Strictly Business: the Cowboys Move Beyond T.O.
by Rafael Vela on Mar 5, 2009 6:51 PM CST
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PrintTell T.O. it was just business. We always liked him.
Jerry Jones appeared tired but placid today, when he discussed his team's decision to release Terrell Owens. Jones spoke of his ability to confront players face-to-face and deliver tough news. In this case, the decision was probably not that hard. Owens' 2008 performances dropped precipitously from his '07 totals, and his fiv- year numbers strongly suggest that his days as a top receiver have passed. The team's goals of running more and featuring young talents like Felix Jones, Martellus Bennett and Miles Austin more in 2009 no longer merged with Owens' need for heavy duty.
Three Runs Here, Three Passes There
Head coach Wade Phillips has stated on several occasions this year that Dallas will rush more in 2009. The Cowboys run/pass ratios have skewed in recent years towards the pass:
| Year | Rushes | Passes | Run/Pass Ratio |
| 2006 | 472 | 506 | 48:52 |
| 2007 | 419 | 531 | 44:56 |
| 2008 | 401 | 547 | 42:58 |
Phillips has not stated a baseline percentage for runs, but it's clear he would prefer one similar to the '06 Cowboys, who ran 48% of the time. Phillips believes more runs emphasize his talented running backs trio -- Marion Barber, Felix Jones, Tashard Choice -- and takes pressure off quarterback Tony Romo.
From a game-planning perspective, the adjustment will not be as radical as it might seem. Assuming the Cowboys average 950 plays, as they have the last two seasons, an average of roughly 60 per game, calling just three fewer passes and three more runs moves the ratio back to 48:52.
From a touches per game perspective, this adjustment has serious consequences for the receivers. Assuming again that total plays are a zero-sum game, switching the run/pass blend means approximately 50 more attempts for the backs and 50 fewer attempts for the receivers, over the course of a season.
Jones' 8.9 yards per attempt average and Choice's 5.1 YPA suggest they're due most of the extra rushes. Marion Barber carried a heavy workload in mid-season, after Jones injured a big toe and the team wants him to resume the "closer" role he played so well in 2007, when Julius Jones would carry the early workload and turn the game over in the fourth quarter to Barber, who wore down tired defenses.
The anticipated reduction in passes means that many fewer balls to spread among a receiving corps that was already unhappy about pass distribution. From '06 through '08, Dallas had a fairly set ratio -- the top two wide receivers and tight end Jason Witten received 70% of the pass attempts, with the remaining 30% spread among the backs, third and fourth receivers and backup tight ends.
Owens was the top target in Dallas' scheme, regardless of whether Todd Haley or Jason Garrett called the pass plays. He received roughly 30% of all passing attempts in each of his three years, an average of nine attempts per game. Variance within the 'top 70' occurred between Witten and the second wideout.
In 2006, when Terry Glenn played opposite Owens, he received 22% of all Dallas attempts, compared to 18% of the throws for Witten. When Patrick Crayton replaced Glenn in '07, Garrett dramatically increased Witten's touches at Crayton's expense. The tight end saw 27% of the balls, where Crayton saw 15%.
Roy Williams' addition meant a potential headache for Garrett, were the personnel to stay the same. He was Detroit's primary passing target, averaging 125 attempts in 2006 and 2007, just slightly more than Witten did in Dallas.
That means Williams got eight balls a game, Witten got eight passes a game and Owens got nine in recent years. That's 25 balls between the three of them. A 52% pass ratio means roughly 31 to 32 attempts per game for Romo. If Dallas wanted to keep all the big egos happy, it faced giving them 80% or so of the total attempts, or junking Phillips' edict and passing with Mike Martz-like frequency.
If Dallas chose option one, what would become of Felix Jones' touches? Of Bennett's and Austin's? Of Sam Hurd's?
Williams fumed last year, when Garrett kept Owens and Witten's touches roughly constant. He was thrown to just over two times per game. The team wants him to feature in this year's offense. What's more, did Owens deserve to keep his nine balls a game? Look at his yards-per-attempt (YPA) for the last five seasons:
- 2004 -- 9.3
- 2005 -- 8.7
- 2006 -- 8.0
- 2007 -- 9.7
- 2008 -- 7.8
Graph those seasons and you see a steady decline, offset by a phenomenal 2007. What was more likely to occur in '09, another drop in overall YPA, say to 7.5, or another big bounce back? Owens will be 36 this year. Dallas didn't count on a second comeback year.
