Cowboys Blog
After months of being away for the majority of the NFL season followed by months of lazy idleness, I am ready to revive the Cowboys Blog that has been knocking on death’s door the past half-year.
First things off…we don’t need to dive too much into how much of disgrace the Cowboys were last season. Despite some positive changes by Garrett and noticeable improvements over Wade Phillip’s bulimic system from 2010, the Cowboys are still absolutely gutless. To make matters worse, this was the first year that I could say without equivocation that they are not nearly as talented a team as they have been touted over the past half-decade. Particularly when their defense took the field and all of a sudden it looked like a tombstone banquet.
Without breaking down the many negatives and few positives from last season its time to focus on the team’s weaknesses and what they’ve done to address them in free agency.
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| Brandon Carr is a great improvement over Terrence Newman |
I think that despite his flaws as a coach, Jason Garrett has a very good plan in place to bring the Cowboys back to glory. He has made a point to make this team younger and replace some of the complacent players of the Wade era.
On the defensive side, the most obvious hole to caulk was the secondary. Terrence Newman got hurdled twice in the last game of the season…Finito! Nice career but he was beyond terrible last year and the fact that he’s gone already makes the Cowboys better. But, the fact that they have replaced him with Brandon Carr, one of the best young corners in the league, now makes their defense even better. (Many thought the Cowboys should have pursued Cortland Finnegan—who signed with St. Louis—but Carr is younger and more suited to play outside corner, whereas Finnegan is more of a slot corner) Orlando Scandrick is now cemented as the slot corner and this should be his best year ever. The cowboys have replaced the forgettable Abram Elam with Brodney Pool. Pool played under Rob Ryan in Cleveland which is a positive…but he looked like a huge pussy for most of his snaps with the Jets…a negative. We’ll see how that works. (Drafting Alabama Saftey Mark Barron at 14 could be a good move!)
The other issue the Cowboys were facing were the two senior citizens that split time at middle linebacker. Keith Brooking is 37 and Bradie James is 32. Neither could cover a bed last season and their inability to be agile affected the run defense. The Cowboys have signed former Panther Don Connor (Penn St.) to compete with Bruce Carter to start alongside Sean Lee. I like this move as Connor is a young, tough run stopper and will push Carter to work harder and move his way into the starting line up. The line-backing depth is definitely improved. On a sad note…the Cowboys franchised Anthony Spencer who has never lived up to expectations, but there just wasn’t anyone better in FA that would have come at a comparable price. (This could be another high priority draft position)
On the Offensive side, the Cowboys replaced the retired Jon Kitna with a younger and more talented Kyle Orton for the backup QB position. Should Romo go down this year at any point, I think it’s safe to trust Orton to come in and run the offense efficiently.
The Cowboys have also begun to address their most glaring needs, in the interior of the offensive line. They received terrible play from the Guards and Center last season. They have now signed Mackenzy Bernadeu from Carolina to help push some of the younger lineman and perhaps compete for a starting spot. It’s more likely that he’ll be a valuable backup. They have also signed 3 year Bengals starter, Nate Livings, who has a big frame and should instantly improve the offensive line. (They also released veteran Kyle Kosier, who was good but never healthy) The Cowboys still must address the Center position in the draft ( The Wisconsin Center in round 2 would be nice) since Phil Costa is a joke of an NFL player.
The Cowboys have also signed FB Lawrence Vickers (Texans) who should help improve the size of the holes that Demarco Murray and Felix Jones will penetrate.
With all of this in mind, the Cowboys still need to continue to address the Offensive Line depth as well as the defensive end and cornerback positions and they need to find a blocking tight end to replace Martellus Bennett and a 3rd receiver to replace Laurent Robinson who is now being overpaid by Jacksonville.
We’ll see what the draft holds but I think the Cowboys are maneuvering in a very prudent and wise manner this offseason.
