Bentley to be Free, Vinatieri? Him Too

Well, our fondest wish, or one of them, is here for the taking. Who is in a position to give Bentley the Wahle contract he’s seeking?

Not me unless LA is let go, along with Glover. Then maybe, depending on other FA’s. The signing bonus is huge, even though 6 mil a year may not be too bad. At least bring him in and see what he wants, and if hes interested. Say he gets 5 years, 30 mil with a 12 million bonus. Thats over 8 million a year for a C, we need to get a RT, our G’s are older, and our LT isnt too young anymore.

It all comes down to what BP thinks of this team: Is your team so close that one great player would make it Super Bowl worthy, or does 2-3 mid priced free agents make it better? I love Bently, hes a great player and would fit in great, but it seems to pricey to me.

This will give us some idea of their confidence in AJ and if they feel they can re-sign Gurode. If they pass on a player like this that tells me they are probably going to work with what they’ve got next season and not draft another OC. He’s expensive, but if they signed him that would mean that everyone on the O-Line would have been a Pro Bowler multiple times with the exception of RT.

This article makes it sound like he’s not likely to go back to the Saints. That makes me think they will probably pick Mangold at the top of the 2nd round, about where he was projected to go anyway.

Honestly, I know he’s expensive, but I think this guy could do more to help teh Cowboys next year than just about any other FA out there. I sure hope they go after him.

BTW – I’ve heard rumors linking the Jags to wanting Bentley. He’s also a Cleveland native, for what that’s worth.

Nope, I wouldn’t pull the trigger with the guy, he would be paid in the first 2 years something close to $4M… That’s too much and really if in one side Rivera/Gurode/or a draft pick along with Allen in the other side start playing better, Johnson will look better.

And I don’t need to mention that if he’s signed you can forget about some of the needs that could be solved in Free Agency, you would see something like this:

LeCharles Bentley – C/G
Jason Fabini – OT
Ryan Longwell – K
Jerald Sowell – FB

I don’t think that that’s better than this:

Jason Fabini – OT
Chris Hope – FS
Lance Legree – NT
Ryan Longwell – K
Jerald Sowell – FB

That’s two needs (if Glover indeed leaves)in the place of one that’s kind of a luxury.

Chandus:

I admit it’s a long shot, but then again Hope sounds like a long shot too. If Glover indeed does leave then Legree or a draft pick becomes necessary, but that would also free up a lot more salary that could go toward Bentley.

Also, if we can still sign Fabini, Sowell, and Longwell the rest of the needs can be found in the draft. I’d rather have the Pro Bowl Center and the guys you mention.

I totally respect your opinion on this, but I don’t think any other FA on the market could have the impact and help the team more than Bentley. I say this because Abraham is franchised and probably won’t be available.

Hope hasn’t signed an extension yet, he’ll be there in the market because right then Pittsburgh frees some space.

It would be great to have him but sounds to expensive to me. Isn’t our offensive line already the most expensive in the league? Then add Bently’s salary that’s a tonne of money at one spot.

well one thing is for sure, Bentley won’t give out a salary that he expects to exceed. he’ll shoot for the moon and hope to come close.

Cleveland would want him to play guard, which i’ve read he would rather not do.(jeff Faine is the center). Jacksonville is rumored to be interested. I think he would be a great signing. He is only 26 and could be around quite a long time. Unlike marco rivera. Plus if glover does leave, that should free up some space.

one non bentley point.

fabini would be a perfect fit for us.(sowell too).
Fabini is pretty close to equal Runyan, will be much cheaper and can play both sides. i.e. some better insurance for flozell…certainly better than tucker. It will also give Pettiti time to develop. Then we go for a guard in the draft a la spencer or jean-giles. that way we could havve leverage over LA(we need to resturcture badly) as well as another back up for him or marco.

I’ve been advocating for Bentley for a long time.

Yes, our existing line is overpaid. It’s also one of the worst. It played poorly enough last season, both run blocking and pass blocking, to justify a full overhaul. It provide a meager 3 yards per run. It gave up 49 sacks. We never had a chance on short yardage plays, ever.

If choices have to be made, then let’s cut bait. If a guy is overpaid and underachieving, let’s get rid of him to make room for a proven, young, versatile pro-bowl center. It makes sense.

Now, if we can just find the money?

I would rather have Bentley on this team than any of our existing olineman.

Give me Bentely, Fabini, Sowell, and a kicker in free agency.

Then we draft a FS, maybe a TE, and of course all the linebackers we can get.

I think this strategy gives us the best chance to win.

madcowboy,
I think you are about right. I’d love to have Hope too but the odds of Pittsburgh letting him go are slim, plus if we sign bentley we might not have cap space.

raf,
sorry for my ignorance this morning but is the contract bentley wants a $28 mil contract plus $11.5 mil bonus-total $39.5? or a $28 mil contract that includes a $11.5 mil bonus? i thought it was the latter but some other posters seem to be using the former.

I assumed it is $28 million base salary plus $11.5 million bonus.

The bonus is amortized over 5 years, so that means the bonus costs us a bit less than $2M per year. This money is guarantted.

The base is also spread across 5 years, so it hits us for about $5.5M per year. But we can cut him at any time and avoid the future payouts of the base salary.

The good news is that I agree with J-Man. Just b/c Bentely wants the money doesn’t mean he will get the money. We’ll all find out, including Bentely, what the market really is.

We went for the cheaper and older option last offseason of Rivera and Wahle. Many of us believed at the time that Wahle would have been the better choice. In hindsight that view has a lot of merit. Players like Bentley, young Pro Bowlers only shake free in the FA market once in a blue moon. He could the best FA signing since Glover, IMHO.

One last thing to consider is the future. I am constantly being told how important it is that the Cowboys draft an OG this year because LA is getting toward the end of his career. What would be better for a young guard (Peterman, Gurode, or a draft pick) to step into on the left side in a season or two…in between two Pro Bowlers in Bentley and Flo, or between AJ and Flo? I think the former possibility would be a far better way for a young player to develop than the latter.

Bledsoe needs a good pocket to pass in and there’s no question Bentley can provide that. But the $$$ don’t make sence.

Bentley would be worth a big deal but let’s remember three things:

1&2: Miami and Cleveland both want him and they’ve got more cap money. Cleveland especially. As others have noted, he’s a Cleveland native;
3. If a new CBA is not negotiated, bonuses can only spread out over four years instead of seven. That makes bigger deals have that much more of an impact. If you’re gonna dole out the huge bonuses, they better be worth it.

That said, I call his agent and talk, at the very least. He’s the best YOUNG C to hit the market since Kevin Mawae in ’98.

Raf:
Two things in our favor. Miami is set to go after Brees-big money. Cleveland wants him to play guard, Romeo isn’t going to want to pay much more than BP and their rookie pool will be much higher. They also need another WR after letting antonio bryant go.

but yes, we should talk and try to cut a deal that won’t kill us cap wise. In free agency, the word grouping of young and good don’t come along often. Usually its old, pretty good and expensive.

madcowboy;
i think the bonus is included in the $28 mil. Look at what reggie wayne just got…6 years at $40 mil that does include the bonuses. If he(LB) were franchised he would have only been between $6-7 million/year.

I have 2 words for everybody here…..ADAM VINATIERI!!!! NUFF SAID!