Let's put that 7.8 in further context. K.C. Joyner wrote this of Owens' 08 in the New York Times today:
That YPA ranked 24th out of 33 receivers who saw at least 100 pass attempts last year, so he was not an elite pass catcher last year. Another angle to take is that Laveranues Coles had a 7.8 YPA on 118 passes in 2008, and many teams passed him over this off-season despite his not having anywhere near the amount of baggage Owens brings.
Let's put Owens' 7.8 in broader context: Witten's 2008 YPA was 8.2, meaning Dallas gained more throwing to its tight end than it did to its number one. There are several receivers already on the roster who could post a 7.8, at far less cost and maintenance.
Looking at Wade's plans, and the talent on hand, the only way to make Williams, Witten and Owens co-exist, with attempt figures matching their current skills, would require cutting Owens' attempts to four or five per game.
We saw how T.O. reacted at mid-season this year, when he felt he was not getting enough throws. Does anybody believe that he would sit quietly and watch his throws cut in half again?
Jerry Jones didn't either. Releasing Terrell was simply good business.
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Their willingness to take the cap hit makes much more sense in this light.
Oh... Oh, that's giving me a clue. Yeah, ye-yeah, I've got a raging clue right now.
I was StarStruck at TBB/BSR, now...
yeah....I guess, if you figure in Brad Johnson's three starts, and Romo's overall regressive season.
no use crying over spoiled milk…
by CowboysRnumba1 on Mar 5, 2009 8:57 PM CST up reply actions
Giving a player a huge contract and then cutting him the next year………………makes me think Jerry is catching up to Al Davis faster than he can say “Do I need another face lift?”
Owens didn’t have quite the year last year………….and I am all for using Felix Jones more and the three headed monster that is Barber, Choice and Jones.
However, there ain’t a WR on this roster that has the talent of Mr. Owens. I guess we can just refer to RW2 as Roy now that the original is no longer a Cowboy……….does Roy even draw double teams?
Witten is basically a WR with great blocking skills masking as a TE. I sure hope Austin, Hurd and Stanback can A) STAY HEALTHY for a full season B) Get deep and catch.
Pretty clear evidence that JJ is trying to change
Its not like he does this year after year – he is typically pretty loyal to his players.
But its a sign that he understands that signing as many superstars as he can isn’t the best way to a Super Bowl.
"Where's Woody? - We need another Darren Woodson
Two wrongs don't make a right!
He was wrong to sign the old guy to the stupid extension-should have finished out the original 3-year deal, then let him go-none of this hoopla would have happened.
The contract extension was a huge mistake-better to eat it now than go through another year with a head case. It would just be another mistake to keep the loser around.
by Realist Larry on Mar 5, 2009 9:43 PM CST up reply actions
Let's hope he learns from that huge mistake
IMO you only sign a guy early if you’re getting a good bargain (e.g., Ratliff’s ridiculous contract) or if you peg him as the face of the franchise (e.g., Ware). But these should be exceptions to the rule. I can’t for the life of me figure out why Jerry signed TO to an extension while at the same time trying to trade for a RW type receiver (as if TO would allow himself to quietly be relegated to number two).
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
Michael Crabtree
We traded a lot for RW2. I don’t know enough about draft value of those picks but it certainly didn’t ignite our offense last year. Although I am sure Raf does.
So did what we give up equal a shot at moving up for Crabtree in this years draft?
I just did the numbers
on that one and the answer is a resounding no. We would have had no chance at moving up high enough to get Crabtree. If he goes #10 overall, I think we would have to at least move up to here to get him. The 10th overall pick has a value of 1300 points. We gave up the 20th, 84th, and 180th picks and received in return the Lions 4th rounder # 97.
20th=850
84th=170
180th=19.4
97th=112
That is a total of 927.4 points, at the point value we might have been able to get to the 17th overall pick, only jumping three picks. On top of that, this isn’t much of an impact to us since we had Cleveland’s 3rd already and got a 6th back from Tennessee for the Pacman deal.
If we had packaged both of our 3rd round picks, the 69th from Cleveland and the 84th of our own, we would have barely squeaked in at #10 overall. This is all assuming he was still on the board at this point. There are at least 3 or 4 teams in the top 10 that might have taken the best receiver in the draft.
Just my thoughts
First to six!!!
The Jimmy Johnson chart is trash
Nobody uses it anymore.
There are quite a few floating around that are more sensible. In short, though… no, #1 and #3 would not have been enough. No team would do that.
Kanye, you want to be the voice of this generation? Get in line! It goes me, Obamagirl, the Freecreditreport.com guys, then It's a tie between you-and Crocs.
-Stephen Colbert
I give Jerry credit.....
