A Look at the Current Depth Chart

[Iago33]

Everyone who is so down on Costa should realize that he was playing injured most of the year.
That said Nagy and Kowlaski have a stronger base.

Our weakest link is Secondary but that improves with a real NT which creates pressure from the DE and OLBs.

Nose Tackle and Saftey ... teams that are strong in the middle win in the NFL.

What was injured?

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

What was injured?

First his knee and then a Concussion.

 

[fortdick]

What was injured?

His ego?

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

Comming off the knee injusry we almost kept Gurode, then miraculously he was declared healthy and Gurode suddenly cut right before the season.

Not only was he injured but also didn't have a training camp in his first year of starting coming off his rookie season.

Then after the concussion he was pushed back into the lineup again, likely still suffering residuals from those effects.

 

[Wimbo]

Offense
​

QB...Romo, Orton, McGee (3, Likely to carry 3.)
RB...Murray, Jones, Tanner (3, Likely to carry 3.)
FB...Vickers, Chapas, Greenhouse (3, Likely to carry 1.)
WR...Austin, Bryant, Ogletree, Holmes, Harris, Radway (6, Likely to carry 5.)
TE...Witten, Phillips (2, Likely to carry 3.)
OT...Smith, Free, Parnell (3, likely to carry 4.)
OG...Bernadeau, Livings, Nagy, Arkin (4, Likely to carry 4.)
C...Costa, Kowalski (2, Likely to carry 2.)

26 total players currently on the Offense. (Likely to carry 25.)

Defense
​

DE...Lissemore, Hatcher, Spears, Coleman, Geathers, Atkins (6, Likely to carry 5.)
NT...Ratliff, Brent, Calloway (3, Likely to carry 2.)
OLB...Ware, Spencer, Butler, Albright (4, Likely to carry 4.)
ILB...Lee, Carter, Connor, Lemon, Satele (5, Likely to carry 4.)
CB...Carr, Jenkins, Scandrick, Butler, Wilson, Taplin-Ross, Williams (7, Likely to carry 6.)
S...Pool, Sensabaugh, Church, McCray, Silva (5, Likely to carry, 4.)

30 total players currently on the Defense. (Likely to carry 25.)

Special Teams
​

K...Bailey, Forbath (2, Likely to carry 1.)
P...Jones (1, Likely to carry 1.)
LS...Ladouceur (1, Likely to carry 1.)

4 total players currently on Special Teams. (Likely to carry 3.)

This makes 60 players currently under contract with the team. We have 8 Draft picks. This means we will add 12 more players as UDFAs or FAs before Training Camp begins unless we add picks via the Draft.

The projected starters are in bold.




Where do you see the weakest link? I still see it at Interior OL even with the signings of Livings and Bernadeau. Mostly because Costa is still there. Secondly I see a need for better CB depth. I can live with this front 7 if I have to. Those two areas, not so much.

I am late to this thread (been out for a few days)...
I don't have a lot of comfort with our current roster.
1) I am not sure we got any better on the OL at all. The middle 3 are all backups, IMO. That should scare everyone to death. (particularly Romo).
2) The Safety position is not much, if any, better.
3) Our WR situation is worse.
4) FB is probably a little better, but not sure how much that will impact the big picture.
5) Our QB situation is probably slightly better.
6) Our DL is the same, which is a problem. They are not keeping blockers off the LB's, and not creating much pressure, IMO. The depth is not good. Ratliff burns out too fast (undersized for position).
7) The starting 2-3 CB situation is better, but the depth is still a concern.
8) I'm fine with the RB's, but I don't think we will continue to pay DeMarco and Felix. Felix may be a luxury we can't afford. Considering the other roster holes, he may be trade bait.)
9) We still have no return man.
10) We don't have a blocking TE opposite Witten.

As someone said last year, we have lots of talent, but we don't have the role players to make the overall team good.

 

[jterrell]

...the roster to look for real opportunities for sustainable improvement now and a good base for the future.

There is no better place to start than the o-line for the Cowboys. This improves their chance to ride the Romo wagon and the young uns will be the foundation for a new QB.