Vinatieri would be nice, but realisticly i can’t see it. NE wants him back and you know he’ll give them a nice hometown discount. some advocate vanderjack but he doesn’t kick off very well(indy signed j cortez to do it for him). I think it will be longwell or matt bryant(who BP likes and would have had if it weren’t for an injury)

raf:
just saw your update. to clarify(what i read at least) is that Hope feels he would be in the top 5 of free safeties as well as be in the top 5 of strong safetys(each as a group). He is probably not far off on the FS side. I’d love to have him but i think he’ll end up in Pittsburgh. I don’t think jerry will commit that much money to the overall defensive back group. Gosh though,look at what a good FS allows your SS to do. Palamalo wouldn’t have been the force he was without Hope being back there. For that matter, Roy was held in much higher regard when woody was patrolling the field.

Bentley is not only worth it, he becomes one of the top 3 priorities.

JJ has always been able to outbid others (except Danny-boy, but he’s easily out-smarted). Also, the Cowboys are in fine shape cap-wise and Cleveland never has the cash nor the desire to spend. However, Bentley has publicly stated that he wants to go to Cleveland.

Nevertheless, expect 3 major signings and 3 or 4 mid-grade signings. There’s plenty of places for upgrades. Look for LA to be restructured or released…same for Glover.

When all said and done, expect the ’Boys to be ~$15 mil under the cap.

Rafael:

Hope is nowhere near the Top 5 in the league at safety, he’s posturing for leverage to suggest he should get paid like one. In addition to the names you listed, I’ll add Donovin Darius, who the Jags have franchise tagged three seasons in a row. If Hope was a top 5 it would be worth it to the Steelers to tag him this year too, given the relatively lower price tag of franchise designated safeties. Fact is, if the Steelers aren’t actively doing everything they can to keep him happy with a new contract, and they aren’t tagging him either…doesn’t that tell you something?

My hunch is they are calling his bluff and believe he is posturing to get more money out of them with statements like this because they know deep down he wants to stay a Steeler. I saw an interview with Jerome Bettis last night where he descibes a similar scenario. The Redskins offered him a huge deal in 1997 and he went to Cohwer and told him he wanted to stay with the Steelers but they would have to at least get him closer to the Redskins offer. They came up on their deal, but were nowhere near the Redskins. He said he left a lot of money on the table, but he wanted to remain a Steeler and felt they gave him the best chance to win a championship. Similar situation here, unless Hope gets the Larry Brown-type contract and someone vastly overpays him like he is suggesting by his silly statement. Until his market value is set by a contract offer, he is just blowing hot air by waving his Super Bowl towel in other teams’ faces.

I’d like to mention a couple of other things that might help bring Bentley here.
1) How much does Bentley want a ring? We are much closer than Miami or Cleveland.
2) How much would he like to be a part of the most dominating line in the league since the early 90’s Cowboys? If he is a gamer he would have to salivate at the chance to play with LA and Flozell on one side and Rivera and Fabini on the other. Talk about a line that could force their will on an opponent. If he has some of the Eric Williams “tude” that I hear he does, that could rub off in a great way to bring out the best in our aging o-line and train the young ones right as well a being a building block for years to come. He is priority 1 in my book (without wrecking the cap).

The Chris Hope thing says me one thing, the Steelers front office gave him and his agent an offer and he balked at it. Now he’ll be in the market.

Chandus:

If that is what happened that says one of two possibilities as well. Either he balked at the offer because it was way too lowball…or (more likely) he is going for the Larry Brown-type deal. If it is the latter then I hope the Cowboys don’t bite on him, if it is the former then he is likely to stay with the Steelers after he has established his market value.

From the standpoint of immediate impact on the team dollar for dollar I believe Bentley makes far more sense.

Vinatieri would also be my top priority if he hits the market…even ahead of Bentley.

Sterling-I’ll take a dominating lineman over a great kicker every day of the week. How many more points would a kicker add compared to reduced sacks, increased yards per carry and time of posession. Not to mention being able to run the ball in from the 1 yrd line and not having to settle for a FG.

You know to be honest I’d love for us to dip our feet in some obscure kicker from overseas. Some of these soccer/rugby players have great feet. I forgot who it was but there was this punter last year who kicked the nastiest kicks. Not a lot of distance but no one could catch these things. He caused like 2 fumbles in one game. Someone help me out here…??? I dunno I havent heard anyone suggest it and i know all about our dire need for a consistent kicker. But I’m all for saving our cap room for an unknown who can handle the pressure. Haha whatever happened to Chris Boniol. Don’t worry I’m just kiddin guys =P

Release, or trade Glover. Restucture Allens deal. Sign Bentley, Fabini, Sowell, and Longwell. Draft OLB, NT, FS, TE, OT, and an OG. I would like a few more players of corse but this seems like it is all we can afford.

Well, I’ve been saying all along center is MORE important than Tackle-and I know that’a not a popular opinion on this site. This guy’s age makes him a great signing! Why get two more older linemen for the same price-they’ll just break down. And, most importantly, it doesn’t matter how good your tackles are if the middle of the line keeps collapsing. A QB needs to be able to step up to throw and not have his center getting knocked on his butt at his feet. The thing is, I never saw any improvement from Johnson as the year went on-I just don’t think he can do the job physically, unless surrounded by the right scheme and players, which is not here (Would Denver give us a 4th rounder for him?)

Sean:

I’m going to have to agree with Rafael on the Vinatieri thing. If he hits the market he’d be my top priority, with Bentley close behind.

The loss to the Giants last season can be traced to AJ, but there were many more games that were lost on missed FG’s. Vinatieri has proven how clutch he is, even in bad weather conditions. He’d be worth every penny IMHO.

Bentley would be a very close #2 priority if Vinatieri hits the market. If not, he should be #1.

Sterling:
Hope will be 26 next season (in September), so he’s really young and his best is ahead of him (and I’m not saying that his present isn’t good already).

Now, don’t missunderstand me, I wouldn’t put an offer in front of him that’s comparable to what Darren Sharper and Brian Dawkins have received in the recent past (6 years $30M) but I’d definetely give him an offer similar to the one Dallas gave Ferguson and Rivera (5 years 21.5M).

larry:
According to your logic a Center has to be paid more than a Tackle, right?

I’ll keep saying that Tackle is more important, the rest of the league agrees, you know? They keep paying more Tackles.

Look for BP to make a run at Fabini.
He is experienced & will not cost nearly as much as Runyon but will solidify the right side.

I would be surprised if he is not a Cowboy soon. I know he is 31 years old but BP is going to try & win this thing in the next 2 years.

I really beleive he will try to trade down this year for 2 reasons.

1) Deep draft in LB`s + he has always had success in the later rounds with the draft.It would not surprise me if he trades out of the first round altogether either for an early 2nd round or as part of a trade.

2) By trading out of the first he will not have to pay 1st round salary which will give him more cap room in FA.

2)

Chandus:

I agree with all you say about Hope. My concern was judging from his statement about being paid in the Top 5 and coming off winning on a Super Bowl team in his contract year that he is looking to get an inflated contract offer. If he can’t get that kind of money then maybe he will want to stay put on a proven winning team and look to win more Super Bowls. It looks to me like he is trying to create a market for himself by making such an outlandish statement about where he says he should rate amongst other safeties in the league. Then he has more bargaining leverage with the Steelers, which is who he has already publicly stated he wants to stay with.

CKnight:
As good as your logic sounds, right now Dallas just has 3 picks in the first day and no 4th Rounder, are you willing to fill in some of those needs 5th to 7th Rounders? At OLB? At NT? At FS? At OT? At G? Are you willing to go a full season with a combination of Burnett, Fowler and Shanle right next to James? So where do you fill in ILB?

Right now upgrading Center is a luxury, Johnson is a 2nd Rounder that experienced a full season of work for the first time, he can get better if the players around him take things up a notch, especially Rivera. Last year Johnson wasn’t the goat, every Center struggles every once and every then and those were accentuated by Rivera’s struggles.

