~~!!!Dallas Cowboys Offseason Thread Vol. Who Stays, Who Goes!!!~~

[nestasprotege]

The clock is running out for this group of players. Tony Romo, Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware have two years of elite play, at best, left in the tank. We have a solid core of young talent, but desperately need to improve our pass rush, defensive backfield and O-line.

We have pick #14 in the first round. I can see us taking the best available cornerback, DL/OLB or OL in that order.

I have read preliminary estimates, after cutting Terrence Newman, of potentially 20+ million in cap space. We must decide if Laurent Robinson is worth what he gets from the market. Are players like Martellus Bennett and Alan Ball worth another year of "service?"

In my opinion, next year is all-in time for Jerry Jones. He isn't getting any younger and Tony Romo played his best season this year. Only 6-10 teams enjoy the type of quarterback play the Cowboys are getting and they need to take advantage of it while they still can.

I will try to update this thread when major news stories hit the web.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – If there is any consolation for missing the playoffs, the Cowboys will likely feel it come April in the NFL Draft.

By finishing 8-8, the Cowboys will get the 14th overall pick in the first round. Dallas is one of seven teams with an even .500 record but will pick second among those teams.

It will be the second time to have a Top 15 pick in consecutive years since they drafted eighth in 2002 and fifth in 2003.

Had the Cowboys defeated the Giants, they would've been at least 21st in the draft order.

Here are the first 20 picks of the teams that missed the playoffs.

1.Indianapolis (2-14)
2.St. Louis (2-14)
3.Minnesota (3-13)
4.Cleveland (4-12)
5.Tampa Bay (4-12)
6.Washington (5-11)
7.Jacksonville (5-11)
8.Carolina (6-10)*
9.Miami (6-10)*
10.Buffalo (6-10)
11.Kansas City (7-9)
12.Seattle (7-9)
13.Arizona (8-

14.Dallas (8-

15.Philadelphia (8-

16.NY Jets (8-

17.Oakland (8-

18.San Diego (8-

19.Chicago (8-

20.Tennessee (9-7)

(*The Carolina-Miami order will be decided by a coin flip.)

2012 Opponents Set

Because they were swept by the Eagles, the Cowboys finish third in the NFC East, meaning they will play the third-place finishers in the NFC North and NFC West next year.

With that, the Cowboys will play at Seattle and host the Bears. That's at least better than facing Green Bay and San Francisco.

Here are the opponents for next year. The full schedule is typically announced by the NFL in April.

Home: Pittsburgh, Cleveland, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Chicago, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington.

Away: Baltimore, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Carolina, Seattle, NY Giants, Philadelphia, Washington.

Not So Sneaky

Although the outcome ultimately cost them clock time and little else, the offense missed a scoring opportunity at the start of the fourth quarter when quarterback Tony Romo got stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sneak at the Giants' 10-yard line.

On third-and-7, Romo found tight end Jason Witten across the middle for six yards and then moved to the line quickly, trying to snap the ball and get the extra yard before the Giants' defense could get set.

"The call comes in from the sideline, but I agreed with the call," Romo said. "Obviously we would have liked to have gotten it. They did a good job getting ready for it."

The Giants went three-and-out on the next series and Romo needed only three plays to find Laurent Robinson for a 6-yard touchdown pass that made the score 21-14. Three minutes and 40 seconds ticked off between then and Romo's failed sneak.

"It was one of those decisions where we were down two touchdowns at the time and we had been moving the football really well," head coach Jason Garrett said, "and we thought we had a good opportunity to cash in and get a touchdown at that point and make it a one-score game with the time that we had left.

"That was an opportunity we tried to be aggressive with, and they just made a really good play."

-Rob Phillips

Streaks & Milestones:

[*]With 300 total yards on Sunday, the Cowboys finished the year with 6,008 yards, the second-highest single-season total in franchise history, trailing only the 6,390 set in 2009. The Cowboys had the seventh-highest in 2007 (5,851) and eight-best in 2010 (5,82.

[*]With two touchdown catches, Laurent Robinson became the eighth different player to have double-digit TD grabs in a season and it marks the fifth time in the last six seasons.

[*]Had Dez Bryant (nine) or Miles Austin (seven) gotten to double figures, it would've been the first time in franchise history to have two players with at least 10 TD catches.

[*]For the third time in his career, Tony Romo surpassed the 4,000-yard mark in a season. Romo finished with 4,184 yards this year, becoming the 14th player in NFL history to have at least three 4,000-yard seasons.

[*]Romo now has the three highest passing seasons in franchise history. His 4,184 yards in 2011 in the third-best, trailing his 4,483 yards in 2009 and 4,211 yards in 2007.

[*]With 31 TD passes, Romo becomes the 19th quarterback in NFL history to have more than one season of at least 30 TD tosses. Romo holds the franchise record with 36 set in 2007.

