Dallas Cowboys: Six Moves the 'Boys Need to Make to Win Their Sixth Super Bowl
The Dallas Cowboys have been stuck at five Super Bowl championships since the mid-90s. They now have a window of opportunity to win a sixth, but certain steps have to be made in order to accomplish the goal.
Teams across the NFL have the thought that theyโre โone-step awayโ from the big game in February.ย But the reality is that 30 of them require more than one step, and 16 of them need more help than Plaxico Burress in a gun-safety course.
The Cowboys are only six steps away, none more important than the other. There are problems all over this team that Ray Charles could see and they all need to be addressed.
Keep Tyron Smith at Right Tackle
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I know what youโre thinking.
โRob, we drafted him in the top ten, he should play on the left side!โ
I understand the point, but why make him play a position that he doesnโt have a lot of experience in? Let alone in his rookie year?!
I do believe Smith has the ability and skill to play at the left tackle position one day, but not his rookie year, not when the โBoys have Doug Free over there and already doing one hell of a job.
For comparisons-sakeโFree allowed five sacks last season and Flozell Adams allowed seven in 2009.
The point is, thereโs nothing wrong with Free at left tackle, so donโt cause a headache by trying to move him back to right so that Smith can play a position that heโs no comfortable with.
Heโll find the left side later in his careerโjust not in 2011.
Sign a Veteran (and Reliable) Place Kicker
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While watching NFL Replay last week, I saw David Buehler miss an extra point against the Giants in week 10.
Need I say more?
Itโs not that Buehler was a horrendous kicker, but it seemed like the Cowboys couldnโt rely on him to make the kicks that they really needed.
Buehler was 24-for-32 overall, and missed two extra points in 2010.
But his bad timing is what hurts the Cowboys even more. He was perfect in the first quarter of the games last season, but only kicked 50% in the fourth.
In other words, heโs as clutch as LeBron James with four seconds left in the game.
To hoist up a sixth Lombardi, the Cowboys need someone who can deliver when the team really needs it. We may not need Michael Jordan, but at least give me Derek Fisher.
OK, enough with the NBA analogies โ just give me a kicker who can get it through the goalposts when Iโm counting on him.
Release Marion Barber and Roy Williams
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Thereโs a lot of uncertainty whether there will be a salary cap in 2011 or not, but regardless if there is or isnโt oneโMarion Barber and Roy Williams need to go.
Not only have these two players overstayed their welcome and became two overpaid veterans on the roster, but theyโre now becoming progress-stoppers as well.
The Cowboys drafted DeMarco Murray in the third-round of the draft, and many believe that is the obvious sign that Barber is on his way out of Dallas. But if not (and letโs say they cut Tashard Choice instead) than Barber will command the starting spot due to his salary and Murray wonโt be able to grow into the new system.
A similar situation is going on in the receiving core as young players like Kevin Ogletree and Jesse Holley are starving for more reps, but Roy Williams has already gone through the buffet line and is now going back for seconds before anyone else.
The Cowboys have had progress stoppers in the past (See: Pacman Jones) who did mediocre on the field and only prevented young players from growing. Itโs just unfortunate that Barber and Williams havenโt produced on the field like they use to.
So unless those two are ready to share reps or produce more, thereโs no sense in keeping them on the roster.
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Sign Dawan Landry
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โBut Rob, why settle for Landry when we can sign Michael Huff!!โ
Slow down reader, let me explain first.
Itโs pretty simple really; the Cowboys have holes on their roster and canโt just go out signing every great free agent out there. This isnโt your NFL Madden game for the Xbox.
With Doug Freeโs contract expiring soon (and yes, I do think heโll get โleft-tackle moneyโ) and other needs around the roster, I donโt think the Cowboys will have enough cash to sign multiple high-profile players.
Iโll get to which high-profile player they should sign momentarily.
Landry comes at a price that will hopefully be reasonable to a five-year veteran like himself. Heโs a player that isnโt afraid to enter the box and wonโt be a liability in coverage.
If Huff gives the โBoys a hometown discount, than heโs the guy for the job. But most likely Landry will come at a cheaper price and still be able to produce on the field.
Move Alan Ball Back to Cornerback
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I was very tempted to leave this slide blank as this should require no explanation.
There are probably a dozen reasons why the Cowboys secondary was so awful last season.
Wade Phillips didnโt hold the team accountable, Terrance Newman was battling injuries, Micheal Jenkins had the sun in his eyesโwho knows what the real reasons are?!
But thereโs one thing I do know: Alan Ball cannot play free safety in the NFL.
Around this time last year, we were all sold the story that Ball wasnโt afraid to tackle and could help in coverage situations.
What we weren't told was that he couldnโt be relied on when the corners were getting beat or needed help from him.
It should go without saying (but Iโll say it anyways) that there was nothing โsafeโ about Ball playing safety last year.
You can move him back to his natural position at corner and have Dawan Landry step in his place to solidify a secondary that was down-right embarrassing last season.
Or you can just cut Ball altogether. Either way itโs a win in my book.
Sign Cullen Jenkins
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With Marcus Spears in free agency and no news on whether Stephen Bowen will return, the Cowboys need a defensive lineman to compliment Jay Ratliff and the others in the front seven.
Enter my high-profile free agent.
Cullen Jenkins is that player who can attack both the quarterback and the runner on any given down.
With both Jenkins and Ratliff, this would give the Cowboys the option of running defensive formations that only have two down linemen. Formations that defensive coordinator Rob Ryan has used in the past.
Jenkins is a proven 3-4 pass rusher, can be placed anywhere on the line (for those of you who believe Ratliff is moving to defensive end) and will instantly give opposing offenses another headache to try and block up front.
Could you imagine game-planning your passing attack and being tasked with the problem of blocking Demarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, Ratliff and Jenkins?
Iโd rather let Charlie Sheen babysit my kids before dealing with that headache.
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