Cowboys Wide Receiver Position Very Crowded
There have been a lot of headlines linked to the Dallas Cowboys’ wide receiver position. Whether it’s Austin with his contract, Roy Williams with his lack of production, the drafting of Dez Bryant, or more recently Patrick Crayton requesting a trade. One thing is for sure heading into training camp next month, wide receiver is among our deepest and most crowded positions.
Many teams would be love to have the problem the Cowboys have at this position. From top to bottom of the depth chart, all the receivers bring different things to the team. Right now there are six quality receivers that are on the teams roster. When the season starts, there will only be five. Who will be the odd man out?
Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd have been the most discussed when it comes to getting the axe. This is because the team sees so much potential in Kevin Ogletree and because of Crayton and Hurds salaries. Crayton is due to make and 2 million this upcoming season and Hurd 1.7 million respectively.
With their salaries being so similar in cost, I highly doubt they keep both players on the opening day roster. Sam Hurd has been a valued asset on special teams. Patrick Crayton has been the ultimate team player and one of my favorite Cowboys over the years. He rose through the depth chart as a virtual unknown from a small college. Through the years, he has taken demotions like a professional and still went about his business.
I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping them both, but from a fiscal aspect it doesn’t make sense. If we are looking at this from the perspective of our team quality, I am not so sure the team would be better without one of them. I just hope we make sure whatever we do is best for the team for the upcoming season. This is the season the Cowboys need to take the next steps in beginning a new dynasty.
Ratliff Returns From Surgery
Jay Ratliff is one of those diamond in the roughs that Parcells found deep into the draft in 2005. I’m talking really deep, the seventh round to be precise. Through this time frame, Jay Ratliff has become one of the most dominant 3-4 nose tackles in the game and his return to the team is just as crucial as any of our other stars.
After the season concluded, Ratliff had minor surgeries on his elbow to remove bone spurts. They say minor surgery, but really how minor can surgery be? Either way, Ratliff has returned and is eager to get back to get back to work.
Ratliff returned just in time for this past weekends mini camp. He is one of the biggest assets to the defense giving ample pass rush from the the middle. He’s able to free up the middle line backers on run plays when he clogs the running lanes and Ratliff is able to rush from the middle very well commanding double teams from inside.
Give Jerry Jones some credit, he knew how good Ratliff could be and locked him up to a contract extension in the middle of the 2007 season. Since then, Ratliff has made the Pro Bowl the last two seasons and made the All Pro first team last year as well. The All Pro nod is very prestigious. In essence, it declares Ratliff as the best at his position.
Ratliff says the pain in his elbows are a thing of the past. This is good because this defense starts in the trenches and he’s as important as anyone. The team looks focused on the future and isn’t dwelling on the past. Each day the goal is to get better, that’s the attitude champions have to have.
Austin Signs, Proves He’s A Team Player
The drafting of Dez Bryant kind of put Miles Austin on the back burner this summer. Make no mistake about it though, we need Austin to play and play well for this team to take steps towards that Lombardi Trophy. Friday, after a long wait, Miles Austin decided to sign his restricted free agent tender, but is still looking for a long term deal.
In my opinion, wide receiver is not only the most overrated position, but also the most dramatized in the NFL. It’s nice to see a quality player like Austin focus on football and leave the business part of it up to his agent. History shows that Jerry Jones pays the players that deserve to be paid. I have no doubt Austin will get the long term deal he desires.
Austin has always had potential, but in that Kansas City game, he burst on the national scene. His size and quickness make him a valuable asset to this team. Roy Williams has been a terrible disappointment. Austin helped take some of the heat off of Williams because if the team didn’t win a playoff game Williams would have really been criticized.
The sky is the limit for Austin. You have to remember all he accomplished last season, including leading the NFC in receiving yards, was in a shortened season. Austin will be that much better when all this contract stuff gets worked out. Either way he proves his value as team player and as an all around class act by continuing to participate with the team through the contract negotiations.
Atogwe Not on Jones/Cowboys Radar
I’m not sure If I believe it, but last week Owner/GM Jerry Jones says the Cowboys are “ready to go” with the safeties they have on the team. With O.J. Atogwe still looking for a home, my instincts say that Jones is just trying to stay low key on his intentions with Atogwe.
There are plenty of teams looking for Atogwe’s services this upcoming season, none of which have been linked to the Cowboys. If Dallas were to bring in Atogwe, it would sure up a defensive backfield that has had plenty of problems in the past. The team must be pretty confident in our youngsters if they’re aren’t even entertaining the idea of bringing in a proven vet.
The price tag Atogwe wants may be the reason teams haven’t pulled the trigger on signing him. He wants somewhere in the range of seven million a year. He’s an elite safety, but not that elite. I know bringing him would inhibit the growth of some of the younger guys in big D, but for an immediate upgrade we should consider signing him.
There hasn’t been much to work with for free agents this offseason as far as safeties go. Sharper would have been an upgrade, but he was old and coming off an injury. Atogwe is still young (28) and he could have his best years with a star on his helmet.
I’m not saying we should definitely sign him, but the front office better take a long hard look at this guy. If this upcoming season our safeties are getting torched by the likes of the Colts, Vikings, and Saints (all of whom are on our schedule) I’m going to look at this missed opportunity as a key source to our problems.
Cowboys Kicker Position Still in Question
The Cowboys’ achilles heal, the kicker position, has yet to be addressed this offseason. I am shocked we have left such a vital position left to the unproven leg of David Buehler. This position has been quite the conundrum for as long as I can remember.
David Buehler will enter the 2010 season with the kicker job and it’s his to lose. It intrigues me that the Cowboys front office has not put more of an emphasis on this position through free agency. Maybe they see something in Buehler that we haven’t, but it seems to me like we are taking a very big risk with an unproven kicker.
The Cowboys have had a carousel of kickers and investing in a proven leg seems like the route to go. We’ve drafted and came up short (i.e. Nick Folk), we’ve signed free agents and came up short (i.e. Mike Vanderjagt). I admit that when we signed Vanderjagt, he was one of the better kickers statistically, but we picked him after the Colts released him. His release should have been some kind of indication he was on the decline.
The point is we don’t have security in an area that changes the outcome of games. Matt Stover, a Dallas native, is still on the market. He’s getting older, but he has been one of the more consistent kickers over this past decade. The fact that he’s a Dallas native should be icing on the cake, but instead we take the unproven route with Buehler.
If the coaches and front office are wrong about Buehler, our kicking woes will continue. We would have wasted yet another draft pick on a kicker and we would be in panic mode to find a replacement. The Cowboys are primed for a super bowl run, but we need all the pieces in place. Kickers are a key part to winning football games.
