Cutdown Day Shavings
Posted: August 30, 2005 @ 10:36 pm
Dallas cut three players today, LB Reggie Love, WR Jamaica Rector and DL Chris Van Hoy.
The Cowboys also tried for a second time to give Jose Cortez some competition, signing former Bears K Nick Novak. Cortez had a shaky game against Houston, missing a 32 yard field goal just before the half.
Trust your eyes On Saturday afternoon, Cowboys Blog posted this about the offensive line:
OL (9) Flozell Adams, Larry Allen, Al Johnson, Marco Rivera and Rob Petitti are set. So are Kurt Vollers and Andre Gurode. Only two of the Stephen Peterman, Ben Noll, Tyson Walter and Torrin Tucker group will survive. I think Peterman has an edge over the other three, with Walter and Tucker running neck and neck for the final spot. Were the cut made today Walter would emerge. The HC seems to like Noll but he’s regressed badly of late.
After the game, we noted this:
Ben Noll is back in the mix, outplaying Tyson Walter at right guard. The final o-line cut(s) will be harder than I anticipated.
Today, the DMN had this to say about the o-line:
Parcells is still trying to decide how many offensive linemen he needs to carry on the 53-man roster. Besides the five probable starters – left tackle Flozell Adams, left guard Larry Allen, center Al Johnson, right guard Marco Rivera and rookie right tackle Rob Petitti – tackle Kurt Vollers, center Andre Gurode and left guard Stephen Peterman appear to be on solid ground.Parcells said he still had to make a decision on two spots, which leaves right tackle Torrin Tucker and guards Ben Noll and Tyson Walter fighting for the final spots. Rookie center Matt Tarullo is a practice squad candidate.
The article implies that Dallas will keep ten o-linemen, which is a high number. Unless Marco Rivera’s injury is serious, I’ll stick by my claim that nine o-linemen will make the final cut.
Still, did you have a sense of deja vu reading that? I can’t promise we’ll always stay three days ahead of the hometown paper, but we’ll do our best. And we won’t charge you a subscription fee for our “insights” either.
Comments
132 Responses to “Cutdown Day Shavings”
i have been watching him for years and k. vollers still has not shown me anything. neith has tyson walter or ben nole. those should be our OL cuts.
Rafael,
Since most members of the local media are too busy at the concession stand to watch the games, since they probably don’t know how to operate a VCR, much less TIVO (as if they would bother, even if they did know how), and since all they area able to report on is what Bill Parcells tells them (long after the fact) in his press conferences, I don’t think you should have much trouble staying ahead of those hacks.
I read, among other sources, the Dallas Morning News, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, TheRanchReport.com, ESPN.com, DallasCowboys.com, and Cowboys Blog on a regular basis. In my opinion, no particular reporter is far superior to any other, nor is any reporter far inferior. ALL appear relatively competent and ALL have something to offer. I don’t fully understand how “knocking the competition” somehow enhances anyone’s own particular observations/opinions, and I haven’t noticed it anywhere but on Cowboys Blog.
Further, critical readers get information from AS MANY SOURCES AS POSSIBLE and arrive at their OWN conclusions.
I’m pretty sure we all use everyone of the sources mentioned, I know I’m a regular reader. However, there is an amanzing similarity in the reporting done by many of the mediots…a parroting of what is said during a press conference.
Jaime Aaron seems to provide the best prose, decent insight, but just doesn’t produce the quantity desired. Spags seems to get everyone going because, while he provides good quantity, his insight is as deep as a wading pool. Jean Jaques Taylor is a Cowboys’ hater (disguised as an “objective” reporter) and the rest of the crowd are basic hometown sports reporting from a communications major grad. I really used to like Danny Reagan, but he seems to have drifted to other endeavors.
I don’t believe anyone here is deprecating for the purpose of self-promotion…we’re just commenting on ‘em as part of the whole Cowboys experience. And like most of our backup QBs, they suck. At least Henson has an upside, Eatman is an idiot.
Rafael and Raul have consistently provided a great deal of insight, opinion, and very well written editorials leading to a great discussion forum, save the childish banter from some unsupervised yutes.
Ron,
I understand critical thinking very well, thank you. I read the same posts you do — the free ones anyway — and will continue to do so. I don’t take my assessment skills as gospel, but I do see a problem with a site that charges membership fees that can’t offer anything better than I can sitting in my living room hundreds of miles away from the action.
This is a blog, not a newspaper. I don’t have credentials and would turn them down if I ever got offered them. I’ll knock the folks in the metroplex when they give me cause to. Because my point is not that I’m any great shakes. It’s that they should be better than me *all the time* and would be if they didn’t practice stenography so often.
BTW, guys, out of subject but check the 2005 review of Dr. Z on SI.com, he picked the Cowboys as a 10-6 team and wild card entry and that they would win the game to go to the divisional playoffs to lose against the Panthers, again. I respect the guy’s knowledge, he’s a football enciclopedia, but what I don’t really know is how good at this is he… but I can believe it happening.
hello
On to a discussion (or seven things I think I think I may know but am not really sure)…
1. I don’t believe our starting RT is on the roster, maybe opening day, but Pettiti will be replaced by mid-season if we’re in the playoff chase
2. I think Henson needs and deserves another year of development. He’s got the tools, just needs the time…and we’ve got the luxury. Give him a break.
3. The two most important cogs of the Defensive switch to a 3-4 haven’t even played a down of preseason. For all you “I FEAR CHANGE!” prognosticators…tbtttttt This is going to be one outstanding unit.
4. Ware is the second coming of LT
5. We really need a playmaker at WR. Bryant wasn’t the answer (all you apologist need to quit the b.s. on the Morgan trade). Price would be good. I think Detroit has some trade bait. How ’bout one LB and a TE for Rogers?
6. OL can be had in FA, with little or no dropoff in production. You’ll get what you pay for…no more Jacob Rogers flops. Superstars are found in the first two rounds. LB & WR are our next two draft picks.
7. In Bill we trust. Don’t second guess the man. You’ll be wrong.
7.
