The Poison Pill

[Stash]

The die has been cast.

The decision made.

There's no going back now.

The Cowboys no longer have Terrell Owens to tear up their locker room.

The Cowboys no longer have Terrell Owens to destroy team chemistry.

Tony Romo no longer has to force the ball to #81 to keep him happy.

The Cowboys are free.

But the Cowboys also no longer have a Hall-of-Fame receiver in their offense.

They no longer have a player who commands attention from opposing defenses.

And at this point - whether you agree or disagree with the move - it doesn't matter anymore.

Owens is no longer a Cowboy.

So let's move on and look at what lies ahead.

Jerry Jones has publicly stated that the reason Owens was let go was to allow Roy Williams to fulfill the expectations the Cowboys had when they traded multiple draft picks to Detroit and signed him to a multi-year deal.

I have no problem with that. Williams has shown before that he's capable of being a Pro Bowl player and with the talent in place, he has the potential to do so again.

My worries lie in who will line up next to Roy.

The Cowboys seem to think that some combination of Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin will be enough and are expecting a breakout season from Austin. The team is hopeful that he emerges as their new #2 receiver.

But I think their logic is flawed.

Not because I don't think Austin can do it. I think he can. I think he's a receiver who showed flashes of fulfilling his potential last season before injuries slowed him.

My issue is with the Cowboys placing only a second round tender on the restricted free agent.

Based on Jerry Jones' recent comments, Austin's development and potential played a large part in the decision to release Owens.

And if that is the case, why was Austin tendered at the same level as someone like Cory Procter, a player who isn't worthy of an NFL roster?

The move makes no sense to me and I fear it could come back to haunt the Cowboys.

If I'm an opposing owner and I hear Jerry gushing about this player and mentioning him as a reason the team cut a Top 10 receiver, I'm certainly intrigued.

And if I'm a team with a need at receiver and a 2nd round pick, I'd be interested in a player the Cowboys think so highly of.

A player with 3 years NFL experience in the prime of his career.

A player with a terrific blend of size and speed.

I'm worried that a team will step up with a 'poison pill' offer that the Cowboys would be unable to match and steal away a player they have such high hopes for and further deplete the Cowboys' receiving corps at the same time.

Maybe it's just me.

Maybe I'm worried over nothing.

Maybe I'm overestimating Austin's worth.

I hope so.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I'm not worried about that because even as much as I like Austin and would like to see him do well here I'd take a 2nd for him in a heartbeat.

 

[DaBoys4Life]

what does this have to do with the poison pill?

You overestimating Ausitn worth. He's crap.

 

[AbeBeta]

Goodell is going to smack the hell out of any team that tries to use the poison pill. Apparently the Pats tried with Welker -- and he pushed them to make a trade with the Fins instead (for actually more compensation than they would have given up otherwise).

The problem is that the contract language can be written so that the team making the original tender would have to pay considerably more than the team making the offer. Neither the league nor the union want to see poison pills like that so there is considerable pressure not to play that BS game.

 

[ZeroClub]

I really like Austin too.

My main concern with him is whether he can manage to stay healthy.

 

[wileedog]

If someone gives us a 2nd for Austin my bet is we'll package some picks to move up for one of the top WRs. Might hurt us in the short term but definitely help us in the long term.

 

[Angus]

I think Austin will be very, very good, and if he wants to stay in Dallas he can instruct his agent not to negotiate a contract with a provision Dallas can't match. It takes two to make a contract. No poison pill can be inserted if the player doesn't want one, and if the agent is too stupid or crooked to avoid them, the team has 7 days to let the player know about it. He doesn't have to sign it just because his agent, without authority, allowed it to be included in the offer.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Feel better now Stash?

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

Unitl Austin does something in this league... he is all hype.

I dont want maybes, I want PTP'ers.

 

[zeromaster]

So what will it be? The red pill or the blue one?

 

[Stash]

Feel better now Stash?

Not really.

 

[Yeagermeister]

So what will it be? The red pill or the blue one?

Have you seen ole Larry lately? Those aren't pills they are gummi bears. :laugh2:

 

[THEHEREAFTER]

I love Miles Austin and I would be absolutely devastated if he were to sign elsewhere.

 

[viman96]

So when did Witten, Fexlix Jones and MBIII become chop liver? RW will step up this year. The offense is going to roll.

 

[Stash]

I love Miles Austin and I would be absolutely devastated if he were to sign elsewhere.

Think about what the Cowboys would have left after Roy Williams if he did.

Crayton
Hurd
Stanback

I think wide receiver would quickly go from a strength to a weakness.

And the 3 years invested in Austin's development would have been wasted.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Think about what the Cowboys would have left after Roy Williams if he did.

Crayton
Hurd
Stanback

I think wide receiver would quickly go from a strength to a weakness.

And the 3 years invested in Austin's development would have been wasted.

If we got a 2nd round pick for an undrafted player then, no, the development is certainly not wasted.

 

[Stash]

If we got a 2nd round pick for an undrafted player then, no, the development is certainly not wasted.

When you lose that experience for the 2009 season it is. And I'm not really interested in being a 'farm system' for another team.

Even if they used that 2nd rounder to get another receiver, it's still a rookie who would have to learn the offense and also learn the NFL game.

Would you trade Romo away for a 2nd or even 1st round pick?

I wouldn't.

I'm not comparing Romo's skill level to Austin's but the premise is the same.

Both were undrafted players and both are valuable to the Cowboys' future plans.

My point is that where they were drafted doesn't indicate their value. Roy Williams and Bobby Carpenter were first round draft picks and we know they couldn't get anything for Roy and I doubt they'd get anything for Carpenter.

I guess my stance is that, given the Cowboys' plans for him, that Miles Austin is worth more to the Cowboys than a 2nd round pick.

 

[Big Dakota]

Your first mistake was believing what comes out of Jerry's mouth.

 

[Mr Cowboy]

Didn't we set all kinds of records a couple of years ago with TO and Crayton as our starting WRs?

Maybe roy is not TO, but Austin is better than Crayton, Felix is better that Julius Jones, we now have Bennett who is better than Fasano, (we hope). We stil have Witten, Romo and Barber. Plus TO led the league in dropped balls.

I'm not overly concerned about our offense.

 

[Stash]

Didn't we set all kinds of records a couple of years ago with TO and Crayton as our starting WRs?

Maybe roy is not TO, but Austin is better than Crayton, Felix is better that Julius Jones, we now have Bennett who is better than Fasano, (we hope). We stil have Witten, Romo and Barber. Plus TO led the league in dropped balls.

I'm not overly concerned about our offense.

I agree with what you've said.

Roy is not TO and Austin is better than Crayton.

And this goes to my point that if the team felt that way, they should have either given him a contract extension or given him a higher free agent tender offer.

Your point assumes that Austin will be here and that's the worry that I have.

I think the Cowboys have left themselves exposed a bit here.