New, But Old Offense Looking Good

There have been some changes and development on offense as well and I am going to try everyone through those.

Quarterback:
Passing on Brady Quinn tells everyone the Tony Romo is man who is going to be running this offense. Romo has spent tons of time working with new offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and expect him to ready and to play well. Brad Johnson will be behind him and his experience gives us someone to lean on. There is a bit of a contest going on for the third spot though. Matt Baker spent last year on the practice squad and is the early favorite. Matt Moore, the rookie free agent will be giving him a run for his money. There was talk of bringing in Jason Garrett favorite Brock Berlin, but that does not seem too likely now.

Running Back:
Julius Jones is the only on the whole team that has opted not to work out at the Cowboys facility in Dallas. Instead he has been in Arizona and Wade Phillips said that for now that is fine. Jones likes the new offensive leadership and said he felt like a robot trying to hit holes that were not there when Parcells was the man in charge. Marion Barber, the NFC touchdown leader, will be back backing him up. Tyson Thomson is not far behind either. He is coming off an ankle injury and I would look for him to make a push at Barber and maybe even Jones too.

Fullback:
This is going to be an interesting position. There is not a clear starter here. Anthony Fassano will be an H-back style player and will see a lot of action catching passes out of the backfield. Fassano will also be playing tight end as well. So, rookie Deon Anderson will be the man doing most of the blocking. Oliver Hoyte rounds out the fullback position and he still has a chance to win a starting job.

Tight End:
Jason Witten might just be this team’s most valuable weapon in the passing game. He is a huge part of this team. As previously mention Fassano will play on the opposite side in dual tight end sets. Rounding out the depth chart here will be Tony Curtis.

Wide Receiver:
Well we all know the number one is Terrell Owens and the number two is Terry Glenn. Both are going to paid their roster bonuses and they will be back. Patrick Crayton is the leading candidate for the slot receiver in three receiver sets. However, he will feel the pressure from up and comer, Miles Austin. Isaiah Stanback figures to be a factor here as well. I can’t really elaborate on when his role will be until he actually recovers from his foot injury. Rounding out the receivers are Sam Hurd, Jamel Richardson, and Jamaica Rector.

Offensive Line:
Flozell Adams will be back at left tackle. However, there have been many indications that our pro bowl tackle might be leaving after this season. Doug Free, one of this year’s draft picks will therefore be backing him up. They wanted to get younger and that what Free gives them.
Left Guard is an interesting position. Kyle Koiser is the incumbent starter, but he is clearly the weakest link on this line. Pat McQuistan, who was the lead backup tackle last season is going to be moving to backup left guard. I would not be surprised for this to develop into a decent position battle.
Andre Gurode was locked up over the off-season and he will be returning as the center. Cory Proctor has been working as the second team center, even though he is best suited as a guard. If McQuistan’s transition to guard is quick, Proctor will most likely be moving to center and McQuistan will backup both guards.
Right Guard is going to be the prized off-season sign, Leonard Davis. Davis is a big man and is going to be a huge upgrade from Marco Rivera. For now we will say that Proctor will be his backup, but there is a possibility that Rivera will come back from his back surgery.
After a long contract battle Marc Colombo is coming back as the starting right tackle. He is injury prone, but I expect him to have a big year. Just in case, third round pick, James Martin will be backing him up. Martin usually played on the left side, but he said he will move to the right side. So, two BC alum will round out the offensive line.

Depth Chart:
QB: Tony Romo, Brad Johnson, Matt Baker, Matt Moore
RB: Julius Jones, Marion Barber, Tyson Thomson
FB: Anthony Fassano, Deon Anderson, Oliver Hoyte
TE: Jason Witten, Anthony Fassano, Tony Curtis
WR: Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, Isaiah Stanback
WR: Terry Glenn, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd
LT: Flozell Adams, Doug Free
LG: Kyle Koiser, Pat McQuistan
C: Andre Gurode, Cory Proctor
RG: Leonard Davis, Cory Proctor
RT: Marc Colombo, James Martin

Mini-Camp Defense Developments

I think it is important for everyone to see how the positions are going to be breaking and what the depth chart is going to look like before training camp begins. So, I am going to break down each position, starting with the defense. I will have the offense at a later date.