Chandus,
Sometimes he’s bad and sometimes he’s very, very good. Like ‘86, when he picked every playoff team and the *outcome* of every playoff game correctly in August, including a Giants win over the Broncos in the Super Bowl.
He had an article in the ‘92 SI preseason guide stating that Dallas was poised to take over the NFL for the ’90s.
He’s not perfect. Far from it in fact. But his opinion carries a lot of weight with me because he’s right quite a bit more than he’s wrong and because he takes things like history and how teams trend up and down into consideration. He also played the game, which makes him far more credible than most of the print folks covering football.
Fighter 15,
Do you have any evidence that Detroit is dangling WRs or are you thinking wishfully?
It makes sense, but it’s more wishful than fact based.
During the national pre-season game, they made hints that Rogers may be on the block. And the way they’re defense played, they can use all the defensive help they could get.
Something like Ratliff/Ogbogu and Singleton for Rogers would be an interesting, don’t you think
I watched about five minutes of the game and their secondary looked awful. They’ve spent a lot of high picks on linebackers of late and have Shawn Rogers on the line. Where else do they have holes and would the packages you proposed get somebody like Rogers? I wouldn’t pay too much for him because he’s played what, two incomplete games as a pro?
I love Dr. Z, just wish he wasn’t an admitted Cowboys hater.
But even he has been embarrassed by the HOF anti-Cowboy biased. Although in the same sentence he tries to explain there is an unwritten “quota” on slots by teams.
Fighter 15,
They’re not his favorite team in the world, but from what I understand he had a personal dispute with Tex Schramm. Z is a lefty and Schramm used to refer to him as “that communist” and suggested that he not be allowed to cover games. Being that Zimmerman also got his start as an AFL beat writer, and that he was the cowriter of Duane Thomas’ book, I’ll bet he caught some real cold shoulders from the Cowboys during the Schramm/Landry days. I can’t say I blame him.
I’ll also say in his defense that while he points out the “quota” system, he’s been fighting it. He and Don Pierson of the Chicago Tribune were the most vocal critics of the last minute black balling of Rayfield Wright a few years ago. Nobody has campaigned harder and louder for Cliff Harris’ place in the Hall than Z. And I know I’ve posted long on this but it bears repeating. Zimmerman posted a long story when Lawrence Taylor came up for induction pointing out that Bob Hayes candidacy never got off the ground because the Dallas people never pushed it. He didn’t name names, but it was clear that he was blaming Frank Luksa for not only ignoring but sabotaging the first #22’s chances of reaching the Hall.
That’s the thing… they really have a lot of needs on defense and have three high first round WRs.
We have a ton of depth at DL, DB, and backup LB (WE still need an OLB, but have plenty of serviceable backups) and really need a young WR stud. There’s got to be a win-win trade in there someplace.
Someone like Singleton or Ogbogu would entice because of past performance, but would probably need a kicker like Ratliff, Thorton, or another young potential starter that may or may not make our squad.
I was aware of the feud, but never knew the specifics. Also knew he held a hatred of Murchison (sp) because of what he did to the Dallas Texans and the Hunts (my dad also held a deep seated hatred for the Cowboys for that reason as well).
I can do nothing but agree with you in his defense…just wish he covered
our ‘Boys more…he’s just such a pleasure to read.
You know who I’d like to hear from more is Mortenson. I was about to add Peter King, but he’s another unabashed Cowboys hater, without the history.
this blog is superior to ALL those newspapers. I understand what ron is saying about reading other sources, but ron, the truth is that this blog calls it best and first. The reason, in my opinion, is that those other guys have to think about their relationship with the dallas brass. The opinions expressed here are the real opinions of a bunch of boys fans. The point rafeal makes is a valid one. Shouldnt they be kicking this blogs butt when it comes to giving legitimate news first about the boys? The plain fact is, they are not.
BTW, what about peerless pryce? Huh? Huh? Probably too expensive, but talk about a field stretcher!
We should deffinitely sign Price if we can structure the deal properly.
If he can command a deal of say 5mil over 3 years with 2 mil up front, and we can structure the bonus in a way that it does’t kill our cap (i.e. he gets 500K now and the other 1.5 if he is on the opening day roster), it would be a good deal
He would be a great 3rd receiver for us. He could spell Glenn if neccessary.
Crayton would have more time to develop, and can contribute on special teams, since that’s what BP wants from receivers 4 and 5.
We can cut our losses with “the ball hit me on a bad spot in the hands” Quincy Morgan.
Bledsoe would know what to do with him since they played together.
Would be our best #3 since Kelvin Martin.
ya id love to see it happen. he’ll make a better 2nd or 3rd wr cause he’ll avoid those double teams. i bet he doesnt see it like that though. probably wants a fat check and a premeire spot. i wonder y he left the falcons.
Big Jim,
Another thing signing Price would do is let Crayton challenge Keyshawn for playing time. He’s tall, he’s fast and he’s not afraid to go over the middle. Put Crayton on the field with Glenn and Price and there is some real speed to burn.
And it would guarantee Jason Witten isolation against linebackers. That’s not a fair fight.
Dr. Z said he would challenge a certain someone (a HOF voter) to a duel if they kept Aikman from getting into the HOF.
Raf,
That’s interesting. I was looking at Crayton being Glenn’s replacement down the road, not KJ’s. Thought Copper was more of a KJ type.
It would be great to get Price.
I look at our team now as slightly better than the team in ‘90. We’re still a little bit down the road from where we want to be.
KJ, Glenn, and Price (if we got him) would not be around for most of this run.
Crayton is deffinitely a long term solution.
I really don’t get why people are down on Copper. He was doing very well last year until fatigue set in. That’s when Crayton came on. I hear that Copper has struggled in training camp, but I haven’t seen him drop any passes. Maybe I missed something. From what I’ve seen, he might be a better option than Morgan. Peerless Price would be a great pickup here, but I don’t think he’ll settle for what we’d want to pay him. Who knows? We’ll see what happens.
