I'm still not 100% comfortable with this year's squad...

[burmafrd]

No one as brought up the problem with Ferguson except you; so I think you are looking for problems.

[LaTunaNostra]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

No one as brought up the problem with Ferguson except you; so I think you are looking for problems.

No one knows him like I do.

[MichaelWinicki]

Originally Posted by LaTunaNostra

CanadaBoys, the obvious holes you have named, but if last year taught us anything, it's how areas you thought were pretty solid can get reamed apart like..well, no Sean Taylor prison references need to be applied.

There are other serious worries. Is anyone else concerned that the entire D is being built around an overgown giggler who came to minicamp as bloated as Willie Blade? Now I love Fergy, but when Bill counseled against the 'use of diuretics' (sic?) in his post-camp pc, he was reflecting on the very dumbarse thing Fergy did do in NY..and got suspended for because the over the counter junk had some banned ingredient.

[View Full Quote]Even if Ferg can manage to push himself away from the table and his wife Gena's lasagna between now and July 29, what happens if he suffers even a minor injury? The whole 3-4 can't be installed while we wait on him. Even if he comes to camp in shape and stays healthy, consider that in his good (not great) year last year, he played on a line consisting of THREE first round one picks, inclduing a second year DT who actually usually played the nose on the 3-4.

Never would I suspect Fergy's 2004 stats were primarily motivated by it being his contract year, but hey, what a conincidence.

Regardless, Ferguson hasn't really manned the 3-4 nose since 2000. He'll have rust as well as blubber to remove.

That's just ONE position we think of as "solved", albeit the most critical defensively.

I agree B.

The positions that offer the biggest source of apprehension for me are:

DT/NT
OT
WR
FS

Injuries or below average play from any of those positions (outside of FS maybe) could doom this team to a sub .500 record.

And there's one more position that I have concerns over Barb but damn it I just can't remember which one it is!

[MichaelWinicki]

Originally Posted by LaTunaNostra

No one knows him like I do.

Barb how dare you not become a kool-aid drinking fanatic like some around here who think we're destined to win the Super Bowl in '05.

[LaTunaNostra]

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

And there's one more position that I have concerns over Barb but damn it I just can't remember which one it is!

Senile old coot.

[Chief]

Originally Posted by LaTunaNostra

CanadaBoys, the obvious holes you have named, but if last year taught us anything, it's how areas you thought were pretty solid can get reamed apart like..well, no Sean Taylor prison references need to be applied.

There are other serious worries. Is anyone else concerned that the entire D is being built around an overgown giggler who came to minicamp as bloated as Willie Blade? Now I love Fergy, but when Bill counseled against the 'use of diuretics' (sic?) in his post-camp pc, he was reflecting on the very dumbarse thing Fergy did do in NY..and got suspended for because the over the counter junk had some banned ingredient.

[View Full Quote]Even if Ferg can manage to push himself away from the table and his wife Gena's lasagna between now and July 29, what happens if he suffers even a minor injury? The whole 3-4 can't be installed while we wait on him. Even if he comes to camp in shape and stays healthy, consider that in his good (not great) year last year, he played on a line consisting of THREE first round one picks, inclduing a second year DT who actually usually played the nose on the 3-4.

Never would I suspect Fergy's 2004 stats were primarily motivated by it being his contract year, but hey, what a conincidence.

Regardless, Ferguson hasn't really manned the 3-4 nose since 2000. He'll have rust as well as blubber to remove.

That's just ONE position we think of as "solved", albeit the most critical defensively.

Excellent post, with great insider background info.

Many Cowboy fans who really haven't followed Ferguson's career have this vision of this 300-pound block of granite who has no weaknesses and will proudly carry the 3-4 on his back.

All of these players have some problems and this team has plenty of question marks.

That's just the way it is with most teams.

[blindzebra]

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

I agree B.

The positions that offer the biggest source of apprehension for me are:

DT/NT
OT
WR
FS

Injuries or below average play from any of those positions (outside of FS maybe) could doom this team to a sub .500 record.

And there's one more position that I have concerns over Barb but damn it I just can't remember which one it is!

I thought you were hoping for a break down at RT, for at least a few Bledsoe crushing plays, anyway.

[MichaelWinicki]

Originally Posted by blindzebra

I thought you were hoping for a break down at RT, for at least a few Bledsoe crushing plays, anyway.

Uhh...

I plead "The Fifth".

[LaTunaNostra]

Originally Posted by Chief

Excellent post, with great insider background info.

I wouldn't call it insider info, Chief.

But I have seen every snap the man has ever played in the pros.

Fergy is also a great favorite of mine...so much so we named a beloved pet guinea pig after him in this household. Frankly, I adore him. He is just the most engaging personality.