He was man enough to do it face to face. Everyone is saying that his time with the Cowboys was a complete failure. And i just dont get that. I know the ultimate goal is to win in the postseason but you can’t hang it all on T.O. As a matter of fact, he had nothing to do with Romo dropping a field goal attempt or the fact that the oline sucked ass in the second half against the giants. For the 3 seasons he was here, his numbers stacked up I agree that his time here was over and that Jerry did the right thing. But to call his time here a complete failure is just dumb.
Dont forget,
all the numbers other players got are because or even inspite of TO,
if TO is doubled no brainer Witten would benefit statisticaly or Crayton. I dont buy that argument.
The passing game is setting the run for 06, 07, 08 teams. Next year is going to be hard, defences will stack the line and RW is no TO to make them pay.
Witten had good years before TO back when he had vinny, and bledsoe throwing to meeshawn and terry glenn
Ignore the Mainstream Media, EMBRACE THE HATE!!!!
you made his point...
Witten was a young up and coming TE then and didn’t quite earn the respect of the D. Any veteran Safety would roll quickly to cover Glenn or Meshwan as soon as they saw the formation. Now.. please don’t get me wrong if Witten continues on this pace he is sure fire hall of fame T.O or Not. But in this day and age of the spread offense Defense are finding ways to lock down TE’s and with out any threat on the outside true Witten will get his touches but he won’t have the same room to break a tackle and scamper for yards because the safeties are 20 yds down field looking for T.O.
Semper Fi.
by UnNecessary Roughness on Mar 6, 2009 1:56 AM CST up reply actions
ba-loney
You think Terry Glenn didn’t stretch the field for T.O. in 06?
And what did he do? He’s 36. He’s declining. Roy Williams isn’t Jerry Rice’s son,
but he won’t have trouble matching or beating Owens’ ’08.
If T.O. is still as valuable as you claim
somebody will sign him. A good team. Let’s see who wants him.
That's what is really telling
NOBODY is going after TO, in fact every team seems to be putting out official statements that there’s no way they would sign him. It seems like the Raiders are the consensus favorite to make him an offer. That’s just sad.
Feb. 27 -- Veteran free agency signing period begins. Trading period begins.
April 25-26 -- NFL Draft
Patience
He is still too talented to not play in the upcoming season. Let some teams chew it over. Let some WRs fall in practice. Then let’s see where he ends up.
Everything's looking up, Milhouse!
by accidental innuendo on Mar 5, 2009 7:36 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah...
I do agree with that.
But thats really not too telling of being an elite WR, you have to wait until a guy gets hurt in training camp to get a look.
Dallas makes me act like Christian Bale......
After all this...we made him the biggest scapegoat ever LOL
on the other hand there is %(*% born every sec. if i’m quoting correctly
He's a scapegoat if the team goes 5-11 or 3-13
any improvement, even to 10-6 and he’s quickly forgotten.
Hindsight
If (1) there weren’t enough balls to keep the receivers happy last year; and (2) if Wade preferred to move to a higher run to pass metric; and (3) if we had confidence in Austin, Hurd, Stanback and Crayton, then why heck did we shell out a 1st and a 3rs for RW last year?? The more you look back, the less sense it makes. To get younger? Okay, but we have plenty of upcoming youngsters. To draw double teams off our No. 1 receiver. How’d that work out? We had T.O. under contract and more pressing needs. What’s done is done, but signing RW last year wasn’t exactly a stroke of genius, even if he if productive in 09.
I see it as a do-over
Dallas wanted to get him this time last year and then let T.O. go
after this year. They didn’t get it done and re-upped T.O.
This year, Williams became available. They made the deal.
This means Jerry had to eat $6 M.
If he wants to do it, it’s his money, not mine.
Look at it this way. If Detroit deals then, we have the 20th pick this
year, but no Mike Jenkins. Would you rather pick then, or now?
and if we don't get Jenkins then, we're looking for a CB now
Can the 20th pick this year get you a CB prospect as good as Jenkins?
that would be funny/cool
if we got malcolm jenkins in the draft this year
then we’d have two m jenkins
"Aw Shucks" - Wade Phillips
I see the RW move as insurance for Owens.
I mean, Jerry could always spin it as “we need a legit #2” because we had our best passing season with TO and Terry Glenn and RW could be seen as the new Glenn. However, Jerry had to also realize that TO was aged and not going to be here forever. Getting RW for whenever that day came is just foresight. I just so happens that day is here now and not in 2 or 3 seasons.
