TheCount;2715710 said:
You know what he means, and he's right.
Who was the last player to win a starting job here over an incumbant starter? Nobody won Roy's job, Nobody won Julius Jones' Job, Nobody won Patrick Craytons job, Nobody won Greg Ellis' job till they just handed it to Spencer, Nobody won Anthony Henry's job. Nobody could even be found to beat Nate Jones and Jacques Reeves in fair competition till their contracts were up. Ratliff couldn't even beat out Jason Ferguson till he got injured after playing just 1 game all season.
Burnett isn't a great player, that's true. But at this point neither is Keith Brooking, and we all know that if Burnett had stayed, Brooking would be the starter.
Zach Thomas "won" the starting job here over Burnett, for what? He didn't even like the position Burnett actually WANTS to play. It took Barber years of beating people up to get his shot to start, and Julius' contract had to expire for that to happen.
This team is not exactly known for giving the underdog a real shot to upset the established guy, unless we bring someone in from somewhere else. Here, starting jobs are assigned, not won.
I hear what you are saying.
Mike Jenkins should have started last year, imvso. At the very least, he should have taken over for Anthony Henry at some point, like Kevin Smith did in 1992. Other teams would have let Jenkins know that it was his job to win. I don't think the Cowboys saw it like that, imo. Jenkins could have taken that job, but Phillips didn't even start Shawn Marion, and Parcells didn't mind not playing high picks. I think that is a mistake, imo. There has been a reluctance to start rookies in Dallas, imo, for these two reasons.
Bobby Carpenter was drafted (#18) for insurance, I guess. I guess they thought that they could move him inside. That is an expensive insurance policy, imo.
Felix Jones was one of Dallas' best players (so was Mike Jenkins) the day he was drafted, but we saw the reluctance to play him. If Barber doesn't get hurt in Cleveland, you don't see Felix in that game, imo. How he destroyed the Packers and didn't touch the ball against Washington is still beyond me. It's just dumb.
Tashard Choice was kept in the cooler too long last year. He could have played some more, too.
Anthony Spencer was playing very well in 2007 when Ellis came back. Ellis was productive, but Spencer's time got slashed, big time. Dallas got one more productive year out of Ellis, but the younger player's development was blocked. Phillips even stated that he should have played Anthony Spencer more in 2007. Ellis' production dropped off big time last year, imo. (3 sacks in the first 10 games and 2 sacks against the Giants' backup RT in December skewed his 8 sack total) Now, Spencer got hurt, so the Cowboys needed Ellis last year. He was coming off a double digit sack year, so I understand why they kept him. However, why was Ellis even playing at all when Spencer got healthy? Are 3 sacks in 10 games enough to keep pulling Spencer off the field, especially on third down? I don't thnk other teams would have done it. Letting Ellis "start" games was weak, imo. Whose team is it? (Ellis' or Phillips')
As far as
Kevin Burnett is concerned, he saw the likes of Scott Shanlee, that guy from the Cheifs, and Ryan Fowler. Are guys like that worth blocking a number 2 pick? No. Now, I don't think Burnett ever fit Parcells' style of defense. I don't know why he even drafted him. It's clear Dallas doesn't think he is a starter, so I wish him luck in S.D. Burnett only missed a couple of games while in Dallas. I think the Chargers will benefit from Burnett's play, and Jammal Williams will help Burnett's play. Don't underestimate his role in pass coverage. The Cowboys were number 5 against the pass, and Brooking is a big down grade. Carpenter isn't close to Burnett in terms of speed.
Other teams like, draft, and play their young, high picks. They don't block them. In the past, Dallas has seemed to overrate players like Anthony Henry or Greg Ellis, and they block young, high picks from starting or playing. That blocks growth and development. Then, you don't "win the Super Bowl", and you start the next year, and your rookies could have more experience under their belt if you would have played them.
Also, the media and fans start saying "Lamar Woodley is dong this or that". "Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is doing that". Yeah, they did this or that, but they were not sitting on the bench for Greg Ellis or Anthony Henry. They were playing, and I don't know the third rusher for the Steelers' name.
Just my opinion.