Secondary:
Anthony Henry will not be moving to safety, he will be staying as the second corner. Terrance Newman will again be playing the lead role taking on the other team’s elite receivers. The nickel corner is most likely going to be Aaron Glenn. Glenn is aging and was a Parcells favorite, so I would expect there to be a possibility of him getting beaten out. Some up and comers that round out the cornerback position are Jacques Reeves, Nathan Jones, and Courtney Brown.
Roy Williams is going to back at strong safety like usual. Backing him up will most likely be Keith Davis. It seems like Ken Hamlin will be playing with the first team as the free safety and Pat Watkins will be backing him up. However, in the nickel formation Hamlin will be sliding to the strong side and Watkins will play free safety. Roy Williams role in the nickel will be elaborated on below.

Linebackers:
Greg Ellis is going to be back for training camp and he has been proclaimed as the current starter. Spencer will have to beat him out if he wants the spot. Ellis and Spencer will be playing on the strong side. That means they will have the challenge of running through and covering the tight end. DeMarcus Ware will on the weak side, this will allow him to put more pressure on he quarterback. Technically Junior Glymph will be backing him up, but if Ware were to have an issue I would expect it to be Spencer, Carpenter, or Burnett.
As far as the inside goes, Bradie James and Akin Ayodele will be back as the starters. James has even trimmed off over 10 pounds in an effort to better prepare himself for the new system. Backing them up will be Bobby Carpenter and Kevin Burnett. Burnett has recently voiced his displeasure with his current situation with the Cowboys and I am going to bet the Carpenter is not going to be far behind. These are two guys with a lot of talent that are moving inside this year because of the excess of outside guys. They are both at a level where they can start in this league and hopefully they will have opportunities to make an impact.
In the nickel package the Cowboys will be going with four down lineman and two linebackers. Burnett will be one of those linebackers because of his amazing speed. The other is going to be Roy Williams. Yes, you read that correctly. Wade Phillips wants to get Roy away from coverage in third and long situations. This situation will allow Williams to make plays without needing to worry about someone beating him down the field.

Defensive Line:
Marcus Spears is delighted with Phillips’ new system because he claims he will be able to get better pressure. So, he will be staying at defensive end, however in the nickel he will play tackle. Backing him up will be Jeremiah Ratliff. On the other end, Chris Canty is going to start with the first team. Jason Hatcher will be behind him. Canty has had some struggles and I would look for a good training camp battle between him and Hatcher. In the nickel Ware and Spencer will most likely be playing as the defensive ends.
On the inside Jason Ferguson will remain as nose tackle. No one is really sure who is going to be behind him, but as for now it looks like it is going to Montavious Stanley.

Starting 3 – 4 Scheme:
RE: Chris Canty
DT: Jason Ferguson
LE: Marcus Spears
ROLB: DeMarcus Ware
ILB: Bradie James
ILB: Akin Ayodele
LOLB: Greg Ellis
CB: Terrance Newman
CB: Anthony Henry
FS: Ken Hamlin
SS: Roy Williams

Nickel (passing downs) Scheme:
RE: DeMarcus Ware
DT: Jason Ferguson
DT: Marcus Spears
LE: Anthony Spencer
ILB: Kevin Burnett
ILB: Roy Williams
CB: Terrance Newman
CB: Anthony Henry
CB: Aaron Glenn
FS: Patrick Watkins
SS: Ken Hamlin

1st Mini-Camp

The first mini-camp is underway at Valley Ranch and TO has already stolen the show. Jerry Jones went on record saying that Terrell Owens would be in attendance, but not participating in the camp. However, Owens trotted out on to the field and caught passes. My first reaction was that it was media ploy by Jones and Owens to try and get more attention. However, after reading Wade Phillips reaction to the media frenzy after the first day of the three-day event, I don’t think they were trying to give the media something to talk about. Jerry Jones, unlike TO did address the media and said that Terrell sacrificed his football future to stay on the field last season and he could not even imagine not having a player with is dedication on the field next season.

