When to cut bait

[NoLuv4Jerry]

You cannot keep young guys around too long that are not starters if you think they have zero chance of ever filling in adequatley when the starters go down.

Case in point....the Cowboys spent way too much time developing Nate Jones and Jacque Reeves to get nothing out of them...by that I mean....after 4 years, if you needed one of them to play they should have been able to perform at a higher level than either did. The young CBs we have now ALREADY sound like an upgrade, and they have not even been around 4 years.

So I said that to say this...if the Cowboys don't think Procter, McQuistan, Berger, Martin, Free can ever step in, then they need to move on. Martin and Free have not been given as much time as McQuistan, so they deserve another year. I thought the O-line played bad last year when Gurode went out, so if Proctor is not better than last year, we need to move on. But McQuistan has been around long enough for the Cowboys to make a good evaluation if he can truly help us.

Same thing with a couple of guys at WR...Hurd and Austin have been around long enough.....since the Cowboys have put the time in developing them, I would expect that both are ready to contribute. Stanback will and should be allowed one more year....I think next year is when we need him to contribute.

As far as the DL goes...I think they pretty much know what they want to do....Canty will be extended.....but the Cowboys need to find out about Hatcher....they know all they need to know about Spears...so either they like Spears or they don't....if they don't....they cannot continue to give him the bulk of the playing time at the expense of finding out what they need to Hatcher....that is very critical storyline that not many people are keying on.

Obviosuly Carpenter was a 1st round pick...so they are going to give him every chance to show something this year...but he won't get anymore time after this year...either he has to show he can help...or he will be gone. I am pulling for him because Zach Thomas won't be around forever, and it would be nice for Carpenter to slide right in. I am also pulling for Burnett because he is our best cover LBer. He is in the last year of his deal and will be given every chance to show he is worthy of a 5 year extension.

What do you guys think and have I missed anyone?

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Easier said than done. Say you cut McQuistan, then you have to replace him with somebody and it's likely that any available replacement will be worse than McQ. So instead, you keep him around because of that and you know the player and know what he can and can't do.

Also, we got something out of Reeves and Jones. If anything, they were solid special teams players and it's not always easy to find those guys. Reeves also stepped in and played well for Henry in 2005 and Jones was a decent slot corner, mainly because he was a good blitz. You can't have a Pro Bowler at every roster spot. Given how little they were paid, Reeves and Jones were worth the time.





YAKUZA

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Easier said than done. Say you cut McQuistan, then you have to replace him with somebody and it's likely that any available replacement will be worse than McQ. So instead, you keep him around because of that and you know the player and know what he can and can't do.

Also, we got something out of Reeves and Jones. If anything, they were solid special teams players and it's not always easy to find those guys. Reeves also stepped in and played well for Henry in 2005 and Jones was a decent slot corner, mainly because he was a good blitz. You can't have a Pro Bowler at every roster spot. Given how little they were paid, Reeves and Jones were worth the time.





YAKUZA

I disagree....Reeves did not play well for Henry...if he did, he would still be here. That is why Tom Landry had the 3 year rule. Reeves was here 4 years before we asked him to go to work. If they Cowboys knew Reeves would not be able to ever get in the face of a WR, then what happened at the end of the 1st half in the playoffs should not have surprised them. It essentially sunk our ship.

 

[InmanRoshi]

Who are you bringing in to replace all of these players again?

 

[Velvet Jones]

Who are you bringing in to replace all of these players again?

That is exactly it. You don't cut people for the sake of cutting them. They compete for their spot and if they are beat, you replace them. If there is someone worse but has more upside, then you churn the bottom of your roster. Or if there is someone better at another position than you are at yours, then you miss the bubble. You don't simply get cut because a three year tag has expired and it is time to begin looking someplace else.

 

[sago1]

Besides both Reeves & Jones were either 6th or 7th rounders when we drafted them. They were good ST plays who occasionally filled in at CB; we certainly got our money out of them.

This is McQuistan's 3rd year (mistakenly thought it was his 4th season); surprised to hear he has regressed since last year. Let's hope he plays better in remaining preseason games.

At least Free is looking good & he should get lot of snaps in preseason to expedite his development. Should also beat out McQuistan for the swing man job at OT (if he can play both OT positions).

