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“America’s Table,” A Dallas Cowboys Roundtable Discussion: Pre-Training Camp
Published: July 24, 2009
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After a couple months of silence, America’s Table is back with another edition of our award winning Dallas Cowboys’ Roundtable.
(We have not in fact won any awards, but that has a nice ring to it.)
With Spring Training just around the corner, football is in the air, and there is plenty to discuss. So without further ado, let’s talk some Cowboys!
There has been a lot of talk from both Cowboys haters and Cowboys fans regarding Tony Romo’s future with the Cowboys. Many think that his time may be up with the Cowboys as early as the end of next season if things don’t improve. Your thoughts? Is Tony Romo on the hot seat?
James Williamson: I think that a lot of people like to kick people when they are down and since the Dallas Cowboys are hated, mainly because of some bandwagon idiot that a person has met, then people are going to do whatever they can to feel good about themselves and lower Dallas fans.
Most of these people probably can’t even name their own offensive linemen or have an intelligent conversation about football because they are wrapped up in their own egos.
Now, on to the idea that Tony is on the hot seat. I doubt it because first off, this guy has been a winner for the Cowboys. Yes, he’s shaky in December, but have you seen who he plays in December? Road games in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh? That’s not like going out and playing the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh game was extremely close while the entire Cowboys team didn’t show up at Philly.
His first year as a starter, the Cowboys went 13-3 and had few to no injuries, whereas next season, Romo was injured for three games in which the Cowboys went 1-2 in. So, if one can assume that Romo went 3-0 or 2-1 against those teams, then the Cowboys would have been in playoffs.
They don’t realize that the loss of left guard, Kyle Kosier, was so significant. When Kosier was in the lineup against teams like Green Bay, the second time against the Redskins, and San Francisco, the Cowboys won all three games.
Against Green Bay, they had 217 yards rushing, against DC, it was 117 yards rushing, and San Francisco, it was only 74 yards rushing because it was a field day for Terrell Owens who had 213 yards receiving, but who do you think was blocking well for Tony Romo?
Kosier is just one guy though. The Cowboys lost Felix Jones, Roy Williams, Pat Watkins, Marion Barber, Sam Hurd, Miles Austin, Terence Newman, Mat McBriar, and more to injuries one time or another.
These “haters” are these imbeciles that don’t realize that football is a team sport and if the slightest thing goes wrong, they blame the quarterback because they don’t the names of the surrounding cast.
Another point is people!!! He’s only been the starter two years!!! Rome wasn’t built in a day you know. If Tony Romo was anywhere but Dallas, people would be giving him a break, but no, it is the Dallas Cowboys, so he is watched the way Brad and Angelina are watched.
I give Jerry Jones more credit than that. He’s not that impatient, he wants progress and the Cowboys, whether you believe me or not, have made progress.
So, no. Unless Romo goes Ryan Leaf or breaks his back, then he will remain the starter there.
Andrew Nuschler: It’s hilarious that less than a year ago, I felt it necessary to write articles piercing the myth that Tony Romo was one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League, and now his seat seems to be growing warm—whether in truth or simply by popular perception. I don’t see what it is about this guy that has everyone lurching from one extreme to the next.
I see no reason why it’d be any hotter than is normal for a QB in Dallas, which is to say, always warmer than most.
If Romo can’t string together a good season with all the obvious talent, if he can’t put a bigger notch on his belt by winning a game he really HAS to have, then I’d say Jerry Jones would start seriously exploring other options.
As it is now, I expect the ‘Pokes to dramatically benefit from the absence of the TO Sideshow as well as some of the other nonsense. Should be as close to business as usual as it gets in Big D and I think that allows Tony Romo to make significant progress—which should end the hot seat talk and open up a whole new wave of Romo, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger talk.
Can’t wait….
Robert Allred: In short, no.
Tony Romo is the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, which means that more than any other quarterback, opinions on him can always be found in the extremes. When he was playing great ball, everyone was quick to bust out the anointing oil, but when he struggled last season, people were screaming for his head to roll.
That’s just how it is in Dallas, particularly when you are the quarterback—and perhaps even more so when you are the “celebrity quarterback”.
If Romo does struggle next season, and the Cowboys fail to win a playoff game, I fully expect more irate fans to come out of the woodwork screaming for his trade or release, and the mainstream media will likely jump on Romo like sharks.
But will he be on the “hot seat”? No.
Like it or love it, Romo is going to be around for a while. The Cowboys cannot release him because of the financial ramifications, and if they were to go the trade route, they wouldn’t get adequate value for him. Instead, we’d have another Jay Cutler for Kyle Orton type of deal, and I don’t imagine the Cowboys faithful would be too pleased with that.
That was a very unique situation, and I do not see something like that playing out in the NFL for some time to come.
Having said all that, I expect Romo to have a bounce back season in 2009. I do not think he will put up the kind of gaudy numbers he put up in 2007—so fantasy owners may be a little disappointed—but I do think that he will be more efficient than he has ever been in his career.
I expect the turnovers to go down, his leadership to go up, and the wins? We’ll see.
The Cowboys have a luxury that not many teams have. They have three solid young running backs. How can the Cowboys most effectively use these three next season?
