2015 Cowboys Roster same or better than last year, except RB?

[xwalker]

Cowboys the same or better at all positions except RB?

They didn't really lose much, but they have added a lot of talent and have many key young players that now have more experience.

Lost
Murray
Parnell
Harris
Carter
Durant
Spencer
Selvie

Added
Hardy
McFadden
Brinkley
Gachkar
Collins
Jones
Gregory
Green
Wilson
Russell
3 7th round picks
Whaley (IR from last season)
Gardner (IR from last season)
Weems (IR from last season)
Rivers
AJ Jenkins (previous 1st round pick)
Various UDFAs


Murray is gone and the RBs are unproven. They don't have the Bell Cow at the top but might be deeper now.

Hitchens was already above Carter on the depth chart in games last season.

Harris was good on ST but didn't seem to have as much juice on returns as some previous years. Some guys like Lucky appear to have some ability as returners.

Parnell was very solid and the backup OT is completely undetermined at this point, but they have added a lot of talented options and have Weems back from IR.

 

[Garrettop]

The same or better is exactly how I would describe the changes in the roster, and we actually don't know that the RB position isn't the same (or better).

 

[Teague31]

you forget Lee

 

[itsaboat]

Moore is also a big loss. Capable #2 CB that can play slot. Luckily we have Jones and they like Patmon

 

[perrykemp]

Hitchens was already above Carter on the depth chart in games last season.

I need to see more from Hitchens before I put him above Carter.

Carter led all LBs in the NFL with 5 interceptions last year -- a freakishly high number of INTs for a LB.

Having said that I will freely admit I found Carter's effort to be maddeningly inconsistent which is always a big negative. NFL coaches will take a lesser talent who plays with consistent effort over a more talented player who vacillates between no effort in some games and good effort in other games. That's why the Cowboys really made no attempt to resign Carter -- I think the coaching staff was sick of his crap.

Hitchens looked good as a rookie last year, on the other hand, he didn't particularly wow me. I'll be interested to see what Hitchens ceiling looks like.

 

[JohnsKey19]

Excluding RB, easily the 2015 roster is better on paper.

However IF the RB position turns out to be a marked downgrade from last season, that one position could sink the season.

 

[BAZ]

It feels like the team is better but at the same time I don’t see them having 12 wins. Division is still theirs to lose.

 

[the_h0wey]

Cowboys the same or better at all positions except RB?

They didn't really lose much, but they have added a lot of talent and have many key young players that now have more experience.

Lost
Murray
Parnell
Harris
Carter
Durant
Spencer
Selvie

Added
Hardy
McFadden
Brinkley
Gachkar
Collins
Jones
Gregory
Green
Wilson
Russell
3 7th round picks
Whaley (IR from last season)
Gardner (IR from last season)
Weems (IR from last season)
Rivers
AJ Jenkins (previous 1st round pick)
Various UDFAs


Murray is gone and the RBs are unproven. They don't have the Bell Cow at the top but might be deeper now.

Hitchens was already above Carter on the depth chart in games last season.

Harris was good on ST but didn't seem to have as much juice on returns as some previous years. Some guys like Lucky appear to have some ability as returners.

Parnell was very solid and the backup OT is completely undetermined at this point, but they have added a lot of talented options and have Weems back from IR.

I feel it has significantly improved. With that being said I hope we can stay relatively healthy like last year.

 

[CF74]

Overall much better..

 

[Alexander]

Excluding RB, easily the 2015 roster is better on paper.

However IF the RB position turns out to be a marked downgrade from last season, that one position could sink the season.

Not much more than can be said.

Well done.

 

[speedkilz88]

Moore is also a big loss. Capable #2 CB that can play slot. Luckily we have Jones and they like Patmon

They chose to let Moore go and then picked White off waivers for the same 1.5 million that Moore would have cost.

 

[AzorAhai]

They chose to let Moore go and then picked White off waivers for the same 1.5 million that Moore would have cost.

Moore was not very good. He was probably as responsible for the GB loss as the lack of pass rush. Teams started to target his man frequently with a ton of success. I'm not sure why he's as vastly overrated on here as he is. There's a reason Dallas let him walk for the money he got.

 

[conner01]

Cowboys the same or better at all positions except RB?

They didn't really lose much, but they have added a lot of talent and have many key young players that now have more experience.

Lost
Murray
Parnell
Harris
Carter
Durant
Spencer
Selvie

Added
Hardy
McFadden
Brinkley
Gachkar
Collins
Jones
Gregory
Green
Wilson
Russell
3 7th round picks
Whaley (IR from last season)
Gardner (IR from last season)
Weems (IR from last season)
Rivers
AJ Jenkins (previous 1st round pick)
Various UDFAs


Murray is gone and the RBs are unproven. They don't have the Bell Cow at the top but might be deeper now.

