revospeed
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The 2014 Dallas Cowboys season will always hold a special place in my heart. It was my senior year of college, I had already been accepted into law school and was footloose and fancy free. I could dedicate an entire Sunday to the Cowboys, then spend the next week listening to radio and TV shows talking about their upcoming game. The amazing turnaround from the pitiful week 1 performance against the Niners to the awesome comeback against the Rams and intense games against the Giants. It was a great season. It was the last season in which the Cowboys were my main focus and it was such a fun team to watch. Demarco was great, Romo was the best QB in the league towards the end of the season, the offensive line was the best in the league and the defense was overachieving.
All the stars were aligned... until they said Dez didn't catch it. That was the closest I've seen to the Cowboys winning it all. What could the Cowboys have done to change their fate? This is the team that I truly believe was 2-3 players away from winning it all. I've looked at the 2014 offseason and draft a bit recently and found a few things that they could have done differently that would have definitely made the difference and brought home a Lombardi. So without making obvious reaches (limiting the redraft to drafting another player no more than 32 picks out of position, in round 7, you can pick any UDFA), here's my redraft of 2014 that would have resulted in the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl in 2014.
Round 1, Pick 16: Zack Martin, OG Notre Dame: This is obvious. No other player drafted within 32 picks after him is close.
Round 2, Pick 34: Demarcus Lawrence, DE Boise State: I still make this trade with the Commanders, giving up our 3rd. There's really no other pass rusher within 32 picks that made the limited difference that Lawrence did his rookie year. If I didn't make the trade, I'd go with Trent Murphy, DE at 47 and Trai Turner at 92
Round 4, Pick 119: Anthony Hitchens LB, Purdue: Once again, I stick with the pick. Maybe go with Telvin Smith, who was drafted at 144, but Hitch was as a solid as you get.
Round 5, Pick 146: Avery Williamson, LB Kentucky (picked by the Titans at 151): Original pick was Devin Street, who I think had like 5 catches with the Cowboys. In 2014, we needed linebacker help. Sean Lee was hurt in the offseason, Rolando McClain was hit and miss. Justin Durant was our best linebacker throughout the season. We had a revolving door at linebacker throughout the year with Korey Toomer, James Anderson, Dekoda Watson and other names working the special teams throughout the year. Williamson was a solid LBer and would have kept these players off the field.
Round 7, Pick 231: Charles Leno, T Boise State (picked by Bears at Pick 246): Original pick was Ben Gardner, who never saw the field but was hyped by Helman and Broaddus. We had Free get hurt towards the end of the year and had Parnell starting at tackle in the playoffs, with Tony Hillis at the swing tackle. Leno would take Hillis' spot.
Round 7, Pick 238: Shaquill Barrett, OLB/DE Colorado State (UDFA, signed by Broncos): Original pick was Will Smith (linebacker from Texas Tech). The Broncos didn't play him his rookie year, but they were loaded at pass rusher. The Cowboys had Spencer, Mincey and a hurt rookie in Lawrence. I'm sure Shaq would have seen the field and made an impact based on skill alone. He would take the spot of Ken Boatright and Lavar Edwards.
Round 7, Pick 248: Malcolm Butler, CB West Alabama (UDFA, signed by Patriots): Original pick was Ahmad Dixon. This is the pick that might single handedly get us past the Packers. We all saw how Sterling Moore did not want any part of the Packers game. His hands were in his hand warmers throughout the game and he completely avoided contact and generally acted like he did not want to be there. Butler has enough dog in him, as evidenced by his performance in the Super Bowl, to merit him getting the nod over Moore. Heck, I would have taken Tyler Patmon over Moore that game.
Round 7, Pick 251: Zachary Kerr, DT Delaware (UDFA, signed by Colts): Original pick was DT Ken Bishop. Was a Marinelli guy and was awful. Kind of unheralded, but the kind of DT we needed to replace Nick Hayden. Big boy, 6'2 335and had three sacks as a rookie.
Round 7, Pick 254: Willie Snead, WR Ball State (UDFA, signed by Browns): Original pick was CB Terrance Mitchell, who has had a solid career, but didn't get along with the Cowboys coaching staff. Willie Snead would be an upgrade over Street and also help in the return game. Thought about drafting Andrew Norwell, Trey Burton or Cameron Brate at this pick, but I think Snead would have helped us the most in 2014.