If we can get these two players, don't follow college much, and they somehow pan out to their draft positions it would be an envious position for the team to be.

My belief for what I feel is the best way to win games in the NFL is to control the clock and not give up the ball.

The best way to improve those two metrics is a strong o-line. It's hard to beat a team who can run 6-8 minute drives on you and score at will inside the red zone.

This league is a throwing league and it's designed to give offence the upper hand. We need to build a team that takes advantage of the present day rules.

This to me is a salient point.

Last year the interior OL may have been a 5 on a scale of 1-10 with DB at a 6. Problem is the DBs were all experienced veterans. The int OL guys were babies. Arrow pointing up or down should direct future decisions imho.

In 2010 our weakest area was inside linebacker. But a year later Sean Lee was probably our best young player and the position could be addressed with another r2 and a cheap free agent yet end up a team strength.

You draft guys, let them get some exposure plus get them in an NFL weight training program for an entire year. Sounds like how you get better to me.

If we write off Nagy or Arkin already we are begging for another Stephen Peterman situation. Peterman goes down as some draft bust for us when in reality he has been a solid long-term starter in the NFL. He was AT LEAST as good as Bigg Davis his final two years at a fraction of the cost and certainly superior to our interior OL last year.

 

[AsthmaField]

If we write off Nagy or Arkin already we are begging for another Stephen Peterman situation. Peterman goes down as some draft bust for us when in reality he has been a solid long-term starter in the NFL. He was AT LEAST as good as Bigg Davis his final two years at a fraction of the cost and certainly superior to our interior OL last year.

Very good point.

 

[cowboysooner]

This to me is a salient point.

Last year the interior OL may have been a 5 on a scale of 1-10 with DB at a 6. Problem is the DBs were all experienced veterans. The int OL guys were babies. Arrow pointing up or down should direct future decisions imho.

In 2010 our weakest area was inside linebacker. But a year later Sean Lee was probably our best young player and the position could be addressed with another r2 and a cheap free agent yet end up a team strength.

You draft guys, let them get some exposure plus get them in an NFL weight training program for an entire year. Sounds like how you get better to me.

If we write off Nagy or Arkin already we are begging for another Stephen Peterman situation. Peterman goes down as some draft bust for us when in reality he has been a solid long-term starter in the NFL. He was AT LEAST as good as Bigg Davis his final two years at a fraction of the cost and certainly superior to our interior OL last year.

I'd disagree with the scale numbers because I don't think either were as high as a 5, but I do agree with the overall point. Livings is not a long term starter and is a 2 year stop gap. You can get his replacement from the roster or this year's draft or the next. I hope that Bernadeux can play some center for us because there are 6 - 9 really good guard in this draft and not many draftable centers.

I think Brockers or Poe will be the pick. The worst players on our starting defense are the 2 gaping ends, Spears and Coleman. We need a 2 gap player who is good somewhere along our defensive line and we are odd because our nose is not that guy. You have to get lucky on defensive linemen but you have to get really lucky after the 1st round. Lissmore and Hatcher are reasonable rotation players but none are difference makers and Ratliff does not make as much difference as he once did.

If Coples is on the board, he is my pick and I'm lining up in a 4-3 most of the time with him as my left end.

 

[baj1dallas]

Last year the interior OL may have been a 5 on a scale of 1-10 with DB at a 6. Problem is the DBs were all experienced veterans. The int OL guys were babies. Arrow pointing up or down should direct future decisions imho.
.

5 is very generous. To me the line was well below average last season.

 

[Risen Star]

5 is very generous. To me the line was well below average last season.

I'd put it more like a 1 or 2. Honestly. It was that bad.

The C didn't even register on the meter.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

If you have been with us since Peterman you'd see the promise in Nagy, Kowlaski and yep even Costa.

 

[gbrittain]

Based on need and possibly the BPA, Decastro would work for me at #14.

