The Truth About the Cowboys & Free Agency in 2010

[Woods]

Doesn't Atogwe have no compensation....

Yes, I don't think we would owe the Rams if we were to sign him.

 

[CanuckCowboysFan]

I agreed with everything up till this. Your logic is flawed here because we wouldn't pay the Rams anything for him. The Rams tendered him only a right of first refusal and nothing more; which means that if we were to sign him they could match and yeah we wouldn't get the guy, but if they didn't match they would get nothing in return. So the only risk we take with Atogwe is we haven't seen him play in our system and he has a potentially still injured shoulder. Other than that we don't lose any draft picks from signing the guy and we may get a pretty good player.

I agree with you that yeah this is a slow offseason, and that isn't a bad thing, but Atogwe is one signing that in my mind makes quite a bit of sense. The only downside I could see to it is that Atogwe would cost more than Hamlin, you would only be getting a year younger (Atogwe 28, Hamlin 29), and you get the unknown of how he would fit in this system. But instead of drafting a guy who would cost less and be much younger, you would get NFL level talent in Atogwe and a guy who knows how to play at this level. If the price is right I would love to have Atogwe, but then again I would love to draft Nate Allen. So either way I'm happy with what the Cowboys have been doing and hopefully with what they will eventually do, and just want the draft to hurry up and come already.

I agree with everything you said. Atogwe would be nice, and Allen is my favorite player in the draft. If we sign Atogwe, I still think jerry drafts a FS in rounds 6 or 7 to groom in 3-4 years after Atogwe's contract is up. if jerry selects Allen, the position is solved for the next 10 years. Lol, Either way its a win win situation

 

[Woods]

Some vets will be let go, but you also have to look and see that a good chunk of those new players, especially ones in the lower rounds, will be cut by the time the regular season starts and never make an actual roster spot. Good vets are rarely cut and leave the league entirely, they typically catch on with another team, the bad vets and the subpar-filler players are the ones that get cut and leave the league.

Yes, that's true most of the time.

But at times guys like Flo (maybe not necessarily him - just an example) could be let go to make room for a younger guy.

Even guys like Greg Ellis. OK, we don't necessarily need him, but for a team needing a good 2nd string vet who can give you quality reps, he could be of use.

Even guys like Ken Hamlin could be let go - depending on what we do in the Draft.

A lot of these guys are fillers and/or stop gap players, but they can provide some depth.

And sometimes you get lucky with a guy like Brooking.

 

[Hostile]

I am not trying to intentionally insult anyone's intellect, but anyone who is complaining about our lack of activity this year just has absolutely no understanding of this team's position as it stands right now nor do they understand how the NFL is working as of this moment. This is a very uncommon and uncertain situation. No team is overspending, even the bad ones or those "one player away".

The funny thing is, you were just being honest and it will insult a lot of people.

 

[Hostile]

I agreed with everything up till this. Your logic is flawed here because we wouldn't pay the Rams anything for him. The Rams tendered him only a right of first refusal and nothing more; which means that if we were to sign him they could match and yeah we wouldn't get the guy, but if they didn't match they would get nothing in return. So the only risk we take with Atogwe is we haven't seen him play in our system and he has a potentially still injured shoulder. Other than that we don't lose any draft picks from signing the guy and we may get a pretty good player.

I agree with you that yeah this is a slow offseason, and that isn't a bad thing, but Atogwe is one signing that in my mind makes quite a bit of sense. The only downside I could see to it is that Atogwe would cost more than Hamlin, you would only be getting a year younger (Atogwe 28, Hamlin 29), and you get the unknown of how he would fit in this system. But instead of drafting a guy who would cost less and be much younger, you would get NFL level talent in Atogwe and a guy who knows how to play at this level. If the price is right I would love to have Atogwe, but then again I would love to draft Nate Allen. So either way I'm happy with what the Cowboys have been doing and hopefully with what they will eventually do, and just want the draft to hurry up and come already.

Doesn't Atogwe have no compensation....

Ah, so let's explore the rationale behind this for just a minute. Why would the Rams make the lowest tender offer to one of their few good players? No compensation right?

Dallas signs him, then gets him for nothing.

No. Dallas signs him. They have then set his market for the Rams, and they match the offer. Dallas gets nothing.

Or, they pay the Rams to acquire him by doing as the Seahawks did for Charlie Whitehurst.

So you can pretend we get him for free, with no compensation, or you can accept the fact that he comes with a trade price.

 

[TheSport78]

Ah, so let's explore the rationale behind this for just a minute. Why would the Rams make the lowest tender offer to one of their few good players? No compensation right?

Dallas signs him, then gets him for nothing.

