Better defensive line will improve secondary play - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
In response to a Twitter question about this chicken and egg topic, Archer is emphatic about the pass rush improving the pass defense.
Absolutely. One of the things I think we'll find out this year with the Cowboys is the answer to the question. "Is it the line or is it the running back?" with DeMarco Murray gone. I already know the answer to the question, "Does a pass rush make a secondary or a secondary make a pass rush?" It's without a doubt the former.
With the way the rules are, you can't expect defensive backs to cover forever, no matter who they are. Deion Sanders would give up catches without a pass rush. If the quarterback has to move a tick sooner or is wondering more about the pass rush, then there's a better chance for the secondary to succeed. You can play a little bit differently. If you know the pass rush will struggle, it's already a losing deal for a cornerback.
Charlotte Jones Anderson on Cowboys’ signing of Greg Hardy: ‘I’m not afraid of this move’ | Dallas Morning News
Anderson isn't just responsible for the Cowboys brand, she's also a member of the NFL conduct committee. In a sit-down with the Dallas Morning News she explains why she thinks signing Hardy can be an opportunity.
"This is an opportunity to really make a significant impact. This is very powerful and it’s very important, and important for me personally."
"I think you will look back and you will say this is the right move for the Cowboys."
Click on the link to watch the full 15-minute interview with Anderson.
LeSean McCoy: Signing DeMarco Murray was a 'panic move' by Eagles - Birds 24/7
Yesterday we found out that Frank Gore backed out of Philadelphia over concerns that the Eagles don't have a quality quarterback. Today we get LeSean McCoy's take on Philly.
Appearing as a guest on The Rich Eisen Show, McCoy addressed the fact that the Eagles were willing to pay for Murray, but not for him.
"I saw that they originally were trying to get Frank Gore, and he backed out. So then when they got DeMarco and they got Ryan Mathews, I thought it was like a panic move. With that media in Philadelphia, they can get tough on you. So I guess that was just the way to make it right. I don’t know. I can’t really answer it. They took two backs to replace one. I think DeMarco’s a hell of a back. I think he’ll do a good job there. I’m not sure how that went."
Cowlishaw: Why I would rank Cowboys ahead of Eagles | Dallas Morning News
In response to a reader question about whether LeSean McCoy or Demarco Murray is the more dangerous runner, Tim Cowlishaw offers one of the lamest reasons in recent memory about why the Cowboys rank ahead of the Eagles.
McCoy has had a better career than Murray for sure. This is overstating it, so keep that in mind, but it's a bit like the old Barry Sanders vs. Emmitt discussions. Sanders had more talent and was scarier, but Emmitt would just grind a defense down. That's the way these two played this past season. I'm not sure Dallas is the better team but I would rank the Cowboys ahead because I believe Romo's chances of playing 16 games is much stronger than Bradford's.
This Was Not How NFL Free Agency Was Supposed to Work - Forbes
Leigh Steinberg, the real-life inspiration for the Jerry McGuire Hollywood character, criticizes that the "jump the gun" mentality of free agency means "money and money only" over any other consideration. Steinberg writes that back in the day, he used a list of 10 criteria to help his clients identify the right fit in free agency, and only two of them were strictly about money.
Back in 1993 I posed those questions to SS Tim McDonald, who had spent his All-Pro career with the then Phoenix Cardinals. His top two priorities were winning and being closer to his hometown in California. A number of teams were seriously interested. Then the San Francisco 49ers entered the picture. They certainly were as winning a team as existed in the NFL, and San Francisco was the closest NFL franchise to Tim’s hometown of Fresno. He was able to visit the 49er facility and ask all the relevant questions of coaches and executives – looking at them face to face. He then instructed me to stop interacting with other interested teams, not to conduct an auction, rather to get the best possible deal from the 49ers.
Those were the days.
Whoa, Canada: Examining the NFL talent pipeline emerging up north - CBSSports.com
Brad Gagnon, himself a Canadian, pens a longform piece about Canadians in the NFL, and while he includes Cowboys DT Tyrone Crawford, he egregiously fails to include a 2014 Pro Bowler from Canada: The great L.P. Ladouceur, famous long-snapper for America's Team, but perhaps not the household name in Canada that he is in the USA.
NFL hosts inaugural Veteran Combine today - NFL.com
The NFL will conduct its inaugural NFL Veteran Combine today at the Arizona Cardinals Practice Facility in Tempe, Arizona. NFL Network will show a summary of the day's events at 8:00 PM ET tonight.
NFL Transactions Tracker - Rotoworld.com
No matter how small, Nick Mensio keeps track of every offseason transaction for all 32 teams.
Want to Grab a Beer During a Football Game but Don’t Want to Miss a Scoring Play? | TheBlaze.com
The off season was long enough, so Reddit user bkrn worked some statistical magic to answer the question: "When is it safe to go get a beer without missing part of a touch down drive?" The results in the chart below.
Infographic - Current NFL owners by age
Turns out the average age of NFL owners is about 68, which makes Jerry Jones (72) only marginally older than the average owner, as you can see from the infographic below. Also, as much as it would suck to own the 49ers (though imagine what evil things you could do with that franchise ...) what definitely would not suck is being 35 (again?) and owning an NFL franchise.