The season just ended, but as we all know, there is no such thing as an offseason in the NFL, especially in Dallas. The Cowboys are stuck in the torrential cycle of mediocrity and will have just a few months to prioritize some serious contracts, sign key free agents and draft like owner and GM Jerry Jones hasn’t drafted in over a decade; well.
With an 8-8 team looking towards another season for hope, it would only seem reasonable for a few players to hit the road in place of newer, younger and better options to show up and contend for starting time. Instead, the front office has decided to put the pressure on coaches; coaches who have had to deal with pedestrian talent for the majority of their time in Dallas.
Don’t get me wrong, these coaches have been given ample opportunities to amplify their player’s abilities and put them in the position to succeed, but haven’t done so anywhere near as consistently as fans would’ve hoped. Painting the Sistine Chapel wouldn’t have been too easy had Michelangelo only been given a broken crayon and two stale sharpies.
The Dallas Cowboys need a lot this offseason, and that has to be filled with talent on the field. Free agency is one way to go, with names like Jake Long, Ahmad Bradshaw and Osi Umenyiora, spending the big bucks may seem like a great way to plug holes quickly and efficiently. Cutting ties with players who are no longer producing like Doug Free, Mike Jenkins and Felix Jones could also free up some serious space to make bigger splashes.
Are these the easier roads to go down though? Have great free agents always arrived in the big-D and made immediate impacts? Can a true blue fan trust the guys in Arlington to not screw this team up further?
How about a simpler solution? A guaranteed plan that can only go wrong if someone blatantly falls off the wagon:
Draft.
The biggest holes in the Cowboys roster are on the front lines, and as luck would have it, this year’s draft is full of potential greatness and play makers along both the offensive and defensive lines.
Need some names? How about the starting center and Rimington award winner for the National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide, Barrett Jones? Need a guy who’s made a name for himself more recently? Well, that would be BYU’s Ezekiel Ansah, who was last seen tearing through the senior bowl in Montgomery, Alabama just two weeks ago.
Both of these players should be up for grabs in the middle of the first-round, but it’s not a matter of getting them, just whether or not the men in charge will be smart enough to take them.
The guys who’ll be ready to hear their names called with the 18th pick will almost assuredly be named a starter at their respective spots, but drafting at a critical spot is vital now more than ever.
The Cowboys are honestly not that far from getting over the slump and returning to their form of 2009 with just a few additions, but as they have for the past two and a half decades, they will rely solely on the final words of one man.
Hopefully he won’t Jones it up.