As The Rumor Mill Churns

I thought the Edinger comment was interesting. How does everyone feel about him?

Detroit has no idea what a pick-up Campbell is. He’s a bigger loss than Keyshawn.

Who is Edinger?

Am I the only one getting frustrated with the Cowboys lack of action? We’ve lost four good players and signed two no-names. Our horrible offensive line has added a role player and re-signed the guy who lost the Giants game for us last year. What is going on here? Why are Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells both on vacation right now?

Playmaker,
Do you really think JJ and BP are on vacation NOW? I read some where that Cowboys will not deal with T.O. till BP gets back from Florida, where he is watching his St. louis playing preseason baseball… Knowing BP, does anyone think for a second that BP at this time of FA is taking it easy and vacationing? I think not.. T.O. will be signed, just for the maketting aspect of it.. (refference; Jerry Jones as bussinessman).
My main concern is signing AV.

Toast: Yes, they are on vacation. Do you think BP is talking to Willie McGinest while they watch Scott Rolen take BP? DFW reported that Jerry Jones comments on Keyshawn were phoned in from his family’s vacation. So yes, it appears that while Minnesota is signing the best O-lineman in football, Cleveland is signing LeCharles Bentley, the Skins are signing players like drunken sailors……JJ and BP are on vacation. I find it almost unbelievable. What happened to being aggressive in free agency? Why isn’t Vinitieri coming to visit us, as well as Green Bay? I just think they’re blowing it right now.

Obviously, if we sign TO, McGinest, Vinitieri, Lawyer Milloy and Jason Fabini next week, I will eat my words. But I am fearful that with all of the teams in the league having so much money to spend, and our non-chalant approach, we are going to be left with the crumbs.

The players we lost, what did they sign for? I agree with the policy of not spending big $ early. I think the Boys’ need to approach free agency with BP’s draft philosophy: value. Don’t pay huge $ for Hutchinson at guard when you can get a young guy to develop for a fraction of the cost.

I hope that this philosophy carries over to the TO situation. He is a high priced whore, and I really don’t want him associated with my team. Let Denver or KC have him. Please JJ, don’t sell out.

Didn’t TO buy a house in FLA?

Maybe BP is in FLA to meet with TO and is taking in a cards game as well. Besides…..it has been known by the entire league TO would be cut by the iggles….so any considering the Cowboys were going to do has already been done along time ago. Remember the Iggles idiotic claims against Jones of Tampering? Dallas has been Considering Owens since the iggles paid him to stay at home.

While it is easy to jump on the we are not being active enuff bandwagon…..just be patient guys the Colts never jump into FA they wade in and the let the waters settle…..there are plenty of quality players left……has Levar signed? is his price dropping? has Willie Signed? AV?

Also teams will have later cuts where we will once again have opportunities to get quality players who are cap casualties. And unlike the Redskins the Dallas Cowboys have 3 first day picks.

Akin Ayodele is not a no name, hes a solid LB who hasnt had less than 100 tackles for 4 straight years.

Raf,

The Giants have already signed Demps, 5 years. I see the Jets moving up 2 spots to steal Matt Leinhart, and then Young or Cutler goes to the Titans and the Saints grab Mario Williams like they want.

McGinest sounds like the next signing, then a K, then a TE, and then we will take some time off and get ready for the draft. It looks to me like Jon Scott first then Bullocks.

Playmaker, Toast,

Do we think the player’s agents are not in touch with the Cowboys if they think their player is a fit? I am pretty sure that is their job. Afterall, it is in the best interest of their player.

If there is mutual interest, be sure the parties are negotiating as we speak.

playmaker
Akin is not a no name you must never have been on this sight or watched Jacksonville. He’s going to be a great fit just like Henry was last year. I’m sure they have their reasons for Kosier I don’t know much about him but I don’t have all the tools and info that BP and JJ do. I have faith that BP and JJ know what they are doing.

rha,
Well said.. That’s exactly what is going on.

Yea. Ayodele is more than solid. He is going to excel in the MLB position. I think if we sign Mcginest. Our LB will be set.

I bet we trade down in the draft.

Playmaker,
skins mortgaged their future.. It is this year or bust.. You want to see a colossal claps and mass excites next year…watch the skins this time next year. It kind of remind me of some folks who charge everything on their credit card and feel keep going more and more in debt till someday they hid the wall and then bankruptcy.

Dark-Agreed. What need could we fill in the top 20 thatr we couldn’t fill in the early 2nd or even 3rd rd?

Sorry about some typo.

On Kosier. I don’t see him as the second coming, but….

Does anyone remember the flak created at the large signing of Flozell Adams? We, including me, were not thrilled with the past performances of Adams and wondered why.

Bill came in and got something out of him. He was right, we weren’t. These guys don’t grow on trees and take time to develope. I’ll wait and see on this one. I don’t know if I can wait on the receiver issue.

All this receiver stuff has got to be great for this site, ESPN, etc. The rumor mills are sure churning.

Football in March, I love it.

if we do get Willie……we can probably drop the OLB draft to 2nd 3rd or even 2nd day……and see how Kalen Thornton and Burnette pans out. Instead of having to take Carpenter or Wimbley or whoever right away…..

Ayodele was a no name til I looked at his stats. He was there Dat Nguyen basically and should be a great fit on the inside. He adds to the corp of Ware, James, Ayodele…….now we just need a bookend and let the other guys come in as subs.

Any chance we are going to see Larry Allen play RT this season. We signed a G from Detroit and resigned Gurode? Flo Kosier Gurode Rivera Allen? Just a thought BP played with the idea last year……take the best out of AJ, Petitti, Columbo, Rogers, whoever else we still have…maybe another rookie..if so maybe BP told LA to drop some more weight and show up ready for RT. He is being paid RT pay maybe it is time he earned it. I don’t think Bill is going to draft a Tackle in this years draft other than D’Brick that could step on the field and provide what we need.

Jon B
I am sure we will draft a OT at some point in the draft probably early.

I am with those of you that are worried with what has transpired the last few days. I dont see Kosier as a starter but a first back up. I still think we need a OT maybe Fabini, a OLB maybe McGinnest, a K maybe Vinniteri or Mare or Edinger, a S Hope or Woodsen, a TE and FB, and a WR Owens, Moulds, or Walker. I just dont see us moving on anything and it worries me. Many FS have been signed and we havent even made a move. Demps, Shuan Williams, McCree have been signed. What are we waiting for

except V Davis- If he drops we better grab him!!