[*]Romo just missed tying his single-season record for completions. He finished with 346 this year, one short of the franchise-record 347 in 2007.

[*]Romo's 102.5 quarterback rating is the highest he's finished for an entire season.

[*]DeMarcus Ware just missed becoming the first player in NFL history to have two 20-sack seasons in his career. Ware finished with 19.5 sacks.

[*]Jason Witten finished the year with a team-high 79 catches. It's the fifth time in his career to lead the team.

[*]With 942 receiving yards, Witten now owns the top six single-season marks by a Cowboys tight end.





 

 

[GL Rayner]

Originally Posted by nestasprotege

The clock is running out for this group of players. Tony Romo, Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware have two years of elite play, at best, left in the tank. We have a solid core of young talent, but desperately need to improve our pass rush, defensive backfield and O-line.

We have pick #14 in the first round. I can see us taking the best available cornerback, DL/OLB or OL in that order.

I have read preliminary estimates, after cutting Terrence Newman, of potentially 20+ million in cap space. We must decide if Laurent Robinson is worth what he gets from the market. Are players like Martellus Bennett and Alan Ball worth another year of "service?"

In my opinion, next year is all-in time for Jerry Jones. He isn't getting any younger and Tony Romo played his best season this year. Only 6-10 teams enjoy the type of quarterback play the Cowboys are getting and they need to take advantage of it while they still can.

I will try to update this thread when major news stories hit the web.

 

Dallas needs to revamp their whole secondary. Laurent Robinson is def. a keeper. Jerry really needs to fix the OL if possible.
  

 

[da doc03]

yup... entire secondary should go.

 

[jmause3]

Bennett, Newman, and Ball all need to be gone. Free needs to restructure his contract. I believe DB needs to be addressed with two picks. We need to decide if Victor Butler cand Spebcer because his time is just about up. We need to resign Fiametta and see how much Robinson is going to cost.

The schedule doesnt do us any favors next year with the AFC North and NFC South

I dont feel any more comfortable with Scandrick on the island than i did woth Newman. If we are going to stick with the 3-4 its time to get a big body at NT and stop milking Ratliff there, its killing his body.

I expect the o-line to get better but the defense has many issues

 

[jd214]

Originally Posted by Da Doc03

yup... entire secondary should go.

This.

Starting with Alan Ball.

 

[rashi]

All the great teams in the league have a "hands off" owner.

 

[jthagreat]

Our secondary has been horrible for at least 6 straight years, outside of the #'s Dware puts up, we get absolutely no pressure on the qb.

solve those issues and we can be decent.

GET RID OF GARRETT AND GET A COACH WHO WILL GET IN A PLAYER'S A!! WHEN THEY F!!! UP. I WANT COWHER.

 

[nestasprotege]

Let's just go out a limb and say the ******** sign Matt Flynn. Then proceed to draft Justin Blackmon or Michael Floyd. We barely beat them this year by 2 late field goals.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Eagles will finish better than 8-8 and challenge for the division next year. The New York Giants aren't getting any younger, but have the best defense in the division. We went 2-4 against our division this year.

We play Seattle away and Cleveland and Tampa at home. We will lose one of those. We are looking at a potential 6 win season with our schedule if we are lucky. My God.

 

[T0INE]

Originally Posted by rashi

All the great teams in the league have a "hands off" owner.

Fair point.

I don't see Jerry relinquishing any of his power anytime soon though.

The defense needs to be totally revamped. Anyone not named Ware, Ratliff, Jenkins (I'll give him a pass because he wasn't healthy all season) and Lee need to go.

We need some secondary help via either free agency or the draft.

On the offensive side, more O-Line help is needed, Martellus Bennett needs to be gone, and we need to re-sign Robinson.

Also Dez needs to be a more focal part of the offense. It's inexplicable how little he was targeted in the 2nd half of games for most of the season.

 

[Peep Game]

If Jerry Jones still owns the Cowboys, it won't matter what happens, and that's fine by me.

 

[N41D]

If you're not Romo, Ware, Ratliff, Lee, Miles, probably Dez, Witten or Tyron Smith, you need to be on notice as far as I'm concerned...

Bennett, gone. Ball, gone. Newman, gone. Elam, gone. Brooking, James, Spencer, gone. I'd boot Jenkins, but I don't know that you can from a sheer numbers standpoint...

Why did Sensabaugh and Scandrick get extensions? They both ought to have been on pink slip notice this offseason as well...

This defense is so damn thin and completely lacking in playmakers.

 

[kevin cleveland]

If you're not Romo, Ware, Ratliff, Lee, Miles, probably Dez, Witten or Tyron Smith, you need to be on notice as far as I'm concerned...
Murray and Fiammetta. I would add Jenkins just because I feel like he's a victim of bad safety play a lot (Newman is too old, regardless, and Scandrick really is that bad all on his own). And Robinson, at the likeliness that the defense will still suck because it has went unanswered for years, and it will take lots of points to win games.

