich, Heath Schuler, and Ryan Leaf come to mind. Quincy Carter got about 3 years, but I don’t know if he started all of those games until Parcells came. It’s obviously more difficult when the player is a backup, because some players don’t play well in practice but are good at gametime. Usually that’s what training camp, scrimmages, and the preseason is for, to figure out who belongs on the team and who the starters should be.

I understand what you mean about some players developing slower than others, or if they have an injury or something that slows their development. My thinking is that it is really hard to give a young player more than 4 years though, and that is if they were an early round draft pick. Late rounders and undrafted rookies should be more in the 2 to 3 range, depending on position and if they are showing signs of improvement and a strong work ethic. More than 4 years and you are starting to get into spending nearly half a decade on a guy who will likely be getting into his late 20’s and UFA anyway. Most men seem to come into their own physically, maturity, and talentwise around the ages of 25-27, and if they aren’t showing strong signs of getting it by then, well…odds are great they are in the wrong line of work.

We don’t even need to worry about a QB this offseason, the combine is coming up, who is everybody really interested in? I want to see Mario Williams, I think this guy could end up being the best player in the draft. I think he is that good. In 5 years, who will be the best players we look back upon? I think Bush will be a good one, AJ Hawk and Ngata will be real good, as will Michael Huff. DBrick should be a solid Pro Bowl LT.

Let’s take Sterling’s three scenarios, as they have been elaborated by biz:

1. Bledsoe suffers a serious injury, Brady takes over and shows he’s a star;
2. Maddox is injured, Roethlisberger shows he can play;
3. Trent Green has his knee blown out in a preseason game and Warner starts and stars.

We have three scenarios where veteran QBs are injured and players replaced them superbly. What we can call the “happy accident” scenario times three.

Okay, but in each instance, coaches who are revered — Belichick, Cowher and Vermeil, with five Super Bowl wins and seven appearances between them played their veterans until they had no choice.

In other words, they are doing exactly what Dallas is doing now.

Here’s the problem biz, you’re faulting Parcells for not playing an unproven kid over a proven veteran. What franchise does this? What coach does this, in this quick-trigger NFL, where coaches are fired if they don’t produce immediately?

By your reasoning, teams with solid veteran QBs should go ahead and bench them, because they might have better players carrying clipboards.

There are only 32 head coaching seats. Name me one coach who would risk his job to do it your way, when failing by playing the kid could be his last shot at a HC spot?

And while we’re at it, do you think Jerry Jones hired Parcells to draft a kid and take the long approach, after Campo’s three straight 5-11s? No! His statement when he hired Parcells was that they were both getting older and wouldn’t have many more shots at getting back to the Super Bowl.

I’m sure he’s just as gung ho to win now as Parcells is, if not more.

An why are you so worried about the Cowboys’ status in 2009 or 2010? It’s 2006. Don’t you care at all about this season? Or next? Dallas has all that time to find another QB, if they don’t already have him.

Have you thought that perhaps the team is pleased with Romo’s progress and feels he’ll be ready when Bledsoe’s done? That maybe this is why the team isn’t panicking to find another signal caller, as you clearly are?

The question of who the Cowboys next QB will be is so 2004/05. Happily (to most of us), that question has been decided. When I think back to all the doubting, complaining and grief Bledsoe took last summer by some on this blog and in other media venues, all I can say is that he far surpassed the predictions of all the doomsayers.

Many more things to look forward to in 2006. If this team obtains the services of a kicker and RT through FA in this offseason that play even close to as well as Bledsoe did last year we will all be celebrating this time next year.

lou c:

If Abraham leaves the Jets I wonder if the Jets might take Williams instead of Ferguson, what with having a defensive minded coach and all. Kiper says Williams is the next Julius Peppers.

Rafael:
Yeah, I don’t think that this guy is saeeing the big picture, this past season Bledsoe was forced to throw more and longer because his running game didn’t clicked, the plan is to run in 1st down, run in 2nd down and run in 3rd down if the stick is close. And then if the Defense starts jamming the box to stop the running game, Bledsoe can pass and nearly all of us saw how good is he when he does that.

Ball control and playmaking Defense is Parcells plan and he’s getting near to completion, just another good round of Free Agency and Draft!

BTW, saw your comments on not reading much on the comments made by the agent of Ellis, I can’t avoid to be interested as Dallas last year would have made it a little better if in certain games had the Defense changed to a heavier package in the middle, meaning front 4 as Shanle wasn’t ready for all the action going around him.

I remember hearing that Parcells wanted to bring in the 3-4 because that would add a much more flexible Defense as he would also play front 4’s. How much flexible a Defense can be if they play the 3-4, 42 and 4-3? Hell! If they sign the guys that I want they could even play the exotic 2-5 NE used in Super Bowl XXXIX.

biz is winning,

You want us to bring in a quarterback to develop, yet you ignore the ones we already have.

Once again, we already have two young quarterbacks that we are developing. Their names are Henson and Romo. Once again, I will point out that if Bill Parcells truly did not want to develop a quarterback, or if he thought they were both worthless, Parcells would have brought in at least one VETERAN quarterback to provide a more stable backup over the last two years.

Whether we draft a quarterback or not will most likely depend on how Henson shows in Europe. If he resembles Chad Hutchinson, we will probably draft a quarterback, and Henson will go bye-bye. If, however, he does well, we probably won’t draft a quarterback before the 6th round, if then.

Chandus:

Great point about Ellis and if the Cowboys had shown more 4-3 sets toward the end of the year. I wrote that very same thing before the Chiefs, Giants, and Redskins games. When you’ve got guys like Glover and Ferguson…why not put both of them on the field at the same time with Spears/Coleman and Ellis on the ends? That seems like it would be a lot more difficult defense to open holes against, and with James at MLB and Roy swarming in I think that defensive front would have done better against those RB’s. If nothing else it might have bought the LB’s and Roy an extra half second to converge on the ball carrier.

I still think losing Dat Nguyen was at least as big a blow to our Defense as losing Flo was to the other side of the ball. Not only was he a banger in the middle, but he was a great leader on the field as well.

Drew Bledsoe has the second best season EVER for the Dallas Cowboys (Yds). Until Flo went down, he was on pace to shatter the record.

He was first alternate to the Pro Bowl.

He had the most TDs since ‘92, tying Aikman’s season high.

All this behind the two worst tackles in the NFL the last half of the season.

He’s signed for two more years…he’s our QB now. Henson is going on his third training camp. We’ll see if he makes the progress. If he does, he’s our future. If not, we’ll get someone next year.

But shelve the Bledsoe argument. It’s a moot point.

Just ignore biz. He is a fanatic that only listens to what he wants to hear.
Bledsoe did fine as long as he had decent (not great) protection. If we can do that again and get a good running game going we will be scoring 24 points a game and controlling the clock. that would make us a real contender- especially if we fix the couple of holes on D.

Bledsoe had the top QB rating in the NFC before Flo went down with injury.

burmafrd, sterling and fighter15,

I left my question unanswered, but there was a team last year that followed biz’ wishes to the letter. They said Bledsoe was worthless, cast him out and played the unproven kid who they just knew was better than “he can’t do anything” Bledsoe.

And how did that work out for the Bills?

J.P. Losman finishes with a 63 rating, is benched in favor of Kelly Holcomb…

and Mike Mularkey loses his job as HC.

Yeah, this is precisely the model we should be following.

