firehawk350 said:
I completely disagree with you here. Since when did the boys need a playmaker at WR? They have Glenn.
Glenn's good, but he's not TO good... he's also been a bit brittle...
The fun thing is, TO's presence should help Terry put up better numbers in 2006...
The skins needed somebody opposite Moss, now they have 3. So that's one need filled.
Yes, it is... I've said as much all along...
We needed a decent pass rushing DE, we got what looks to be a good pass-rushing DE.
Is he, or was he a one year wonder?? Four seasons ago, he had 12.5 sacks... in the other 53 games he's played in the NFL, he's had 19.5... that works out to an average of a little less than 6 sacks per 16 game season... since that breakthrough season, he's had 13 sacks-- in 38 games... in 22 games more than that memorable season, he's had one half sack more than he put up in 2002...
In fairness, he MIGHT do better by moving back to DE (the Niners switched him to OLB when they went to the 3-4), but some of those stats were also put up while playing DE...
I'd say the jury's out on whether or not he'll be a real help to the Skins; certainly, if you're pencilling him in for double digit sacks this year, you're being, well, let's be kind and say you're being optimistically premature... it's equally possible that he'll give you six sacks or fewer... and while doing so, he's a bit of a liability against the run...
We picked up some depth at the O-line...
Neither Walter nor Pucillo could even make the Cowboys' 53 man roster, and the Boys could stand some improved depth on the OL too... neither one is very good, particularly Walter... we Cowboys fans know ALL about him...
The one year that Pucillo started 12 games, the Bills were 30th in the league in total offense... no team he's ever played for has ever ranked in the top 25 in total offense... the Bills let him go after 3 years, now the Lions have let him go after just one season...
And patched the hole at SS.
You basically traded Ryan Clark for Adam Archuleta, which is at best a lateral move, not an upgrade... it makes you a bit better against the run, a bit worse against the pass (Archuleta is a liability in coverage)...
All we need now is a weak side linebacker, and we have some promising dudes from last year's draft in case we can't pick one up via the draft.
LOL... don't know how to break this to ya, hoss, but one of those "promising dudes" isn't even on the team any more (Newberry)... now, McCune might eventually be decent to good, I liked him in last year's draft, but he played 5 games for the Skins last year, had 4 tackles, no sacks, no interceptions, no passes defensed... you can bet your backside the Skins won't even entertain the thought of him being their starter this year...
What other gaping hole do the Skins have?
Depth on the offensive line... if Walter and Pucillo are the best you can bring off the bench, you're in DEEP doo-doo if one of your starters goes down... you can't count on keeping the line as healthy as it was last year... basically, you have traded Raymer for Walter, and it's difficult for me to believe I'd ever type this, but Raymer is better than what you replaced him with, and you've traded Ray Brown for Pucillo, another clear downgrade...
And do I need to remind what happened to your offense at the end of last season, when you finally DID suffer some injuries?? here's a hint, their last 3 games (the season finale and the 2 playoff games), the Skins averaged all of 230 yards per game, and 13 points per game... included in that total was a humiliating 120 yard total offense effort against the Bucs...
Second, you have a critical lack of depth in your secondary... you guys have Sean Taylor, Adam Archuleta, Pierson Prioleau, Carlos Rogers and Shawn Springs as experienced DBs, and that's IT... your top backup will be the immortal Ade Jimoh, who doesn't scare anybody, and some guys who have never accomplished jack in the NFL (Curry Burns, Christian Morton, Dimitri Patterson)...
So, even if I'm inclined to be generous, and call Jimoh a reasonable backup, that gives the Skins all of six acceptable DBs (five, if Taylor doesn't beat the rap in his trial down in Florida here in a week or so)... so, how are you guys gonna be able to field a 7 DB set on obvious passing downs?? And what happens if (when) the injury bug bites in the secondary...
Answer-- you're gonna have to run somebody out there who will be in over his head, and that somebody will be wearin' a big ol' target on his chest for every opposing QB...
Third, if Mark Brunell gets injured, the Skins have problems... perhaps Jason Campbell will one day become a good NFL quarterback (or perhaps he won't, Patrick Ramsey was the last QB the Skins drafted late in the first round, and we all know how he worked out for them), but the signing of Todd Collins is the clearest possible indication that the Skins don't believe that Jason is ready to step in and play yet... and if you guys have to count on Collins, rots o' ruck...
Fourth, there's that problem you already alluded to, at OLB...
How about QB? A statue in the pocket and no depth is a diaster waiting to happen.
Yup... JUST like the Skins... at the same time, the Boys have asked for permission to talk with Joey Harrington about negotiating a new deal and coming to Dallas... personally, I don't care for the guy, but he might make a decent backup, certainly better than any backup the Skins have at the moment (I'm talking about for the 06 season)...
