FoxPerez
09-11-2009, 05:00 PM
Original post (WITH PICTURES!) here: http://budurl.com/CowboysBack
Did you notice the big splash the Dallas Cowboys made in free agency in the offseason? Did you notice how the Cowboys are brought in high-risk, high-reward players that could lead to broken locker room, but could also lead to some immediate wins in the short term?
No you didn't notice any of that, because none of that happened. And that's the key to Dallas success this season.
Think about it. Jerry Jones was the Joe Steinbrenner of the NFL. He was battling Dan Snyder to see who could spend more money to win right now as opposed to trying to build for the future. Big signings like Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens sounded great at the time and even showed some promise, but eventually broke down and became distractions not worth the trouble. At the end of last season, it just made sense to cut ties with Owens. When you're dividing the locker room but you're also leading the league in drops, it's time to go.
So Dallas got rid of Owens and Pacman and they didn't replace them with big-time free agents. They also dumped the most overrated defensive player in the league (Roy Williams) and resigned one of the most underrated receivers in the league (Roy Williams).
Aside from Williams, most of players catching passes this season are players that were allowed to grow within the organization: Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, Felix Jones.
And of course the other main players are Tony Romo and Marion Barber. Not a bad way to build around an offense.
But the big concern on offense is the lack of a true No. 1 receiver. It's a silly argument because the Cowboys have one of the top pass catchers in the league in Jason Witten. And while Roy Williams has been spent a lot of the offseason hurt, he'll still improve because he's spent the whole offseason learning the new system. And he's a gamer that won't be a distraction. Think about the way that he embraced Calvin Johnson when the Lions drafted him, or how he would defend John Kitna, or how he was so excited when Mike Furrey emerged in the Detroit offense a few years ago.
Even if he's not a No. 1-type receiver with the great stats, he's great for the locker room and has the attitude that a leader should have on a team that's trying to get over the hump.
And that's what this team has to do... get over the hump. Think about it. The Arizona Cardinals, one of the worst franchises of the decade, got to the Super Bowl and nearly won it. It's been 13 years since the Cowboys last won a playoff game. The division championships have been great for the fans and have given the team hope that "this could be the year." But Dallas has come up short every year and the media and the "experts" have given up on trying to look on the bright side of the Cowboys season. I haven't seen anybody pick Dallas to win the division or make an impact in the playoffs this year.
But just when everybody is jumping off the bandwagon is when I'm jumping on!
I'm picking the Cowboys to get to the playoffs and finally break through with a postseason win. And if they do more, I won't be shocked. Because Dallas is getting back to basics and using a formual that worked for them before.
It makes you wonder where it's been all this time.
http://budurl.com/CowboysBack (http://budurl.com/CowboysBack)
Did you notice the big splash the Dallas Cowboys made in free agency in the offseason? Did you notice how the Cowboys are brought in high-risk, high-reward players that could lead to broken locker room, but could also lead to some immediate wins in the short term?
No you didn't notice any of that, because none of that happened. And that's the key to Dallas success this season.
Think about it. Jerry Jones was the Joe Steinbrenner of the NFL. He was battling Dan Snyder to see who could spend more money to win right now as opposed to trying to build for the future. Big signings like Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens sounded great at the time and even showed some promise, but eventually broke down and became distractions not worth the trouble. At the end of last season, it just made sense to cut ties with Owens. When you're dividing the locker room but you're also leading the league in drops, it's time to go.
So Dallas got rid of Owens and Pacman and they didn't replace them with big-time free agents. They also dumped the most overrated defensive player in the league (Roy Williams) and resigned one of the most underrated receivers in the league (Roy Williams).
Aside from Williams, most of players catching passes this season are players that were allowed to grow within the organization: Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, Felix Jones.
And of course the other main players are Tony Romo and Marion Barber. Not a bad way to build around an offense.
But the big concern on offense is the lack of a true No. 1 receiver. It's a silly argument because the Cowboys have one of the top pass catchers in the league in Jason Witten. And while Roy Williams has been spent a lot of the offseason hurt, he'll still improve because he's spent the whole offseason learning the new system. And he's a gamer that won't be a distraction. Think about the way that he embraced Calvin Johnson when the Lions drafted him, or how he would defend John Kitna, or how he was so excited when Mike Furrey emerged in the Detroit offense a few years ago.
Even if he's not a No. 1-type receiver with the great stats, he's great for the locker room and has the attitude that a leader should have on a team that's trying to get over the hump.
And that's what this team has to do... get over the hump. Think about it. The Arizona Cardinals, one of the worst franchises of the decade, got to the Super Bowl and nearly won it. It's been 13 years since the Cowboys last won a playoff game. The division championships have been great for the fans and have given the team hope that "this could be the year." But Dallas has come up short every year and the media and the "experts" have given up on trying to look on the bright side of the Cowboys season. I haven't seen anybody pick Dallas to win the division or make an impact in the playoffs this year.
But just when everybody is jumping off the bandwagon is when I'm jumping on!
I'm picking the Cowboys to get to the playoffs and finally break through with a postseason win. And if they do more, I won't be shocked. Because Dallas is getting back to basics and using a formual that worked for them before.
It makes you wonder where it's been all this time.
http://budurl.com/CowboysBack (http://budurl.com/CowboysBack)