Out pattern: Dallas Cowboys' rash of receiver injuries worrisome
Source: Jean-Jacques Taylor
IRVING – Now, you know why the Cowboys didn't play 28 players in their final preseason game against Minnesota.
And it still didn't do them any good.
Sam Hurd sprained his left ankle on the Cowboys' first possession of their 16-10 win over Minnesota after a 35-yard catch-and-run. He wore a walking boot on his left foot and carried a Bible in his right hand. No one knows when he'll be back on the field.
But no one with any common sense would think he'll be ready to play Sept. 7 against the Cleveland Browns. Suddenly, the Cowboys are down to a pair of healthy receivers.
Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton.
That's it.
They lost Miles Austin in the second preseason game with a sprained knee that's supposed to keep him out for another three weeks or so. They lost Isasiah Stanback to a dislocated shoulder last week.
He can play if he wears a harness on his shoulder. But what good is a receiver who can't stretch his arms out to catch the ball? No good.
It's not his fault, but that's the reality of the situation.
Who knew Austin, Hurd and Stanback were so valuable? I certainly didn't.
I would call the Cowboys' current situation a scary proposition, although I must admit the owner did a great job after the game of acting as though it wasn't that big of a deal. Obviously, he was concerned, but he certainly didn't act like it was the end of the world.
Maybe, he has a lot more confidence in Danny Amendola and Mike Jefferson than I do.
What he did make as clear is that the Cowboys aren't going to have much interest in going after some veteran receiver.
First, it doesn't make fiscal sense. Put a guy like Joe Horn on the roster for the opener and they have to pay his salary for the entire year. If they add a veteran for the second week, then they only have to pay him on a weekly basis.
Just for the record, one member of the front office said Horn isn't among the top 20 guys on the Cowboys' free agent receiver wish list. Another member of the front office said there weren't any veterans worth adding to the roster.
Jones said he'd rather use players that Tony Romo has some familiarity throwing passes to at this late date. Besides, how much is a young receiver who has just been cut going to help this team.
They don't know the offense. They don't know the quarterback. It's a recipe for disaster – or at least an interception return for a touchdown because someone ran the wrong route.
Normally, this is a good time to go on an anti-Jerry rant and say he didn't do enough in the off-season to add a veteran receiver or high-impact rookie at the position.
That would be a dumb response. This isn't Jerry's fault.
He did his due diligence when it came to Anquan Boldin, Roy Williams and Chad Johnson. He inquired about the asking price for those players and decided it wasn't worth the price.
Boldin is certainly unhappy in Arizona right now, but if the price to acquire him – the Cardinals insist they don't want to trade him – was high last week, it will be even higher this week because the Cowboys are no longer dealing from a position of strength.
Frankly, there weren't any rookies worth adding in the first round. Don't forget, there wasn't a single receiver drafted in the first round this year, so the Cowboys clearly weren't alone in their thinking.
Jerry did want Indiana's James Hardy in the second round, but he couldn't convince anyone else in the draft room the kid was worth trading up to get. No one is calling Hardy the next Jerry Rice, so you can't blame the owner for that.
Sometimes, you just have some bad luck. This is one of those times.
IRVING – Now, you know why the Cowboys didn't play 28 players in their final preseason game against Minnesota.
And it still didn't do them any good.
Sam Hurd sprained his left ankle on the Cowboys' first possession of their 16-10 win over Minnesota after a 35-yard catch-and-run. He wore a walking boot on his left foot and carried a Bible in his right hand. No one knows when he'll be back on the field.
But no one with any common sense would think he'll be ready to play Sept. 7 against the Cleveland Browns. Suddenly, the Cowboys are down to a pair of healthy receivers.
Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton.
That's it.
They lost Miles Austin in the second preseason game with a sprained knee that's supposed to keep him out for another three weeks or so. They lost Isasiah Stanback to a dislocated shoulder last week.
He can play if he wears a harness on his shoulder. But what good is a receiver who can't stretch his arms out to catch the ball? No good.
It's not his fault, but that's the reality of the situation.
Who knew Austin, Hurd and Stanback were so valuable? I certainly didn't.
I would call the Cowboys' current situation a scary proposition, although I must admit the owner did a great job after the game of acting as though it wasn't that big of a deal. Obviously, he was concerned, but he certainly didn't act like it was the end of the world.
Maybe, he has a lot more confidence in Danny Amendola and Mike Jefferson than I do.
What he did make as clear is that the Cowboys aren't going to have much interest in going after some veteran receiver.
First, it doesn't make fiscal sense. Put a guy like Joe Horn on the roster for the opener and they have to pay his salary for the entire year. If they add a veteran for the second week, then they only have to pay him on a weekly basis.
Just for the record, one member of the front office said Horn isn't among the top 20 guys on the Cowboys' free agent receiver wish list. Another member of the front office said there weren't any veterans worth adding to the roster.
Jones said he'd rather use players that Tony Romo has some familiarity throwing passes to at this late date. Besides, how much is a young receiver who has just been cut going to help this team.
They don't know the offense. They don't know the quarterback. It's a recipe for disaster – or at least an interception return for a touchdown because someone ran the wrong route.
Normally, this is a good time to go on an anti-Jerry rant and say he didn't do enough in the off-season to add a veteran receiver or high-impact rookie at the position.
That would be a dumb response. This isn't Jerry's fault.
He did his due diligence when it came to Anquan Boldin, Roy Williams and Chad Johnson. He inquired about the asking price for those players and decided it wasn't worth the price.
Boldin is certainly unhappy in Arizona right now, but if the price to acquire him – the Cardinals insist they don't want to trade him – was high last week, it will be even higher this week because the Cowboys are no longer dealing from a position of strength.
Frankly, there weren't any rookies worth adding in the first round. Don't forget, there wasn't a single receiver drafted in the first round this year, so the Cowboys clearly weren't alone in their thinking.
Jerry did want Indiana's James Hardy in the second round, but he couldn't convince anyone else in the draft room the kid was worth trading up to get. No one is calling Hardy the next Jerry Rice, so you can't blame the owner for that.
Sometimes, you just have some bad luck. This is one of those times.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:47 AM
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