I don't believe most people think Ware's a bottom-half player. His play has declined the last two years due to injuries and therein lies the problem. The Cowboys didn't let him go because he is easily replaceable. They let him go because the last two years have created doubt that he can play at the level he was being paid for (which is considerable given the salary cap) the whole season. That doesn't mean he's not capable of it, only that the odds are lower that he will.
For a team like Denver, who already has a solid team, adding a player like Ware is worth the risk. I like Ware a lot and the fan in me will really hate to see him in another team's jersey, but in the salary cap era, teams that are not Super Bowl ready have to think beyond the next season and Ware's unfortunately on the wrong side of 30, just like Hatcher.
Of course there will be a lot of ruing and regret among some fans if Ware and/or Hatcher have solid 2014 seasons for other teams (which is quite possible), but it still won't change the fact that the Cowboys needed to make these moves to build a younger foundation that will give them the best chance to win beyond 2014.
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And there really shouldn't be any ruing.
We know that Hatcher can be great, but I'm sure most of us have collectively agreed that we shouldn't have tried to re-sign a player turning 32 before the season starts.
Ware, as you mentioned, is certainly capable of playing at a really high level still. He proved that with his play from week 1 to week 3.
But, again, as you mentioned, he could not sustain that for the duration of the season and that's why we couldn't afford to allocate all that cap space toward him.
Sure, we all could see that as well. But we shouldn't be surprised if Ware lights it up with fewer snaps or more help-- personally, I'm expecting it.
Overall, if fans are being honest with themselves, they'll realize that both moves were the right moves.