That's a good way to view it...
but I still come back to the fact that they re-upped T.O. for several years and WR was not the most pressing need. Of course I love the Jenkins pick. But I would have rather held onto T.O. and walked into next year with our receiving corps and our first round pick. Jerry got too infatuated with RW.
by Boundforbeach on Mar 5, 2009 7:38 PM CST up reply actions
I don't understand
why everyone thinks that TO is what made the offense work. I understand his talent and supported him while he was here. But to think that everything will fall apart because he’s gone. Like Roy can’t play ball at all? Like Witten was dependent on Owens for his production? C’mon guys. I trust that we’ll be productive. I also think that if we do commit to the run more, we’ll get more opportunities to run play action and have a fresher defense in all our games. There are plenty of ways where the adjusted game plan that Raf talks about and the distribution of balls will makes us a better team.
what?
you don’t understand why people are concerned when a HOF WR leaves the team? Really?
Just wondering...
did you even read what I wrote? Of course I understand why people would be concerned that he’s gone. He’s a very good player. However, he doesn’t throw the ball to himself or play every position on the field. He’s not the only talented player we had/have. You’ve been all over these boards since the news broke condemning everyone who dares speak against the guy all while bashing every player that remains on the team (RW especially) basically saying that these guys are going to be trash without TO lining up at WR. For all the blinded bias against TO shown by the media, you’re completely biased for the guy and blinded by his above average (but not great) production when he was the focal point of our entire offense. Face the facts here (I know I have) he will be missed, but not all is lost because we released him.
I know
Miles Austin fantasy value just went up..
I like the move..
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
haha i might get him on my team next year
but im definitely excited to see if miles can make the jump to a legit threat
"Aw Shucks" - Wade Phillips
could be a real breakout year for Austin
he showed flashes last year but was taken out by injury.
i think he could easily pass Crayton on the depth chart, if he can stay healthy. he already started too.
and with RW’s performance last year I’m not sure Miles couldn’t push him too, and through his production demand more targets out of that potentially diminishing pool. (I’m sure RW will probably be much better with an offseason to sync up with Romo, but still, when I look at the limited touches each one got last year, based on those touches I would take Miles over RW. I’ll believe RW is all that when I see it.)
there is such a thing as too many weapons.
with TO out, this is Miles’ chance to step up and become a very productive receiver for the Cowboys, maybe a great receiver.
He’s got all the attributes, and he’s at the point in his career where they should all come together.
One thing we can thank TO for (and we have a lot of other things to thank him for, too, despite the troubles and declining production) is being a tutor for the young receivers, and I’m sure Miles is where he is now partly because he had the chance to play behind and be helped by TO.
Now TO is gone, and it’s Miles’ chance to step up.
In my dynasty league I have both Witten and RW2...
so I’m a happy man. :) I’ve had both for 3 years now, and I was about ready to dump RW2 last year but I held on hoping that he would get dealt. I’m glad I did.
yes you are..
They are both going to have big years.
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
Kitna signing makes even more sense now...
This should help them get the most out of RW2 as their #1.
"Where's Woody? - We need another Darren Woodson
Now we can release Romo
And we can become he 07 lions. I can see it now Kitna to Williams, rekindling the fire they had in the Motor City.
In Romo we might Trust!
Rumor says....
There’s another Jones in our team….he’ll be wearing #81 now……It’s Jerry. He finally decided to go in as a player as well.
Forget WR productivity
The key next year is offensive productivity, as in points scored. There is plenty of talent on the roster, barring injury. The large issue remains turnovers. Get those under control and we’ll be fine.
And for those upset that TO got a big contract last year, dont sweat it. Remember that was done AFTER the boys had tried to get RWII or Boldin on the roster. They couldn’t work it out even late in the offseason, so they signed TO to keep him happy. His productivity dropped off and his talking picked up.
The whole team was just talking too much last year.
I can still hear it now, “we’re the most talented team in football.”
Umm, shut up and play please.
TO will represent dead money for one year, then its gone. The team still has some room to manuever, and i suggest that the offense will be better next year (again, barring injury) without him, for the simple fact that the ball can be spread around more.
well
there will be injury.
Ideally, though, the injury willb softened because the Cowboys have found an adequate substitute on the depth chart to take over duties.
so, no more B.Johnson, T.Choice, or Corey “Hey, psst… Flo, now what am I supposed to do?” Procter.
T.Choice?
you can’t possibly put him in the same list with BJ & CP. He was a more than adequate substitute, and will be more than that this year because of it…
+1
Choice is good enough to start if the management has the balls to relegate MB3 to smashmouth duty and Felix as the everything guy.
George Teague, Brock Marion, the Roy Williams-of-old: Where are you?
by Aaron Novinger on Mar 6, 2009 12:05 PM CST up reply actions
Hopefully Roy can do some of this:
http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80c2c882
and it’ll be Romo instead
"Aw Shucks" - Wade Phillips
TO was......