 

[koolaid]

I wouldn't be upset with DeCastro, but as we get closer to the draft I am starting to really like Mark Barron. Our secondary has been so embarrassing the last two seasons, I would really love to see some fresh talent. Barron can knock people out and we haven't seen that in Dallas since Roy Williams was good. I really like the idea of Jenkins, Carr and Barron holding down the secondary the next few seasons. (assuming good health and a return to form for Jenk)

I also really wish we would get someone dynamic at the PR position. We can't afford to risk dez on returns anymore.

That all said, looking over our roster I am getting really stoked for the next couple of seasons. We have a lot of young talent that can really play.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

The big hit in the NFL is gone foreva. That means you need Cover Safties in the League.

The Cowboys aren't taking a Guard in the 1st, stop crying for DeCastro, Jerry really likes what he has done with the Oline, he's not the only one.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

This to me is a salient point.

Last year the interior OL may have been a 5 on a scale of 1-10 with DB at a 6. Problem is the DBs were all experienced veterans. The int OL guys were babies. Arrow pointing up or down should direct future decisions imho.

In 2010 our weakest area was inside linebacker. But a year later Sean Lee was probably our best young player and the position could be addressed with another r2 and a cheap free agent yet end up a team strength.

You draft guys, let them get some exposure plus get them in an NFL weight training program for an entire year. Sounds like how you get better to me.

If we write off Nagy or Arkin already we are begging for another Stephen Peterman situation. Peterman goes down as some draft bust for us when in reality he has been a solid long-term starter in the NFL. He was AT LEAST as good as Bigg Davis his final two years at a fraction of the cost and certainly superior to our interior OL last year.

You thinking the interior OL was a 5 goes a long way toward explaining why you've been so blase toward the need to upgrade it. I doubt most observers would call that bunch average, though. I don't see any way of rating those guys collectively higher than a 3.5. Remember, this team as a whole went 8-8 against a relatively easy schedule, making the team as a whole something around a 4 or 4.5. The interior OL was arguably the weakest sub-unit on the squad.

 

[CF74]

I'd disagree with the scale numbers because I don't think either were as high as a 5, but I do agree with the overall point. Livings is not a long term starter and is a 2 year stop gap. You can get his replacement from the roster or this year's draft or the next. I hope that Bernadeux can play some center for us because there are 6 - 9 really good guard in this draft and not many draftable centers.

I think Brockers or Poe will be the pick. The worst players on our starting defense are the 2 gaping ends, Spears and Coleman. We need a 2 gap player who is good somewhere along our defensive line and we are odd because our nose is not that guy. You have to get lucky on defensive linemen but you have to get really lucky after the 1st round. Lissmore and Hatcher are reasonable rotation players but none are difference makers and Ratliff does not make as much difference as he once did.

If Coples is on the board, he is my pick and I'm lining up in a 4-3 most of the time with him as my left end.

The 4-3 is what this team needs to go back to unless we get a new NT. To some degree we run an off shoot of the 4-3 anyways because Ware usually rushes the QB. Something needs to change... Teams seem to know how to play off our blitz most of the time, especially on 3rd and long.

All the pet cats like Coples, Cox, and a few others that escape my mind are all better suited for the 4-3. To some degree I think unless u have a big nasty NT, the 3-4 is just a bad experiment. It clearly only works for a few teams and those teams have all the required pieces to make it work. U gotta go with the strength of your roster if you are gonna have success...

 

[jterrell]

You thinking the interior OL was a 5 goes a long way toward explaining why you've been so blase toward the need to upgrade it. I doubt most observers would call that bunch average, though. I don't see any way of rating those guys collectively higher than a 3.5. Remember, this team as a whole went 8-8 against a relatively easy schedule, making the team as a whole something around a 4 or 4.5. The interior OL was arguably the weakest sub-unit on the squad.

I used the 5 as an example not as my scoring. If I was attempting an actual grade I would have described the scale. My point being a lower score with young, improving players is superior to a slightly higher score with expensive, declining players.

FWIW we had PLUS play for 10 games from Holland inside. Our INT play was no where nearly as bad as has been portrayed here. OC was very weak. But we ended up middle of the pack in OL rankings not bottom of the barrel.