No more Chad for da bears
gonna stick up for cortez here, i don`t think he should get much blame for that last second miss, terrible coaching,terrible qb play on the play before the attempt, preseason is a rehearsel to the regular season, with time running out, no timeouts and already in fg position you either completeand get out of bounds, throw it away, go for the endzone. do not complete o 2 yd pass and keep the clock running and rush off a kick with 1 second to go.a bone head move like that could get the coach cut.
Price would be a great fit for the Cowboys and Bledsoe. When he played with Drew, Price had great seasons. If he could be signed, Glenn Keyshawn, and Peerless would be the top 3. After that the WR cuts could be anybody and everybody. No one else impresses me as a future super WR. They all seem average.
Ken-I think the situation was manufactured by BP in order to put Cortez in the crucible. He either gets it done or chokes. Bottom line is he choked on a pressure kick. Cortez admits that he didn’t step off or get his angle because he couldn’t locate the clock. He shouldn’t even be looking at the clock, thats the holder’s job. His job is to get in the position to kick the FG as quickly as possible. If the FG was real important we would have spiked the ball on 3rd down and lined up at a leisurely pace. Seeing how your kicker reacts under pressure was what was important. That being said, I like Cortez big leg on KO’s. I hope he learns from that experience and develops into a keeper.
Ron,
You’ve got to be joking there is no difference among sports
reporters????And your going to mention critical thinking…..
you need to try using some.
Pettiti is good enough to start the season and keeps improving, he will be there for the whole season. Cannot understand how hard that is for some to accept. Now if he does not improve that is another story- he might hit a wall. But so far he keeps getting better.
Price- we really do not need him except for depth. Crayton can take over for Glenn if he gets injured- and we really have no one to take over for Key- Crayton is not a Key clone. Key is a true possession WR- not many of them in the NFL.
Two thoughts,
Rafael and this blog are great, because we all read all the news out there, then come discuss it. The quantity here means we get deeper discussions and many more points. Having said that, why the DMN doesn’t devote 3 pages each day to Cowboys is beyond me. Thanks again for this Blog and your great reporting, Rafael!
Price would probably be a good pickup for this year. But I’d like to see us build for the future, and every offensive veteran BP picks up is one less young guy who gets tested and developed at game speed. I like KJ and TG, but they’re not going to both be here when we win our next Super Bowl. So we better see at least Crayton on the field this year. Price only if he replaces KJ or TG. Remember that our offense the last two years has been terrible. We need to upgrade more than just the running game to go anywhere in the playoffs.
Sean,
Excellent point i agree 100% with your analysis.B.P. seemed
to say as much in his press conference.When asked what went
wrong he said mechanically ever thing was fine so it was the
kick.I like Cortez on kickoffs i don’t know about his FGs.
I too am looking forward to seeing Matt Jones play on thurs.
he looks like something special.It will be a good test for
our DB’s to go against someone so big and fast.
And where is YA TOTTLE??????
I have a few observations:
Have you seen the latest releases. There are a ton of ex-Cowboys being released. This really tells you just how mediocre our talent has been.
It is tough the make the cuts during this time particularly because there are some players that we have to cut that are better than what we’ve been working with in the recent past.
I think things are looking up for the Cowboys. They have a tough schedule though. My hope is that the team will have some luck and jump out to a fast start because that is the easiest part of their schedule. Hopefully, by the time they get into the more difficult sections, the offense and young defense will be clicking on all cylinders.
Last thing, I hope that the Cowboys will pick up Peerless Price and cut Quincy Morgan. That will be a huge upgrade and could be the shot in the arm that this offense needs.
A respected mediot had said that no matter how he added it up, he could only see the ‘Boys at 8-8.
I just poured over the schedule and, dammit, I could justify at most 9-7. Now I love that Dr. Z and many others are talking 10-6, but the only way that happens is if we hit .500 or better against the AFC West. Who are we gonna beat? Denver, they seem to own us. Raiders, Moss owns us. Chargers or KC? Just don’t think we can score enough.
I agree with Kevin that the key is the early part of the schedule. If we can go 4-0, or even 3-1 heading into the Philly game, our defense will keep us in enough games to cruise 7-1 or 6-2 into the break. But we will only go as far as our Offense allows. If we’re not hitting on all cylinders, chewing up yards and game clock, there’s little hope of a strong playoff run.
Here’s hoping Verba and Price want to add the final pieces for a discount, turning a pretender into a contender. Those two holes may very well come back to haunt us.
Ron Hicks,
While you were poring over all those other articles, did you come across ONE that even approached the level of analysis that Rafael provided in his breakdown of the Seattle game? Actually, in that single piece, Rafael provided more information than all those other reporters did COMBINED. Why was that? Because Rafael took the time and effort to review the game — many times, I suspect — and further took the time and effort to write a well-thought-out, well-written, cogent, and coherent article, for us all to read for FREE. Every single one of the reporters at those other sites had those same resources and more. Yet, their efforts came up well short of what was provided here.
I visit those sites, too. Mostly what I see is regurgitation of the same Bill Parcells’ press conferences that I have already heard. There are several on-line sources for that audio. In addition, posters at several forums provide detailed summaries of those same press conferences. I expect more from the professionals. Unfortunately, they rarely meet my expectations.
This blog is a true treasure!
I say 10-6. Doesn’t matter to me what anyone says. I think the defense will win one or two games for us that we didn’t expect. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Cowboys and Price appear to be talking according to one of the web sites discussed above.
About Peerless Price,
Obviously, Price would be a major upgrade over Quincy Morgan, and there certainly is something to be said about Price’s connection to Bledsoe. But, I wonder what Price’s role would actually be, and what would entice him to come to Dallas.
Does he replace Keyshawn? Obviously not. Price is incapable of doing the things that Johnson does. If he could do them, he would still be in Atlanta.
Does he replace Glenn? I don’t think so. They offer similar skills, but I think Glenn is the better receiver. He may be brittle, but, when healthy, he is superior to Price.