People on this site make me laugh talking about Bledsoe. I know he is a cowboy now but come on. I would like to know what people thought of him before he came to us? I thought he sucked ok maybe not sucked but I thought he would be able to take a team to the next level and I still think that way. When JJ made that trade with the bills for their first round pick I bet everybody here was happy thinking Bledsoe suck so its going to be a high pick. Now that he is here he can do no wrong with you guys. I don’t care about Bledsoe’s number because a lot of qb had better numbers than Aikman but not a lot of qbs have this three rings. Bledsoe is not going to get any better for him to lead us anywhere everybody else need to get better. I would love for Bledsoe to sit out a game or two to see what the other guys can do. I think Bledsoe need a great line and playmakers around him because he is not a playmaker himself. I don’t see a great line nor do I see a playmaker. The wrap on Bledsoe is nothing new guys. I guess people thought him taking sacks and being dump by two other teams was crazy talk and now all that is gone. I hope I’m wrong about Bledsoe but nothing has suggest that I am in his past. We had a bad line it wasn’t the worst line. Aikman even pointed it out that he need to get the ball out of his hands quicker but he is not going to do that. That why I think we need a playmaker at WR to get open quicker. That why I think JJ running style does not fit what Bledsoe needs.

raf
The bills made the right pick. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to take a few steps forward. Bledsoe wasn’t going to take the bills anywhere. In his last year there he cost them a trip to the playoffs. He played bad at the end of the season. In the last game of the season they played Pitt and Pitt was resting some of their starters and he couldn’t come through for them. And yea the bills let him go and they took a step back the Pats let him go and they won two more super bowls.

aw
Give him a shot behind a good healthy ofensive line. Kurt Warners ability can easily be compared to Bledsoes and Kurt Warner won a SB. The Cowboys have a shot at having a much better D than the Rams did. I do agree we need another playmaker on offence, that is why I would try to get Vernon Davis.

aw
Give him a shot behind a good healthy ofensive line. Kurt Warners ability can easily be compared to Bledsoes and Kurt Warner won a SB. The Cowboys have a shot at having a much better D than the Rams did. I do agree we need another playmaker on offence, that is why I would try to get Vernon Davis.

Losman sucked not a little but alought. I would rather have Bledsoe any day.

Cknight
What was the story on Bledsoe with the Pats? what was the story with the bills? He takes sacks, he can’t move around and he can’t take you to the next level. So what is going to be his story here???? To me Bledsoe needs too much for us to win and I don’t think we can give him every thing he needs to win. He needs a great line not many of those in the NFL a lot of good line but not a lot of great lines. He needs a power rb( we don’t have this) he needs a playmaker at WR( we don’t have that) He needs a great d( we are on our way with that) People are going to say who doesn’t need all of this? Not all QB need a great line all need a decent line. On some teams the playmaker is the QB( Bledsoe is not a playmaker). I think Bledsoe would be a great back up.

AW, put aside your hatred and TRY to be sensible. Bledsoe does NOT need a great line. Try and stop LYING.
If he has a good line he can do even better then he did with us before Flo got hurt. try and face some facts sometime- it might help the people here take you seriously. Right now most just read your posts and roll their eyes.

Just came out over ESPN.
Ernie Stautner has passed away.
RIP Ernie.
Tom now has the Defensive Line coach for that great team in the sky.

aw,

You’re certain the bills made the right move? Positive. 100%

Okay, so you think Dallas should just announce tomorrow that Romo is going to start this year so they can find out if he’s the guy? come on, put your money where your mouth is.

and what do you think the reaction would be from the press and most of the fans? How many would be calling for Parcell’s head?

And you then have to answer the biz question. do you think Dallas should have drafted Losman in ‘04 and just stuck him into the starting lineup? Cause that’s what you’re saying.

and don’t put words in anybody’s mouth. Who here has said Bledsoe is the greatest thing since sliced bread? Nobody. What I’m saying is that he’s good enough to win. And I stick by that. He’s led a team to a Super Bowl, something Peyton Manning can’t claim.

burmafrd
Open your eyes. Because I am one of the few here that can see a player for what he is no matter if he is a cowboy or not. Just because Bledsoe is a cowboy now doesn’t make me forget about his past and what I thought about him before. I hope Bledsoe can win here I just see it for what he is. His history doesn’t not suggest otherwise.

raf
Fist of all I list things that Bledsoe needs to win here. I said before when Bledsoe first got here the number one priority should have been the line as it still should be. I said I would like to see Bledsoe sit a couple of games I didn’t say Romo should be the starter. Yes I do think we should have drafted a qb already but its easy to say we should have drafted this guy and not that guy now. How JJ has handled the qb situation is sad. And who is putting words in people mouths. I just don’t see Bledsoe as the answer with this current team , that can change if the needed parts are added. Yea Bledsoe lead a team to the super bowl and that team dump him for nothing. You can stay the bills made a mistake but dumping him and you say the Pat made a smart move by dumping him. But at the end of the day they both dump him for the same reason…..And its a reason that has not changed.

Didnt Bledsoe bring the Pats to the SB? How can he not take a team to the next level then? He has a winning record in the playoffs, despite not great numbers. Oh yeah, and for all those “statue” people out there, do some research. More than HALF of his sacks came in the final 5 games!! We all know Petiti and Tucker sucked and didnt care in those 5 games, and most were when we were down bigg. Give him a RT, Flo back, and maybe a C, and watch out. If he stays healthy, and we get a good RT and the line stays healthy, HE WILL GO TO THE PRO BOWL. You can write it down right now.

The Bills made the right move? Even they know it was stupid! Marcus Spears and Julius Jones, or JP Losman? The Bills fans hate this guy, hes horrible. And heres on for aw, if the Bills made the right move drafting Losman, they could have waited until the 3rd round and gotten Matt Schuab, everybodys favorite backup who everyone thinks will be a star. They made a bad move, a real bad move, that helped our franchise and I love it.

Sterling,

Yeah its like asking the Jets, would you rather draft Orlando Pace, a high pick who is a pro bowler and prototypical LT, or Julius Pepper, a #4 pick who gets double digits sacks and wrecks havoc on the QB? Thats a tough call, who would you pick? I would have to go with Peppers, or Mario Williams, and team him up with Shaun Ellis.

Yeah aw they dumped Bledsoe…they actually had Tom Brady in the wings already with a SB ring and they got a 1st round pick for Bledsoe.

aw
It’s alought harder to find a super star QB than to fill in the peices around a QB to make him succeed.(Kurt Warner)Bledsoe did take the Pats to the SB. Ben Roethlisberger’s don’y come sround every day. I beleive Bledsoe can do the job. Who knows maybe Romo can to, but don’t waste away 2 regular season games to find out.

I’m surprised no one is mentioning Trent Dilfer “leading” the Ravens to a Super Bowl. We don’t absolutely need a dominant quarterback. It’s a definate plus of course, but a serviceable one such as Bledsoe will do just fine. Lets shore up this offensive line and our linebacking core, add a ball hawking free safety to boot and i think we’re solid (I forgot who mentioned it first but i’m starting to like the sound of this pat watkins guy- 6’4 yikes!) . Let’s get that #1 defense tag again this year and i’ll be pretty happy.

aw
Did Kurt Warners history suggest he could play in the NFL, let alone win a SB??? NO. Bledsoe has had far more success in his past than Warner did before he won the SB. Give him a chance to succeed behind a decent O-Line. The guy wants to win bad, has a huge arm and he never gives up. He might not be Roethlisberger, but I can compare him to Warner. Peyton Manning, McNabb, McNair, Plummer, Green, Brunell, Culpepper, Delhome, Hasselbeck have never shown they can take a team any further than Bledsoe. But it doesn’t meen that guys like this can’t win SB. Just like Bledsoes history doesn’t determin his future.