What happened to us signing Sowell ?! Any word on that?

As for the Draft, I think there is a big chance we trade down and attempt to collect as many 2nds and 3rds as we can looking at Carpenter, Winbley, Lawson, Jason Allen, Daniel Bullocks, Jon Scott, Marcus Mcniell, Davin Joseph, Charles Spencer, Sinorice Moss, Gabe Wattson, Mercedes Lewis, Leonard Pope, and Eric Winston.
The offensive players worth a 1rst are Chad Jackson, Santonio Holmes, and Vernon Davis. Michael Huff and Jimmy Williams are worth our first as maybe Lawson or Winbley. Small chance Ngata drops. Bunkley seems like he is on the rise and will be first DT taken.

Bio -right everyone in our reach is either a reach or has close to equal skill in the 2nd. That or it’s a position of strength for us.
Davis, ‘Brick, Huff. would be good though, but probably won’t be on the board.

Don’t get me wrong. I actually really like the Ayodele signing. And I like that they have signed two younger guys. I just really expected them to be more aggressive. Hutchinson would have been a difference maker, and I think he is worth the money. I am concerned that TO and Key could sign elsewhere while JJ and BP are on vacation, and then we’re stuck short at WR. Why not make a big push for AV b4 Green Bay snags him? Do you really trust any other kicker out there? They have sooooo much cap space, and a new stadium coming. I just think it might have been wise to put the full-court press on AV, TO…..and I would have wined and dined Steve Hutchinson also if I were GM. They could sign 6-7 studs with all of that cap space. This is a team that should have beaten 3 of the final four teams (and did beat Carolina) last year. They’re not that far away. Now is when you act aggressively.

I would like to see Larry Allen at right tackle, but I fear that they are going to cut him. Then we’ve taken another step back. You could argue that for a team that couldn’t block and protect their QB last year, we’re losing three of our best blockers if that happens (Campbell, Key, LA) and that scares the crap out of me.

Until they do something of impact, I feel like we’re acting like the Kansas City Royals right now. Pony up the cash JJ, and show these players that you really want them. Now is not the time to play hardball when every team in the league has major dollars to spend. I fear that they’re out-thinking themselves.

Well, you can add another trade down scenario, Minesotta wants a chance to Draft one of the top QBs and right now they have pick 17 and picks 48 and 49.

What about trading pick 18th (900 points) for picks 48 and 49 (830) and a couple of 4th rounder (one this year and the other next= add 100 points), that way Minesotta has picks 17 and 18th for a total of 1850 points which is enough to trade up to pick 4, where they would indeed be in position to land the one that gets by Tennessee.

That way Dallas finishes with picks 47, 48, 49, 82 and a 4th Rounder, enough to get: Mark Anderson (DE/OLB), Anthony Fasano, an OLineman, a QB project and one WR.

Hutchinson is still available, I believe. Seattle has two weeks to match the offer. If any team outbids and He signs the offer sheet that team snags the player. I’m pretty sure those are the rules. Am I right Raf?
Anyways, it doesn’t look like we’re that int in him anyway.

One thing to notice is that everyone is still throwing around names that are on the top of FA lists. They are still there and we haven’t overpaid anyone yet like the Skins. It is quite possibleto still pick up some of these players at a discount as no one else will be able to make the offer we can as they have already blown their wad on FA.

Chandus fro PRES!!!

hutchinson signed a fat deal with minnesota, he’s long gone

Playmaker,

They are negotiating, relax. This is not a race, these players are signing with the team that makes them the best offer, not the team that contacts them first.

RHA right, that is why some of the most “in demand players” are still on the board. Ie. W Mcginnest will wait and see who’s gonna show him da monay! so will Key and AV etc. I’m just anxious to see some movement from a fans perspective.

Of course, I’m considering that Dallas grabs before the Draft: a Kicker (one of the already mentioned), McGinest, a Safety (Hope, Coleman and one of those CBs that can turn FSs for lack of offerings, so no Woodson) and a NT (Lance Legree, Monsanto Pope and Ryan Pickett).

Gunner,

Yep, me too. But when we get our guys we have nothing to do in the middle of the day.

rha:

But are they negotiating? Wouldn’t Vinitieri or TO come to Dallas for a visit if they were seriously negotiating? Who is negotiating if the two guys who run the organization are on vacation? Stephen Jones?

I really hope that I am wrong. There are still a lot of good players out there, obviously. But the good players are dwindling every day. I would be booking Superbowl accomodations if we signed Bently and Hutchinson, but it doesn’t appear as if we even tried to sign them. We need O-line help in the worst way. Do you think Mawae would have signed with Tennessee if he was offered a contract to play for Tuna again? I don’t know that there are really any good O-linemen left now. The three I mentioned are difference-makers. Kosier is just depth.

If there was one player they should be going crazy to sign, it is AV. Because kicker has been killing us and the other options don’t excite me. I don’t want Vanderjerk.

I guess I am panicking a bit this early on, but when I look at the team’s needs, see what is left and who already signed, I feel like we missed the boat. Drew Bledsoe is a stud when he has time, and a dud when he doesn’t. I wouldn’t have had a problem with signing three O-linemen and nothing else. But there aren’t even any good O-linemen left.

gunnerklein,

No, once Hutchinson signed the offer sheet, there is no way that another team can step in. It is between Seattle and Minnesota.

The only (extremely slim) chance for Hutchinson to go back on the market would be if Minnesota withdrew their offer before Seattle responded.

I think BP knows a little something about those guys that we don’t. He must think he can get close to their value for cheaper or he would have bought in. Also this is the information age. They deal through Fax’s, Computers, ETC. They no longer have to come in as long as they are not needing a physical, or an interview for behavior. (see BP “vacationing” in FL.

Playmaker,

Understood, but with the cap there is only so much money. No team can get around that without mortgaging their future. WE BETTER USE THAT MONEY WISELY.

Who is to say if we signed Bentley we would have the money for AV or some of the others mentioned.

This is a balancing act for sure IMO.

