Things That Could Haunt the Cowboys
By Matt Cordon (kh). Filed in Dallas Cowboys News in Brief |
I do not recall last year’s cuts being the subject of so much news, but the Cowboys’ release of Aaron Glenn has been discussed about as much as any roster move in a while. While this certainly does not compare with the signing and release Mike Vanderjagt or the signing of Terrell Owens, it’s still a very questionable move. Glenn, by the way, signed with Jacksonville on Monday.
The second move that may prove to be a mistake is the release of quarterback Matt Moore, who was later signed by Carolina. This has prompted the Dallas Morning News blog to suggest that Super Bowl XLV (hosted by Dallas) will feature Brady Quinn and the Cleveland Browns against Moore and the Carolina Panthers. This post prompted me to think of a few other nightmares that the Cowboys could face.
(1) Injuries at Linebacker
Given the Cowboys’ emphasis on the linebacker position in the past several drafts, one might think that the team would have some depth here. Not so. Greg Ellis might return, but whether he will be effective at all is a big question mark. Kevin Burnett has battled injuries as well. I am not sure about Justin Rogers, but I would not think that a guy signed from waivers is any sort of savior. Bobby Carpenter has looked much better, but Anthony Spencer has had trouble.
The nightmare would be one more injury to any of the following: Ware, James, Ayodele, or Carpenter. Dallas would then have to hope that Spencer can mature by a year or two or that Burnett and/or Ellis can turn a 180 to better health.
(2) Cornerback Hell
The injury to Terence Newman’s heel could be what drops the Cowboys from a 10 or 11 win season to .500 or so. Moreover, Anthony Henry has battled injury problems since he joined the team, and his injuries last year made him a liability. Losing both would mean that Dallas would likely start two former seventh-round picks in Nate Jones and Jacques Reeves (perhaps Evan Oglesby has some talent, but he is so new that I doubt he would be an immediate starter). Todd Archer has more on the cornerback spot.
(3) Dallas Needs a Third Quarterback After All
I can’t help but think that Dallas chose to keep either Oliver Hoyte or Deon Anderson instead of quarterback Matt Moore. And while I don’t dislike either Hoyte or Anderson, I tend to think that a quality third-stringer could be more important than a backup fullback. If for some reason Tony Romo or Brad Johnson become injured, Richard Bartel (now on the practice squad) could be thrust into the backup role.
(4) Jerheme Urban Becomes a Superstar
Just two days after I took the time to make an animated GIF of Urban’s punt return for a touchdown against Minnesota, he was gone (and later off to Arizona). He’s worth keeping an eye on for a while.
(5) Nick Folk Looks Like a Rookie
I’m not saying it was a bad move to keep Folk over Gramatica, but I can’t imagine how many of us could handle another subpar kicker year.
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I haven’t shown many videos lately, but here is one showing Don Meredith and Willard Scott in a Lipton Tea commercial:
