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- 2017-2018
Offseason: Pre-Selection Catch Up And Other Considerations
- April 26, 2018 At 8:47 AM CST
By Eric M. Scharf
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- NFL Draft Day has finally returned . . . giving fans of all 32
teams a chance to wager and guess which star college players will be
selected or spurned.
The Dallas Cowboys are hosting this most main of main events . . .
and AT&T Stadium is easily the most excellent of selection stage
tents.
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- Before we get to any draft day scheming . . . “The Tortured
Cowboys Fan” wants to riff on a poweful player of which so many fans
used to
always be dreaming (about leaving so many fearful opponents always
screaming).
A star has departed the Dallas Cowboys organization. History will
show whether that star was (still capable of) shooting or (rapidly)
falling.
Desmond Demond Bryant – also known as Dez Bryant, the Dallas
Cowboys' first round pick in the 2010 NFL draft – has been
unceremoniously released from his life-long dream of playing for
(and winning the ultimate prize with) "America's Team."
While some have tried to draw comparisons to the exits of Troy
Aikman, Michael Irvin, or Emmitt Smith . . . their well-documented
scenarios – from championship accomplishments to premature
conclusions – was not the same.
While others have tried to draw comparisons to the exit of Terrell
Owens . . . similar – but not identical – culprits are to blame.
Troy Aikman had an accumulation of injuries to both his back and
brain (though he has since, repeatedly, and vehemently denied that
10 career concussions have ever resulted in residual, long-term
pain). Troy was as tough as anyone, but an untimely contract trigger
would have meant an unreasonable $7M bonus figure. Aikman insisted
he was far from done, but the Cowboys – in order to avoid an even
larger salary cap drain – had to abstain.
Michael Irvin enjoyed a pro football history that was shaping up to
be far more than fine, but he became a victim of the tyrannical turf
at Veterans Stadium in October 1999. The best “The Playmaker” could
do – before admitting his career was through – was spend the rest of
the season in a neck brace, cheering on (and mocking) any number of
teammates from the Dallas sideline. While Irvin always had
something to say – to both teammates and opponents on game
day – he ALWAYS matched his talk with walk on each and every
play. Few – on any NFL team – have historically
ever matched Michael’s intensity, focus, passion for practice, game
time greatness, and undeniable will to win . . . and his truncated time in pro football remains an absolute sin.
Emmitt Smith – compared to the other triplets – practically fell
prey to his own wealth of health. Due to the “(quality and)
behaviors” of some of his teammates in his final year with the
Cowboys, he felt like “a diamond surrounded by trash.” Emmitt
(during his time with Dallas) incredibly outlasted all but one of his three-time-NFL-champion
teammates in Darren Woodson. The arrival of Bill “The Big Tuna”
Parcells . . . triggered a renewed effort to avoid the deepening
cost of (one or two) steps lost that came with double-dog daring to
go back to one of the Cowboys’ aging superstar wells. Smith was left
with no choice but to (try to) extend his career in the Valley of
the Sun. A junior varsity offensive line and piss poor passing game
B.C. (Before Carter) helped force Emmitt out of frame.
Terrell Owens was a mercurial wide receiver against which (almost
all) other talented-yet-tantrummy NFL receivers would be (and to
some degree still are) equated. He never played with a quarterback –
save perhaps Steve Young – whom he had not publicly berated. T.O. –
to the tune of 153 touchdowns – more than made it rain. He
infamously played (with great success) through primetime pain. He
almost always stayed neatly within his route-running lane. While a
physical, career-ending slowdown he would (incredibly) NEVER sustain
. . . T.O. had the occasional, inexplicable case of alligator arms
and a lifetime’s worth of “ME, not WE” attitude (that left a
destructive path of front office, locker room, and gameday strain).
T.O. was an all-world performer, and he is a future Pro Football
Hall of Famer . . . but his unwillingness (not inability) to
regularly keep his tongue tamer – during any of the most critical of
moments – could not have been lamer. For such a tremendous player,
his untimely bitterness (about not getting enough touches that were
thrown “just so”) and jealousy (over relationships like the one
shared by Tony Romo and Jason Witten) repeatedly ensured that –
eventually, like clockwork – he had not a prayer.
Dez – prior to the 2010 draft and early in his NFL career – was
often compared (in potential production and domination of defenders)
to none other than Randy Moss. Dez represented a hopeful reversal of
the 1998 draft day pick that – due to character flaws that gave all
but the Minnesota Vikings legitimate pause – was allowed to get away
. . . and Moss promised to repeatedly make the Dallas Cowboys rue
the day. Randy took Thanksgiving Day indigestion to a whole new
level for Cowboys Nation.
Years later in the reality of woulda', coulda', shoulda' – save for
injuries that negatively impacted both Dez and Tony Romo – Dez might
have one day gotten within shouting distance of becoming one of the
NFL’s top receiving hosses. The Cowboys – no longer believers in
(significantly) overpaying a player who used to be one of the NFL’s
best three-dimensional receivers – decided to cut their losses.
Where Jerry Jones normally might have doubled-down on keeping one of
his personal favorites from leaving town, he made the personally
painful incision in favor of the professional, team-first decision.
The Tortured Cowboys Fan would previously postulate: “It goes
without saying that one particular Cowboys star player is
experiencing a career downturn through an untimely combination of
natural causes, inaccurate QB tosses, inflexible offensive boss(es),
and route-ruining mental pauses. He may be given little choice but
to reduce his salary cap footprint and change his role . . . or
simply be forced off the dole.”
The Cowboys – as has been well-documented and widely commented –
were complicit in allowing such a physical freak with uncommon vice
grips to spend his (Cowboys) career sporting a route-running leak.