So, does he replace Crayton? Maybe. But, I like what I have seen from Crayton. Price can get deep, but Crayton will go over the middle, and always hangs on to the ball. In 3-receiver sets, I would rather see Johnson, Glenn, and Crayton on the field, than any combination with Price. Crayton is also 3 years younger and could represent our future. Price is obviously younger than Glenn and Johnson, but Price turns 29 in October.
I just read in the Sporting News 2005 preview magazine that Price ‘also has an eye condition, that is cause for concern.’ Does anyone know anything about that?
I certainly wouldn’t mind if Price were brought in to be our #4 receiver. As I said, that would be a definite upgrade over Morgan. That would also give us definite quality insurance, if Glenn were to go down with another injury. But, I wonder if Price would even consider coming here for such a meager role. And, I would hesitate to offer him more of a role than that.
Price might rather go to a team where he could be the #2 receiver, instead of #3 or #4, which he would be here.
Rafael,
Loved your “stenography” comment.
Ron Hicks,
As many posters have said, we ALL go to the sources you mentioned. As for the rest of your post: YOU ARE HIGH ON DOG FOOD!
Fighter 15,
Your trade idea, while intriguing, is not realistic. ALL of us should be free to second guess BP. Some of the time we might even be right. We did get the short end of the stick on the AB situation. If we didn’t, why are you so hot to make a bad trade to replace AB’s replacement?
Chris Collinsworth was the mediot jerkoff that said The ‘ Boys will only reach 7-9 or 8-8 (nfl.com, take that ron). After I looked at our schedule, while 9-7 would be certain, 10-6 would be probable. With luck and the right bounces 11-5 would even be possible.
More on Peerless Price,
I did a little snooping around and found the following Sporting News article from May 26:
http://www.sportingnews.com/exclusives/20050526/621964.html
That eye problem would be a major concern to me, if it is truly inoperable.
Other articles I found said that Price had a good camp and played well in the first preseason game. But he suffered a rib injury which set him back for a while, and Jenkins passed him on the depth chart.
Hey Mr Bill,
Functionally and in real terms, this blog is the best available resource for in depth Cowboy information. But Rafael has a lot going for him that other, more traditional media outlets do not.
Rafael’s competitors are all professional journalists with deadlines and built in limitations that prohibit them from really going the extra mile for their consumers –
1. Overhead expenses
2. Time constraints, constraints of their respective media
3. Higher profile means less free-wheeling opinions
4. They are pros first, and maybe not fans at all
5. Professional aspirations far beyond Dallas
I don’t think the addition of a blog such as this to the DMN or th eFW web sites would make good business sense, so none exist. The DMN charges for content they’re producing anyway. Closing off Cowboys Plus is accretive to the bottome line, as any $ that comes in is profit - that content has already been produced, and there is a demand.
Another thing to consider, is that Rafael has a far deeper understanding of the Xs and Os of the game than the typical beat reporter. The standard beat reporter’s audience is different. Their audience is likely the casual fan who likes casual coverage.
Ain’t the Internet great?
I have been reading this blog for a whil;e and it is great. Keep up the good work.
As to everyone wanting to go after Peerless Price, forget it. He is having vison problems and cannot see as well as he use to. The last thing we need is to spend more money on a faltering player. I am sure that when all the cuts are done in the coming days, there will be a decent wr out there that could be a decent #3.
James, wow. 11-5? Really?
I love the Cowboys as much as the rest of you, but this is not yet an 11-5 team, especially with a challenging schedule. My guess is 8-8. (*=home)
SD Win
Wash* Win
SF Win
Oak Lose
Phi* Lose
NYG* Win
Sea Win
Ari* Win
Phi Lose
Det* Win
Den* Lose
NYG Lose
KC* Lose
Wash Win
Car Lose
STL* Lose
Our defense may be better, but until our offense gets reloaded, we’re still too vulnerable when anyone scores 14+ points. Which will happen when we play Moss, McNabb, Denver, the NYG at NY, KC and St Louis. Carolina will simply shut our offense down almost entirely, then score a handful of points to win.
So unless you think the very few changes we made on offense will bear enormous fruit, we are on the outside of the playoffs looking in. Maybe a wildcard team with some luck. I just can’t see 11-5.
if we brought price in no way would he be our 4th receiver. 3rd at the worst and if he has a little protection he could even move up to the 2 spot if. remember the chances of glenn making the whole season are slim and i like crayton but Price is a proven #2 guy. i doubt he will come here tho he wants a place where he is gauranteed the second spot and that isnt here. he’ll end up in philly which really sucks.
about our record, if we could beat san diego opening weekend, think of the boost and confidence that would give us. they wont have gates which is big since hes one of the best TE’s in football. it’ll be tough but i think we have a real shot of beating them and then going 10-6.
Is this the same Rafael Vela that had a website up about the cowboys before the team even had a web presence?
I recall something about the team actually taking Rafael Vela’s URL away from him.
Did you get compensated or screwed?
that you still are delivering such high quality , high signal/noise ratio information, and interactivity is truly amazing1
hats off to you Rafael Vela
and keep on keepin on….
Remnant,
I don’t see 11-5 either. That would require the right bounces and some luck. I DO see 10-6, at the least 9-7. Unless we have an injury year like 2004 and BP goes too easy on the team like he did last year (his words). Also, our offense is going to be better than you think.
Hey, I have a totally off subject question/observation.
Remember last year vs. Seattle when Keyshawn made his touchdown reception. The media made a big deal about the fact that his hand landed out of bounds and the touchdown shouldn’t have been allowed. Nobody seemed to comment on the fact that the db made clear contact with him and that contact forced him out of bounds. My question is, if he had been ruled out of bounds, wouldn’t it have been obvious that the db’s contact forced him out? By the current rules, it would have to be upheld right? I just never heard any mediots comment on that and state that he was obviously bumped out. Sorry to be so far off subject, just wanted other ‘Boys’ fans thoughts.
