The Poison Pill

[Doomsday101]

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.

As would I. I want Austin to return but with or without him Dallas will still have other weapons in the passing game with Felix Jones,Witten, Bennett as well as Crayton and Hurd to work alongside Williams. If someone does pick up Austin I think we will have to address it in the draft but I don't think the passing game dies

 

[Stash]

As would I. I want Austin to return but with or without him Dallas will still have other weapons in the passing game with Felix Jones,Witten, Bennett as well as Crayton and Hurd to work alongside Williams. If someone does pick up Austin I think we will have to address it in the draft but I don't think the passing game dies

It won't "die", but where's the downfield speed?

And please don't give me Felix Jones as an answer.

 

[Doomsday101]

It won't "die", but where's the downfield speed?

And please don't give me Felix Jones as an answer.

Believe it or not Williams has ran a 4.38 not bad for a man of his size. He is not a Keyshawn Johnson type WR he has the ability to get down field in a hurry. Having said that Dallas may be better served by not going down field as often as we have

 

[Angus]

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.

And not overly observant about it, either. You forgot to mention the best running back the Cowboys have, Choice.

 

[Stash]

Believe it or not Williams has ran a 4.38 not bad for a man of his size. He is not a Keyshawn Johnson type WR he has the ability to get down field in a hurry. Having said that Dallas may be better served by not going down field as often as we have

I actually agree with that.

I think one of Garrett's (many) flaws was relying too heavily on the downfield passing game.

Maybe not having that "crutch" will be good for him, and in turn the Cowboys?

And 4.38 is plenty fast enough.

I guess I'm just not comfortable with the team tendering Austin at the 2nd round level.

 

[Doomsday101]

I actually agree with that.

I think one of Garrett's (many) flaws was relying too heavily on the downfield passing game.

Maybe not having that "crutch" will be good for him, and in turn the Cowboys?

And 4.38 is plenty fast enough.

I guess I'm just not comfortable with the team tendering Austin at the 2nd round level.

I think the hope is Austin can be that guy but other than flashes he has not proven that to the point to tender him anything more than a 2nd. My hope like the Cowboys is Austin will be back and will prove he can be a consistent player who can stay on the field instead of the injury list but it is not a sure thing. As for what Jerry has said about TO sorry if I think there was more to all of this than giving Austin and Williams more oppertunities. You don't ditch 9mill 1 year after an extention unless there is something going on behind the valley ranch doors. What ever that may have been is now in the past and this team needs to move forward.

 

[wileedog]

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

Honestly I'm more worried about Roy getting hurt. A 1, 2, 3 of Austin, Crayton, Hurd is a bigger problem.

I'm not sure a lot of teams are eager to give up a 2nd for an undrafted kid who has had trouble staying on the field, or that I would be happy if we traded a 2nd for him if he was on another team.

All that said, maybe another good reason to kick the tires on Holt.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

TO is gone.

I am completely on board with RW11 stepping up and being #1.

I believe he can do it... I believe he can be "that guy"

 

[RoadRunner]

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

Our offensive line stinks, and it was the main reason why the offense struggled in 2008. The team has done absolutely nothing to improve it. I seriously doubt the offense is going to roll without a better offensive line.

 

[BigDFan5]

Nobody is going to give up a 2nd round pick for Austin

 

[TellerMorrow34]

How many catches did Austin have last year...18? I know he was hurt a lot, and I like the guy, but yes I do think if we lost him for a second round pick, and used that pick on a WR, I believe even a rookie could come in here and give us 18 catches for the year.

I like Austin, and his potential, but it's not like the guy was coming off a 50+ catch, 700+ yard, 7 or 8 TD year in a reserve role.

I wouldn't trade Romo for a second or a first at this point cause he's had nearly 3 seasons as the starter now and has proven he can play, and play at a high level, on a regular basis. Austin has shown a couple of flashes on a limited basis.

They're not even in same stadium when it comes to this discussion.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

You're going on some incorrect assumptions. Yes, Jones has been very careful to say that Owens was cut to not inhibit other players from developing and not becuase of locker room issues, but he also said that one of the tertiary benefits to cutting Owens is that it sends a message to players that anyone can be cut if they do not buy into the team concept.

As for the draft picks for Austin to me its like the draft. Do you draft a guy in the first if you think he is going to be a player or do you wait because you know that no one is going to look at him until the fourth? We still have rights to first refusal. They would have to write a contract like that olinemen from Seattle that Minny got and write in elaborate language like him having to be the highest paid WR on the squad etc.

If teams are willing to do that then a first round tender won't stop them anyway. Did they change the rule on that BTW. I remember it being discussed at the owender's meetings a while back. Seattle was not happy.

 

[Stash]

How many catches did Austin have last year...18? I know he was hurt a lot, and I like the guy, but yes I do think if we lost him for a second round pick, and used that pick on a WR, I believe even a rookie could come in here and give us 18 catches for the year.

I like Austin, and his potential, but it's not like the guy was coming off a 50+ catch, 700+ yard, 7 or 8 TD year in a reserve role.

I wouldn't trade Romo for a second or a first at this point cause he's had nearly 3 seasons as the starter now and has proven he can play, and play at a high level, on a regular basis. Austin has shown a couple of flashes on a limited basis.

They're not even in same stadium when it comes to this discussion.

And I think I stated that.

I was refuting your notion about Austin's value being tied to the fact that he was undrafted.

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

If Romo's value isn't tied to where he was drafted, it's inaccurate to base Austin's on that criteria.

Now if you feel that his ability or potential doesn't equate to a 2nd rounder, you're free to do that.

At this point, that is very much open to debate.

But if the Cowboys are as high on him as they say and were comfortable enough to let Owens walk because they had a guy like Austin on the roster, I question the logic in only giving him a 2nd round tender.

 

[THEHEREAFTER]

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.

Agreed. I think he's ready to break out. Just needs to stay healthy.

 

[AKATheRake]

I'll take a 2nd for a guy who has never caught 15 balls in a season, never started a game ever and in 3 seasons has only played 16 games once. Too many "nevers, evers, onces" and durbaility issues to say this guy should be relied on to start.

Geez, Anthony Spencer has done more in 2 seasons and people are scepticle about him and at times rightfully so. Austin is no where near a reliable enough option to bank a season on.