Jones said before FA began he wasn’t going to be investing any big money in it. So that leaves 2nd tier guys like the one we signed and the draft. You can only put so much money in any one place.

Mr Bill- Got it, thanks-ESPN 7 must have been where I got by faulty info.
Playmaker-The reason it seems so slow this year is the televising of the WBC and March madness so when we watch the sports ticker at the bottom of our favorite sports channel it takes an hour to go over stupid teams we’ve never even heard of.

I was refering to the OLine in my post above.

Any of the top 4 OTs seem like a good deal. One would assume that at least one if not 2 or more of them will still be available in the second or third round.

Playmaker,

Stephen Jones is perfectly capable of negotiating a contract with any player. He has been doing just that for years. In fact, for the last few years, he has done the negotiations with all of our draft picks.

The only thing you lose with Jerry and Bill out of town is the face-to-face contact with the prospect. There is a lot to be said for Jerry’s salesmanship. But, there is still telephone contact. They can both still talk to a prospect. Also, I bet that if a high-profile prospect were to come to town for a visit, Jones or Parcells or both would fly in by private jet for the final negotiations/signing.

I can understand some of the points defending the Cowboys conservative approach, but I would liek to make a couple of points about the salary cap. $20 million of cap space is an ENORMOUS amount of cap space. Remember, a guy like Steve Hutchinson signs a 7 yr/$49 million contract with a $16 million bonus, well he will count about $3 million against the cap this year. $2.2 million each year (pro-rated signing bonus) plus base salary usually starts out at league minimum when a stud gets a huge signing bonus. Guys like Kosier and Ayodele will each count about $1.5 million against the cap ($1 million each year + base salary) this season.

Everybody keeps saying “don’t mortgage the future”, but hasn’t everyone said that about the Skins for years now? They give the big bonuses, spread out the cap hit, and sign a half-dozen impact players every year. Now obviously, a lot of those guys haven’t worked out. And I am not proposing that the Boys spend like drunken sailors/Dan Snyder. But my point is that $20 million in cap space goes a long way. And even if they went on a spending spree trying to win the Superbowl in 2006, they could keep re-structuring and cutting overpaid players a re-tooling just like the Skins do every year. The Cowboys could make a big splash without mortgaging their future.

I know things seem slow but this is a long process. Remember it was two weeks into free agency before we picked up Glover several years ago. I still think we will sign TO and a kicker (just not sure it will be AV). I also see us adding a RT – may be Brad Hopkins from the Titans. Willie McGinest would be a plus but I think we can draft a good LB in the 1st round. I am still a little concerned about FS and NT. Sign TO, a solid kicker, McGinest and have a productive draft and kick the crap out of the Skins.

BTW, for those mentioning that if McGinest is signed through Free Agency the need for OLB help should be downgraded, I wouldn’t do it, you guys are expecting too much out of Thornton, Singleton, Burnett and even from McGinest. Thornton hasn’t shown anything other than 2 sacks against a backup Tackle in a Preseason game, furthermore he comes from knee surgery. Singleton is good in coverage and good in run support, but nothing flashy, sounds like ILB to me and one with limited upside. And Burnett hasn’t been healthy enough to be counted for anything. Add to that that Shanle is a really limited player in coverage and from time to time reacts slowly to support the run and Fowler’s still a work in progress and you find that there’s a need for capable LBs.

Dallas fan trapped in D.C. I hate to say it, but at some point, we all may have to give Danny boy a little credit. His signings havent panned out yet from a performance on the field standpoint (so blame the talent evaluators there), but they havent had to suffer through any of the apocalyptic cuts we’ve all been predicting for them for a few years now. Somehow, they’re making it work. So while it might make us feel better to say things like “they overpaid,” “they mortgaged their future,” da-da-da-da-da, the fact is they get who they want year in and year out at no discernible (at least to me) cost to them (other than Danny’s $$). If they get lucky one of these days and hit the right FA’s, we all better watch out!

I think between Burnett, Singleton and Thornton….McGinest as a role player would be perfect at OLB.

What do you guys think about Lawyer Milloy at safety? We don’t need a stud ther, just someone smart who can cover his responsibilities.

What about Jon Runyan at RT?

From AP article: The best free agent additions under Gibbs have been linebacker Marcus Washington, cornerback Shawn Springs, defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin and defensive end Phillip Daniels.

I think Larry Allen is too slow to play RT anymore. Kosier must have been brought in to compete at RT, and as a backup Guard and Tackle – to avoid the depth problems we had last year when Flozell went down. I think Kosier played Tackle in college, so he has experience there. Hopefully Kosier will develop and be able to take over for Allen or Rivera when they leave. And, hopefully, Kosier can hold down RT long enough for Pettiti, Colombo or a draft choice to mature.

I can’t believe Marco Rivera is still on the roster. He was terrible last year. That’s the guy who should be cut, not LA.

Chandus,

What team has 6 top shelf linebackers? I think our expectations are a bit too high here. We have to hope someone develops; we can’t buy a whole new team.

Phillip Daniels sack stats are inflated because of the second Dallas game were Tucker gave up 4. He is strong against the run though.

Playmaker,

Lawyer Milloy is a SS. He’s an older, more worn down Roy Williams. Don’t need another one of those.

Hutchinson? Seriously? At a salary that would make him the highest paid player on your team? Look, he got a huge deal from a team with the most cap room in the league this year. Even the Eagles, who have loads of space, and were interested in him, were said to be shocked by the contract.

There’s smart money and there’s stupid money. Notice that the Steelers and Patriots, winners of four of the last five super bowls, have hardly made a peep?

In the meantime, how many springs is that that Dan Snyder has flashed the most cash? What does he have to show for it? One playoff win his entire reign, and that came courtesy of a dropped TD pass in Tampa.

I’ve said it before; there should be an award given to the organization that wins the spring Super Bowl. It will be a giant roll of bills sitting in a roaring fireplace. We’ll call it the Snyder Trophy.

You can tout fiscal responsibility as much as you want, but that doesn’t keep Drew Bledsoe off of his backside.

I sat in Giants stadium for 3+ hours watching Bledsoe drop back and get creamed repeatedly. I don’t think Hutch’s contract was stupid money. He is arguably the best lineman in football.

We need linemen so badly…..

rha:
If they get McGinest and a hight Draft pick, the Cowboys.

