Nick Eatman: Cowboys sign three.

[silver]

we keep going to the well drafting injured guys and that well dried up. Murray, Lee and Carter all had injury histories in college. I remember Jimmy passing on Jesse Armstead because he had a bum knee. Went to NY in the 8th round. I'm not hating those 3 guys and maybe they'll come back stronger than ever next year but we need to reconsider the strategy to hitting the lottery in the top rounds with injured stars.

[Hostile]

Originally Posted by silver

we keep going to the well drafting injured guys and that well dried up. Murray, Lee and Carter all had injury histories in college. I remember Jimmy passing on Jesse Armstead because he had a bum knee. Went to NY in the 8th round. I'm not hating those 3 guys and maybe they'll come back stronger than ever next year but we need to reconsider the strategy to hitting the lottery in the top rounds with injured stars.

Which of those three guys has the same injury right now that they did in college?

[jday]

[silver]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Which of those three guys has the same injury right now that they did in college?

what are the odds Miles Austin will come up lame next time he steps on the field? Might be a fluke thing but that's why they're called injury prone. A player tends to save his body from injury and that's when he hurts something else. You look at Adrian Peterson and the guy plays with reckles abandon which is why he's praised by the experts. On the other hand a guy like Felix Jones plays tentative and ends up nicked all the time.

[Hostile]

Originally Posted by silver

what are the odds Miles Austin will come up lame next time he steps on the field? Might be a fluke thing but that's why they're called injury prone. A player tends to save his body from injury and that's when he hurts something else. You look at Adrian Peterson and the guy plays with reckles abandon which is why he's praised by the experts. On the other hand a guy like Felix Jones plays tentative and ends up nicked all the time.

I don't think this answered my question but I appreciate it anyway.

[stasheroo]

Originally Posted by Idgit

It's definitely not an excuse. I've pointing out the injury bug in a number of threads now, and it's only to highlight that we need depth on the team in order to get where we want to get, not to excuse the overall play of the team.

It *is* a factor in evaluating the job individual players or coaches have done, though, obviously. If you cant point to a dozen injuries that are the primary reason why the defense collapsed, for example, and find that even the backups were well-coached on the fly and are just being beat on talent, then it makes no sense to blame the coordinator. When you're on your 4th Center, you have to take that in mind when you evaluate the job Callahan did here in year one with the OL.

[View Full Quote]To your GB point, I'd have to go look at their injury list that year, but one thing I remember clearly thinking is that the players they brought in as replacements all played as well or better than the starters. That's not a knock on their starters in my book so much as a real testament to the job they did assembling depth and talent over the course of 3 or 4 drafts. Those guys get 2-3 starters or add quality role players every draft. Over the course of 3 years or so, that really adds up for a good team. You need that in December.

I thought (still think, actually) we had as much or more depth as we've had on any team in Dallas since 2007 here at the start of the season. We were think at S and at C, and OT, but looked really good everywhere else (well, WR was a huge question mark, too, but I thought we'd have a player or two from that position group step up, which, finally, appears to have happened).

Then we promptly lost 4 C, took repeated hits at S (though only one was season-ended), and our OTs both crapped the bed relative to expectations (and the RT has struggled by any objective measure). Add to it the damage we've had at ILB losing two really standout players. It's been brutal.

A very good summary of where we are and how we got here.

While injuries are certainly a factor - and moreso with each passing week - I would hope that they would not be used as an excuse for all of the other wrongs going on around this team.

These injuries should not be a 'get out of jail free' card for this failed season.

The fact is that this team wasn't very good before the spate of injuries they've had.

[silver]

Originally Posted by Hostile

I don't think this answered my question but I appreciate it anyway.

none is the answer. my point is it's a brutal game and some guys seem to endure and never get hurt. guys like ware, witten and bradie james when he was here. other guys always show up on the injury report: mike jenkins, felix jones, spears. some guys don't want to pay the price. a guy like witten it never even enters his mind. he'll never miss time. he'll show up in a wheel chair if necesary. a guy like mike jenkins well you never know what you're gonna get. he gets a headache and misses practice.

