Who is your Mr. Indispensible?

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 15, 2008 7:37 PM CDT Comment 27 comments

Mickey picks T.O.

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?editorialAuthor=1&id=29183252-AEBD-50B3-A5F06795A6281E5D

Hopefully, Mr. Spagnola's history with writing this article will remain a tradition without superstition. Because all he has to do to prove Owens' importance is point you to the end of last year. Offense=Anemic. Romo=Searching for plays. Running Game=Couldn't win games.

Maybe this year will be different. Maybe some WR, or WRs, will force their way on the field. Maybe the offense will be so full of team talent that T.O. will just be the icing on the already satisfying cake. Maybe the new Jones/Barber/Choice combo will win a few with the defense's dominance. Maybe...maybe...maybe....

Mickey does mention other players up for his annual "award"--the newly extended Hamlin (yay!), Witten, Big Flo', T-New, and he eliminates Romo's nomination, citing the fact that any team losing their franchise QB would have a drastic knock on their season. Makes sense.

So what do you guys think? You should know I like polls.

Poll

My Mr. Indispensible 2008 is:

Terrell Owens

39 votes

Demarcus Ware

13 votes

Jason Witten

8 votes

Marion Barber

2 votes

Ken Hamlin

0 votes

Terence Newman

1 votes

Flozell Adams

3 votes

Bradie James

0 votes

66 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

Your Poll

Is almost the exact order I would rank the level of importance.

"You can't win until you're not afraid to lose"

by Wmillion on Jul 15, 2008 8:31 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

After looking at it again, you're just about right.

I think Ware may rival T.O. for 1a and 1b if there was such a thing. And Barber, just because of the inexperience behind him, may rival Witten for 3rd.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 15, 2008 8:52 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

after Romo, its definitely T.O.

then Ware and Newman.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Jul 15, 2008 9:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Agree

I agree that your order of listing is probably in line with most indispensible. Romo is #1, but it’s only because we don’t have anyone behind him. For several years the Chargers had an enviable position with Rivers backing up Brees. Last year Green Bay would have been fine, if not better, if Favre had been lost because they had Rodgers. Cleveland is creating a similar situation by developing Brady Quinn behind Derek Anderson. The Cardinals have a fairly good situation with Warner behind Leinart, but there’s still quite a fall-off there if Leinart gets injured, and the gap between the two will increase in the next couple of years.

by rrb on Jul 15, 2008 10:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Actually

I think Leinart was benched in favor of Kurt Warner, and then later, he was injured.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 15, 2008 10:51 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

A vote for Flow

There are good arguments for TO, Witten and Ware and the others for sure, but in the trenches is where the game is won or lost, and having Mr. Romo’s blind side protected is one of the major keys to our success. It doesn’t matter if we have TO and Witten if Romo doesn’t have time to get the ball to them. Flow is one of the best, arguably the best in the league, at this indispensable position. In addition, while Doug Free has good potential, he is too much of an unknown to feel confident to have Flow out for any length of time. There’s good reason why Flow was top of the list to get a big contract this off-season. So he gets my vote.

by scottmaui on Jul 15, 2008 11:14 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

No question it's TO

I’d put Witten as the 2nd most important. This offense is heavily TE oriented, and losing one of the top TE’s in the game would be crushing.

T-New, shutting down WR's for Dallas since 2003

by APerfectStar on Jul 16, 2008 12:36 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

T.O. then Flo

In recent years, we’ve seen what losing each of these guys does to our offense.

by Carl Shelton (GloryDayz88) on Jul 16, 2008 6:59 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

At least they have options with Flo.

Romo would have to do what Brady did with his WRs 2 years ago (before Moss, Welker, and Stallworth) to spread the ball around if T.O. went down.

With Flo, we’ve got Free back there, but they would probably throw Big Leonard at LT. That’s funny because I just watched highlights of Demarcus Ware on youtube and they showed him powering Davis back into his AZ QB.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 16, 2008 10:01 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

We have options.

They could put Free in at LT and move Witten over to chip..

"You can't win until you're not afraid to lose"

by Wmillion on Jul 16, 2008 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I really think Defense is the key this year.

Although, Spencer waits in the wings and there is some competition between E.Walden, Justin Rogers, et al., Demarcus Ware is primed for an MVP type season.