I’ll say it again, this unit

WSLB – Ware/Burnett
WILB – James/Singleton
SILB – Ayodele/Singleton
SSLB – McGinest/high pick(Carpenter, Wimbley, Lawson, Anderson,…)

represents a much more better unit than this one:

WSLB – Ware/Burnett/Thornton
WILB – James/Fowler
SILB – Ayodele/Fowler
SSLB – McGinest/Burnett/Singleton

Why? Because neither of the Burnett, Singleton or Thornton trio have proven that they can get to the QB in the NFL. Hell, they didn’t even proved to be capable of doing so in a consistent basis in College, there the only one with limited upside is Burnett, but his sacks came in blitzes from the middle, not against RTs or LTs.

After last season I’m kind of tired of just having one side at OLB that can make the QB feel the heat, McGinest would, but he won’t be on the field all the time, that wouldn’t be wise, so one of the trio will see time and we’re back to what we saw last season.

Rafael:
Yeah, not to mention that the poison pill in the Hutchisnon’s contract, the one that says that he has to be the top paid OLineman on the roster, would mean that the hole contract would be guaranteed, and I can easily see an over $10Ms final year in his deal… Our top paid Olineman is LA, but he’s followed closely by Flozell (7Ms). Hutchinson would be the third best paid.

alright how about this. draft olb(wimbley) in 1st. May seem high but there alot of guys really high on him. 2nd take best available fs(hopefully simpson would still be there). Rest of draft would consist of TE, NT, and best available player after that. The top two picks would basically finish the D. Sign Fabini, A.V. and as much as I hate to say ut T.O. Give our young lineman(peterman,rodgers,columbo,petiti) some spot time and let them develop, let Kosier fill in the weak area of the line as it develops and I think we will be fine

Chandus,

I am not opposed to an impact player opposite Ware, but if he is not affordable it is mute.

We can use that type player at OLB, OT, FS or WR but we cannot overpay.

OVERPAYING IS THE DEVIL!

Whichever comes at a reasonable cost we should take whether in the draft or FA.

mcginest to Browns as per espn

Yep

three-year $12 million deal.

And another one bites the dust……….

would someone tell bill to come back and sign some players before to late. I guess he dosent remember 2004

S#!t, then drafting OLB high isn’t anymore some kind of luxury, it’s a must.

Chris Hope is also gone, he’s now a Titan.

Charles Woodson is still out there. Does anyone see he as a possiblilty at free safety?

How about Nathan Jones at free?

the espn news is showing willie mac has agreed to go to the browns…what in the hell is jj and bp doing.. the big bang they are talking about,is cowboy fans throwing rocks at their cars.[ha ha ha]..o.k.,boys let pick up the pace and get it going,before we are on the outside looking in…..cowboy fan for life…

Marc Columbo is a former 1st round pick for Chicago who had some knee problem. This guy is huge!!! About 6’8" and over 340lbs. He would make a great RT if his knee is OK.

I hope Playmaker’s post doesn’t become a theme.

Woodson will want a big contract.

What is BP now “Nero” the team burns while he watches baseball. Jerry on vacation. I see 9-7 all the way. Maybe we can pick up Cundiff again once he’s cut by Tampa. Washington won’t be much better with Brunnells old butt. And if BP can’t handle Bryant’s temper tantrams. T.O. is just a volcano ready to erupt the first time our line is decimated and we don’t have anybody to protect Bledsoe. I like the LB signing but he’s not that much better than Fujita. Plus there is talk he’s a head case or Jax would have tried to keep him. I still think Kosier is nothing more than a back up.And T.O. is not coming to a team who’s coach’s ego is bigger than his. We got caught with our pants down and we lost a good receiver over 1 million. T.O. wants a Super Bowl not a .500 record. Everyone gets better and we stay the same. Our QB isn’t getting younger and we have no one in the wings who can take over. Another disapointing year.

How are Burnett and Thornton’s knees? They were both big last during camp before going down with injuries!!! As a matter of fact they were both starters during the first couple of pre-season games.

Hope to the Titans. We missed another one!!

Keyshawn actually wanted a higher salary thats why we released him.

The O-Line woes are not as bad as they seem. I agree that the top INTERIOR O-Linemen are gone (Bentley, Hutchinson), but this year, there is an abundance of good, cheap (cheaper than the aforementioned int. linemen) Tackles. Note that Hopkins, Fabini and Runyan are all Pro-Bowl caliber Tackles and are all still available. The problem with moving LA outside to RT is that filling the middle in Free Agency is much more difficult and expensive. Furthermore, at his age, Allen may not be the guy you want trying to stop an edge rusher. If I had my way, LA stays at LG, Flozell moves back into his starting role at LT, Johnson, Rivera and Gurode Battle it out for C-RG and they sign Runyan to replace Pettiti. See then that you would have Kosier, Pettiti and either Gurode or AJ as backups, that’s a pretty deep line with only ONE big name signing. Why Not?!
At FS, I’m not as sold on Hope and wish Demps was still available. Hope would certainly be an upgrade, but I still wish there was a better option (and I don’t trust a rookie)
At WR, I think the Cowboys have to sign TO, I’m from Philly and really do feel that alot the attacks on him were unfair and think that he is the best option here.
At Kicker, Adam Vinatieri is obviously the best option, but I would be satisfied with Edinger. PLEASE NO ONE ELSE MENTION VANDERJAGT!!
I couln’t see the Cowboys not signing McGinest and am definatley affraid of going into the draft with only Ferguson at NT and OLB, Dashon Polk is still available and is better than McGinest.
So, essentially, they just have to sign Runyan, Polk, Hope, TO and Edinger. It wouldn’t hurt the cap space too much and they’d still be able to fill some depth holes after the draft when vets get cut.

I hope Playmaker’s post doesn’t become a theme.(63)

Right now we should be in good shape at LB and OL.

There is a good mixture of veterans and youth on the OL. They all need time to work together as a unit.

Might be even better at LB. Everything is dependent on the progress of their injuries.

Amen, Rafael! Everyone needs to take a chill pill. I want AV, too, but other than that, we need value and depth.

