There are several possible scenarios that could play out over the shortened free agency period, whenever it begins. First things first; the Cowboys have to clear up some cap space if big-name guys are to be brought in.

Right tackle Marc Colombo and running back Marion Barber are both expected to be released, if not traded, ridding  the Cowboys of their hefty contracts. Dallas drafted both players’ successors with USC offensive tackle Tyron Smith and Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray.

Still, the Cowboys need a safety. Three names jump out at Jones when looking over the free agent class, including the Oakland Raiders’ Michael Huff, the Chicago Bears’ Danieal Manning, and the New Orleans Saints’ Darren Sharper. All of those guys would make an immediate notable impact for the Cowboys, especially on special teams with a great return guy like Manning.

There are a few other guys whose names are quite as flashy, but would more than get the job done in Bid D. The New York Jets’ Brodney Pool was a beast in the Big Apple over the last half of the 2011 season and would definitely be a thriftier selection guys like Huff and Sharper.

Other cheaper options in addition to Pool include the Philadelphia Eagles’ Quintin Mikell and the Cincinnati Bengals’ Gibril Wilson. Jones will obviously go after the bigger names first, but will definitely sign a free agent safety sometime this off-season.

That means Alan Ball will most likely return to cornerback and become an emergency option at safety if he is retained. Akwasi Owusu-Ansah could easily find himself in a starting position if the Cowboys cannot resign Gerald Sensabaugh. With Ball and Sensabaugh both free agents as well, the safety positions could get a complete makeover with new faces in free agency.

Here’s the most likely scenario: Jones does not resign Sensabaugh, but does keep Ball. The Cowboys go out and sign Huff, whom Jones will most likely overpay and then hold steady at the other safety position with Owusu-Ansah, Barry Church and Danny McCray.

Then again, Jones is also very likely to get rid of both Ball and Sensabaugh and then signing two new safeties like Huff and Pool. Either way, knowing Jerry, there will be change. Everyone knows he can’t keep the status quo very long. That would be way to easy.

The Dallas Cowboys have a safety problem that’s growing by the day and we’re not talking about the ice falling from the roof of Cowboys Stadium. The Cowboys need to replace Alan Ball at free safety and now may need a replacement for Gerald Sensabaugh at strong safety. There are several candidates still on the market for Dallas to explore.

Sensabaugh is a free agent this off season and has wanted a long-term deal with Dallas since he joined the team in 2009. The eight-year veteran said he will test the free agent market and that report was confirmed by his agent, Kevin Conner, on Tuesday. With a new collective bargaining agreement still not intact, there’s no telling where Sensabaugh may end up.

If Sensabaugh signs with another team, the Cowboys will have to find two new safeties for 2011. This coming after Dallas made it clear that it is not confident enough to start second-year pro Akwasi Owusu-Ansah. Fortunately, there are seven free agent safeties still on the market.

The Browns’ Abram Elam could be reunited with Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan if singed by the Cowboys. Philadelphia’s Quintin Mikell once knocked Dallas tight end Jason Witten’s helmet off, but could possibly become his teammate. The Ravens’ Dawan Landry would be an excellent addition to the Cowboys’ defense as he would fit in great under Ryan because he played under Ryan’s twin brother, Rex Ryan in Baltimore.

The Jets’ Brodney Pool has been a part of one of the NFL’s top defenses the last two seasons under Rex Ryan and could bring a tenacity that Dallas hasn’t seen since Darren Woodson retired. Danieal Manning of the Bears wouldn’t be the greatest fit in the world, but many analysts said that about Sensabaugh. The Chargers’ Eric Weddle would be better than nothing.

Finally, the Cowboys are most interested in Oakland Raiders free agent safety Michael Huff. The Texas product is a native of Irving, Texas, and grew up a Cowboys fan. He fits the Rob Ryan scheme perfectly as he played under Ryan in Oakland and was drafted with Ryan’s influence in 2006. Furthermore, Huff has already expressed interest in joining America’s Team.

Regardless of what happens, the Cowboys must find help for the secondary if Owusu-Ansah is not to be promoted to a starting role. Heck, there’s even talk of Dallas trading cornerback Terence Newman to move up in the draft and take LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson. The Cowboys already missed out on free agent safeties Bob Sanders and OJ Atogwe. Whatever happens, the Cowboys need to do it and do it now.

Whether you like it or not (and I don’t), the Dallas Cowboys have placed LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson at the top of the team’s draft board. That means the Cowboys will draft Peterson when the team is on the clock with the No. 9 overall pick if he is available. But wait; it gets better. Reports have surfaced that the Cowboys has already contacted some of the eight teams ahead of them in the draft about trading up to get Peterson. Who gets included in that trade? One, Dallas cornerback Terence Newman.