No. Dallas signs him. They have then set his market for the Rams, and they match the offer. Dallas gets nothing.

Or, they pay the Rams to acquire him by doing as the Seahawks did for Charlie Whitehurst.

So you can pretend we get him for free, with no compensation, or you can accept the fact that he comes with a trade price.

So the worst case scenario is that the Rams match the offer for Atogwe, and then what happens? Nothing. It didn't cost the Cowboys anything; it's a win-win situation in my eyes. You answered your own question. The Rams tendered Otogwe at the lowest possible way is because they want the market to set the price for him. I've also read something about Otogwe becoming an unrestricted free agent in June if they do not reach an agreement by then.

 

[Hostile]

So the worst case scenario is that the Rams match the offer for Atogwe, and then what happens? Nothing. It didn't cost the Cowboys anything; it's a win-win situation in my eyes. You answered your own question. The Rams tendered Otogwe at the lowest possible way is because they want the market to set the price for him. I've also read something about Otogwe becoming an unrestricted free agent in June if they do not reach an agreement by then.

So what you are saying is Jerry should be the owner setting the price for other teams? You don't think that is going to close the doors on potential Draft day trades from owners who remember who jacked their salary scale up?

Yes, I answered my own question, because I already know the answer. We have far too many fans running around with their heads in the clouds and thinking this is fantasy football or Madden.

 

[Arch Stanton]

I agree with everything in the original post and I have not been one of those screaming and *****ing about the team not making any moves. I don't think there have been many moves they could have made that would have been worthwhile. However, there is one I'd like to see and could be made today and that is to sign Darren Sharper to a 2 year deal. That would do several things:

1. It would add a playmaker at a position that could use a serious upgrade.
2. It would take a playmaker away from the current NFC champs which could help alot next year.
3. It would open up the 1st-3rd rounds of this draft to other positions of need such as OL, MLB, WR, CB. That would seriously help the team's depth and give them young players to groom across the board. A young safety to be groomed along with Ball and Michael Hamlin could be looked at from the 4th round on.

I know he is old but he had a great year last year and could help the team a ton. They could dump Hamlin's big salary and get better production while they groom some young replacements.

VR don't rate Sharper very highly. In fact he was a player they thought they could target in last seasons game. Remember the Austin TD? I wouldn't expect them to make an offer. If they did it wouldn't be much of one.

Lets just wait until we get to the draft for some new shiny toys.

 

[TNCowboy]

Aside from a couple of threads, I haven't seen much complaining. Then again, I don't read every thread either.

I think the overwhelming majority of fans - who care enough to waste time on a messageboard - understand that the FA market stinks this offseason and that owners have to be cautious with the uncertainty of what's going to happen in the next year with the CBA.

 

[cowboyeric8]

We have far too many fans running around with their heads in the clouds and thinking this is fantasy football or Madden.

That is sadly what a lot of fans think. It drives me insane.

 

[TheSport78]

So what you are saying is Jerry should be the owner setting the price for other teams? You don't think that is going to close the doors on potential Draft day trades from owners who remember who jacked their salary scale up?

Yes, I answered my own question, because I already know the answer. We have far too many fans running around with their heads in the clouds and thinking this is fantasy football or Madden.

No actually, because maybe the Rams will choose not to match. The Rams are from St. Louis right? Oh man, they're the team that has the NUMBER ONE OVERALL SELECTION IN THE 2010 NFL DRAFT. You would THINK they would think twice before signing Sam Bradford with $40 million guaranteed and then signing a safety in Otogwe with $15-20 million guaranteed. Child please! Stop acting like this isn't a possibility. Maybe there's a connection why the Cowboys are waiting AFTER the draft to take a serious look at Otogwe, because it will be after the Rams most likely sign Bradford to a lucrative contract.

 

[Hostile]

That is sadly what a lot of fans think. It drives me insane.

Clarify for me. The fans who act like it is fantasy football or Madden drive you insane? Or the fans who point out that it isn't Madden or fantasy football drive you insane?

 

[Gzus]

So what you are saying is Jerry should be the owner setting the price for other teams? You don't think that is going to close the doors on potential Draft day trades from owners who remember who jacked their salary scale up?

Yes, I answered my own question, because I already know the answer. We have far too many fans running around with their heads in the clouds and thinking this is fantasy football or Madden.

To be honest I don't think Jerry will play Snyder and try to overpay for a talent like OJ Atogwe. I think he'll give him a reasonable salary that the Rams are 50/50 to match, it won't be a totally crazy number. So I don't think he'll be jacking up the salary scale, b/c it won't be the $7 million that the Rams would owe him under the RFA tender he's at atm and it won't be so low that it insults OJ.
It's not a fantasy football or Madden move but a smart move that improves our talent at a needed position while not costing us a ton. The people who think that we should trade up to get Berry or go and trade for Marshall are the ones with fantasy football or Madden in their heads, but those who want to sign Atogwe who has no compensation tied to him are thinking smart.