Succesful teams are not made through free agency. Elite players are found in the draft and developed. Yes, if you’re a player short, you can take an expensive elite FA like Deion but the Patriots, the best team in sense the salary cap, have won by having depth at all positions and this has been done by drafting and developing players, not through FA. We can shorten the process by getting solid depth in FA but the elite players come through the draft. Ayodele is exactly the kind of value player we need to sign because we can get several for the cost of one Bentley or Hutchinson. TO is of interest because of value, an elite talent at a relatively low price.

So let’s all chill out and let Bill and Jerry do their thing. Its not who leads at the first turn but the one leader at the finish that matters.

Playmaker,

While we all know the general amount of cap space available to the Cowboys in 2006, none of us has any idea of how much we will have in future years. One thing to consider is that we have several young players who will be due new contracts soon, as their rookie contracts expire. We are also saving money at quarterback. That can’t last forever.

Just a few things to consider when we look at that gigantic pile of available cash for 2006.

The detail orientented blog I’ve been following last night and today is so excellent.
Thanks to you people for providing so many informed observations.
Now just keep it coming after the draft and through the preseason so I can assimilate how the new players are progressing, or not.

Guys, if Dallas has one hell of a Draft like the last one, they’ll be fine.

You can’t start signing guys like frenzy because some of those past picks need to be shown the money in the future, in this past Draft alone, Ware, Spears, Canty and maybe even Petitti will demand big bucks in 3 years. Also in the next couple of years this guys will be tied longterm: Roy Williams, Terence Newman, Jason Witten and Bradie James. All that money doesn’t grow in trees, you know?

Still, at least a couple of signings need to get done, it’s a shame that Hope and McGinest weren’t part of the plans.

Mr Bill,
Exactly what I was going to say.

Our biggest voids are now at WR and PK. I thinks we pigeon holed ourselves by letting all of the good talent that was available early sign with other teams. This leaves us with only TO.

BP is currently vacationing in Florida and TO owns a home there. Hummmm!!!! If we don’t sign TO or trade for Walker in GB we’re in trouble.

Rafael,

Just read a post on the Ranch Report blog that McGinest had signed with Cleveland. Any confirmation on that?

Swidge,

Confirmed on KFFL.com

I think Runyan and TO are top priorities right now. Anyone who says the O-Line is fine because of Kosier wasn’t paying attention to the O-Line play last year even before Flozell got hurt. Runyan, Fabini or Hopkins are definately needs.
Chandus, Building throught the draft is more difficult when you convert your defense. The fact that dallas had to use the top of the last draft on building a D instead of keeping Coakley and Glover around and instead of minimizing Greg Ellis’ role, they opened up to too much need everywhere else. Take a look at WR, QB, NT, and to some extent O-Line. Where will we be in 3 years?!? You can’t build through the draft when you have that much building to do.
Signing a guys like Runyan and Polk for 3 years won’t hurt when you have to give Jones, Newman and Witten new contracts. It will hurt, however, to let cap space stagnate for the next three years because the young players on the team won’t know how to win. The Pats did stay good through the draft, but they bring in important pieces to help their young guys develop.
I’m not saying that the 3-4 switch was a mistake, but I think it hurt the Cowboys’ ability to rebuild the offense. Think if insead of drafting Spears, the Cowboys drafted Aaron Rodgers or a WR. We would still have a damn good 4-3 with Ware (maybe Merriman since he’s bigger) playing DE opposite Greg Ellis and you would STILL HAVE GLOVER and COAKLEY and maybe Dat wouldn’t have gotten hurt. He had to deal with too many head on blocks from O-Linemen.

I think Runyan and TO are top priorities right now. Anyone who says the O-Line is fine because of Kosier wasn’t paying attention to the O-Line play last year even before Flozell got hurt. Runyan, Fabini or Hopkins are definately needs.
Chandus, Building throught the draft is more difficult when you convert your defense. The fact that dallas had to use the top of the last draft on building a D instead of keeping Coakley and Glover around and instead of minimizing Greg Ellis’ role, they opened up to too much need everywhere else. Take a look at WR, QB, NT, and to some extent O-Line. Where will we be in 3 years?!? You can’t build through the draft when you have that much building to do.
Signing a guys like Runyan and Polk for 3 years won’t hurt when you have to give Jones, Newman and Witten new contracts. It will hurt, however, to let cap space stagnate for the next three years because the young players on the team won’t know how to win. The Pats did stay good through the draft, but they bring in important pieces to help their young guys develop.
I’m not saying that the 3-4 switch was a mistake, but I think it hurt the Cowboys’ ability to rebuild the offense. Think if insead of drafting Spears, the Cowboys drafted Aaron Rodgers or a WR. We would still have a damn good 4-3 with Ware (maybe Merriman since he’s bigger) playing DE opposite Greg Ellis and you would STILL HAVE GLOVER and COAKLEY and maybe Dat wouldn’t have gotten hurt. He had to deal with too many head on blocks from O-Linemen.

Seems like ever since I started coming to this site everyone has been complaining about gett a WR yet that has not been a problem for us once in the BP era.

Having Adams back is a huge addition that you guys are giving no meaning to. If Kosier can play RT then what else do we need? I personally would like an upgrade at C, but out of the draft only. Perhaps Kosier is that swing guy that BP likes those guys make good money in this league to be able to fill in at multiple spots. One more RT is needed but I’m not sure that should be done in free agency. Make no mistake getting Adams back is huge.

Also don’t forget we have alot of contracts to extend coming up this season. Witten, Roy Williams, Terrance Newman, Bradie James to name a few. You guys want to have to let one of them go so that we can give a 3rd WR name Ranel EL a 10mil bonus?

Swidge, confirmed on ESPN.com

i was 50/50 about TO…not im 100% with it…because with hte changes the skins made..we may be looking at another sweep…if we dont get a # 1 wr and a K….the ginat are creating a NO PASS ZONE..sorry to say …but KJ and TG wouldnt have cut it this yeart with the EXTREAM upgrade to the giants secondary…you guys better hope we get TO now..atleast the eagles arent doing anything drastic…but the ginats and skins stepped it up big time in FA so far…jj better step on the gas soon ..before we are stuck drafting a FS,OT,WR and K…all positions that should be taken care of before the draft….maybe not fs…but def the rest…

cash

good ppoint..seems like we all forget about adams….myself included somtimes….also forget that kosier can play tackle..we keep refuring him as a guard…and looking a T as a possibility to LA..that may not be the case…kosier may be looking at takle..

