Free Agent's I'd Take

Unlike last year we don;t have the full luxury of going on a big spending spree this free agency season; however, I would like to nab at least 1 or 2 of the following free agents available:

LeCharles Bentley - C/G - New Orleans Saints
Bentley has been solid for the most part, and has been a force to deal with. The attractive part of signing Bentley is his versatility. He excels at guard and at center. Center is a big question mark for us going into the 2006 season. Al Johnson never got on track and seemed to be overcome and overpowered by larger NT/DTs all year long. Andre Gurode actually faired better then Johnson, but are either of these two the answer, and is the rotation of the two the answer. I would say no for now. Bentley would be a great fit, but he will be highly seeked since quality offensive lineman this free agency season is quite light on talent.

Jason Fabini - OT - New York Jets
At 31 he is getting up in age, but would be a upgrade to Rob Pettiti at RT. Fabini was a player that Parcells liked while he was with the Jets. A reunion and "Parcells Guy" return could be in the making here. Taking care of RT before the draft would give us more room to draft another position player that we need like LB, FS, DT.

Adam Vinatieri - K - New England Patriots
Not much needs to be said about Vinatieri, he is Mr. Clutch as far as kickers go. Rarely misses, and in games where FGs decide games, Vinatieri would be the difference maker. Last season, we could have won at least 3 games decided by FGs, and missed FGs. Let's get him signed, sealed, and delivered!

Chris Hope - FS - Pittsburgh Steelers
Hope would be a real upgrade for the FS, Hope is more the prototypical FS we need next to the hard hitting Roy Williams. Hope plays well in coverage, makes good reads, and has great gametime experience playing against some of the NFLs best offenses. Let Davis return to ST fulltime and bring in Hope to complete the secondary.

Other players I'd like to consider:
Matt Bryant - K - Tampa Bay Bucs
Ryan Longwell - K - Green Bay Packers
Julian Peterson - OLB - San Fran 49ers

Hall of Fame or Hall of Shame, Again...

You know the drill, its that time of year when the anti-Cowboys biases are validated. Today at 1PM CST we will find out if any of our Cowboys Legends get inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. We all know who votes, and its a extremely flawed and illogical way to vote in NFL players.

Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Rayfield Wright should all get in, unfortunately, I'm predicting that Aikman will be the only one inducted; however, I would not be surprised if none were inducted, as outrageous as that may sound it is a possibility. NOTHING is guaranteed today. Let's hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

From NFL.com>>> Charged with the vital task of continuing to be sure that new enshrinees are the finest the game has produced is the Pro Football Hall of Fame's 39-man Board of Selectors (see list below).

The Board consists of one media representative from each pro football city with two from New York, inasmuch as that city has two teams in the National Football League. A 33rd member is a representative of the Pro Football Writers of America and there are six at-large delegates. (Read More)

Players get "voted in" by the media...Here's the official list of HOF voters:

Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors
Arizona	Kent Somers, Arizona Republic
Atlanta	Furman Bisher, The Atlanta Journal
Baltimore	Scott Garceau, WMAR-TV
Buffalo	Mark Gaughan, Buffalo News
Carolina	Charles Chandler, Charlotte Observer
Chicago	Don Pierson, Chicago Tribune*
Cincinnati	Chick Ludwig, Dayton Daily News
Cleveland	Tony Grossi, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Dallas	Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News*
Denver	Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News
Detroit	Jerry Green, The Detroit News*
Green Bay	Cliff Christl, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Houston	John McClain, Houston Chronicle*
Indianapolis	Mike Chappell, Indianapolis Star
Jacksonville	Sam Kouvaris, WJXT-TV
Kansas City	Bob Gretz, KCFX Overland Park, KS
Miami	Edwin Pope, Miami Herald*
Minnesota	Sid Hartman, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
New England	Ron Borges, Boston Globe
New Orleans	Pete Finney, Times-Picayune
New York (Giants)	Vinny DiTrani, Bergen Record
New York (Jets)	Paul Zimmerman, Sports Illustrated
Oakland	Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange
Philadelphia	Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News
Pittsburgh	Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
St. Louis	Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
San Diego	Jerry Magee, San Diego Union Tribune*
San Francisco	Ira Miller, San Francisco Chronicle*
Seattle	John Clayton, ESPN/ESPN Magazine
Tampa Bay	Ira Kaufman, Tampa Tribune
Tennessee	David Climer, The Tennessean
Washington	Len Shapiro, Washington Post*
PFWA	David Elfin, Washington Times
At Large	Jarrett Bell, USA Today
At Large	Dave Goldberg, Associated Press*
At Large	Peter King, Sports Illustrated
At Large	Bob Oates, Los Angeles Times
At Large	Len Pasquarelli, ESPN.com
At Large	Mike Wilbon, Washington Post