Anyone know what Fabini’s last contract was? i kind of wonder what his price will be. Certainly the injury will affect the price.

Chandus-I agree with Larry. Center is a more important position but there is a larger supply of guys that can play there. The guys that have the size, skill and mobility to secure is edge are scarce. A dominate center can be less mobile and smaller which increases the number of players that can perform there.

Sterling-You count the games that were lost on a missed FG but if you dominate the line the game doesn’t come down to a FG. How many plays a game can Bentley improve our play? How many plays a season can Vin-whatever improve our play? Have you ever heard of a team that game plans against a kicker? I guarantee you they would have nightmares game planning against FA/LA/Bentley/MR/Fabini. We might never have to kick a FG when you can make a 1st on short yardage.

I see Center as a bigger priority than NT or OG. In fact, I would rate AJ’s play last year as being worse than any other starter on the team with the exceptions of the Kickers, Tucker, Polite, and Pettiti. I think the backup LB’s who were thrown into starting roles and Keith Davis all performed their jobs better and responded more to the challenges they had than AJ.

I think AJ is out of place in our system. He would thrive in Denver IMO. He might be better this year since he won’t be facing any NTs.

Chandus,

What intrigues you about Lance Legree? I would rather have Ryan Pickett from STL, he is taller and heavier, and has alot more experience.

I could see JJ going out and spending big bucks on Bently, but will BP let him? Parcells knows we still need alot of peices to get us to where we want to go, and is it worth it to try to outbid Cleveland or Miami? Miami doesnt have a QB, so we could probably offer more money. I wonder if LA would be willing to restructure his contract more if that meant putting one of the best C’s next to him.

Chris Hope is good, but hes not a top 5 S. I would rather sign a mid level FA then sign Hope to big money. If Troy Vincent is cut, we could sign him for 2 years and draft a FS in the 2nd or 3rd like Pat Watkins or Anthony Smith and let Vincent develop him.

Raf,
Would Vincent be cheaper than Hope because hes alot older? If so, how much would he cost?

Hope schmope. We don’t need a FS so badly that we’d sign a mediocre player to a big contract. We can limp through one more season with a hole there if we think we find the solution in 2007.
Also, a FS alternative could shake loose during the preseason and during the run up to the first game.

No one has addressed this… Bentley at center means what for Al Johnson and Andre Gurode? Three centers? I thought it was generally considered that Gurode is a C, not a G – and only a backup at both.
Al Johnson is the odd man out if LeCharles Bentley signs, right?

Yeah, you can have better than Johnson at Center, but one that costs $28M? That price tag wouldn’t be as compromising this year, the depth would certainly be hurt, but wouldn’t be crippling, but next season Jerry’s headed to pay Witten and James big and medium-to-big contracts to retain them.

If I’m truely looking for a better player at Center I’d first take look at Justin Hartwig of Tennessee, who would be less expensive and can play Guard, too.

Sean:

FG’s can be kicked on 4th downs when it isn’t short yardage too. Even if it was short yardage, it takes more than just a dominating center to get the 1st down against a stacked defensive box, and knowing how Parcells operates he’ll opt to take the field goal anyway in that situation. How do you know he’ll go for every short yardage opportunity anyway? Nothing I have seen of his playcalling over the years would indicate that he would risk not taking 3 automatic points. He almost always takes the points.

I don’t think teams game plan around centers either. Defensive linemen probably study them on film like they do all their opponents to learn their moves and tendencies, but they game plan around skill players like QB’s, RB’s, and WR’s for their matchups. I’ve never heard of an NFL team changing their starting DT’s because they are afraid of a center. However, Vinatieri would definitely strike fear in their hearts to not let the game get too close in the final minutes. If they know they have to get a big lead on you, that does alter their approach to their offensive gameplan.

lou c:
Lance Legree intrigues me because he has played 3-4 NT before, he’s suited to play the scheme and has backed up Ferguson. In the other hand Pickett hasn’t played 3-4, as far as I know he’s a two-stance DT that can also play 3. BTW, Pickett was drafted in the 1st Round in 2001 and comes from a productive enough season to grant him a big deal.

BTW, I’m up for the signings of Troy Vincent or Lance Schulters, which are expected to cost much less than the top guys (Hope, Chavous and Demps).

I doubt that JJ is going to be inclined to spend big money on a free safety this offseason. I think Roy will be coming into the 5th year of his deal where he can void the rest of his contract and renegotiate. Although I don’t think Roy is the type of person to create a fuss, he would be perfectly within his rights to ask for a new deal if JJ dropped some big coin on another safety who clearly wouldn’t be in his paygrade. It’s all relative, but I don’t think JJ would want to contribute to increasing Roy’s relative market value too much higher than it already likely is going into next year.

just a quick note, i know we wont get him but it was reported that monster nose tackle Ngata weighed in at 340 with 10% body weight

i mean 10%body fat, just kind of amazing considering his size and position. i think he 6’6 or 6’7

Which lineup would you prefer?

Allen/Johnson with Gurode as the backup

or

Peterman/Bentley with Johnson as the backup. (Bentley moves to guard if Peterman hurt)

Personally, I’d prefer Group B.

Its time to see some results out of Peterman. Year 1 was injury, last year was learning. Time to step up and play.

I don’t think we will end up braking the bank on any FA this year because of the CBA unless it gets extended soon. So this is what i would like to happen if the CBA doesn’t get extended.
Restructure LA’s deal
Trade or Release Glover
Trade our #1 18th pick and Ellis to the Jets for their 2nd rounder #35 and Abraham.
Sign K Longwell
Sign RT Fabini
Sign FB Sowell or FB Beasley
Then with the jets pick that we got we take the S that we have rated the higest like Simpson,Bing,Bullocks.
With our 49 pick G-Max Jean Gilles
3rd round-ILB Kai Parham
5-DT-Rodrique Wright
6-WR-Devin Aromashodu
7-WR Brandon Williams
If our offseason was to go like this we would fill every need we have and we would not be braking the bank. If anything we would still have plenty of money left over. What do ya’ll think.

I have been looking at all the options for free safety & to be honest they all suck. Hope is probably the best talent but is going to be way overpriced.
When I heard the name Troy Vicent I have to shake my head. How old is this guy ! I at this point do not see any options at FS in free agency .
If nothing better comes up then this we should look to the draft for a safety & maybe look for a LB in FA.

I just don`t think BP will overpay Hope or settle for a Vincent type.

lilbeast:
i think abraham would break the bank. He is going to want a lot of cash. Plus, with two good and yound DEs, he would be a luxury not a need. Not that i don’t want him but i think our money is better spent elsewhere.

If that Free Agency and draft happened, it would be amazing. But IMO Kai Parham goes in the 2nd round, Rodrique Wright goes in the 3rd or early 4th (hes not really a NT I think anyway), and Brandon Williams wont be there in the 7th round.

J-Man:

If the Cowboys got Abraham he would play OLB, not DE, and OLB is definitely a huge need for this team. I still don’t see it happening, but if the Jets were dumb enough to give the Cowboys him and their early 2nd rounder for Ellis and a #18…how could you say no to that? That’s basically like trading getting Abraham for Ellis and swapping picks half way through a round. The Jets would have to be pretty desperate to take that deal, but they are in the throes of desperation at the moment, so who knows. My guess is they will get better offers than that from other teams. Abraham and Ware could easily exceed the Steelers Haggas and Porters’ sack total last year. Ware and Abraham would be the most lethal pass rush LB duo in the NFL, IMHO.

