I still haven't heard a logical reason for completely blowing this team up. We are not one to two players away. I never intimated that. We are another strong draft and some FA moves away from being good enough to be very competitive. The key is letting Rob Ryan revamp "his" defense. The powers that be have to give Rob the room to truly place his stamp on D. We truly are one good defense away. As emotional as you may feel, we can still build a team of talented future leaders around Romo, Witten, and Ware.
My general opinion of the current roster:
Offense
QB: Romo still has a few good years left in him. Get a real backup in here. Bring someone in that can backup Romo and take over if he were no longer here. Start preparing for that reality by bringing in a quality backup.
RB: DeMarco is the future. Felix can complement him well as a nice change of pace. Bring in a good young short yardage guy. Don't blow the bank on this position. We have more pressing needs elsewhere.
FB: Fiammetta is nice. He blocks well and can catch the ball out of the backfield. Bring him back.
TE: Witten still has a few good years left in him. Bennett can go. The project is over imo and he is not worthy of continued development efforts. Phillips is a solid compliment to Witten. Bring in another TE to back them both up and contribute on STs.
WR: Dez really needs to begin to step it up next year. He should already be contributing more than he has been. The fact that a journeyman WR comes in and cements himself over Dez as Tony’s favorite target is a little disconcerting to me. Now.. I love Laurent Robinson. Call him whatever you want. A #3 WR, a hybrid between a #1 and #2.. Whatever you call him, just don’t call him employed by any other teams next year. That guy just makes plays. I’m very impressed by his body of work in limited time on the squad. Miles really needs to do some soul searching. He should be the clear #1 WR on this team but he appears to be in the process of regression. He needs to rededicate himself in the offseason.
Oline: I was on record as loving the direction the FO took by going with this young hungry line this year and still love it. I can’t say I am in love with our options at Center or any of our options at Guard. Our interior line needs some work now that the offseason is upon us. I think we’re set at the Tackle positions only if we move Tyron to LT and Free over to RT in the offseason. Free will do fine when not having to face every team’s premier pass rusher every single snaps. He has proven that he can’t handle that responsibility this season. Tyron is ready for the additional responsibility. That guy is a beast. Shore up the interior line. Perhaps draft a Guard or Center in the middle rounds and give DeMarco something to really get behind next year.
Defense
Dline: Sean Lissemore (7th round, 2010 draft) has really risen to the role of a difference maker this year. I reference the draft for those out there that think we have just snoozed through the last two drafts…
That’s one cog to build around on the Dline. Ware still has a few good years left in him. We need a second compliment to Ware that can pressure the QB on the other side. Spencer shows flashes but is not the answer. The continuity is not there. Get some competition in here for Spencer and make him uncomfortable with regard to his role on the team. Light a fire. We need another DT (actually a gigantic plugger in the middle) to cement that 3-4 defense. Increase the size in the middle of the Dline to help with stopping the run and get another premier pass rusher in here.
LB: Bradie James is on the down stroke. He shows flashes but is largely nonexistent when out there on the field. Work Bruce Carter in next year alongside Lee; (2nd round, 10201 draft)
Carter and Lee are the future and should both be on the field regularly. Do not bring Brooking back. Please let that guy go… He is at the point in his career where everything is a step too fast for him. I was tired of seeing him in chase mode early on in the season. Bradie James should be reduced to backing Carter up next year. At least if I have any say so, that’s how it would go.
Secondary: Where do I start here? This is one area of the team that I would truly “blow up”. Newman is done. Last night’s game clearly showed what can happen when you string it out for too long at a skill position. He is done. Seriously… It has been nice watching him play over the years. He has always had a knack for just quietly getting the job done. Well, he’s quietly not getting the job done now. Gotta go. Jenkins? I think he can continue to grow in Rob’s scheme but he needs help from the inside. Every CB could use a little help at times. The teams with really good safeties tend to find themselves in great position for INTs and knock downs regularly. Our safeties blow. There’s no if, ands, or buts about it. I actually like Elam more than Sensei. They’re both second grade imo but Sensei is a train wreck. He makes one good play and then gets, burnt on three subsequent plays regularly. I don’t get the logic around paying these guys long term contracts. I would have left the secondary wide open and I still don’t think it’s out of the question to cut some of these guys of Rob feels the need to so do. We may just have to absorb some “mistake money”. People like Ball and Frank Walker are already pink slips to me. No need to discuss them. Scandrick? I really like Scandrick and think he can step his game up with the right coaching behind him. He has been taught be the venerable Dave Campo to never turn around to locate the ball. Play the receiver. That might have worked in the 80s but it doesn’t work today. Perhaps if Campo was put out to pasture and a more progressive secondary coach was brought in, Scandrick might be salvageable. I get the feeling that he is doing what he needs to do to appease the coach without making waves. Hopefully Rob Ryan feels the same way I do about Campo and makes himself known in the offseason.