The best WR to get us to the superbowl when nobody else could
The best team player to ever put on a Cowboys uniform
The best supportive WR who never said anything bad
The best conditioned athlete who never aged and could play till he was 50
The best supporter of his teammates and coaches
The best WR who ran good routes and caught everything his way
The best WR who never took a penalty after scoring a TD to help his team win
The best WR to don a Cowboys uniform AND take a shit on our star at midfield
The best WR I’ve ever seen eating popcorn.
Simply put, TO, you were the best!
I still don’t understand how the NFL teams of yesteryday even won a game without your presence on the field. I will miss you and hope that there’s some way the Cowboys might some day win a game or two on Sundays without you and your distractions. The future is bleak and the beginning of the end is near without you.
hey
Colin Cowherd, wtf are you doing posting on a sports blog? And, what are you doing posting on a sports blog anonymously?
Seriously though, T Zig, do you think Irvin could carry Owens’ jock? I don’t think so either.
Yet miracle of miracles, Irvin somehow still holds the record for most 100-yard games (11) in a single season.
Even after the deity in a helmet and shoulder pads has had a dozen-year career.
I guess according to you, T.O. would have 200 catches and sixteen 100-yard games every single season he played if it wasn’t for the sissies, pukers and chokers he had throwing to him.
But wait, you know what? As I recall, Irvin had his record-setting season (‘95) with a QB that you’ve said time and time again you thought was barely above average in an offense that was much more run-oriented than any of the offenses T.O. played in. Furthermore, Irvin’s best single season takes a dump on T.O.‘s single best season from a receptions and yardage standpoint. How can this be if Irvin could never carry "the player’s" jock? Now Irvin never had as many TD’s as T.O. but I lost count of how many times Irvin made a catch to get the ball down inside the five where Emmitt could punch it in on the next play.
Next time the ‘95-’96 NFC Title game is replayed on the NFL Network, watch it. You’ll notice Irvin making more clutch catches in that game than T.O. did in his whole Cowboys career. Emphasis on “catches” because T.O. doesn’t catch balls (or at least not in Big D) unless the defenders give him “his space.” Irvin routinely made circus catches with defenders draped all over him by overpowering and outwilling defenders.
Here’s how the two guys stack up for me personally.
Big play capability from anywhere on the field? T.O.
Clutch catches with a high degree of difficulty? T.O. couldn’t carry Irvin’s jock.
+1000
Especially the big play, clutch ability.
How is it TO could disappear every time we had a big game?
by Realist Larry on Mar 6, 2009 10:02 AM CST up reply actions
Wow more comments like that and they are going to havge to change the bumper sticker to
Virvginia is for lovers and drug addicts.
I was surprised
to hear about TO this morning. I figured that if he was going to get cut then Jerry would have already done it by now. Wonder what took so long? I still think TO is a good player but the dude can’t get along with coaches. It started in SF, then in Philadelphia and finished in Dallas. The Vikings (on paper) would be a good fit for TO but they wouldn’t touch him with a 10 foot poll. I still won’t be surprised if the Skins come calling for him soon. I put nothing past little Danny boy. With this move it indicates that we will be more of a running team and in my opinion makes the OL even more important as far as the draft is concerned. Duke Robinson will be long gone before we pick in round 2 but his teammate just might still be around.
New 4 round mock – I saw this one yesterday. Not sure if Johnson last to the 3rd round.
2. Phil Loadholt, OT, Oklahoma
3. Rashad Johnson, FS, Alabama
4. Derrick Williams, WR, Penn State
4. Scott McKillop, ILB, Pittsburgh
yuck to that mock.....throw it back...not a keeper...
Johnson will be there at 69…otherwise some team reached big time..
by CowboysRnumba1 on Mar 5, 2009 9:05 PM CST up reply actions
I don't know where you see these things
cause they’re not exciting.
Nice article Raf
You’re exactly right. There would have been now way to run the offense correctly without taking some attempts from TO, and he would have exploded at some point.
Thank God that’s over with.
How is it that...
I did really like T.O.
I was leaning more towards him saying.
I have a jersey of him and I was with everyone else doing the T-O sign with every TD.
But now that he’s released… I’m sort of not digging him.
And its not because he’s released.
More because, “The T.O. has gone, so the bridge has fallen.” group makes me want to throw up in my mouth.
That’s seperate then the group that wished he’d have stayed, that’s cool and understandable.
No, this is the group that is acting like Terrell Owens should be on the same plateau of Dallas Cowboy as Troy Aikman or even Michael Irvin.