J-MAN
How is Abraham a luxury to have and not a need. He would play opposite Ware in the 3-4 and would be in the nickel as a RE and Ware would be your LE. Looks to me like a need. Plus he wouldn’t brake the bank because the Cap room that Ellis would create along with the restructuring of LA’s contract. I guess i should also mention that Singleton would be gone and that would create even more money. Parham and Burnett would battle it out for the ILB spot. Whoever looses the ILB spot would be the backups to both ILB spots. Fujita and Thornton would backup the OLB spots and either Shanle or Fowler would have to show something more to stay on the team.

lou c
your probably right about Rodrique Wright not being there but so then we should take the highest rated NT. I disagree with you on Parham. He is rated as a mid to late 3rd rounder. Now he might impress in the combine but i think we will have our shot at him.
Sterling
The reason why i can see the Jets going for a Trade like that is because they are going to have release Abraham anyway so why not get something out of it. They would get Ellis which is still a very good player with a more manageable cap figure and he’s not that old as well. The trading of picks helps the Jets secure a future RB which they need. Someone like Maroney,White,Williams since there isn’t that great of depth with running backs this year. Unless they have Addai rated high.

Dallas has got to find a way to get a pretty good, young OT and a good, young OG this season.

I think the biggest problem with the O-Line is that their tackles are playing out of position. While Flozell is a pretty good LT, he’s probably better suited at the RT spot. Even still, they’ll have to replace him eventually and you typically don’t want some rookie coming in to be your starting LT. I think they are best off finding an OT in either round 1 or 2…having them play RT and then try to get him and Flozell to switch positions.

Tucker should be nowhere near playing LT and may be a serviceable RT, but is probably better off at guard. Petitti may be better off at guard as well.

I think Bentley has the most value of any lineman in the draft since he can play 3 positions (LG, C, and RG) so his salary demands are completely reasonable. However, he’s supposedly adamant on being a center and I’m not sold on whether or not Al Johnson is a bust. However, Johnson is not a guard in a man-to-man blocking scheme.

In essence, I’d love to see them get Sowell and Bentley, if Bentley is willing to play the guard position.

As far as kicker, Vinatieri will be expensive and I still think they might be better off going after Joe Nedney instead.

Sterling-Please notice I put the whole o-line in my comment about game planning. When defenses played us this year they knew they could get a push up the middle which forces our not-so-fleet-footed QB into the waiting arms of the DEs. On running plays the fact that our center was pushed a yard behind the line of scrimmage eliminates the interior running plays and allows the DEs to push up field harder.
What’s more important, a couple more FGs or allowing the QB to have time to hand-off or step forward when passing 40-50 plays a game?

Sterling

comment #34 you said “The loss to the Giants last season can be traced to AJ”

The play I am thinking of is where the giants D lineman is in the backfield trying to take the handoff from Bledsoe. Gurode was playing center on that play if I remember correctly. I did not pull out my tape of that play, or were you talking about the game as a whole in which AJ did play most of it?

Of all the possible FA the ones that the Cowboys should look at i think are and in this order
QB-none
RB-Davenport
FB-Beasley, Sowell, Evans
WR-none
TE-Campbell
OL-Bentley, Fabini, Ashworth
DL-Kemoeatu, Legree, Grady Jackson, Blade
OLB-Abraham, Peterson, Ayodele, Peek, Fujita, Polley
ILB-Calmus, Polk
CB-none
SS/FS-Law, Chaveous, Hope, Demps, Schulters, Vincent, Jackson
K-Longwell, Nedney, Vinateri, Bryant
P-none

Sean:
It doesn’t help also that the Guards on the interior also fall on their asses… And the fact that the Tackles didn’t falled on their asses but indeed spinned like the doors before the infrared technology arrived…

Usually a team that has an average Center relies on his Guards to make double teams against the top DT’s. When Johnson was paired with Allen the couple did above average, when he coupled with Rivera they looked bad.

I’m not willing to throw all the money that Rivera is slated to make (near $6M of prorated signing bonus)to a trash can and forget that he was signed, as far as I know he had an injury riddled season, starting with his back and then his shoulders.

But I would indeed look to Draft at least one OLineman in the first day.

Backus has been franchised and Hutchingson has been transitioned

Sean:

A couple of more field goals, since that was the difference in the last season and the team doesn’t currently have a kicker. Look, ideally I would take both of them, but I think a reliable kicker is the far bigger need this offseason.

I know you put the whole O-Line in your comment about game planning, but when defenses played us last year they knew they could get a push along almost any part of the line, and especially on the edges after Flo got hurt. What they were game planning was against our ‘not-so-fleet-footed’ QB as you call him…not just probing the soft spots all along the entire O-Line.

This whole discussion is splitting hairs…nearly everyone agrees that a dependable FG Kicker is the top priority for next season, followed closely by center and RT. The whole O-Line sucked last year so it’s hard to pin the blame squarely on one player except for the Giants loss. The missed FG’s speak for themselves. The team was clearly good enough in spite of the O-Line to win the division or at least make the playoffs if not for the whiffed FG’s.

rmac:

If that was Gurode on that play then I take back what I said about AJ costing us that game. My point remains that missed FG’s clearly cost the team specific key games, while poor O-Line play by any particular player was so widespread that it’s harder to blame only one guy. That’s why it’s easier to evaluate a FG Kicker’s abilities and make a personnel change. Either they make it or they miss it, and everyone knows who kicked it.

Sterling:

What was so sad about the Field Goal kicking is that Dallas finished last in FG % in kicks from 30-49 yards. Considering they play in almost dome like conditions and the other teams that had low percentages were like Chicago (which did pretty well once Robbie Gould became their kicker) and Oakland, that’s pretty sad.

I’ve always figured that field goal kicking in football is like free throw shooting in basketball. As a whole, it won’t win you many games outright, but it can put a big dent of influence in the game.

Statistically, the special teams coverage units have been very good under Parcells. Furthermore, they kickoff coverage has been one of the league’s best despite having a mediocre kickoff guy in Cundiff. So somebody needs to convince Parcells that he needs to focus on a kickers field goal ability more than kickoffs. Plus, it’s not like you don’t give up good field position along with momentum when a kicker misses a field goal.

It was Gurode, his first play of the game and the first play of the 2nd half. They always seemed to be able to jump the count when Gurode was in.

lilbeast:
Agree with all you choices but Davenport, he isn’t a good RB nor a good FB…

And let me add a couple of guys at ILB: Bart Scott and Brad Kassell.

Chandus
sounds good to me with scott and kassel. i was simply looking at Davenport as a goal line back/short yardage he is big. 6’1 250.

It was Gurode. According to Parcells, he failed to change the blocking assignments on that play. So he either was not paying enough attention to change assignments or was incapable of making the proper read. Take your pick as to which it was.

According to what the market is headed to offer and what the Cowboys demand I see the needs ranked like this:

1.- RT – Fabini and Ashworth makes this position a must as both can play RT and LT.

2.- K – Longwell or Vinatieri is as huge an upgrade as Bledsoe is to Quincy Carter.

3.- FB – Jerald Sowell already heads the Free Agent market at FB and by a mile.

4.- C – Bentley is really tempting but costs too much, only taking him if Allen’s deal is reworked in a big way, if Glover isn’t on our payroll and if Johnson is traded away as he wouldn’t work as depth as he’s just a Center with no significant talent in another position. Justin Hartwig is a less expensive option but the 3 cases should also be in consideration.

5.- FS – As you know I’m hoping for Hope, but I’m not blind, if he asks for a deal in the $30M range (which is the deal that top safeties get for 6 years) I’ll look somewhere else. And I would look at Schulters and see if he signs a 2 or 3 year deal. Vincent is still pretty good in coverage but his support to the running game is questionable.

