dbair1967
Arch Defender
- Messages
- 30,782
- Reaction score
- 1
JJT - Will the real Vanderjagt show up?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jean-Jacques Taylor: Will the real Vanderjagt show up?
Drew Bledsoe isn't the biggest problem the Cowboys have. It's Mike Vanderjagt.
Hands down. It's not even close.
The Cowboys signed Vanderjagt in the off-season to be a clutch kicker. They were willing to overlook his poor kickoffs and his cocky attitude because he was, after all, the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
They signed him to a three-year deal worth $5.4 million, including a $2.5 million signing bonus. It's unlikely that he'll see Year 2 of this deal.
Right now, who knows if he'll see the end of the season because Vanderjagt can't make a field goal these days. At least not one in a game.
He missed two kicks 32 and 33 yards in overtime of the Cowboys' final preseason game. It's just a preseason game, so it's not the end of the world, but there was Vanderjagt going through a litany of gyrations on the field showing his disappointment.
Is that how the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history is supposed to act? A kicker secure in himself would've brushed it off – not told the head coach he wasn't 100 percent.
That begs the question: How healthy does an NFL kicker have to be to convert from less than 35 yards?
The Cowboys can't run the ball and they will struggle to protect quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Their defense is good enough to keep them within striking distance of most opponents.
To win those close games, they need a confident kicker. They need the guy they signed in March with the blond soul patch and the diamond stud.
They need the guy who's not afraid to boast or call out a teammate. They need a guy who's not afraid to miss.
They need the old Vanderjagt – not the guy impersonating him.
COWBOYS Q&A
Q: Could you please tell me what the Cowboys saw in DeMarcus Ware that they didn't see in Shawne Merriman? Wouldn't you want someone that looks stouter and bigger over a guy that is leaner and maybe faster?
Earl Robertson, Dalhart, Texas
TAYLOR: That's a good question. I know Merriman had three sacks Monday night against an abject Oakland team. You do have to understand that Dallas uses Ware differently than San Diego uses Merriman. The Chargers blitz him nearly every play. Ware doesn't get that freedom. That said, Merriman is a dynamic player. But if you look at their combined number of sacks, pressures and quarterback hits last season, you'll see that the two players are virtually even.
• • •
Q: Peter King says that "no matter how Dallas tries to spin it, it is a bad sign that Bobby Carpenter was inactive." Is he overreacting? Should we be worried or should he be cut some slack since he's learning to play ILB instead of OLB?
Ben Herrell, Rockville, Md.
TAYLOR: In this case, he's absolutely right. There's no good reason for your No.1 draft pick to be inactive unless he's a quarterback or injured. There is some validity that it's taking time for him to adjust from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, and it is a difficult move because the inside position is a lot more physical. But he should be good enough on kick and punt coverage to earn playing time.
• • •
Q: Have you seen anything at all that would lead one to believe Tony Romo is better equipped to be the starting quarterback of this team over Drew Bledsoe?
Timothy Stearns
TAYLOR: Not yet. I feel better about Romo than at any time since he's been with the Cowboys because he's improved substantially each off-season. But don't take for granted the success you see in the preseason translating to the regular season. He hasn't seen the complex game plans he would in the regular season or the intensity. There's a world of difference between the regular season and preseason, and making the adjustment is not automatic.
• • •
Q: Today's game is too fast for Bledsoe. He should retire. What do you think?
Robert Guyden
TAYLOR: I think that's the classic overreaction. Bledsoe is what he is. He doesn't have a lot of lateral mobility and that can lead to sacks. But he has proven that when he has time to throw the ball, he can do so successfully. He played poorly Sunday. Very poorly. And if he had three more consecutive starts like that where he was missing wide-open receivers, I might change my mind. For now, he's best suited to quarterback this team.
• • •
Q: I say give Tony Romo a chance to demonstrate himself on the field. Give him a try while the season is still young. What will it hurt?
Gerald Smith, Plano, Texas
TAYLOR: It could wreck the season. Bledsoe is a known quantity. Romo is not. The Cowboys just voted Bledsoe their captain, so they have respect for him. Bledsoe has a track record of a certain amount of success, and that should be good enough to get the Cowboys to the playoffs if he achieves it. The NFL is a long season, and there are going to be some bumps and bruises while you go through it.
• • •
Q: Where was the pass rush against the Jags?
Bruce Parker, Gainesville, Ga.