NE didn’t dump Bledsoe. Bledsoe asked for a trade and received it.

There is not a single supporter of Bledsoe on this sight that thinks he’s without fault. We all recognize his weaknesses. We just happen to believe that he’s pretty good, and the W/L, stats, and vote of the coaches + players back us up. aw is backed up by his ???

BTW, we did use a 3rd round pick on a QB for the future two years ago.

Bledsoe is not some young guy here and that’s why I look at his history to this point. Kurt didn’t win it at 34 he was still young and unknown when he won it and he put up numbers that Bledsoe has never been close to putting up. Bledsoe needs a lot to win it here and until these thing get added I don’t see it happening. I wish I could feel like you guy about situation but I can’t until I see something different.

AW
You really are an arrogant one, arn’t you? “one of the few that can see”
PATHETIC.
Do you realize how many of us are laughing AT you?

aw
Dilfer.
Do we have to say anything more. Bledsoe is far better than he could dream to be.

Just some random NFL notes:

- Titans DE Vanden Bosch will sign a 4 year extension. That makes Abraham more valuable with one of the top DE’s off the market.

- There were rumors that Jamal Lewis wants to go to Minnesota, and that the Ravens would franchise him and trade him for Culpepper.

- The Packers may let NT Grady Jackson go. He is 6’2", 345 lbs. The Cowboys would HAVE to show interest if he is let go, he is older but a real good NT in the 3-4 defense with Glover possibly going. They also might let William Henderson and C Mike Flannagen go. We all know about old Packers lineman, but Grady Jackson is interesting. Def the Big Body NT that could split time with Fergie.

cnknight
Dilfer did what he had to do to win. He didn’t make mistakes. One he had one of the best defense’s of all time two he had a great line and three he had a real good running game. Do you see any of this on our team? When this team gets that then come talk to me about it and then I will say Bledsoe is the right man for the job.

aw,

… I would like to know what people thought of him before he came to us? …

How on earth would such knowledge be of use to anyone?

For the record, I never was a Bledsoe fan. Even today I would prefer a more mobile quarterback who would not suffer so many sacks. If one were to become available, who could win more games than Bledsoe, I would support that player.

However, I submit that blind avoidance of the improvement we have achieved at the quarterback position over what we were forced to endure for the previous 4 seasons, is at least as unrealistic as blind adherence to a Cowboys quarterback.

… When JJ made that trade with the bills for their first round pick I bet everybody here was happy thinking Bledsoe suck so its going to be a high pick. …

Funny, how that worked out though, isn’t it? The Bills wound up 9-7 with Bledsoe, and we only had the 20th pick. Then Buffalo dumps Bledsoe and falls to 5-11, while we go from 6-10 to 9-7, with a brand new defensive system and the worst offensive tackles in the NFL, and the quarterback Buffalo dumped.

… I would love for Bledsoe to sit out a game or two to see what the other guys can do. …

You have to be kidding, right? In the middle of the season, the Cowboys are expected to sit down there healthy starting quarterback, who is playing well, and start Romo for a game or two? Please cite an example where that has been done and actually worked.

Coaches don’t change out their quarterbacks just so that you can see someone else for awhile. They only do so when their starter is struggling. Bledsoe wasn’t struggling last year. His support was.

… I think Bledsoe need a great line and playmakers around him …

That would seem to include each and every quarterback who has ever played in the NFL.

… because he is not a playmaker himself. …

And yet, plays were made (and pass plays, at that) within the last two minutes (or overtime) to win games against the 49ers, Giants, Chiefs, and Panthers. How we were able to make those plays without playmakers is beyond my comprehension.

The bills made the right pick. …

Funny, but they don’t think so. You need to go over to one of their sites and set them straight.

… Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to take a few steps forward. …

And if Losman doesn’t work out, exactly how did dumping Bledsoe help them?

… Bledsoe wasn’t going to take the bills anywhere. …

He had taken the Bills to the playoffs in the past. Their actions eliminated all chances of reaching the playoffs in 2005.

… In his last year there he cost them a trip to the playoffs. …

Without Bledsoe, they wouldn’t have gotten as far as they did. Had they played Losman instead, we would have had a top-10 pick in the 2005 draft.

… In the last game of the season they played Pitt and Pitt was resting some of their starters and he couldn’t come through for them. …

You do realize that Bledsoe’s teams have won two AFC Conference Championship games with him as starter. One of those games wasn’t all that long ago.

Open your eyes. Because I am one of the few here that can see a player for what he is no matter if he is a cowboy or not. …

Isn’t it amazing that you have this special ability that so few others have? I am SO impressed!

… Just because Bledsoe is a cowboy now doesn’t make me forget about the past and what I thought about him before. …

What a telling comment! It shows such insight into your player-evaluation process that it deserves repeating:

… Just because Bledsoe is a cowboy now doesn’t make me forget about the past and what I thought about him before. …

Unfortunately, this is typical of a lot of people, who never change their minds about a player or a draft pick.

Fighter15 had it right! Bledsoe is our quarterback. If Parcells leaves in a year or two, more than likely Bledsoe will STILL be our quarterback. That situation will persist until Romo, or Henson, or someone else is the better quarterback.

aw
What I and everyone else is saying is fix the O-Line upgrade the D and then judge Bledsoe. It is alought easier not to make mistakes with a good O-Line and running game SMARTASS.

We will see next year and hopefully I’m wrong. Then all you guys can say I told you so. I never said he can’t get it done he just needs a lot of help to get it done. If I’m right you guys will hear about it. lol

Lou C.,

Dallas already has Glover and Ferguson signed to huge deals. They might draft a NT but they won’t sign another one.

aw,

He should sit a couple of games. When, at the beginning of the season and risk starting 0-2?

You make the point that Dallas should have obtained a QB for the future. But you, like biz, duck the question of who. What great QB has Dallas passed on? The draft lists are available on line, find one. I’ve got the list myself, but I’m not doing your work for you. You want to make the complaint, you can back it up.

And since you’re “one of the few who can see a player for what he is,” I’m sure you can not only tell us who that guy is, but what his future stats are going to be.

I’m not going to hold my breath waitng for a response.

If people judged Warner on his past he would’ve never won the SB. You have to try and use the skills they have and protect them from there weakness. The point is the rest of the offence could use some upgrades not just QB, there’s more pressing needs than QB. He’s what we have and it’s better than QCarter or CHutchinson and I’m guesing he’s better than Romo. Nobody has ever succeeded with an O-Line like we had last year, and he didn’t do all that bad. I’m done talking about this.

wow, spirited debate on Bledsoe. Hate to change the subject but does anyone know what it means to have a “transitional” tag? I have read that the Saints could use the franchise or transitional tag on Bentley. I could be wrong, but I just can’t see the saints of all teams paying him top five Olineman dollars via the franchise tag. Certainly an oversight by the owners to not differentiate between tackles, guards and centers when it comes to the franchise tag. You really can’t tag a center or guard.

AW:
Do you remember our conversations last year? The ones with me defending Bledsoe and you sending him to a trash can? DSo you remember that I told you that he’s good enough for a 3500 yards season and more than 20 TD’s? He made all that with the worst set of Tackles in the NFL for 10 games!

How many of all the sacks came in 2 and 3 seconds counts? 20? And many of those were drive killers, you can give Bledsoe a little better protection, a little better run blocking and you have a much better QB.

I’m not going to go trough the same discusion all over again in this offseason! It’s just a waste of time.

Mr. Bill:
Bledsoe also won the San Diego game.