6.- MLB – Bart Scott tops my list, last year he played MLB when Lewis went down and looked as good that the Ravens are desperate to sign him back. He’s a little above average in coverage, but he’s good against the run and blitzing.

7.- NT – If Glover walks Dallas may already have his succesor in Pepper Johnson and that works against signing one of the big names (Kemoeatu and Pickett) which are young and productive and are headed to receive a deal close to the one Ferguson received last year. Not sure if someone wants a couple of players that cost as much subbing each other. So Legree and Justin Bannan are the type of guys that we should be looking, as they would be great depth with great value.

8.- OLB – Abraham will be expensive and something has to be traded away to get him. Peterson will also be expensive, not as much as what he would have been last year, but he has some question marks. And out of those top 2 I can see at least 3 OLB’s in this Draft being better fits. This one has Draft written all over it.

BTW, I also see a big need at Guard, I’m not naming it because I don’t see it getting addressed in Free Agency.

Since Hutchinson only got the Transition tag, that means the Cowboys could sign him. Seattle would just have the right to match.

Combine that with Runyan & Bentley…How bout this OL:

LT – Flo
LG – Hutchinson
C – Bentley
RG – Rivera
RT – Runyan

That’s a bunch of Pro Bowls and we get significantly younger. Add two OT & one G in the draft and we’re onto something.

WOW!

Fighter 15,

Nice dream, but not happening in anybodys wildest imagination.

Why not? LA is making OT money. Hutch would make about the same. Runyan and Bentley are the big additions and really, only Glover need be dropped.

It’s very doable.

Chandus:

I agree in general, mine are very similar, but in this order:

1. Kicker – We don’t currently have a kicker on the roster and that position was the difference between 12-4 NFC East Champions and 9-7 out of the playoffs last season. Vinatieri or Longwell look like they are the top two, of those Vinatieri has a history with Parcells, and also kicking winners with Championships on the line. I take AV. After last season’s last minute nailbiters I’d hate to get all the way to the Super Bowl this season and have anyone other than him coming in to decide the game.

2. Center – If Gurode is not re-signed then all we have is AJ, and he has had a lot of problems so far. Bentley is a 26 year old Pro Bowler who is experienced against NFC DT’s, if they can land him he’d be my choice because guys like him aren’t available too often.

3. Right Tackle – If they can get Fabini to a 2-3 year deal that would be great. I can’t see more than that until they know what they’ve got in Colombo, Pettiti, and Rogers. Even if they let Tucker go that’s still 6 OT’s for 4 spots with a healthy Flo. Ashworth’s going to want a long term deal and that doesn’t make sense until they know how all these other guys will pan out.

4. OLB – Unless they can put one over on the Jets for Abraham this is obviously a draft pick here. Too many options in the draft, but if they are thinking next year or bust then shoot for Abraham and hope the Jets are desperate to deal.

5. ILB – With Dat gone and the ILB’s getting slashed to bits by RB’s the last part of the season this has to be fixed. 3-4 ILB’s are supposed to be run stoppers, so that’s what is needed here. Bart Scott sounds intriguing, as do many of the other LB’s on the FA market and a handful in the draft. The fact that Parcells brought in Mike Barrow last season tells me he would like a veteran presence here. Maybe Parcells can move Singleton to ILB like he did with James.

6. FB – One word: Sowell.

7. FS – The more I think about this, the more I think a serviceable option is all that is required. There are a lot of great players in this secondary already and they really only need someone who is a ballhawk, not a top tier DB. Lots of options lower down in the FA market, the middle rounds of the draft, and maybe even a few that are already on the team.

I don’t see NT as a priority at all until the Glover situation is sorted out. Everyone is assuming he will not be here, but we don’t know for sure yet. I put it in the same category as TE if Campbell isn’t re-signed. Guard is important, but we have two good starters for next year and still have to see what happens with Peterman’s development and if Gurode is kept around.

Fighter15:

That idea sounsd like you want to cut over half the O-Line in one offseason. If you sign Bentley, Runyan, and Hutchinson…and draft two more OT’s and an OG in the draft you would have to cut Larry Allen, Marco Rivera, Rob Pettiti, Marc Colombo, Jacob Rogers…and not re-sign Andre Gurode and Torrin Tucker (which wouldn’t break my heart, either).

That’s cutting 5 players and using up 3 draft picks to fix something that could be be less drastically remedied. Kind of like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer, don’t ya think?

Fighter15,

You could sign Bently and Fabini or Hutchinson and Fabini, thats it. You have to think long term, Roy, Witten, James, etc. need new deals. We need a young QB and young WR. Those postitions need major money. There is no way you sign a guy like Hutchinson and Bently, and then Fabini. No way at all, even with dropping Glover and LA.

Well, a lot of difference of opinion here! But we can’t have everything.My wishing for Bentley is based on getting rid of Johnson or Gurode, keeping Gurode or Johnson as a backup (Gurode prob., being able to cover two positions) The thing I like about Bentley is his age-like having Larry Allen 6 years ago, it would solidify the middle of the line for many years. And while we have some guys, old and young, who may step up at gaurd and tackle next year, I never saw Johnson improving at all..Center and kicker for me are the most important, with OT and OLB falling second.
                And Chandus, I know Tackles get the big money, but if I can have ANY piece of an OLine to build around I’ll overspend a little for it-not something ridiculous, though. OLines need to develop and play together, and we need to get some young guys and let them grow together, not just fit in puzzle pieces every year-that doesn’t work on the OLine!!

My bad, I didn’t see you’d keep Rivera…so, ok…4 players cut and using 3 draft picks and most of the salary cap up. Still seems pretty extreme for one offseason.

Sterling:
Glover doesn’t has a future in the team if he doesn’t get a serious restructure on his deal. Dallas may pay the $1.5M bonus on March just to retain him a couple of more weeks and force a trade, by April he won’t be a Cowboy, I give 80% chances of that happening and 20% of him restructuring his deal.

Fighter:
Hutchinson would need to be signed long term, he would ask to be signed to a deal just like the one Wahle signed last year ($28M), Bentley has asked for the same amount and Runyan will be more expensive than Ashworth and Fabini in the short term (I don’t see him signing a deal longer than 3 years as he already’s 32) so he’ll be after top paid 3 years of work.

Do you work for Snyder? That’s the kind of cap math that his people excells at…

Add this: Bentley’s 1st year: $4-5M, Hutchinson’s 1st year: $4-5M and Runyan’s 1st year: little less than $4M. That’s $12-14M of cap space and Dallas would still be in need to sign a K, a FB and the rookie pool…

larry:
Do you remember what happened from 1993 to 1999? Dallas overpayed for some players to build around them the future, well, the future wasn’t so bright…

Parcells isn’t dumb he knows what how to build teams for the future, he made the same for the Jets, they had future until the front office that followed his departure started overpaying for some veterans, now look at them, they’re inmersed in reconstruction.

Chandus:

Not to bring up the TE situation again, but I’m curious as to what probablity you would put of Campbell getting re-signed. Also wondering what chances you give Fujita and Singleton?

Off the cuff, I’d give Campbell about 80% of re-signing…Fujita about 85%…and I’d give Singleton close to the same as you are giving Glover. I would say Glover is only about 50-50 to be traded if they pay him the roster bonus because of the size of his conract.

Fujita will be signed back, I’m 100% sure of that.

Singleton is in his last year, if Parcells thinks that he could be moved inside, I’ve thought that before, he’ll be back and he might receive an extension.

About Campbell, that’s a though one, I happen to think that if he’s really wanted, he would be signed by now as he would be really cheap, I’m 50-50… His tipped pass that was nearly intercepted by Surtain lurks in my mind too often…

Vinatieri didn’t get the tag. I hope Jerry is warming up his GulfStream IV to go pick him up and bring him back to Dallas.