TAYLOR: Dallas had a pretty good pass rush in the first half, though it had just one sack. In fact, it was so good that Jacksonville went to a short passing attack in which quarterback Byron Leftwich used three-step drops almost exclusively. He threw the ball before the rush could really get started and that kept the Cowboys at bay. (Note, if this is how you easily counter any teams pass rush, why dont we do do this for Bledsoe?)...(Note II, obviously JJT asked somebody there about our lack of pass rush, and this was the excuse they spewed out)
• • •
Q: With Flozell Adams obviously struggling, why didn't he get help from the tight ends?
Doug Mackenzie
TAYLOR: If you have to help Flozell Adams, then the season is over. He signed a five-year, $24 million contract because the Cowboys thought he was one of the best left tackles in the game. You don't pay those guys to dominate, then have to give them help. Right tackle Marc Colombo had his own issues, so the Cowboys tried to help him. You can't help them both.
• • •
Q: The play-calling was terrible because they didn't establish the run. What do you think?
George Bohler
TAYLOR: I think Jacksonville is one of the best teams in the league at stopping the run because of tackles John Henderson and Marcus Stroud. Dallas averaged a deceiving 4.0 per carry, but it couldn't consistently make yards and Julius Jones was often hit in the backfield – even if he managed to break a tackle and get back to the line of scrimmage. It's not like Bill Parcells didn't want to run the ball. Dallas couldn't get it done.
• • •
Q: I bet Mike Vanderjagt is one missed 35-yarder away from the waiver wire.
Matt Hempel
TAYLOR: I don't know if he's that close because Dallas gave him a $2.5 million roster bonus and he is the most accurate kicker in NFL history. But he has been poor in the preseason and training camp, and no one in the organization truly knows if his swagger will return. I don't think it will. I think he's feeling the pressure of missing that 46-yard kick in last year's AFC Divisional Playoff game and it's affecting him. That's too bad. You don't really want to watch anyone go through the yips.
• • •
Q: Is this the first year Parcells ever wanted his team to take more of an initiative on the field as he stated in a recent press conference? I never heard him say that before.
Mickey Sheets, Livingston, N.J.
TAYLOR: No, he's done it before with some of his better teams. Parcells feels so good about the prospects for this team that he doesn't want to leave anything to chance. He wants a smart team that can think and act for itself, and that's what he spent training camp trying to develop.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jean-Jacques Taylor: Will the real Vanderjagt show up?
Drew Bledsoe isn't the biggest problem the Cowboys have. It's Mike Vanderjagt.
Hands down. It's not even close.
The Cowboys signed Vanderjagt in the off-season to be a clutch kicker. They were willing to overlook his poor kickoffs and his cocky attitude because he was, after all, the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
They signed him to a three-year deal worth $5.4 million, including a $2.5 million signing bonus. It's unlikely that he'll see Year 2 of this deal.
Right now, who knows if he'll see the end of the season because Vanderjagt can't make a field goal these days. At least not one in a game.
He missed two kicks 32 and 33 yards in overtime of the Cowboys' final preseason game. It's just a preseason game, so it's not the end of the world, but there was Vanderjagt going through a litany of gyrations on the field showing his disappointment.
Is that how the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history is supposed to act? A kicker secure in himself would've brushed it off – not told the head coach he wasn't 100 percent.
That begs the question: How healthy does an NFL kicker have to be to convert from less than 35 yards?
The Cowboys can't run the ball and they will struggle to protect quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Their defense is good enough to keep them within striking distance of most opponents.
To win those close games, they need a confident kicker. They need the guy they signed in March with the blond soul patch and the diamond stud.
They need the guy who's not afraid to boast or call out a teammate. They need a guy who's not afraid to miss.
They need the old Vanderjagt – not the guy impersonating him.
COWBOYS Q&A
Q: Could you please tell me what the Cowboys saw in DeMarcus Ware that they didn't see in Shawne Merriman? Wouldn't you want someone that looks stouter and bigger over a guy that is leaner and maybe faster?
Earl Robertson, Dalhart, Texas
TAYLOR: That's a good question. I know Merriman had three sacks Monday night against an abject Oakland team. You do have to understand that Dallas uses Ware differently than San Diego uses Merriman. The Chargers blitz him nearly every play. Ware doesn't get that freedom. That said, Merriman is a dynamic player. But if you look at their combined number of sacks, pressures and quarterback hits last season, you'll see that the two players are virtually even.