Usually the first mini-camp of the offseason is used to evaluate rookies and find out who has stayed in shape and who is going to be in the dog house. I would like to hear more about that stuff. I could care less if TO is on the field or not because we all know that he is going to show up when it counts anyway. I have a million questions that I would rather hear something about:

I want to hear about where Greg Ellis is with his rehab; will he be ready for training camp?

How quick is Anthony Spencer’s switch to linebacker going to happen and is he going to beat out Ellis?

Is Pat McQuistan really moving to guard, and is he going to push Kyle Koiser for the starting left guard spot?

Does Nick Folk have a chance at beating out Martin Gramatica?

Is Anthony Henry going to be staying at corner, and who is going to replace him if he moves to safety?

Is Bobby Carpenter going to be a middle or outside linebacker?

Does Tyson Thomson have a chance at coming back and taking on a bigger role in the rushing game?

When is Isaiah Stanback going to be ready to play?

Who is going to backup Jason Ferguson at nose tackle; is there any chance that Marcus Spears is going to move to the inside?

There are just so many more important things then TO catching passes. He is the number one receiver and there is no chance of that changing. There never was. So, really his situation is uninteresting to me. Hopefully I get some answers to my other questions.

Draft Player Profiles

Round One: Anthony Spencer, DE Purdue
This pick came as a bit of shock to almost all Cowboys fans, including myself. Anthony Spencer was a 260-pound end for Purdue and is going to have to move to outside linebacker in the Cowboys system. I know last year after Greg Ellis went down the pass rush suffered to a great extent. His return was claimed to be coming along quickly and very well. That obviously is not the case. Picking Spencer basically sends a message to Ellis that he is on his way out. It also admits that Bobby Carpenter is not capable of rushing the passer. I am obviously very skeptical about this pick, but Spencer is an outstanding talent. Both Joe Thomas and Levi Brown (offensive tackles picked in the top 5) claimed that Spencer was their biggest challenge this past season. Jerry Jones claimed going into the draft that he had 7 impact players on his board and that he would consider trading up to get one and that is exactly what they did. New head coach Wade Phillips was obviously the driving force behind this pick. Phillips has an outstanding defensive scheme and pressuring the quarterback is the focus. Phillips was also impressed at how well Spencer knew the scheme and he thinks that his transition to linebacker will go very smoothly. Spencer will win the starting job and look for Greg Ellis to be traded or moved back to end in nickel situations.

Round Three: James Martin, OT Boston College
Martin started his career at Boston College playing guard and started two seasons there. This past season, his senior season, he moved to tackle. Martin said that he prefers playing tackle even though scouts have him as more a guard in the NFL. Martin also claimed he is better playing out in space, but again scouts say that is one of his biggest weaknesses. The consensus on Martin is that he is going to be a career backup in the NFL. Jerry Jones claimed he saw Martin playing tackle, however later picks indicate that Martin will be moving back to guard. This pick was obviously a bit of a reach and probably should have been used on a cornerback. With all that said Martin will make the team and he will backup left guard Kyle Koiser.

Round Four: Isaiah Stanbeck, QB Washington
Stanback only started one season at quarterback for Washington and played a bit of receiver before that. Scouts say that he has the tools to become a quarterback, but he is best fitted as a receiver. As a quarterback, he was ranked bellow Chris Leak, who was not even selected. The recent signing of Brock Berlin and the presence of Matt Baker makes the chance of him competing at quarterback very unlikely. He also does not really fit into the wide receiving corps because Miles Austin and Sam Hurd are sitting at the fourth and fifth spots on the depth chart. So, this pick really leaves me scratching my head. Then it dawned on me that because of Stanbeck’s exceptional physical skills he might have been brought in to play safety or even cornerback. His 40 time does not do his blazing speed justice. Stanbeck can make an impact, but I am just not sure exactly where yet.