DT Rocky resigned with the Seahawks.

Jacob Rogers is still on our roster too…..and before the preseason injury was looking good and would have started.

We added a ILB and a G/T…..that is addressing our two obvious needs. Although I still think the O Line and LB position need more help.

TE is a position that we probably address in the draft. FS can be addressed during the draft, and we are returning our starter from last year and possibly mixing in Bierault into the defensive backfield. I still think TO will be a Cowboy before it is all said and done.

Is Robert Mathis going to get away from the Colts? If so he looks more like an OLB than a DE to me. Sign him up…..he knows how to sack the QB.

Looks like we can cross off Willie McGinest he was just signed by the Browns.

I remember reading that Kosier was told he was signed to play guard.

Remember, we had two gaping holes at tackle last year. Adams can only play one spot, and his level of play is not guaranteed after a torn ACL. If they don’t sign a tackle, I would like to see Adams moved back to RT, where he played at Michigan State, and they’ll just have to give Tucker help all year. Oh yeah, we don’t have a blocking TE anymore.

No one is forgetting that we get Adams back, we just recognize that the O-Line was bad even before he got hurt

NICKL,

Our line was adequate minus a RT. But our offense was clickn through the air part until Adams got hurt. When Adams was gone it made other positions look worse than they were because help had to shift. Our Centers probably won’t look as bad if Allen can help them instead of helping the LT.

Jon B,
Did you really mention Jacob Rogers? He was “lloking good” before the injury based on his weight alone. We don’t know if the weight made him better. Also, he has no heart. He doesn’t want to play the game. Right Tackles have to have a mean strak when they run block, Rogers is a bit too soft and definately cannot be relied on. If he wasn’t a second round pick, he would have been cut a while ago.

Great…McGinest is gone…am I the only one who is frustrated with this free agency? I thought we were going to have more money to spend…we’ve signed a no name guard and a pretty good linebacker, but now we have a lot more holes with the release of KJ, glover, and fujita…doesn’t it make you guys sick to be seeing every other team signing the players that WE need??? what’s up with this? i’m freakin’ po’d with how this free agency is goin…

CASH,
The line was adequate minus a RT but the interior was almost dreadful. AJ can’t run block well enough and Rivera played miserably. The idea of LA helping the LT is a 2 way street. Flozell getting hurt showed that the aging LA relied pretty heavily on having a good Tackle next to him. LA looked much worse after Flozell got hurt and that’s the LA that you have if you move him to RT. I think that with Adams back, the tam still needs a damn good RT to make the whole line adequate (RUNYAN)

Good for McGinest. He’s one of the good guys in the league. We don’t need 34 year old free agents. I’m loving this free agency. I think the idea of signing a bunch of over 30 players to long term contracts is just stupid. Build with youth through the draft and save FA for the final few spots. I know, I sound like a broken record. But, I think JJ and BP like the sounds of that record.

steely,
building through the draft is idealistic, at best, given the Cowboys’ situation. Parcells allowed too many good players on D leave because he didn’t like the 4-3 scheme. by letting guys like Glover and Coakley go and guys like Ellis bbecome less of an impact and letting Nguyen play a position that made him get hurt, the cowboys hurt their chances of building through the draft. They could have just signed a DE or drafted Merriman at # 11 and had a damn good 4-3 for years to come, then could have spent the rest of the draft bringing youth to the O. think of this scary thought: the cowboys offense in 3 years! No QB, No WRs and an even worse O-Line, sure the D will be good, but it would have been good anyway in the 4-3. Now, the Cowboys have to fill holes in Free Agency. Signing a 34 year old player for 3 years is the cowboys’ best chance at success.
Jones, Witten, Newman, James all need to learn how to win playoff games then and only then will they be set for the future.
If every draft choice has to be able to “step in right away” as they’ve had to the past few years, you can never build a new Offense

http://www.kffl.com/article/164/Mock_Draft_Compilations:_Overall.html

This site gives us the compilation of mock drafts of each player in the top 45 of this year’s draft. … Manny Lawson and Chad Jackson are projected right near selection #22.

NICKL,

The team of the 90’s was built with the draft and a few free agents to finish the task. The Steelers just won the big one with mostly drafted players. I think we’re still one year away. I’d rather not tie up a bunch of cap space reaching for it this year and stunt the growth of rookies and first year players. Let’s keep developing the youth. By this time next year, we’ll have a playoff appearance under the belt of these callow youths and know exactly what position we need to fill with a good FA. I put emphasis on the singular of position. This blog has been all over the place on what positions to fill with FA. That’s a sign we’re still not ready for prime time. This time next year we are going to have a kick ass D. I just don’t buy the snyder school of managment’s spending everything you have hoping it works.

But you’re not addressing the sunk cost of letting so many good players go! you can build with the draft if you build off of what you have, not if you throw away your best players!

we would have had a kick ass D without the switch to the 3-4 AND, we’d have a more formidable offense (maybe we would have drafted Rodgers and not been so worried about who to play at QB after Bledsoe leaves).
I’m not a fan of the Snyder school of overspending either. But, you cannot try to be like the Pats or Steelers if you throw away your most talented players. A way to build through the draft when Bill got here would have been to keep the D as it was, sign a new CB, Safety and DE, not totally revamp the D.
Think about how much the 3-4 move hurt the ability to rebuild through the draft and you’ll see that it’s too late for that

plus parcells will only be here for 1, maybe 2 years. the patriots, steelers won super bowls because they found their qb, not because they were building through the draft.

It was stupid not grabbing McGinest, if we draft Carpenter, what do we do if he reinjures that ankle? With Hope gone its time to get started bringing people in. We have let other teams negiotate and visit other teams before they visit us. Now LB is a problem too, along with WR, NT, FS, K, and RT.

i think that without the 3-4 switch, they could have found their QB in Aaron Rodgers or in Jason Campbell

Nickl,

I mean no harm, but what were the Cowboys records with those “good” players leading the team? .. And now they are only older and the good ones like La’Roi simply don’t fit our scheme. Parcells has done an exceptional job at building this team, especially the defense, through the draft. 7 starers on defense are Dallas Cowboy draft picks. Throw in Anthony Henry and Ayodele and then the Boys have 9 young talented players starting on D. Leaving us with FS- ?? NT- Fergi. That is not bad!! Plus we have a few young back ups (Ratliff, Johnson, Beriault, etc.) that seem like they can contribute. Parcells will also likely add a young NT in the early to mid rounds this year.