Am very concerned about Proctor; didn't like his play last year in last 2 games of regular season when Gurode was hurt but do realize that was first time he ever played in NFL game. Would have hoped he would look better this year.

At least Berger has taken a step up to hopefully become a reliable backup at OG; understand he's also taking some snaps at center but would prefer we have a more experienced C to backup Gurode.

Agree we should give Marten another year. We all know OL players take a while to develop & we've got nothing to replace him with.

Admit I'm surprised at Kerkerkerker's play. Since he played with Hudson Houck both in SD & Miami, would have thought he'd be better then he's shown.

But before we committ hari keri, let's wait at least 1 more game til we see how they all play after scrimmaging with the Broncos. It could simply be that the first hard hitting they saw against the Chargers inhibited their performances. Should be ready to go against the Broncos.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Besides both Reeves & Jones were either 6th or 7th rounders when we drafted them. They were good ST plays who occasionally filled in at CB; we certainly got our money out of them.

This is McQuistan's 3rd year (mistakenly thought it was his 4th season); surprised to hear he has regressed since last year. Let's hope he plays better in remaining preseason games.

At least Free is looking good & he should get lot of snaps in preseason to expedite his development. Should also beat out McQuistan for the swing man job at OT (if he can play both OT positions).

Am very concerned about Proctor; didn't like his play last year in last 2 games of regular season when Gurode was hurt but do realize that was first time he ever played in NFL game. Would have hoped he would look better this year.

At least Berger has taken a step up to hopefully become a reliable backup at OG; understand he's also taking some snaps at center but would prefer we have a more experienced C to backup Gurode.

Agree we should give Marten another year. We all know OL players take a while to develop & we've got nothing to replace him with.

Admit I'm surprised at Kerkerkerker's play. Since he played with Hudson Houck both in SD & Miami, would have thought he'd be better then he's shown.

But before we committ hari keri, let's wait at least 1 more game til we see how they all play after scrimmaging with the Broncos. It could simply be that the first hard hitting they saw against the Chargers inhibited their performances. Should be ready to go against the Broncos.

The fact that we did not spend a premium draft choice on is even more reason to have cut bait with Reeves and Jones...we got lucky that Pac Man was available and that Mike Jenkins fell as far as he did in the draft....had Pac not been available and had Jenkins not gone lower than expected...imagine how different our CB depth chart would look right now? If TO goes down we absolutely would need Hurd and Austin to perform better than Reeves and Jones did last year. If TO goes down and Hurd and Austin perform like Reeves and Jones did last year, our season is over.

Again, that is why you have to make these decisions after 3 years...and sometimes less than that if a guy cost you nothing. Case in point, Skylar
Green or Bruce Thornton or Rob Pettiti or Justin Beriaulte or Tyson Thompson etc...roster spots are to precious to waste 4+ years on guys who cannot do the job you need them to do...and if you kept them around 4 years and let them earn a nice living and get the best coaching, they should be able to deliver

 

[big dog cowboy]

We have a ton of draft picks next April. Time for some of those guys to step up or their replacement might get drafted.

 

[InmanRoshi]

The only time a player should be cut is when there is another player out the on the market that can perform better. Given that Dallas is on the tail end of the waiver wire, I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[Hostile]

Who are you bringing in to replace all of these players again?

Oh sure Inman, expose the silly flaw in the plan and spoil the rant.

 

[CATCH17]

You have to try and develop young talent in salary cap football.

The way they handled the Nate Jones and Jaq Reeves situation was perfect.

Both guys showed ability but both guys just weren't ready when the lights came on.

Reeves could play some solid ball at times but in the end if you faced an injury and he had to cover a vet receiver he was toast.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

All I got out of that first post was that Thank God the Cowboys are not run by someone like this.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I disagree....Reeves did not play well for Henry...if he did, he would still be here.

He did play well...back in 2005. Of course, things tend to change like defensive scheme where we went from Zimmer's Cover 2 to Wade's Cover 4.

That is why Tom Landry had the 3 year rule. Reeves was here 4 years before we asked him to go to work. If they Cowboys knew Reeves would not be able to ever get in the face of a WR, then what happened at the end of the 1st half in the playoffs should not have surprised them. It essentially sunk our ship.

