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No-Nnam Defense
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - You would think there was nothing else to talk about.
It's Nnamdi this and Nnamdi that. Never has there been so much speculation and hype surrounding a player the Cowboys hadn't even expressed an interest in, yet for months now this guy has dominated the consciousness of those who follow the team.
And hey, we're guilty of it here. I'm guilty of it. Gotta keep you coming back, right? If the people want Nnamdi, give them Nnamdi. This will be very unpopular, then, but what is right is not always popular, as the man said.
The Cowboys should not sign Nnamdi Asomugha whether there's a salary cap or not.
I think everyone can recognize the math problem that arises if in fact a cap system is in place whenever free agency finally begins. In that scenario, the Cowboys would need to re-sign left tackle Doug Free, who would be an unrestricted free agent, probably to a contract averaging $7 or $8 million, if not more, before they can begin working on their defensive needs. Gotta have some D-linemen. Gotta have a safety, if not two.
Veterans capable of starting and improving these position won't come cheap, and should the Cowboys go after that Oakland cornerback instead of filling their more pressing needs, well, get ready to see a lot of Sean Lissemore and Barry Church.
If somehow an uncapped system were here to stay, it would also be wrong to think the Cowboys will run up a ridiculous tab in free agency. Why would they, especially if the league's revenue sharing model remains in place? Unlike the New York Yankees, the Cowboys don't have their own television network or a lucrative individual TV rights deal. At the present moment, they haven't even sold the naming rights to their stadium.
There is a budget. And just like the ones you or I would make, the money the Cowboys spend on luxuries has to come at the expense of something else. If and when the Cowboys let loose the high-priced veterans they would need to cut to make financial room for an Asomugha, it would still be tough to improve the team with whatever funds are left over.
Probably the most prized free agent defensive back since Deion Sanders, there will be no Groupon deal for Asomugha. After making almost $15 million per year with the Raiders the past couple of seasons, he is destined to be the highest paid defensive player in the league whenever football resumes.
In fact, this situation is awfully similar to that in 1995, when the Cowboys signed Sanders. Now, this team is definitely not as good as that one, and I don't believe one player, shutdown corner or not, is going to put it over the hump to win a Super Bowl. Before Sanders was signed that year, the Cowboys had lost budding star corner Kevin Smith to an Achilles injury, almost necessitating they make a big move to shore up the position.
Say what you will about Terence Newman, who Asomugha would almost certainly replace, but even at 33 when the season starts, he is not as great a liability as Clayton Holmes, who filled in for Smith until Sanders was healthy enough to play in Week 9 of that season. In fact, Newman is probably still the best corner the Cowboys have. It's the finances that would necessitate his release. An aside here, Asomugha would be 30 when the season began, not that far behind Newman, so maybe just a couple of seasons away from a steep decline himself.
Before Jerry Jones signed Sanders in '95 (he was 28 at the time) there was pretty strong disagreement from his son Stephen, who now enjoys an undoubtedly greater say in personnel moves. Back then, the younger Jones didn't like the idea of committing so much money to one player, when a contract so large could be used to keep key pieces of the dynasty together. Indeed, the fall of the Cowboys came when they couldn't properly replace core members of the team like Charles Haley, Jay Novacek, Alvin Harper, Tony Tolbert and others. By selling the farm on one huge signing on defense, the team had to go cheap at other positions.
The same will happen this year if Asomugha is signed at the expense of more help for the offensive and defensive lines, the pass rush and solid safety play. If the Cowboys get Asomugha, there's a very good chance they wouldn't be able to re-sign someone likes Kyle Kosier, Marcus Spears, Stephen Bowen or Gerald Sensabaugh, much less go after other guys such as Michael Huff or Cullen Jenkins.
Someone out there is thinking, "Yeah, but if they get Asomugha, that would make Lissemore and Church not as big of a concern" or Shaun Ellis and Abe Elam, or whatever the cheaper attempt to fix these positions would be. And they've got a new coordinator, Rob Ryan here to get the most out of these guys in a way that Wade Phillips could not.
Well, Ryan's defense, consisting really of Asomugha and a bunch of spares, did not always work so well in Oakland. The Raiders were 30th in total defense Ryan's first year there in 2004, 27th in '05, all the way up to third in '06, but back to 22nd in '07 and 27th in '08.
Someone out there is thinking, "Yeah, but the talent Ryan has here in Dallas and the talent around Asomugha would be much greater than in Oakland."
Well, would it?
Having to go cheap at so many positions would make the Cowboys' defense a lot more Raider-like than we currently think of them, which is probably overrated anyway since they just surrendered the most points in franchise history.
That alone should suggest it will take more than one player to fix this defense. By signing Asomugha, there's a very good chance the Cowboys would have to ignore some serious concerns at other positions.
