DMN: Blog: Cowboys have an elite stretch-the-field guy

[Cbz40]

Cowboys have an elite stretch-the-field guy

9:39 PM Sun, Jul 27, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Tim MacMahon


You keep hearing all this talk about how the Cowboys need an established speed threat to complement T.O.


We've been over this time and time and time again on this here blog. An elite No. 2 receiver is a luxury, not a need.


Doubters might have to check the stats from last season for proof. Tony Romo rewrote the franchise season passing record book. And the Cowboys averaged 8.1 yards per attempt, which was more than any team but the Patriots, who had the best passing attack in NFL history.


Would it be nice to get a blazer to start opposite T.O.? Sure, but don't count on that happening over the next month. And the Cowboys' passing attack will be just fine without that guy.
"Until we get somebody to do that," T.O. said, "I'll be that stretch-the-field guy."


Ask Adam "Pacman" Jones about T.O.'s ability to get behind cornerbacks. Or check out the tape of one of his 10 TDs longer than 20 yards last season, six of which were of the 40-plus variety.

 

[speedkilz88]

The thing is if they can get a speed guy opposite TO it will open up so many more things, even the running game.

 

[big dog cowboy]

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Hopefully an improved running game will simply open things up more for Owens, Witten, and Crayton. We might need a speedy #2 WR if our running game can become a much improved threat, not that it was bad last year, because that would force the safeties to move up.

Plus I do believe that Jones will give us some options out of the backfield that we simply didn't have last year in the passing game that will make a huge difference as well.

 

[Bizwah]

It's funny.

For years we had Michael Irvin as our "possession guy". No matter how many deep passes he caught, he was always the "possession guy".

What we needed with Irvin was a legitimate WR opposite him. Harper and Williams were ok. But they weren't good. We still put up decent numbers.

We tried Anthony Miller, Billy Davis, Stepfret Williams, Macey Brooks, James McKnight. None panned out. Miller was past his prime and Davis and Williams stunk.

Finally, we paired Irvin with Rocket. And we looked darn good on offense for two games.

Until Irvin went down.

I think TO is our guy to stretch the field. Right now, Witten and Crayton are good enough "possession" guys.

I'm not whining for a guy opposite TO though....I'm whining for us to have a guy to REPLACE TO in a year or two. We need to begin grooming a replacement soon. Otherwise, we'll waste Romo's prime years, or we'll have to overpay for a WR (Galloway).

 

[monkey]

We've been over this time and time and time again on this here blog. An elite No. 2 receiver is a luxury, not a need.

Necessary? Is it necessary to have multiple threats on field?

No, but we do it anyway because it sure doesn't hurt and I like the taste of sweet victory.

Or something like that.

Who doesn't worry though how the team would do if TO went down for a good portion of the season? (knock on wood).

 

[pugilist]

well they don't necessarily need to "stretch the field" on every play.. so, it shouldn't be too farfetched to see (and believe me i do think this will be vary rare, but a possibility) empty backfield with felix lined up in one of the WR spots

there's your guy

 

[NextGenBoys]

Necessary? Is it necessary to have multiple threats on field?

No, but we do it anyway because it sure doesn't hurt and I like the taste of sweet victory.

Or something like that.

Who doesn't worry though how the team would do if TO went down for a good portion of the season? (knock on wood).

Haha nice little "Dodgeball" reference right there. :laugh1:

 

[Deep_Freeze]

well they don't necessarily need to "stretch the field" on every play.. so, it shouldn't be too farfetched to see (and believe me i do think this will be vary rare, but a possibility) empty backfield with felix lined up in one of the WR spots

there's your guy

Felix is very quick, but he isn't fast enough at a WR position to be called a stretch the field guy.

This team will live and die with TO, but I don't see anything wrong with looking at what could improve the team. Seems like this same logic comes out every time about how we don't need this speed guy and blah blah blah.

Well, it is still something that we can look at that would, immediately, improve this team. Being in denial about that is just a waste of time.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

he is just much faster then folks realize.

 

[newlander]

Good posts. T.O. can definately get deep: the problem is when teams like the eagles and giants and skins double and triple team him. That's where witten, MB3, Felix, Crayton, Hurd,etc... all come in. We have enough weapons in my mind....just need to make sure to try and correct the "fade" that takes place at the end of the season. That's coaching IMO. Hopefully Wade talked to some coaches that have had more success than him in getting teams over the top.

 

[Canadian BoyzFan]

I love Romo as much as the next guy, but the deep ball is not his strength. My sincere hope is that Amendola is as good as I think he is. I'd like to see him in the slot. I don't mind Miles Austin/Hurd getting some time to spell the others.

Going 4 wide might look nice too:

Owens...........Crayton..........................Amendola......................Autin

 

[dargonking999]

I love Romo as much as the next guy, but the deep ball is not his strength. My sincere hope is that Amendola is as good as I think he is. I'd like to see him in the slot. I don't mind Miles Austin/Hurd getting some time to spell the others.

Going 4 wide might look nice too:

Owens...........Crayton..........................Amendola......................Autin

Hurd will be in the 4 wide long before Amendola and Or Austin

 

[aikemirv]

Good posts. T.O. can definately get deep: the problem is when teams like the eagles and giants and skins double and triple team him. That's where witten, MB3, Felix, Crayton, Hurd,etc... all come in. We have enough weapons in my mind....just need to make sure to try and correct the "fade" that takes place at the end of the season. That's coaching IMO. Hopefully Wade talked to some coaches that have had more success than him in getting teams over the top.

