Hunter...starting cb....no big deal....

[tkiehl]

OK....we have a new starter at cb. Big deal, Mario edwards signed a 3 mil per year deal with tampa and Parcells just coughed and said no.....Hunter is 20 lbs heavier and faster. Well we always say trust in Bill and we did not even come close to signing any cb fa's.....what does this tell us?....just that our #1 defense will have a heavier and quicker cb that will get saftey help like edwards did and we will have more turnovers and we will again dominate the nfl as we did last year with one word.....SPEED.......and the effect.....SPEED will KILL.......

[big dog cowboy]

A better pass rush will mean more than anything.

[lcharles]

Mario Edwards was a pass interference penalty waiting to happen. I really got tired of watching teams open up with the first play of the game throwing deep against Mario. He's Tampa's problem now.

Hunter will do just fine. Actually, maybe better than fine if we keep our fingers crossed.

[Skeptic]

Seriously.

Can ONE poster around here say with a serious face that there is any realistic way that Hunter can be ANY worse than Edwards was last year?

I could go out there and cover recievers better than Edwards did last year.

I can't name the amount of times that Edwards gave the opposing O a 1st down last year, I really can't. In the limited action that Hunter got last year I have to say that even if he is terrible, he CAN'T be worse than Edwards.

(shudders)

[All About the D]

I can't name the amount of times that Edwards gave the opposing O a 1st down last year, I really can't. In the limited action that Hunter got last year I have to say that even if he is terrible, he CAN'T be worse than Edwards.

(shudders)

Worst part was he is at that point were he is VERY likely to never get much better.
(shudders)
......
(shudders again)

[Anthrax]

You guys have a good D.

[Skeptic]

You guys have a good D.

Wait until Roy gets after BOTH Donny Mac and TO when you guys come to Texas Stadium.

You heard it first, TO will NOT like your QB by November. TO doesn't like balls thrown at his ankles.

[Anthrax]

Wow. http://eagles.hosttown.com/html/emoticons/nonono.gif I fell sorry for you.

[Bluefin]

Mario edwards signed a 3 mil per year deal with tampa and Parcells just coughed and said no.....
...to be the Bucs nickel back, what else needs to be said?

I'm glad Rio's gone.

Rewatching games, it was pretty easy to see Edwards hand-checking receivers 20+ yards down the field on a lot of pass plays.

Rio could've been flagged a lot more often than he was, and he was a target anyway.

Edwards had 1 interception and 8 pass break-ups as a starter while seeing plenty of action coming his way. Rio has 4 career thefts and 23 passes defensed in his four year career, three of them as a starter.

Pete Hunter had 1 interception and 4 pass break-ups as a part-time reserve with about 1/4 of the snaps Rio logged. Hunter has 2 career thefts and 9 passes defenses in his two year career as a reserve in Big D (2 starts).

Hunter will make more plays than Edwards did in the passing game and he's also a more willing run defender, IMO.

A better pass rush will mean more than anything.
An improved pass rush will allow the defense to progress from very good to dominant.

As Parcells indicated, an improved front four will allow the defense to blitz when they want to, not out of necessity.

Keeping players in coverage will yeild fewer big plays (remember getting scorched in zero coverage?) and make it easier to protect Hunter at the start of the season if necessary.

[Bluefin]

Anthrax,

What did you think of Owens not even reacting to getting iced by George Teague?

Rather cowardly, I thought.

We'll see if Owens possesses the minerals to cross the middle with Williams and Woodson watching.

Owens will need smelling slats if he does, IMO.

[morasp]

You guys have a good D.

With Owens in town the team chemistry should be at an all time high.

[kmd24]

Hunter will make more plays than Edwards did in the passing game and he's also a more willing run defender, IMO.


Your comment here made me recall Hunter's outstanding play late in the Jets game when he made a great tackle of RB on a pass to the flat to stop the Jets from converting on 4th and 2. Technique-wise, it was one of the best open field tackles by a cornerback I saw last year.

[NOVA 22]

like the post. its a little hard to say how close we were to signing any of the free agents though, i think we just didn't want to pay what these guys were getting.

i too was sick of mario edwards, and the truth is, most teams were just getting the hang of attacking him. but that's going to be the MO of teams this season too when hunter steps in there.

[starfrombirth]

You guys have a good D.
I wanna see TO come across the middle with ROY waiting for him...eeewww!! I guarantee he wont spike our star with biscuit standing guard. :D

[Bluefin]

Your comment here made me recall Hunter's outstanding play late in the Jets game when he made a great tackle of RB on a pass to the flat to stop the Jets from converting on 4th and 2. Technique-wise, it was one of the best open field tackles by a cornerback I saw last year.

http://www.cowboysplus.com/photography/submission_form/images/1068501793659_HIGHREZ_14.jpg
Michael Mulvey / DMN
Sept. 28, 2003: Pete Hunter stuffs Wayne Chrebet short of the first down to seal the game late in the fourth quarter.

Might this be it?

That was the game clenching play and Hunter stopped a proven wideout playing with a broken arm.

One of my chief complaints with Mario Edwards was that he didn't willingly fill against runs and sometimes took bad angles which resulted in big gains.

Terence Newman, all 5-10 and 180 pounds of him, was more than willing to play run defense.

Only Roy Williams (6) and Dat Nguyen (8) has more tackles for losses than Dallas' rookie corner.

A lot of it comes down to attitude, IMO.

Rio didn't have it, he has the tools to be one of the best run defnding corners in the NFL.

Pete Hunter is an even better candidate.

Pete is built like a safety and he seems to enjoy the physical side of the game.

The Cowboys only allowed five big play runs of 20 or more yards last year, good enough to land in a four way tie for fourth place in the NFL.

I would guess most of those runs went to the right side of the defense, Rio's side.

We'll see what happens with Hunter lurking on the right side.

I expect it will be a lot like having a third safety on the field for run support.

Remember Ryan McNeil with the Cowboys when he registered over a hundred tackles?

It should be similar to that, but the overall talent of the rest of the unit won't allow for such a gaudy tackle number.

I'd look for 50+ tackles and about 5 tackles for loss.

i too was sick of mario edwards, and the truth is, most teams were just getting the hang of attacking him. but that's going to be the MO of teams this season too when hunter steps in there.
Very true.

The opposition will game plan challenging Pete hunter and Donald Mitchell in the slot with terence newman loitering on the left side of the defense.

Bill Parcells and Mike Zimmer will expect Hunter to hold up to the challenge of being a target and having to play a lot of man coverage.

With officials also expected to crack down early on illegal hand checking, teams should come out trying to get cheap plays thanks to hankys.

I can understand the staff wanting to find out if Hunter has the mentality to handle being left on an island, but I do think it would be a good idea to help him out early with safety and linebacker support.

The Cowboys should be capable of generating better pressure on opposing quarterbacks with their front four.

That will be a great help by itself, but it will also allow the team to keep more players in coverage and to disguise things better.

All of that would help Hunter's confidence on the corner.

[Bluefin]

I wanna see TO come across the middle with ROY waiting for him...eeewww!! I guarantee he wont spike our star with biscuit standing guard.
Whatever Owens has planned for Dallas, it won't be grandstanding on the star again.

The jerk prides himself on coming up with new ways to insult the opposing team.

Williams will put fear in any player venturing across his turf and Woody is the more likely of the two to land a headshot.

Would it be asking too much to see them both make a TO sandwich?

It'd bring back memories of the Humpty dumpty pre-school rhyme.

The Fecals wouldn't put him back together again.

[Hollywood Henderson]

The best pass D is a improved pass rush...

I agree, I hated seeing any ball thrown at Edwards as he held on nearly every play...

Lets see what Pete can do...

However, Woody in single coverage is still a weakness...Until we get a real NFL FS teams will gameplan a WR vs. Woody (or Roy)

I have still been waiting on a coach to teach proper DB technique while the ball is in the air...

This D can still get alot better....

(Of course we know the offense has a long way to go yet)

[BlueStar II]

Even though teams are going to test Hunter early and often, I still think he'll do a better, perhaps a much better job than Edwards did. I still shake my head in disbelief over what he got when he signed with the Bucs.

[Fla Cowpoke]

You know what is amazing?

That the Bucs are the ones that signed him. I was at that game, and I was amazed at just how much Mario mugged guys all over the field. I can't beleive the Bucs saw that and said "we want this guy."

As has been stated, Mario was a borderline talent who became a huge liability due to his reputation. He was a guy that would never get the benefit of the doubt on a close play. He was a lot like Kevin Smith in that regard, although Kevin Smith was a much better corner than Mario ever will be,

[Bluefin]

You know what is amazing?

That the Bucs are the ones that signed him. I was at that game, and I was amazed at just how much Mario mugged guys all over the field. I can't beleive the Bucs saw that and said "we want this guy."
That wasn't the only time Rio was molesting wideouts downfield.

All I can guess is that the Bucs must feel Edwards is a better fit for their Tampa 2 zone defense than he was for the Cowboys man dependant philosphy.

Rio won't play out his contract regardless, IMO.

I expect Hunter will have more picks this season than Edwards had in his entire career with Big D.

[kmd24]

http://www.cowboysplus.com/photography/submission_form/images/1068501793659_HIGHREZ_14.jpg
Michael Mulvey / DMN
Sept. 28, 2003: Pete Hunter stuffs Wayne Chrebet short of the first down to seal the game late in the fourth quarter.

Might this be it?


Yeah, that's it. Didn't think it was a wideout because the route was so short. I checked the play-by-play and saw that it was officially a two yard completion on 4th and three.

I do remember thinking when Chrebet caught the ball that there was no way that the Cowboys would tackle him short of the marker. Hunter accelerated through the tackle and wrapped up nicely. It was an impressive tackle.

[77Cowboy]

I met Pete Hunter last year before the Skins game at a hotel in Irving and I told him that was a huge bigtime play, he just smiled and said thanks. I am sure he has heard about it plenty of times.

Very nice guy, hope he does well this year.