J-MAN:
Yeah, you can tag a Center and a Guard. Hear the definition of a Center like Bentley: He’s a Pro Bowl Center that can play Guard, he’s young, he’s great in run blocking and good in pass protection against top competition, he dominates the lower level competition and he can pull.

New Orleans will have around 15 mills under the cap, they can certainly afford the Franchise tag and still make 3 signings in FA and pay for the rookie pool. And then the Saints would have the season to try to hammer a long term deal.

Now, I find him certainly interesting and if they Franchise him at least I would ask them if a trade is possible, something like LaRoi Glover and Al Johnson for him and a 4th Rounder. If they’re up for it, I’d pull the trigger.

Chandus,
I knew you could tag them but i was questioning how fiscally responsible it would be since centers and guards usually don’t get the type of money tackles do. And if you franchise him, you pay him what the top LTs make. He is good and I’d love to have him but he isn’t worth that much. Hopefully, the Aints will think the same.

he’d be a great young cornerstone upon which to build. Dallas likes big lines(bentley is over 300lbs) which leaves one to wonder why we drafted a smaller center in the first place. Johnson will be a decent center in the league but he would be better suited for a finesse blocking scheme.

raf
These are some of the qbs we could have drafted only one on this list he couldn’t have drafted but could have traded up to get. All these guys I have listed are better than the guys we bought in before Bledsoe. With any of these qb we could have still picked up Bledsoe( I think he would be a great back up)
Aaron Brooks 4th round 99 he can move around
Tom Brady 6th round 00
Drew Brees 2 round 01 could have tried to move into the 1st round to get him
David Garrard 4th round 02 He looks good
Bryron Leftwich 1st 03 he is a winner he is only going to get better.
Kyle Boller 1st 03 The last few game he played well
Rex Grossman 1st 03
Dave Ragone 3rd 03
Chris Simms 3rd 03 He played well this past year
Luke McCown 4th 04 We should sign him now

I’m inclined for this FA:
OT – Jason Fabini
OLB – John Abraham
MLB – Bart Scott
K – Ryan Longwell

But if that happens I’m willing to change it to this:
C – Bentley
OT – Jason Fabini
FS – Will Demps
K – Ryan Longwell

Chandus
I also remember you said KJ would get at least 10 td after the SD game. I told you no way that would happen. Bledsoe puts up numbers.

To All Listening:

How did we get back on the Bledsoe thing again? Wasn`t this last summers topic ? For those of you who think we did not make the playoffs last year because of Bledsoe, were you watching any games last year ? He is the reason we won most of the 9 games. NOT the reason we lost most of the seven ! I will put this as simple as I can. BP was brought in here to win NOW !!! Not to groom a rookie QB. Throughtout BP`s career he never was one to heavily rely on his QB`a play. Here is BP`s recipe for winning :

SOLID DEFENSE
SolID Runing GAME
Solid special Team Play.
AND
A QB who is smart & can make a big play or two in each game.
Does anyone think Bledsoe is uncapable of making 1 or 2 big plays in a game? He did all year last year. As far as backup goes & I have said this before, Romo is a solid QB.
The one thing he lacks is experience & he will get it as soon as Bledsoe can no longer do the job. But really for those of you who think we were only 9-7 because of QB play I really do not know what you were looking at ? The only reason we were that good, was beacause of the QB play!!!

aw,

So you would rather have Byron Leftwich than Newman? And don’t give me Tom Brady, no one knew about that guy. The rest of the guys are garbage except Drew Brees, but he wasnt supposed to be this good, and he was bad his first few years.

I knew once I list the qbs we could have drafted I would here “so you rather have this guy than that guy”. All the qbs I listed are better than what he had here them years. We would have still got Bledsoe because Bledsoe would have still got dumped.

AW:
You can’t be serious…

You talk about Bledsoe’s past and you mention Brooks… He’s going to be available for a reason in this Free Agency…

Tom Brady’s success was like a lightning hitting a tree in a forest.

Drew Brees in stats comes out of a season really similar to the one of Bledsoe and yeah, I know, Bledsoe’s stats doesn’t tell the whole story to you and biz, but that’s it.

David Garrard looked good against Indianapolis and that’s it, out of that game he completed 53.2% of his passes and was sacked 10 times, that’s near to 2 sacks a game with all of his mobility.

Dallas took T-New ahead of Byron Leftwich, if he keeps playing at the level shown last year, I’m pleased with what we got.

Kyle Boller is a joke, just like Brooks, you can’t dislike Bledsoe and like this guy. But, yeah, you can.

Rex Grossman and injuries come hand to hand, like this: broken ankle, torn ACL and broken wrist in 3 years.

Dave Ragone, he’s behind Tony Banks in the Houston depth chart!

You can make a case about Simms, he could be good in Dallas, but Dallas drafted that year a little known guy named Witten in the 3rd Round and in the 4th they drafted Bradie James who’s the future on the middle of our team.

Who’s Luke McCown? Do you mean Josh McCown? First he was drafted in the 3rd Round of 2002 and yeas he could have been had there as Dallas drafted earlier and they took Derek Ross, but the year before they drafted Quincy so they had to see what did they had in him.

Jesse NY
You and me are on the same page as far as QB goes.

If the Vikings are looking for a 2nd round pick for Culpepper, can we really get a 2nd round choice for LaRoi Glover?

Why would they want to trade Culpepper I would take him in a heart beat.

For all the people ranting about the Bledsoe thing it is really simple. We need to average more than 3.5 yards per carry and no this is not Julius’s fault it was the line. You saw what happens when the line blocked for him in that Carolina game. If our line simply blocks better in the running game the passing game will be that much better because teams will have to respect the run and then the playaction works to perfection. Bledsoe is a good QB not a great one. He definitely is an upgrade over anyone we have had here since Aikman and I am willing to watch him another year. For as much as I would like to have a franchise QB on this team already playing but you can’t discount Romo or Henson. Especially for those of you who keep throwing out names like Warner,Brady, and any other bench warmer QB that became a successfull QB. Because for all we know the same will happen to Romo or Henson. How many of you knew that Warner or Brady were going to be good QB in the NFL. Obviously some people didn’t and that is why 1 was a 6 round draft pick and the other was a FA. Heck don’t you all remember that a certain QB on our roster (HENSON) had Brady on the bench in college. Lets wait and see after this year on making a move for another QB because he might already be on the roster. Now I will say that we will have a 4th QB this year and he’ll most likely be a FA so that he can split some snaps in training camp while Henson is in Europe but other than that our Depth chart will probably be the same. But Henson and Romo could be a good backup battle this year. I can live with that. Can you guys that don’t like Bledsoe live with him on IR after game 7 when lets say we are 6-1 and then you give the reigns to Romo or Henson. Ask yourselves that question before you go ranting on our current QB situation.

CKnight,

Culpepper makes 8 mil a season, had a bad year before a nasty injury last year, yet is asking for 18 million a season. Thats crazy and they have Brad Johnson who almost led them to the playoffs.

Not to mention Culpepper led the league 2 years ago with 18 fumbles.
Since Moss left he has no one to make acrobatic catches of his bad passes.

PASS !!!

To paraphrase that (shudder) got Clinton elected, “It’s the Line, stupid”

Can we give the meaningless QB debate a rest?

This may have knocked the Ellis for LB debate out of the top inane argument on this site.

aw,

Now you’re mixing and matching arguments. Or perhaps I’m mixing and matching you and biz, since your arguments seem to blend into one. The only QB who Dallas had a chance to draft who has started and shown some promise since Parcells has been here and passed on has been Chris Simms. Still, can you argue he’s a better option that what we have?

