Coleman and Johnson Depart

Kenyon Coleman, the Cowboys thrid option at defensive end left in free agency to join the Jets. Coleman was a solid contributor after the Cowboys switched to the 3-4 and he will be missed. Coleman primarily played on thrid down situations and usually provided a good pass rush, something that Spears and Canty seem to have difficulty with these day. Coleman will be playing the same type of role in New York. He was not considered one of the Cowboys priorties because they probably feel that Jason Hatcher is ready for a bigger role in the defense. While I do think Hatcher is ready for a bigger role, it would have nice to have Coleman back as an insurance policy. If one of the defensive ends gets hurt, we would only have two ends with experience.

As I predicted Al Johnson was not retained by the team, however he did sign with the Cardinals. As a second round pick he was ultimalty a disapointment. When he was picked, he was expeced to start at center with Gurode playing right guard. This experiment lasted for one season before the Cowboys realized they were better off with Gurode at center. Parcells frequently said that Johnson was not the right size to play center. Johnson was considered too tall and he frequently found himself getting toppled over from the bottom. Some people around the league, like the Cardinals, believe he is still capable of being a good player in the NFL, but I would not expect to hear much about him again.