I live in Atlanta and have been following the P Price story for a while. The deal is P Price was a #2 Wr at best. His succes came in Buffalo with Eric Moulds taking all the double coverage. Arthur Blank paid way to much for Price and has egg on his face. When Jim Mora took over the Falcons and installed his version of the Mike Vick West Coast offense, Price was doomed. Price became the sacraficial lamb here in Atlanta. The media would not go after the golden boy Mike Vick’s inability to stay in the pocket and throw down field. Mora’s offense today want the WR’s to break off routs and block downfield. Price has clearly lost some speed and does not have the deep speed he once had.
He was demoted to second string in training camp and kept his mouth shut and worked hard. The injury to his ribs sealed his fate. I dont see him today being any better than our starting 3 WRs
Steven Jones on 1310 the ticket said that Peerless Price is in Dallas and he will meet with Price and his agent at the ranch in the next couple of hours to see what they are looking for in the amount of money and terms. Price said that he had a great relationship with Bledsoe and is very interested in Dallas.
Derrick,
Thanks for the heads up. We’ll just have to see how this plays out.
Jason,
Actually, I wrote for TheBoys.com back in ‘95 and ‘96. And it’s true that the team didn’t have much of a web presence then. Raul can tell you much better than I can, but the company that owned the site and was paying me for articles back then told me that Jerry approached TheBoys about becoming the team’s official site. He also said that Jerry wanted every bell and whistle imaginable on the site, but was only willing to pay a rate that would leave no profit margin for the folks at TheBoys. Not even a wafer thin one. When they pointed this out to them, he said something to the effect of “tough cookies.”
Needless to say, we passed on Jerry. I didn’t lose the url, but we didn’t get the gig either. Did learn something about Jerry in the process — I would HATE to be one of his suppliers. He drives a hard bargain.
Price would be ok he is not a #1 guy and we don’t have a #1 guy so he would fit right in. There comes a time where you have to develop you young players and you can’t keep bringing in vets. If he came here he would be the #3 if not right off soon. We are not a team that is going to run 4 WR sets. I know Glenn will miss time this year but I think if you get Price it would hurt Crayton development. Just like when Bryant growth was hurt after starting this rookie year with good number being drop down to the third spot the following season. I’m looking at a 9-7 record for us this year but I hope I’m wrong.
Jimmy had it right. He brought in youth on OL, QB, WR and RB. The entire offense. Then he let them look bad for a year or two before they “got it.” BP doesn’t understand the concept of sacrificing some quality this year for better quality next year and he never will. He only plays rookies when he has nothing better right now.
And did anyone else recoil at his comment that he likes to keep the “last” few roster spots open for young, developing guys? The same thought process that kept him from playing Henson or Romo last year when games and the season were decided.
Hey, we’re building a great defense, true. But if we bring in Price, then the only youth movement we’ll have made on offense this year will be Petitti. So forget Price, let’s play Crayton.
Alright guys I gotta stand up for Price here. I say sign him, cut Morgan, move Crayton to #4. I think this signing will put our offense on track. Price is 28, had an amazing season with Drew, will probably sign with Philly if not with us, and could be our #3 who moves to the outside and Glenn/Crayton moves into the slot. Just think of the targets. We can then keep the best ST player in Copper and Crowder. Crayton is only 26, and next year can play a bigger role. Everyone here knows he’s not about to be a pro bowler this year. And hes good on Special Teams. Price we can sign to a 2 year deal, with us keeping either him or Keyshawn next year, depending on what Price does. And think what we could do on 3rd and long, where we havent done anything in the past?? I know Bledsoe is slow, but put Keyshawn and Crayton on one side, with Price, Glenn, and Witten on the other. Who can cover that?
First thing first
Remnant:
Why is it so hard for you to believe that the Cowboys could go 1-1 with the Eagles, they did so in 2003, and now they are definitely better… And about Oakland, well, they do have Moss, but mention one big name on their OLine. You can name the guy starting at RT, a recent first rounder, who by the way, isn’t the best RT in the league, and by far, he’s struggling. And their Defense is pourous. I can see Collins getting killed back there and Julius running through that Defense, but, well, that’s my point of view… Other than those 2 games, I have to go with your insight.
On the other subject:
Guys, are you certain that the bunch of young guys we have on the roster have a future? For me, they both (Copper and Crowder) look like bubble guys. Of them Crowder makes the squad because he has more potential on ST’s and looks to be a better receiver, Copper can hardly get himself free of a 2nd and 3rd team coverage, imagine him with a 1st team… He wouldn’t see the sunlight. So that leaves us with KJ, Glenn, Crayton, Morgan and Crowder. Which leads us to Peerless Price subject, he would definitely take on Morgan roster spot and would be given every oportunity to beat Crayton as our 3rd receiver, just like Morgan was. And the concern of playing time of both, shouldn’t be one, Parcells has been quoted as saying that he doesn’t like to have 30 year old veterans on the field for every play, that that’s a recipe for having a tired veteran at the end of the season, but he will do so if he doesn’t have a choice, which he hadn’t last year. He will if he has KJ, Glenn, Price, Crayton and Crowder in his roster.
i want to sign price, the only problem is we like to run two tight end sets. if u got a rb in the backfield that only leaves room for 2 wr. and u have to figure thats key and glenn. im jsut curious wat price will start saying if hes not on the field every down. i saw front row what price can dow ehn hes playing behind a probowl calibur player in moulds, but i just dont kno how he will fit into this offense.
Chandus
Copper played last year and is a better WR than Crowder.
Lou
Crayton has earn the right to be the #3 he has the BEST hands on the team. We don’t play 4 WR set we play 3 tightend sets with KJ in.
Remnant,
Think that’s a bit unfair to Bill, no? Think Witten and Jones are two examples of young players playing. He was pushing Rogers last year as well. newman started playing day one (though to be fair he had no choice). Bradie James is a guy he wanted to get playing time. I don’t think he was wrong about Henson, Hutchinson, or Carter. He’s been developing Romo for a couple of years.
This year you’ll see several young guys on defense.
