WR a Postion of Strength for Cowboys

[jday]

WR a Postioni of Strength for Cowboys
WR a position of strength for Cowboys

May, 13, 2014 May 13
3:00
PM ET

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas

As it stands Tuesday, Dez Bryant and Terrance Williams are the starting wide receivers for the Dallas Cowboys.

Bryant
Team officials don't believe that's a bad thing.

Bryant enters his fifth season coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance and Williams emerged as a solid No. 3 wideout behind Miles Austin and Bryant last season.

But Austin is gone, released in a salary cap move, and while coach Jason Garrett said he's open to the veteran's return, it appears doubtful.

"I think as players get older, sometimes people wait," said team executive Stephen Jones, who expressed surprise that Austin was still a free agent. "Maybe Miles hasn’t signed because he decided, ‘Hey, I’m not ready to sign yet.' Some of these guys as decided as they get older that they want to wait and look at everything, especially if there’s not an offer out there that blows them away."

Harris
The Cowboys had some interest in a veteran wide receiver during the early stages of the free-agency period, but wanted to upgrade their defensive line first.

Nate Burleson, who worked with Scott Linehan in Detroit, was on the market before signing a deal with Cleveland.

In the draft, the Cowboys selected Devin Street from Pittsburgh to compete with Cole Beasley and Dwayne Harris as a No. 3 or No. 4 receiver.

The Cowboys note Street doesn’t have blazing speed, however, he’s a good route runner and has excellent hands. Wide receivers coach Derek Dooley went to Pittsburgh to workout Street and came away impressed.

Beasley
When the 2014 season starts, the Cowboys will have a very young receiving corps, which is a different vibe than we’ve seen in previous seasons.

The Cowboys have had at least one veteran in their 30s from Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams. But now, things are on Bryant, who becomes the 25-year-old leader of the group.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowbo...medium=twitter
During the voluntary offseason workouts, Bryant has been a called a vocal leader during the weight lifting and running sessions at Valley Ranch. Team officials never want to stifle a player’s voice, and Bryant is one who speaks his mind in a positive way.

This is a critical year for this group, seeing that Bryant is entering the final year of his deal and turning into one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Williams was third on the team in yards (736) and touchdowns (five) last year, and after a few rookie mistakes, proved he could become a trusted player for quarterback Tony Romo. Beasley and Harris are solid backup receivers when used properly. Harris has more value as a returner while Bealsey is a solid receiver from the slot.

And while the Cowboys are looking to get younger at many positions, wide receiver not only does so, but could be a position of strength this upcoming season.

Mile Austin would be a progress-stopper at this point in his career. I think it is important to take an unbiased objective look at the state of the Cowboys, as it stands. In my mind, this is not a Championship caliber team. It's not too far away; they could probably remedy the woes of this team with another round of Free Agency and the Draft following this season, with a continuation of smart moves. However, with that in mind, I think it is important to let the guys we have develop. I beleive you should only overpay for the veteran, especially considering it would probably be a 1-year tryout, if you think you have a chance to contend for a championship. Granted, the Cowboys brass would never admit that they are not in the running, if for nothing else to continue selling tickets, but the smart money is on saying no to Austin. That, and Austin's career seems done to me.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Based on what? Harris, to date, has never provided it. Beasly, while liked, is very susceptible to injury himself, especially if forced into a starting role, based on his physical size. Williams should not even be on this list because he is projected as a starter so he is not in the discussion of backups.

This is a very familiar way of looking at this on this board but I can't say I agree. I think it's more of a wishful thinking type approach and not very practical. Also remember, Harris is a return man. You start him and then you need to find a suitable replacement on STs as well.

ok, lets play the same game for every team in the league and you will end up with exactly the same analysis you just did. the original post was that we have a pretty good WR group. then somebody said what if dez got injured, to which my response was, we can play the what if with every team and 28 out of 32 will be exactly the same. and now, the conversation is changing to beasly is injury prone too and Williams is a starter so we shouldn't talk about him in the discussion and what did harris do? so what did the 4th and 5th receiving options for every team in the NFL do last season? assuming ours was Dez, Witten, Williams, Austin.

so in the course of couple of pages of this thread, we have changed the original comment to something different three times now and take the responses out of context.

where will Denver be if D. Thomas goes down? with decker gone, welker is their top choice and he is a slot receiver only? or do you expect their rookie to do amazing things?
What about Seattle? what about Detroit? what about Atlanta?

the only 4 teams with true depth at WR are probably NO, Chicago, Indy, Washington. and they are not 4 deep. they are top 2 heavy in most cases.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

ok, lets play the same game for every team in the league and you will end up with exactly the same analysis you just did. the original post was that we have a pretty good WR group. then somebody said what if dez got injured, to which my response was, we can play the what if with every team and 28 out of 32 will be exactly the same. and now, the conversation is changing to beasly is injury prone too and Williams is a starter so we shouldn't talk about him in the discussion and what did harris do? so what did the 4th and 5th receiving options for every team in the NFL do last season? assuming ours was Dez, Witten, Williams, Austin.