If a frog had wings he wouldn’t bump his ass…and if FAs had enough talent/value, they would still be on their respective teams.

That being said, my guess for the big bang:
- Vinatieri, K
- Sam Adams, NT
- Runyan, RT
- t.o., resident malcontent

Eric,

You have a good point on our D. But the O Line sucks and as of right now our receiving group is iffy. I like our running backs and our QB but w/o protection nor blocking, the O will not do anything and the D will always get before the third qtr is over. We need something to happen on our line and to sign T.O. and we shoiuld be competitive.

FS Chris Hope signs with Titans

the big bang is jj not spending his money

I forgot to mention kicker and G-d forbid nothing happens to Bledsoe. We do not have a backup QB that can win in the playoffs.

The D would have been just as good. Ellis would actually be useful, Glover would be here and instead of putting up 3 sacks, would be putting up 8. Coakley would be here. Dat wouldn’t have gotten hurt. the reason that D wasn’t good is because of the Secondary. Remember when Dewayne Goodrich was a starter? Before Newman and Roy Williams, the problem was the secondary. The whole D didnt have to be changed because the secondary was bad. Look at how bad the Offense is for the future right now

fighter, I love that scenario, I would add Polk, the Texans’ linebacker to that though. That would allow for complete freedom to use the draft as a “best player available”/ “build through the draft” type of thing

Nickl,

As I stated before, part of letting some of these guys go is to hold on to our best players with extensions in the near future, including Newman, Roy Williams, Bradie James, and Julius Jones. Which guy that we have let go would you want back at the expense of losing one of those guys? Which guy in FA would you want to sign to a prohibitive contract as the Redskins have and risk losing one of the guys I’ve mentioned?

kffl’s saying vanderjerk’s agent has been in contact with the boys

Cowboys | Vanderjagt’s agent in contact with team
Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:51:53 -0800

Tom James, of the Terre Haute Tribune-Star, reports free agent PK Mike Vanderjagt’s (Colts) agent, Gil Scott, has been in contact with the Dallas Cowboys.

For those who are worried about spending our money now because we will need to re-sign players in 2-3 years, remember BP won’t be here then and we will be in rebuilding mode with a new coach. We only have 2 years to win the Superbowl. After that, we have to start over.

NICKL,

The value of a quality player drafted in a 4-3 scheme = 1.

The value of a quality player drafted in a 3-4 scheme = 1.

What’s this “changing defenses prevented us from building through the draft” nonsense.

First, let’s dispense with this notion that somehow Parcells is responsible for ending Dat’s career because he played out of position. He played ILB in both schemes. His neck problems were likely cumulative over a season of playing too small for ANY NFL scheme.

Now, back to your thesis. Do you recall what that ’03 4-3 looked like?

The DEs were Ellis, Ekuban, Coleman and Ogbagu. That equals one quality DE in my book.

The DTs were Glover, Jermaine Brooks, Willie Blade and Leo Carson. In other words, one quality DT in the bunch.

Ellis and Glover were around in ’04 when that defense collapsed and they were playing alone.

Dexter Coakley was around in ’04 too and he sucked. All the linebackers dropped off badly in ’04.

There were only three quality, dependable starters on that unit in ’04, Ellis, Glover, Newman and Roy Williams and the DLs were getting old.

Parcells needed to rebuild that front regardless of which scheme he used. And he’s put James, Ware, Ayodele, Canty, Ferguson, Spears and Ratliff on the front seven.

Glover is a subtraction because he didn’t bring anything in return. He was an average player in this scheme. He’s going to be 32 this year; Ellis will be 31 and Coakley 34 (he was a 25 year old rookie, you’ll recall).

I don’t see how you can fault what been done on defense at all, except to say it’s not finished.

Now, offensive line, that’s another story.

Damn, I should proofread,

I meant that Dat’s injury was a result of seasons of playing too small.

There were four quality defensive players in ’04, not three.

grant p.: i’d trust that in 2 to 3 years there will be a solid and versatile enough team in place to retool and continue on, and not have to “start over”. parcells will leave us w/a “get out of jail” card…

nickl: it’s quite a reach blaming parcels for dat’s neck injury. he was an indersized mlb in a game of 350lb. ol’s…he was a great cowboy.

Nickl,

You are way off on Ellis too. Sure he felt like he didn’t fit in, but Parcells was seeing what the “kids” had. One thing you are obviously forgetting about Ellis’ playing time is – the Cowboys didn’t hold a lot of 4th quarter leads. That is the “prime time” for pass rushers. I would love to see a fresh Ellis late in games with a lead!! .. He is going to be to this team what Jim Jeffcoat was to the earlier 90’s teams.

First Post for me.
Didn’t Parcells have this team at 7-2 at one point last year? We were going in the right direction. When Flo got hurt teams started with heavy pressure. Dat, Singleton, Crayton, Henry had injuries! Look at BP’s last three franchises he left, they were successful for years after his departure. We will find bargains in the next few weeks!! Not All-Pro’s, but solid bargains. We need not PANIC.
We definately need a K, OT, and now we need a WR. And the C position KILLED us last year!!!
I like:
T.O.
Runyan
Vanderjagt / Vinatieri
   Edinder misses big kicks!
Jeff Mitchell(C Carolina)

McGinnest just said on NFL Network, he was scheduled to go to Dallas first but things got switched around and he went to Cleveland for a visit first and they wouldn’t let him leave.

For what it’s worth, my view by position:
K – AV would be great, but I donâ€â"¢t see why we need to spend the big bucks to get THE BEST kicker in the NFL. Yes we definitely need a kicker. Would we have won an extra 3 games last year with AV? Definitely. Would we have won those games with almost any other kicker in the NFL (besides the ones we had)? Almost certainly. The point is, we donâ€â"¢t need the best, we will be fine if we have an average kicker. We just canâ€â"¢t win without at least an average kicker.

TE – We have a great receiving TE and all we need is a blocking TE. We donâ€â"¢t need free-agency or even the draft to address this. Blocking TEâ€â"¢s are journeymen and a dime a dozen. We can probably pick up an undrafted free agent to fill this role.

