Will Parchman Welcome to the Off-Season
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Welcome to the Off-Season: Centers and Safeties
Will Parchman
TIDBIT: Bill Parcells (we’re working under the assumption that he’s sticking around) has quite the decision to make at center this off-season. He is sitting on who he once thought to be the savior of the franchise at the center position in Al Johnson, and a guy in Andre Gurode who he just can’t seem to give up on. Gurode’s last snap at center this year saw him fumble away the Giants game and in-effect, the NFC East, so don’t expect him to get too many more chances there. He did well as Rivera’s backup in the last two games of the season, so I’d expect him to stay on there and serve in that capacity next season as well. This leaves a LG open for drafting as LA’s backup and a conundrum at center. Al Johnson never really recovered from that microfracture surgery in his rookie year, which is manifesting itself through the UFA market.
There are several big names to keep your eye on this March as potential Cowboys of the future. Justin Hartwig, Seth McKinney (a local) and Roberto Garza would all be solid additions and definite upgrades over Johnson, but my personal favorite from this list is young Saints center LeCharles Bentley. Bentley has spent most of his season shuffling from city to city on a discarded and forgotten team, so his performance has been glazed over by the mass media, but the Cowboys’ scouting department has certainly had their eye on him. Whether or not the management is willing to shell out more money on the offensive line will only be revealed through time, but speculation has it on good authority that Parcells’ patience with Al Johnson is just about to run out.
While not all of these are free safeties, we’ve learned that it is possible to move a player over from SS - while not particularly easy to do, taking every player into account is never a bad idea. While, as always, there is always the option of drafting a FS, there are some ready-to-play big name free safeties that could easily be in the blue and silver and be worthy of the price tag. Cory Chavous is the first name that springs off the page. Back in June there were rumblings that Chavous would jump ship in Minnesota and put himself on the market following the June 1st cuts, but that ended up being a bunch of smoke and Chavous stayed in Minny and finished out his contract with a solid season. Now Chavous is on the market and his speed would be a welcome addition in the Dallas backfield. Draft prospects like LaRon Landry are certainly options as well, but after a season of watching safeties getting burned deep, I’m sure the powers that be aren’t ready to watch a rookie make the same mistakes we’ve seen this year.
While the contracts of Lynn Scott and Willie Pile are of little consequence (really, who cares what happens to those scrubs?) Keith Davis’ contract will speak volumes as to how much Parcells truly values his special teams unit. Davis is probably the best special teamer the Cowboys have on the roster, but with FS an obvious need in the off-season who knows what will happen to him. He packs a wollop on his hits, but he can’t read offensive schemes or react appropriately to save his life, and unfortunately for him that is precisely what the Cowboys need. As Tom Crowder proved, there isn’t much room for solo special teamers, so it’ll be interesting to track Killer Keith’s movement in these next couple of months.
Welcome to the Off-Season: Centers and Safeties
Will Parchman
TIDBIT: Bill Parcells (we’re working under the assumption that he’s sticking around) has quite the decision to make at center this off-season. He is sitting on who he once thought to be the savior of the franchise at the center position in Al Johnson, and a guy in Andre Gurode who he just can’t seem to give up on. Gurode’s last snap at center this year saw him fumble away the Giants game and in-effect, the NFC East, so don’t expect him to get too many more chances there. He did well as Rivera’s backup in the last two games of the season, so I’d expect him to stay on there and serve in that capacity next season as well. This leaves a LG open for drafting as LA’s backup and a conundrum at center. Al Johnson never really recovered from that microfracture surgery in his rookie year, which is manifesting itself through the UFA market.
There are several big names to keep your eye on this March as potential Cowboys of the future. Justin Hartwig, Seth McKinney (a local) and Roberto Garza would all be solid additions and definite upgrades over Johnson, but my personal favorite from this list is young Saints center LeCharles Bentley. Bentley has spent most of his season shuffling from city to city on a discarded and forgotten team, so his performance has been glazed over by the mass media, but the Cowboys’ scouting department has certainly had their eye on him. Whether or not the management is willing to shell out more money on the offensive line will only be revealed through time, but speculation has it on good authority that Parcells’ patience with Al Johnson is just about to run out.
While not all of these are free safeties, we’ve learned that it is possible to move a player over from SS - while not particularly easy to do, taking every player into account is never a bad idea. While, as always, there is always the option of drafting a FS, there are some ready-to-play big name free safeties that could easily be in the blue and silver and be worthy of the price tag. Cory Chavous is the first name that springs off the page. Back in June there were rumblings that Chavous would jump ship in Minnesota and put himself on the market following the June 1st cuts, but that ended up being a bunch of smoke and Chavous stayed in Minny and finished out his contract with a solid season. Now Chavous is on the market and his speed would be a welcome addition in the Dallas backfield. Draft prospects like LaRon Landry are certainly options as well, but after a season of watching safeties getting burned deep, I’m sure the powers that be aren’t ready to watch a rookie make the same mistakes we’ve seen this year.
While the contracts of Lynn Scott and Willie Pile are of little consequence (really, who cares what happens to those scrubs?) Keith Davis’ contract will speak volumes as to how much Parcells truly values his special teams unit. Davis is probably the best special teamer the Cowboys have on the roster, but with FS an obvious need in the off-season who knows what will happen to him. He packs a wollop on his hits, but he can’t read offensive schemes or react appropriately to save his life, and unfortunately for him that is precisely what the Cowboys need. As Tom Crowder proved, there isn’t much room for solo special teamers, so it’ll be interesting to track Killer Keith’s movement in these next couple of months.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:00 PM
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