He got my vote. Offensive coordinators are more scared of him than Defensive coordinators are scared of T.O.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 16, 2008 11:05 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It's Flo

This team won’t rely on the pass as much as it did last year. If you recall, especially in the 1st quarter of games last season, the team struggled to run the ball effectively and was put in obvious passing situations far too often. That led to a very early opening up of the offense and some high scoring affairs.

This year, I see Garrett forcing the ground game a bit (copycat league) and moving toward a more methodical offense than the one that was boom or bust in 2007. That may not play well to Fantasy owners, but it could make us more effective on defense by giving them more of a blow between possessions.

If the Giants proved anything last year, it is that a stout defense along with a balanced offense not prone to mistakes can help a team overcome matchup issues and win a Championship.

All that said, the loss of the best blind side pass blocker in the NFC would be a deathblow to the Cowboys’ chances to unseat the Giants and stave off a hungry, well-coached Eagles squad.

"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."

- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

by 5Blings on Jul 16, 2008 1:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Flo Could Be The Answer

We all know what happened when Flo went out a couple of years ago. That offensive line is the most fragile part of this team right now. If Davis or Flo goes out, then Romo is going to be running for his life and the running game will suffer.

by DallasSooner on Jul 20, 2008 9:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Someone can come in and step in for him

moreso than someone can replace Ware or TO.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 20, 2008 10:54 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Step In

Sure, someone can step in for him, but will they play at the same level? Highly unlikely. The Cowboys themselves have admitted that the offensive line and the QB position are very vulnerable right now.

by DallasSooner on Jul 20, 2008 12:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hate to say it

but having the whole line healthy (for the most part) all of last year was a bit of a rarity. The backups need to be ready and I think guys like McQuistan/Proctor/Free will do just fine. That’s why they drafted them.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 20, 2008 8:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

nice list

i like the fact that we have a team of players to make a list like this interesting. id move Flo up under D.Ware. Romo gotta be protected on blind side. (we still dont have a quality backup)

by bleedn blu on Jul 16, 2008 4:59 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

All of these guys are team character guys.

Really, all are indispensible.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 16, 2008 6:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Going with MB3

TO is incredibly important, but if we have a dominant running game, we can get by without him. I think Barber is going to have a huge year.

by grapejoos on Jul 16, 2008 6:06 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The only non-rookie RB.

Good point.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 16, 2008 6:26 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good point

I am know Barber is good, but I am just not sure how bad Julius was. I am interested to see what the Rookies do behind the line, especially if F. Jones shows an ablility to make people miss.

"You can't win until you're not afraid to lose"

by Wmillion on Jul 16, 2008 6:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's all going to come done to

whether or not Houck has taught the O line to run block. I know JJ wasn’t great last year, but our run blocking for 3 quarters was horrible. The only time we could ever run the ball was in the 4th, when the opponent’s D was worn down. I’d like to see our offense be a lot more efficient on 1st and 2nd down, because regardless of how good our offense is, we can’t expect to be consistently in third and longs and win the number of games we did last year. I realize Garrett wants to run a pass first offense, but we have to give teams something to be afraid of, as well as take a little pressure off of Romo. I also think how we use El Gato will be huge as well. If we utilize him in the way Sean Payton used Reggie Bush his rookie year, alongside the Barber power running game, this offense is going to be unreal.

by Mandmeisterx on Jul 16, 2008 9:06 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Houck should help.

Now that the O-Line is versed in Romo’s game and has grown together pass protecting for him, they should be able to enhance their all around game. Run blocking was Houck’s forté when he was here before and he certainly provided some powerful schemes in San Diego.

I totally agree with you, and I’ve said it before that the ground game should win us a game or three this season. 3rd and longs are stressful for us fans, so it’s gotta be even moreso down on the field. At least we got to see that Romo can handle a 3rd and 19 when under the gun. Let’s just see less of them.

That #38 sure can hit!

by Aaron Novinger on Jul 16, 2008 9:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It will be interesting

I think it’s possible that Julius will be ok in Seattle, but he was just bad in Dallas in my opinion. When you have two guys given the same opportunities, and one can’t make anything happen while the other is making key plays, it’s telling. Maybe all it’s telling us is the MB3 is really good and Julius is just decent, but we’ll see.

I love Red Ball’s offense, but you have to be able to pound the ball to be successful. I am thinking our running game and D are going to be the stories this year.

by grapejoos on Jul 17, 2008 12:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs