T.O. released

[cubuffsman78]

Originally Posted by black19 Again, I'm loving this fire sale that Dallas is having! T.O. in NO would be pretty interesting...

Many Cowboys fans are also happy with the two cuts. Williams hasn't been a productive safety in three seasons. Maybe longer.

It was time for TO to go. I think they'll be more than fine without him.

[black19]

Originally Posted by cubuffsman78 Many Cowboys fans are also happy with the two cuts. Williams hasn't been a productive safety in three seasons. Maybe longer. It was time for TO to go. I think they'll be more than fine without him.

Trust me, I know (I live in Ft Worth, I've been hearing the reactions by the minute) but in reality, you can't tell me that the Cowboys are better off talent-wise after these moves. Yes Williams has his issues, but that's more of a system thing than anything. T.O., off the field is a disaster, but without signing someone else, the Cowboys now have a huge hole to fill. Roy Williams, Sam Hurd, Patrick Crayton, Jason Witten, and Miles Austin are not going to get it done.

But, then again for obvious reasons, I'm always up to watching the Cowboys ship sink!

[porky88]

Dallas is kind of overrated anyways or they were going into the year. I think perhaps this will take all that pressure off of them that ESPN was putting on them. Never underestimate what locker room chemistry can do for a team.

Roy Williams was actually a liability on the field.

[black19]

Originally Posted by porky88 Roy Williams was actually a liability on the field.

True, but in the right scheme and with some freedom, he's a great asset. Minnesota, Tampa, Indy, Chicago, or maybe Baltimore would be decent destinations for him.

[cubuffsman78]

Roy Williams has a terrible work ethic. That's always been his biggest problem. He has never improved from his rookie season. His game never got there. If he's willing to put in the work, I think he can be good.

On the list of WRs you had, Sam Hurd and Miles Austin are both free agents. Dallas has to bring in a solid veteran first and foremost. They don't need to break the bank at the position at all.

The next step for Dallas' offense is to become more run-oriented. I see that coming. Dallas has a trio comparable to the Giants "Earth, Wind and Fire" last season with Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.

I think Dallas will take a WR with one of its first four picks. I did a three round mock just to see who I thought the Cowboys might take in the second and third rounds. Neither pick did I like a WR going to them with how it fell. I think it's possible, but I had them go DE (Jarron Gilbert) and safety (Darcel McBath). I would be happy with both of those picks, too.

Porky is right. Dallas was overrated going into last season, obviously. It wasn't an overestimation of the talent, though. The Cowboys had top notch talent. The problem was with chemistry and it dragged the talent down to where it was insignificant. Jason Garrett let it effect his play calling. It went that deep. That doesn't happen next year.

I personally believe this could be a sign of Jerry Jones waking up again.

He's done this before. He kept trying to win his way, then brought in Bill Parcells when it wasn't working. Parcells' way helped rebuild the Cowboys and gave them a ton of the talent they possess now. Jones couldn't take it though and had to interfere more.

So he went back to acting more like Daniel Snyder and went after big names, inking them to big contracts in the process. He's showing signs of digging back out of that rut.

He gave up on the Pacman experiment. He didn't make a bid to keep Tank Johnson. Instead of bringing in the enigmatic Ray Lewis, who is capable of ticking off as many players as he gets on his side, he brought in a younger and cheaper talent in Keith Brooking, who is a proven leader on and off the field. Even Kitna is a chemistry move. The biggest thing "God's chosen quarterback" could provide Dallas with is a way to lasso Williams into the scheme of things given their past relationship.

Quite honestly, I think the Cowboys made some moves to plug some of their holes in the ship rather than gaping them more. I'm not declaring them for a Super Bowl, but I like the pieces in place more now than I did coming into the offseason. T.O. quit on this team. He dropped 33 passes last season, which is sadly an improvement on the year before. It was the second most in the league after Braylon Edwards. Cutting safety Roy also gives Dallas a million in cap space to try and plug up the biggest hole in its defense for several seasons now.

[porky88]

I actually think it was talent to some extent. I thought going into the year they were in the elite, but when I saw them in person in Green Bay, they didn't impress much. Granted they won the game though.

Over the course over the year that proved right.

Dallas' secondary is not very good in my opinion. They need help at safety and Terrence Newman is the only guy that is really any good. I think Mike Jenkins could really step up this year though.

Their inside linebackers didn't impress much. Zach Thomas was clearly a name signing. He's half the player he once was. He's weak against the run now and slow. They may of been better off trying to develop Burnett who could of blossomed during the year. I hope the Pack can land Burnett actually in free agency.

The offensive line also didn't play up to the same level they did in 07.

I also don't think Roy Williams is a No. 1 receiver in the NFL. Never did, but a change could help.

I'm not saying Dallas isn't or wasn't talented. They were, but they just weren't as ridiculous as some thought.

I think they're top ten, but more like 5 to 10 instead of 1 through 5. If that makes sense.

[black19]

I'm going to take off my 'Duck Fallas' hat and speak as an NFL fan here.

I think cutting Williams was a calculated risk. The last two years or so, he's been close to worthless. Dallas and develop and draft at his position and the secondary being relatively young can improve.

My biggest concern is how much of a risk does Dallas take by cutting Owens. Yes, his release will help chemistry, but the Romo to Witten connection will not thrive without the Owens threat. Roy Williams is talented, but he's still gotta show and prove in Dallas. Maybe now there will actually be enough football to go around and he can get involved. We'll see.

What veterans are out there that would be worth picking up? Is Harrison worth it? There is speculation about Holt, but what does he have left in the tank? Then you got guys like Engram, Lelie, Roydell Williams, or maybe Shaun McDonald. Basically, there isnt much left out there. Unless, the Cowboys can uncover a Colston in the draft, they may whiff there as well.

I think the loss of Owens is going to hurt the product on the field more than people think. Owens was key in the development of Romo, the play of Witten, and even the emergence of guys like Crayton. As it stands now, I think Dallas is in trouble. Let's hope Garrett has been eating his Lucky Charms.

I do agree that Dallas will have to transition to a running heavy scheme, but unlike the Giants' Earth, Wind, and Fire, Dallas cant be successful emulating it. They have 3 talented backs, but Barber needs the ball 20+ times to be effective, Jones will have to prove his durability, and Choice will have to find a way to stay relevant with the other two guys on the field. Did anyone know who Tashard Choice was until the Cowboys were ravaged by injury last year? Not saying it's impossible, but I dont think there is enough football to go around.

[cubuffsman78]

I knew who Choice was. I had him ranked in the top 5 at RB in last year's draft until he was injured. I believe I said on this board I liked him more than Felix Jones.

Barber doesn't need the ball 20 times. His best season was arguably two years ago and he got more than 15 carries just five times in 16 games. If there's some worry about the run game, it's at OL, not with the trio of RBs.

I do agree about Roy Williams (the receiver) and I noted it in my previous post. He has never improved since coming in the league. The work ethic has to be replaced.

In my opinion, there is not a least important position on the field for an offense than WR. Great receivers are luxuries most teams prefer to have, but there are plenty of Super Bowl champions, who didn't have any top tier WRs. Many of them in this decade. Look at the first few NE Super Bowls. Hell, even Pittsburgh from this season. Holmes and Ward are nice receivers and I'd take them on my team, but they aren't marquee names and aren't close to leading the league in any category.

The further away a player lines up from the football on offense, the less direct impact he will consistently have on the outcome of the game.

As for bringing in a veteran from free agency, I'm in favor of D.J. Hackett or Lance Moore. Bobby Engram would be a nice piece for anyone as a No. 3 WR. I like Reggie Williams a lot as well and believe the Jags will miss him. He's a great presence in the red zone, but Jax was terrible up front and Williams could never get involved.

[cubuffsman78]

BTW, the sweepstakes is over.

T.O. to the Bills for one year, 6.5 million.

The Bills makes sense from a need standpoint, but I don't know how the working class fans of this team will like the move. Of course, if he scores 15 TDs, they'll love him. Just like Cowboys fans did despite what he did to the Star in the middle of the field as a Niner.

[porky88]

Seems like Owens is setting himself up for one last big payday. Perhaps he'll got to Buffalo and have a good year and then cash in next off season when teams can spend as much as they want. That's my guess at least.