Man, what a difference depth makes!

[ravidubey]

All year the depth of this team has been like night and day when compared with past seasons.

Remember in 1999 when Irvin went down or in 1998 when Deion hurt his toe how it seemed to cripple the team? Throughout the 1990's guys played injured-- Leon Lett playing on one leg, Emmitt Smith with gimpy ankles, etc. etc.

Now:

- Jason Ferguson goes down in camp, but there's Laroi Glover stepping in and not only playing well but also exceling at NT.

- Jacob Rogers was a bust? No problem, we've got Rob Petitti.

- If Dat had fallen in 2003 we'd have been utterly sunk-- in 2005 it's Fujita, Shanle, and James to the rescue.

- In 2004 Julius Jones's injury left us dead in the water, this year there are three hungry backs chomping at the bit to compete.

The list goes on; we replace Patrick Crayton with Peerless Price and Flozell Adams with Torrin Tucker-- last year's starter. We've got Stephen Peterman and Andre Gurode supporting the interior of the OL, and the DL is so deep we lose Raitliff and don't lose a beat. Even Anthony Henry, as good as he's been, could be replaced by Aaron Glenn for a time.

Now of course it could all go to Hell in a handbasket very quickly-- no team is immune to injuries, but the Cowboys have withstood better than I can ever recall. Even though the depth of the 1990's teams may have been greater, it was never tested like it has been this season.

 

[jbsg02]

Just imagine how our team would have looked if Gurode and Jacob Rogers turned out to be the stud linemen they were supposed to be

 

[Juke99]

Great thoughts ravidubey.

It's amazing that this is the same organization as last year. The difference is night and day.

 

[Paniolo22]

Great thoughts ravidubey.

It's amazing that this is the same organization as last year. The difference is night and day.

It makes you feel good that guys we are cutting are actually being looked at and picked up by other teams. Before, we'd cut someone and they would be at the construction site the next day.

 

[Nors]

Lehr starts for Falcons....

Parcells and Ireland are doing a great upgrade to our 53. We had near nothing when he took over.

 

[Juke99]

It makes you feel good that guys we are cutting are actually being looked at and picked up by other teams. Before, we'd cut someone and they would be at the construction site the next day.

That's the main reason I never bought into the "Jerry Jones is a great owner" stuff.

Not only would our cut players never appear again, the same could be said for our head coaches.

Darn near everything Jerry did post-Jimmy was a disaster.

The entire franchise, top to bottom, was a shambles.

I'm glad he saw the light and decided to bring in a real coach in 2003.

 

[Hostile]

That's the main reason I never bought into the "Jerry Jones is a great owner" stuff.

Not only would our cut players never appear again, the same could be said for our head coaches.

Darn near everything Jerry did post-Jimmy was a disaster.

The entire franchise, top to bottom, was a shambles.

I'm glad he saw the light and decided to bring in a real coach in 2003.

Great post. I was angry at Jerry for a long time. Some of that anger went away when I saw how he reacted to Michael Irvin's injury. I doubt another owner in the League would have left the game to go with his player to the hospital.

Once he realized that coaching really does matter I was thrilled. It was insulting to me to have the benchmark franchise in all of football and a blue light special at head coach. I remember reading articles about DCs and OCs who were paid more per year than Dave campo was.

Well, you get what you pay for.

I really applaud the hiring of Jeff Ireland and "retirement" of Larry Lacewell. I hope he sticks around for a long, long time and rebuilds the scouting department to what it once was. I think that's a key to the success of this team.

 

[Nors]

Ireland is talking like, bringing in players much akin to Scott Pioli.

No suprise as all were mentored by BB and BP.

 

[Asklesko]

Yeah, this is definitely the most talented team we've had in ten years. I'm happy.

 

[Bizwah]

Yes, we have depth in a lot of areas. It is nice to have players step up and contribute.

The Henry injury worries me though. Glenn could fill in and start for Henry, but what happens with our nickle "D"? We'd have Reeves or Jones manning a CB spot, and that really worries me.

So many teams go three wide anymore.

 

[50cent]

With so much depth and the way BP has kept the majority of our draft picks the last 2 seasons, how many faces change next year? We have the draft and plenty of cap money to improve, plus guys like Kalen Thornton, Berry-o, and Ryan on the DL that are expected to make the team next year.

 

[Nors]

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7662&highlight=lacewell


So glad Lacewell is gone - that prospect was heatedly debated last fall. Interestin read.

That said - Ireland is now Parcells guy and there is little to no doubt that we are bearing serious fruit. This draft class may be historic.....

 

[BadKarma]

http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7662&highlight=lacewell


So glad Lacewell is gone - that prospect was heatedly debated last fall. Interestin read.

That said - Ireland is now Parcells guy and there is little to no doubt that we are bearing serious fruit. This draft class may be historic.....

I'm right there with you on this Lacewell fella. The guy had a thing for gambling on "project" players. And he wanted Jerry to pick Matt Jones with one of our 1st rounders?!!!

 

[mr.jameswoods]

All year the depth of this team has been like night and day when compared with past seasons.

Remember in 1999 when Irvin went down or in 1998 when Deion hurt his toe how it seemed to cripple the team? Throughout the 1990's guys played injured-- Leon Lett playing on one leg, Emmitt Smith with gimpy ankles, etc. etc.

Now:

- Jason Ferguson goes down in camp, but there's Laroi Glover stepping in and not only playing well but also exceling at NT.