Will he do for La'Roi what MacFarland did for Sapp?

No.

But in the 4-3 he will free Glover up for some serious interior push. And in the 3-4 he will be a steady two-gapping rock.

But he has to stay healthy, or it all comes tumbling down.

....and he was prone to rather impulsive behavior when Bill started in on him about his weight.

[davey999]

Originally Posted by CanadaBoys

Yet another FS/RT/WR thread.......

I'm trying to be patient... I really am. But, reading all these threads I just can't help but see the recurring theme of FS and RT in particular and feel like I am just not ready to feel confident in what we have...


[View Full Quote]FS is my biggest issue. I just don't like ANY of our current options. Living in the Buffalo veiwing area I've seen A LOT of him. He is NOT the answer we are hoping for... VERY far from it. If he is the best option we have then we all better get used to seeing 0 big plays from our FS and many plays where the covereage gets blown from FS. It will definitely become one of those scabs that won't heal because you can't stop picking at the damn thing. If we don't get a better option in here you can safely assume we will be talking about FS for a the next 12 months. Now MAYBE Berry-O or Davis steps up and we all have a good laugh about it later... but forgive me for not having much confidence in that happening. Even mentioning Lynn Scott here would be laughable. Suffice it to say, unless a Corey Chavous or, to a lesser extent, a healthy Lance Schulters makes an appearence before camp I'm going to be VERY weary.

RT I am less concerned about. But still concerned. I feel as though Parcells probably has seen enough out of this team that he thinks there is a viable option out there already. BUT... if he's just hoping someone steps up, then i would have to wonder why? We have room under the cap. Even with the rookie signings... so why not sign one of these T's that keep showing up on the market? Chris Terry, Shelton, Clement.... whoever. It looks like we have the players to make a VERY dominant line... then the big hole at RT. It's like buying a brand new 100,000K Mercedes but not bothering to chip in the extra change to get all the options. Next thing you know it's 120 in summer and you have no A/C in your luxury automobile. But like I say... maybe BP has something in mind.

WR... well who is there really out there? Koren Robinson? Could be suspended for 1 year very soon... and BP doesn't want thugs.... I can understand that i guess... even with his physical tools. Johnnie Morton? 33 and did nothing in KC. But I am concerned about Glenn's injury history and Morgans sucess in the NFL so far..... IF Rod Gardner came free I would DEFINATELY be interested. But other than that I can see why they aren't too thrilled with any of the WR's we've seen so far this year (other than Plex, who i am really surprised never was brought in for a visit at least)


anyway, I'm venting.... But there are 2 holes that seem to be being taken quite lightly that I personally am very worried about. It just drives me nuts that players keep popping up and going off the market without even a hint of interest out of Dallas. Or maybe I'm just jumping the gun and the powers that be are waiting for something in particular to happen. I hope so at least.

Oh, and 1 more thing. Peter Boulware. After visits with Cleveland and Seattle and no contract offers I get the feeling Mr. Boulware might not be as healthy as he says. Still... they say he is planning more visits and I hope that one of them is Dallas. Couldn't hurt to bring him in to at least kick that bad tire a bit and see how it is.....

Totally agree with your assessment.

I cannot beleive how many are up in arms because Gosselin doesn't think we are in the top 16 in the league.

A good off-season does not turn everything around especially with what we have at QB, RT and FS.

I think we can be an 8-8 team this year, maybe 9-7.

[dargonking999]

Originally Posted by davey999

Totally agree with your assessment.

I cannot beleive how many are up in arms because Gosselin doesn't think we are in the top 16 in the league.

A good off-season does not turn everything around especially with what we have at QB, RT and FS.

I think we can be an 8-8 team this year, maybe 9-7.

no everybody was up in arms with assesment and placment of teams and the fact that he said we had an old team

you show me those other 19 teams tell me that they dont have. Every team has holes,look at the holes we had coming into this year

FS,RT,WR,RB,CB,DE,DT,LB,QB,

now all we have is FS,RT,WR according to you, and according to BP, RT, because he thinks DAvis can do it, and Glenn Crayton, Key, Morgan Copper all have the abilty to play WR. so really we went from having 9 holes to 1-3 and what that wasnt a good offseason, get real

[Zaxor]

Originally Posted by Chief

Excellent post, with great insider background info.

Many Cowboy fans who really haven't followed Ferguson's career have this vision of this 300-pound block of granite who has no weaknesses and will proudly carry the 3-4 on his back.

All of these players have some problems and this team has plenty of question marks.

That's just the way it is with most teams.

Most if not all the teams have the salary cap figured out (except Wash) if any player was deemed indispensable or irreplaceable they would never see free agency...

The way still to build is through the draft...and use FA to pick up vet backups in need areas that may have a year or so left in them...