James: The Cowboys will have their own strategy to use the backs, but I have my own.
I want Choice to start and weaken the defense. He is a great mid-range back. Decent speed and decent power out of the Georgia Tech. I knew this kid was going to be on the team the moment I laid eyes on him. He was hungry, he resented his 4th round draft status and he is easily the right draft “choice” for Dallas.
I was even more sure when he blocked a punt against Denver in a preseason game. That boy wants to play and he should play.
Barber, should definitely be a receiving back and a beat-up back. He can take on the defenses that are wearing down. He is arguably in the top 5 backs in the NFL once you get him past the line of scrimmage. Get him a couple of block and get him past the linemen, and then he just takes on linebackers with his physical style.
Another reason why Kosier’s injury was so critical last year is because the running back are supposed to go behind the guards.
Another option is to put Barber in at fullback from time to time. He’s such a strong guy and a good blocker from what I’ve seen so he might be able to spell (replace) Deon Anderson.
Andrew: I think exactly how most teams use their backs when you’ve got one rugged smasher like Marion Barber and one lightning fast, quick guy like Felix Jones—heavy doses of the hard-hitter while using the burner to exploit physical and mental fatigue.
With Jones showing a troubling proclivity for injury, I’d use Tashard Choice to lessen the load on Jones. Of course, Choice seemed like a capable performer so he could be used to ease the erosion of Barber over the full slate of games.
And then there’s that Wildcat thing.
Admittedly, however, X’s and O’s are not my specialty.
Robert: If I have said it once, I have said it a million times. This team is not going to be a pass happy team and win next season, unless every single receiver on the roster plays better than we have ever seen them play.
Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
So long as the Cowboys commit to running the ball next season and utilizing all three backs, I really do not care how they spread the load. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have an opinion on how they can most effectively do so, however.
All three backs have different strengths. Marion Barber is your workhorse and your power back, Felix Jones is the homerun threat who can take it to the house on any given play, and Tashard Choice is probably the most balanced every down back.
With that in mind, I would use Tashard Choice as the starter. He proved in the last quarter of the season that he can be a legitimate starter in this league, and that he can beat the opposition both on the ground and through the air. He isn’t very flashy in anything he does, but he makes very few negative plays.
Marion Barber, if his ego will allow it (and I believe it would), is of the most use to the Cowboys late in the game. I want him on the field when it matters the most—crunch time. As such, and for lack of a better term, Marion Barber should be the Cowboys’ “closer.”
The best stretch of his career thus far was when he was playing behind Julius Jones. He would come in fresh late in the game and absolutely destroy the opposing defenses.
Felix Jones is the kind of guy that can turn the simplest toss play into a highlight reel worthy touchdown dash. He will be used in the Wildcat formation, on special teams as a returner, and throughout the game when the Cowboys are looking for a lift.
Lets talk about a little off-the-field incident including our beloved (unless your Andrew) Cowboys—and no, this has nothing to do with Jessica Simpson. Kansas City Star columnist Jason Whitlock recently ripped into Cowboys’ TE Martellus Bennett (and society as a whole) for his “Black Olympics” YouTube video. Did Whitlock blow things out of proportion, or does he have a point?
James: I’m a fan of Jason Whitlock’s, even though I wrote an article saying how he jumped the gun when writing about Adam Jones. He is still one of the finest writers around the world.
I think Jason Whitlock hit the nail on the head. If you read the article, he’s not offended by Martellus Bennett as he is by how society will rip into a Caucasian like Don Imus and immediately label him a racist and our “Reverend,” I use the term very loosely, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson can drive him into a premature retirement while Martellus Bennett is viewed as a comedian.
Jason Whitlock simply pointed out that if we, as a society, make rules then they must be applied to everyone or they are, ironically, racist rules.
Andrew: No.
Martellus Bennett is a fool, plain and simple. It sounds like he spends way too much time trying to become famous OFF the field than he does trying to become better on it. Maybe that’s an unfair portrayal by Whitlock, but I’m going with the writer on this one.
I think that’s all he was saying about Bennett.
With regard to the other statement about racial relations in America, etc., etc.—yeah, I think he probably blew it out of proportion. There’s at least a 50/50 chance that most civil rights groups, media outlets, and other tempest-in-a-teapotters never knew the video existed until the Kansas City Star ran Whitlock’s column.
Even now, there’s a decent chance nobody who would care has seen the damn thing.
Furthermore, I think it’s kind of odd to be upset about a “grab for controversy” being ignored. Such grabs are exceedingly tedious and I think most reasonable people would agree they need to stop. Operating as if they don’t exist is the best way to achieve that goal, so why be displeased?
Robert: Both. I think that Whitlock does have a point, but in this instance I think that he blew things a little out of proportion.
I will wholeheartedly agree that Bennett’s first controversial video (where he rapped about “Jerry Jones’ money” and consistently used the N-word while wearing the Cowboys’ helmet) went too far and his fine was justified. That would have been a perfect prompt for Jason Whitlock’s article.