Troy Aikman - Quarterback - 1989-2000 Dallas Cowboys
Harry Carson - Linebacker - 1976-1988 New York Giants
L.C. Greenwood - Defensive End - 1969-1981 Pittsburgh Steelers
Russ Grimm - Guard - 1981-1991 Washington Redskins
Claude Humphrey - Defensive End - 1968-1978 Atlanta Falcons, 1979-1981 Philadelphia Eagles (injured reserve - 1975)
Michael Irvin - Wide Receiver - 1988-1999 Dallas Cowboys
Bob Kuechenberg - Guard - 1970-1984 Miami Dolphins (injured reserve - 1984)
John Madden - Coach - 1969-1978 Oakland Raiders
Art Monk - Wide Receiver - 1980-1993 Washington Redskins, 1994 New York Jets, 1995 Philadelphia Eagles
Warren Moon - Quarterback - 1984-1993 Houston Oilers, 1994-1996 Minnesota Vikings, 1997-1998 Seattle Seahawks, 1999-2000 Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Thomas - Linebacker - 1989-1999 Kansas City Chiefs
Thurman Thomas - Running Back - 1988-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Miami Dolphins
Reggie White - Defensive End/Defensive Tackle - 1985-1992 Philadelphia Eagles, 1993-1998 Green Bay Packers, 2000 Carolina Panthers
Rayfield Wright - Tackle - 1967-1979 Dallas Cowboys
Gary Zimmerman - Tackle - 1986-1992 Minnesota Vikings, 1993-1997 Denver Broncos

If I had a vote, I would vote these six players into the HOF:
• Troy Aikman
• Michael Irvin
• Rayfield Wright
• Reggie White
• Warren Moon
• John Madden

I predict the HOF will vote these six players:
• Troy Aikman
• LC Greenwood
• Art Monk
• Reggie White
• Bob Kuechenburg
• John Madden

and the HOF voters could also be pussies and only vote in 4 players as they did last year, which would not surprise me either

Good Luck Cowboys, either way, you know where you stand in Dallas Cowboys lore.

Bandwagon Time

It's that time of the year again. Time to get the mock drafts reved up and in full effect. Every year, I have a bandwagon, In past year's I've liked players like RB Michael "The Burner" Turner, now with the Chargers backing up LT, and has shown some serious skills. Last year it was DE Justin Tuck, now with the New York Giants, and looks to be a great pick for them. So who's bandwagon will I be on this year?

FS Michael Huff.

Huff is an All-American and, First Team All-Big 12, and Thorpe Award Recipient. Huff has been making plays his career at Texas. He's a playmaker on defense and is a true ballhawking FS. He's coming into the draft as a Senior with leadership and gametime experience in bigtime games.

Huff is projected a 1st rounder, and if he is available at #18 this would fill a void and would make for the final piece in the best secondary in the NFL.

FS Michael Huff is my main target and this year's bandwagon prospect.

Other players to Watch:
OT Marcus McNeil - Auburn
OT Winston Justice - USC
OT Jonathan Scott - Texas
DB Jimmy Williams - VTech
DT Gabe Watson - Michigan
DE/LB Mark Anderson - Alabama

Sean Payton In High Demand

2years ago it had seemed that Sean Payton was set to be the Raiders new head coach, there were reports of a scheduled news conference to announce the hiring and all. Unfortuntately, for what ever reason, Al Davis pulled the plug and pulled the trigger on Norv Turner. In doing this the Cowboys have been stuck in an offensive purgatory that has no end in sight.

BUT wait, now comes the offseason and Sean Payton appears to be a hot prospect for one of the many open head coaching vacancies. All I can say is thank God! Surely we won't go through another cruel tease again from 2yrs ago. Someone please-please take Sean Payton from us.

Sean Payton is atop the list of the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints, mainly because it is thought that Payton is an offensive genius and someone that molds young QBs into superstars. Green Bay would like to see Payton come in and mold and take Aaron Rodgers under his wing. The Same can be said about the Saints. The Saints will most likely go QB in the first round (Matt Leinart or Vince Young), if not, they may trade for Matt Schaub another up and coming QB.

Its time for Payton to move on. Someone hire him...please.