He’s not assured of being the starter on his own team right now.

If you want to argue the other guys, then you’re asking me to defend Larry Lacewell. No thanks. I didn’t defend him then either. The point on those other QBs is that Jerry/Larry were conviced Quincy Carter was better.

But that’s not what you and biz have been arguing. The main complaint is that Dallas/Parcells hasn’t acquired the right future QB.

I believe that’s called “sins of the father” or in this case, sins of the Jerry. It doesn’t work in ethics, the court or here. Parcells and Bledsoe have many faults, but not being or passing on the sure Dallas QB of the future is not one of them.

Anyone have any info on Dallas` new TE coach Freddie Kitchens ?
I know he was mississippi`s RB coach but how did he wind up here? Anyone have a bio?

Interesting guy, doesn’t has any experience as Coordinator in College, just as position coach, but in each of his stops (Glenville, Lousiana St., North Texas U. and Mississippi St.) he found success. He’s young, he will be 32 next season, so he will relate with his players.

Raf
The funny thing about Carter is if he would have stayed in school he wasn’t going to be the starter but yet he was the starter for the cowboys. I’m arguing that I don’t think Bledsoe can take us where we want to go with the current team we have. Until we get a great line, running game and playmaker at WR we will not go anywhere. With a better line we will have a better running game but we still wont have a playmaker.

aw:
The problem with you is that you’ve mentioned playmaker stats and when someone says that Terry Glenn had comparable stats, you say that Terry Glenn isn’t a playmaker and that stats doesn’t say the whole thing. And do you know how many teams had 3 pass catchers with more than 700 yards? San Diego is the only team, Indianapolis fell short.

The logic in use in those statements is something that I just can’t understand…

Chandus
Do you think TG is a number 1? His stats don’t tell the whole story. He can be taken out of the game too easily. I can list a few WR that had good stats but are not playmakers. TG can’t take over a game. TG is a good number 2. The only WR on our team that shows playmaking ability is Crayton.

Last season I heard you talk that Plaxico Burress was a playmaker and that Dallas should have gone for him, in the end he had 14 more catches for just 78 more yards and the same amount of TD’s that Glenn scored (7).

Troughout his career Michael Irvin received the nickname “Playmaker”, just to cite someone we all know, throughout his 12 years career he averaged 62.5 catches for 992 yards and 5.4 TDs, all of those numbers are bellow what Glenn produced this year.

And I can keep harping on, but I have better things to do.

I’ve never said that TG is a number 1 receiver, but I also realize one thing, do you need a number 1 receiver to be successfull?

Go ask the last Super Bowl winners, Pittsburgh has Ward, he consistently puts good numbers, but his numbers are average when you take into consideration what a number 1 in other teams make.

Go ask NE, they’ve been winning SB’s in the last 5 years with 2 or 3 number 2’s.

Go ask Tampa Bay, the had Keyshawn (who you say is a TE, lol…), Jurevicius and McCardell.

Go ask Baltimore in 2002 and you find Travis Taylor, Travis who?

Yeah, sure, Dallas needs a number 1 to be successfull…

Chandus
I never said we should have gone for Plaxico but he is a playmaker. How are you going to even bring up Irvin name when you are talking about TG. Just for that I’m done talking to you about WRs……..

aw,

How do you define a playmaker? You must love the Giants, young QB, Plaxico the playmaker…come on now, TG had just as many big plays, Plaxico was no where in the playoffs. You whine about a getting a playmaker, would you sign Terell Owens?

Lou C
A playmaker is a difference maker. Moss(both) S Smith, C Johnson to name a few. I would pick up TO if we could cut KJ. TO would help Bledsoe out a great deal.

J-MAN,

A ‘transition’ tag means that the team offers the player the average of the top-10 players at his position (rather than top-5 for the ‘franchise’ tag). There is no compensation involved, if the player signs with another team. But, the original team does have the right to match another offer and keep the player.

Chandus,

Bledsoe also won the San Diego game.

He did, indeed. However, it wasn’t within the two-minute window I had specified.

CKnight,

It has been reported that Culpepper has asked for a huge raise, in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars. This, coming off an extremely serious injury (that would prevent him from practicing in any new offense for quite some time), prior to which he … well, sucked!

The Vikings are reportedly asking a second-round draft pick for him. I might risk that, hoping he returned to his 2004 form. However, if he persisted in that unrealistic contract demand, I wouldn’t bother with him.

aw
here are the stats you should be putting up but your not.
Terry Glen had more receiving yards 1136 than

1. WR Chris Chambers 1118
2. WR Rod Smith 1105
3. WR Derrick Mason 1073
4. WR Jimmy Smith 1023
5. WR Randy Moss 1005
6. WR Deion Branch 998
7. WR Hines Ward 975
8. WR Keenan McCardell 917
9. WR Mussin Muhammad 750
10. WR Eric Moulds 816
11. WR Laverneous Coles 845
12. WR Andre Johnson 688
13. WR Joe Horn 654
    better Yards Per Carry (YPC)18.3 than
14. WR Santana Moss 17.7
15. WR Randy Moss 16.8
16. Wr Joe Horn 13.3
    well to make this one short only Ashley Lelie had a higher YPC with oh well actually it was the same 18.3
    Terry Glenn with 7 TD’s had more TD’s than all of these #1 WR
17. WR Plaxico Burress 7 same
18. WR Anquan Boldin 7 same
19. WR Rod Smith 6
20. WR Jimmy Smith 6
21. WR Eddie Kennison 6
22. WR Deion Branch 5
23. WR Laverneous Coles 5
24. WR Eric Moulds 4
25. WR Derrik Mason 3
26. WR Andre Johnson 2
27. WR Joe Horn 1
    and last but not least was Yards Per Game (YPG) Glenn had 71
28. WR Chris Chambers 69.9
29. WR Rod Smith 69.1
30. WR Eddie Kennison 68.9
31. WR Derrick Mason 67.1
32. WR Hines Ward 65
33. WR Jimmy Smith 63.9
34. WR Randy Moss 62.8
35. WR Deion Branch 62.4
36. WR Keenan McCardell 57.3
37. WR Eric Moulds 54.4
38. WR Roy Williams 52.8
39. WR Lavernous Coles 52.8
    the only statistics that stands out negative towards Terry Glenn is Receptions but out of all the #1 WR that had more Receptions than Glenn not a single one of them played with another WR and TE that had atleast 60 receptions. Only the Raiders put up 3 players with more than 60 and one was a RB with thme. The only #1 Wr that played with another WR that had more than 60 receptions was the Cardinals,and Colts the only teams that had a TE with more than 60 Receptions was the Chargers,Chiefs,Giants.
    So it goes to show you that Terry Glen had very good #’s like a playmaking WR. And it shows that Blesoe was making plenty of plays by being 1 of the 2 teams in the NFL to have at least 3 players with 60 or more receptions.

lilbeast,

… but you can’t discount Romo or Henson. Especially for those of you who keep throwing out names like Warner,Brady, and any other bench warmer QB that became a successfull QB. Because for all we know the same will happen to Romo or Henson.

This is what just drives me up the wall. You could add Delhomme, Hasselbeck, Brad Johnson, and even Brett Favre to that list.

The people who are ignoring Romo and Henson obviously don’t have the patience to wait for ANY quarterback to develop.

lilbeast,

But you can’t use statistics to back up your argument, remember. They don’t tell the whole story. The only thing that matters here is aw’s opinion.

This is just great!

