A Chance To Dream- Look ahead to the Offseason

Greetings to all the BTB'ers out there. So to start things off that last loss hurt a lot. However it kind of summed up our season. Slow Start, nice comeback, but a few mistakes later and we are all left scratching our heads on a Season that had potential, but far too many holes to fill. Overall there are some good things and some not so good things we learned about this team. I feel as though I must share my thoughts and what I believe we have learned about this team, and of course your words, ideas, and constructive criticism are all welcomed. Jump Time...

Things I Believe We Have Learned:

• The Team Needs This Off-season- Watching a Team with incredible highs, and substantial lows tells me The Team needs more preparation. In a lot of ways 2011, was kind of a makeshift year for The Silver and Blue. I guarantee that Coach Woicik is very pleased that he will get more time with the guys this time around. All the injuries that piled up and then all the different faces having to make due, leads me to believe the team just wasn't conditioned very well. Woicik will surely have his work cut out for him this off-season. He will need some kind of plan for Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins, and Miles Austin. Rob Ryan (if he remains, which I think he will) as well will have a heavy workload this spring/summer. Which leads me to another point.
• This Defense Is Not Very Talented- Other than the notables: Ware, Ratliff, Lee, and possibly Jenkins; Those are my sentiments. I just believe that there are too many holes to fill in this area. Now I'm not saying overhaul the whole Defense, but I believe that this is where the main focus of the Draft and Free Agency should lie. I also am excited to see if some of the other 2011 Draft Classmen can be as good as the gems we found in Demarco Murray and Tyron Smith. Bruce Carter interests me a lot and I'm excited to see what his possibilities are in 2012. I'm not as down on Abe Elam and Gerald Sensabaugh, because I believe the poor CB play often resulted in them having to count for more than maybe they were originally expected. Besides Sensabaugh has always been physical and that is very good for his case in the Defense.
• Scouting seems to have gotten better with Garrett than Phillips- It just seems that the guys who Garrett picked up were usually on the positive side. In the Draft, with Tyron, Demarco and I still believe Nagy will be good, then in Free Agency with Fiametta, and Laurent Robinson. That being said I think I speak for everyone when I say that Laurent and Fiametta need to be retained. As good as our receiving core was with T.O., Witten, Austin, Crayton; It is even better with Austin, Witten, Bryant, and Robinson. Of course we all know how the tandem of Murray and Fiametta worked out. This year's Draft and Free Agency will be interesting, but I get good vibes and feelings about Garrett and his evaluation of talent.
• The Youth Movement wasn't a complete success nor failure- I hear everyone especially towards the end of this Season when they were wondering why Tony seemed to still be running for his life. However, I think some slack should be given because of the Lockout. I do have a problem with Romo being sacked 36 times for 227 yds. That is ridiculous to me. That is why I believe that we should draft a stud at the Guard position, and should start Kowalski as Center. Free had his share of problems, which I think are due to him probably not being focused and ready for the season and of course lack of practice, but you would have thought he would have gotten better. I agree with a lot of people that Free should be moved to RT (naturally), and Tyron to LT. Kosier is on the decline, but still appreciate the work he has put in. The OL just needs some tweaking and it can be great, but most of the pressure Tony got was right up the middle, or from Free's side.
• Tony Romo is playing Championship Football- The kind of season he has had is remarkable, but also sad because it is over. For so many years people have said negative things about him and have called him a "Choke Artist", or "Overrated", but those people just need to give it a rest. This guy posted a 36 TD to 10 Int ratio for a Passer rating of 102.5. Statistically it has been his best year, yet another year with no playoffs. 4th Qtr failure has plagued this team, but I feel the majority of that had to do with a Defense that was not able to hold a lead. In the end, if Tony plays this way next year and has a bit more protection with a Defense that isn't suspect, watch out NFL, because he in my eyes is a winner.
• Pass Rush Please- The lack of pass rush was mind blowing at times. Ware got his sacks but this is a problem that is glaring Ryan in the face and must be corrected. Anthony Spencer is just not cutting it out there, somebody with the ferocity of Ware or Babin needs to be brought in and help Ware out. At most times of the year it seemed to me as if Ware was the only one hungry for sacks, Hatcher had some moments but it's no surprise that Ware at Ratliff were our only Defensive Pro-Bowlers, I was surprised none of our Offense got in. Help Wanted.

That being said, the Off-season cannot get here fast enough for me, there are more thoughts, but I will save those for later posts. I am eager to read your thoughts and criticisms. I hope you all are as excited as I am to get the ball rolling for next year.

-Ice Bone