Who Is The Dallas Cowboys’s Weakest Link? The Safeties
By by James Williamson
I will never forget it.
No sir, I will never forget that horrific day. December 20, 2008 was easily one of the saddest days of my life.
The last game played at Texas Stadium was a defeat by the Baltimore Ravens because of mainly two runs.
The Ravens had 265 yards rushing that game, but 159 yards of it came off of two runs for 77 and 82 yards respectively.
There is no excuse for that. That shouldn’t happen at a pee wee game and these are supposed to be the consummate pros. What in the world happened?
It was the safeties. The safeties did not make the tackle. That is the only explanation as to why those two runs happened.
The defensive line and linebackers are usually the ones who stop the run, however, sometime a back can just avoid or burst through so fast that they don’t get on top of him quick enough.
Which is where the safeties come in. The position’s name correctly suggests that they are what keeps the front seven ’safe’ in case something goes wrong. Those two guys are the last lines of defense, like the goalies in soccer.
I’m telling you. It was just ugly to see Ken Hamlin, the Cowboys free safety, attempt and fail at tackling that night.
The Cowboys had been slow offensively, but had sparked a comeback. The defensive front was working their rears off. We had a great chance to win that game then those runs happened.
We lost 33-24 and it was the worst possible way to leave Texas Stadium. A very small part of me will always hate the Ravens, but an even bigger part will glare at Ken Hamlin till the day he or I die.
Which brings us back to the position of safety, where I feel as safe as Tweety Bird in a room full of “Puttytats.”
The Dallas Cowboys are very spotty now at the safety positions. Strong or free, it doesn’t matter.
Ken Hamlin will be the starter for the Dallas Cowboys at free safety. He has very good hands at intercepting, went to the Pro Bowl two years ago, but I hope that he has gotten better tackling skills or the Cowboys could lose before the season begins.
The problem was that our starting strong safety, Roy Williams, was on the injured reserve list with a fractured arm.
Now he’s off the roster entirely due to his unhappiness with his situation in Dallas. He was doing horribly on coverage and he had lost the fire in his chest that made him a tremendous hitter.
He now is a Cincinnati Bengal.
The backups from last year included Keith Davis and Patrick Watkins.
Davis was the special teams captain last year and he played decently for the Cowboys after Williams went down. However, the Cowboys have not made any grand attempts at resigning him, and I doubt that he could’ve started anywhere else in the NFL.
Patrick Watkins is an excellent backup at free safety, but two main things kept him from playing: Ken Hamlin was starting, and Watkins suffered an injury himself for a good portion of the season.
Except for Roy Williams, no ordinary Dallas fan would know who these gentlemen are. That, in itself, is a bad sign.
So, the Cowboys decided to address the issue over the off-season through free agency and the draft.
The Cowboys went east to the depths of Florida and negotiated a one-year deal with Jacksonville strong safety, Gerald Sensabaugh, for 1.75 million dollars.
His statistics include: six interceptions, 114 tackles, one forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries in a course of four years.
Four of those six interceptions came last year, so he is showing signs of improvement, but will never be an elite safety.
The Cowboys also drafted strong safety Stephen Hodge out of Texas Christian University, and from what I have read, he is doing well in workouts.
In addition, the Cowboys grabbed free safety Michael Hamlin, (no relation to Ken Hamlin) out of Clemson.
However, I’m not convinced as to the ’safety’ of the safety position. The Cowboys have put a lot of faith in some late round picks minimum pay veteran to go along with a free safety who blew it against the Ravens.
I’m hoping that this year’s preseason session will enlighten me as to whether or not the secondary is going to be a severe problem or not.
I will never forget it.
No sir, I will never forget that horrific day. December 20, 2008 was easily one of the saddest days of my life.
The last game played at Texas Stadium was a defeat by the Baltimore Ravens because of mainly two runs.
The Ravens had 265 yards rushing that game, but 159 yards of it came off of two runs for 77 and 82 yards respectively.
There is no excuse for that. That shouldn’t happen at a pee wee game and these are supposed to be the consummate pros. What in the world happened?
It was the safeties. The safeties did not make the tackle. That is the only explanation as to why those two runs happened.
The defensive line and linebackers are usually the ones who stop the run, however, sometime a back can just avoid or burst through so fast that they don’t get on top of him quick enough.
Which is where the safeties come in. The position’s name correctly suggests that they are what keeps the front seven ’safe’ in case something goes wrong. Those two guys are the last lines of defense, like the goalies in soccer.
I’m telling you. It was just ugly to see Ken Hamlin, the Cowboys free safety, attempt and fail at tackling that night.
The Cowboys had been slow offensively, but had sparked a comeback. The defensive front was working their rears off. We had a great chance to win that game then those runs happened.
We lost 33-24 and it was the worst possible way to leave Texas Stadium. A very small part of me will always hate the Ravens, but an even bigger part will glare at Ken Hamlin till the day he or I die.
Which brings us back to the position of safety, where I feel as safe as Tweety Bird in a room full of “Puttytats.”
The Dallas Cowboys are very spotty now at the safety positions. Strong or free, it doesn’t matter.
Ken Hamlin will be the starter for the Dallas Cowboys at free safety. He has very good hands at intercepting, went to the Pro Bowl two years ago, but I hope that he has gotten better tackling skills or the Cowboys could lose before the season begins.
The problem was that our starting strong safety, Roy Williams, was on the injured reserve list with a fractured arm.
Now he’s off the roster entirely due to his unhappiness with his situation in Dallas. He was doing horribly on coverage and he had lost the fire in his chest that made him a tremendous hitter.
He now is a Cincinnati Bengal.
The backups from last year included Keith Davis and Patrick Watkins.
Davis was the special teams captain last year and he played decently for the Cowboys after Williams went down. However, the Cowboys have not made any grand attempts at resigning him, and I doubt that he could’ve started anywhere else in the NFL.
Patrick Watkins is an excellent backup at free safety, but two main things kept him from playing: Ken Hamlin was starting, and Watkins suffered an injury himself for a good portion of the season.
Except for Roy Williams, no ordinary Dallas fan would know who these gentlemen are. That, in itself, is a bad sign.
So, the Cowboys decided to address the issue over the off-season through free agency and the draft.
The Cowboys went east to the depths of Florida and negotiated a one-year deal with Jacksonville strong safety, Gerald Sensabaugh, for 1.75 million dollars.
His statistics include: six interceptions, 114 tackles, one forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries in a course of four years.
Four of those six interceptions came last year, so he is showing signs of improvement, but will never be an elite safety.
The Cowboys also drafted strong safety Stephen Hodge out of Texas Christian University, and from what I have read, he is doing well in workouts.
In addition, the Cowboys grabbed free safety Michael Hamlin, (no relation to Ken Hamlin) out of Clemson.
However, I’m not convinced as to the ’safety’ of the safety position. The Cowboys have put a lot of faith in some late round picks minimum pay veteran to go along with a free safety who blew it against the Ravens.
I’m hoping that this year’s preseason session will enlighten me as to whether or not the secondary is going to be a severe problem or not.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:11 PM
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