Debate the Dallas Cowboys offseason needs in The Football Fan Forum
2010 Preview:
In terms of pure offensive weapons, I don’t think anyone has more to work with than Tony Romo. He has two legitimate starting running backs in Felix Jones and Marion Barber, and Tashard Choice isn’t too bad either. He has one of the best receivers in the league, Miles Austin, a talented rookie in Dez Bryant, a motivated Roy Williams, though it remains to be seen whether or not that motivation will be enough for him, and Patrick Crayton, assuming he doesn’t get traded, isn’t a bad #4 reciever. He also has one of the best receiving tight ends in the game in Jason Witten and young Martellus Bennett isn’t too bad either.
However, that doesn’t necessary translate directly to a Super Bowl. It certainly makes them contenders, but there are still questions on this offense. Doug Free will be their left tackle. Any time you have a guy who is pretty much a complete unknown at the 2nd most important position on the field, you have to be worried a bit. The rest of their offensive front is older than 30 and really broke down late last year. They also don’t have a ton of depth on the line, which showed when a couple starters went down against the Vikings. They drafted rookie Sam Young, but I think they needed to do a little more in terms of adding depth this offseason. Then there’s the question of Tony Romo. He stepped up last December and led this team to the playoffs and eventually to their first playoff win in 14 years, but there are still a few maturity concerns with him. Another playoff run should alleviate those, but for now, there’s a fairly noticeable difference on that level between him and guys like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre.
Defensively, they should be fine as a unit again. DeMarcus Ware is still the best 3-4 outside linebacker in the game, hands down, and should rack up a ton of sacks, pressures, and quarterback hits. He and Jay Ratliff will take a lot of pressure off of a secondary that has a few question marks. Like Doug Free, new starting free safety Alan Ball is a relative unknown, but unlike Free, Ball is not playing a position at which inexperience would be worrisome. Talented corners like Terrence Newman and Mike Jenkins would be able to decently mask any deficiencies in coverage that Ball would have. They also have a talented rookie safety in Akwasi Owusu-Ansah to step in at safety if they need it. He can also play some corner.
All in all I think this should be one of the better teams in the league this year, but I’m not ready to make them my Super Bowl pick or anything like that just yet. Their regular season win total actually might not completely reflect how talent a team this is, considering how talented their division and their schedule is. Still, expect double digit wins and a playoff appearance and possibly a few playoff wins for this team. At the same time, I wouldn’t be too surprised if they ended up with the Super Bowl trophy when it’s all said and done.
Projection: 11-5 1st in AFC East
Power Ranking: 6
Last season: 11-5
Draft:
#24 WR Dez Bryant (Oklahoma State)
This is a great pick by the Cowboys and a great move up. Bryant gives their offense another potent weapon across from Miles Austin and sends a huge wake up call to Roy Williams. If the Cowboys can get Roy Williams going, with Bryant, Austin, and Jason Witten in the receiving corps, plus Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice at running back and Tony Romo playing quarterback, in terms of pure offensive weapons, this team may lead the league. That doesn’t necessarily translate to a Super Bowl, but it certainly helps.
Grade: A
#55 MLB Sean Lee (Penn State)
Lee has first round talent, but a questionable bill of health. If his knee holds up, he’s well worth this selection as a young middle linebacker successor for Keith Brooking and a solid character and leadership guy. However, it was also a bit of a risk.
Grade: B
#126 S Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (IUPUI)
AOA is certainly a great playmaker, who can pick off a bunch of passes and do good things with the ball in his hands and he’s a dynamic kick returner, but I have a some doubts about his ability in coverage, even as a safety. Plus, he’s never, from what I know, played a lot of safety before at the collegiate level. However, this is a great value pick and makes a lot of sense even if he just ends up as a nickel corner and a return man.
Grade: A-
#179 OT Sam Young (Notre Dame)
Sam Young fits their scheme well. He’s not a player who you want starting for you every week, but he’s a versatile guy who is good against the run, though he has his struggles in pass protection, who can play left guard, right guard, and right tackle for you in a pinch if you need it, and they may very well need it, and that’s all you really want out of this draft range.
Grade: A-
#196 CB Jamar Wall (Texas Tech)
I guess this is a good indication of where they plan to use AOA. Wall is a moderate reach and fills a bit of a need, you never know how much longer Terrence Newman has in the tank, but the Cowboys already had 3 solid cornerbacks, 4 if they have to move AOA to cornerback, so this was not a great pick.
Grade: C+
#234 3-4 DE Sean Lissemore (William & Mary)
Another player who was not one of the 400-450 players I had heard of from this draft class, so the decision to take him was a bit questionable, plus he is only 6-2 and doesn’t appear to have the height to play end in a 3-4. Plus, 3-4 end wasn’t much of a need.
