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Hints about the offseason

Clarence Hill has a good article out this morning. In it, Jerry Jones gave some hints as to what we can expect over the next few weeks as we head into free agency and prepare for the draft. First hint - don't expect the Cowboys to be major players in free agency, although with Jerry, everything's relative. What might be considered a slow spending offseason by Jerry Jones could be considered a signing bonanza by some other teams. But Jerry sounds a little bitter about some mistakes in free agency last year.

"We spent $6 million that, almost before the season started, [we] wrote off," Jones said. "Of course, we didn't get that upfront value out of Fabini. We've got to do better than that."

The Cowboys need to re-sign some of their own free agents, like Marc Colombo, but it's another spot on the line that has Dallas worried.

There is much concern about left guard (ed. note - obviously Clarence Hill meant right guard) because the team can no longer count on Marco Rivera, who has had two back surgeries in the past three years. The Cowboys believe they can fill that spot from within with Cory Proctor, who hasn't played in his two NFL seasons.

Who believes they can fill that spot from within? This statement is just dropped into the article without any other supporting evidence. Did Jerry say it, or did Wade? C'mon Clarence, give us something to believe in, because the Cowboys are rolling the dice big-time if they go with Proctor. I don't know much about the kid, and Parcells did like him, but he hasn't done anything in the NFL yet and was not exactly the most sought after player by NFL teams. I don't mind giving him a shot in training camp, but please tell me he will have competition via the draft or free agency.

And finally, Jerry doesn't sound like moving Anthony Henry to FS is the path they want to travel.

Jones said the Cowboys are resisting the urge to move cornerback Anthony Henry to free safety as he proposed earlier in the off-season.

"We know it's been written possibly moving Henry to safety," Jones said. "But, when I evaluated it as we've gone along the last few weeks and months, that might be hard to do because he had a lot of snaps in there, got pretty tired near the end so that may not be the best way to use his ability. His cornerback skills are very good, and it's not a given at all that that move is there."

Still, if the Cowboys acquire a top corner, and there are several in the draft, it might be a situation he revisits, Jones said.


I have no idea what Jerry is talking about when he says Henry got tired as if that has any relation to moving him or not. The consideration should be is he more valuable as a corner or a safety. Henry plays a physical corner and is very good in run support on the edges. You also have to weigh what possibilities you have at corner if you do move him. There are some good prospects in the draft, but as always, you're gambling if you start a rookie. In the end, the Cowboys probably won't move him and will either go with Pat Watkins, or will draft a FS (Reggie Nelson? Brandon Merriweather?) to compete with Watkins.

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