Round Four: Doug Free, OT Northern Illinois
Most people had Free ranked higher then third round pick Martin. Free has excellent size and great footwork, so he will remain as a tackle with the Cowboys. He is said to be a great technician and he is very durable. The major knock against Free is that he lacks strength and the killer instinct. Those are two easily fixable things. I would not be surprised if Free makes a bigger impact on this team then Martin does. Free will fit in as the backup left tackle behind Flozell Adams.

Round Six: Nick Folk, K Arizona
This pick leaves me just outraged. I saw a lot of mock drafts that had the Cowboys taking Mason Crosby as high as the third round. Crosby was the highest ranked kicker in the draft and was said to be very capable of making an impact right away. I actually watched a kicking competition and I was impressed with Justin Medlock even more. Medlock was picked in round 5, so he was out of the question, but Crosby was there and we took Nick Folk instead. Folk is said to have superhuman leg strength, but he frequently missed short kicks. What this all equates to is that they are probably planning on having to kickers: Gramatica for field goals an Folk for kickoffs. That wastes a roster space and Crosby was really the better pick here. This pick was just plain awful, one of the worst things I have ever seen the Cowboys do!

Round Six: Deon Anderson, FB Connecticut
At first this ones looks pretty good. Fullback is a position we could use depth at. Anthony Fasano already plays an h-back style fullback as a pass catcher and he does it pretty damn well, but he doesn’t block particularly well. Oliver Hoyte is a converted linebacker and he is a good blocker, but he is a little slow. So, getting a blocking fullback would make sense. However, Anderson is more of a pass catcher and is said to be incapable of delivering a powerful block. It also indicated that he has some major character issues. If he can block then it’s an ok pick, if he can’t then it’s a complete waste. I would not be surprised if he winds up not making the team.

Round Seven: Courtney Brown, CB California Polytechnic
This pick might just be the sleeper pick that could wow people this draft. Brown is a great athlete and ran an impressive 4.34. He might be one of the most physically gifted cornerbacks in this draft. He was ranked incredibly low because he only played against mediocre competition and was rarely challenged. He is not completely developed yet, but I really think that he could become a starting cornerback. He can also make an impact returning punts. He will make the team and he will eventually make an impact.

Round Seven: Alan Ball, CB Illinois
I really do not know much about him. He is tall, but a little too thin. I read somewhere that he gets pushed around easily and does not tackle at all. That doesn’t really translate to becoming a good special teams player either. Against physical receivers he will have a lot of difficulty. He is an interesting projects but I think he is going to wind up getting cut.

Nice Tade, Wait What?, Nice Trade, Who's That?

This draft has been a pretty crazy one for the Cowboys. In this case, crazy means bad. A lot of very intriguing things were happening in the first round. At the cornerback position Leon Hall fell and the Jets traded up to the 14th pick to take Darelle Revis (another cornerback) before Hall. My immediate reaction to that was that the Cowboys should trade up and get Hall. They didn’t and Hall got selected. Some people had them picking safety Reggie Nelson, but he was selected at number 21, the pick right before the Cowboys went on the clock. One glaring player stared them in the face at that point and that player was Brady Quinn. Many of the analysts had the Cowboys going for Quinn because they were not confident in Romo. As much as I liked the idea of picking the golden boy Quinn, I knew that the Cowboys should pass him up and trade the pick to someone who would take him, like Cleveland. That is exactly what Jerry Jones did. He collected the third pick in the second round and a first round pick in the 2008 draft in return. At this point I was really pleased. We just moved down 14 picks and we got another first rounder for next year.