Murray torched teams for weeks running between the tackles. But we want to look at out of work Sammy Morris and rookie RBs as legit indicators of our running game?

Or no, this is all about Romo right? Except many QBs were hit more, sacked more and injured to the point of missing games. Some of those QBs for teams with supposedly awesome OLs. SF allowed 3 more sacks than us even though they threw much less and have spent tons of high draft picks along the OL.

The Giants had 2 guys rate worse than us according to PFF. They won a Super Bowl.

They ended up 27th in advanced nfl stats win percentage metric to add another site and different metric.
http://wp.advancednflstats.com/teamOL.php?year=2011&season=reg


Our INT OL was NOT as bad as our secondary the last few weeks. Not with TNew giving up a 97 yard TD on a 3 yard route and and failing to tackle even full backs in the flat. Scandrick had his worst season and Jenkins couldn't raise his arm above shoulder.


The DL was also terrible. We got zero push or pressure all year. We stopped the run early but wore down even there.

If we use your scale the argument tilts even further in my direction. On a team with many holes only a really stupid GM would use premium picks on interior OL. It is a quick way to become unemployed.

Dallas has smart people in charge and they are working the plan perfectly so far. They showed the biggest concern was DB and have addressed it with the biggest FA signing. They added average but proven NFL OL to bolster that group of young players.

Now they are in position to grab a front 7 defender. And it is a good thing because they simply couldn't afford one in free agency.

 

[Hostile]

I added Carpenter.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

I used the 5 as an example not as my scoring. If I was attempting an actual grade I would have described the scale. My point being a lower score with young, improving players is superior to a slightly higher score with expensive, declining players.

FWIW we had PLUS play for 10 games from Holland inside. Our INT play was no where nearly as bad as has been portrayed here. OC was very weak. But we ended up middle of the pack in OL rankings not bottom of the barrel.

Murray torched teams for weeks running between the tackles. But we want to look at out of work Sammy Morris and rookie RBs as legit indicators of our running game?

Or no, this is all about Romo right? Except many QBs were hit more, sacked more and injured to the point of missing games. Some of those QBs for teams with supposedly awesome OLs. SF allowed 3 more sacks than us even though they threw much less and have spent tons of high draft picks along the OL.

The Giants had 2 guys rate worse than us according to PFF. They won a Super Bowl.

They ended up 27th in advanced nfl stats win percentage metric to add another site and different metric.
http://wp.advancednflstats.com/teamOL.php?year=2011&season=reg


Our INT OL was NOT as bad as our secondary the last few weeks. Not with TNew giving up a 97 yard TD on a 3 yard route and and failing to tackle even full backs in the flat. Scandrick had his worst season and Jenkins couldn't raise his arm above shoulder.


The DL was also terrible. We got zero push or pressure all year. We stopped the run early but wore down even there.

If we use your scale the argument tilts even further in my direction. On a team with many holes only a really stupid GM would use premium picks on interior OL. It is a quick way to become unemployed.

Dallas has smart people in charge and they are working the plan perfectly so far. They showed the biggest concern was DB and have addressed it with the biggest FA signing. They added average but proven NFL OL to bolster that group of young players.

Now they are in position to grab a front 7 defender. And it is a good thing because they simply couldn't afford one in free agency.

I like the moves the FO has made on D and a guy like Cox would *likely* go a long ways toward improving the DL, which I agree is weak. I am skeptical that Livings and Bernadeau will be good enough, although it could happen. I remain on the DeCastro bandwagon, however, due to the relative certainty that he will 'plug and play' at a high level. We obviously disagree on this point.

 

[ferrispata]

It should be interesting in the draft. Our 2nd or 3rd pick will probably be a center/guard type (Blake). Other than that we will load up on D in the first 4 rounds. One thing to keep in mind is that there will be some decent new Free Agents once teams start signing their draft picks. I would be willing to get we grab a couple of players from that fodder (TE, OL, S). The draft can't get here soon enough. Good thing I will be away for a week on a cruise which will take my mind off of it.