Should Crayton Stay or Go?

Patrick Crayton is not happy. And I can't say I totally blame him either. He has been producing good, but not great numbers for several years. He has done everything the team has asked of him and played above his draft status for a long time. But the NFL is a business and Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett have to do what is best for the team. That means Patrick Crayton is going to lose playing time if he stays with the Cowboys.

Crayton has been a valuable asset for a few years now but he is obviously not irreplaceable. And his age (31) is not helping his cause. He wants to be traded. But why would anyone trade for Crayton if they know he is probably going to be cut in the long run anway? I have to believe that the Cowboys would choose Sam Hurd over Patrick Crayton if push came to shove. Hurd is younger and has more long term potential. But it is possible that Crayton and Hurd will be gone.

The Cowboys are suddenly very strong at the wide receiver position. Miles Austin, Roy Williams, and Dez Bryant have the top three spots locked up. Then there is Kevin Ogletree who flashed some impressive playmaking skills last season. So that leaves probably one more spot on the roster for a wide receiver. The Cowboys are unlikely to keep six. So it will probably come down to Hurd or Crayton.

I think I would prefer to keep Sam Hurd for a few reasons. Sam Hurd generally keeps his mouth shut which is going to be important. It is unlikely that Hurd or Crayton is going to get the playing time they desire. There is too much talent at wide receiver to get either of them on the field on a regular basis. While Crayton has proven he can make plays he is starting to hit the down side of his career. A guy with marginal talent like Crayton doesn't have to lose very much of his athleticism before he becomes a non-factor. Hurd hasn't ever made plays consistently but he has improved from year to year and he has shown some flashes that he can get the job done if given the opportunity.

I'll be surprised if Crayton is back next year. I don't think he wants to be in Dallas regardless of his contract or what promises the coaches might make him about playing time. I think Hurd could be convinced that Dallas is still the place for him to be. They can't both stay. In the past you might have been able to argue that the Cowboys need Crayton for punt returns. But it appears Dez Bryant and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah both have punt return skills. And Kevin Ogletree has worked on punt returns with Joe DeCamillis as well.

If the Cowboys could get even a late round pick for Crayton I would be thrilled. But it is much more likely that he will be released sometime before training camp starts in July. I appreciate what he did for the Cowboys but the team is doing the right thing by going with the younger, more talented and cheaper options at wide receiver.

Bryant Had Better Be Used in the Return Game

We've heard this story before. The Cowboys draft a guy in the first round and tell us that part of the reason the player was picked so high is because he brings an extra dimension to the field...returner skills. That was Felix Jones just a few years ago. Dez Bryant is now being touted as the guy who will be a dynamic punt and kick returner for the Cowboys. I'll believe it when I see it.

Remember when we heard all of the same talk about Felix Jones a few years ago? Felix was used on kick returns for a while and actually had a few really good returns but he was quickly phased out of the return game. The coaches and owner always mentioned that they didn't want to risk injury by using him on returns.

Well, a few years later, here we are again. The Cowboys found a dynamic playmaker in the draft who has the ability to not only return kicks but, this time, also return punts. The Cowboys are loaded on offense. I would find it hard to believe that the Cowboys could justify keeping Dez Bryant off the special teams return units. At least as long as Roy Williams is still on the roster. The Cowboys are loaded at wide receiver. And a good return can be the difference between points scored and another drive ending in a punt.

I expect to see Dez Bryant used as the primary punt returner. There is no other player on the roster that comes close to what he can do on punt returns. Terence Newman is up in years and shouldn't be put back there anymore. So the job belongs to Dez. And while we are at it let's make him the #1 kick returner as well. I could see the kick return job eventually becoming Akwasi Owusu-Ansah's, but he will be recovering from shoulder surgery until training camp. He'll be lucky to be ready for the start of the regular season.

I expect to see Dez play the #3 receiver role this season. He'll get playing time at receiver but his value won't be so high that the Cowboys can't afford to risk him on returns. He was drafted as high as he was partly to be a returner. Now the Cowboys have to remember that and use him to their advantage in the return game.

On Second Thought...

I was one of the first people to criticize the draft day pick for a kicker. It just didn't make sense to me at the time. But after getting more information about David Beuhler I am starting to come around on the kickoff specialist idea. Watch the YouTube video I posted here of Beuhler in his college career and you'll probably see what I mean. If he can translate those kickoffs to the NFL level then he could be a valuable commmodity on special teams.



I still believe he will have to find other ways to contribute during the game in order to justify his roster spot. There is talk about using him as a holder, maybe even as a blocker on kick returns as he has also done in college, and a gunner on punts. If he can do all of that then he will probably take the roster spot that once belonged to Keith Davis. It appears that Beuhler was hand picked by Joe DeCamillis, the new special teams coach. DeCamillis' track record as a special teams coach shows that he knows how to run a successful special teams unit.

The Cowboys lost at least two games last season that can be directly attributed to poor special teams play, so the importance of special teams has been magnified this offseason. If Beuhler can produce kicks for touchbacks consistently then the Cowboys will be gaining field position in every game. That is only going to help the defense. 5 yards can be the difference between a punt from the 40 or a field goal from the 35 at the end of the opposition's drive. The Cowboys were the fifth worst in terms of opponents starting field position after kickoffs last season (29 yard line avg.), so any improvement is going to be noticeable not only on returns but on the scoreboard at the end of the game.