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Dallas Cowboys: Now What? By R.C. It's not just Cowboy fans that realize their franchise is at a turning point, it's fairly obvious to everyone across the entire league. This past season has been anything but boring, and the roller coaster ride that it was has now turned into an out-and-out mess. The Cowboys finished the year terribly, losing to the Lions of all teams. Although they did backdoor their way into the playoffs, it would have been less painful for everyone in Valley Ranch if they would have stayed home instead of watching Romo's now infamous fumble. The most frustrating part of it all for those that follow the franchise is that the Cowboys are extremely close – a few key moves in the off-season could mean another Lombardi Trophy heading to Big D. So, what do the Cowboys have to do to get over the hump? A few needs need to be met, but the Cowboys can do it if Jerry Jones plays his cards right…. Step 1: Settle the Coaching situation. Jones' approach to the situation has been interesting, to say the least. He is probably the only owner/GM in the league that would hire his offensive coordinator before his head coach, which he did last week with Jason Garrett. The reason being is that Jones sees Garrett as the future coach of the Cowboys. Garrett was around during the glory years of the 90's, and is known around the NFL as a great offensive mind. Most of the focus on the search has been on Wade Phillips (Chargers defensive coordinator) and Norv Turner (49rs offensive coordinator), and now Mike Singletary has emerged (along with a few others, but we can't touch on them all in this space). I think either Turner or Phillips would do a good job. Norv Turner gets a bad rap for what occurred in Washington and Oakland, but he shouldn't. In Washington he was hamstrung by a poor front-office, which in his last season went out and overpaid for over-the-hill big names such as Bruce Smith and Deon Sanders. The Redskins season imploded after Turner was fired in the middle of the year, evidence of all the issues his schemes were accounting for. After that, he was hired into the chaos that was the post-Superbowl Oakland Raiders. Anyone that followed that situation cannot blame Turner for what occurred there. It was a terrible situation, and any coach would have been lucky just to get out alive. Wade Phillips also could be a great fit, the biggest reason being his expertise with the 3-4 defense. Everyone he's coached has had a nasty 3-4 defense, and the Cowboys have been attempting to build around the scheme also, with much frustration. The personnel is almost in place, but the results haven't been there. Phillips hasn't been outstanding as a head coach, but he has a solid record. The main thing with him though, like I said, is his experience with the 3-4. Mike Singletary has also had his name thrown into the mix, after Jerry Jones interviewed him to comply in spirit with the Rooney Rule. Supposedly he's a candidate, but I'm not buying it. He's not what Dallas needs – and the main reason I say this is that if he's such a good coach, why wouldn't San Francisco be promoting him to defensive coordinator instead of going outside of the organization? They must not be too high on him, obviously. This one is a no-go, Jerry needs to stay away. Now, these are just some of the names that have been out in the media (Gary Gibbs, Saint's defensive coordinator has interviewed, and word is that Jones wants to interview Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera after the Superbowl) . With Jones' history, he could hire just about anyone and I wouldn't be surprised. The main thing right now is get a guy in there that will provide stability, run a 3-4 defensive scheme, and continue to develop Tony Romo. Step 2: Resign key free agents The biggest key is to keep the anchors of a shaky offensive line in town. Singing C Andre Gurode and OT Marc Colombo are absolute musts. Gurode is a young guy with a bright future and Colombo was a welcome surprise this season. Losing these guys would be a huge hit. Next on the list would be WR Patrick Crayton. He's the only young contributor on an aging receiving corps, and the Cowboys have high hopes for him. He's a restricted free agent, and I fully expect the Cowboys to put a high tender on him to keep him around. Finally, they have to re-sign restricted free agent P Mat Mcbriar and possibly Martin Gramatica. I expect the Cowboys to put a second round tender Mcbriar (meaning they will offer him a high enough salary that if another team gives him a better deal, they will have to give the Cowboys a second round pick in exchange). But, he's worth it. I could argue that he was the best player on the entire team this year…he's that good. He averaged an incredible 48 yards per punt and had 22 kicks downed inside the 20 yard line. That 48 yard per kick average was the best in the NFL, by the way. With Gramatica, I expect the Cowboys to resign him if he's reasonable in negotiations. With past experience with kickers, the Cowboys will probably never give a big contract to a kicker again, or I'd advocate going after Josh Brown. I fully expect this NOT too happen, though, and Gramatica to be back in Dallas. Step 3: Upgrade in free agency/the draft Offensive Needs: OL, WR, QB With close to 25 million in cap space, the Cowboys have some room to maneuver here. And that's a good thing, because this offense is close. Really, really close. Almost all the tools are there: an emerging star at QB, big-time playmakers at WR, solid running backs, and a pro-bowl tight end (with another young backup TE that could start for many teams). The only weakness is the offensive line. One of the huge problems this past year was the inability to take over a game running the ball. Leads would evaporate because there were no clock-burning drives to put the game away, and if not for Tony Romo's mobility he'd still be in the training room nursing bruises from last year. Even in the Cowboy's biggest win against the Colts, Romo was the one icing the game by throwing the ball to burn the clock, as opposed to chewing it up with a running game. As I've already said, the first key is to re-sign Gurode and Colombo. These two guys are really solid and could be a good nucleus to build a very good line around this next season. Then they need to decide whether to address this need through the draft or free agency. A lot of their strategy will be determined by how much confidence they have in Pat McQuistian. He was there seventh round pick last year out of Wichita State, and Parcells loved him. Only problem was he was extremely, EXTREMELY raw. But, he has