[CanadaBoys]

I think some people are reading more into my post than i meant it to convey.

I think we have had a GREAT offseason so far. Especially with the draft we had. But these 2 things are what keep my A grade from being A++.

As for Ferguson... I don't want to go in assuming that someone will be out of shape or get injured... you can't control these things... but i assume this is why Glover is still on the team . There could be worse options as a #2. he's not your protoypical NT... but there are also buys like Spears who could move to DT in a pinch too. not too worried about that.

I know how many spots there were to be filled coming into the year, and how well the majority of them have been filled. I am in NO WAY saying this was a bad offseason... it was great... but it could be even better IMO. Likei said originally... there is nothing wrong with "homegrown" talent at RT if they REALLY believe they have the talent that will produce a quality starter. I'm not sold on that, but I fully admit my knowledge is NOT in the same realm of Parcells. so i'm not overly worried about that. I'm just saying that there were/are good RT options ont he market this year that were not bank breaking to sign.

Now...FS is a postion i fully admited didn't have great options in FA so far. HOWEVER... I want to point out that MANY unnamed people here have swallowed the "Izell Reese is an upgrade and we are fine at FS" Kool-Aid by the gallons.... NO THANKS. I saw WAY too many Buffalo games where this guy was clearly a MAJOR weakness on that D to have a drink. You might as well go with Lynn Scott. Seriously. You aren't about to teach that old dog any new tricks...

Now I'm not saying there are better options available right now... but i DO believe tehre WERE better optins before and there migh be again before camp. You might be content to go with what we have here, but I know that you will all be here complaining bitterly very soon if Izell Reese enters the year as our best option at FS. Oh, and as much as I hate to further upset some people... a 6th rounder who was projected as a SS stepping in during his rookie season and making an impact at FS seems a bit far fetched to me... stranger things have happened, but i certainly wouldn't want to bank on it.

I am very happy witht he changes already made and I do believe we can make the playoffs as is... but I'm talking about shooting for the very top here and to do that I'd feel much better if we were a little better at FS.

[blindzebra]

Originally Posted by CanadaBoys

I think some people are reading more into my post than i meant it to convey.

I think we have had a GREAT offseason so far. Especially with the draft we had. But these 2 things are what keep my A grade from being A++.

As for Ferguson... I don't want to go in assuming that someone will be out of shape or get injured... you can't control these things... but i assume this is why Glover is still on the team . There could be worse options as a #2. he's not your protoypical NT... but there are also buys like Spears who could move to DT in a pinch too. not too worried about that.

[View Full Quote]I know how many spots there were to be filled coming into the year, and how well the majority of them have been filled. I am in NO WAY saying this was a bad offseason... it was great... but it could be even better IMO. Likei said originally... there is nothing wrong with "homegrown" talent at RT if they REALLY believe they have the talent that will produce a quality starter. I'm not sold on that, but I fully admit my knowledge is NOT in the same realm of Parcells. so i'm not overly worried about that. I'm just saying that there were/are good RT options ont he market this year that were not bank breaking to sign.

Now...FS is a postion i fully admited didn't have great options in FA so far. HOWEVER... I want to point out that MANY unnamed people here have swallowed the "Izell Reese is an upgrade and we are fine at FS" Kool-Aid by the gallons.... NO THANKS. I saw WAY too many Buffalo games where this guy was clearly a MAJOR weakness on that D to have a drink. You might as well go with Lynn Scott. Seriously. You aren't about to teach that old dog any new tricks...

Now I'm not saying there are better options available right now... but i DO believe tehre WERE better optins before and there migh be again before camp. You might be content to go with what we have here, but I know that you will all be here complaining bitterly very soon if Izell Reese enters the year as our best option at FS. Oh, and as much as I hate to further upset some people... a 6th rounder who was projected as a SS stepping in during his rookie season and making an impact at FS seems a bit far fetched to me... stranger things have happened, but i certainly wouldn't want to bank on it.

I am very happy witht he changes already made and I do believe we can make the playoffs as is... but I'm talking about shooting for the very top here and to do that I'd feel much better if we were a little better at FS.

To quote the Mickster, "If they were so good, why are they available and why can we get them cheap?"

Frankly, none of the RTs out there were good, we'd just be adding another team's trash. If it is not a can't miss upgrade, we are better off working from within, IMO.

[smashmouth]

No matter what holes we think we have, to me it depends on 2 things for us. Quarterback play, and Quarterback pressure. Great QB play can hide a WR core that is Good (not great / N.England).
Great Quarterback pressure can hide weekness in the secondary (N.England/Philly)
In other words, you don't have to have All-Pros in every position on the team, but you do need to QB to get your team into the end zone, and you do need your D-Line to cause QB's to mess up their game plan.