But this latest video was just harmless fun, and the only thing wrong with it was that it wasn’t funny. He played on the stereotype that black people like fried chicken, watermelon, and Kool-Aid. None of these three stereotypes are negative though. They are all harmless.
I think the biggest problem with this article—and our society as a whole—is that it is just trying way too hard to get offended. It seems like no matter what you do these days, somebody is going to get their feelings hurt or become offended. It has gotten a little ridiculous, in my opinion.
What young Dallas Cowboys up-and-comer will have a breakout year this season? What Dallas Cowboys veteran will have a fall-off season?
James: I’m hoping every “up-and-comer” has a breakout season, but the two I’m most excited for are Anthony Spencer and Mike Jenkins.
Jenkins will now be starting at cornerback opposite Terence Newman and I want to see him get some interceptions and deflected passes.
Anthony Spencer is the left outside linebacker taking over for Greg Ellis, and I’m eager to see his performance against offensive lines. If he becomes a pure beast on the field, then the offensive lines won’t know how to guard him and the best outside linebacker in the league known as DeMarcus Ware.
If I had to choose a rookie, I want to see David Buehler, the placekicker from USC. He has the potential to save the Cowboys on special teams with his powerful leg.
Andrew: The youngster who should make the biggest impact is kind of a softball—it’s gotta be Felix Jones and I can’t imagine anyone said any differently.
The former Arkansas Razorback had already shown flashes of that brilliant impact before going down to a season-ending torn ligament suffered while rehabbing a torn hamstring. Yikes, typing that last sentence made me second-guess myself—that’s a lot of tearing in one year.
Oh well, I’m sticking with him because of his breakaway speed, elusive quicks, and because he was a back-up to Darren McFadden in college. That means, between his aborted rookie year and his college days, he’s gotta have a ton in the tank.
Plus, the Cowboys have an attractive personnel package for the vogue Wildcat.
As for the old-time who might slip, as much as it pains me to say it, I came up with a bagel on this one. And, remember, I do NOT like the Dallas Cowboys.
But check the roster—they only have five guys over the age of 30 and two of those are offensive linemen coming off Pro Bowls. You and I know that a Pro Bowl doesn’t mean all that much, but you’ve still gotta have a good year to get there. And the big uglies don’t tend to fall off a cliff all of a sudden.
Keith Brooking was brought in to play linebacker at the age of 33 so I guess I’d have to go with him. Unfortunately, that dude’s an animal so I don’t expect him to slide into the abyss in his first year with a new team.
Terrance Newman and Patrick Crayton are both 30, but they strike me as guys who keep in pretty good shape so 30 shouldn’t be a problem.
Maybe Flozell Adams, but all those penalties can’t really be held against the Hotel since he’s partially deaf in one ear.
Robert: I am looking for Anthony Spencer to have a breakout season, as he moves into the full-time starting role opposite DeMarcus Ware.
He showed flashes of potential brilliance last year, despite his surprisingly lackluster stats, and he seemed to improve all week. If he can start the season healthy, I think he can put together a potentially Pro-Bowl caliber season.
I would love to argue that none of the Cowboys veterans will have a drop-off year, but even in a great team year, at least one individual is going to slump.
Maybe its the homer in me, but I couldn’t think of who it would be on this team. The only name that kept coming to mind was Flozell Adams, but I would still take an off year from him over a “great” year from an average lineman.
Short and Sweet: Who will win the NFC East?
James: I believe it will come down to, barring injury, Dallas and Philadelphia. Those teams have Pro-Bowl caliber players at nearly every position.
New York hasn’t got a real receiving threat that I have seen and the loss of defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo, will be severe in my opinion.
DC has got too much trouble at the quarterback position, so their hopes are riding on defense and the running game. Clinton Portis is the game-changer, but his offensive line is getting up there in age and I doubt they’ll be able to stay away from injuries forever.
Andrew: Ugh. I have no idea.
It’s tough to go against the Philadelphia Eagles because I get an inexplicably good feeling from Donovan McNabb and his new set of receivers. Their defense always seems gnarly and the whooping they put on Dallas in that decisive game had to be traumatic—that’s gotta be a tough one to shake off.
The New York Giants seem to do better when nobody sees them coming, which should be the case this year after losing Plaxico Burress to chronic stupidity. There were other factors to be sure, but it can’t be overlooked that the Football Giants struggled against both Philly and Dallas without their brain-dead receiver (especially Philly).
And the Washington Redskins are still fielding a team to my knowledge.
Still, I think the Dallas Cowboys have made all the right moves in the offseasons. They’ve cut the fat and the dumb by getting rid of Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens. Tony Romo’s got the talent to take his organization to the next level and now he’s got the locker room to do it.
With another year of experience on the talented defense and no pieces looking too rickety at this premature moment, the ‘Pokes certainly have every reason to believe themselves one of the favorites for the division.
I’ll go with the Dallas Cowboys in hopes of jinxing them…
Robert: I hate to say it, but if I am going to put money on a team in the NFC East, it is probably on the dirty birds. I would love to pick the Cowboys, and I truly think they can and will compete, but going by what we know today on each team, they are the team to beat.
They were the best team when the season came to an end last year, and they made the most improvements (on paper) in the offseason.
