gimmesix
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
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This is obviously becoming the season of the backup in Dallas, or "time to prove yourselves," with Dallas cutting, trading and letting starters leave in free agency. Now, it's possible that the Cowboys will make some moves to replace the players they are losing, but right now it appears Dallas is saying it's time for you draft picks to step up.
So without any further additions, this is what we've got:
1) Jason Hatcher for Chris Canty. As a first-day pick, we've wanted Hatcher to seize a starting role in this defense, but he never took the one he was expected to grab (Spears'). Hatcher has better movement/push rushing skills than Canty, but the question about him is his ability to hold his ground against the run. Canty's strength was ... well, his strength. Hatcher, or Bowen, has to show that he won't be a liability against the run and then take better advantage than Canty did when teams attempt to pass.
2) Bobby Carpenter for Kevin Burnett. If this was for the starting position, I would be worried, but I feel the nickel linebacker fits Carpenter's strengths. Carpenter has shown good coverage skills, so he should be able to handle that part of the job. It's when things get physical that we have to worry. Burnett has an agressiveness that Carpenter lacks, so when teams chose to run on passing downs or we chose to blitz him, Burnett could handle it. Carpenter is likely to get in on the tackle if teams run on passing downs, but it's also likely to happen further downfield than it should. Overall, though, because his main role will be coverage, I don't think we'll get hurt too much by this move, and, who knows, maybe Carpenter will grow with playing time into the type of player his physical ability says he can be.
3) Mike Jenkins for Anthony Henry. Jenkins clearly has an edge in ability, but lacks the savvy that Henry used at the position. Henry's skills were dropping, but he made up for that as well as he could by knowing how to play the position, to read routes, etc. Obviously as his skills continued to erode last year, he couldn't make up for it as much through know-how. Jenkins will be able to make up for some mistakes through physical ability, but we should expect him to make a few whoppers as he learns how to handle the position as a pro. We're liable to be wowwed by him at times and to be throwing things at our TVs at other times, but he should grow into the role.
4) Orlando Scandrick for Roy Williams. An interesting development seems to be Dallas moving Scandrick to a hybrid free safety position with the departure of Williams. Obviously, Scandrick isn't taking Williams' spot directly, but he is the one who has to step up into a starting role now that Williams is gone. From a coverage standpoint, we should be much better off in the base defense. Scandrick can step up and man up on a receiver if necessary or has the zone skills to cover deep. He also seems to be aggressive against the run, but doesn't have much size to put with that aggression. Plus, there has to be some questions about Ken Hamlin's ability to play strong safety. With both of them on the field, we should be better against the pass, but all of these moves on defense might make us vulnerable to the run.
5) Miles Austin for Terrell Owens. The only player who seems to be even capable of partially replacing Owens' production is Austin. Well ... Isaiah Stanback might have the skills, but he doesn't know how to use them yet and can't stay healthy. Austin is as big as Owens (slightly bigger) and is fast, but not as fast at top speed as Owens. However, if we don't expect a drop-off from an All-Pro receiver to an also-ran, then we're crazy. Our best hope is that Austin provides enough of a threat to take the pressure off Roy Williams and Jason Witten. We can have an effective offense if that happens, but I'm worried that we're returning to the days when we kept trying to find an effective threat opposite Michael Irvin (but at least we still have our Jay Novacek).
While we're at this, we might as well go ahead and get rid of Greg Ellis and force another No. 1 pick, Anthony Spencer, to step up. If we're going to see what they've got, let's go all the way with it.
So without any further additions, this is what we've got:
1) Jason Hatcher for Chris Canty. As a first-day pick, we've wanted Hatcher to seize a starting role in this defense, but he never took the one he was expected to grab (Spears'). Hatcher has better movement/push rushing skills than Canty, but the question about him is his ability to hold his ground against the run. Canty's strength was ... well, his strength. Hatcher, or Bowen, has to show that he won't be a liability against the run and then take better advantage than Canty did when teams attempt to pass.
2) Bobby Carpenter for Kevin Burnett. If this was for the starting position, I would be worried, but I feel the nickel linebacker fits Carpenter's strengths. Carpenter has shown good coverage skills, so he should be able to handle that part of the job. It's when things get physical that we have to worry. Burnett has an agressiveness that Carpenter lacks, so when teams chose to run on passing downs or we chose to blitz him, Burnett could handle it. Carpenter is likely to get in on the tackle if teams run on passing downs, but it's also likely to happen further downfield than it should. Overall, though, because his main role will be coverage, I don't think we'll get hurt too much by this move, and, who knows, maybe Carpenter will grow with playing time into the type of player his physical ability says he can be.
3) Mike Jenkins for Anthony Henry. Jenkins clearly has an edge in ability, but lacks the savvy that Henry used at the position. Henry's skills were dropping, but he made up for that as well as he could by knowing how to play the position, to read routes, etc. Obviously as his skills continued to erode last year, he couldn't make up for it as much through know-how. Jenkins will be able to make up for some mistakes through physical ability, but we should expect him to make a few whoppers as he learns how to handle the position as a pro. We're liable to be wowwed by him at times and to be throwing things at our TVs at other times, but he should grow into the role.
4) Orlando Scandrick for Roy Williams. An interesting development seems to be Dallas moving Scandrick to a hybrid free safety position with the departure of Williams. Obviously, Scandrick isn't taking Williams' spot directly, but he is the one who has to step up into a starting role now that Williams is gone. From a coverage standpoint, we should be much better off in the base defense. Scandrick can step up and man up on a receiver if necessary or has the zone skills to cover deep. He also seems to be aggressive against the run, but doesn't have much size to put with that aggression. Plus, there has to be some questions about Ken Hamlin's ability to play strong safety. With both of them on the field, we should be better against the pass, but all of these moves on defense might make us vulnerable to the run.
5) Miles Austin for Terrell Owens. The only player who seems to be even capable of partially replacing Owens' production is Austin. Well ... Isaiah Stanback might have the skills, but he doesn't know how to use them yet and can't stay healthy. Austin is as big as Owens (slightly bigger) and is fast, but not as fast at top speed as Owens. However, if we don't expect a drop-off from an All-Pro receiver to an also-ran, then we're crazy. Our best hope is that Austin provides enough of a threat to take the pressure off Roy Williams and Jason Witten. We can have an effective offense if that happens, but I'm worried that we're returning to the days when we kept trying to find an effective threat opposite Michael Irvin (but at least we still have our Jay Novacek).
While we're at this, we might as well go ahead and get rid of Greg Ellis and force another No. 1 pick, Anthony Spencer, to step up. If we're going to see what they've got, let's go all the way with it.