With almost a full week gone by in the NFL’s super shopping period known as free agency, I figured it would be a good time to review the moves that the Dallas Cowboys have made so far, as well as my off-season wish list which can be read again by visiting the link below:
https://pigskinplace.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/how-to-fix-the-dallas-cowboys/
Unlike previous years, the Cowboys would be clearly be considered “aggressive” in their free agency approach. While they didn’t hand out ridiculous contracts on Day 1 like the Redskins (giving career third WR Pierre Garcon five years at 42.5 million with almost 22 of that guaranteed) or the Rams (providing CB Cortland Finnegan five years at 50 million with almost 27 guaranteed), they did move fast on their biggest target, CB Brandon Carr. Carr visited Valley Ranch on day one, stayed overnight and by day two received the same contract Finnegan got.
Why is this a better move? Well, age for one as Carr is two years younger. Size for another as Carr is 6’0″ 210 lbs to Finnegan’s 5’9, 188 lb frame but most importantly, production as in the past two seasons, Finnegan has three picks and twenty passes defended while Carr has five picks and forty passes defended in the same time. History has not been kind to cornerbacks over the age of thirty who are smaller sized such as Finnegan and we certainly don’t want a Terence Newman part two. As for Carr’s biggest weakness, it’s really only in man-to-man coverage when he doesn’t press the line and is forced to run with receivers. All things considered, I would give this signing 4 out of 5 stars as Carr should dramatically improve the quality of play in the secondary.
Along with Carr, Dallas also signed S Brodney Pool to a modest one year, 1.1 million dollar deal. Poole, 28, is a physical safety that is a good tackler and also plays zone coverage quite well. This is key because the Cowboys do play more zone defense under Rob Ryan. Last year’s safety Abram Elam, does not appear to be back which is fine since they are essentially the same player but Pool’s contract is half of what Elam’s was last year. This signing is worth 3 out of 5 stars on contract alone.
The Cowboys continued to address their defense, bringing in LB Dan Connor formerly of the Carolina Panthers on a two-year deal for 6.5 million including a $2.7 million signing bonus. While Connor is still only 27, he has struggled with injuries throughout his career. He is a tough run-stopping type backer, a sure tackler who takes good angles to get to the ball. His biggest weakness, aside from health is as a pass defender but when you consider that he is four years younger than Bradie James, almost ten years younger than Keith Brooking and those two guys combined to make almost $6 million last year, again this is a vast improvement on the salary cap at minimum. All in all, I would give this signing a 2.5 out of 5 stars.
These three pickups, along with the release of Terence Newman (#2 from my post season wish list), firing of Dave Campo (#6 on the list) and attempt to get younger / removal of players who have been around too long (#9 & #10 on my wish list) should show some improvement on the side of the ball we were most deficient in 2011.
Dallas did not only address the defensive side of the ball, but also made one of the more under the radar yet intelligent moves of the off-season so far, bringing in veteran starting QB Kyle Orton to serve as injury insurance for Tony Romo. Orton’s contract is very cap friendly (3 yrs, $10.5 million) since half of it came in a signing bonus ($5 million), essentially meaning he’ll be around for the next two years and will likely be cut before the final $3.3 million is due in 2014. This move is great for two reasons. The first being that we finally have a decent backup (possibly the best in the NFL) who is not over the hill (Orton is only 30) like previous options Brad Johnson & Jon Kitna. The other reason being that we do not have to waste a draft pick to bring in a possible challenger to Stephen McGee, who is now slotted in the 3rd QB position barring an injury to Orton. Signing score: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Continuing to look towards bettering the roster, Dallas brought in FB Lawrence Vickers, 29 on a two-year deal worth $2.4 million to provide young star DeMarco Murray with a bruising lead blocker. Vickers has led the way for 1,000 yard rushers in five of his six years in the league, including 2010 when he blocked for Peyton Hillis (who had his best year with Vickers as his FB) and 2011 when he lead the way for Arian Foster and Ben Tate who combined for over 2,100 yards. This would signal that last year’s FB Tony Fiammetta will not be back. While Fiammetta did do a decent job, clearly Vickers has had more sustained success and with the contract, wasn’t that much more of a financial risk. Signing score: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Aside from the secondary, the other unit on this team that was below average was the offensive line. The Cowboys signed two options in an attempt to correct this issue. The first was guard Nate Livings, 30, for five years and $19.1 million with $6.2 guaranteed. Livings would be considered more of a run blocker, better against power rushers than smaller, quicker interior linemen. In the 46 games he started the past three years in Cincinnati, they did have a 1,000 yard rusher each year and averaged 24.5 sacks per year. The Cowboys in that same time frame have given up 30+ sacks each year and have had no running backs get to 1,000 yards. Consider this signing a plus obviously.
The other pickup, guard Mackenzy Bernadeau, 26 is younger and more raw. Bernadeau was signed to a cap friendly 4 years and $11 million. He does provide good size (6’4″ 305 lbs.) and quickness and needs to work on technique mostly to take his game to the next level. This can also be improved upon with the addition of long time offensive line coach Bill Callahan. Callahan, most recently with the Jets from 2008-2011, was able to guide their offensive linemen to 11 Pro Bowl visits in that time frame. At worst, with the youth movement employed last year, along with switch of tackles Tyron Smith and Doug Free to their rightful spots and these additions, our line should be vastly augmented. Signing score: 3 out of 5 stars.
The only negative to the free agency period would be the hit that our wide receiving corps took with the loss of Laurent Robinson to the Jaguars and the questionable re-signing of Kevin Ogletree. On the positive side, Robinson was impossible to keep as the Jags gave him a five-year, $32.5 million deal with $14 million guaranteed. That’s WAY more than what Dez Bryant’s getting paid and creeping towards Miles Austin money. While no one could argue with the production we got from Robinson, if you think he’s going to bring 11 TD’s to Jacksonville next year, you may also believe in the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus.
Bringing back Ogletree (1 year, $700k) was curious but cautious. On one hand, Ogletree has struggled to show he’s worthy of a roster spot since his development in three years has been almost non-existent. In all honesty, he is probably never going to be more than a fourth wide receiver / special teams body. On the other, consider it mostly insurance in case young players like Andre Holmes, Raymond Radway and Dwayne Harris plus a possible early round draft selection do not pan out. Signing score: 1.5 out of 5 stars.
On the whole, the Cowboys have had their most productive offseason in many years. These signings have provided the luxury of focusing on getting the best player available at positions of need in the draft (more secondary help, backup LB, third WR, possible defensive line depth). If (and I know, it’s a big IF), Dallas can have a modestly decent draft, the future of the franchise could be looking very positive. As we get closer to the draft, I’ll post my choices for who I would like to see us pick up.
The Corner Blitz 