Mixture of youth, experience will chart Cowboys' fortunes
By Lary Bump
AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT
IRVING — For this year's Dallas Cowboys, the question might not be how old they are so much as where they're old.
The Cowboys will go into their opening game with a roster averaging just under 26 years old and just over three NFL seasons per player.
However, Dallas also will take the field at Texas Stadium with 30-something players at the key positions of wide receiver, nose tackle, left tackle, backup quarterback and possibly strongside outside linebacker.
If that linebacker isn't 31-year-old Greg Ellis — who is trying to overcome an injured left Achilles tendon — it would be a possibly too-young player. Anthony Spencer or Bobby Carpenter, Dallas' first-round draft picks the last two seasons, would replace Ellis if he's not ready for opening night to play across from Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware.
New head coach Wade Phillips said there is some concern with the team's older key players.
"You do watch an older player — how much he practices, how his legs are during the season. The wear and tear is tough enough for anybody, but I've heard as you get a little older, that gets a little harder," the 60-year-old coach said with a wry smile.
Most players become more effective as they mature and learn the pro game better. There's a fine line between being experienced and no longer being able to perform physically at a high level.
Usually, the first to fall off are those who bear the brunt of the most violent collisions at the highest speed. All but the elite running backs and wide receivers begin sliding downhill before they're 30.
Quarterbacks remain in their prime for a few years into their 30s. Players who move the least — offensive linemen and kickers — can last the longest if they avoid injury.
The biggest danger zone for Dallas could be wide receiver, where starters Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn both begin their 12th seasons at age 33. Glenn didn't play in any preseason games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
"You've got to do training camp to get ready for a season," Glenn said. "Unfortunately, I missed it."
Behind the starting pair are 28-year-old Patrick Crayton (36 catches, 516 yards) and three unproven players no older than 23.
They'll be receiving passes from quarterback Tony Romo, who went to the Pro Bowl after just 10 games in his new role as a starter. But behind Romo is only the oldest Cowboy, 38-year-old Brad Johnson.
Primarily responsible for protecting the quarterback is 32-year-old left tackle Flozell Adams, who missed 10 games in 2005 because of injury.
The Cowboys' cornerbacks also have some age at a position where losing half a step can be career-threatening. Anthony Henry is 30 and Terence Newman, who missed the last two preseason games because of a foot injury, is 29.
Dallas cut an even older player, 35-year-old Aaron Glenn, who had been its nickel back. Now that position — and Newman's, if he's unable to play — would go to an unproven player 25 or younger.
What happens to an older player, one who might go from being a prime-time player to past his prime between seasons?
"Learning stuff, the mental part, is easy," said nose tackle Jason Ferguson, a 32-year-old veteran in his 11th year. "The hardest part is the offseason. As an older player, you need a long time to recover. Now it seems like it's about two months."
Nor is he having any trouble learning the new version of the 3-4 defense Phillips has brought in.
"Nose guard is nose guard, no matter what you do with the defense," Ferguson said.
The position is responsible for stopping opponents' inside running games and to provide pressure in the quarterback's face on passing plays.
When the Cowboys have the ball, Romo will operate behind a veteran offensive line that could be the team's most improved area.
He, tight end Jason Witten and running backs Marion Barber (who scored an NFC-high 16 touchdowns last year) and Julius Jones (1,084 rushing yards) might have to assume an even greater role if the oldie-but-goodie wide receivers or their not-yet-ready replacements struggle with injuries or performance.
Last season, Owens and Glenn each gained more than 1,000 receiving yards. Owens, who led the NFL with 13 touchdown catches, has maintained a low profile this offseason, when Phillips has had the courtesy to refer to the player by his name.
In four years under former head coach Bill Parcells, the Cowboys reached the playoffs during his first and last seasons but never won a postseason game. The 2006 season ended when Romo couldn't handle a snap for a potential game-winning field goal in the final two minutes of a wildcard game at Seattle.
Before this year's final cuts, always optimistic owner/general manager Jerry Jones seemed pleased with his team's talent level.
"We've got some players I'd like to keep that we're not going to be able to," Jones said.
