EAGLES - And the season is off and running...

So it’s obviously been a while since I’ve updated, but now is as good a time as any as the Eagles have their first game under their belts. And wow, what a way to start off the season, even if it was against a struggling Rams team. It’s impossible not to be excited anytime the offense puts up 38 points, no matter who the opponent, but I was even more impressed with the defense. The Greatest Show on Turf the 2008 Rams are not, but Marc Bulger and Steven Jackson are still a legitimate threat when the O-line is healthy, and I expected the Rams O to put at least a pair of touchdowns on the board. The Eagles’ defensive line put pressure on Bulger early, and the young linebacker corp did a great job of stuffing the run. I’m really anxious to see how they do against Marion Barber next week, but I’m feeling extremely optimistic at this point.

Frankly, as much as I wanted to dropkick the TV every time Asante Samuel and co. dropped an interception, I was happy that they were making big coverage plays. I’d rather see the drops in games like that when we didn’t need the turnovers, so that hopefully they can come up with a few against the Cowboys or Steelers in the next two weeks. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one feeling major déjà vu watching one blown-interception after another yesterday, but if the shaky hands of the defensive backs is the biggest concern coming out of week 1, the Birds are in great shape. Now let’s just hope that they can turn those near-misses into huge plays in coming weeks.

And speaking of week 1… obviously the season-opener has not been a forte of the Andy Reid era, seeing as how they were 3-6 under Reid before yesterday. But looking back to this same Monday afternoon last season- holy shit what a difference a year makes. To be fair, I’m not ready to proclaim the Eagles legitimate Super Bowl contenders just yet, but how can you not notice the extraordinary difference in special teams between yesterday and a year ago? The crappy punt returning (or more accurately, the crappy decision-making by the coaches to not put more thought into the punt return prior to week 1) in the 2007 season opener against the Packers was easily one of the most depressing incidents I’ve ever witnessed. I know that I personally threw at least 3 breakable objects across the room over the course of that game before my roommates attempted to sedate me. I still believe that if the punt return disasters sprinkled throughout that Packers game hadn’t occurred, not only would they have certainly won that game but also they might have sucked less in later games, including that depressing Monday Night loss to the Redskins in week 2 where it just felt like the Birds were playing flat the entire game. Once they went 0-2, they spent the entire season unsuccessfully struggling to get above .500, losing one heartbreakingly close game after another.

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This year, DeSean Jackson made a big statement for the positive in week 1 punt returns. He may not have broken away for his first regular-season return touchdown just yet, but watching him maneuver down the field yesterday left me with no doubts that he’s going to be a huge force this year, whether it be on special teams, offense or both. He literally got better and more impressive with each punt return, starting out slow in the first quarter and eventually dazzling the crowd with returns of 18 and 60 yards in the third quarter, the former of which he was one tackle-from-behind from finding open grass all the way to the end zone. So yeah, the punt return is only one element of the game, but if last year taught us anything, it’s that this one little element can make or break a season. On the other side of special teams, the return coverage units did their job spectacularly; the Rams’ best starting field position all day was their own 25, and they were twice pinned at their own 2. The potential of specials this year, led by Jackson, combined with the fact that McNabb looked like vintage, healthy, pre-Mama-McNabb-blogging-escapades Donovan McNabb, set a much different tempo for this season.

And for those of you who think this game is nothing different from the misplaced optimism we took from the Detroit blow-out in week 3 last season – which, lest we forget, was followed up by the excruciating shit-show of a loss to the Giants the following week, including the 12-sack Winston Justice fiasco – I hear ya, cause it crossed my mind too, but I truly believe this time will be different. For one thing, despite putting up 56 points against the Lions in that game, I bet you remember that queasy feeling you had somewhere in your stomach about the 21 points we gave up in the first half. Yesterday, on the other hand, the D shut out the Rams for 3 quarters before eventually conceding a lone field goal. The defense also allowed a mere 166 yards all game and did not give up a single third-down conversion, which is about as stingy as a defense can get. Sure, it would have been nice to see a freaking turnover, but in a game where the D didn’t let the Rams into the red zone all afternoon, it’s really just unnecessary whining on my part at this point. Nevertheless, if the defense fails to hang onto an interception or force a fumble in the next couple weeks, I’ll be back to bitch about this.

Next week’s Monday night showdown against the Cowboys in Texas Stadium will obviously be a lot more telling about how much the Birds really have improved since last season. Of course, we did beat the Cowboys in our last meeting there, and there are no major holes that I can feasibly identify in the Eagles’ play thus far, so I’m thinking positively. I’ll even go so far as to say that I could potentially handle a loss to the ‘Girls, so long as McNabb and the O remain potent and the defense gets pressure on Romo. But I think we’ve got a fantastic shot next week so I’ll be eagerly counting down to MNF for the next 7 days.

This and that…

Back to the Cowboys- truthfully, although I was really hoping for a total Cowboys suck-fest yesterday against the Browns, they looked excellent to kick-off their season, and I think they will definitely (though unsurprisingly) be the team to beat in the NFC. The o-line was strong, the defense was solid, and Romo has 3 excellent receiving options in TO, Witten and Crayton. On the other hand, the Browns looked pretty terrible so as with the Eagles-Rams game, it’s difficult to tell how much of the win was on the Cowboys’ own merits versus how much of it was the Browns sucking. Next week will be a very important game for both Philly and Dallas.

I used to be a fan of Brett Favre, but after his predictably short-lived retirement, I’m getting a little bored of him. The veteran’s leadership of a squad of young but talented players was a feel-good story last year, but this year, the media’s ongoing felatio of Favre is just played out. While Favre and the gang masterminded a 6-point victory over the colossally craptacular Miami Dolphins, I was unimpressed with the geriatric QB in what I saw of the game. The commentators gigglishly fawned over him in the 2nd quarter on 4th and 13 when he chucked a “pass” into the air in a seizure-like motion in the general direction of the end zone that, by some miracle of God, WR Chansi Stuckey came down with in the end zone. It also didn’t hurt that any Dolphins defensive back within a 10-yard radius of Stuckey appeared to be filing his nails or generally running in the opposite direction of the ball. “Favre doing what Favre does best,” they feverishly gushed on TV. I can’t argue there; there’s nothing Favre does better, or at least with more frequency, than blindly heave passes in the air. I’m calling it now… 20+ interceptions for Favre this season.

I can’t skip over the opportunity to comment on the Ocho Cinco situation. Last spring, I was eager about the possibility of acquiring the receiver formerly known as Chad Johnson in a trade. I’ve always believed that he’s a less destructive version of TO; I enjoyed his river-dance and I figured he was goofy but harmless. Now I wonder. It’s not that the act of changing one’s name is such a big deal (albeit to something as stupid as Ocho Cinco, which isn’t even Spanish for eighty-five but rather for eight five, though I’ll concede that it’s catchier than Chad Ochenta y Cinco). It’s more the idea of, what idiot actually takes the time out his life to run to court to get it legally changed? Even king of the dumbasses himself, Terrell Owens spends less time than that thinking up lame touchdown celebration dances. Chad just took it too far. Jokingly pasting “Ocho Cinco” onto his jersey was funny. Legally changing his name to Chad Ocho Cinco is disconcerting. I’m now one of the growing mass of people who no longer cares who he gets traded to, so long as it’s a team that already has a #85, preferably one who refuses to switch jersey numbers. Oh, and I hope he doesn’t have any touchdown dances planned out just yet considering Carson Palmer couldn’t find the end zone if he river-danced into it. It looks to be a bad year for the Bengals.

GIANTS - Finally A Post from The Giants Fan - Umenyiora, Strahan, Lost Players and Draft Picks

For those who are under a rock, the recent breaking news for the New York Giants is that Osi Umenyiora is out for the season due to a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. Umenyiora's Injury. My first thought, is that we are done this season. How can we overcome losses of Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora? Strahan and Umenyiora are probably the two best players on the Giant's Defense (actually, check that, they are the best two) and two of the best leaders on the defense, other then maybe Antonio Pierce. Matt Mosley, in his NFC East Blog discussing Umenyiora's injury and Strahan's possible return, stated: "of all the players the Giants couldn't have afforded to lose, I think Umenyiora ranks right behind quarterback Eli Manning," and I think Mosley hit the nail head on. Giants 101 seems to believe that although losing Umenyiora is a big loss, the Giants will still be a good team. The article focused on how Reese got praise because of the depth he built and that the Giants success was not completely dependent on Umenyiora or Strahan. He has a good point, but I am not sure if we could lose so much depth from the defensive line (which was an area that was so good they covered for the Giant's shortcomings in other areas, like the secondary).

My second thought was that Strahan might come back. But I was not the only one thinking this. ESPN, smelling a story, included in its article about Umenyiora's injury a discussion between Coughlin and Strahan, though Coughlin said his conversation with Strahan was only about his new network job. But while watching Sportscenter this morning, there was a new story about Michael Strahan claiming that Strahan would consider coming back to the Giants. The article basically says that Strahan would be willing to come back for $8 million and Co-owner Steve Tisch said he would absolutely consider bringing back Strahan and Tom Coughlin said they were considering all options. Matt Mosley discussed whether Strahan would consider coming back. In his article Mosley states that Strahan, in his previous statements, has not sounded like a man having second thoughts about retirement. Mosley also stated that the Giants asking Strahan to play would force him to change his legacy of going out after winning a Super Bowl. Mosley also added that asking him to come back would put Strahan in an uncomfortable position as some fans would see him as disloyal if he didn't come back after being offered $8 million and if he does come back he could affect his legacy. However, Mosley finished by saying the Giants should do it because the situation "is not any worse then the one the Giants are in now."

Should the Giants bring Strahan back? How do they replace Umenyiora especially with all the other losses?

The biggest problem appears to be Strahan's stated high price tag and the fact that it is not clear Strahan has been working out or staying in shape, like he had in 2007 when he held out through the entire pre-season. Looking at fan comments made on ESPN's article about Strahan possibly coming back, it looks like Giants fans are divided, some think it is too much money to bring him back especially since he is out of shape, while others think it is the only way to save the season. Fan Comments on Strahan's Possible Return

My opinion is that we absolutely need to bring him back. I think the Giants cannot win any playoff games (and maybe not even make the playoffs) if we do not have either Umenyiora or Strahan. $8 million seems like a cheap price to pay to save the Giants' season. He may be out of shape, but he will probably be back to form after about 4 weeks; I'll take Strahan any day, any way. First, Strahan was third on our team in sacks with 9 (it will be hard to match that production, especially since we are moving Tuck from a role where he prospered by taking advantage of slower offensive guards and moving him to DE where he will face more athletic tackles); second, Strahan's sack total doesn't even state his full contribution on pass rushing, as he would constantly draw double teams; third, he still had a great ability to stop the run (he was seventh on the team in tackles and he has so much football awareness. Just yesterday I watched the Bucs-Giants playoff game, and noticed Strahan perfectly read a delayed running back screen to stop a possible first down. Fourth, and most importantly, his leadership on the field cannot be replaced.

But there is another reason to bring Strahan back, and that is what we must do if we do not bring him back. We lost several players from last year, mostly from our defense. From last year, our key losses would be Jeremy Shockey (TE), Reggie Torbor (LB), Kawika Mitchell (LB), Michael Strahan (DE) and Gibril Wilson (SS).

When the Giants lost these players, there were articles talking about these "huge" losses to the Giants, though most held that Strahan and Wilson were really the only big losses. (Giant's Defense Raided but not enough to slow it down and Giants Still have the best front four)

I thought all of these guys were replaceable other than Strahan. In the first round of the draft we picked Kenny Phillips, which I thought was a great pick. As I stated in an earlier post, there were debates whether the Giants should take Kenny Phillips or Tyrell Johnson with both Scout Inc's Pick by Pick Draft Analysis and Mel Kiper's Draft Grades and Analysis stating that they thought the Giants should have selected Tyrell Johnson (giving the Giants only a C+ largely because he thought we picked the Second Best Safety in the draft). But I think Phillips will be more then enough to replace Wilson. I liked Gibril Wilson, but he could not hold onto an interception for his life and his coverage skills were not that good. He is a hard hitter and is good against the run, but his inability to make interceptions and lacking in pass coverage makes him very replaceable.

While there have been a lot of comments about the Giant's weaknesses at Linebacker, especially with the Giants losing both Torbor and Mitchell, I didn't see it as a big deal and neither did many Giants fans. Torbor was a backup at best and only played due to injuries to Mathias Kiwanuka. Also as for Mitchell, the Giants really like Gerris Wilkinson and he was expected to take over for Mitchell. We also picked up Danny Clark from the Texans as a free agent. I thought Kiwanuka's return and Wilkinson and Clark were more then enough to replace Torbor and Mitchell.

And as for Strahan, even though I thought he could not be replaced, Justin Tuck proved last year he was ready to step into a role as starter at Defensive End (though there have been some questions about whether he would have as many sacks against more athletic Offensive Tackles then the Offensive Guards he lined up against), and with Spaugnolo calling the plays, he would get Kiwanuka involved at Linebacker as a pass rusher and the Giants just have incredible depth on the Defensive Line even without Strahan.

However, things have changed as a result of injuries, with the key injury being Umenyiora. First, starting with the injuries to minor players: First, Jonathan Goff (LB), our 5th round pick fractured his back and it is not clear how long he will be out or if he will be placed on the injured reserve. Goff's Injury. Second, Gerris Wilkinson started the year on the Physically Unable to Perform List and has not played many snaps, and he lost his job to Danny Clark. Wilkinson's Situation. Danny Clark was solid for the Texans last year with 51 tackles in 13 games, but was nothing special.

The injury to Umenyiora has forced the Giants to act, and barring the Giants signing Strahan, the Giants have already decided to move Kiwanuka back to the line. The NY Daily News printed an article discussing how Kiwanuka is ready to move back to the line if the Giants need him and Giants.com stated as Breaking News that Kiwanuka has officially been moved back to Defensive End. As the Daily News Article states, Kiwanuka would help ease the lost at Defensive End, as that is his most natural position and where he is most comfortable. Although as some commentators stated on Sportscenter, even though it is the most logical move top move Kiwanuka back to Defensive End, it would require taking a player who had finally adjusted to his new position at linebacker and puts him back to his old position and undoes all the progress her made. Next year, when Umenyiora returns there will be serious questions about what to do with Kiwanuka.

As one commentator stated, while Kiwanuka and Tuck are not as deadly a combo as Strahan and Umenyiora (combined Tuck on Third Down playing as Defenseive Tackle), but the Giants could do much worse. But the key loss will be at Linebacker. Right now if Kiwanuka does move to the line, that leaves Zak DeOssie (who has only played regular season games as a long snapper and special teams player) as first in the depth chart at Strongside Linebacker with 4th Round Pick Bryan Kehl as the backup, although Kehl has started a few snaps at Linebacker during the preseason when Kiwanuka was hurt. And on the weak side, the Giants only have a mediocre Danny Clark, and Gerris Wilkinson who has been hurt all year and so far has not been able to beat Clark for the starting job. This is not a great situation for the Giants linebacker corp.

Strahan coming back would either give us more depth at Defensive End, if Kiwanuka moved there, and this might be smart considering Strahan will not be at 100% for the first few weeks; or it would allow Kiwanuka to stay at Linebacker where we could use some help. So there are 5 really good reasons to Sign Strahan. I say sign him.

I will finish analyzing the draft, which I should have done ages ago, as well as their performance in training camp and pre-season games in the next post. I will also catch up on all the Summer Giants and other NFC East news.

The blog is back!

Posted by Taz

So the living hell caused by studying for the bar has not ended yet (the exam is next Tuesday to Thursday), but my head hurts from studying, so I'm going to give a few updates on things going on.

Cowboys: Why I'm fine with cutting Terry Glenn

In case if you have not heard, this happened today. Terry Glenn is finally cut. Jerry is claiming that he wants the young receivers to develop. This would probably explain why there has been little movement on the front. Unlike the rest of us, 1 million doesn't mean too much to Jerry if it gives him a better shot at the Super Bowl, so it's probably the explanation why there has been so much foot dragging on this issue.

Personally, I'm fine with it. While a healthy Terry Glenn is better than everyone's favorite split personality wide receiver (no one ever seems to think that TO could just be a complicated man...instead we are shocked when athletes do not have dumbed down personalities that any moron can relate to), it seems like his knee is going to go out. The fact that the team was pushing for microfracture surgery AND he refused has to say something. Do you know how serious microfracture surgery is? If you follow the NBA, you know how many times this surgery has ruined a career (Penny Hardaway...and lil' Penny, Chris Webber, Antonio McDyess, and Darius Miles...assuming a NBA career consists of having one skill [athleticism], while having no other pertinent skills [work ethic, desire, shooting ability] and averaging 10 points a game while using racial slurs on your ethnically identical coach).

Terry Glenn is an injury waiting to happen, meaning we are going to have to depend on the young guys anyways. You might as well let these guys get extra reps, and then call Glenn up if you need the help. I somehow doubt someone is going to claim him off waivers, thereby getting the right to pay him $1.7 million this year for his salary for a receiver who might suffer a career-ending injury at any moment in time. Regardless if you agreed or disagreed with the fact that the Cowboys didn't draft a receiver in the draft, the reality is that these young guys are going to have to step up and we might as well fund out sooner than later


Eagles: Is the Eagles' method of spending ever going to catch up with them?

Check out profootballtalk.com's report and this from philly.com that discuss Shawn Andrews' being MIA for the day. Is this a contract holdout, or something unrelated to money? No one knows for sure, but I'm more interested in a trend that I have seen for years: the tightwadness of the Eagles. In previous years, the Eagles have signed their core players to long-term, high signing bonus, low yearly salary contracts, and play hardball with players who try to hold out. Smart financial sense, but I wonder if it makes players more nervous or less willing to play for Philly. In fact, I predicted years ago that it would lead to an overall decline in their team. While their team has not been doing as well, you can blame that on better division rivals and the chronically injured McNabb.

But why am I so against the Eagles' method? First of all, the perception may be off. They seem to pay well for players who generally are top tier, such as the massive extension for Donovan McNabb, and good salaries for Asante Samuel, Jevon Kearse, and Darren Howard. These moves always seem to make sense at the time (though Kearse and Howard eventually became busts, at the time they were pretty good players). Moreover, the players they do choose not to pay, such as Jerimiah Trotter , Bobby Taylor, Troy Vincent, and Corey Simon, seem to go off somewhere and suck. So obviously, they are doing something right.

I think I base this opinion off the T.O. incident, which I still believe could have been averted if the Eagles just threw a couple million more at him. But maybe they are smart and won't overpay/extend older and second tier players like other teams will. I guess I'm more sympathetic to teams that are aggressive spenders like the Redskins and Cowboys. Then again, I've never seen a team throw money at second tier free agents like the Redskins (no one would know Randal-El if he wasn't throwing 2 point conversions with the Steelers), and the Cowboys have not won a playoff game in over a decade. So while I am a bit skeptical about being fiscally conservative with spending, it's worked for the Eagles, who before last year owned the NFC East for the past decade. Several years ago, I predicted that it would eventually catch up with them. So far, it hasn't.


Giants: Justin Tuck is not happy that the Giants are getting zero respect

Tuck made some comments the other day about the Cowboys "trying to buy" a super bowl. While his comments may not be totally accurate (considering the Cowboys spent a ton of money extending players they already had the rights to, traded for Adam Jones, and signed Zach Thomas), his point is loud and clear. The Giants hate the fact that no one is talking about them. Look at any preseason rankings. ESPN has the Giants as 6th, behind the Cowboys and Jaguars, and if you look around at other preseason predictions, many have the Cowboys winning the division. So I don't blame the defending Super Bowl Champions for being annoyed.

But they really shouldn't be suprised, since they have been disrespected since their Super Bowl run. This lack of respect originates from last year, when everyone thought the Cowboys and Packers were by far the two best teams in the NFC. The Giants were considered to be a step below, yet in the playoffs beat both of them, and the juggernaut of a Patriot team. Objectively, they beat 3 of the top 4 teams in the NFL to the Super Bowl. But perceptions remain for various reasons. They lost to all three of those teams in the regular season. Eli Manning didn't start playing well until the end of the year, and the team began to click then. Plus I think people don't like the Giants for various random reasons (Jermey Shockey, they are from New York, Eli seems to be the most boring person ever). So instead of people thinking that the Giants were legit, people thought that they were the 3rd best team in the conference.

(And for the record, I'm still not sure which class of 2004 QB I dislike the most. Ben Rothlisburger I feel is overrated because he has a pretty good team around him and by all accounts is an arrogant prick. I still find Eli as a weinie because of the stunt the Mannings pulled with San Diego during the draft. And every time I hear about Philip Rivers, he seems to be talking smack to just about anyone, despite the fact that his team is no higher than third best in their conference. Then again, 2 of them already have won Super Bowls, and San Diego is a threat to win it all each year, so they are doing pretty good for themselves).

Anyways, in the offseason, they lose Michael Strahan to Fox TV, along with a couple other contributors who seemed to be the beneficiaries of being on the team who won the Super Bowl (Gibril Wilson is this year's "Dexter Jackson/Larry Brown Award" winner for cashing in on a performance that the Giants fans I regularly talk to seem to call nothing more than average). Plus, the Cowboys seem to get more stacked, along with New England, Indy, Jacksonville, San Diego, and Green Bay not going away. It should be no suprise that the Giants are getting disrespected.

So Justin Tuck has to live with it for a few more months. If the Giants can come out and show that last year was not a fluke, then he can taunt everyone who was wrong. Until then, he should probably stay away from football websites and sportcenter.


Redskins: I'm not a big fan of the Jason Taylor trade

Yeah...if my team lost two defensive ends in one practice, I would be on the phone making a panic trade as well. But leave it to Danny Snyder to turn a panic trade into one of the biggest splashes of the offseason.

What I don't like about the move is that the Redskins seem to be in transition this year. Between hiring Jim Zorn (who I swear could be the name of a Bond movie villian), overhauling the reciever unit, and still having to deal with the ramifications of the utterly tragic Sean Taylor death, I don't see the Redskins contending for the title this year.

As you know, the problem is that Taylor is near the end of his career, and giving up a 2nd and 5th round pick is a lot for a one year rental. If I'm the Giants and lose Justin Tuck, or San Diego and lose Shawn Merriman, I would call up Miami and make this trade in a heartbeat. But for a team that is probably a year from contending in the ultra-competitive NFC East (wow...three years ago I would have called this division "Eagles and Friends"), I see this as wasting a couple of picks that could help down the road for a stop-gap solution.

Hiatus Until August

Posted by Taz:

So if you have not figured out, we are on a bit of a hiatus. Everyone is studying for the impending bar exams we have in late July, which makes it a bit hard to devote more than fleeting attention to the blog (and the NFL for that matter). So we are going to start posting again in mid August, when all of the bar exam pain is done (a word to anyone who is thinking about going to law school - I can't even begin to describe the pain of the bar. You pay $3,000 for a bar review course, which teaches you the law that law professors failed to teach in class because they were to busy going off on random tangets. You do one class in about 3-4 hours, and then have to study it and do practice tests. Then repeat this for about 15-20 subjects. Think long and hard about if you want to voluntarily subject yourself to this pain)

Anyways, we will be back in August. So to everyone, have a great summer and we will see you in August

Links I Find Amusing

Posted by Taz

Profootballtalk.com goes after Todd McShay and the rest of BSPN’s draft experts. While I wouldn’t be surprised that BSPN’s draft talent evaluators are failed scouts, I think it is a little too much to give BSPN responsibility for misleading Woodson, since they have no duty to tell him where he will be taken into the draft.

What is stupider than making power rankings in the middle of the summer when NO ONE knows how a team’s roster is going to shape up? Doing in-depth analysis of this exercise in futility. See here, here, and here. Even the fans can get involved here and here.

Thankfully we have nothing to do with James Hardy, especially since Jerry said he was #1 wide receiver on the Cowboys’ draft board

Everything you ever wanted to know about the process of random urine screenings.

Hopefully this is true. Then again, a month and a half ago they were secretly married, so who the heck knows?

Parcells and physical conditioning.

COWBOYS - What to do with Roy

Posted by Taz:


I think most of you have heard about the latest Roy Williams controversy. In case you have not, then see here and here for a general summary of what was said. Most people seem to be interesting in using it as an excuse to bash Roy, or point out the obvious fact that Roy and coverage do not go together (see the picture to the right for an example of what happens to opposing players when Roy blows coverage and is making a last ditch effort to avoid giving up the big play). If you want a good disucssion of these problems, Mickey Spagnola’s article sums things up pretty nicely. But, I’m not interesting in Roy bashing (check your usual message board for such comments). Instead, I’m more interested in looking at the effect on the team. What does Roy’s general decline mean for the team?

It is obviously a problem. Despite the fact that there are eleven people on the field at once, it just takes one person screwing up to mess up a team (remember Santana Moss's 2 play, 2 touchdowns in 2005, induced by the secondary)? You can’t really throw extra corners out there and hope that it somehow makes up for Roy. The pass rush can compensate, but even if it does so, at some point, Roy is going to have to cover someone. Also, if you bench him, who replaces him? Do you trust Pat Watkins or Courtney Brown to be the starter? It also doesn't help chemistry. Teammates aren't going to be happy if a starter is constantly hurting the defensive effort of the other 10 players on the field. They have to compensate for this, and even worse, have to deal with the millions of media questions about this.

So now that I have spent a paragraph restating the obvious, there are several things that can happen by the end of this year.

1) Roy gets better at coverage – I don’t see this happening, even though it probably would be the easiest solution. Maybe he will unregress and not become a coverage liability. Or maybe he will somehow learn to fit into the system. I don’t know, but I just don’t see it happening at this point in his career. Maybe Dave Campo can work some magic into him to the point where we do not have to cut him. Don't hold your breath.

2) Position change – we could move him to linebacker. He did play linebacker on the nickel defense last year. Of course, this assumes a) that he would be effective at stopping the run as a 3-4 linebacker, and b) he would be starting, because you aren’t paying “pro bowl safety” money to a backup linebacker. I somehow don’t see him being able to take on guards (as inside linebackers do in the 3-4) or supplanting Ware or Ellis/Spencer at OLB. So I see this less likely than the first option.

3) Trade him – I know Cowboys fans want to do this. In fact, if you read message boards, they are probably wondering if we can send him and Bobby Carpenter for Boldin, Roy Williams the WR, Chad Johnson, or any other fantasy trade that fans seem to make that disregard the salary cap implications and the fact that any GM not named Matt Millen would trade quality players for a guy who is getting $4-6 million safety who fears coverage. Don't see this happening either.

(And before you complain that I do not have the accurate number, it’s not the easiest thing to find. I searched all over the internet and even looked through Dallas’s media guide, which does not mention cap figures. Instead, it contains such priceless information, such as mentioning that Richie Cunningham was the NFC kicker of the year in 1997 (page 195), Ken Hamlin was in National Honor Society in high school (page 93), Jason Garrett is a resident of Dallas (page 15), and that former General Manager Tex Schramm helped create the quarterback ball spike to stop the clock (page 347). I saw in an article it was $4-6 million, but I’m not sure (blogging isn’t my day job). So correct me if I am wrong. The only website I could find gave Roy’s base salary for last year, but no incentives. It did also tell me that Bobby Carpenter made $5 million. No comment. But if anyone knows where the heck accurate salary info is, please comment below).

Anyways, I don’t see us trading him for anything higher than a mid-round draft pick, but then again Matt Millen is still inexplicitly employed, so you never know if he finds a “WR Roy Williams for SS Roy Williams” trade amusing enough to pull the trigger on.

4) Cut him – I think this is the most likely. We play him this year, see if he improves to the level of serviceable, and then cut him at the end of the year, when the salary hit is more palatable. It may not be the most ideal outcome, and there is no guarantee his replacement will not cause more problems. But the problems we currently have will probably force the team to make such a change.

5) Deal with it and keep him through his contract. – well, we can just keep him on the roster and deal with it. This is probably the one thing that fans don’t want to see. I don’t think this will happen, since the Cowboys will want to upgrade the position at some point for someone younger, cheaper, and possibly better. But you never know.

UPDATE: I found Roy's actual salary cap hit here

COWBOYS - Tony Romo tries Jessica's line of work

In case if you have been living in a cave for the past three days, and the first thing you did after got out is come to this website.
http://ballhype.com/video/tony_romo_seventh_inning_stretch/

Links I Find Amusing

Posted by Taz:

Here is ESPN’s Ultimate Standings – an “objective” measure of fan satisfaction with their team. I’m not convinced how accurate a system is where Dallas is ranked above the Giants in fan satisfaction, yet in the last decade, the Giants have two super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl win, while the Cowboys are still looking for a playoff win.