The group that has completely ignored every time T.O. has been somewhat of a distraction, blaming it all on “the media”.
The group that I’m guessing totally forgot about the first year he was here, slept through a meeting and said “Tomorrow is T.O.‘s birthday so my mind wasn’t on the super bowl speech.”
I swear, it seems like there is a small “T.O.” cult forming, ignoring everything that went down in San Fran and Philly, and just assuming that everything is media driven.(Which granted the flames are definitly fanned.)
I said when Owens came to Dallas, I’ll celebrate his TDs, but now he’s gone.
Dallas won Super Bowls before T.O. and whether its 10 or 20 years from now, they will eventually win more without him.
Dallas makes me act like Christian Bale......
?
you had a TO jersey?
From the years i’ve “known” you, AFB, you dont’ seem like the jersey wearing type.
By the by… his fantastic, world-reknowned explosion in Philly had a LOT to do with McNabb being a D Bag. This may be apocryphal…
Owens asked McNabb to help him out in some contract talks with the Eagles organization. McNabb declined, saying he never, EVER, inserts himself into other players’ contract disputes so he stays like Switzerland and everyone’s happy. Owens said that’s cool. I get it.
Soon after, a minor player on the team, a RB, i believe, who shared an agent with McNabb had some contractual difficulties, and McNabb went to the mat for him vs management. Well, Owens naturally found out, and that’s what led to the whole brouhaha.
Owens is a B for letting it upset him. McNabb is a Bx10 for doing what he did. The players mainly sided with Owens, and the media built the situation into one of the greatest NFL myths of all time. They turned Owens into TO and made him one of the 10 hugest NFL personalities ever.
Owens, being an emotional equivalent of a 12 year old, bought into it and adopted the persona the media created for him, and we’ve seen the rest.
All of the silliness aside, he was a great WR.
And, by the by, “Drops” isn’t an NFL stat. It’s something that ESPN dreamed up to quantify more characteristics regarding T.O., their milk cow.
Haha
What’s a “jersey” wearing type?
I mean I don’t wear them just around the house, just on game day.
Dallas makes me act like Christian Bale......
That was always how I more or less read the McNabb situation.
But I didn’t know about McNabb going to bat for a utility player. That puts a whole new layer on it. On a related note, that’s kind of why I can’t feel too sorry for the fact that McNabb’s never had an elite receiver to throw to for longer than a season-and-a-half. He’s always kind of seemed content to be little glory boy and reap the praise of getting it done throwing to a bunch of no-names.
Who gives a crap whether or not drops is an official NFL stat?
I guess that makes drops less critical or means all-time greats like Rice, Irvin and Carter had so many drops before it was an officially tracked stat and all their drops just got swept under the rug.
NOT.
This it totally random but……
I can remember ESPN as far as back as Gary Clark’s days with the Cardinals (‘93?) mentioning how many total passes he dropped. Of course, they didn’t have a sports-ticker back then and you had Roy Firestone instead of Rome Is Flaming as the afternoon talk show and even by today’s standards the modern equivalent would be Joey Galloway dropping passes for the Bengals; a non-story. The point is even back then when a high-profile player dropped THAT many passes, they brought it up.
So I don’t quite get what your point is about ESPN inventing the “drops stat.” No elite receiver drops as many passes as T.O. over the last 15-20 years. Drops are drops whether you think they were perfect throws or not. How many of Irvin’s biggest catches had a high degree of difficulty? Yet, there is some need to dissect every pass T.O. drops to determine whether or not it was a perfect throw.
Bullbutter. If this guy is the football-playing superhero you make him out to be he catches stuff like the one he dropped against the Giants on SNF that you thought wasn’t close to being a drop.
T.O. apologist much?
I do think ESPN went overboard in ‘06 when T.O.’s hand was busted up and they called some passes in the end zone against the Redskins and Titans drops even though the defender did more than enough to dislodge the ball on those plays. Other than that, though, I don’t see how ESPN is inventing drops or blowing them out of proportion.
Yeah...
And there were some passes that they were considering “drops” that I would have been hellacious catches.
And while Joey might be factual about what happened, there were a few convenient facts left out.
First of all, I want to say I think McNabb is a great QB… but the guy is half stupid as a person. He makes comments sometime that I’m like “what?”.
BUT, even as much of a dumbass as he is, for T.O. to come out and call him out and pretty much call him out of shape is a big no-no.
Even if it’s true.
“Oh well he’s just being honest.”
Yeah but sometimes you gotta bite your tongue.
ESPN didn’t provoke that comment, but they sure as hell kept it going afterwards.