They can't afford that this time.
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - You would think there was nothing else to talk about.
It's Nnamdi this and Nnamdi that. Never has there been so much speculation and hype surrounding a player the Cowboys hadn't even expressed an interest in, yet for months now this guy has dominated the consciousness of those who follow the team.
And hey, we're guilty of it here. I'm guilty of it. Gotta keep you coming back, right? If the people want Nnamdi, give them Nnamdi. This will be very unpopular, then, but what is right is not always popular, as the man said.
The Cowboys should not sign Nnamdi Asomugha whether there's a salary cap or not.
I think everyone can recognize the math problem that arises if in fact a cap system is in place whenever free agency finally begins. In that scenario, the Cowboys would need to re-sign left tackle Doug Free, who would be an unrestricted free agent, probably to a contract averaging $7 or $8 million, if not more, before they can begin working on their defensive needs. Gotta have some D-linemen. Gotta have a safety, if not two.
Veterans capable of starting and improving these position won't come cheap, and should the Cowboys go after that Oakland cornerback instead of filling their more pressing needs, well, get ready to see a lot of Sean Lissemore and Barry Church.
If somehow an uncapped system were here to stay, it would also be wrong to think the Cowboys will run up a ridiculous tab in free agency. Why would they, especially if the league's revenue sharing model remains in place? Unlike the New York Yankees, the Cowboys don't have their own television network or a lucrative individual TV rights deal. At the present moment, they haven't even sold the naming rights to their stadium.
There is a budget. And just like the ones you or I would make, the money the Cowboys spend on luxuries has to come at the expense of something else. If and when the Cowboys let loose the high-priced veterans they would need to cut to make financial room for an Asomugha, it would still be tough to improve the team with whatever funds are left over.
Probably the most prized free agent defensive back since Deion Sanders, there will be no Groupon deal for Asomugha. After making almost $15 million per year with the Raiders the past couple of seasons, he is destined to be the highest paid defensive player in the league whenever football resumes.
In fact, this situation is awfully similar to that in 1995, when the Cowboys signed Sanders. Now, this team is definitely not as good as that one, and I don't believe one player, shutdown corner or not, is going to put it over the hump to win a Super Bowl. Before Sanders was signed that year, the Cowboys had lost budding star corner Kevin Smith to an Achilles injury, almost necessitating they make a big move to shore up the position.
Say what you will about Terence Newman, who Asomugha would almost certainly replace, but even at 33 when the season starts, he is not as great a liability as Clayton Holmes, who filled in for Smith until Sanders was healthy enough to play in Week 9 of that season. In fact, Newman is probably still the best corner the Cowboys have. It's the finances that would necessitate his release. An aside here, Asomugha would be 30 when the season began, not that far behind Newman, so maybe just a couple of seasons away from a steep decline himself.
Before Jerry Jones signed Sanders in '95 (he was 28 at the time) there was pretty strong disagreement from his son Stephen, who now enjoys an undoubtedly greater say in personnel moves. Back then, the younger Jones didn't like the idea of committing so much money to one player, when a contract so large could be used to keep key pieces of the dynasty together. Indeed, the fall of the Cowboys came when they couldn't properly replace core members of the team like Charles Haley, Jay Novacek, Alvin Harper, Tony Tolbert and others. By selling the farm on one huge signing on defense, the team had to go cheap at other positions.
The same will happen this year if Asomugha is signed at the expense of more help for the offensive and defensive lines, the pass rush and solid safety play. If the Cowboys get Asomugha, there's a very good chance they wouldn't be able to re-sign someone likes Kyle Kosier, Marcus Spears, Stephen Bowen or Gerald Sensabaugh, much less go after other guys such as Michael Huff or Cullen Jenkins.
Someone out there is thinking, "Yeah, but if they get Asomugha, that would make Lissemore and Church not as big of a concern" or Shaun Ellis and Abe Elam, or whatever the cheaper attempt to fix these positions would be. And they've got a new coordinator, Rob Ryan here to get the most out of these guys in a way that Wade Phillips could not.
Well, Ryan's defense, consisting really of Asomugha and a bunch of spares, did not always work so well in Oakland. The Raiders were 30th in total defense Ryan's first year there in 2004, 27th in '05, all the way up to third in '06, but back to 22nd in '07 and 27th in '08.
Someone out there is thinking, "Yeah, but the talent Ryan has here in Dallas and the talent around Asomugha would be much greater than in Oakland."
Well, would it?
Having to go cheap at so many positions would make the Cowboys' defense a lot more Raider-like than we currently think of them, which is probably overrated anyway since they just surrendered the most points in franchise history.
That alone should suggest it will take more than one player to fix this defense. By signing Asomugha, there's a very good chance the Cowboys would have to ignore some serious concerns at other positions.
They can't afford that this time.