Other moves that I would have made to win in 2014 would be to keep Sean Lee in bubble wrap until the first game of the season and signing DT Kevin Williams to a cheap contract contract before the season. We needed to see less of Nick Hayden on the field.
What do you guys think? 2014 was the closest we have been to a championship in a while. If we make these changes, do we win it all?
All the stars were aligned... until they said Dez didn't catch it. That was the closest I've seen to the Cowboys winning it all. What could the Cowboys have done to change their fate? This is the team that I truly believe was 2-3 players away from winning it all. I've looked at the 2014 offseason and draft a bit recently and found a few things that they could have done differently that would have definitely made the difference and brought home a Lombardi. So without making obvious reaches (limiting the redraft to drafting another player no more than 32 picks out of position, in round 7, you can pick any UDFA), here's my redraft of 2014 that would have resulted in the Cowboys winning the Super Bowl in 2014.
Round 1, Pick 16: Zack Martin, OG Notre Dame: This is obvious. No other player drafted within 32 picks after him is close.
Round 2, Pick 34: Demarcus Lawrence, DE Boise State: I still make this trade with the Commanders, giving up our 3rd. There's really no other pass rusher within 32 picks that made the limited difference that Lawrence did his rookie year. If I didn't make the trade, I'd go with Trent Murphy, DE at 47 and Trai Turner at 92
Round 4, Pick 119: Anthony Hitchens LB, Purdue: Once again, I stick with the pick. Maybe go with Telvin Smith, who was drafted at 144, but Hitch was as a solid as you get.
Round 5, Pick 146: Avery Williamson, LB Kentucky (picked by the Titans at 151): Original pick was Devin Street, who I think had like 5 catches with the Cowboys. In 2014, we needed linebacker help. Sean Lee was hurt in the offseason, Rolando McClain was hit and miss. Justin Durant was our best linebacker throughout the season. We had a revolving door at linebacker throughout the year with Korey Toomer, James Anderson, Dekoda Watson and other names working the special teams throughout the year. Williamson was a solid LBer and would have kept these players off the field.
Round 7, Pick 231: Charles Leno, T Boise State (picked by Bears at Pick 246): Original pick was Ben Gardner, who never saw the field but was hyped by Helman and Broaddus. We had Free get hurt towards the end of the year and had Parnell starting at tackle in the playoffs, with Tony Hillis at the swing tackle. Leno would take Hillis' spot.
Round 7, Pick 238: Shaquill Barrett, OLB/DE Colorado State (UDFA, signed by Broncos): Original pick was Will Smith (linebacker from Texas Tech). The Broncos didn't play him his rookie year, but they were loaded at pass rusher. The Cowboys had Spencer, Mincey and a hurt rookie in Lawrence. I'm sure Shaq would have seen the field and made an impact based on skill alone. He would take the spot of Ken Boatright and Lavar Edwards.
Round 7, Pick 248: Malcolm Butler, CB West Alabama (UDFA, signed by Patriots): Original pick was Ahmad Dixon. This is the pick that might single handedly get us past the Packers. We all saw how Sterling Moore did not want any part of the Packers game. His hands were in his hand warmers throughout the game and he completely avoided contact and generally acted like he did not want to be there. Butler has enough dog in him, as evidenced by his performance in the Super Bowl, to merit him getting the nod over Moore. Heck, I would have taken Tyler Patmon over Moore that game.
Round 7, Pick 251: Zachary Kerr, DT Delaware (UDFA, signed by Colts): Original pick was DT Ken Bishop. Was a Marinelli guy and was awful. Kind of unheralded, but the kind of DT we needed to replace Nick Hayden. Big boy, 6'2 335and had three sacks as a rookie.
Round 7, Pick 254: Willie Snead, WR Ball State (UDFA, signed by Browns): Original pick was CB Terrance Mitchell, who has had a solid career, but didn't get along with the Cowboys coaching staff. Willie Snead would be an upgrade over Street and also help in the return game. Thought about drafting Andrew Norwell, Trey Burton or Cameron Brate at this pick, but I think Snead would have helped us the most in 2014.
Other moves that I would have made to win in 2014 would be to keep Sean Lee in bubble wrap until the first game of the season and signing DT Kevin Williams to a cheap contract contract before the season. We needed to see less of Nick Hayden on the field.
What do you guys think? 2014 was the closest we have been to a championship in a while. If we make these changes, do we win it all?
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