No reaching, hoping for Cowboys
By GIL LEBRETON
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Going up?
Not the Cowboys. Not in this draft, it appears.
And that's good news, for a change, because desperate measures often reap dismal results.
Don't misunderstand -- the Cowboys are desperate. They are quietly frantic to get back to a Super Bowl before Bill Parcells has to be propped up like the guy in Weekend at Bernie's.
But for the first time in Parcells' four Aprils with the franchise, the Cowboys don't have to fill lineup holes with rookies scavenged from the NFL Draft.
They don't have to trade up. When their turn comes in nine days, picking 18th in the first round, the Cowboys can pick the proverbial best player available. A long-lost concept in their usual end of the NFL labyrinth.
As owner Jerry Jones explained to reporters Thursday, the Cowboys have had an active off-season.
Well, most of the Cowboys family has. The new stepson, Terrell Owens, has been conspicuous by his absence from the team's off-season program, which began four weeks ago.
Owner Jones sought to defuse the situation Thursday by announcing that Parcells and T.O. are "on the same page" about Owens' Valley Ranch attendance. It's not an issue, Jerry said.
So much for the notion of T.O. bonding early with his new teammates.
But if the owner says that the head coach is OK with Owens' absences, I'm inclined to believe that Parcells indeed is.
Jerry wouldn't be so reckless as to speak for Parcells.
As for Owens, don't forget that this is a guy who had a severely sprained ankle and a fractured fibula, yet not only came back to play in Super Bowl XXXIX, but he also could have been voted the MVP of it.
The Owens signing punctuated a productive off-season for the Cowboys. Parcells has become the NFL's Coach March.
Granted, he duck-hooked on a couple last season. Signing guard Marco Rivera instead of Pro Bowl teammate Mike Wahle was a hiccup, and we're still waiting to see why Jason Ferguson was billed as the linchpin of the new 3-4 defense.
But the Cowboys might have plugged more holes in the winter of 2005 than any other NFL team. And Parcells might have done it again.
The offensive line, for example. The gang that brought the '05 playoff drive to a halt appears better, even with future Hall of Famer Larry Allen gone.
Tackle Flozell Adams returns from season-ending knee surgery, and Rivera is also expected to finally be healthy. Rob Petitti is likely to go from starting 16 games at tackle as a rookie to being an experienced backup.
For those reasons, including signing tackle Jason Fabini from the Jets, it is difficult to imagine the Cowboys selecting an offensive lineman with their first pick.
Free safety might be off the early board as well, after signing free agent Marcus Coleman and re-signing Keith Davis.
If not a blocker or a safety, then, what?
Probably not a quarterback, Jones said. Owner Jones, of course, could start a new league, just with Quarterbacks Who Tried to Replace Aikman.
He's dropped hints that the team wants to take one last long look at Drew Henson, currently exiled in Germany. Plus, there's the annual fascination with Tony Romo.
Whatever. Parcells barely acknowledges his backup quarterbacks.
Too bad, because in this draft Alabama's Brodie Croyle would make an intriguing, low-risk choice.
Trade up, maybe to have a chance at Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler? Some mock drafts have Cutler going ridiculously high, as high as No. 4.
But as Owner Jones reminded, the price of trading up in the draft is far too steep. The Cowboys would like to find a fourth-round pick to replace the one they dealt away last year to select Chris Canty. Moving down a few spots, Jones indicated, is a possibility.
Doesn't sound very exciting, does it? For two seasons, though, Parcells has done his best "drafting" a month before the NFL Draft. In some cases, he's signed players that he himself once drafted for the Jets.
The days of the Cowboys reaching and hoping to find a starter or two in the draft, however, appear to be over, at least for now.
No Quincy Carter. No Kavika Pittman. No Shante Carver.
Nine days from now, expect the Cowboys to settle for the "best athlete available."
A dull, but usually wise choice.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Going up?
Not the Cowboys. Not in this draft, it appears.
And that's good news, for a change, because desperate measures often reap dismal results.
Don't misunderstand -- the Cowboys are desperate. They are quietly frantic to get back to a Super Bowl before Bill Parcells has to be propped up like the guy in Weekend at Bernie's.
But for the first time in Parcells' four Aprils with the franchise, the Cowboys don't have to fill lineup holes with rookies scavenged from the NFL Draft.
They don't have to trade up. When their turn comes in nine days, picking 18th in the first round, the Cowboys can pick the proverbial best player available. A long-lost concept in their usual end of the NFL labyrinth.
As owner Jerry Jones explained to reporters Thursday, the Cowboys have had an active off-season.
Well, most of the Cowboys family has. The new stepson, Terrell Owens, has been conspicuous by his absence from the team's off-season program, which began four weeks ago.
Owner Jones sought to defuse the situation Thursday by announcing that Parcells and T.O. are "on the same page" about Owens' Valley Ranch attendance. It's not an issue, Jerry said.
So much for the notion of T.O. bonding early with his new teammates.
But if the owner says that the head coach is OK with Owens' absences, I'm inclined to believe that Parcells indeed is.
Jerry wouldn't be so reckless as to speak for Parcells.
As for Owens, don't forget that this is a guy who had a severely sprained ankle and a fractured fibula, yet not only came back to play in Super Bowl XXXIX, but he also could have been voted the MVP of it.
The Owens signing punctuated a productive off-season for the Cowboys. Parcells has become the NFL's Coach March.
Granted, he duck-hooked on a couple last season. Signing guard Marco Rivera instead of Pro Bowl teammate Mike Wahle was a hiccup, and we're still waiting to see why Jason Ferguson was billed as the linchpin of the new 3-4 defense.
But the Cowboys might have plugged more holes in the winter of 2005 than any other NFL team. And Parcells might have done it again.
The offensive line, for example. The gang that brought the '05 playoff drive to a halt appears better, even with future Hall of Famer Larry Allen gone.
Tackle Flozell Adams returns from season-ending knee surgery, and Rivera is also expected to finally be healthy. Rob Petitti is likely to go from starting 16 games at tackle as a rookie to being an experienced backup.
For those reasons, including signing tackle Jason Fabini from the Jets, it is difficult to imagine the Cowboys selecting an offensive lineman with their first pick.
Free safety might be off the early board as well, after signing free agent Marcus Coleman and re-signing Keith Davis.
If not a blocker or a safety, then, what?
Probably not a quarterback, Jones said. Owner Jones, of course, could start a new league, just with Quarterbacks Who Tried to Replace Aikman.
He's dropped hints that the team wants to take one last long look at Drew Henson, currently exiled in Germany. Plus, there's the annual fascination with Tony Romo.
Whatever. Parcells barely acknowledges his backup quarterbacks.
Too bad, because in this draft Alabama's Brodie Croyle would make an intriguing, low-risk choice.
Trade up, maybe to have a chance at Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler? Some mock drafts have Cutler going ridiculously high, as high as No. 4.
But as Owner Jones reminded, the price of trading up in the draft is far too steep. The Cowboys would like to find a fourth-round pick to replace the one they dealt away last year to select Chris Canty. Moving down a few spots, Jones indicated, is a possibility.
Doesn't sound very exciting, does it? For two seasons, though, Parcells has done his best "drafting" a month before the NFL Draft. In some cases, he's signed players that he himself once drafted for the Jets.
The days of the Cowboys reaching and hoping to find a starter or two in the draft, however, appear to be over, at least for now.
No Quincy Carter. No Kavika Pittman. No Shante Carver.
Nine days from now, expect the Cowboys to settle for the "best athlete available."
A dull, but usually wise choice.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:43 PM
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