MVN - Most Valuable Network

Expect Free Agent Fizzle for Cowboys

     Free agency has officially been underway for about eight hours now, with no significant chatter coming out of Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters in Valley Ranch.

     Early thoughts: good.

     Despite some All-Pro names just waiting to be added to the transaction column over the next few weeks, the prudent course for the Cowboys would be to stay out scramble.  This year, the team only has about $10-$12 million in cap room, and that was before signing left tackle Flozell Adams to an excessive new deal, tendering significant offers to restricted free agents Marion Barber and Chris Canty, and adding former Dolphin great Zach Thomas at linebacker.

     However, if the team does end up dealing defensive tackle Jason Ferguson to Miami, it would save the team nearly $2.5 million on the cap.  Clearly, though, Dallas does not seem to have the room to splurge right now.  Luckily, this year there are not many players on whom it would be worth it to splurge.  Remember: this is a team that won a conference-best 13 regular-season games (and won a conference-worst zero playoff games) and sent an NFL-record 13 players to the Pro Bowl. 

     This team is good.

     That being said, let’s look on offense where Dallas would be best served going for the free agent homerun as well as those positions that can be filled during the draft in April.

     QUARTERBACK:Yes, Tony Romo rewrote nearly the entire team record book this season (including the part about not winning a postseason game in 12 years).  With Derek Anderson hitting the market after spurning Cleveland–can you blame the guy?  Cleveland sucks–the Brady Quinn era is dawning for the Browns, so it looks like the Cowboys are stuck with Romo. 

     Is there anyone better on the market?  No.  With Brad Johnson around as a backup, this is a position that should remain unchanged once training camp opens.  Maybe the team will take a flyer on a late-round prospect (Dennis Dixon?), but probably not.

     RUNNING BACK: Although it is somewhat concerning that the team has yet to sign Barber to a long-term deal, there is no way he leaves the team this year.  With his tender, another team has to give Dallas first- and third-round picks, and the Cowboys can match the offer if they want.  While Barber is certainly worth the price (in dollars and picks) for another franchise, Jerry Jones knows how crucial Barber is to the success of this offense. 

     That other runner for Dallas, Julius Jones, won’t be back.  Seriously, a guy hasn’t been this unwelcome somewhere since Scott Peterson showed up at his in-laws’ place last Christmas.  After getting off to a rough start with Bill Parcells, Jones never established himself in Dallas.  With a very weak free agent class at this position–Tatum Bell?  T.J. Duckett?–Jones could find somebody willing to give him a big deal, despite never running for 1,100 yards or more than seven touchdowns in a season. 

     In the draft, though, this may be the deepest position.  Jamaal Charles, Darren McFadden, Rashard Mendenhall, Felix Jones, and Ray Rice are just a few guys who should be gone after Round 3.  With two first-rounders, Dallas will have plenty of opportunity to find ”MB3″ an MB4.  My vote: Mike Hart.

    WIDE RECEIVER: Even with a secondary that got burned more often than the witches of Salem, this is the biggest need for Dallas.  While Terrell Owens was happy and productive last year, he is still getting older and entering the last year of his contract.  Terry Glenn most likely will not return.  Especially against New York, Patrick Clayton showed his is woefully inadequate to handle the No.3 reciever spot.  Without better weapons, Romo may as well be Dan Orlovsky. 

     Right now, though, stop the Randy Moss rumors.  He is not coming to Dallas, and all Cowboy fans should be happy.  It would not work between him and Owens.  Him and Wade Phillips.  When he’s not running police officers over with his car or smoking pot, he’s a supreme talent, but he would bring too much drama and non-football related publicity to the team.

     The team does have some intriguing options in free agency.  Brandon Lloyd (if healthy) or Eric Moulds (if not using a walker) would be nice short-term transitions as the team breaks in a rookie or two alongside Owens next season.  Donte’ Stallworth would fit, if the price is right (under $4 million).  Bernard Berrian put up some decent numbers for the Bears last year (70 catches, 950 yards) with an, um, unsettled situation at quarterback.  With Romo, it’s not unreasonable to think he could bump those to 85 catches, 1,000 yards, and ten touchdowns.

     The best chance to upgrade, though, is through the draft.  My favorite player is Mario Manningham.  He’s got the speed and athleticism to be a faster Michael Irvin.  Grabbing him–an Irvin, Jerry Rice, ”Bullet” Bob Hayes mix–at No.22 in the first round would be a major coup for the Cowboys.  Manningham’s teammate, Adrian Arrington, also would be a nice first-day pickup.  Early Doucet and Jordy Nelson are also possibilities.  Despite some of the buzz, I’m not entirely sold on either DeSean Jackson or Limas Sweed.  Both are coming off serious injuries, and this is not a year for the Cowboys to take gambles with their receivers. 

     TIGHT END: Jason Witten is the best in football at this position.  While Anthony Fasano has been slow to develop, he’s only the backup with no chance of starting.  With Jay Novacek and Witten, Dallas has been fortuitous to have the two best tight ends in NFL history.  No need to tinker here.

     OFFENSIVE LINE: While having drastically overpaid for Adams, it’s okay, since all NFL contracts are pretend (non-guaranteed) anyways.  Of the four starting left tackles in the NFC East last season, he committed more than twice as many false start and holding penalties than the others.  But, he only allowed 3.5 sacks all year.  Despite all those penalties, many consider him one of the top linemen in football, and he’s only missed games in one of his ten seasons.  While the team has drafted several tackles recently, none are, you know, good.  Keeping Adams means Leonard Davis can stay at right guard, where he is one of the best in the league. 

     Marc Colombo, though, should be worried.  With Adams around, his spot immediatly becomes the weakest on the line.  He may keep it another year, as only Jordan Gross and Jason Fabini are impact free agents.  Fabini is old (33), and Gross, franchised by Carolina, figures to get paid (Denver), so he might not fit into the budget, nor is he even worth two first-rounders.

     Much like running back, the draft has several quality prospects to groom until Adams or Colombo are gone.  Ryan Clady and Jake Long probably won’t be around at the end of the first round, but Sam Baker and Tony Hills could be decent projects.  Or they could be more Pat McQuistans and Doug Frees.

     Davis and Andre Gurode are very solid at center and guard, Kyle Kosier has been not terrible for the team.  The Cowboys don’t need to drop $30 million on Alan Faneca like the Jets will.  With the interior backups very young, the team can afford to stand pat here.  Just for fun, though, Dallas may look at Hercules Satele or Kenard Burley in the (very) late rounds.

      Quite simply, the Cowboys are a dangerous offensive team.  While it is conceivable that the team could find two impact, All-Pro receivers in the draft, grabbing just one (Manningham) and getting a new partner for Barber (McFadden, Jones, Hart) will have this team capable of challenging New England’s points record.

    

     Brian Smith can be reached at BLSmith@mail.utexas.edu

     Listen to Brian talk sports, every Tuesday morning 9-11, only at kvrx.org.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 29th, 2008 at 8:43 am and is filed under The Cowboy Roundup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.