After watching two more picks I decided to get in the shower. When I returned I was shocked to see the Cowboys back on the clock at number 26. It was then announced that they had selected Anthony Spencer a defensive end/outside linebacker from Purdue. Then they announced that the Cowboys had traded with the Eagles and gave up that second round pick they just acquired from Cleveland as well as a third and a fifth round pick. Essentially they gave up a third and a fifth to move up 10 picks and to take a player that plays a position that the Cowboys are stacked at. So, for the third year in a row the Cowboys selected an outside linebacker with their first pick. Spencer is an outstanding talent and both Joe Thomas and Levi Brown said that he was by far their biggest challenge this past season. However, with Ellis returning this one just does not make much sense. This basically sends a message to Greg Ellis that his future with the Cowboys is in doubt. It also admits that last year’s first rounder, Bobby Carpenter is not capable of taking over his spot and being a staring linebacker. It also left the cornerback position in question and eliminated the chance of adding a decent player to provide depth at guard. Anyway, I kept watching in disappointment.

When it finally came time for the Cowboys to select in the second round almost all of the wide receivers they were targeting (Sidney Rice and Dwayne Jarrett) were off the board and there was not a cornerback worth taking there. The answer was to trade down again. They traded again with Cleveland and got an early third round pick and a fourth round pick in exchange. I guess I was pleased with decision again because it allowed to move back a few picks and still get the same player they would have taken at that spot, while adding another pick.

The Cowboys needed to use this newly acquired third rounder to address either cornerback, guard, or a defensive tackle. Josh Beekman, a highly regarded guard out of Boston College was available and Marcus McCauley a once thought first round talent was available at cornerback. DeMarcus “The Tank” Tyler was also available at defensive tackle. Personally, I would have selected Beekman. Scouts had him ranked as the third best guard in this draft and many people thought he could become a starter and an impact player in the league. I immediately thought that he could compete with Kyle Koiser for the left guard spot. Instead the Cowboys picked his counterpart at BC, James Martin. Marten started his BC career at guard but later moved to tackle. Martin did not overly impress scouts and they even called him unathletic at times. They also said will not be as good as felloe BC graduate and current Cowboys right tackle, Marc Colombo. I really don’t understand this pick. Why not go for a sure thing like Beekman? We needed depth at both positions but Beekman was a much better prospect. I think this was a bit of mistake.

Crayton Retained

Patrick Crayton, whom was a restriced free agent this season has offically signed the $1.3 million tender the Cowboys offered. Crayton sparked a lot of interest on the market because of his potential to be a solid starting receiver in this league. However, he also came with a second round draft compensation. So, any team that would have wanted to sign him would have had to transfer their second round pick to the Cowboys. As expected, that proved to be too steep of a price in the eyes of teams that might have had interest in Crayton. All in all, Crayton will be returning and will most likley keep his spot as the number three receiver on the Dallas Cowboys. He will be a unrestriced free agent at the end of this comming season.

Mock Draft

It’s that time for my ultimate draft update. I will be forecasting the possible picks that I believe that Dallas Cowboys should be making. I am not going to compile a complete mock draft, but I am going to break down each round (except the 7th) for the Cowboys and make a realistic pick. So, here we go:

Round #1:
The Cowboys have the 22nd overall pick in the first round. There has been a lot of speculation on what position the Cowboys are going to target here. With the recent addition of Ken Hamlin at safety a lot of people are thinking that TO is going to get cut and this pick will be a wide receiver. However, being a Cowboys fan for as long as I can remember, I know Jerry Jones is not going to cut TO. That still leaves the option of taking a wide receiver like Robert Meachem or Dwayne Jarrett, but I think this pick has to be a defensive one. While the immediate need is at safety, it is highly doubtful that a quality safety will be available at their pick. That state of the secondary is really in flux, but I think they have enough personnel to compile a decent one. So, which does that leave? A struggling pass rush that Wade Phillips is determined to fix. Greg Ellis will be returning and Bobby Carpenter will be backing him up. So, outside linebacker is set. The defensive ends, Canty and Spears are young, but they have proven to be ineffective. I believe that this pick will be in the defensive line/pass rush category. Gains Adams is not really big enough to play in a 3 – 4 line and Jamaal Anderson, Alan Branch, and Amobi Okoye will probably be off the board. The first question here is who is going to be replaced. I think that answer is Spears, whom will be moving to backup defensive tackle. That should alleviate how many snaps Ferguson takes a game. So, the pick should be an end. That end is Adam Carriker of Nebraska. Carriker is an end/tackle tweener that is idea for the 3 – 4. He is extremely strong and is one of the most intense guys around.

Round #2:
The Cowboys have the 21st (53rd Overall) pick in the second round. This is going to be a very important pick because they do not have a third round pick this year. There are really many, many options here. The wide receivers on this team, Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn are aging and it is not really known if Patrick Crayton will ever be more then a third receiver. However, Miles Austin and Sam Hurd are being viewed as potential projects with big upsides. Jerry Jones is on the record claiming he could see them as number one receivers. Last year, the Cowboys picked Montavious Stanley in the later rounds with hopes that he would be able to win the backup defensive tackle spot. That did not happen and he was cut. He is now back on the team, but he obviously is not then answer to that problem, but picking Carriker and moving Spears to tackle would solve it. So, what does that leave? Offensive Guard. I know we just signed Leonard Davis, but there is a good possibility that we are going let Flo go at the end of the year and move Davis to tackle. A guard would thus be needed. That guy should be Josh Beekman of Boston College. He will be a great back up and he could even push Kyle Koiser for his job at right guard.

Round #4:
The Cowboys have the 23rd (122nd Overall) pick in the fourth round. I think this is the point where the Cowboys should add a wide receiver. It is actually funny because they picked Skyler Green in the fourth round last year and it didn’t really work out. I think I have found just the right the guy for this pick. Craig Davis of LSU was often overshadowed by his counterpart Dwayne Bowe, but he without has skills to be a good receiver in the NFL. It might be a stretch to think he will be available here, but I think he will be and this pick would bring in some good competition for Austin and Hurd. So, I think Davis would be an excellent pick here.

Round #5:
The Cowboys have the 22rd (159th Overall) pick in the fifth round. I know it seems like I have been ignoring the secondary, but I am going to address that with this pick. Kenny Scott, a cornerback out of Georgia Tech, has been viewed as having a good upside. He is a bit undersized and he does have some off the field issues, but he ran a great 40 and he has a lot of starting experience. If Henry is going to be moved to safety Scott could be able to do a decent job taking his place. I know plugging in a rookie 5th rounder sounds crazy, but if he comes through it will make the Cowboys look like geniuses. So, I would definitely take Kenny Davis with this pick.

Round #6:
The Cowboys have the 21st (195th Overall) and the 26th (200th Overall) picks in the sixth round. The first of these should be used to replace Ryan Fowler at backup middle linebacker. I think that guy is going to be Kelvin Smith out of Syracuse. Smith is a four year starter and was originally recruited by current linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni. The second pick in this round should revert back to the offensive line. With Pat McQuistan as the only proven back-up tackle on the roster adding one here would be a good idea. Chris Denman of Fresno State would be an ideal fit. He is a good run blocker that will need to develop his pass blocking skills. He is a good project to embark on with this pick.


Quick Recap:
Round #1: Adam Carriker, defensive end, Nebraska
Round #2: Josh Beekman, offensive guard, Boston College
Round #4: Craig Davis, wide receiver, LSU
Round #5: Kenny Scott, cornerback, Georgia Tech
Round #6: Kelvin Smith, middle linebacker, Syracuse
Round #6: Chris Denham, offensive tackle, Fresno State