Cowboys Enter Offseason

The Cowboys enter the offseason after finishing 9-7 and out of the playoffs. A few weeks ago I predicted a final record of 9-7 and out of the playoffs, and that's what happened. We made strides on defense, but the offense remained conservative and predictable all year long. There's alot of "coulda beens" but at the end of the day we lost. Was is the kickers' fault, Sean Payton, Mike Zimmer, Parcells, Drew Bledsoe, the Offensive Line?? We can keep going and going, and that in itself is no good. The fact remains that we still have ALOT of holes and the future remains very clouded.

For the benefit of the team, it would be great for Parcells to make a decision in the coming week. If Parcells retires, we're in serious trouble. This is going to be a huge coaching transition year for the NFL, and good coaches will be hard to come by. Let's hope Parcells comes back. He's built a great foundation, and another year should yield even better results.

Let's talk a little about some positions that need attention:

QB:
If Parcells returns, Drew Bledsoe is back for sure. If not, Bledsoe's future will be in question. Philip Rivers and Matt Schaub could be the premium QBs available this year. Either way, I doubt we draft a QB.

Send Henson to NFL Europe, if he fails, then let's hurry up and move on. The potential is there, but actual field time and the results from game play would be a good thing for all parties involved.

C:
Al Johnson had a horrid year, and I'm not sure that he is the answer here. We should look into FA for some possibilities.

RG:
I think Marco Rivera's return is in question, he did not return from his injury, and when he did play, it was mediocre at best. We drafted Stephen Peterman as a 3rd rounder, and its time for him to play.

RT:
Petitti is a servicable backup, but he cannot handle the bull rush OR speed rushers. We need to go into FA for a RT or a instant impact rookie RT that can jump in and play well.

OLB:
Kevin Burnett showed us some flashes, but he also showed us he is injury prone, is Fujita the answer? What about Al Singleton, do we keep him? We are paper thin at OLB, upgrades should be seriously considered here.

MLB:
Does Dat Nguyen return, and if he does, would he be effective. Bradie James looked pretty good for us this year, but still needs work. Fowler and Shanle are not starter quality either. We are thin here too. I'd like to see us invest on an impact FA or possibly on the first day of the draft.

FS:
Keith Davis is NOT the answer here. We went with what we had, and we got ate more than enough from Davis' lack of coverage skills. Let's keep Davis as our ST specialist and let him excel there fulltime. We need to upgrade someone above average, someone good in FA or on day 1 of the draft.

K:
The worst year that we've ever had at the placekicker position, this costs us a few games without a doubt. Let's stop screwing around here and get someone legitimate!

Depth:
Depth of the defensive line is pretty good, we have a pretty solid rotation there. I like what we have in Thomas Johnson and Jay Ratliff. Ratliff was quite impressive when he played. Canty will probably take over fulltime at DE, sounds like Ellis is out, same for Glover.

LB depth is paper thin at MLB and OLB, we need to improve that

Secondary depth is pretty good, we should have Justin Beriault back in the mix, he showed some really great playmaking ability. We could probably add some depth at FS for sure as well.

CB depth is alright, I'm not sold on Reeves though. Henry was a bright spot, but faded quickly after his first injury. Aaron Glenn did a good job for the most part coming in for the injury prone Henry, but we may need to add some more quality depth here.

Sean Payton should be canned, the plays were "Tecmo Bowl" predictable.

Let's hope for an improved team for 2006. Let the offseason begin!

Offensive Woes Continue

The two most significant developments that have greatly effected our offensive line were the Jacob Rogers RT fiasco, an official 2nd round bust; and the season ending MCL injury to LT Flozell Adams. We seemed to be doing ok with Rob at RT, since we were able to help him out with a TE, but when Flo went down, this spelled impending doom. We now faced the daunting task of starting two very mediocre tackles and a "we'll see what happens" attitude. The results are in.... and the Cowboys are in trouble, and our playoffs hopes are quickly slipping away.

Either way you cut it, our offensive shortcomings start with the offensive line. Injury, inconsistent play, and penalties have plagued us all year, and now come the last two games of the year - MUST WINS @ Carolina and at home against the Rams.

Current starters
LT - Torrin Tucker: Continues to get beat on a consistent basis, an inadequate reserve, we're in trouble here the rest of the year.

LG - Larry Allen: LA has been doing pretty good for the most part and continues to be the only bright spot on the offensive line.

C - Al Johnson: Has played horrible all year long, can't handle the bigger/faster DT, look for the Cowboys to make a move here in 2006

RG - Marco Rivera: Hasn't played upto par this year, pretty disappointing in the eyes of many fans. The Pro-Bowl is NOT there. We spent alot of money on Rivera, and I would not be surprised if we made a move here in 2006 as well.