He can’t fix all the problems he had. Everyone knows Dallas needs to get younger in several areas. OL, WR, QB. But until this draft there were several defense positions that you could include.
Bill wins through defense and he fixed that first. My guess is he’ll address some of these other positions next year. Maybe Henson or Romo will be ready and they’ll go OL or WR in the draft.
Just because the guy is young doesn’t exactly mean he gets a pass on being good. Clayton outplayed Morgan and Dallas is putting Clayton in there. But if Price is better (by a reasonable amount) and it adds 1 game to the win column you should pull that trigger. Clayton isn’t going anywhere and if he’s good he’ll play. Look at “Pepper” Johnson and Ratliff. They’ll get playing time and they were nobodies before camp started.
AW:
As you said yesterday, I’m going with what I’m readin and seeing, Crowder is making separation from the guy covering him while Copper isn’t, the previous season doesn’t matter, usually present does.
And it’s a good 3 TE set, you know, great numbers!
Rafael,
Thanks to your previous post, we now have a new name for Jerry J. Mr. Wal-Mart! LOL!
Chandus,
I know that you read the Collinsworth article, but do you expect me to believe that you bought into it? Remnant has good points but is not giving this team enough credit, particularly for the Kansas City game. I stick by my prediction of 10-6 or certainly 9-7. (and yes Chandus, we WILL take Filthydelphia at home this year!)
GO COWBOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Chandus
If you are going by what you are seeing and reading then Crowder is not doing a good job as a gunner. Copper is better.
Here is my prediction for this season (using the same methodology as Mr. Remnant)
SD Lose a close one
Wash* Win
SF Win
Oak Win
Phi* Lose
NYG* Lose (people are going to get pissed at this point)
Sea Win (they go in and beat up the Hawks)
Ari* Lose (Arizona proves to be better than most people think)
Phi Win (Dallas rebounds and kicks their butts)
Det* Win (Defense alone wins this game)
Den* Win (Denver gets stomped)
NYG Win (Dallas wins in emotional overtime victory)
KC* Lose (KC gets a couple of special team TDs to beat us)
Wash Win (Dallas is angry about the loss to KC and stomps all over Wash, sends Gibbs to retirement)
Car Lose (Low scoring affair with all points on the board scored by the defenses)
STL* Win (In a must win game to make the playoffs, the young studs step it up and hold STL to 3 touchdowns, while the defense and the offense share scores, winning 28 to 21)
That would make the Cowboys 10-6 and a wildcard. The key will be the four game winning streak in the middle of the season. They will meet Carolina in the playoffs for the first game and beat them the next time they play. Go Cowboys. Yahoooooo!!!
Raf your experience in dealing with J.Jones puts the rash of
recent cut/injury settlements in a new light.
Mr Bill,
Does AdamJT13 answer questions? I am curious about roster exemption rules for him.
AW:
What I’m reading is that Parcells only sees one fault on Crowder ST’s play, he sees that he lunges to make the tackle before that when he should, that’s a fundamental flaw and those flaws can be coached to dissapear. I’m expecting that for Thursday we will see a diference in his way of tackling.
Yeah, Kevin, Tomlinson could make San Diego forget that Gates isn’t playing, I would categorize the game as lost if both were on the field, but without Gates is a toss, the D would need to stop LT, if they do so, they can win, but there’ve been teams prior Dallas that tried to stop him and couldn’t…
James:
I’m giving that game to Kansas because they have one of the best OLines in the League, if Holmes is healthy, which BTW, he is right now, they’re gonna stablish the run game early and Trent Green will turn to shreds our backfield with the time his OLine is going to give him. That’s at least the way they play when Holmes is healthy and Johnson is developing as the backup.
And seriously who is willing to give a dime to an OLine formed by: Barry Simms, Langston Walker, Jake Grove/Adam Treu, Brad Badger and Robert Gallery, only Simms is respectable in there, and he’s beatable. That OLine should be in question and Collins should be getting a lot of 3 count drops, at least by season start.
oak game is a ? for me. Moss doesn’t know have to have a bad game against us. It depends on where our D is at that time. Our D keeps getting better. They will put up points but they will turn the ball over.
Man it’s hard to think football right now.
Godspeed to those poor people down in Ain’ts country.
PASS ON PRICE.
pick him up if the price is right…no pun intended
Just curious for some of your guys winners out of these competitions:
Copper v. Crowder (5th WR)
Coady v. Scott (Backup FS)
Fowler v. O’Neil (Last LB Spot)
Thorton v. Ogbogu (Backup ROLB)
Pepper Johnson v. Carson (3rd String DT)
Thorton v. Jones (5th CB)
Chandus,
I think that we have a chance against SD because we have a better coach. Bill might be able to coach a win for us, but I am not sure we are a better team YET. Right now though, I’d have to concede the game to SD because of their success last year. They did upgrade their talent as well this offseason.
It will be fun to watch.
Lou,
Give me Coady (Bill likes versatile backups, and he covers both SS and FS), Fowler (O’Neill is a PS guy), and Thornton (by a mile). Note that if Berriault goes on IR then BP may keep Scott, too.
Copper vs. Crowder is anyone’s call. Neither will play much, so BP will hopefully go with the guy who shows the best long-term potential. I don’t like either, but give me Crowder.
Pepper vs. Carson…hmmm. BP likes Pepper, but this may come down to Fergusen’s injury. If BP is concerned that Fergusen will be unable to play some games this year, then he’ll have to keep Carson for NT depth. Glover is great, but he can’t play that brutal position every snap all year without wearing down. Still, I hope he keeps “Pepper” here. More potential.
I was looking ahead at the game against SD and was wondering if Pettiti played against Merriman in college and how he did? Let me know.
Rl,
It looks like Merriman will miss the opener with a strained
knee according to espn.
Lou,
I will pretty much echo what Remnant said with the exception that I would keep Carson this year and put “Pepper” on the PS. I also prefer Scott, but if Coady is more versatile, so be it.