So basically, the Cowboys are offering to trade Newman for a college cornerback. Boy, that sounds like a great move; a 2-time Pro Bowler for a kid who has yet to step foot on an NFL field. I’ve already stated I don’t think Dallas should take Peterson or any other defensive back with the No. 9 overall pick. Tony Pauline of Sports Illustrated has confirmed Peterson’s placement on the Cowboys’ draft board and the trade talks. Furthermore, he claims Dallas will cut Newman to afford Peterson’s lucrative rookie contract if the veteran and his $9 million contract cannot be traded.

Personally, I think this is a terrible move as is any that includes Dallas giving up a player to acquire a defensive back. If anything, the Cowboys need help at free safety instead of cornerback. I don’t really think a personnel change is necessary there, either. Second-year pro Akwasi Owusu-Ansah will most likely take over at free safety in 2011 and prove the Cowboys do not need another player. Then again, this is Jerry Jones we’re talking about here. Like I always say, nothing he does surprises me.

It’s no secret the Dallas Cowboys are looking to improve at safety. After the experiment of moving Alan Ball from cornerback failed miserably, Dallas will be looking to make some personnel changes in the secondary heading into 2011. There’s an Irving, Texas, native who is a free agent and apparently interested in joining his hometown team.

Safety Michael Huff grew up a Cowboys fan while attending Nimitz High School and later the University of Texas. Huff is a free agent and sources say the Oakland Raiders are not bending over backward to resign him. The 28-year-old will be entering his seventh NFL season in 2011 and is a much better option at free safety than Ball.

Huff is extremely effective against the pass, both in coverage and blitzing. Not only is Huff a very appealing player for the safety-starved Cowboys, but he has ties with new Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. When Huff was drafted seventh overall by Oakland in 2006, Ryan was the defensive coordinator for the Raiders.

After the Cowboys did not make an attempt at free agent safeties Bob Sanders or OJ Atogwe, analysts knew Dallas team owner and general manager Jerry Jones was up to something. Huff may be Jones’ backup plan if second-year Cowboy Akwasi Osusu-Ansah doesn’t pan out at safety.

My good friend Micah Harp is a genius. Not only did he give me two fantastic deals on my new wife’s engagement ring and wedding band, but he’s also an avid Dallas Cowboys fan who knows his football. By the way, check out Micah’s Jewelers for all your jewelry needs. He’ll take good care of you. When I went by to see him over the weekend, Micah told me about his plan to fix the Cowboys’ secondary. Trust me; you haven’t thought of it already and it will blow your mind.

If you paid any attention to the Cowboys this season, you noticed the poor secondary play by two former Pro Bowlers and one free safety experiment that went horribly wrong. Everyone has had their ideas and opinions on how to fix this problem for the 2011 season, but Micah has by far the most interesting and surprisingly plausible. The move involves bringing in at least one (and possibly two) big-time free agents and moving some familiar faces to new positions.

Micah gave me a very interesting and vital piece of information while pitching his plan. First, he definitely thinks Dallas should sign Oakland Raiders free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha during the offseason. I totally agree with him and posted an article about the Cowboys pursuing Asomugha last week. That was only the first step in Micah’s plan, though. Then he said we should start Asomugha and Mike Jenkins at the corners and move longtime Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman to free safety.

Whoa! That blew my mind and sounded fantastic! But then Micah quickly added another aspect (the interesting piece of information mentioned above) that made the deal even better. Micah told me about Denver Broncos free agent cornerback Champ Bailey expressing his desire to move to safety to prolong his career. Think about it! What if we had Asomugha, Newman, and Jenkins for cornerbacks and then Gerald Sensabaugh and Bailey at the safeties?! Or even put Newman and Bailey at safeties and then just Asomugha and Jenkins at the corners.

Of course, we would have to get rid of guys like Alan Ball and Orlando Scandrick to clear up cap space, but we’d still have depth with all the young guys like Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Barry Church, Danny McCray, and Bryan McCann. It’s genius, right?! Kudos to Micah for his fantastic jewelry store and his football knowledge. Comment what you think of this plan and be sure to check out Micah’s Jewelers on Facebook as well.

Run Jerry Jones out of town! Just kidding…..Realistically, now that the Dallas Cowboys’ disappointing 2010 season has ended, it’s time for analysts and writers like me to review the season. No, I’m not talking about those articles that come out the day after the season ends entitled: “The Dallas Cowboys 2010 Season Review.” I’m talking about 10-12 articles that break down how Dallas can fix the problems it faced this season and avoid them next season. I hope you’ll enjoy these series of articles over the next few weeks and I hope you comment and/or write your own under our Write for Us section. You’ll find a preview of these articles below.