RT - Rob Petitti: For a rookie starting all 16 games, Petitti has done fair, but at times has looked straightup horrible. Petitti is a short term, I fully expect a move here in 2006.

We drafted Stephen Peterman in the 3rd round 2yrs ago, and I think its time to get a look at him. The 2006 offseason should be another active one whether it be in free agency or through the NFL draft. I expect offense to be the main focus.

If the line repeats its performance against the Panthers you can stick a fork in us. We'll be done and out.

7-5, & Not Looking Good...

Let's be realistic, we're not ready for a Super Bowl run THIS year; however, we will be set and even more dominating on defense in 2006. Parcells made a promise to fix the defense, and he did so - Great job! Not only did we change our primary scheme to the 3-4, but we've been successful in doing so. In addition, we have several rookies playing critical roles and making plays. I'm very impressed.

Now comes the offense...Will Parcells make another promise to repair the offense? I think he will do this during the 2006 offseason. Hopefully we'll bring in a free agent or two on offense, and draft offense.

This may all sound like I've given up on the Cowboys and looking ahead, but this is NOT the case by any means. We're still in the hunt, but we have to dig ourselves out of the grave we've made.

At 7-5, let's make a prediction on the rest of the games and our final record. We can come back and look at this new entry in a few weeks and see how I faired.

We have:
Chiefs (LOSS)
@Redskins (WIN)
@Carolina (LOSS)
Rams (WIN)
============
Final Record 9-7 miss the playoffs

As I write this article, I'm thinking how nice it would be to crush the Chiefs, and I hope we do; however, the Chiefs are peaking right now, and we seem to be in shambles on offense, reminds me of the offenses we ran in 2003. Please Get rid of Sean Payton (Ernie Zampese Incarnate).

Go Cowboys!

Drew Bledso-what?

I'll be the first to admit I was totally wrong in my initial assessment of Drew Bledsoe. When I heard the news that Buffalo was going to release Bledsoe, I was hoping we would NOT sign him and go with Drew Henson. In fact, I was saying to myself "Drew Bled-NO," I didn't want him here. Afterall, he had been replaced in New England by Tom Brady, and knocked around in Buffalo, and replaced by JP Losman. Who wanted the 33 yr. old declining QB? Not me, and at least half or more felt the same way."Let's go with Drew Henson"

In retrospect, signing Drew Bledsoe was the best move for the Cowboys this offseason. Not to mention, looks like we got the better end of the deal from Buffalo. We made that draft trade w/Buffalo in 2004 which gave us (2) first rounders (Ware, Spears) in 2005, and in the end we got Drew Bledsoe from them as well.

Well, here we are 9 games under our belts sitting atop the NFC East at 6-3, with a sweep of the Eagles. So, we're 6-3, so what? You have to honestly believe that there's no way Romo or Henson make those game winning drives with all their inexperience in all our close games.

So what has Bledsoe done for us? He's brought his game experience to the table, he's reunited with Coach Parcells, and Terry Glenn. Bledsoe is enjoying a renaissance and QB eltie with the Cowboys. Not only has Bledsoe returned to winning form, but he's also been able to "drive the bus" quite well. Bledsoe is on pace to pass for 4,000 yards, a Cowboys record. He has 14 TDS and 7 INTS with a 96.8 passer rating. As of right now, only Bulger and Bledsoe have 90+ passer ratings in the NFC. You could also say he's mounted quite a few winning drives for us this year - a real clutch player. Now, he has had a few bad passes and critical INTS, but he's winning for us and that's a comfort we have not had in Dallas for many years. We finally have a QB in Dallas.

Career wise, Bledsoe has some of the best numbers in NFL history,"He is only 33 but stands eighth on the career list with 42,023 passing yards. He has passed Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas this year. After two more seasons Bledsoe is on pace to be the fourth member of the 50,000-yard club, which includes Dan Marino, John Elway and Brett Favre." (O'Hara)

Running On Empty...
By H. Cox

The NFL season is now approaching the 11th week of the regular season. Most teams have by now completed 10 games with one week off for their bye week. 4 games were played in the preseason which most of the rookies and new starters played in everyone. That is the equivalent of 14 games played already for most of them. When they played in college that would have been a season for them and then off until next season. Not so with their new level of work. They will be expected to play 6 more games just to complete the regular season. Most teams still in the hunt for a playoff position will be looking for these first year starters and rookies to continue to contribute for their team’s success. The Dallas Cowboys are no different and have a few players in this category that are playing major portions on both offense and defense.

Let’s have a look:

ROOKIES:

Rob Pettiti – Starting RT for the offense. He pushes and shoves every play blocking for either the run or pass, either way it is tiring battling against those big guys trying to get bye you.