- Jacob Rogers was a bust? No problem, we've got Rob Petitti.

- If Dat had fallen in 2003 we'd have been utterly sunk-- in 2005 it's Fujita, Shanle, and James to the rescue.

- In 2004 Julius Jones's injury left us dead in the water, this year there are three hungry backs chomping at the bit to compete.

The list goes on; we replace Patrick Crayton with Peerless Price and Flozell Adams with Torrin Tucker-- last year's starter. We've got Stephen Peterman and Andre Gurode supporting the interior of the OL, and the DL is so deep we lose Raitliff and don't lose a beat. Even Anthony Henry, as good as he's been, could be replaced by Aaron Glenn for a time.

Now of course it could all go to Hell in a handbasket very quickly-- no team is immune to injuries, but the Cowboys have withstood better than I can ever recall. Even though the depth of the 1990's teams may have been greater, it was never tested like it has been this season.

Nice post Dave! I was critical of Parcells last season because our team had no depth. But he managed to add some solid players this offseason. This is the first time we have depth on the team in a long time. We should learn from this, however, and make certain to add depth each year as opposed to thinking we could get by with what we have (the Jerry Jones mentality of the late 90's)

 

[mr.jameswoods]

Great post. I was angry at Jerry for a long time. Some of that anger went away when I saw how he reacted to Michael Irvin's injury. I doubt another owner in the League would have left the game to go with his player to the hospital.

Once he realized that coaching really does matter I was thrilled. It was insulting to me to have the benchmark franchise in all of football and a blue light special at head coach. I remember reading articles about DCs and OCs who were paid more per year than Dave campo was.

Well, you get what you pay for.

I really applaud the hiring of Jeff Ireland and "retirement" of Larry Lacewell. I hope he sticks around for a long, long time and rebuilds the scouting department to what it once was. I think that's a key to the success of this team.

Jerry Jones is a good man. Unlike George Steinbrenner, Jerry Jones reminds me of a good man who got a little corrupted by power and success. Honestly, which one of us would not make similar decisions. If you had won 3 Superbowls in 4 years, it would look easy to you and you would think you could it again out of sheer will. Jerry was humbled and was man enough to admit he made a lot of mistakes. I'm very proud of him.

 

[Nors]

Ireland and Parcells have totally taken charge of player personell.

Pre Parcells Lacewell and JJ were off on either a decade bender od MAJOR bad luck.

I find it humorous some here as late as last fall were adament that scouting department was not a problem......

House was cleaned - its booked.

 

[mr.jameswoods]

Ireland and Parcells have totally taken charge of player personell.

Pre Parcells Lacewell and JJ were off on either a decade bender od MAJOR bad luck.

I find it humorous some here as late as last fall were adament that scouting department was not a problem......

House was cleaned - its booked.

I wasn't one of those arguing that Lacewell wasn't the problem but I will argue that now. Honestly, we have no idea what players Lacewell recommended and which ones Jerry Jones actually selected. We all know Jerry was headstrong and had certain players in mind despite what Lacewell thought ahem...Quincy Carter ring a bell?

Am I glad to see Lacewell gone? Absolutely I want Bill Parcell's to have full control of scouting and talent acquisition so I'm glad his man is in charge. At the same time, I'm not going to point the finger at Lacewell without any real proof stating all the bonehead picks we made in the past were at his suggestion. I know he wanted Kendrick Bell (spelling?) for example.

The real cleaning if anything occurred when Jerry Jones swallowed some pride and decided to let someone else run things for a change.

 

[Nors]

I wasn't one of those arguing that Lacewell wasn't the problem but I will argue that now. Honestly, we have no idea what players Lacewell recommended and which ones Jerry Jones actually selected. We all know Jerry was headstrong and had certain players in mind despite what Lacewell thought ahem...Quincy Carter ring a bell?

Am I glad to see Lacewell gone? Absolutely I want Bill Parcell's to have full control of scouting and talent acquisition so I'm glad his man is in charge. At the same time, I'm not going to point the finger at Lacewell without any real proof stating all the bonehead picks we made in the past were at his suggestion. I know he wanted Kendrick Bell (spelling?) for example.

The real cleaning if anything occurred when Jerry Jones swallowed some pride and decided to let someone else run things for a change.

That is fair enough - When I say Lacewell I include JJ. I truly believe that Parcells as a condition of his hire was to have full player personell calls. Had to be - Look at what Parcells has added in 2 1/2 years....... versus JJ/Lacewell prior decade.....

 

[mperfection]

Great post. I was angry at Jerry for a long time. Some of that anger went away when I saw how he reacted to Michael Irvin's injury. I doubt another owner in the League would have left the game to go with his player to the hospital.

Once he realized that coaching really does matter I was thrilled. It was insulting to me to have the benchmark franchise in all of football and a blue light special at head coach. I remember reading articles about DCs and OCs who were paid more per year than Dave campo was.

Well, you get what you pay for.

I really applaud the hiring of Jeff Ireland and "retirement" of Larry Lacewell. I hope he sticks around for a long, long time and rebuilds the scouting department to what it once was. I think that's a key to the success of this team.

Good post!

 

[Nors]

Good post!

Not consistent but agreed on good post.


Ireland and Parcells have gutted and upgraded scouting department......

Amazing some fought sacking scouting department as late as last fall, understandable as old SCHOOL thinking was in denial mode. Or backed into a dark alley