You should also know that although he hasn't had a chance to show what he has on the field yet, Tony Romo is VERY highly regarded by the Cowboys, and other teams around the league (it has been confirmed that the Jets, the same team that just shipped a SIXTH rounder to y'all for Ramsey, offered a THIRD rounder for Romo last season)... check out Romo's quarterback rating last preseason, it was 93.6... IOW, you might be running your mouth without really knowing what you're talking about when you dis the Boys' backup QB situation... and I haven't even discussed how Drew Henson is the top rated QB in NFL Europe after two games, leading us Cowboys fans to hope that all he really needed was some playing time to reach the potential that EVERYBODY thought he had when he came into the league...
i remember correctly (and i remember correctly) your beloved RW can't cover worth a damn.
No, you don't remember correctly, you're just showing your obvious bias... he's not as strong in coverage as he is in run support, but he's adequate... he didn't make the last 2 Pro Bowls strictly on his run support...
As for the FS situation, the Boys are currently still some 12 million under the salary cap, there are nice free safeties out there like Lance Schulters, Antuan Edwards and Marcus Coleman... there have also been some rumblings that Charles Woodson would like to come play FS for the Boys (those rumblings coming from Woodson himself, no word on if the Cowboys are interested)... other, lesser options include Ifeanyi Ohalete (who can play both FS and SS), perhaps Kenny Wright (a big CB who the Skins had enough interest in to bring him in for a visit, but who they couldn't get signed)...
In addition, the Boys are quite likely to spend a first day draft pick on a FS, and this year's group is VERY deep, so even in the 3rd round they could pick up a player who could help them...
IOW, FS is indeed a hole, but the Boys aren't done plugging all their holes yet... the hot rumor is that they're looking at bringing in Coleman as a short-term solution, while drafting their FS of the future...
Okay, we lost WR2 for the season...
After 9 games... and he was playing rather badly before he got hurt... 22 catches, which would work out to 39 catches for the season, with an average of under 10 yards per catch-- not bad for a TE, pitiful for a WR...
What you probably don't realize is that Patten was the first player the Skins had to put on IR after the start of the regular season, and the second, to the best of my memory, was Randy Thomas, who went on the IR after week 14...
That is being INCREDIBLY lucky when it comes to injuries...
Lost Thomas (one of the best unsung guards in the league)
and Rabach towards the end...
Like I said, Thomas missed the last 2 games of the season, and the playoffs... you're quite wrong about Rabach, though, he played in all 18 games for the Skins-- you could look it up... the other injury on the OL, suffered in the season-ending loss to the Seahawks, was Ray Brown... Raymer came in to replace him, and was horrible...
This is bizarre, I'm arguing with a Skins fan, and I seem to know more about his team than he does... might I suggest that you check your facts before engaging me further??
On defense, we lost Griffin AND Salve'a (horrible spelling)
Griffin missed 3 whole games in November, Salave'a (it's a tough name to spell, don't beat yourself up over that) missed 2 whole games in early December...
Missed one game...
Missed 4 games...
and Harris at the CB position at a couple points.
Missed 3 games... add all of the games your top 7 missed together, and you have 18 games missed... NONE of them went on IR...
For purpose of contrast, consider the Boys, who were signing safeties one week, just to put them on IR the NEXT WEEK (Derek Pagel)...
So i don't really see how blessed Washington was.
OK, lemme offer you some perspective that you obviously badly need... the Cowboys lost their Pro Bowl tackle for the season after game 6... they lost their starting MLB (Dat Nguyen), the emotional leader of the defense, to a career-ending injury in game 8... they lost one of their starting OLBs (Al Singleton) for the year in game 8 too...
That's three starters, one of whom had played in the previous 2 Pro Bowls, gone by midseason...
Note that I'm just talking about players who wound up on IR, I'm not even factoring in players like you did, who got NICKED UP and had to miss a week or two or three... that would bring our starting RB Julius Jones into play (he missed 3 games with an ankle injury early in the season)... there were another 3 linebackers beside the starters already discussed who combined to miss 6 games... our linebacking corps was just DEVASTATED by injury last year, to the point that we had to sign Michael Barrow and Quinton Caver late in the season to fill out the roster... we also got hit really hard at safety...
Clearly, we suffered a LOT more injuries than y'all did, but the number of injuries we sustained was really about average for an NFL team (we just got a little unlucky by having them concentrated on 2 positions, for the most part)... NO team goes through an entire season unscathed, never have and never will... I said the Skins got lucky with how FEW injuries they suffered, until very late in the season...
It would be foolish of you Skins fans to anticipate another season like that...