Dez and Tony fed off each other . . . often performing as two sides
of the same coin, having fun, and saying in unison: “Glad to cover
for you, brother!” Dez and Houdini, err, Tony allowed the Cowboys to
play touch pass sandlot . . . but – again and again – a QB who can throw
his receivers open while blindfolded, Dak Prescott is not.
The following images speak (generally) to the professional greatness
and personal goofiness of Dez's dynamic time in Dallas . . . where
fans may forever wonder "what if" about certain events (from play
reverses to injury curses) that had an impact on Bryant's ability to
help bring home a Super Bowl chalice.
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- Dallas is (seemingly) all-in on a run-first, ball-control,
low(er)-risk, more-timing-based offense that – contrary to the
offensive systems Cowboys Nation has been historically accustomed –
may, MAY include no more than a handful of big touch-pass plays
resulting from the next QB-WR buddy bond that might, MIGHT have
eventually blossomed.
As the Cowboys (eventually) did for Tony, they are trying to mold a
Dak-friendly offense for Prescott . . . and that means removing at
least one or more receivers who have increasingly struggled to reach
their routed spot. Dak will be given every opportunity to improve
his (troublesome) accuracy with more precision-by-design . . . and
more receivers whose strengths involve route-running they CAN
refine.
"Well, there's no question (his production) dropped off. Early in
his career, where he ran his routes, how he's more on his toes, and
how he's more lit, and moves with the flexibility that you need to
run your routes at wide receiver. And then after the injuries, the
foot injury, the knee injury, and now I see . . . highlights of him
running these routes, and you can see the difference. Its very
noticeable. He went from a swift, big, agile wide receiver to a more
plodding type of receiver, and you could see he went from running on
his toes to more running on his back heals, and his feet. And, you
know, for a wide receiver, you've got to be up on your toes to run
good pass routes, and if you don't, then, you're going to be
chopping at the top of your breaks, and when you do that, the
defensive backs can read your routes easily and make the play as
they cover you." – Drew Pearson on Dez Bryant.
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- When Dak – under a(nother) Romo injury emergency – took the
helm, he knowingly avoided opportunities that were risky or would
potentially overwhelm. The noticeable drop in deep-and-daring plays
(and steady decrease since 2016) . . . unintentionally exposed Dez
as someone who could only help the Cowboys in limited ways. Bryant's
career-long struggle to adopt a wider and crisper route-running
selection virtually insured eventual ejection.
Dez's increasing "separation anxiety" – at critical moments when
high-pointing had to be replaced by righteous route running and
breakaway speed – brought to the Cowboys' organization an entirely
new level of sobriety . . . and forced Dallas to accelerate wide
receiver into a position of need.
Dez's abundance of well-publicized opinion – that rarely ebbed when
he came up short and reasonably flowed when certain play calls
seemed alien to the sport – made him a bigger offseason target, a
suddenly undesirable bunion.
Will They Or Won’t They?
AT&T Stadium is mere hours away from rockin’ the 2018 NFL draft . .
. allowing Cowboys Nation to finally see the replenishment plan
Jerry and Co. have managed to craft.
The excitement of seeing which team chooses which player when and
the unpredictable domino effect of many a (suddenly) changed plan .
. . is almost too much to take for The Tortured Cowboys Fan. Teams
can go from dreading a draft day dud . . . to the elation of
suddenly snagging their big board stud.
Fans would be wise (and less traumatized) to remember not to live
and die with what Dallas achieves within rounds one through seven .
. . as the equally-exciting post-draft free agent blood bath, err,
meat market, err, scrum can help a reasonably-aggressive team ensure
their original plan still “goes to eleven.”
Seeing Dallas transition (over the past decade) from a team that was
failing to more religiously follow its own famed “draft pick value
chart” – originally devised by former head coach Jimmy Johnson and
duplicated / modified many times over by the entire league – to a
team that finally prizes its picks (over turning splashy free agent
tricks) . . . has helped ensure Jerry and Co. place the horse (more
carefully more often) before the cart and sooth (some but not all)
fan expectation fatigue.
Will the Cowboys feel compelled to draft “a” promising wide receiver
in the first round . . . who might (eventually) be able to fill the
shoes of a former X receiver no longer around?
Will the Cowboys turn their gaze to a talented,
historically-healthier linebacker who could immediately help
“Marinelli’s Men” in a number of ways . . . and successfully fill in
when Sean Lee is (inevitably) unavailable for a number of plays?
Will the Cowboys keep an eye out for a particular defensive line guy
. . . (unintentionally) pleasing the collection of fans who have
begged for more big-bodied defenders but have been left disappointed
and asking “Why? Why?? WHY?!”
Will the Cowboys instead (and understandably) get o-line greedy and
grab yet another highly-rated big man . . . to reinforce their
run-first game plan? NFL salary caps have only so much room . . .
and increasing their “Great Wall” investment – beyond a
pending-and-well-deserved reward for Zack Martin – could leave their
wallet smartin’.
Will the Cowboys attempt to make a deal for veteran Pro Bowl safety
and Super Bowl champion Earl “Come Get Me” Thomas, a current Seahawk
. . . or will Seattle say “MEH” and pull him off the block? The
Cowboys are playing it smart and slow . . . making the pick-needy
birds determine for themselves whether there is a better place for
Thomas to go. And – even if Dallas displays uncommon patience
until the following offseason to get their free agent man –
their effort could be all for not . . . if Thomas's (questionable?)
health stalls the Cowboys' grand plan, or if he yawns at the
guaranteed numbers of any contract extension he would be expected to
sign on the dot.
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- Will America’s Team take off the gloves and attempt all of
the above?
We shall see. We always do.
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