• • •
Q: Peter King says that "no matter how Dallas tries to spin it, it is a bad sign that Bobby Carpenter was inactive." Is he overreacting? Should we be worried or should he be cut some slack since he's learning to play ILB instead of OLB?
Ben Herrell, Rockville, Md.
TAYLOR: In this case, he's absolutely right. There's no good reason for your No.1 draft pick to be inactive unless he's a quarterback or injured. There is some validity that it's taking time for him to adjust from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, and it is a difficult move because the inside position is a lot more physical. But he should be good enough on kick and punt coverage to earn playing time.
• • •
Q: Have you seen anything at all that would lead one to believe Tony Romo is better equipped to be the starting quarterback of this team over Drew Bledsoe?
Timothy Stearns
TAYLOR: Not yet. I feel better about Romo than at any time since he's been with the Cowboys because he's improved substantially each off-season. But don't take for granted the success you see in the preseason translating to the regular season. He hasn't seen the complex game plans he would in the regular season or the intensity. There's a world of difference between the regular season and preseason, and making the adjustment is not automatic.
• • •
Q: Today's game is too fast for Bledsoe. He should retire. What do you think?
Robert Guyden
TAYLOR: I think that's the classic overreaction. Bledsoe is what he is. He doesn't have a lot of lateral mobility and that can lead to sacks. But he has proven that when he has time to throw the ball, he can do so successfully. He played poorly Sunday. Very poorly. And if he had three more consecutive starts like that where he was missing wide-open receivers, I might change my mind. For now, he's best suited to quarterback this team.
• • •
Q: I say give Tony Romo a chance to demonstrate himself on the field. Give him a try while the season is still young. What will it hurt?
Gerald Smith, Plano, Texas
TAYLOR: It could wreck the season. Bledsoe is a known quantity. Romo is not. The Cowboys just voted Bledsoe their captain, so they have respect for him. Bledsoe has a track record of a certain amount of success, and that should be good enough to get the Cowboys to the playoffs if he achieves it. The NFL is a long season, and there are going to be some bumps and bruises while you go through it.
• • •
Q: Where was the pass rush against the Jags?
Bruce Parker, Gainesville, Ga.
TAYLOR: Dallas had a pretty good pass rush in the first half, though it had just one sack. In fact, it was so good that Jacksonville went to a short passing attack in which quarterback Byron Leftwich used three-step drops almost exclusively. He threw the ball before the rush could really get started and that kept the Cowboys at bay. (Note, if this is how you easily counter any teams pass rush, why dont we do do this for Bledsoe?)...(Note II, obviously JJT asked somebody there about our lack of pass rush, and this was the excuse they spewed out)
• • •
Q: With Flozell Adams obviously struggling, why didn't he get help from the tight ends?
Doug Mackenzie
TAYLOR: If you have to help Flozell Adams, then the season is over. He signed a five-year, $24 million contract because the Cowboys thought he was one of the best left tackles in the game. You don't pay those guys to dominate, then have to give them help. Right tackle Marc Colombo had his own issues, so the Cowboys tried to help him. You can't help them both.
• • •
Q: The play-calling was terrible because they didn't establish the run. What do you think?
George Bohler
TAYLOR: I think Jacksonville is one of the best teams in the league at stopping the run because of tackles John Henderson and Marcus Stroud. Dallas averaged a deceiving 4.0 per carry, but it couldn't consistently make yards and Julius Jones was often hit in the backfield – even if he managed to break a tackle and get back to the line of scrimmage. It's not like Bill Parcells didn't want to run the ball. Dallas couldn't get it done.
• • •
Q: I bet Mike Vanderjagt is one missed 35-yarder away from the waiver wire.
Matt Hempel
TAYLOR: I don't know if he's that close because Dallas gave him a $2.5 million roster bonus and he is the most accurate kicker in NFL history. But he has been poor in the preseason and training camp, and no one in the organization truly knows if his swagger will return. I don't think it will. I think he's feeling the pressure of missing that 46-yard kick in last year's AFC Divisional Playoff game and it's affecting him. That's too bad. You don't really want to watch anyone go through the yips.
• • •
Q: Is this the first year Parcells ever wanted his team to take more of an initiative on the field as he stated in a recent press conference? I never heard him say that before.
Mickey Sheets, Livingston, N.J.
TAYLOR: No, he's done it before with some of his better teams. Parcells feels so good about the prospects for this team that he doesn't want to leave anything to chance. He wants a smart team that can think and act for itself, and that's what he spent training camp trying to develop.