It will be hard for me to say goodbye to Ball, though. Who else is going to make me laugh like he does?

 

[airjordan jb23]

Agreed about the secondary... O-Line needs a lot of help as well.

They have their work cut out for them this offseason.

 

[essential1]

Rob Ryan First and Foremost...

Jason Garrett...


Should get the trash can lid to the side of the head then told get the f out..



Romo needs to see a Sports Shrink as to what the hell he is thinking at some times...
Running back we are good
Fullback we are good
Wide Receiver we are lovely
TE Bennett could go... I'm mad he's been a disappointment,,,But otherwise we are good
OL We need someone who can snap the ball.... I think we are pretty good at Guard.. Tyron is a beast, I can live with Doug Free.. A LG would be nice and a good C..
DL I think we are good.. But we could use a DE
OLB Great
MLB Anyone younger than Brooking
CB Just awful, but I think Scandrick & Jenkins can play well (hopefully

... We need 2 DB's by my assumptions)
S Just replace them with whatever
K Good.. Bailey was screwed this season
P McBriar is and always will be that guy..


In shot what we need:
Backup QB, Left Guard, Center, Defensive End, Middle Linebacker, 2 Corners, Free Safety, Strong Safety, Head Coach, Defensive Coach.

 

[gmsboy1]

-Pass rush is our biggest priority IMO. The one year we led the league in sacks is the only season the secondary has looked decent.
We need bruce carter to emerge and at least two more pass rush guys for the rotation.
- Then some o-linemen
- Figured this was newmans last year, ever since scrandrick got extended. Its unrealistic to wish for everyone cut in the secondary.
definitely need to add a corner. Random but i'd like to see ko simpson brought in for a workout. liked him coming out the draft and he is
a FA. Just couldn't stay healthy
- I'm sold on Romo. He turned it around after the bye.

 

[N41D]

If the numbers make sense I'm all for Robinson being back as the #3 receiver... Just don't get stupid.

Murray is the starter at RB into next year but that's a spot I don't pass up a player if they fell to into my lap in the first couple of rounds... Murray is fragile and I've grown to hate Felix.

 

[thachosen123]

I don't care if he didn't have a role in the base D this year Bruce Carter needs to start next to Sean Lee next year......let Spencer walk, find another OLB opposite of demarcus.......and the most obvious, the secondary must be revamped to have ANY type of improvement next year



I'm still dumbfounded as to why Jerry gave sense that 5yr extension

.......he's horrible at everything

 

[nestasprotege]

Is Spencer the problem or is our system the problem? It seems like we are looking for our ends to make more of a splash getting to the quarterback, but that isn't necessarily the job of 3-4 DE. In that light, Spencer is the problem and we need to upgrade. On the flip side, With D Ware coming 98% of the time, is the most important aspect of the 3-4 (where is the 4th rusher coming from) essentially null and void?

 

[nestasprotege]

Reports: Campo Not Expected To Return

IRVING, Texas – Dave Campo is not expected to return as Cowboys secondary coach in 2012, according to multiple reports Monday, and as indications around Valley Ranch have been since the season ended a week ago.

The team has made no official comment, though, and is unlikely to do so regarding any staff departures unless a new hire is made. Head coach Jason Garrett’s staff is off this week.

Campo is reportedly one of multiple assistants with expiring contracts. Head coach Jason Garrett declined to discuss his staff at his season-ending press conference last Monday. Team owner/GM Jerry Jones indicated that changes could be coming, saying last Friday on KRLD-FM, “We’ll give you better answers on that as we go over the next three weeks. That’s pretty much the way I’ll leave it.

 

[mr kuter]

Whats the over/under on Jerry Jones paying big money for peyton manning when he gets cut?

 

[polorico]

6 wins ? come on guys.......

Fix The defensive side of the ball.

 

[mrmundaynite]

Hopefully Ryan gets a head coaching job somewhere because he's awful as a D-Coordinator. He needs to go asap.

 

[alsdaman24]

They need 1-2 more legitimate passrushers, a young big interior OL, 2 MLBs to play wit Lee, Carter has to be ready to contribute, 2-3 good DBs. They got a lot of stuff to get which I dont think they'll get everything this offseason.

 

[polorico]

Cut the whole secondary.


Spencer is a good 2nd guy next to Dware...... Franchise him...

Address the o line , and secondary.

Cut the old Past the prime DEAD WEIGHT , if this team wants to do anything....

If we had a decent secondary cowboys go atleast 10-6

I dont even know why dudes would think of letting romo walk . To bring in who ? Manning who would give us 1 last good season , and maybe we get lucky and go to the playoffs?

im getting tired of this team , franchise and everything . I love them to much . The talent is there , but the building blocks and the verbal leaders are not.....

 

[nappy]

How about a new GM