all the tools – he's big, strong, and athletic. If he can find the technique, they believe he can be the future left tackle. So, if they think he can play next year, I expect them to try to make some moves in free agency and save their first round pick to meet another need, and maybe pick up an offensive lineman or two in the later rounds for depth. Otherwise, they may have to draft someone like Justin Blalock in the first round, an OG from Texas; to go along with moves in free agency (watch for the Cowboys to possibly go after G Kris Dielman of the Chargers or G Eric Steinbach of the Bengals if they don't look to draft an OL early; both would be expensive, but would immediately have a huge impact). Next, the Cowboys need to get another young WR on board. Talent oozes from this position at Dallas, but the main playmakers Terry Glenn and TO aren't getting any younger. Crayton is a good young player, and one more young receiver and the Cowboys should be set until TO is run out of town or Glenn retires. With this draft being so deep at this position they may be able to pick up a good one in the second or third rounds, if they decide to go that route. It's also possible that they use their first rounder on a WR, especially with big-time players like Dwayne Bowe of LSU and Sydney Rice of South Carolina still being on the board because of the insane depth at WR. (yes, I realize I just talked about the deep WR class two sentences ago, but it really can't be said enough) Finally, a backup QB is needed. More than likely the Cowboys are going to try to dump Bledsoe, who is getting too old and appeared to be extremely unhappy at the end of last year anyway. There are all kinds of good backup QBs on the market this year, so there really is no limit as to which direction they could go. They key is to get someone that can not only take over the team if Romo goes down, but is willing to work with him and help him develop also. Defensive Needs: CB, LB, NT Speculation is that CB Anthony Henry is going to be making the move to FS this off-season, which would be a pretty good move. It's his original position from college, and he isn't exactly a stud corner anyway. Henry would provide natural cover skills, which is much needed to cover up SS Roy Williams woeful lack of ability to cover anything or anybody. Moving Henry to FS would allow time for Pat Watkins, a second-year guy out of Florida State, to develop. Watkins has extremely high expectations in Valley Ranch, so this may be the way they go. If the FS position works out to be okay, it could free up Williams to play closer to the line, better using his physical play and instincts against the running game to make plays. Now, obviously with Henry possibly moving out of the CB position, that leaves a need. Terrance Newman is a very good corner on the other side, but other than that it gets pretty thin. Aaron Glenn is a solid nickel back, but he's getting old and that's about all you can hope to get out of him anymore. I expect the Cowboys to address this in free agency, but don't expect a big-name guy like Asante Samuel to land here (if New England lets him get away). There is going to be some big money thrown at free-agent CB's this off-season, and the Cowboy's have to be responsible here and not get caught up in it. There are plenty of big contracts on the defensive side of the ball already, and plenty of playmakers also. Just getting solid players is what is needed. Newman is good enough to be a number one corner, so there is no reason to overpay (in this situation) for a big name. The ideal situation here would be picking up a guy like Chris Houston out of Arkansas, if he fell far enough in the second round (it's unlikely, but if he's still on the board chances are the Cowboys will take him). Expect someone to be brought in through free-agency either way. The injury of Gregg Ellis instantly made LB an area of need. When running a 3-4, you can absolutely never have too many linebackers. There are many good young players here, including DeMarcus Ware, who is an absolute stud. But when Ellis went out, the pass rush suffered big-time and the secondary was exposed as a result. Ellis was getting old anyway, so a major point of focus will be to bring in a pass-rushing outside linebacker. There are some big names on the market, such as Baltimore's Adalius Thomas. Hopefully the Cowboys will stay away from him, as he will demand a huge contract and he's already thirty years old. I'd rather them go after a guy like Joey Porter, who is rumored to possibly be on his way out of Pittsburgh. The team has a one year option on him, and if they elect not to pick it up I'd love to see the Cowboys pursue him, despite his age (also around the thirty year mark). The reason being is that event though he is a big-name guy, he had a down year and Dallas could probably end up getting a pretty good value. He would be cheaper than a guy like Thomas, and immediately provide a spark of intensity and Superbowl experience to a young linebacking corp. Hopefully Ellis will be able to come back from his career-threatening Achilles injury and give a few more good years, but that can't be expected and this area must be addressed. The defensive line is in pretty good shape. While Marcus Spears and Chris Canty have been somewhat disappointing at DE, it is way too soon to give up on them. Both have the tools to be big-time players, and are so young that at least another season is needed before any moves are made here. A need here is at NT, where Jason Ferguson is solid but is getting old and can't do it by himself. If it wasn't for such a weak draft class at this position, I wouldn't be surprised if Dallas tried to draft the future for the inside of the DL. But that's not going to happen, so someone must be brought in during free agency. Step 4: Win So there you have it. Dallas is one of the more intriguing situations this off-season, because it's a team on the verge of being extremely good next year, possibly hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. But they are going to have to make some very savvy moves in the off-season to supplement a core of players that are already very close to being "there." If this happens and players already in place play up to potential, there is no limit to where this franchise can go the next few years. However, with the wrong coaching hire or poor personnel moves, it's not out of the question that they miss the playoffs, either. Now we just have to sit back and watch to see what happens. February 1, 2007 |
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Be Careful What You Wish For
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