AND then 6 games into the season he comes on national television and says that the team would have a better chance to win a Super Bowl with Brett Favre. Once again, maybe it was true, but what would possess you to say something like that?
Dallas makes me act like Christian Bale......
Wow, this is a very good post Airforce
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
Yeah, it was.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
T.O. to da Bears?
The notion seems to be getting a “warm” reception over on the SBNation’s Bears blog: TO: Worth the risk?
http://www.windycitygridiron.com/2009/3/5/782207/to-worth-the-risk
Oh... Oh, that's giving me a clue. Yeah, ye-yeah, I've got a raging clue right now.
I was StarStruck at TBB/BSR, now...
Raf and Grizz, thank you for bringing sanity in your posts about TO.
Although you’re both a little late to the party, and it took you a while to see what a few of us have seen for years.
The guy’s old and not worth the money or headaches. Duh!!
I was against the signing 3 years ago, and never liked what he brought to this team.
All the whining about what will our poor offense do now that he’s gone demonstrates a true lack of football knowledge.
As the sarcastic post above did an able job of showing.
BooHoo, who will replace TO? Yeah, who will replace his lockerroom divisiveness and complete disappearance in big games
Unfortunately, I cannot laugh too much—Because JJ just made a similar mistake trading TWO good picks for mini-TO-a guy who SHOULD be able to replace 70 catches and 10 TD’s, but will probably also replace some of the same me-first attitude TO has brought to every team he’s ever been a part of. Can’t say RW excites me any more than the Owens signing did.
Anyways-wonderful day, glad the guy is off my team after 3 terrible years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read this article on TO's release
From Lombardi at NFP, it’s a good one
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2009/03/diner-morning-news-to-fallout/
Feb. 27 -- Veteran free agency signing period begins. Trading period begins.
April 25-26 -- NFL Draft
wow this vid actually got me excited (no its not porn lol)
but imagine romo throwing to him, with a full training camp they should be clicking well next season
let’s hope
"Aw Shucks" - Wade Phillips
whats all this i hear about him being overweight?
if this is true, he needs to get himself in shape quick. I am worried about all i hear about R. Williams…for a long time he has been called lazy…i hope this is just rumors…
If he does this kind of stuff with the star on his helmut,
we will have forgotten all about TO by this time next year.
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
I am surprised we haven’t seen Rosenhaus and the mediots watching TO do crunches in his driveway yet?
If Jerry was going to make this move, why not make it back in 07 when Parcells might have stayed to win a Super Bowl?
I'm pretty sure the botched hold made up Parcells' mind for good.
It was the ultimate F-up that season in a series of never ending F-ups.
Besides, even without T.O., he was probably sick enough of dealing with the rest of the dumb players he had dealt with before T.O. even got there.
Draft-Can someone name a couple of good sleeper WR's?
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
81 posts...until now
I’m certainly gonna miss TO and it looks like some of his teammates will also. Ratliff and Ellis seemed shocked and bewildered by this move also.
I can’t help but wonder if Hurd has been the unnamed source. I read an article by Don Banks and he mentioned an unnamed source saying he received a text from TO last night. Those same words were in a bspn article, this time with Hurd quoted.
Anyways, I’ll miss TO because he was a fun and passionate player. Some of his most memorable plays to me involved him running down field blocking for Crayton or Felix Jones or (GB game?) running an opposing player down after the other player was 20 yards up field. He probably had the most intense burning fire on the offense. Unfortunately, his problem was that his fire burned some other players and Garrett (who I still have reservations about).
Last time I felt like this was when the Lakers traded away Shaq. But…life goes on and poof, 81’s gone. :’(
It seems to me
That the farther (further?) away you are from Owens, the more you like him. Case in point—the guys on defense (e.g., Ellis, Ratliff and Newman) are disappointed with the move and have only good things to say about Owens. I am not hearing the same type of reaction from the guys on offense who actually had to work with the guy day in and day out. Does that tell us anything?
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
What's funny
is the fact that 95% of the civilized world agrees that cutting TO was a good call, and despite that, there are those who think cutting TO means conceding the 09 season, and possibly more.
At least I think it’s funny.
Epic Fail since 1985
Did anyone see TO's statement?
It was full of class. Its a shame people couldnt get over his past. Oh well……
What the French?! Toast!
its all over sportscenter im sure its on espn im just too lazy to link sorry :/
What the French?! Toast!
Are you being taken in by a Public Relations move?
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
Wow, you are easily swayed.
He’s still the same person. He has problems, probably some of them beyond his control, without the support of a good Dr. and some meds.