Give me the following:

Bentley
Chavous
Sowell
Nedney
Anthony Clement (cheap option that can play both left and right tackle)

Cut either Allen or Rivera.

Re-sign:

Shanle
Campbell
Gurode (make this a cap friendly deal so they could cut him in training camp without taking a hit)

Round 1

BPA from either LOLB or OT.

Round 2

LOLB or OT, whichever was not taken in round 2

Round 3

Nose Guard or speed WR with Punt Return skills.

From there going into camp they’d look like this on offense:

QB – Bledsoe
RB – Julius/Barber
FB – Sowell/Polite
LT – Adams, Tucker
LG – Bentley, Gurode as backup
C – Johnson, Gurode as backup
RG – Rivera, Petermann as backup
RT – Rookie pick, Petitti, Jacob Rogers, Columbo, and Clement all competing for 2 spots.

A good scenario would be getting some decent play at starting right tackle, which would be a huge upgrade from 2005. Then hopefully get good enough play from the backup where they would feel he can fill in at either LT or RT sufficiently if an injury occurs.

That could move Tucker to guard, which he’s probably better suited to be playing.

So you could have the following hypothetical scenario for an O-Line:

LT – Flozell, Petitti (hypothetically)

LG – Bentley, Tucker

C – Johnson, Gurode, Bentley

RG – Rivera, Gurode, Tucker

RT – Rookie, Jacob Rogers, Petitti, Tucker

Let’s say that it’s time for Rivera to go come 2007 and things work out reasonably and Tucker does prove to be worthy of being a starter as a guard you would then have this come 2007:

LT – Rookie, Petitti

LG – Bentley, Gurode

C – Johnson, Gurode, Bentley

RG – Tucker, whomever gets picked up

RT – Flozell (where he’s better suited) and Rogers.

You’d greatly improve your O-Line as far as balance, versatility, age, and would probably cost less in the long run.

Considering the how good and versatile Bentley is, he’s well worth the price he’s asking. It’s a must that Dallas find a young OT and a young OG this offseason to help replace their aging guards and correct the OT problem.

Yakuza:
Liked your ideas, that Free Agency is very possible, liked the Clement point.

Just one thought against, Bentley wants to play Center and wants to be in Cleveland, so if Cleveland offers him the Guard job, Dallas would have to pay more for him to play Guard and I’m not so sure that he’s one of the best Guards in the league. If you want a Guard in this Free Agency I’d be after Stephen Neal.

Rivera had a bad year but our whole line was bad, you guys are pushing him out the door either this year or next, lets give him a chance and see what he does with 2 better players next to him.

As for the speed reciever, I dont see it happening this year. I dont think we draft Holmes at 18, and there are rumors that Cowboys staff really like Ben Obumano from Auburn. I love this kid, I think he could be a solid WR in the NFL.

Cleveland just dumped a couple of pretty good players for cap purposes.

They may be minor players, but no way they are willing to pay top dollar.

Anyone interested in bringing in Mike Williams the OT from Buffalo who was just released. I think he would be a decent option

Not me on Mike Williams, he is a huge bust and if he cant make a Buffalo team he wont make ours. Rogers has a better chance then him IMO.

what happened to Peterman, wasn’t he a second rounder a couple of years ago. Do you think that he could play anytime soon.

Fighter:
I wouldn’t name Kenard Lang a pretty good player, he’s a small pass rusher and that’s it. He was expensive, though. The other guy is a benched CB.

Cleveland is now headed to Draft LB, LB and LB with their first 3 picks and I thought that our LB’s corps was depleted last year…

matt
I think Peterman was a 3rd round pick.

lou c:

I’m with you on that Rivera thing. I don’t see the urgency to get rid of him right away either. He had a bad year and some injuries, but he’s a proven Pro Bowl OG and the team has committed to him for at least the time being. I expected more from him, but I don’t see the rush to cast him aside yet.

I see Cleveland going with either Lawson, Carpenter, or Greenway with the 1st, because Ngata should be gone, and then getting Gabe Watson with their 2nd. If the Cowboys want Watson they have to leapfrog Cleveland in the 2nd round IMO.

Well guys according to the Ranch Report we were very interested in recently franchised T Jeff Backus and FA to be K Matt Bryant.

according to ESPN this is what we would be saving if we cut Allen, Glover and what we will be saving when Nguyen retires.
OL Larry Allen $3,441,663
DT La’Roi Glover $6,000,000
LB Dat Nguyen (ret.) $1,791,665
Just with those 3 we would save 11,233,328 in this years cap. Add that to the 2-3 mil that we currently have and we would be close to 15 mil. This makes me believe that Glover is gone and so is Allen unless they both restructure. And for Nguyen I wish we would be paying him the money instead of hearing his retirement. What a great football player and person Dat Nguyen was.

lilbeast,
I think you can add Singleton the that lists of cuts too.

Derrick
your probably right unless Parcells feels he’s a good fit as an ILB

Parcells is a master motivator 100 times better than the coaches in Buffalo. I think Mike Williams could experience a rebirth under the right circumstances. He is still relatively young as well having only played in 4 seasons. He is also 6’6" and weighs 360 pounds.

simmonjb,

I think Mike Williams goes right to the top of the list for free agent OTs. Williams dominated in college. Why Buffalo would cut him beats me. But remember they are the same team that traded a 2nd and a 1st for Losman. I believe Williams had 3 different coaches in 4 years. Now I haven’t seen much of him the past 4 years, and I don’t recall any major injuries. If I recall correctly though, I was in awe when the Bills drafted him. .. As I recalled the 90’s and our offensive lines that wore defenses down, during the 2002 draft I sat hoping Williams would fall to the Cowboys. He was that good!!!

Rafael,

I missed the other thread. Happy birthday!! … Thank you for opening this site up and giving our “Cowboy nation”, a chance to have a voice and also listen to the other sides of football issues. … Thank you all for your opinions and making this site so good. … Oh one more thing … LETS GO COWBOYS!!!

simmonjm,
I thought I read a couple of years ago that Williams doesn’t have good footwork and is slow getting out of his stance on passing downs, but the big problem with him is he’s 360lbs and not in great shape, he’s a guy who should be around 325lbs.

Derrick:
That’s exactly what I’ve been hearing from the guy, too. And not just that, I saw him play when Bledsoe was in the helm and you could note that many sacks came from his side.

Though, I’d like to see him working under Parcells, something says to me that he would be at 330 by May.

I hear bad work ethic ( not flying with Parcells), out of shape (not flying with Parcells, misses practice and meetings (not flying with Parcells). He also had a huge contract and wont be signed for the minimum. He lost his starting job to an undrafted rookie FA. Then he gets moved to guard and hurts his back and goes on IR. He has slow feet and can’t play LT. I never seen him play in college, but from what I hear he would be a bad pickup.

I just read Atlanta wants Vick to redo
his deal for cap room.I guess Atlanta
is realizing its a not a one man game.

It’s sorta strange how calm things have been at the valley these past few off seasons.Nice but strange.

Hey Troll nice snag at the London Zoo
but a chick….isn’t that a little
young even for you???As they say once
you have a penguin you never go back.