Plaxico Burress who disappears and hides in the big games, is a playmaker. Giants fans are calling for his head in a handbasket. Yet, somehow, Terry Glenn is not a playmaker, in spite of the plays he has made to win games, in spite of how our offense disappeared after he was injured in 2004.

Obviously, aw’s definition of a ‘playmaker’ is any famous person NOT on the Cowboys.

mr bill,i like terry glenn but let’s not make him out to be something he isn’t,yeak i know he had a great season and i won’t take that away him but let’s not forget glenn refuses to catch the ball over the middle and is known for dogging it and playing when he wants to,we didn’t see the dogging it part this season,he did very well but please let’s not compare him with irvin.

Mr.Bill
Glad you mentioned those guys I had forgotten that Favre was actually drafted by the Falcons and traded to the Packers. You think the Falcons wished they had never done that now. But then the Packers also traded Hasselbeck and look at him now he could have been the heir aparent to Favre. It is also interesting that you said Delhomme since we did have a chance to acquire him as a FA. I will say that we should have gone after him but we should have gone after alot of FA that we let go. But the thing about Delhomme is that he is alot like our current QB Bledsoe except with a better line and younger.

aw
I also forgot to mention that like all the #1 WR that command double teams if you paid close attention to our games this year Glenn was commanding that kind of attention as well. Now me I will say that he isn’t a #1 WR but you can’t say he isn’t a playmaker. Now I don’t know how you classify a playmaker but to me it’s as it says they make big plays. Well out of all the WR in the NFL 15 WR had a longer play than Glenn with Glenn’s longest being a 71 yard catch. Chad Johnson wich is a playmaking #1 WR had a 70 yard catch for his longest play. And out of WR,TE,RB Terry Gleen ranked as # 24 with his 71 yard catch. Sounds like playmaking material to me. Look I gave you facts now back up your argument. If not then next time you start an argument know what your blogging about and do some research.

lilbeast,

Hey great points on the WR topic and the QB one too. … Henson is playing in NFL Europe and I am looking forward to see him play a little. … On the WR front, I hope Dallas adds a player with some speed. If they add another first day pick then I like the kid from Wisconsin, Brandon Williams. For one he can make an immediate impact on special teams, but I can also see him getting involved in a couple of plays per game on offense. With the 5 yard bump rules being inforced so strictly, small speedy receivers are becomeing more and more prevailant. So a young fast WR like Williams can take Copper’s spot on the roster without any complaints from me.

Eric R
I have been hearing lots of things of Brandon Williams too. I would love to get some more speed in case that our starting WR gets hurt. That way we don’t loose out on our depth. If Keyshawn goes down Crayton fills in, if Crayton goes down Cooper needs to pick up the slack. But what happens if Glen gets hurt. We loose our speed. I totally agree with a pickup like Williams.

IRVING, Texas – Former Mississippi State assistant Freddie Kitchens was hired to coach the Dallas Cowboys’ tight ends on Thursday, a move that completed Bill Parcells’ coaching staff for next season.
Kitchens, a former Alabama quarterback, spent the past two seasons on Sylvester Croom’s staff in Starkville, Miss., after three seasons on the North Texas staff. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Glenville State College in West Virginia in 1999, then was on Nick Saban’s staff at LSU in 2000.
Kitchens, a three-year starter at Alabama (1995-97), is the third new member of Parcells’ staff. The other newcomers are quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer and inside linebackers coach Vincent Brown.
The rest of the coaching assignments for 2006, according to a release from the team, are: Todd Bowles (secondary), Todd Haley (wide receivers/passing game), Bruce DeHaven (special teams), Joe Juraszek (strength and conditioning), David Lee (offensive quality control), Anthony Lynn (running backs), Mike MacIntyre (safeties), Paul Pasqualoni (linebackers), Kacy Rodgers (defensive line), Tony Sparano (assistant head coach/offensive line/running game), and Mike Zimmer (defensive coordinator

What does Houston do with Jerome Mathis if they draft Reggie Bush? Some of us (me included) wanted to see us draft him to return kicks and punts, and Houston got him and he made the Pro Bowl doing it. With them drafting Bush, what happens to Mathis? Would they look to trade him for a 6th or 7th round pick? That would help our returns.

I just heard Butch Davis on the NFL Network say that he wouldn’t be suprised to see Jerry Jones try to sign Shaun Alexander away from the Seahawks. Has anyone else heard anything about this? Does anyone think Jerry would even think about doing this?

dt72,

There was an article I read that said the Cowboys would be interested in acquring Alexander because one more playmaker could get them Super Bowl Caliber.

No way we do this though, most of us (not aw) like JJ and MBIII, we need a line and Alexander will get Tomlinson-like money, 7-8 years, 60 million. Portis got more than 50 million, and you know they have about half of it in guarenteed money. No way we could afford him and a line.

I agree, I think the money could be spent on other options, (LB, OL, FS, K). I think we need more than one player to become a championship team.

oh!! i get it this is all about stats.so stats make moon,testaverde,bledsoe,better than montana young and aikman because they have more passing yards.it also makes testaverde and bledsoe better than young aikman and manning because they have more td passes,i get it.throw stats out the window talk to me about who get’s it done on game day.and don’t bother telling me about how many years they played.it’s an embarrasment to even say testaverde played for dallas at his age.

Its just too much to pay that position. I think paying Alexander the type of money he wants is like paying him for what he was able to accomplish with Seatle. We have youth and talent there. Plus the last time I checked if wholes aren’t opening up, then running backs aren’t running through them.

… Though I would agree that Dallas is closing the gap between mediocrity and contending. If yall don’t mind I would like to elaberate on how far we have come and the biggest reason why. I’ll start with the offseason moves that have been made. For the past two offseasons we haven’t lost big contributors, yet we have been able to aquire some solid players (Key, Bledsoe, T. Glenn, A. Glenn, etc.). More than that Parcells has assembled a bevy of youth that is still in “developement”. If you where to ask me where do the Cowboys stand from the rest of the NFL’s “elite”, I’ll probably tell you that it all depends on how fast and how much players like Demarcus Ware and Chris Canty and the rest of the guys come along. I have said all offseason that if Parcells can manage to draft a big fast OLB (say Carpenter) and a space eating NT, then the transformation to the 3-4 is complete. Add a play making FS via free agency or the draft, and the Cowboys will have a very good defense, not just now, but for a few years to come. On offense, a free agent tackle and another line addition via the draft or a young free agent (possibly adding a C too if we do not resign Gurode) should solidify the “team” play. With better protection and better run blocking, Bledsoe, Jones, and Barber should all put up more efficient numbers. If Parcells is able to get the depth he desires (through developing young linemen and aquiring some vets) along the line then Dallas can dish out some long 3rd and 4th quarter drives, thus keeping the defense fresh and hungry. .. It depends a lot on the developement of the young guys, but also if the chips fall right this offseason Dallas can not only be part of the elite this year, but may be the best young team in the NFL. The foundation for the years to come is being built. If you will excuse me for this overused term, in my opinion the Cowboys have the looks to be the next “dynasty”. … From a team that couldn’t get its head further up its a$$, Parcells has surely turned this ship around. …

biz is winning,

… i like terry glenn but let’s not make him out to be something he isn’t, …

What Terry Glenn is, is a very good, fast receiver, with (usually) reliable hands. He’s the guy who stretches the field vertically for us, and forces defenses to rotate coverage towards him, lest he burn them for a long touchdown. I am well aware of his deficiencies across the middle. I am also aware that when he was injured in 2004, our offense went into the toilet.

The question is, whether Glenn is a ‘playmaker’? My contention is that he has made an awful lot of plays over the last 3 years, to not be awarded that title.