Some media writer actually cares about offensive linemen (or it is a really slow week in the news department).

The Eagles Cheerleaders care about the environment. (Actually, I wanted an excuse to post this picture).

The O.J. Simpson story just gets crazier.

The last place I want to be in is the middle of this.

Power polls in the middle of the offseason, when NO ONE knows how good any of the rookies will do are fairly annoying, and trying to liven it up with superhero quotes doesn’t help.

COWBOYS - Rookie Mini Camp

Posted by Taz

By now, I bet most of you Cowboys fans who have been starving for football news in the start of football's "dead zone" have been hearing a bit about rookie mini camp. Because I am football starved as well, I've been reading 15 different journalists write the same 3 articles about a couple days of practice between rookies and last year's practice squad.

So what do we know from minicamp? Absolutley nothing.

How can we know anything after one minicamp? First of all, these are rookies going up against other rookies. I'm not too impressed that they can beat up on other rookies. I'll be more impressed if they can block the Giants' boatload of DEs or cover Washington's plethora of #2 receivers. Second, in two weeks, they went from college students to being thrown into a NFL minicamp, in which they were given a ton of new information and forced to play against competition equal or better to them, (somthing they probably did not experience too much of in college). So, there may be a bit of an adjustment period, in which they look like utter morons.

(On a random aside, I really hate when every year, college football mediots take that year's "Greatest College Football Team Ever" and say that they could beat the worst team in the NFL. How stupid is that, considering that few players from these college teams go to the NFL and become productive players? And of those college players who will go to the NFL, they still are undeveloped college players at this point. Yes, LSU/USC/Oklahoma can run it up against Northcentral Rhode Island State PolyTech, but how woud they fair against the Miami Dolphins, whose practice squad players are probably better than 95% of those on that college team?)

Ok, back to rookie camp. The problem here is that we all want information if our draft picks are busts and if "undrafted WR we think got shafted in the draft will make the team so we spend the season bitching on message boards about how we think he should start over Patrick Crayton" will actually live up to his potential.

But we don't know that information. No one does. We won't know until the end of training camp, if not later in the season. Which sucks because now we are going hear about the Felix Jones v. Rashard Mendenhall debate until we see both of them play in real games (and then still probably hear about it some more). Or about how undrafted Danny Amendola is going to be the next Wes Welker (or other productive NFL player). Just like Sam Hurd before him, and Patrick Crayton before him. And Randal Williams? Remember how we all loved him because how he was so quick and had so much potential? Remember when the Eagles decided to do an onside kick to start the game, he took it back for a TD? Stupid Eagles. Remember how he had one reception as a Cowboy? Remember Woody Danzler? He also had a memorable return, and yet is in the Arena League at this moment. You get the point.

Go look on a Cowboys message board and you will see a ton of man love for Amendola. Never mind that the deck is stacked against him because the Cowboys are returning their top 4 receivers from last year, there is a possibility that Glenn will come back (I don't beleive it myself), and the coaches want to see what Stanback can do. There is also the fact that Texas Tech receivers usually are labled as system receivers and do not make it in the leauge (Welker is the exception). I love it when 7th rounders and undrafted rookies make it onto a roster. But you can't expect it. We all had man love for these guys listed above, and so far, only Patrick Crayton has shown that he will be a player in the NFL. There is a reason these players were undrafted. While I would like to see these people make it, there is a good chance it does not happen.

Unfortunetly, it will be three months of speculation before we can start knowing.

And this is why I hate this summer (in addition to the fact that I have to spend the next two months relearning all of law school so I can pass the bar and not be fired from the job I recently stumbled into). So unfortunetly, we have to have patience.

COWBOYS- Chris Henry?

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/05/06/did-the-dallas-cowboys-free-chris-henry-from-house-arrest/ I hope this isn't true...but if it is.

Right now, all of us are in the middle of law school finals...so next week, we will be posting more draft analysis, random links, and I'll rant on the Cowboys' bad luck charm (Jessica Simpson).