Derrick and Chandus,

All that seems to be the case, but this guy can play football too. He was the 4th overall selection only 4 years ago. From what I remember of him, if he got his hands on you, it was over. .. He probably needs to loose some weight, but he isn’t just a big body, he has tremendous skill. .. Now like I said I haven’t seen a whole lot of him the past few years, but Buffalo doesn’t seem to have a clue either. So Williams, in my opinion, is worth a shot (of course at the right price). With Backus franchised, some of the Cowboys better options at OT are players that were far less reveared than Williams, but around the same age (Barry and Black to name two). .. Parcells may go with a guy he knows a lot about, like Fabini, but Parcells is a master at reserecting offensive linemen’s careers. This may be a perfect match. … The last I remember of Williams, he was opening huge wholes at the pro level. It was early in his career, but he looked well on his way to being a Pro Bowl type player. I don’t know what happened since then.

lou c,

Williams played RT in college and would be here too. At least for now. Weight seems to be the biggest issue with him, but if someone (cough cough Parcells) can motivate him, he can be dominant. … Dallas can always give him an incentive laden contract, with specific weight requirements.

EricR,
I’m certainly not saying the guy cant play football, when he was at texas, he was a road grader and you’re right, when he got his hands on you, it was over, but if a guy gets the lazy tag on him, thats a red flag but I dont know if Bill will take that chance or will he lean towards a guy he doesn’t have to spend the time on like a fabini.I’m sure someone will throw some good money at Williams.

really dont see us picking up bently…i bet the farm that we will get fabini being that b/p loves those former players…look for dallas to draft carpenter(lb) in the draft, that alone make us a beast on d especially with a more experienced Canty/Ware (can u picture Ware with a little more bulk??) Glovers a gonner (remember we do have 1 experenced nt and a young stud behind him) i do believe jj will not spend a lot of money this year he’ll will sign fabini and sowell to give us although not a huge improvement but something big enough to get us in the playoffs. look for us to go after chavious or hope in f/a

Parcells only takes chances on players he knows, like K. Johnson and T. Glenn, who had trouble with other coaches, but worked hard for him. He is not going to go looking for trouble — Mike Williams — just to prove how great a motivator he is. He wants players who are already motivated.

Mike Williams is an unmotivated blob, who is in the process of p***ing away a promising NFL career. He is more interested in a knife and fork, than a training regimen.

Unless Williams can walk into an interview 30 pounds lighter, he has zero chance of becoming a Cowboy.

lilbeast:

If you have not heard about a guy named AdamJT13, he’s probably the most dead-on Cowboy’s fan cap expert that I’ve seen on the web. He was asked about the Cowboys cap situation right now as some are reporting it to be from
$2 million of free space up to $3 million of free space. After reading this, remember that if a new CBA is signed, the cap could go as high as $110 million this season, so the figure could be as much as $18 million more than what he’s saying.

"The $2 million number comes from the fact that we have about $90 million in charges for 2006 right now, and they’re using an estimate of $92 million for the cap.

However, $9.6 million of those charges are bogus incentives for Rivera and Ferguson that were inserted to get around the 30 percent rule. Those will disappear one way or another. Another $500,000 is an LTBE Pro Bowl incentive for Flozell Adams, which will become NLTBE and won’t count against the cap, since he didn’t make the Pro Bowl this season. Another $585,000 will disappear when Jacob Rogers, Derek Pagel and Brett Visintainer are all released from injured reserve. Another $882,150 will disappear when Jason Witten, Bradie James and Andre Gurode void their contracts (although we can keep Witten and James by buying back 2006 for about $1.495 million each). And our LTBE loophole credit should be around $3.2 million. Add it all up, and we should end up with more than $16 million of cap room before making offers to our RFAs and EFAs — and before doing anything about Allen, Adams, Ellis, Glover, Nguyen, Singleton, etc."

Again, this is before a new CBA.

Raul
Thanks for the info. If all this happens i see no reason why we can’t get any player we have our shights on in FA. We all know JJ will dish out the money lets just hope we don’t get any Rivera’s and we get plenty of Henry’s and Glenn’s.

mridge78,

I’m curious to find out who the “young stud” is behind Ferguson. You don’t mean Pepper do you? Isn’t he less than 300lbs? I wouldn’t feel confident in our D if he was the backup NT. We’d have to draft someone or get a NT in FA if Glover is gone.

I don’t think anyone has brought up this scenario, but it’s one I wouldn’t mind seeing…
Since it will be difficult to keep Glover at his current salary, why not propose a trade to the Bills on draft day instead of just releasing him. Trade Glover and our 1st rounder for their 1st rounder. They get a very good pass rushing DT to go along with their big run stuffer, they still get a first round pick and we move up to draft Ngata. Imagine our DL for years to come…Spears, Ngata, Canty. Now that’s intimidating. I’d hate to lose out on an OLB like Carpenter with this move, but since the LB class is deep, we can still get a quality guy like Wimbly in the second (or Lawson if he somehow slips…doubt it). A dominant NT is just as important for the 3-4 defense as a dominant Center is for an offense and a guy like Ngata doesn’t come around often.

Day 1 scenario with Glover trade
1st Ngata
2nd highest rated OLB
3rd highest rated player at FS, TE or OL
(Defensive front 7 – Spears, Ngata, Canty, Ware, Shanle/Fowler, James, Wimbly)

Blitzkreig:

If Buffalo wanted an interior lineman why wouldn’t they just pick Ngata?

Blitzkrieg:

I don’t want to throw cold water on your idea, because I wish it would happen too…but unlikely. Highly unlikely.

If I’m Marv Levy and the Bills regime I would tell you to get lost on that deal. We got the better of them in the Losman/Bledsoe situation, it’s doubtful we could take them for a ride once more, especially with Levy back in charge.

Why would the Bills want to miss out on getting a young beast like Ngata in return for an over-30 former Pro Bowler with a big contract and a late 1st rounder? Especially when they are rumored to be parting company with Sam Adams anyway because of his age and salary. Glover is only a year younger than Adams and his contract is about the same size.

Whenever everyone thinks about a trade idea it is sometimes a good idea to put yourself in the mindset of the other side of the trade. If it is a deal similar to one you wouldn’t want the Cowboys to do if they were in the other team’s position…then there is a very good chance another team wouldn’t go for it either. The Bills are not a veteran DL away from a title. They are going to either restructure or cut a guy close to Glover’s age and salary already. Think about this: if the Cowboys were in the Bills position (massive rebuilding) and then traded away a chance to get Ngata for a former Pro Bowl DL in his early 30’s with a big contract…wouldn’t you be mad as hell about it?

Glover is going to be hard to trade to any team that does not feel like it is only a veteran DL away from being a title contender. I would look at teams like the Broncos as a more likely possibility.

Derrick,

Buffalo has also had “problems” with other players. They have had coaching change after coaching change, and recently fired one of the most sought after coordinators in the league in Greg Williams. Trading away a 1st, a 2nd, and a 5th for Losman, and drafting an injured RB when they already had a productive player there tells me that the state of the Bills is disarray. .. How can a player be motivated when he doesn’t know what is next? Williams isn’t the only Bills player to “give up” either. The WRs have all but said that when Losman started they didn’t run their routes. .. If the Cowboys take a stab at Williams, when he is here I am quite sure he will be able to relate with Larry Allen. LA may be able to help Parcells motivate the young player. .. Make no mistakes about it though, if Williams plays to his potential he is a beast.

I wouldn’t have a problem with getting Williams if he comes rather cheaply. He isn’t good, but I don’t think it’s a question of talent. However, he’s young (only 26 years old)….can play both tackle spots and played left guard last year.

I think the best scenario would be getting Williams rather cheaply since he’s “damaged goods” and would be coming back to Texas. Then have Parcells get him into shape, which is Williams’ biggest weakness. If he works out well for Dallas, they could have a right tackle for the future while grooming whomever they select in the draft to eventually replace Flozell.