… and is known for dogging it and playing when he wants to …

Those are old accusations from back in his days with the Patriots (post-Parcells). They may have been well-founded, at that time. However, please cite any instances of Glenn ‘dogging it’ or not playing except ‘when he wants to’ since he has joined the Cowboys in 2003.

… we didn’t see the dogging it part this season, …

Nor in the previous two. Nor are you likely to see it at any time in the future, as long as Bill Parcells is the coach.

biz is winning,

oh!! i get it this is all about stats. …

No it’s not. However, we just can’t pretend those stats aren’t there, or have no relevance at all.

… so stats make moon,testaverde, bledsoe, better than montana young and aikman …

I wouldn’t say that. However, stats got Moon into the Hall of Fame, just as they did with Fouts, Kelly, and Marino. Please tell me that you would not be against any of them (in their prime) as a Cowboys quarterback.

How do you evaluate Elway, by the way? It took him FOR EVER, to win a Super Bowl, and only did so after Terrell Davis became a superstar. Was Elway a good quarterback when he was losing Super Bowls, or did he only become one after winning two?

By the way, Elway was 37 when he won his first Super Bowl. How old is Bledsoe again?

… throw stats out the window talk to me about who get’s it done on game day. …

It seems to me that Drew Bledsoe ‘got it done on game day’ a lot more often than not.

Lou C is the smartest man in this blog…his shit makes the most sence..and his shit is true…give bledsoe trent greens line…and he with DEFINATLY go to the probowl.

And Mr.bill…you are 100% correct…if JJ blows up like we all know he can…Bledsoe would never be frowned upon…we lost 3 games from lack of kicker..put our 3 bull-losses aside..immagine if our running game had a line as well as our QB…our passing stats AND running stats would have been phenominal…thats 12-4..not counting the rams give away…13-3…if we had a kicker and a reason to try against the rams…so it looks to me like AW dont know shit..i want to see your blog when bledsoe win our division next year…like we very well could have this year…throw in a good LB for our middle…the NFC champ. game…and a descent cover saftey …let roy show up troy polo. because if he had a chris hope next to him he very well could.. we can honestly and realisticaly be champs in 07’

why does biz always change the topic to Bledsoe?! There’s more to this game than QB!!!

And i always liked blesoe…i thought he was a good pat. i hate the bills…so when he went there…i didint care much for him…but once we got him…i felt a confidence that i never felt with vinny. or carter…or anyone else that came after TROY…Bledsoe is a good fit for the cowboys game…the only thing that Aw said that i agree with ..is that jj and mb3 may not be the kind of running backs that bledsoe can peak with…BUT i think JJ going to blow up next year with a good line…so we will see if he proves himself..

i have a question..i heard TJ duckett and duece daily are both going to be fa’s…i dont suggest this…but i was wondering if anyone else thought ..picking up duckett for short yardage sit. would be a good idea…and to get some comp. for JJ and mb3…to make them both play harder..? its just a sugg. When MB3 stated to take JJ’s job…JJ ran 194 yds..on a STRONG panthers D. i think on goal line…the cowboys wouldnt have to risk passing…if we had a ducket in the back fiels..then again…i wouldnt think about it..unless duckett was worth the price…do you think an ellis or glover would be worth duckett if not a draft pick…

The falcs could def use some D

aw & biz:

By any chance…do you guys consider a “playmaker” a guy who draws a lot of attention to himself with elaborate endzone celebrations or who spouts off a lot to the media? Since you say stats aren’t the determining factor…could it be that the amount of attention a player is capable of drawing to himself is what puts him into this mysterious elite category of yours?

The QB thing is so last year, what’s next…whether Parcells should start MBIII over JJ again? C’mon…we’ve trod upon this ground way too many times as it is…we’ve got far more interesting things coming up with the combines starting next week and (possibly, depending on CBA extension) the FA period beginning the week after.

Eric R:

I don’t know much about Brandon Williams, but if you want to talk about a possible maybe 3rd/4th round WR that really got my attention in the Hula Bowl I would mention Brandon Marshall. He owned the Hula Bowl, IMHO, and it was ridiculous he wasn’t named MVP. He is a Randy Moss clone, he’s 6’6" tall and weighs 230. The guy has great big soft hands and impressive route running instincts. He caught passes over the middle, slants, seams, and then my favorite catch was a jump ball in the end zone ala Randy Moss. He is an imposing presence on the field because of his size, and man is he fast. He acually played DB in college at Central Florida, so that shows you he has a great set of wheels.

On the “other” teams’ QB Daunte Culpepper subject, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets reunited with Randy Moss in Raiderville somehow. Perhaps they can swap 1st round picks with a player or later round pick thrown in as well. Al Davis is crazy enough to pay for a guy like that. Also, the Raiders were one of those teams that did what Rafael mentioned last year and actually benched Collins for a game in favor of Tuiesisopo (sp?)…that lasted one game or most of one game as I recall.

I used to think Culpepper was too much of a goody-two-shoes to ever play for the Raiders. Now that he has been charged with a criminal offense and created a stir by asking for $10 million more a year, I think Big Al will deem that he now finally possesses the necessary job qualifications.

Mr. Bill:
You’re right, Bledsoe did won the SD game, but he did it with 3+ minutes still on the clock. Didn’t remembered, thought it was less.

Can anyone illuminate to me why TG is not a no. 1 receiver? I just wonder how his stats would have been if DB had gotten more time?

Sharpgator:
I wonder how larger his stats might have been had Bledsoe not messed up at least 3 passes in which he underthrown or overthrown him as he was already open… Obviously had Bledsoe not been sacked in alot of 2 and 3 seconds counts he would have had better numbers…

But that’s exactly the type of stat that doesn’t say the whole story with Glenn, he needs to be dumped in favor of a real number one, in fact let me sell the whole farm for Chad Johnson, he looks good with his celebrations. LOL.

I think our biggest need is on the offensive line and will only get worse if we let Allen go. You saw what happened this year when Adams got hurt.

I’d prefer to have another defensive playmaker than an offensive one, the more I consider it. I consider Roy to be one, but if the Cowboys picked up an OLB with comparable game changing abilities I’d take that over another WR or RB. I mean, really, other than Lawrence Taylor…who were the “playmakers” on the Giants Super Bowl teams? I guess Dave Meggett, but he was only there for the 1990 Super Bowl. I think the current Cowboys lineup has far superior offensive weapons at every position to that team…with the possible exception of RB.

Rumor has it the Vikings want only a 2nd round pick for culpepper. As much as I like Bledsoe, how could you pass that up?

mr bill. i am not sayimg terry glenn is not a good speedy reciever,i’m saying when you talk playmaker you think about t.o steve smith,it only comes to you because you’re like most cowboy fans that ignore certain things.

in aw’s defense about playing romo or henson for acouple of games,he mean’t like the last game of the year we knew we were done why not play these young guys or by that matter the year before we knew we were done by the 10th game and we stilled continued to play ancient vinny.

For those of you who don’t think Glenn is a playmaker then give us your meaning of a playmaker and name all of the WR that you think are playmakers. If you can do that then we might be able to agree with you (doubt it) or at least see what is your thinking towards a “playmaker” WR.
biz and aw
I will agree with you that Romo or Henson should have been put in the game 2 years ago when we were clearly out of the running for the playoffs when Vinny was our QB but you can’t blame Parcells for trying to win with what he thought was his best QB and that was Vinny. The only game that i thought that Romo or Henson should have really played this year was maybe the Lions when we blew them away and the last game against the Rams we already knew we were out of the playoffs. Those are the only instances.

biz:

You mention thinking of T.O. and Steve Smith when you think of playmakers? Why is this? Is it because they are the ONLY WR’s on their respective teams that their QB’s knew could catch the ball? Look at what other options those teams had at that position!! Or is it that they yap and make a lot of noise and beat their chests and make spectacles of themselves after scoring?