so in the course of couple of pages of this thread, we have changed the original comment to something different three times now and take the responses out of context.

where will Denver be if D. Thomas goes down? with decker gone, welker is their top choice and he is a slot receiver only? or do you expect their rookie to do amazing things?
What about Seattle? what about Detroit? what about Atlanta?

the only 4 teams with true depth at WR are probably NO, Chicago, Indy, Washington. and they are not 4 deep. they are top 2 heavy in most cases.

OK, I'll play. You review every roster/depth chart for all 32 teams and tell me who each has. Then we can compare them to what we have and at the end of the day, you will still believe we are fine and I will still believe that is completely false.

 

[Nation]

again, that happens to most of the teams. Denver, Atlanta are two prime examples.

I also disagree that would make us average. with harris, witten, Williams, we still have a formidable group. to go below average you have to have sucky WRs and I don't think any of these guys are sucky!!!...

I think they are good pieces of a puzzle for complimenting Dez. I don't think they have the size to win primary matchups in today's style of NFL play.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

Terrence Williams makes WR a position of strength, another reason besides Frederick and scheme not to take Shariff Floyd. Actually some pretty heady drafting there in 2013 as well.

In 2014 with the addition of Devin Street to the deep well of receivers, if there was an injury Dallas will have the ammo to over come, after all Brady wins without #1s.

Plus there are a couple of Undrafted FAs like other have mentioned, with measurables that could easily surprise.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

OK, I'll play. You review every roster/depth chart for all 32 teams and tell me who each has. Then we can compare them to what we have and at the end of the day, you will still believe we are fine and I will still believe that is completely false.

I just did. told you 28, out of 32 teams are in the same boat. told you which teams are probably in a better position than us. tell me where I am wrong?

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I think they are good pieces of a puzzle for complimenting Dez. I don't think they have the size to win primary matchups in today's style of NFL play.

they don't. obviously there is a reason Dez is one of the top 2-3 WRs in the league. if they were dime a dozen and easily replaced, everyone would do it. there obviously will be a big drop off if Dez is not on the field, but with that said, I disagree that without Dez, we are a below average receiving group and that WR is not a position of strength for us, because we have Dez and god forbid if he gets injured. again, what happens to Detroit if Johnson is injured? same with Atlanta and Julio Jones, what happens to Denver if Thomas is out? there is very few teams, that may boast two WRs worthy of top10-15 in the league. Like NO, Chicago. There are teams that may not have a top 10 or 15 WR but are deep with a bunch of good WRs, ala Washington, Philly, Indy,

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I just did. told you 28, out of 32 teams are in the same boat. told you which teams are probably in a better position than us. tell me where I am wrong?

28 of 32 teams huh... I am very skeptical of this. I suppose the term, "in the same boat" is very subjective so perhaps we are not on the same page. Here is where I am at, so we are clear. We have little depth at WR after our starters. We have one undersized slot WR and we have one guy who is really a special teams player. Outside of that, we have nothing to speak of.

In our Division alone, here is what the teams have at WR.

Giants - Ruben Randle/Victor Cruz Starters. Backups are: Jerrel Jernigan 29 Catches and 2 TDs, Mario Manningham 211 catches and 19 TDs. They just drafted Beckham.

Philly - Jeremy Maclin/Riley Cooper Starters. Backups are: Brad Smith 103 Catches and 5 TDs, Damaris Johnson 21 Catches and no TDs. They just drafted Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff.

Skins - Pierre Garcon/DeSean Jackson Starters. Backups are: Santana Moss 722 Catches and 66 TDs, Aldrick Robinson 29 Catches and 5 TDs. Andre Roberts 182 Catches and 11 TDs. They just drafted Ryan Grant.


Here is who we have:

Cowboys - Dez Bryant/Terrance Williams Starters. Backups are: Dwayne Harris 29 Catches 3 TDs, Cole Beasley 54 Catches 2 TDs. Behind that we have 5 WRs with a total of 6 catches and 0 TDs combined. We just drafted Street.


In our division alone, there are three teams who are not in the same boat as we are. How hard could you have looked at the other 32?

We disagree.

 

[DBOY3141]

Todd McShay just mocked the Cowboys a WR from USC in the 1st round in 2015, so he see's it as a weaknss.

But McShay's not all that accurate, so who knows.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Todd McShay just mocked the Cowboys a WR from USC in the 1st round in 2015, so he see's it as a weaknss.

But McShay's not all that accurate, so who knows.