Hitchens was already above Carter on the depth chart in games last season.

Harris was good on ST but didn't seem to have as much juice on returns as some previous years. Some guys like Lucky appear to have some ability as returners.

Parnell was very solid and the backup OT is completely undetermined at this point, but they have added a lot of talented options and have Weems back from IR.

I think we are overall better on paper
Hardy when he is cleared to play is really huge
One point, at this time last year just how many thought Murray was the player he turned out to be?
His injury history was a huge question mark
I think we seen the talent but I was concerned if he could carry the load
The RB spot will be different but if they can stay healthy I think the production can be fine

 

[xwalker]

I need to see more from Hitchens before I put him above Carter.

Carter led all LBs in the NFL with 5 interceptions last year -- a freakishly high number of INTs for a LB.

Having said that I will freely admit I found Carter's effort to be maddeningly inconsistent which is always a big negative. NFL coaches will take a lesser talent who plays with consistent effort over a more talented player who vacillates between no effort in some games and good effort in other games. That's why the Cowboys really made no attempt to resign Carter -- I think the coaching staff was sick of his crap.

Hitchens looked good as a rookie last year, on the other hand, he didn't particularly wow me. I'll be interested to see what Hitchens ceiling looks like.

Hitchens started 11 games as a rookie and that included weeks 12 through 16 which were weeks that Carter was active but did not start.

It was great that Carter got the INTs, but when the coaches start a rookie over you, it's not a good sign.

 

[perrykemp]

Moore was not very good. He was probably as responsible for the GB loss as the lack of pass rush. Teams started to target his man frequently with a ton of success. I'm not sure why he's as vastly overrated on here as he is. There's a reason Dallas let him walk for the money he got.

I thought Moore did fine, generally playing above my expectations, right up to the last game where he was clearly outmatched by the Packers WR3 Davonte Adams.

Generally speaking, you aren't going to run into many WR3s of the calibre of Adams.

 

[xwalker]

Moore is also a big loss. Capable #2 CB that can play slot. Luckily we have Jones and they like Patmon

I've spent some time, not a huge amount, but some time reviewing Moore and Corey White. I think White is an upgrade over Moore in terms of subtractions and additions.

In terms of the actual 3rd CB, it appears that Carr may be the 3rd CB. He has not lived up to his contract, but he is a much better player than Moore, IMO.

 

[AbeBeta]

Cowboys the same or better at all positions except RB?

They didn't really lose much, but they have added a lot of talent and have many key young players that now have more experience.

Lost
Murray
Parnell
Harris
Carter
Durant
Spencer
Selvie

Added
Hardy
McFadden
Brinkley
Gachkar
Collins
Jones
Gregory
Green
Wilson
Russell
3 7th round picks
Whaley (IR from last season)
Gardner (IR from last season)
Weems (IR from last season)
Rivers
AJ Jenkins (previous 1st round pick)
Various UDFAs


Murray is gone and the RBs are unproven. They don't have the Bell Cow at the top but might be deeper now.

Hitchens was already above Carter on the depth chart in games last season.

Harris was good on ST but didn't seem to have as much juice on returns as some previous years. Some guys like Lucky appear to have some ability as returners.

Parnell was very solid and the backup OT is completely undetermined at this point, but they have added a lot of talented options and have Weems back from IR.

Harris is a major loss for his blocking. Murray owes several 100 yards to his efforts. He really seemed to motivate Dez and TWill to raise their blocking games as well.

 

[Kaiser]

I agree that the team is the same or better, IMO the big difference is that every spot on the roster is going to be a quality player. We aren't going to have a Cam Lawrence type on the roster (on either side of the ball) that opposing teams can target if they get pressed into playing time.

 

[blindzebra]

The biggest question mark is returns. Harris is a bigger loss than Murray, IMO.

 

[guag]

Excluding RB, easily the 2015 roster is better on paper.

However IF the RB position turns out to be a marked downgrade from last season, that one position could sink the season.

If the Cowboys thought that RB was a position that could potentially sink the season, I'm sure they would have put a lot more resources into it (such as giving someone a Murray-type deal).

However it seems that the Cowboys feel quite the opposite -- that they could get by with average talent at RB and still be effective. It's just not a high-priority position to the FO compared to, say, OL, DL, and pretty much everything else except 1 tech DT and maybe safety.

Not saying that one or more of our current RBs couldn't be above average, or that their philosophy is correct... but that seems to be how they feel.