Defensively, we’ll break down the Cowboys’ defensive line, inside linebackers, outside linebackers, and secondary. We’ll discuss why each of those groups were or weren’t successful in 2010 and how they can be very successful in 2011. We’ll discuss the run-stopping ability of the defensive line and inside linebackers. We’ll also talk about incorporating Sean Lee into the mix more as well.

The outside linebackers need better play-calling defensively to get more sacks and create more turnovers and the hiring of new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is the first step toward doing that. In the secondary, we’ll rant and rave a little bit about the poor play of former Pro Bowl cornerbacks Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman before we get really in-depth about how the Cowboys will use younger players like Akwasi Owusu-Ansah to make the secondary a feared unit once again.

Offensively, we’re going back to fundamentals. We’ll start with quarterback Tony Romo, and critique his footwork, throwing motion, accuracy, and ability to read coverages. We’re definitely going to talk about making the Cowboys’ running game the lethal weapon it should have been in 2010. That includes getting Tashard Choice more involved not only in the backfield rotation, but especially the Wildcat formation. We’ll discuss how and why the Cowboys will use more 2 and 3-back sets in 2011 to be more successful.

In the passing game, we’re going to start up front. The offensive line needs to be more disciplined and in better shape. We’ll even talk a little draft because the O-line is where Dallas needs to improve depth the most of any unit on the team. Then we’ll go to the skill positions. We’ll talk about how receivers Miles Austin and Dez Bryant can be more successful by improving their timing and chemistry not only with Romo, but also with each other. That includes keeping tight end Jason Witten extremely involved at all points on the field, but especially in the red zone. Believe it or not, we’ll also find a way to make Roy Williams a successful part of this offense.

Finally, we’ll talk about the offensive play-calling. Head coach and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett did a good job of keeping the offense balanced toward the end of the season, but that was after Romo was out with a broken collarbone. We’ll keep Garrett under wraps on his pass happy tendencies with Romo and keep this offense well-balanced. That means becoming more aggressive with the play-calling while still remaining disciplined and executing well. Whether you think it’s possible or not, we’ll fix the Cowboys in the next few weeks. Stay tuned to The Cowboys Central for all your Cowboys news and reviews.

As far as finances go, he really won’t, to tell you the truth. Just one player makes the Cowboys heavy at cornerback with Terence Newman collecting $9 million annually. Add that to whomever the team takes with the No.9 overall pick in April’s draft and that’s a hefty sum of dough going to just two players every year. Of course, that number only gets heavier if the Cowboys use their top pick on LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Imagine Dallas paying Newman, Peterson a combined $16 million every year. If that happened, then the Cowboys would not be able to resign Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick when their contracts expire in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Jenkins is currently earning just under $800,000 per year and Scandrick just under $500,000. Those numbers will have to be higher if Dallas expects to keep either player when the time comes for new contracts. Oh, and we haven’t even started on the real problem yet: free safety.

The good news is rookie safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah will be a Cowboy at least through 2014, when his rookie contract expires. The best part of that is his talent and potential cost the Cowboys less than $500,000 per year. He’s making less than current starting free safety Alan Ball and will most likely take over Ball’s spot in 2011. The other safety spot is a problem as well, with strong safety Gerald Sensabaugh currently an unrestricted free agent. Sensabaugh’s played his second season in Dallas under a 1-year tender worth $1,815,000. After another solid season as the starter, Sensabaugh will be looking for a new contract as well.

As for Asomugha’s fit with the Cowboys as a player, he would make the Dallas secondary one of the best in the league. Not only would he make big plays and shut down opposing receivers, but he would also prompt Jenkins and Newman to play better so as not to be outshined. His presence would also make younger guys like Jenkins and rookies Barry Church, Bryan McCann, and Danny McCray step up their games to keep their roster spots.

Seeing Asomugha’s in a Cowboys jersey would definitely bring excitement to Dallas, which is Jones’ primary concern. As we saw at the end of this season, Jones is more focused on winning every game possible than to build for the future. So why wouldn’t he dish out the cash to bring in a guy like Asomugha? He would and won’t surprise me a bit if he does. His thinking is that he can have all his star players for at least the next two seasons, which is when he’ll cash in all his chips for a shot at the Super Bowl. Jones doesn’t care if he loses Jenkins and Scandrick as long as they bring him a Super Bowl on their way out. It’s really early in this speculation, but keep an eye on the guy from Oakland with a funny name, Cowboys fans.

First of all, Peterson may very well not be there when the Cowboys’ first pick rolls around. I’d be a fool to tell you that none of the first 8 teams to pick are looking very closely at the top defensive back in the draft. Oh, and that’s another thing; Peterson just finished his junior season as LSU, so even though he’s eligible to enter the draft, he could very well stick around for his senior year in Baton Rouge.