[Hostile]

Originally Posted by silver

none is the answer. my point is it's a brutal game and some guys seem to endure and never get hurt. guys like ware, witten and bradie james when he was here. other guys always show up on the injury report: mike jenkins, felix jones, spears. some guys don't want to pay the price. a guy like witten it never even enters his mind. he'll never miss time. he'll show up in a wheel chair if necesary. a guy like mike jenkins well you never know what you're gonna get. he gets a headache and misses practice.

Ware? You mean the guy who had a neck stinger last year and back issues this year that have kept him out of practices?

Witten? You mean the guy who has had a broken jaw and a ruptured spleen?

All players get injured. Most of the time they can play through it. The injury dictates that, not the player's physical makeup.

If you think Ware is immune to a knee injury ending his season you're quite wrong. I assure you.

[silver]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Ware? You mean the guy who had a neck stinger last year and back issues this year that have kept him out of practices?

Witten? You mean the guy who has had a broken jaw and a ruptured spleen?

All players get injured. Most of the time they can play through it. The injury dictates that, not the player's physical makeup.

If you think Ware is immune to a knee injury ending his season you're quite wrong. I assure you.

I agree with this. Nobody is immune, not even Adrian Peterson. But Murray has missed more games than Peterson even though Peterson tore his ACL.

[Hostile]

Originally Posted by silver

I agree with this. Nobody is immune, not even Adrian Peterson. But Murray has missed more games than Peterson even though Peterson tore his ACL.

Could Peterson have played through Murray's injury last year or this year?

I don't think Murray's toughness is or should be in question.

[silver]

Originally Posted by Hostile

Could Peterson have played through Murray's injury last year or this year?

I don't think Murray's toughness is or should be in question.

Ahmad Bradshaw could.

[Dallas]

We need to sign.



@


"The player formerly known as MouseCop." University of Missouri - Columbia

[ScipioCowboy]

Originally Posted by perrykemp

Green Bay's list this year may be more relevant:

Greg Jennings - Starting WR - Been basically been out all season
Desmond Bishop - Starting ILB - Out all season
Sam Shields - Starting CB - Missed the last 5 games
Charles Woodson - Missed the last 6 games
Nick Perry - Starting OLB - Their 1st round pick OLB from this season -- out for the season
Sherrod - Their 1st round pick LT from last season -- out all season
Bulaga - Their 1st round pick RT from two seasons ago - out for the season

And your right -- injuries affect on the field play -- even the Packers who are as about as deep as any team in the league are having trouble weathering losing their #1 draft picks from the past three seasons plus a number of Pro-Bowl calibers players in Jennings and Woodson. The Packers look like an absolute shell of the team they've been in 2010-2011. Only thing holding them together is Rodgers.

[View Full Quote]In 2010, the year everyone likes to point to as the proof-point that injuries don't matter, the only significant player they lost was Finley. They lost Nick Barnett also, however, they found that his backup was better in Desmond Bishop.

I didn't realize the extent of the Packers' injuries until last night when I saw both Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews on the sidelines. Yet, despite getting clobbered by the Giants, the Packers are still 7-4 and have managed to win 5 of their last 6. That's quite impressive.

For all the talk about the Cowboys' injuries, it isn't like they were winning with those players.

When Barry Church was lost for the season, the Cowboys were 1-1.

When Phil Costa went out for an extended period of time, they were 2-2

When Sean Lee was lost for the season, they were 2-3.

When Tyron Smith suffered his injury, they were 4-5.

When Bruce Carter was lost for the season, they were 5-5.

The Cowboys have been a .500 team no matter who's been playing for them.

[Hostile]

Originally Posted by silver

Ahmad Bradshaw could.

Through 2 broken bones in the lower leg?

That I'd like to see.

[Lodeus]

Originally Posted by ninja

And just who did you have in mind? Unfortunately, no team out there just out of the blue cut a healthy, starting All-Pro G or T.

The OL is what it is and isn't going to change until after FA and draft.

People seem to think there are some superstar free agents out there.

Why would they sign worse?