I saw that and had to just laugh. We are not going WR in the first round. He actually had us picking at 11. I don't think we will be picking that high and if I had to guess I'd say we go front 7 with the pick.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

28 of 32 teams huh... I am very skeptical of this. I suppose the term, "in the same boat" is very subjective so perhaps we are not on the same page. Here is where I am at, so we are clear. We have little depth at WR after our starters. We have one undersized slot WR and we have one guy who is really a special teams player. Outside of that, we have nothing to speak of.

In our Division alone, here is what the teams have at WR.

Giants - Ruben Randle/Victor Cruz Starters. Backups are: Jerrel Jernigan 29 Catches and 2 TDs, Mario Manningham 211 catches and 19 TDs. They just drafted Beckham.

Philly - Jeremy Maclin/Riley Cooper Starters. Backups are: Brad Smith 103 Catches and 5 TDs, Damaris Johnson 21 Catches and no TDs. They just drafted Jordan Matthews and Josh Huff.

Skins - Pierre Garcon/DeSean Jackson Starters. Backups are: Santana Moss 722 Catches and 66 TDs, Aldrick Robinson 29 Catches and 5 TDs. Andre Roberts 182 Catches and 11 TDs. They just drafted Ryan Grant.


Here is who we have:

Cowboys - Dez Bryant/Terrance Williams Starters. Backups are: Dwayne Harris 29 Catches 3 TDs, Cole Beasley 54 Catches 2 TDs. Behind that we have 5 WRs with a total of 6 catches and 0 TDs combined. We just drafted Street.


In our division alone, there are three teams who are not in the same boat as we are. How hard could you have looked at the other 32?

We disagree.

wow. simply wow. you think these teams our in better situation than us!!! so you don't think Dez, WIlliams combination is better than anyone in our division? seriously?

so what is your point? if Dez is injured...then we are screwed and worse off than all other teams? is it that you say if Dez is injured we are in trouble but other teams would not be losing their top WRs.

or do you just want to argue and debate for the sake of arguing and debating?

so lets play the game with the teams listed above:

Giants: what if Victor Cruz is injured...is ruben randle better than Williams? stats say other wise. you really are pushing Mario Manningham, who has been injured the past three years and his production steadily has dropped. was let go by the giants and now let go by SF. lets wait and see what Beckham does first before we anoint him with anything. and we just drafted Devin Street....!!!!

what if Maclin is injured. is Riley cooper better than Williams? and you mention brad smith!!! seriously. the WR of 2 catches in a high powered offense? he has 103 catches over 8 years ..geez dude. that's pushing it.

and if you really read my post, you would have noticed, I said Washington now is one of the teams, with depth at WR that can have an injury to the position and still be ok.

so how are the giants and philly better than us?

lets examine Detroit...well, if calvin Johnson is hurt, they are done!!!!

Denver lost two of their top 5 recievers from last year. if Thomas goes down, could they sustain with welker as their primary WR option? perhaps because they have Manning but that's a different discussion

what about the bills? jets? Miami? even New England (they have brady....), or tampa? carolina?


do you think none of them would take dallas' WR corp over theirs?


and again, what is your point. is our WR group not as good as theirs. or if we take #1 WR out of each team, who is in better shape? not sure what it is you are arguing.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

wow. simply wow. you think these teams our in better situation than us!!! so you don't think Dez, WIlliams combination is better than anyone in our division? seriously?

so what is your point? if Dez is injured...then we are screwed and worse off than all other teams? is it that you say if Dez is injured we are in trouble but other teams would not be losing their top WRs.

or do you just want to argue and debate for the sake of arguing and debating?

so lets play the game with the teams listed above:

Giants: what if Victor Cruz is injured...is ruben randle better than Williams? stats say other wise. you really are pushing Mario Manningham, who has been injured the past three years and his production steadily has dropped. was let go by the giants and now let go by SF. lets wait and see what Beckham does first before we anoint him with anything. and we just drafted Devin Street....!!!!

what if Maclin is injured. is Riley cooper better than Williams? and you mention brad smith!!! seriously. the WR of 2 catches in a high powered offense? he has 103 catches over 8 years ..geez dude. that's pushing it.

and if you really read my post, you would have noticed, I said Washington now is one of the teams, with depth at WR that can have an injury to the position and still be ok.

so how are the giants and philly better than us?

lets examine Detroit...well, if calvin Johnson is hurt, they are done!!!!

Denver lost two of their top 5 recievers from last year. if Thomas goes down, could they sustain with welker as their primary WR option? perhaps because they have Manning but that's a different discussion

what about the bills? jets? Miami? even New England (they have brady....), or tampa? carolina?


do you think none of them would take dallas' WR corp over theirs?


and again, what is your point. is our WR group not as good as theirs. or if we take #1 WR out of each team, who is in better shape? not sure what it is you are arguing.