A few good words in public doesn’t change who he is, proven over 13 years.
by Realist Larry on Mar 6, 2009 10:06 AM CST up reply actions
yeah i was impressed
it was on his web site
by AustonianAggie on Mar 6, 2009 10:42 AM CST up reply actions
Why Cutting TO Was the Right Decision
For those who were for some reason not convinced by the simple math in Raf’s post, here’s some complimentary information from Football Outsiders on the decline of TO’s skills.
—————————————————-
If you look at Owens’ traditional statistics from 2008, the figures aren’t all that bad. He accrued 1052 yards and ten touchdowns, figures that were 12th and ninth in the league amongst all wide receivers, respectively.
However, if you’re thinking that those numbers don’t jibe with how Owens really played and what it meant to the team, you’re right. Owens only had two 100-yard games all season, with a 213-yard performance against a mediocre 49ers’ pass defense joined by 103 meaningless yards in the season-ending disaster against the Eagles. He only had three other games above 80 yards, two of which came against the woeful pass defenses of Seattle and Cleveland.
There was also a noticeable dropoff in other metrics as well. Despite being thrown virtually the same amount of passes (140 in 2008 as opposed to 141 in 2007), Owens saw his first downs drop from 69 to 38. His catch rate went down from 57 percent to 49 percent.
All of that data gets encapsulated into Owens’ DYAR, our metric which measures performance against the league average on a cumulative basis after adjusting for down, distance, opponent, and situation. In 2007, Owens accrued 449 DYAR, a figure which put him behind only Randy Moss among the leaders at wide receiver. In 2008, Owens accrued 86 DYAR, a total which left him … 46th.
Teams began noticing during their film study this year that Owens was struggling to break free from press coverage, something his preternatural athleticism allowed him to do throughout his career. That was leading to an inability to create separation for himself downfield, which prevents quarterbacks from properly identifying open passing lanes, while also making passes both harder to catch and easier to defend.
To counter the constant stream of cornerbacks pressing him at the line, the Cowboys sent Owens in motion as often as possible. When that didn’t work, they took things to a new extreme, motioning the 224-pound Owens in behind the allegedly 203-pound Patrick Crayton, hiding their huge star wideout behind their tiny slot receiver to try and create space. That helped, as Owens averaged 9.4 yards per attempt and had a success rate (picking up 40 percent of the yardage needed for a new set of downs on first down, 60 percent on second down, or 100 percent on third or fourth down) of 43 percent in three-receiver sets, which was a huge improvement over the 5.0 yards per attempt and 35 percent success rate he put up with only two receivers on the field.
Could Owens defy the past and come back with a huge season? Perhaps. Maybe he’ll be inspired by his release, sign with a team like Minnesota or (gulp) Washington, and be part of a high-powered offensive attack. Maybe the appearance of Brad Johnson for three games threw Owens off and he never adjusted. Maybe the arrival of Roy Williams created confusion in the Dallas offense and forced Owens to run suboptimal routes.
What recent history tells us, though, is clear: There are no second acts in the lives of veteran wide receivers.
Larry Allen benched 700 pounds. That is Leonard Davis times two.
You're right
where’s the link? I’m serious about this stuff.
by Dave Halprin on Mar 6, 2009 11:03 AM CST up reply actions
I was watching the news this morning, and I almost felt sorry for
Jerry Jones. They were interviewing him after he met with Owens about his release, and Jones looked like a worn-out old man.
He really liked TO.
I don’t think he wanted to do this AT ALL. He did it because it was best for the Dallas Cowboys in his mind. Just like bringing Parcells in was best for the Cowboys at that time. Everybody that was impressed with TO’s statement on his release, well I was impressed by Jerry’s handling of this issue.
There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.
Next Stop
Washington or the Giants. Washington because Dan Snyder likes collecting shiny toys as much as Jerry Jones does. Giants because they have a recent Super Bowl win and experienced guys in the locker room that could keep a lid on TO’s shenanigans for at least a year, and although TO is a primadonna, he doesn’t shoot himself in the leg. I mean that literally.
Both teams make sense from Owens’ perspective because he’d get to face both Philly and Dallas twice a year and try to burn them.
If TO plays against the Cowboys in Dallas next year, will he be cheered when he is introduced?
Lifetime Cowboys Fan from the Swamps of Jersey
Good stuff here Raf.
Hard to go wrong when you start with a Godfather reference.
"Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere. It's a result of something... hours and days and weeks and years of constant work and dedication." --Roger Staubach
I, for one, am sad to see Owens go. Brad Johnson and Tony's bad pinky probably cost owens his job.
More than say, his age. I don’t have much faith in Roy Williams Jones but will be ready to change my mind.
Family, Friends, Cowboys, Beer & BBQ. Life is good!
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