Anyway, let me remind you that the Cowboys added four rookie defensive backs to the active roster throughout this season. The most recent of which you might remember is cornerback Bryan McCann, an undrafted SMU alumnus who returned an interception and punt back for touchdowns in only 9 games this year. Safeties Danny McCray and Barry Church played the entire season, mostly in relief of the most important of this quartet of rookie cover guys.

You might remember Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, the Cowboys’ 4th-round pick in the 2010 draft. Owusu-Ansah was placed on injured reserve after 7 games this season due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in the Cowboys’ loss to the Jaguars on Halloween. Here’s my prediction for the Indiana, Penn. product; he will be the starting free safety next season over Alan Ball. That’s an entire article in itself, but the point is Owusu-Ansah will start along with Gerald Sensabaugh at the safety spots, granted that Sensabaugh resigns in the off-season. So with McCann, Church, and McCray making plays and proving they’re more than capable of playing in multiple cornerback sets beside Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins, there’s no reason to use a draft pick on another defensive back. There’s no reason to use a top 10 pick on one, anyway. If you’re just itching with anticipation to know who the Cowboys should really take No. 9 overall, don’t worry; with the draft coming up soon, I’ll have tons of information about it. Stay tuned.

One thing that has gone unnoticed in the Cowboys’ 33-20 victory over the Giants is the defensive leadership and play-calling of new defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni. I wrote last week that Pasqualoni should have gotten the new Dallas head coaching job instead of Jason Garrett, and he showed why on Sunday. You can yak all you want about New York’s 480 yards of total offense and quarterback Eli Manning’s 373 passing yards and two touchdowns. The proof is in the pudding; on Sunday, the Giants experienced what the Cowboys have all season long. New York piled up a town of yards, but the Dallas defense stood up in the red zone and when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter. That is something we’ve been waiting for all season from this unit that ranked 9th in the NFL last season. The reason for the sudden turnaround could easily be Pasqualoni. Whether you agree or not, stop and think about the reason the Cowboys won the game in the first place. I don’t want to hear an utterance about the red-headed guy who recently got a big promotion.

After the Cowboys placed rookie safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah on injured reserve last week, undrafted rookie defensive back Bryan McCann was brought up from the practice squad. I’ll accredit that to Pasqualoni, but I have to acknowledge McCann’s intelligence as well. I’m talking about the rookie’s 101-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter. With both Dallas cornerbacks Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins banged up early in the game, McCann was called on to cover New York’s top receiver, Hakeem Nicks, deep in the red zone. That’s no easy task for an undrafted rookie, but McCann proved he’s no scrub. Following the win, McCann told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he knew what route Nicks was going to run on that third-and-goal from the Dallas two-yard line. McCann said that he learned from watching game film that Nicks shakes his shoulders when he runs an inside route, but doesn’t when he goes down the sideline. “As soon as he came off the line he was shaking, shaking, shaking,” McCann said, “and I knew immediately he wasn’t trying to get the fade, because if he was he would have had to go right off the line. So I just jumped inside and was able to make the play.”
Now I don’t know enough about McCann to tell you if Pasqualoni was the reason for his studiousness or if the rookie is just that bright. Either way, McCann has definitely earned himself a roster spot for the foreseeable future. The SMU product also recorded five tackles in the win and returned one kickoff 21 yards. I’ll be honest; McCann wasn’t perfect and neither were any other Cowboys’ defensive backs. However, McCann made the play in the red zone to keep the Giants from scoring, even after New York had driven the length of the field. The secondary has been awful the entire season, giving up over 230 yards per game through the air. However, the Pittsburgh Steelers have given up even more than that, but they have a winning record. Yards can lie, but red zone stats do not.

As I’ve said, there are many reasons listed for Cowboys’ victory, but I have yet to hear Pasqualoni’s name mentioned. I’m a huge fan of Dallas’ new defensive signal caller and I firmly believe he was a huge positive influence on Sunday’s victory. The Cowboys beat a red-hot team on a five-game winning streak whose offense has been the definition of electric lately. Don’t get me wrong, the Cowboys’ offense was good, too. Don’t worry, I’ll give the offensive players their due.

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Spears’ injury depletes the Dallas defensive line, a unit that has failed to produce over the past three weeks. Hatcher is currently nursing a groin injury he suffered against the Giants on October 25 while rookie defensive tackle Sean Lissemore will be out 4-6 weeks with an ankle injury he suffered in the loss to Green Bay. With these situations on top of the two moves to IR, Dallas signed defensive ends Jeremy Clark and Jimmy Saddler-McQueen on Wednesday. Clark was cut from the Cardinals’ practice squad this summer after short spells on the Falcons’ and Eagles’ practice squads. He has only appeared in four NFL games, all with the Giants in 2008. Saddler-McQueen was with Dallas this summer, but was let go in the final preseason cuts. He is now back with the Cowboys after also being cut from the Rams’ practice squad.