Third and long: How many first downs did Sam Hurd and Miles Austin have for us last year? The answer is not that many. We have Marion Barber, Felix Jones, T.O, Patrick Crayton, Jason Witten and heck, go ahead and throw Tashard Choice into the mix….right there is a good number of offensive weapons with the capability of making the play on third down.

The concern is about our depth at receiver, not our playmaking ability. If <enter someone’s name, I refuse to> got dinged up or hurt, we have zero depth at receiver. It’s not so much who we have now, but who we would potentially be down to if something were to happen.

And don’t expect a big name receiver to come in here before week one. It just is not going to happen. With both Austin’s and Hurd’s injuries being temporary, Dallas is not going to eat a veteran’s salary for a full year just for one game. You have to think of the whole season when you look at the big picture.

As Cowboys fans, we might have to come to grips with the fact that the offense might not be as explosive as it was last year for the first month or so of the season while we wait on Austin and Hurd. Then again it might be. Crayton, TO and Witten were more than enough weapons for Romo last year. Don’t forget that we also have the ability to become a grinding running team if they start playing heavy against the pass. Having a punt return threat in Adam Jones doesn’t hurt much either.

Don’t panic, and certainly don’t make rash decisions over concern for the first few weeks of the season. Try to step back and think of the season as a whole.

He certainly has the measurables, and from watching him in college, where he was quite productive as a WR and return man, I know he’s better than the two scrubs we just added to our practice squad.

link:

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/08/31/patriots-release-chad-jackson/

While we can use Felix and Bennett and Witten etc in the slot, who is to say they are going to know the routes any better than a veteran WR that runs good routes? I know they have worked on some packages in camp, but I doubt this extensively.

The other thing is, we NEED more depth at WR. Going with 2 healthy WRs when yhou have 3 with somewhat iffy return timetables is too risky given how much the Boys have invested in this season. What happens if there’s another injury? Then we will be forced to bring someone in and get them learning the playbook, and they will be a week behind. What if Hurd and/or Austin and/or Stanback take longer to come back than expected? There are a lot of reasons we may need another WR, and taken all together there are enough that we shouldn’t pinch pennies on a 1 year minimum contract when we have plenty of cap room.

Jefferson and Amendola are on the PS at least, but I don’t see how a Joe Horn or a Koren Robinson doesn’t help us out here, a guy who might buy in for one last shot at glory on a veteran team. If everyone comes back healthy, great. We can even eat the guy’s salary and cut him loose. $1m to Jerry Jones is worth it to offset the potential disaster that might come. I would think, anyway.

It does cost us a roster spot, and Davis’ signing makes that a little trickier, but I can live without Alan Ball or James Marten (especially if they can be peddled off for picks, though I doubt that) for a little security policy at WR. That just gives us space for next year’s draft picks, anyway.

Now I’m going to go knock on some wood.

Is a complete overreaction. Calm down, guys. Do any of you seriously think we’ll go into Cleveland next Sunday with the same roster we have now? With two healthy WRs?

Dallas is holding hostage some players on their active roster, playing chicken with teams like Miami and Cleveland. Miami has two (2) tackles on their roster, and would kill to get someone like McQuistan or Marten aboard. Dallas is hanging on to them, in essence saying, “You want ‘em? Okay, we want a sixth rounder for Marten, or fourth for Mac. The price is too high for you? Fine, we’re better equipped to go into Cleveland with two WRs than you are with two tackles. Have a nice day, Mr. Parcells.”

The same applies with Oglesby—Dallas wants to flip him for a low round pick. Once they do that, then you’ll see Jefferson and/or Amendola added to the active roster. They are both marginal players at best, but at least they know the offense and run decent routes.

Trading for a chronic underachiever like Lelie is just silly. It is not fantasy football, this is the real thing. It’s not going to happen.

he has the most upside, he has more upside then Ball and marten..

Sign Jackson and release Ball..

Have an open try out for Ball’s and Marten spot.. Koren, Chad Jackson, Marcus Monk, and Adrian Arrington and have Gray and Culpepper throw to them..

The sad story of Roydell Williams. Williams led the Titans in touchdown catches last season (granted, he had only four) and tied for the team lead in receptions, but he needed major ankle surgery this winter and never could get back into the swing of things. Williams reportedly still has a steel plate in his leg and only recently started running again

link

http://www.blueandsilverreport.com/2008/08/25/fun-with-sf-08-or-why-anquan-boldin-isnt-worth-the-big-deal/

That doesn’t mean that Boldin and Williams don’t have value. But Jerry Jones’ unwillingness to pay a number one price for a number two shows that he has good data at his disposal. If Dallas felt a real need to pursue Boldin, I’d offer Arizona a number one, but no more. Given the fact that Boldin is unhappy with getting $4 million a year, which seems like a fair salary to me given his game, I doubt that he would pout any less if the Cowboys got him and refused to re-work his deal. For that reason, I don’t think he’s worth the potential headache.

If Dallas wants to make the proverbial big splash and get a complement who can be a number one if T.O. gets injured, they’re better off asking about Steve Smith, who beats red corners for an 8.4 YPA.

Me? I’ll wait for Miles Austin to complete his rehab. If he can beat yellow and green corners, and not cost the Cowboys high picks and big money, he’s the best value.

T.O., Witten and Crayton are our receivers, our backups will heal and get better in time, so long as we don’t have anymore injuries, we’ll be just fine.

I wouldn’t push the panic botton unless one of our top 3 receivers get hurt.

If we can’t trade for a player like a Boldin then I say we don’t do anything.

TO isn’t hurt, Crayton isn’t hurt, Witten isn’t hurt, Barber isn’t hurt, Felix isn’t hurt, Tellus isn’t hurt. That’s a lot of weapons people. Out of all those the only one that would majorly concern me would be TO because of what we witnessed last year. Bringing in any non elite WR at this point to me is pointless. If we make a move I want it to be a BIG MOVE that will help us at receiver for years to come, not just a gap fill. TO is getting older and while he’s definitely still got it you have to wonder how much longer he’ll be primed for. I say get a big time receiver if possible and draft the best one on the board next draft.

cliffs: No big time receiver, no deal. We have plenty of weapons and no decent guy will be able to fill TO’s shoes if he goes down.

I see Anderson going down with another concussion…….bring in the Mighty Quinn….

…are interesting.

45% of respondents think we SHOULD make some sort of move to get a viable veteran WR on the roster. 39% say stand pat.