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Jason Garrett preaches the importance of culture. The Cowboys head coach insists that players be accountable to themselves, their teammates and the organization. He considers it one of the building blocks to a successful franchise. Yet for the third consecutive year suspensions force the Cowboys to open the regular season without key defensive starters. What does that say about the culture Garrett has put in place?
Garrett never once mentioned being a choirboy as a prerequisite for being a RKG. His prime example was Michael Irvin, who was anything but a choirboy. Still, when off the field behavior impacts on the field performance, something has to give.
Of course, Lawrence's suspension may have nothing to do with any off-field issues, rendering the entire question above moot.
ALERT: I'm told #Cowboys position re Demarcus Lawrence failed test NOT pot but rather amphetamines/meds. Feel good about appeal @1053thefan
— mike fisher ✭ (@fishsports) April 22, 2016
Report: Cowboys will pick up Travis Frederick's fifth-year option Jared Dubin, CBSSports.com
Yeah, this one is a no brainer, but with another pending suspension on the horizon we can all use a bit of good news.
That option will cover Frederick's salary for the 2017 season and carry a cap hit of $8.8 million. It's possible that the Cowboys lower that hit by agreeing to an extension with Frederick before 2017, then spreading out the hit over a number of years.
Even if they decide to give him a big-money deal, the Cowboys will still be getting a bargain on their elite offensive line because of the below-market deal Smith signed when coming off his rookie contract, the rookie-scale deal for Martin, and the undrafted free agent deal given to Collins last year.
What ever else you can say about the Dallas front office, they have done everything right in building an offensive line that they are going to be able to keep intact.
Speaking of the offensive line, those boys can undoubtedly put away the groceries, but it is good to see them putting food in someone else's cupboards. While the Cowboys have always had some bad boys who draw attention, more often than not they have also attracted a group that is civic minded and who give back to the folks of north Texas. It is great to see the Dallas offensive line doing something like this for the community.
As much as I hate to do so, I find myself in agreement with Bayless. Josh Norman may have been a flash in the pan during the 2015 season, but he may have been the next shut down corner. Either way he is a far better corner than anything the Dallas Cowboys have on the roster right now.
This sounds discouraging at first, but on second glance it might not be so bad. Jalen Ramsey may not be the Dallas CB of the future, but personally I was looking more towards him as a safety anyhow. Take it for what it is worth.
"I was told yesterday the Cowboys were seeking some advice on Ramsey and got an opinion that they thought was going to give them a pretty good report. Turns out it wasn't...at all. I'm not saying their saying ‘oh, now we're not taking him'. But they called someone up. Said ‘Hey, what do you think about this guy?' And it wasn't glowing."
Every once in a while I catch myself wishing that Jerry Jones would let Bob Sturm do the work on draft day. Here is the latest in Bob's look at the talent available to teams in the upcoming draft. Dallas needs to do something at WR, and it would be nice to see one of Bob's guys wearing the star next season. Here is what Sturm had to say about my personal favorite in the draft, TCU's Josh Doctson.
.... plays with a confidence that you want from a potential X receiver who is a lead dog and able to be a go-to guy. He runs routes off the same stem with great effectiveness and can get DBs turned around or so freaked out about the deep shot that he can take 10-12 yards on comebacks, outs and digs all day long. He is not a burner, but he quickly gets the opponent on notice and mixes up his routes well. Where he is truly special is the battle for the ball. This can be both on the ground in slants or routes between defenders in a zone or it can be in the air. He goes up and finds the ball and then secures it with the ability to use his body as a buffer with surprising strength for his weight and then is acrobatic enough to make the catch and secure the ball before hitting the ground.
Linebacker may not be the biggest need on the roster, but with Sean Lee's health issues and the issues Rolando McClain has experienced over his career picking up some insurance might not be a bad idea.