QB ratings so far …..Bledsoe 82.7……..Romo 99.7………Henson 45.2
Blue Cheese-About KJ’s catch against Seattle last year-when it happened I watched it over and over and decided that it was a blown call by the officials. He clearly touched out of bounds (elbow) and had the opportunity to get both his feet in bounds. He was bumped but not enough to push him out of bounds-it was well before the ball got to his hands.
I went back and watched it again (thank God for tivo) and have changed my mind. The bump before the ball got there should have been Pass Interference and would have resulted in 1st & goal from the 1. I still don’t beleive the bump pushed him out of bounds as much as KJ’s motion bringing the ball down. He had both feet well within the endzone and should have gotten them both in.
Since the booth can’t make a call of PI (thats Pass Interference not Public Intoxication), if it was reviewed, the only thing they could have ruled was incomplete. I don’t think they can rule a “push-out” either if it wasn’t called on the field which was not indicated.
That was my favorite game last year and I may never erase it. It is the last one from last year that I’ve kept.
AndyZ
none of the QBs have looked good enough to start.
Just listened to B.P. press conference sounds like beriault is headed
for the ir and surgery for his knee .And if M. barber plays well
with his healing foot the a-train is gone.
AW you don’t think so? Bledsoe has been slow to start but okay at times,Romo has looked great,always driving the team,Henson looks lost….you make the call
I don’t think BP was trying to see what Bledsoe could do. They were calling plays to evaluate talent other than starting QB. They could have called the games to play to Bledsoe’s strengths but whats the point in the early preseason. I look for more of a tune-up against Jax. I am also very much looking to see how we handle the tall & fast receiver as a warm up for TO, Moss and the tall group from Det. Even though Jones is a rookie he seems to have a little something to him. He could be another guy that we look back and wish we had taken a chance on (but I wouldn’t trade our draft right now thats for sure).
AndyZ
Bledsoe has looked bad more often then not. Romo looks like he knows what he is doing back there but how good can he be it hard to tell because he hasn’t been able to play. What I mean by that they don’t let him throw much. A couple of picks were dropped by the other team so how good would his numbers be. I just realize that Henson reminds me of QC on that fact he doesn’t seem to throw in the middle yet. He looked better last year which is not a good sign but Romo is better then he was last year so it makes it look worst for Henson.
Sean
Jones could be the second steal of the draft after Ware.
AW-in a few years that will be the talk if should have taken him instead of Spears
Sean
it all depends on what Spears is about.
Exactly!!
Just read on the Cowboys site that BERIAULT has made enough plays in the preseason thus far to warrant a roster spot. (Of course.)
The site also quotes PARCELLS as saying that surgery would “DEFINITELY” solve his knee issue.
This is HUGE news to me cuz I thought his knee thing was a “degererative” condidtion. Wasn’t that the case? And doesn’t that mean it will just get worse and worse, surgery or not? (Someone wanna clear that upfor me?)
If he gets put on INJURED RESERVE, can he still play this year? Will he count as a roster spot? Can other teams claim him off waivers?
I really, REALLY, wanna see this guy become a Cowboy.
(*correction)
* This is HUGE news to me cuz I thought Beriault’s knee thing was a “DEGENERATIVE†condition.
Rich if he is placed on ir before the final cut he is cannot
play this season.If he makes the cut then he can come
back when he is healed.I too thought that surgery would
not help his condition but according to Bill there is a
procedure that will help him but it is extensive.He didn’t
elaborate because it was technical and he didn’t understand
it all himself.But it is not a matter of just scoping and draining
the knee.
Got it.
Thanks, Becker.
Only if a guy is placed on PUP by 30 AUG does he have a chance of being activated before the season is over. Once placed on IR, the guy is out for the year period. The good news about that is that the player still draws his salary AND no other team can touch him. If Beriault is placed on IR we lose him for the season but still have him under contract for next year. Whatever we do I hope he stays in Big D.
Thanks for the input Sean.
I have to points.
1. I have a hard time thinking that Crennel, Bellicheck, or Saban would let a guy slip through waivers that their former boss refers to as Pepper.
2. I would put Beriault on the IR and get the knee fixed, personally I don’t think a backup SS is a need position immediately.
I agree with your thinking Cash.I think some guys are going to
get cut based on their ability to clear waviers like a Torrin
Tucker vs Pepper .And also throw in Tom C. in NY as another coach
he has picked up a couple of Cowboy castoffs recently.
cash,
i do agree somewhat about beriault tomorrow is gonna show what happens to him.
peerless prive i think we should deffinteley grab him if it works out money wise. hes only 28 and has shown with a 90+ catch season, they dont happen by accident. his catches went down with gates showing up last year big time. hes a vertical threat and could let us draft something else instead of a stud receiver. he would make the wr corp a lil younger while bringing in experience.
i think crayton could be something very nice, the kid cathces everything thrown to him, not scared of the hit. he could take kj job while price could take glenns spot. thats the way i see it.
jones deffinete steal of 2003, ware 11th pick could still be considered a steal, same with spears we will see. 1 more draft like this years and we will be back on top again. im excited to watch this game with ferg, and spears back.
open thread tomorrow right?
The game is gonna be on in San Antonio as usual on WB,but also on KTSA radio 550 AM and KCOR 1350 AM……hope this helps….
Parcells says he’s gonna play SPEARS tomorrow “until he steps on his tongue.”
So double dose of Spears tomorrow- hope that’s the smart thing to do.
until Spears and Canty are ready to start the 3-4 wont be in full effect. I saw where Glover will start at NT even if Ferguison is ready. Glover has my respect as a Cowboy, instead of just a hired gun.
Cash:
Correction, Parcells never called him Pepper, he noted that he was named Thomas Johnson, just like the Pepper he used to know and that if he was going to call him something it was going to be “wannabe Pepper”. And really, they guy is PS material, he’s 4th team on the DLine and wouldn’t had made it to the surface if it wasn’t for Spears, Ferguson and Carson injuries (while Carson has been playing he has been limited for swelling on one knee, just like Beriault).
And the procedure is bone insertion, they will replace his degenerative kneecap with a prothestic one.
