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Is there any light at the end of the tunnel called salary cap hell? - Todd Archer, ESPN Dallas
One of the questions Archer addresses in his Dallas Cowboys' Twitter Mailbag is about the Cowboys' purported cap hell, and Archer has good news:
They will be in good shape in 2015 and great shape in 2016. The cap is going to rise fairly high in the next two years. There has been a method to the Cowboys' spending this offseason with the future in mind. They could have restructured the contracts of DeMarcus Ware, Brandon Carr and Jason Witten to create a ton of room (and keep Ware) but they chose not to. They could have signed anybody they wanted to and decided not to because of the structure of the deals that would have been required. They want to save some of their salary-cap space for Tyron Smith and Dez Bryant. The whole cap-hell stuff, to me, has been overblown. It's been more like cap purgatory.
For now, it's hard to say more fiscally responsible Cowboys will be better on field | DMN
The Cowboys new-found fical responsibility won't automatically lead to better results on the field, Tim Cowlishaw argued in a chat with fans:
I think they are becoming more fiscally responsible this off-season, but I can't say they are getting better on the field -- at least not in terms of immediate results. I don't know how you remove Ware and Hatcher from the team, bring in Melton and say you're better. If they have a great draft, it could happen, but that remains to be seen.
Which teams could take Donald before Chicago? - Windy City Gridiron
Aaron Donald is ranked as the best DT in the draft. While Cowboys fans are wondering whether Donald will fall past the Bears into the Cowboys' waiting arms, Bears fans at SB Nation's Bears site, Windy City Gridiron, are wondering whether Donald will even last until the Bears are on the clock.
Marinelli Has Some Tools To ‘Tighten Bolts’ - Mickey Spagnola, DallasCowboys.com
On a very slow news day, Spagnola makes one of his very rare appearances in our news roundup, despite re-naming Jeremy Mincey into "Jerome Mincey." Seems like Spags caught up with Rod Marinelli, who ruminated on the challenge of building a defensive line without Ware and Hatcher:
"It’s tough. It’s tough seeing them go, but now it’s a time you’ve got to bring some new faces in, new blood, hopefully some youth in and kind of set the standard for this new group coming up and how they’ll play."
"Just make sure you’re tightening bolts up, making sure everything is kind of screwed into place first, and to help these guys play fast, play hard."
Homecoming: New Cowboys DT Henry Melton overcomes obstacles on field and off, comes back to Metroplex | Brandon George, DMN
George offers up a very nice piece detailing Henry Melton's journey from his early childhood in San Diego and Yokosuka, Japan, all the way to being a core piece of the Cowboys' 2014 defense. Go read it, it will be well worth your time.
Cowboys defensive lineman George Selvie still 'shocked' team let DeMarcus Ware go | Dallas Morning News
Like most Cowboys fans, George Selvie was very surprised to see the Cowboys release DeMarcus Ware.
"I didn’t think it was going to come down to them releasing him, but you know that’s the way the business goes sometimes," Selvie said. "He was a great teacher; he was the reason I had a successful season last year, so he will be missed by me."
DE Marcus Spears joins SEC Network, NFL career likely over - CBSSports.com
After nine seasons in the NFL, defensive end Marcus Spears is moving on to a TV broadcasting career.
Remaining Free Agents: Defense - Over the Cap
Jason Fitzgerald runs down a list of the few "names" that are still available in free agency on defense. Of the nine guys on the list, every single one is either over thirty, or has a significant injury history - or both.
The NFL's Four-Minute Offense Is the Prevent Offense - Football Outsiders
Much of the league has adopted late-game strategies that do not allow the best players to do what they do best. If something worked for 56 minutes, then why not stick with it for the final four?