Monday, March 2, 2009

A Few Thoughts As The Dust Settles

With Chris Canty heading to New York, Steven Bowen and Jason Hatcher appear set for a possible training camp battle barring any major moves to acquire a defensive lineman. There is still the option of moving Ratliff to end if the Cowboys can find a defensive tackle to plug up the middle in free agency or the draft but I wouldn't be disappointed if the Cowboys start Spears, Ratliff and Bowen or Hatcher. Hatcher has made some plays before but he will have to prove the he can handle the full load of snaps required of a starter. It is easy to be explosive when you only have to play in short stretches during the game. Ratliff is quite a luxury to have since he is able to create havoc from either the end or the tackle position.

How much would the Dallas media and ESPN have criticized Jerry Jones if he had signed Chris Canty to the same contract that the Giants gave him? Of course now that the Giants overpaid for his services they are deemed to have made a brilliant move. The constant criticism of Jerry Jones as a general manager is really getting old. Who assembled all of the talent on the current Dallas roster anyway? I guess Jerry gets no credit for that. He has made mistakes, but at least he aggressively tries to improve his team. There are many owners out there who just run their team as a financial investment but Jerry Jones does anything he can to try to bring a championship to Dallas.

Anyone who honestly believes that Tony Romo will get benched in favor of Jon Kitna at some point during the season needs to get their head checked. I don't know how else to explain it, but Tony Romo is the franchise quarterback now and for years to come. The "fans" planning to chant Kitna's name the first time Romo struggles need to decide if they are really fans of the Dallas Cowboys. Tony Romo is the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys. Deal with it. Kitna is a major upgrade at the backup position, but he is only going to be the backup.

Keith Brooking seems like a solid addition but he will have to prove that he still has something left in the tank. I thought Zach Thomas was going to be a great addition last season and it became apparent early in the season that there was a reason the the Dolphins let him move on. Thomas had an ok year but it was obvious that he was not the player Dallas had hoped he would be. I pray we don't come to the same realization with Brooking. He seems like an active, aggressive, fiery player and I believe he can make a significant impact next season as a player, leader and team motivator. Brooking is a big believer in the defensive scheme that Wade Phillips runs and has experience playing in it so that can only help his chances to be successful.

Losing Anthony Henry doesn't suddenly make the Cowboys thin at the cornerback position. Orlando Scandrick and Mike Jenkins are primed to step in and play great football in their second seasons. And don't forget about Alan Ball. He was forced into duty during the Tampa Bay game last year and made several plays down the stretch to help win the game. Safety is still a major concern, but the Cowboys still have four good players at the cornerback position.

4 comments:

  1. Ya know, I was thinking exactly the same thing when I read Tim Cowlishaw's comments about what a great addition Albert Haynesworth was for the Redskins. If Jerry had given Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall the kind of deals Dan Snyder did, the lead story on ESPN would have been some smart mouth thing on the "Halfway House" that Jerry is running in Dallas.

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  2. Nice story!! I don't always agree with JJ, but he is a smart businessman that knows how to improve the value of the team. I guess Jerry is just a magnet for criticism by Cowboy and non-Cowboy fans. But lets be honest here, he is the owner every fan wants for his team.
    On Canty, lets not forget that Canty owes a lot to the Boys for drafting him, a lot of teams had soured on him with his eye injury, the Boys believed in him when no one else did. Lets hope that he doesn't hurt us when we play the Giants.

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  3. Jenkins and Scandrick are good players, might even become great this season...but Newman is never healthy anymore. They picked up a veteran linebacker in Brooking, but a veteran corner would be nice too. Along with a safety that can tackle and cover.

    I don't know if you read the article on the Cowboys web site about Roy Williams (the safety)...but i found it to be hilarious. His agent said that Williams has struggled because he had to be in coverage alot more in the past few years. How about that...a safety that has to cover. Williams was a great player with Woodson, but that was a long time ago. I think he will be released very soon.

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  4. It looks like it is just a matter of days or even hours for Roy Williams at this point. Something is very sad about that to me even after seeing him struggle for the last few years.

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