James,
You can try it. People occasionally start threads with questions to Adam. Sometimes he even answers them.
He’s his own man, and posts only as he sees fit.
I usually read his posts at the CowboysZone forum. I don’t post there, myself.
Here’s the link:
http://cowboyszone.com/forums/
As to roster exemptions, I might be able to help you there. I don’t know all the details, but I have the general hang of it.
I assume you are referring to NFLE exemptions. Here’s what I know.
Each player a team sends to NFLE gains them 1 exemption for that player. In addition, some players garner an extra exemption. If the player has been in the league a few years (I don’t know how many), the team gets an extra exemption. That happened for the Cowboys this year with Dantzler and Blade. When an extra exemption is granted, the team has to apply it to another player on the team. Those are usually applied to players who are likely to make the team. We applied ours to Jones and Crayton. I am not certain of the rules governing that application, but note that both Jones and Crayton are second-year players.
Quarterbacks also gain an extra exemption. We received one last year for Hutchinson.
The exemptions are valid up to the final cut. If you keep the player, you keep the exemption, and he does not count against the roster limit. If you cut the player, you lose the exemption, but you do not lose any extra exemption that might have been granted for that player.
So, currently, the Cowboys have 4 exemptions for NFLE players. 2 for Dantzler, 1 for Kincade, and 1 for Blade. Dantzler counts for one of his own exemptions. Kincade counts for his. Jones and Crayton count for the other two. It all adds up to a roster limit of 69 players for the Cowboys, until Sunday.
Seattle has signed Warrick.
Chandus, wth are you talking about? He’s even said he calls him Pepper. BP said he calls him Pepper because the original Pepper had the same name, for no other reason. I’ve heard countless beat writers talk about Parcells calling him Pepper at practice, why else would they even bring it up? Do you even pay attention to anything other than Eric R and Jon’s posts?
Peerless Price will be a Cowboy, if the price is right, no pun intended! We need some insurance if/when Glenn is injured. Morgan may be the odd man out.
Mr Bill,
Thanks, that pretty much answers my question. I knew we had an exemption for Dantzler, Kincade, and Blade. I just couldn’t figure out where the fourth one was coming from.
For those that think “Pepper” is only PS material. I agree. But Cash made a good point about BP’s former assistants. You know that they are going to be watching OUR final cuts. For BP to give an undrafted FA that much cheese says something about the guy and we may have to keep him on the 53 for a few weeks so that he CAN clear waivers.
The Price is right (pun intended)…though I’d still try talking to Detroit. We could throw in Morgan (a #3) for Rogers (their #3), with part of our defensive largesse (Singleton/Thornton (either) being expendible).
What scraps from the final cuts would make us alter our 53? A veteran kicker? Sure. A veteran RT? Absolutely. A backup QB? Doubtful…but don’t put it past BP.
I would be looking at getting our roster to 50-51. I see two new additions, maybe three, between now and the season. Monday or Tuesday will see our PS established and a couple of recent cuts to be poured over.
I don’t want Price because if we get him we might not get a WR in the draft next year. Price is not a stud WR.
Fighter15
They have the rookie starting over Rogers?
Yeah, he’s currently running second team. Roy and Mike are the two best receivers to come out in a long time. Rogers, while a real stud, has not shown the ability to stay on the field.
That being said, it’s eerily similar to what happened to Jimmy Smith. Even if we get Price, Rogers would be an excellent find. Can you imagine Keyshawn, Terry, Price, and Rogers as our wideouts. No one, and I mean no one, could claim we’re too old, slow, or weak at that position…for years to come.
And it would really open up our draft next year to QB, OLB, and OL. I mean we could be set for our Superbowl run by next year. Really exciting stuff, if you ask me.
Fighter:
I really don’t know, at times I think that Rogers is made of plastic, I mean, he gets hit real hard, and one of his collar bones breaks… I don’t think he will last much on this league with already two operations on the neck. Maybe the third is the winner…
Cash:
I’m getting tired… You say to me that I don’t know what I’m talking about when I say that Peppers is called like that only because his name and last name are the same as those of his Giants days Pepper, and that this new Pepper is his “wannabe Pepper”, then you say this: “BP said he calls him Pepper because the original Pepper had the same name, for no other reason”. But still you make the point that only because Parcells calls him Pepper, only because he has the same name, the other coaches are going to jump at him… Are you serious? I’m the one that doesn’t understand you. Other coaches will realize that the guy is 4th team, because that’s what he is, he only enters to play on preseason games when on the field there’s the 2nd or 3rd team OLines, other teams have prosepcts, just like “Wannabe Pepper”.
Chandus
Glenn get hurt every year but 2 since he has been in the NFL. I would take Rogers over Price on the fact we don’t know what Rogers can turn into. Price we know he is not a #1.
AW:
But you know, I would take the 400 yards Glenn made last year to nothing in return. For those kind of moves, because you need to remember that he was a high 1st rounder and comes with a heavy price, we were in cap hell, anyone remembers Galloway? Galloway could have been heaven, he didn’t turned that way. So I’m kind of wary to sign a guy that has only played in 6 games in 2 years, if you don’t understand that, is fine by me, it won’t happen either.
Chandus
Galloway was a bad move and I wouldnt pay Rogers what he is getting now or pay Price what he is getting now. We have money and Rogers wouldnt get Galloway type money. What I would like to do is just get a WR high in the draft next year. I would trade glenn and someone off the D for Rogers.
Fighter15,
We are not going to pry Charles Rogers from the Lions by throwing them our carrion. They would want substantially more red meat from our roster and/or draft picks. [Like the carnivore analogies?]
As for waiver-wire pickups, I would look for us to be poring over receivers (if we don’t sign Price), linebackers who can play outside in the 3-4, safeties (still), kickers (obviously), and running backs.
I think Anthony Thomas has made the roster, because we have no other veteran at running back behind Jones. But if some veteran becomes available, whom the Cowboys value higher, Thomas is gone. I had been hoping that the Bears would