There was a long discussion the other day about whether or not your 2nd WR had to be a speed guy.

I am on the side that he does not especially if your #1 is a very legitimate deep threat. TO is our deep threat. If he gets covered double deep and Witten is getting attention then good route runners and space finders like Hurd and Crayton should be able to do a lot of damage.

When we are moving TO around a lot like we did in that Packer game the defense really gets lost and he can still make big plays even when he is the focus, he is just that good. The fact of the matter is that teams have such a hard time covering both TO and Witten that a lot of times Romo never gets to that 2nd WR as an option anyway. As it stands now, if Austin can beat man coverage deep you have a very nice setup and a varied amount of options based on the WR you have in on any given play.

 

[pacy]

I would do anything to get Michael Crabtree (born September 14, 1987 in Dallas, Texas) .
This kid is from Dallas, Texas and needs to be on our roster.

 

[dargonking999]

I would do anything to get Michael Crabtree (born September 14, 1987 in Dallas, Texas) .
This kid is from Dallas, Texas and needs to be on our roster.

Is that the Kid from TT?

He looked like a stud last year

 

[QT]

It's funny.

For years we had Michael Irvin as our "possession guy". No matter how many deep passes he caught, he was always the "possession guy".

What we needed with Irvin was a legitimate WR opposite him. Harper and Williams were ok. But they weren't good. We still put up decent numbers.

We tried Anthony Miller, Billy Davis, Stepfret Williams, Macey Brooks, James McKnight. None panned out. Miller was past his prime and Davis and Williams stunk.

Finally, we paired Irvin with Rocket. And we looked darn good on offense for two games.

Until Irvin went down.

I think TO is our guy to stretch the field. Right now, Witten and Crayton are good enough "possession" guys.

I'm not whining for a guy opposite TO though....I'm whining for us to have a guy to REPLACE TO in a year or two. We need to begin grooming a replacement soon. Otherwise, we'll waste Romo's prime years, or we'll have to overpay for a WR (Galloway).

Irvin would get catch a long ball and get tackled at the 2 yard line; thus Emmitt would come in and get the TD. Irvin never had breakaway speed.

 

[TNCowboy]

It's funny.

For years we had Michael Irvin as our "possession guy". No matter how many deep passes he caught, he was always the "possession guy".

What we needed with Irvin was a legitimate WR opposite him. Harper and Williams were ok. But they weren't good. We still put up decent numbers.

We tried Anthony Miller, Billy Davis, Stepfret Williams, Macey Brooks, James McKnight. None panned out. Miller was past his prime and Davis and Williams stunk.

Finally, we paired Irvin with Rocket. And we looked darn good on offense for two games.

Until Irvin went down.

I think TO is our guy to stretch the field. Right now, Witten and Crayton are good enough "possession" guys.

I'm not whining for a guy opposite TO though....I'm whining for us to have a guy to REPLACE TO in a year or two. We need to begin grooming a replacement soon. Otherwise, we'll waste Romo's prime years, or we'll have to overpay for a WR (Galloway).

Excellent points.

Dale Hansen and Randy Galloway went on ridiculous rants about Irvin when he was first up for consideration and said they weren't sure that a guy is HOF-worthy for catching "10 yard outs" his whole career. Yet Irvin has a higher ypc average than many of the HOF types, past and present - Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, Art Monk, Tim Brown, TO, Tory Holt - and significantly so in some cases.

I'm more concerned about a replacement for the 34 yr old TO than a compliment to him. Hopefully we can trade for or draft that guy soon.

 

[Bizwah]

Irvin would get catch a long ball and get tackled at the 2 yard line; thus Emmitt would come in and get the TD. Irvin never had breakaway speed.

He wasn't a burner, but he certainly got behind the defense well enough.

Getting caught at the two is as good as a TD. The percentage of scoring a TD is pretty high.

TO is a deep threat for us. We just need another guy to keep the defense honest.

 

[slick325]

I understand the need for overall speed on your team in all three phases of the game, offense, defense and special teams. However, as I have stated numerous times, I believe what Dallas needs most opposite T.O. is someone who consistently beats his man and gets open. That makes defenses have to change philosophies.

If you have a fast guy who can "stretch the field" but can't catch like say a Alexander Wright, then what good is he to your offense? Someone in this thread mentioned Mike Irvin. I think Irvin, Rice, Cris Carter, Sterling Sharpe, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and T.O. are perfect examples of what I mean when I say Dallas needs someone who consistently beats his man one on one.

None of the above mentioned players are known for being a blazer yet they always seem/seemed to get open and all were deep threats. Anquan Boldin is another example of this. He will beat you short, intermediate and long if you leave him one on one. So knowing that, defenses attempt to roll coverage his way. Imagine if Crayton, Hurd or Austin develop into that type of WR.

With T.O. and Witten demanding so much attention, the #2 WR will more times than not see one on one coverage. A WR that can consistently beat his man will make a lot of big plays because there is no help behind the CB. Having decent speed but above average route running skills mixed in with good quickness in and out of your breaks, is more important to a WR than top end speed. If Dallas' #2 WR has these attributes it will go a long way for this offense. Then the #2 can set up getting deep by beating his man on crossing routes, curls, outs, etc. Sell one of those routes well due to having the same speed and taking the same steps as you would when running an out will allow you to get deep on a double move.

JMO