Tell me Keyshawn wasn’t a “playmaker” in the Chargers game last year!! Tell me TG wasn’t a playmaker in the first Eagles game and the Panthers games last year…just to name two of hand.

Where was the great playmaker T.O. in the first Cowboys/Eagles game? Where was he in the Falcons game on MNF? What happened to Steve Smith against the Cowboys and Seahawks?

We had Joey Galloway in a Cowboys uniform only a few years ago and the team paid dearly to obtain his services. How many games did he outright takeover and win?

Of the last 6 Super Bowl champions…who was the biggest playmaker on any of the teams…and did his team win?

Personally, I think the single most dominating solo performance to takeover a Super Bowl game and lead his team to victory was Ray Lewis a few years back.

There was only one “Playmaker” and his name was Michael Irvin!

I think we have all been spoiled as Cowboy fans to have had some great players like Tony Dorsett, Emmit Smith, Michael Irvin, Tony Hill, Drew Pearson…….and a list of great TEs……Mike Ditka, Doug Cosby, Novacek and now Witten. But great players don’t grow on trees and it is truly a team sport more so than any other professional sport. Hockey? Gretzky could still dominate the ice……basketball…..Jordan had his young bulls in the playoffs…..they were competitive but he had to have 68 points to keep em in the games. Now look at football…….it is very hard for one single player to influence the game. I would put LT up there but if he didn’t have the likes of Banks, Marshal,Burt, and Carson helping him out he would have been triple teamed into oblivion. Marshal Faulk and Emmit Smith burned bright but both had some pretty good threats lined up around em as well. We got playmakers at RB three of em potentially……..and a porous Offensive Line……..we got playmakers on Defense…….plenty of em…..Tnew, Roy, Henry, Ware, Canty, Ellis…….but we need some more Horsepower in our LBs to get to the opposing passers. Had Flozell not gone down when he did Terry Glenn and Drew Bledsoe would be coming back from Hawaii together.

Name the WRs from the Patriot or Giant Super Bowl champion teams. It ain’t easy is it…..great teams…….and guess what Irvin was also on a great team and Aikman will tell you our offense was never the same after we lost…..mr first down……Jay Novacek……

I see this team ready to compete without a overpaid dud or stud at WR…….we might draft a WR but name the Rookie WR that made his money worth last year…..Edwards? M Williams? Troy Williamson?……maybe the reason Parcells rarely drafts a WR in the first round…….is you gotta pay em and you dont get much bang for your buck.

I see another playmaker developing…….Patrick Crayton had a great start to the year and displayed some great hands for a QB converted to WR……showed some stamina to come back from a major injury……although not as a factor…….

still……Glenn, Crayton, Johnson and Witten……add MB3, JJ or TT out of the backfield…….

I hope we start to utilize Julius out of the backfield more…..I think if you get him out in the flat and let him catch a 5 yard pass beyond the line of scrimmage 3 or 4 times a game…….he is going to break one for 30+…….TT who knows he has speed to be a factor if he keeps up his studies……..none of them matter if we got Tucker and Petitti at starting tackle positions though…….the difference between the teams that won the Super Bowl and us……were

1 OFFENSIVE LINE!!!
2 Linebacker Corp

The thing about Bledsoe I wasn’t a fan of this before he came here, I don’t think he can take us where we want to be with the current team we have. I hope he does well here because I’m a cowboys fan. When Bledsoe plays bad everybody makes excuses for him. When he plays well I give it up to him. This past year he played better than I thought he would. I don’t think JJ is as good as people would like to think here. In two years he has had 4 game over 100 yards. I like how people will say oh look at what JJ can do when the line blocks for him. I guess the line only blocked for him in one game this year. I don’t think JJ style fits BP offense. Now on to TG he is a good #2. some one here pointed out he had a 71 yard td, yes he did it was a flee flicker. TG said it himself its a cheap TD but he will take it. The best TD grab for me this year was Crayton 63 yard one, because he made it happen. To me that’s making plays. TG is good but he is not in the same class as Moss, smith or Johnson. And yes TG does make plays, I will just leave at we don’t have a real #1.

I read today that Chad Pennington is NOT willing to renegotiate his contract with the Jets. To put it bluntly they are screwed being 20 million over the projected cap. I don`t see how they can franchise Abraham. Abraham is quoted as saying " Get me the hell out of here" Also they are trying to renegotiate with Kevin Mawae & Fabini.Mawae said no way is he willing to take a cut in pay and also wants out.Also Fabini now is disgruntled. I would be like a kid in a candy shop.With the Jets cleaning house I would love to get Abraham but with Mawae & possibly Fabini Wow this could be one a stop shop Fix !!!

Jon:

I agree on all those points. Michael Irvin is one of my favorite people ever, I love the guy. After Harper left it seemed like he had to take more on his shoulders because he didn’t have that big guy on the other side to take the heat off of him. When he and Harper were together they were nearly unstoppable, and they made each other better. I still remember Harper breaking off that big play at the end of the first 49ers Championship Game in SF. Harper’s lack of success after he left the Cowboys shows just how much being surrounded by the right players and in the right system can help. After Novacek and Moose left the team was never the same offensively, and Troy started taking a beating because we didn’t have those short and intermediate threats and he had to hold the ball longer without those safety valves.

That said, it’s a team sport, and the style of purely athletic speed based offensive football doesn’t seem to be what works the last 5 or 6 years. Give me big physically imposing guys who can block and tackle, a power running back, good coaching, and sprinkle in a few exceptional athletes at LB or DE.

Yeah, that Ravens defense in 2000 should be the template for the Cowboys 3-4. The way guys like Siragusa and Boulware set the table for McAlister and vice versa, they truly played great team defense. The reason I praise Ray Lewis so much are the things he did that didn’t show up much in the stat line that postseason. He tipped passes that led to his teammates getting INT’s, he physically intimidated and inflicted pain on RB’s, and I seem to recall him picking off a pass early in the Broncos playoff game and returning it for a either a TD or close to it to sway the momentum permanently in the Ravens favor. I know OLB’s are the playmakers in a 3-4 defense, but when you have a beast like Lewis was in the middle added to the mix it can make a defense as dominating as the Ravens were that year.

AW- once again you ignore the facts that destroy your arguements.

JJ has gained more yds per game at this point of his career then any other cowboy RB. This despite this season when the O line stank.
This despite last year when he was the only offensive threat we had.
But go on- we get a laugh out of you.
JJ will do fine as long as we have a decent line. just like Bledsoe will.
I will enjoy imagining you gritting your teeth next year as they do fine as the cowboys go to the playoffs.
And frankly you lie when you claim that if they do well its ok with you- you are one of those that once you get to hating a player nothing they do will ever be good enough again- not that you would admit it.
And that means you are NOT a REAL cowboy fan.

Guys, Guys relax aw tore up Terry glenn
all last spring and summer and look at
the result…..so here’s hoping it works
again with Bledsoe…..

Everyone…

im not trying to act like a lil bitch..but everytime i say somthing …or ask …no body says shit…is this like a personal blog…cuz ill leave it alone ..i think you guys make good points most of the time…when your not trashin the boys….but i mean …the duckett question…thats good shit …no one even commented it at all…can you guys see my comments…or are they not showing up…im not being a wize ass…im seriouse…i dunno if they are posting…