How to shop when you have no money and don't take credit cards?

Free Agency is all about overpaying for players with experience versus filling needs with younger, cheaper players who haven't done it via the draft.

The goal is to build the roster via the draft and fill those few holes in free agency to take your team to the next level.  Obviously Jerry missed that lesson but no point getting into that mess as it does us no good.

So how can you fill holes when you don't have much money to work with and a aging roster.  The answer is not through free agency!

The Cowboys should stay out of the free agency market this year, target role players with a lot of one year deals. Sign older players who were not resigned or released from their previous employers due to their age, not necessarily their play.

Then they need to build through the draft and play all the young players who you need to find out what you have.

So who are the veterans who can be those older or role players who would be willing to come here to Dallas on a one-year deal.  Well, first question to ask yourself is why would a free agency want to go anywhere on a one-year deal.  The answer is someone coming off a subpar year, injuries and looking to hit it big the next year.  A lot like former Cowboy & Seahawk Ken Hamlin and the plan worked perfectly for both parties until his play no longer warranted the compensation given.

Onto the potential targets, be prepared for a short and unimpressive list as cheap and one-year deals being on the must have list.

#1 Israel Idonije, DE from the Chicago Bears
Why he's available?
He's 33 years old and not a speed terror rusher in the mold of Aldon Smith or Von Miller. His best football is obviously behind him and teams are hesitant signing players over the age of 30 to multi-year deals especially lineman.

Why you should want him?
What if I told you Idonije had more sacks and QB pressures than recently franchised Henry Melton?  He had 9 sacks and 37 QB pressues playing over 500 snaps in 2012.  That is a durable and highly productive player at any age.  Is he a player I want to depend on as a full-time starter, probably not but depth along the defensive line is ALWAYS a good thing.  The guy is holding out to after the draft to get a 2 or 3 year deal in the area of 3 million a year for any team that did not address pass rusher in the draft.  I would cut Doug Free in a second and target Idonije to get better up front.

#2 Kellen Davis, TE also from the Bears
Why he's available?
As Idonije fell into the category of age being the primary factor he's available, Davis is there as he's coming off a subpar year. He had just 19 receptions for 229 yards getting only 2 TDs from Jay Cutler. He's never been a big receiving threat but his run blocking took a big hit as did the rest of the team in 2012. Fact is if your not a receiving threat from the tight end position and you did not open up holes for the back on the edge, interest will be low in free agency.

Why you should want him?
John Phillips has signed with Tampa Bay leaving a hole for the blocking tight end in Dallas. I do believe this job should be opened up for James Hannah to have every opportunity to take and show us what he can do. However the team will carry 3 tight ends on the roster and a blocking tight end will be necessary which is why I mention Davis here.  In 2011, Davis had a 4.9 run blocking grade according to Pro Football Focus and hopes would be for him to return to that form in 2013 in Dallas.

#3 Laurent Robinson, WR of the Jaguars
Why he's available?
The Jaguars signed Robinson in 2012 to a 5-year for 32.5 million but released him after just one season taking a 9 million cap hit to do it. Robinson has always been a injury concern dating back to his days with the Rams and Chargers. He had major issues with concussions during his time in Jacksonville and even considered retirement at one time due to the injuries. The Jaguars drafted Justin Blackmon out of Oklahoma State and made the decision to part ways with Robinson as no faith he can recover from the injuries and be a regular contributor at the price they paid.

Why you should want him?
Did you watch #81 for the Cowboys during the 2011 season?  Enough said...but the Cowboys need a receiver who can get open on the outside, Miles Austin & Dwayne Harris cannot do it consistently. This team has too many slot receiver options and not enough guys who can make things happen on the perimeter. The instant chemistry Robinson built up with Romo cannot be under estimated especially considering how difficult its been for receivers to click quickly with Romo (Dez, Roy Williams and Ogletree).