AMERICAN-STATESMAN CORRESPONDENT
IRVING — For this year's Dallas Cowboys, the question might not be how old they are so much as where they're old.
The Cowboys will go into their opening game with a roster averaging just under 26 years old and just over three NFL seasons per player.
However, Dallas also will take the field at Texas Stadium with 30-something players at the key positions of wide receiver, nose tackle, left tackle, backup quarterback and possibly strongside outside linebacker.
If that linebacker isn't 31-year-old Greg Ellis — who is trying to overcome an injured left Achilles tendon — it would be a possibly too-young player. Anthony Spencer or Bobby Carpenter, Dallas' first-round draft picks the last two seasons, would replace Ellis if he's not ready for opening night to play across from Pro Bowl outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware.
New head coach Wade Phillips said there is some concern with the team's older key players.
"You do watch an older player — how much he practices, how his legs are during the season. The wear and tear is tough enough for anybody, but I've heard as you get a little older, that gets a little harder," the 60-year-old coach said with a wry smile.
Most players become more effective as they mature and learn the pro game better. There's a fine line between being experienced and no longer being able to perform physically at a high level.
Usually, the first to fall off are those who bear the brunt of the most violent collisions at the highest speed. All but the elite running backs and wide receivers begin sliding downhill before they're 30.
Quarterbacks remain in their prime for a few years into their 30s. Players who move the least — offensive linemen and kickers — can last the longest if they avoid injury.
The biggest danger zone for Dallas could be wide receiver, where starters Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn both begin their 12th seasons at age 33. Glenn didn't play in any preseason games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
"You've got to do training camp to get ready for a season," Glenn said. "Unfortunately, I missed it."
Behind the starting pair are 28-year-old Patrick Crayton (36 catches, 516 yards) and three unproven players no older than 23.
They'll be receiving passes from quarterback Tony Romo, who went to the Pro Bowl after just 10 games in his new role as a starter. But behind Romo is only the oldest Cowboy, 38-year-old Brad Johnson.
Primarily responsible for protecting the quarterback is 32-year-old left tackle Flozell Adams, who missed 10 games in 2005 because of injury.
The Cowboys' cornerbacks also have some age at a position where losing half a step can be career-threatening. Anthony Henry is 30 and Terence Newman, who missed the last two preseason games because of a foot injury, is 29.
Dallas cut an even older player, 35-year-old Aaron Glenn, who had been its nickel back. Now that position — and Newman's, if he's unable to play — would go to an unproven player 25 or younger.
What happens to an older player, one who might go from being a prime-time player to past his prime between seasons?
"Learning stuff, the mental part, is easy," said nose tackle Jason Ferguson, a 32-year-old veteran in his 11th year. "The hardest part is the offseason. As an older player, you need a long time to recover. Now it seems like it's about two months."
Nor is he having any trouble learning the new version of the 3-4 defense Phillips has brought in.
"Nose guard is nose guard, no matter what you do with the defense," Ferguson said.
The position is responsible for stopping opponents' inside running games and to provide pressure in the quarterback's face on passing plays.
When the Cowboys have the ball, Romo will operate behind a veteran offensive line that could be the team's most improved area.
He, tight end Jason Witten and running backs Marion Barber (who scored an NFC-high 16 touchdowns last year) and Julius Jones (1,084 rushing yards) might have to assume an even greater role if the oldie-but-goodie wide receivers or their not-yet-ready replacements struggle with injuries or performance.
Last season, Owens and Glenn each gained more than 1,000 receiving yards. Owens, who led the NFL with 13 touchdown catches, has maintained a low profile this offseason, when Phillips has had the courtesy to refer to the player by his name.
In four years under former head coach Bill Parcells, the Cowboys reached the playoffs during his first and last seasons but never won a postseason game. The 2006 season ended when Romo couldn't handle a snap for a potential game-winning field goal in the final two minutes of a wildcard game at Seattle.
Before this year's final cuts, always optimistic owner/general manager Jerry Jones seemed pleased with his team's talent level.
"We've got some players I'd like to keep that we're not going to be able to," Jones said.
posted by The Gryphon at 4:56 PM
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