Yes, but in Reeves' second year he played well for Henry. The following year all 3 corners were healthy and Aaron Glenn was better than Reeves, but Reeves was good in special teams and was capable as a corner, so Parcells rightfully kept him around. Remember, Reeves was the guy that chased down punt returners which allowed McBriar to boot them as far as he could. Last year, with Reeves starting at CB, he couldn't play special teams and it's probably not a coincidence that the special teams coverage dropped off last year.





YAKUZA

 

[Doomsday101]

I guess I don't get this, Dallas needs depth and these players you mentioned help provide that depth. As these players near the end of their contract the Cowboy then will have to make some decisions but not that is not going to be now.

 

[jterrell]

You have to keep the 53 guys who will help you the most.

This team is trying to win a Super Bowl.
Teams no longer have 3 deeps of quality NFL players.

You just keep the best 53 and yes some of those late slots will go to guys based on potential.

Reeves just left to be a starter in this league. Jones was a special teams guy. We didnt have better players on the roster while they were here so you aren't making much of a point imho.

Dallas will keep its best 9 or 10 OL. If guys like Free or McQ are in that group they will be here unless someone cut on some other team can be signed to supplant then.

 

[AbeBeta]

You cannot keep young guys around too long that are not starters if you think they have zero chance of ever filling in adequatley when the starters go down.

Case in point....the Cowboys spent way too much time developing Nate Jones and Jacque Reeves to get nothing out of them...by that I mean....after 4 years, if you needed one of them to play they should have been able to perform at a higher level than either did. The young CBs we have now ALREADY sound like an upgrade, and they have not even been around 4 years.

Reeves played decently for us over his 4 years here. He was a 7th round pick who played head and shoulders above his draft spot. Saying our young guys now can perform at a higher level is silly, considering that you are comparing a former first rounder in Adam Jones and a first rounder in Mike Jenkins.

Teams who can pick guys this late and have them contribute for 4 years did a good job drafting. You get 1 or 2 late rounders like this each year and you've done very well in your 2nd day drafting.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

we can agree to disagree....but we spent 5 years coaching, developing and paying those 2....that is rare for 7 th round picks...and like I said...if Pac Man was not available and had mike jenkins not dropped on draft day...we would like pretty short sighted giving guys 5 years to prove they could play cb in the nfl....no diffrent then the WR issue...guys like TO are not supposed to become availble for a box of pop corn....had he not become available, are lack of investing and developing in a WR would have been talked about ad nauseam...so like I said...austin and hurd need to step up this year because TO rarley plays 16 games...and if they do, our coaching staff and our front office will be vindicated for bringing them along like we did. Our depth at OL is also in the same position...some of those guys are going to have to start showing up because Columbo is an unrestricted free agent and Kosier needs to be pushed

again, no problem...just wanted to hear what other guys thought

and to the guy who wanted to know the point of this thread...well it is obvious...or 2nd and 3rd stringers got the arse handed to them...and Super Bowl condtending teams at least need to be able to run the ball play defense and be solid on special teams all up and down the roster...not expecting lights out play from back up qbs...but the other parts of the team should be solid if you plan to play late in january

 

[cowboyrock]

Easier said than done. Say you cut McQuistan, then you have to replace him with somebody and it's likely that any available replacement will be worse than McQ. So instead, you keep him around because of that and you know the player and know what he can and can't do.

Also, we got something out of Reeves and Jones. If anything, they were solid special teams players and it's not always easy to find those guys. Reeves also stepped in and played well for Henry in 2005 and Jones was a decent slot corner, mainly because he was a good blitz. You can't have a Pro Bowler at every roster spot. Given how little they were paid, Reeves and Jones were worth the time.





YAKUZA

What games did you watch? Reeves and Jones were flatout terrible. there comes a time when a player has to do it. or he has to go.

 

[Doomsday101]

What games did you watch? Reeves and Jones were flatout terrible. there comes a time when a player has to do it. or he has to go.

Is Reeves with the team? You are right there comes a time.

 

[Romo2Dez4six]

you cut the bait before you go fishing . sorry had to do it.