 

[Gzus]

No actually, because maybe the Rams will choose not to match. The Rams are from St. Louis right? Oh man, they're the team that has the NUMBER ONE OVERALL SELECTION IN THE 2010 NFL DRAFT. You would THINK they would think twice before signing Sam Bradford with $40 million guaranteed and then signing a safety in Otogwe with $15-20 million guaranteed. Child please! Stop acting like this isn't a possibility. Maybe there's a connection why the Cowboys are waiting AFTER the draft to take a serious look at Otogwe, because it will be after the Rams most likely sign Bradford to a lucrative contract.

I thought the deadline to sign RFAs to an offer sheet is April 15th (one week before the draft)? Would be before the draft so draft picks could be moved. So we'd have to do it soon.

 

[Hostile]

No actually, because maybe the Rams will choose not to match. The Rams are from St. Louis right? Oh man, they're the team that has the NUMBER ONE OVERALL SELECTION IN THE 2010 NFL DRAFT. You would THINK they would think twice before signing Sam Bradford with $40 million guaranteed and then signing a safety in Otogwe with $15-20 million guaranteed. Child please! Stop acting like this isn't a possibility. Maybe there's a connection why the Cowboys are waiting AFTER the draft to take a serious look at Otogwe, because it will be after the Rams most likely sign Bradford to a lucrative contract.

I just got a "child please" in the same post as a comment about the Rams not matching an offer for one of their better players.

You can't make this stuff up.

 

[Hostile]

To be honest I don't think Jerry will play Snyder and try to overpay for a talent like OJ Atogwe. I think he'll give him a reasonable salary that the Rams are 50/50 to match, it won't be a totally crazy number. So I don't think he'll be jacking up the salary scale, b/c it won't be the $7 million that the Rams would owe him under the RFA tender he's at atm and it won't be so low that it insults OJ.
It's not a fantasy football or Madden move but a smart move that improves our talent at a needed position while not costing us a ton. The people who think that we should trade up to get Berry or go and trade for Marshall are the ones with fantasy football or Madden in their heads, but those who want to sign Atogwe who has no compensation tied to him are thinking smart.

So as long as Jerry is out there making offers everyone would be happy? That is essentially what you are saying. It would show Jerry is at least trying to improve the team.

Read Alexander's posts about the benefits of waiting until 2011 as opposed to the watered down talent pool of 2010. They are right on the money.

 

[TheSport78]

I just got a "child please" in the same post as a comment about the Rams not matching an offer for one of their better players.

You can't make this stuff up.

I'm just saying it's a possibility, Hos!

 

[cowboyeric8]

Clarify for me. The fans who act like it is fantasy football or Madden drive you insane? Or the fans who point out that it isn't Madden or fantasy football drive you insane?

The first question. I think fantasy football is killing fandom. People care way to much about an individual's stats then they do the team, people seem to be rooting for players rather than the whole team.

 

[TheDallasDon]

Ah, so let's explore the rationale behind this for just a minute. Why would the Rams make the lowest tender offer to one of their few good players? No compensation right?

Dallas signs him, then gets him for nothing.

No. Dallas signs him. They have then set his market for the Rams, and they match the offer. Dallas gets nothing.

Or, they pay the Rams to acquire him by doing as the Seahawks did for Charlie Whitehurst.

So you can pretend we get him for free, with no compensation, or you can accept the fact that he comes with a trade price.

O.J. Atogwe is due a 7 million roster bouns and everyone belives that the rams will cut him.................so its smart on the cowboys part to wait for him too get cut insded of geting in a bidding war with the rams alowing them to sign him for less.............case in point if the cowboys due have any "intestate" in getting him they will just wait for him too be relased and get him then

 

[speedkilz88]

Ah, so let's explore the rationale behind this for just a minute. Why would the Rams make the lowest tender offer to one of their few good players? No compensation right?

Dallas signs him, then gets him for nothing.

No. Dallas signs him. They have then set his market for the Rams, and they match the offer. Dallas gets nothing.

Or, they pay the Rams to acquire him by doing as the Seahawks did for Charlie Whitehurst.

So you can pretend we get him for free, with no compensation, or you can accept the fact that he comes with a trade price.

The Rams had to give him that tender from what I understand. They franchised him last year and there is suppose to be a rule that they couldn't pay him less with the tender so they had to use the first right of refusal for the free agency period but still can lose him after June 1. He becomes a UFA after June 1 if someone doesn't sign him before that.