Grade: D
Overall:
The Cowboys didn’t have a lot of picks to begin with, and they had even less after that Dez Bryant trade, but that being said, that Dez Bryant trade was brilliant and makes the Cowboys an extremely dangerous offensive team and when you combine that with their strong pass rush on defense, you can make some good things happen. Assuming they don’t revert to their December choking ways, this team has to be the favorite to win the tough NFC East and a Super Bowl contender. They made every one of their picks count, for the most part and acquired a ton of talent and upside in this draft. They could have gotten 3 future starters in this draft, and AOA is a solid future nickelback and kick returner, and has some upside at safety. Their picks dropped off a bit at the end, in terms of my grades, but those were late round picks anyway and, who knows, maybe I’ll be wrong about one or both of them. The only complaint I have about their draft, is that I don’t think they did enough to get depth on the offensive line, especially with Flozell Adams being cut. That was their biggest need coming into this draft, in my opinion, and they only used one pick there. They could have used one or two of their late round picks on a guard and/or center. However, with the talent they got out of this draft, it’s hard to give them a bad grade.
Grade: A-
Key undrafted free agents
CB Bryan McCann (SMU)
3-4 DE Lorenzo Washington (Alabama)
RB Lonyae Miller (Fresno State)
QB Matt Nichols (Eastern Washington)
OT Mike Tepper (California)
TE Scott Sicko (New Hampshire)
WR Terrell Hudgins (Elon)
S Barry Church (Toledo)
WR Verran Tucker (California)
Positions of need:
Offensive Tackle:
The Cowboys need depth all along their offensive line. Their lack of depth was shown in the playoffs when Tony Romo was sacked 6 times by the Vikings after the Cowboys suffered a few injuries up front. Also, everyone on their offensive line is over 30 so young depth is clearly necessary. Offensive tackle just happens to be the most important offensive line position. The Cowboys like bigger offensive linemen so guys like Anthony Davis in the first and Vlad Ducasse and Kyle Calloway in the 2nd could be targeted.
Drafted Sam Young (#179), Traded for Alex Barron
Middle Linebacker:
Keith Brooking had a good year, but he will turn 35 next season. Next to him in the middle of their 3-4 defense, Bradie James could also be upgraded immediately. Sean Weatherspoon and Brandon Spikes could be options in the first round.
Drafted Sean Lee (#55)
Offensive Guard:
Again, depth is needed all over their offensive line. The Cowboys reportedly love Mike Iupati and likely will take him at 27 if he’s available. He would be an immediate upgrade over Kyle Kosier at left guard.
Nose Tackle:
Jay Ratliff is a great player, but his skill set would be better utilized at 3-4 defensive end rather than nose tackle. If they get a true nose tackle, either Terrence Cody in the first or Cam Thomas in the 2nd, they can move Ratliff to end and it will make their entire defense that much better. Add a big nose tackle like Cody to the middle of their defense and it opens up more space for what was already one of the best pass rushes in the league.
Safety:
Ken Hamlin could be upgraded and depth overall is needed at the position.
Drafted Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (#126)
Wide Receiver:
Patrick Crayton could be upgraded in the slot and I am not sure how much longer they want to give Roy Williams before they admit he was a bad trade and start someone else over him. Getting a young receiver this year could solve both of those issues.
Drafted Dez Bryant (#24)
Free agents:
WR Miles Austin (restricted)- resigned 1 year 3.1 million
WR Sam Hurd (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million
OT Flozell Adams- signed with Steelers 2 years
OT Pat McQuistan (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million
G Montrae Holland- 2 years
G Cory Procter (restricted)- signed with Dolphins
C Duke Preston (restricted)
3-4 DE Marcus Spears (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.2 million
3-4 DE Stephen Bowen (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million
3-4 DE Jason Hatcher (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million
NT Junior Siavii (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.2 million
RLB Steve Octavien (restricted)- resigned
S Ken Hamlin- signed with Baltimore 1 year
S Gerald Sensabaugh (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.8 million
S Pat Watkins (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million
S Alan Ball (exclusive rights)- resigned
K Shaun Suisham (restricted)
Offseason moves:
Cowboys re-sign S Gerald Sensabaugh
Cowboys acquire OT Alex Barron from Rams for OLB Bobby Carpenter
Cowboys announce retirement of C Duke Preston
Cowboys re-sign G Montrae Holland
Cowboys re-sign S Alan Ball
Cowboys re-sign WR Sam Hurd
Cowboys re-sign S Pat Watkins
Cowboys re-sign 3-4 DE Stephen Bowen
Cowboys re-sign 3-4 DE Jason Hatcher
Cowboys re-sign NT Junior Siavii
Cowboys re-sign OT Pat McQuistan
Cowboys re-sign 3-4 DE Marcus Spears
Cowboys re-sign RLB Steve Octavien
Cowboys cut S Ken Hamlin
Cowboys cut OT Flozell Adams
Cowboys re-sign G Cory Procter
Cowboys tender S Alan Ball
Cowboys tender RLB Steve Octavien
Cowboys tender WR Miles Austin
Cowboys tender S Gerald Sensabaugh
Cowboys tender 3-4 DE Marcus Spears
Cowboys tender 3-4 DE Jason Hatcher
Cowboys tender OT Pat McQuistan
Cowboys tender NT Junior Siavii
Cowboys tender S Pat Watkins
Cowboys tender G Cory Procter
Cowboys tender WR Sam Hurd
Cowboys tender 3-4 DE Stephen Bowen
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