FS – It would be nice to have a hybrid Corner/Safety type of guy to play FS. With Hope (who didnâ€â"¢t really fit that mold) gone, this is a need we should address through the draft. Itâ€â"¢s not a deperate need, though. We had a poor pass rush last year and got more than our share of coverage sacks. With an upgraded pass rush, we can stick w/ Davis.

LB – Ngyun leaves an absence at ILB. Maybe Ayodele can fill that void. After reading up, he seems solid against the run. Now we need a pass rusher – Desperately. With Willie gone, LeVar is the only legit. Pass rushing OLB left in FA. The draft is a terrible place to find these guys. Remember, before we stuck gold w/ Ware, we spent about a decade unsuccessfully trying to draft an outside pass rusher.

O-Line – Our biggest need. If it were up to me, I would stack up at this position the way Gibbs is doing w/ wideouts. Imagine how good our offense would be if we had the best O-Line in football again. Now imagine if we take a step back at O-Line. They were horrible last year. We couldnâ€â"¢t run and Bledsoe rarely had time to let receivers get deep. This is the most pressing need for the team.

NT – I donâ€â"¢t know that we will get somebody better than Spears/Canty/Pepper through the draft to go along w/ Ferguson. I think we should stay pat. We definitely lose something by losing Glover (who was better than Ferguson in all phases of the game despite playing out of his natural position). Hopefully we can try to make up for that loss with a pass rushing OLB.

WR – I donâ€â"¢t think this needed to be upgraded. We had a top-10 receiving tandem. Would TO be an improvement over KJ? Yes. But we were already pretty good and his price tag would pay 2 top notch lineman. I think our offense would be better with a great O-Line and KJ than it will w/ TO and a repeat of last years O-Line or worse.

RB – I donâ€â"¢t know why this isnâ€â"¢t an area the boys want to improve. JJ is Okay, but unlike our receiving corps, he isnâ€â"¢t a top-10 player. If we could upgrade to a top-10 runner, it would be a big improvement. Not much of an issue now that all the blue-chippers have signed, but I think it is a real loss.

Who will provide the “big bang”? … I read somewhere that Parcells is on vacation. Wouldn’t you think that if the Cowboys were going to introduce such a “big” name free agent, Jerry would want Parcells there with him? Something that strikes me is the way KC and Denver are backing away from T.O. as if he were already signed by another team. Hmmm, you think?? … I do! I think T.O. has signed already and we are all waiting for Parcells to return from vacation to announce it.

This gloom and doom that some portray baffles me. I’d rather get FA’s that aren’t old, overpriced, and past their prime. As someone said before they’re a FA for a reason, let Snyder and all the others snatch ‘em up and dream Super Bowls. Until it happens, I’m not impressed. We’re on course, JJ has been there and done that (spending foolishly) and has learned, BP also knows the ropes having been a GM, these guys aren’t riding a turnip truck.

Patience!

McGinest was too old, we need youth, not experience. we also need a wr, lile maybe getting Javon Walker or maybe T.O.

Not a Redskin fan, but in defense of Snyder at least they have a win-strategy. Their biggest offensive problem last year was teams putting 8-9 in the box to stop Portis. Now with a bunch of speedy receivers, teams won’t be able to do that next year. Lack of respect for their #2 and 3 receiver was their biggest offensive problem and they addressed it. Our biggest problems were terrible offensive line play and lack of pass rush and we’ve done nothing to correct it.

we could draft Carpenter, but i think we need to get either LAvar or Julian Peterson.

Ive been trying to stay calm but this is really starting to piss me off!! why are we not doing anything? Both JJ and BP said that they would not let what happend last year happen this year.We started out in FA needing OT,K,S,LB,and now WR.I know we dont want to break the bank but its been a week into this and we SHOULD have at least fixed one of the most needed areas by now.And the part i dont like is no one is even coming in for interviews.I say the hell with T.O. for now and get our RT [FABINI] and our K [AV] and then worry about T.O. later.

fuck the redskins

we need to fix FS and WR

McGinnest Signs and Hope signs….just time before Vinnateri and maybe even TO. I’m at a loss to as what we are doing in free agency. The front office kept saying they were ready and there was talk of a big bang……it does not seem as if this is true. We still need a Safety.
Unless we sign Charles Woodsen, we need to get one thru the draft. Unless we sign Lavar Arrington, we need to sign one in the draft. Unless we sign TO, we need to spend a first in the Draft. Unless we sign Fabini or Runyan, we need to spend a high pick in the draft on a OT. Without signing some high profile guys, we now have too many needs going into the draft. I really dont understand. At the bare minimum we need a K and to fill 2 holes- FS, OLB, OT, WR

acowboy4life,

I agree, somewhat, on both. But I don’t think it’s our most pressing need. We wouldn’t need a FS if we had a decent pass rush. If we had a pass rush, receivers wouldn’t have the time to expose KD in coverage.

We had a top receiving tandem. We don’t need an upgrade there. I would love to have TO, but I’d rather have KJ back and 2 stud Linemen.

Andre Carter is the latest free-agent signing introduced by Joe Gibbs. ÂÂ
 from an article about the Redskins spending-

Despite starting the month some $13 million over the $102 million cap that was set following negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, the Redskins have once again been one of March’s busiest teams.
Since March 11, they have traded for San Francisco receiver Brandon Lloyd and signed five unrestricted free agents: receiver Antwaan Randle El, safety Adam Archuleta, tight end Christian Fauria, backup quarterback Todd Collins and Carter. Randle El and Archuleta alone were given contracts with a combined $21.5 million in guaranteed money.

Spupposedly JJ is in St. Barts and BP in in Florida…….

damn typos …lol Supposedly

biotrek,

The talk of a ‘big bang’ never came from the Cowboys front office. It was introduced by a web site that has about as much inside information as you or I.

GrantP,

I hope you would want this team to have a solid foundation beyound BP’s years with the team. A team isn’t required to overhaul an entire team because one man leaves. He left both NE and NYJ in good position to continue thier success after his departure both from a player and coach personell stand point.

Raf,

I too would at times should proof read. Now that we have individual accounts how about the ability to edit our posts? I can help with the code if need be. ;)