Have you been paying attention to any of this conversation?

This has nothing, at all, to do with starters. This is about what happens if you have somebody hurt and you need somebody to step in.

I can see that this conversation is going nowhere.

We don't agree, as I said several pages ago.

Browns have just signed Miles Austin.

Lets just leave it at that.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Have you been paying attention to any of this conversation?

This has nothing, at all, to do with starters. This is about what happens if you have somebody hurt and you need somebody to step in.

I can see that this conversation is going nowhere.

We don't agree, as I said several pages ago.

Browns have just signed Miles Austin.

Lets just leave it at that.

kiddo, see the reply. I gave you answers to both scenarios for a bunch of teams....but it looks like you just want to argue for the sake of arguing....

ok kid...I give up. you win. you happy...go celebrate and give a high five to the kid next to you... geez!!!!

and when did miles Austin come into the equation? I never mentioned him once!!!!!

 

[ChooChoo73]

I guess with the starters it's a position of strength. That seems to have no direct coorelation with winning though. When both lines are a strength, the Cowboys will be strong imo. Till then, whatever Calvin.

 

[Bullflop]

The WR picture and other positions as well, seem to be improving with the arrival of Will McClay. We're getting good prospects for little or nothing. It surely hasn't been every year that we've enjoyed getting WR candidates with so much upside for measly seventh round expenditures. I'm encouraged.

 

[Screw The Hall]

I think WR is a huge strength of the team. If you are going to play the what if an injury happens game, then that is pretty good evidence you've tripped on to a team strength. The only injury that sinks this team is to Dez, a top 5 talent at his position. Well ... duh? What if an injury doesn't occur?

• Dez and Williams ... Top 5 talent + up and coming explosive youngster with a high ceiling ... starters check
• Beasley ... slot that is a beastly 3rd down converter check
• Harris ... wildcard of the bunch who is capable of being a big-play receiver at both The #2 and #3 receivers ... one of the better #4 receivers in the league ... one of the elite ST players n the NFL ... check for a utility receiver
  
• Street ... Rookie with potential to be a solid 2 who is also comfortable in the slot ... unproven future prospect check

I think the only player worth arguing about here is whether or not Harris can come in and play the 2 in a pinch like I think he can. I've seen no evidence to believe Harris can't do that job. I don't believe they've even scratched the surface of what that kid "could" do at receiver. He's tough as nails, explosive, and makes plays all over the field no matter what role you put him in. I think people sleep on him a lot.

Btw, none of this takes into consideration how much of an increased role Escobar is going to have on this team, which he undoubtedly will, and how many snaps that is going to take away from the reserve receivers anyway.

Ask yourself this question if you still don't perceive WR as a team strength. What other roles on the team are you more comfortable with than who will be catching the football for the Cowboys this year? See what I mean?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

kiddo, see the reply. I gave you answers to both scenarios for a bunch of teams....but it looks like you just want to argue for the sake of arguing....

ok kid...I give up. you win. you happy...go celebrate and give a high five to the kid next to you... geez!!!!

and when did miles Austin come into the equation? I never mentioned him once!!!!!

kiddo? You must be old. I haven't heard that since I was about 15 and I'm just this side of 50 now. You gave me your answers, not the answers, which is fine. If that's what you think, then that is your opinion. You don't do walk away very well do you? I've already stated that we do not agree. I don't agree with you. The object of the discussion is now moot as Miles has signed with the Browns.

Perhaps you should be honest here. It's not really me who is trying to argue the point is it.

 

[jterrell]

Personally I disagree completely. If Dez were to go out with an injury the unit would be toast as you can roll a safety Williams way and press-cover the lot of them. I think there is always going to be a dropoff if a team loses their number one weapon, but you can't call a spot a strength if they'd be as problematic as things would be.

disagree.
you are basically saying if they lost the top guy they'd still have to be defended with an extra defender.

that's what you want on offense....
hard to put 8 in the box when it takes 4 to defend 3.

what you are saying with injury is like saying the Vikings aren't good at RB... if Peterson gets injured.

The Dallas WR group is productive, young, talented and improving.
After OL it is our 2nd strongest unit, top to bottom.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

disagree.
you are basically saying if they lost the top guy they'd still have to be defended with an extra defender.

that's what you want on offense....
hard to put 8 in the box when it takes 4 to defend 3.

what you are saying with injury is like saying the Vikings aren't good at RB... if Peterson gets injured.

The Dallas WR group is productive, young, talented and improving.
After OL it is our 2nd strongest unit, top to bottom.

I'd actually say that QB is the 2nd strongest if you are strictly basing it off Starters.

 

[jterrell]

I'd actually say that QB is the 2nd strongest if you are strictly basing it off Starters.

group as a whole.
just from starter standpoint i'd want to see romo take at least a pre-season snap before I declared him full go.