Steelers cut Ta'amu

The Steelers cut rookie nose tackle Alameda ta'amu just weeks after a drunken driving arrest. He was 3rd on their depth chart and just fell out of favor there. I would put in a claim on him as fast as possible, if only our teams GM priority was about finding players to upgrade the roster. #canwefiretheowner

Ta'amu was the most ideal two-gap nose tackle in the 2012 draft and he destroyed the South's offensive line in the Senior Bowl. He needs a fresh start and this is just a rookie! I wanted him as high as the second round and the #steelers got him early in the 4th. Maybe the #cowboys can finally get something from the 4th round of the 2012 draft with Ta'amu since neither Matt Johnson or Kyle Wilbur have done ANYTHING on defense.

Copy cat league changing thoughts on QB prospects

The success of RG3, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and even Andrew Luck has teams reconsidering the way they rate the QB coming out of college.

I find this absolutely ridiculous, does a QB need to be a runner, no but does he have to be athletic to side step the rush?  Yes most definitely.

There is a difference between the two.  The NFL has taken so many steps to protect the QB to ensure offenses continue to succeed to put points on the board which keeps butts in the seats as well as viewers watching on TV. Fact

All bets are off when it comes to protecting the QB as soon he becomes a runner. Yes, they can still slide to avoid a tackle but if you are running inside consistently, you are going to get your guy roughed up. It takes a toll on your thrower and can impact the entire team, ask Phildelphia.

Personally, your QB needs to have the athleticism to extend a play with his feet but complete it with his arm. Teams mortgage their future to hit on a franchise QB (Washington) and why in the hell would you put your most prized and valuable commodity in a position to take more hits.

A QB prospect that cannot extend the play with his feet and beat you with his arm should be not be a high prospect regardless. A QB that can only run the ball but struggles to beat you through the air can be easily defeated in the NFL.  They can get away with it in college but not in the pros.  Fact until proven otherwise where it counts, Super Bowls son!

The count is still at zero!  Ask Philadelphia (Vick, Randall Cunningham), Denver (Tebow), Minnesota (Tavaris Jackson), Dallas (Quincy Carter), Tennessee (Vince Young) and Pittsburgh (Kordell Stewart). The arguement can go on forever debating whether or not the likes of John Elway, Steve Young, Steve McNair and Donovan mcNabb were running QBs or QBs who could extend plays with their feet but beat you with their arm.

Fact is there are about 15-20 great to quality quarterbacks capable of handling an NFL offense and beating a defense consistently on Sundays, that means there are less than one for every team in the NFL. With the hopes of a championship riding on keeping your quarterback in the game, again I ask, why in the hell would you put them in that position to take more hits?

I am not changing what I look for in a NFL QB prospect, a good arm, anticipate your throws with accuracy, plus footwork, progress through your reads, find passing lanes and extend the play with your feet but beat the defense with your arm.

Eagles better than Cowboys? (Continued)

Week II vs the Falcons, 13:01 in the 3rd quarter with 1st and 10 for Eagles offense. They trail 10-14 in the game at this point. The Eagles offense often would begin a series in shotgun highlighting their attacking mentality but defenses initially would not just sit back and let Vick tear them apart.

The Falcons show a safety blitz coming off the left side, but watch what the Eagles offensive line do to protect their QB. The RB McCoy can pick up the safety but that linebacker next to the safety will blitz as well if McCoy stays in to pass protect.


The offensive line slides their protection to the right even though the TE 87 Brent Celek stays in also to protect. That gives the Eagles 7 blockers to take on the 6 defenders coming for Atlanta. Advantage Eagles but 71 Jason Peters follows the end as he collapses inside but the left guard Evan Mathis does not slide over to pick up the LB. Argument can be made that Peters should have let his man go to Mathis so he could pick up the LB.

From view behind Vick, the RB McCoy is left with 2 blitzers and makes the proper decision, pick up the most inside defender as the safety has a longer path to get to Vick. 


The point is the failure in the offensive line protection call that Vick should have seen pre-snap that the safety was coming especially coming from Vick's left. He does manage to juke out the safety but steps up into the blitzing LB forcing a inaccurate throw across the middle for an interception. Two plays later, the Falcons score on a pass to Tony Gonzalez to extend their lead to 21-10.

Vick was later knocked out of this game in the 3rd quarter putting in Mike Kafka into the lineup. The Falcons offense scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and a 35-31 point victory.