The problem with trading Glover is he isn’t “the man” anymore he needs good
players around him for him to excel.I
don’t know of too many teams saying “we’re just one good passing rushing DT from the SB”.Now that is not to say that Glover isn’t any good i think he is and I think he has 4-5 more good years but in the role Dallas has him in now.Whether Glover accepts that is
another matter but he should take a look at M. Willey who bitterly left
Dallas complaining about his role here
and went on to greatness with the jags

  STATS: sacks: 0
          Tackles:4
          SALARY: $800,000
          “Dat Dude” Finally shutting
           up and realizing he’s a has
           been:PRICELESS

Now that the tags have been placed or not placed we see the possibilities are many as to where we can go in FA. As far as no brainers go I would look for Dallas to go strongly go after one of the kickers. Another move that I would be surprised if not made is Fabini. Coming off an injury he should not be too high priced & would fill an immediate need at RT. As far as FS is concerned I feel we should look to the draft. All I see out there are the young, the old & the overpriced. Sowell might be a good pick up at FB. BP has praised him in the past & he also should come inexpensively. Bently would be huge but I do not know if BP will spend that large amt of cap money on him. Another option might be Peterson coming off an injury or depending on the conditions I would not rule out a possible trade pkge with Abrahms & draft pick. It will be fun to see how this unfolds but one thing for sure is look for the cowboys to be very active in FA.Again BP wants to win now & I believe he would trade down if he can get an immediate impact player such as Abrahms.

Sorry I meant Abraham but I`m sure you knew that.

Jesse:

I agree on all your points. Even the one about Bentley, although I would love to see him with the Cowboys. My current predictions are:

Vinatieri
Fabini
Sowell

Other than that I don’t see anything big unless some other players are unexpected cap casualties or JJ and Parcells jump into the Abraham game, which I doubt they’ll do because of the talent available at that position in the draft.

Raul,

Because they would get Glover AND the 18th pick…just 9 spots lower than where they are already.

Becker2
Man, how on Earth can you compare Glover to that sorry piece of $^!@ Wiley? I understand if you disagree with me, but there’s no reason to insult Glover like that. That’s like comparing Keyshawn to Quincy Morgan.

Sterling,
I didn’t say that the Bills would jump all over the idea; I just said propose it. Glover is not ancient or washed up by any means and still has a few good years left. He is not a “former pro bowler”. He was just there this year and since his stats were not that great, getting to the pro bowl shows that he has a lot of respect from his peers (as you know, it’s not just fan voting that gets you in it). Also, Buffalo would not be getting a “late first round pick”, they would move down 9 spots to a mid round selection. Your statement makes it sound like this is a bad trade because Buffalo would lose Ngata and all players that would be available at the 18th pick are practically worthless compared to him.

So why would they do this? Because they are getting someone who has proven he can play consistently at a high level and is a very good leader. Do they even have a good leader on D (no sarcasm, I really don’t know this)? Plus, they would be getting a very good player at the 18th spot whether it’s someone like Justice if he falls there, Holmes to replace Moulds, Carpenter, Simpson, etc. Getting a pro bowl DT as well as someone like Carpenter for a team running a 4-3 D may be worth Ngata to some teams. The trade is worth it for us if we plan on letting Glover walk anyway, but if we are planning on keeping him, I wouldn’t want to do it because IMO, Glover and Carpenter are worth more than Ngata.

The Bills are not one player away, you’re right about that. This trade gives them two players instead of just one. As far as why take Glover if they’re letting Adams go, well, that’s a good point and I didn’t realize they were planning on letting him go. To that point, I’ll concede that this may not make sense. However, Adams is not as good as Glover so Glover would be an upgrade for them. They each got 3 sacks this year and Glover recorded almost twice as many tackles. He also got his stats playing NT in a 3-4 part time instead of DT in a 4-3 full time. Adams was a full time starter in a defensive scheme that gives more freedom to DTs, but yet his stats weren’t as good and he is a year older than Glover as you pointed out. Glover can fill a DT need and they could grab someone like Watson in the second round if they want a big body. Glover would give them time to find additional talent in 2007 or 2008.

Again, this was purely speculation (as all opinions and ideas on this site) and I do doubt that it would ever happen; I was just throwing it out there. To make your point against what I wrote, you don’t have to say things like “whenever everyone thinks about a trade idea it is sometimes a good idea to put yourself in the mindset of the other side of the trade”. It makes you sound like you’re talking down to everyone who has had a trade idea and that no one thinks things through. From reading what you’ve written in the past, you’re normally respectful when you write unless you’re attacked first so I’m going to assume that’s not the way you intended it to come across.

As you can see by the blinding amount of text above (sorry about that) I did put myself in Buffalo’s position when I thought of the idea. Did it have flaws? I’d have to say probably yes now that you’ve pointed about that Buffalo wants to cut Adams. However, I still don’t think it would be a bad idea if that wasn’t the case. It’s just an opinion like most everything else on this site.

Blitzkrieg:

That assumes they would consider getting Glover and missing a chance at Ngata a good deal. Since they wouldn’t be getting any other picks in your scenario and would be picking up an expensive older player in a swap for 1st rounders…I think they would be the laughing stock of the NFL community, ESPN, and sports radio across the country if they took that deal.

Blitzkrieg:

I wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, and I realize we all have fun dreaming of ways to get the best players on our team. I only meant to point out that from time to time all of us have come up with ideas that are a little one-sided in our team’s favor because we forget to consider how the other team might view the deal. Not to say they definitely could not ever happen, but realistically certain deal proposals seem more of dead on arrival than others. No disrespect, I enjoy thinking about such things and a lot of us like to play devil’s advocate around here sometimes.

I think Buffalo runs a 3-4 with Sam Adams in the middle. Its pretty much a done deal that they will draft Ngata, I think I heard their owner talking really good about him yesterday. I dont see anyway we could get this guy, thats why they are looking more into Watson than Ngata.

Sterling,

No offense taken. I know things like emails and blogs can come across the wrong way so I try to keep that in mind and not jump all over someone if I read something a certain way. Thanks for your response.

And yes, it is all about dreaming good things for your favorite team. I’d love to get Ngata as our NT, but I know in reality there is VERY little chance of that happening. It would be nice if we got as lucky as NE did a few years back when Wilfork dropped to them even though some thought he was a top 10 pick. I know that’s not happening with this guy though.

Lou C:

Buffalo will almost definitely run a 4-3. That’s what they’ve been running and that’s what Dick Jauron utilized in Chicago and in Green Bay.

They still may get Ngata because Jauron likes to utilize two big DT’s up the middle to allow the LB’s to run free.

So if the Buffalo deal mention by Blitzkrieg is not feasible. Sweeten the deal, add Ellis, Rogers and a third round pick for their first round pick. They would then get two excellent 4-3 defensive linemen and a tackle to replace Williams and a extra third round pick for Watson. We could then get Ngata and Carpenter and a TE or OL at 49. Just an idea.

LightingWar,

I wasn’t comparing Wiley to Glover as players just in accepting a reduced role on a team.I agree MW s-cked -ss for us.He complained about his role as a 3rd down pass rusher then goes to the Jags complains somemore and winds
up in the same role with the jags.

I think changing a players role is a two way street.If a team is going in a different direction then let a player
who doesn’t fit leave so he can make a living in a scheme more suited to his
abilities.Like Dallas did with Coakley

Becker2,

Gotcha. I’m glad I misunderstood. I’d hate to think anyone would compare those two.

I think glover is great and would like
to keep him.

blitzkerig
 
yes i’m talking about johnson hes listed as 62 300 as a rookie and with i good off season workout program please expect him to be a lot bigger he showed some promise in the games he played b4 getting hurt recording 2 tackles so dont rule him out he had a good training camp last year