Marion Barber – Not actually playing fulltime but contributing a large portion to the running game. Big in the RB rotation that Coach Parcells has inserted into the offense.

Marcus Spears – Has just began starting within the last couple of weeks but still played a lot of reps in the DL rotation. Just the reverse case of Pettit battling inside against bigger OL trying to get to the ball.

DeMarcus Ware – Starting OLB and a major pass rusher from the outside. He also must run into coverage and play the run as well. Plenty of running here for such a young player.

FIRST YEAR STARTERS: (I include these guys because now they are playing more downs instead of just a few special team’s plays)

Losaka Polite – Leading blocker for the running game and a receiver in the passing game. Picking up blockers and running routes is tiring game in and game out.

Torrin Tucker – Only really played 3 games so shouldn’t be as big a factor as the other players but he still is inside battling in pass/run blocking. He isn’t used to playing every down every week so it could come to be a factor closer to the end of the season.

Bradie James – An ILB that also covers the pass routes over the middle as well as plays the run every down. Occasionally has to contend with pulling OL as well.

Keith Davis – Starting FS, and also playing special teams now. He must cover and help with receivers as well as occasionally blitz and also the run.

There are a bunch of players that are in major roles on both sides of the ball. Their conditioning and ability to “suck it up” is going to play big into the Cowboys chances of making the playoffs. One other player that is in the DL rotation, Chris Canty, is also a rookie that is playing major time. He allows the rotation to be stronger but also isn’t used to playing this many games. Veterans know how to get through these long season games and hopefully the younger players have hopped on the train to learn quickly. Parcells even said in his press conference today that Ware has been getting tired and needs another rookie, OLB Kevin Burnett, to step up production to spell him from time to time.
Parcells brought in a bunch of great young players that are coming into their own. Now he must figure out how to keep them productive until the end of the season and hopefully into the postseason. Something to seriously watch as the team approaches the end of the regular season and plays some very tough teams.

When the Price is right....
By H. Cox

Here we go, the event everyone has been waiting for since the Cowboys signed Peerless Price. Parcells stated in an interview this week that he wasn’t sure if Price would replace Crayton or not. Come on Bill, blow smoke up someone else’s hind end and give us fans a break. Price will be on the field Sunday when Dallas plays Seattle. The big question is how will he fit into the system.

Price signed with the Cowboys because he knew Bledsoe and has played with him before. That had to add to his decision to take less money and a one-year deal in an attempt to redeem his career after not looking so great with Atlanta. He couldn’t have seen a second year player upstaging him and not even being active for most of the early season games. I give him credit for keeping it too himself in the era of ego busting media crybabies that the NFL is full of. All I have seen reported is that he wasn’t happy and just wanted to play. He even stated that he understood with signing on so late in preseason that he didn’t have time to prove himself to become one of the top 3 receivers on the team. He has waited patiently and now he will get his chance.

The question again is, “Just how will he fit into the present system?”

Crayton played behind Glenn and Johnson to compliment them very well. He mopped up underneath and across the middle when defenses covered those two and Witten. Crayton played the part excellently and made the offense that much better. Now in steps Price and everyone immediately puts him on a pedestal, already giving him the benefit of the doubt he will just jump in and produce big numbers. Hold up on that thought and don’t start quoting his stats from few seasons ago when he played with Bledsoe in Buffalo. Yes they connected very well and racked up some good numbers. Then Price was opposite Eric Moulds and an intricate part of the offense. Now he will come in and have to fill his way around into the offense employed in Dallas. He is speed downfield where Crayton was physical size for the middle. That doesn’t seem like a perfect match everyone is painting to me. There has been talk about moving Price outside and putting Keyshawn into the slot. To which Keyshawn has stated he would like that so he can get some real chances to catch the ball and not always be on the sidelines. I don’t see any ME-shawn attitude there.
Now simmer down and back off the gun rack look. I am not saying Price cannot play nor implying he won’t help the team. I am just saying you are going to have to wait for a couple of games for two things to happen. One – the coaching staff is going to have to work plays in for him to become useful within the system that is being run by Dallas. Two – Price is going to have to play within the system to make the best out of what he is given. Those two things happen and the offense will continue to click right along, albeit a little different look than what Dallas started the season with. So be patient and don’t start calling for “heads to roll” if Price doesn’t show up with 8 receptions, 100+ yards and a couple TDs in Seattle. Parcells isn’t stupid and he is going to give Price the chance to help the offense, but it takes time to get into the rhythm for game situations.