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By Randy Galloway
The NFL officially shut down last weekend.
But our local football team beat the league to that closed door by a good 21/2 months.
The Dallas Cowboys, except for coaching staff hires and draft work, shut down football operations the second the 2010 season ended.
Based on the dormant state of late, you could guess that somebody at Valley Ranch actually believes everything is OK with the football talent on hand.
But really, I'd have to give even Jerry more credit than that.
Some friends of mine are convinced the Cowboys' spider-hole hiding since early January is a financial indication the team is "football broke." That might be valid.
There are reports the Cowboys have more committed money to players for 2011 than any club in the league.
Rather scary when you've got a team coming off a 6-10 record.
In the brief free agent window that came open, and is now closed, the Cowboys were not even rumored to be active, even for a safety, one of the more glaring needs.
Overall, it didn't appear the Cowboys were pursuing any football body.
At some point -- probably a distant point -- the NFL will resume normal operations. At the moment, however, all we know is the draft is a go for late April.
So let's start there, and guess along with what the Cowboys will do somewhere down the line in an attempt to upgrade a mess:
The draft.
Don't get cute again and start trading down. When you are in the top 10, stay there.
For those hell-bent on the Cowboys drafting for "need," it appears the need will show up at No. 9 in the first round.
(Count me out on the "need" theory. Count me in on drafting to the board. But I'm a loner in that opinion, and besides, my man Cam will be long gone by No. 9. Allow me to point out, however, my much-cussed opinion of mid-January that Cam should be the Cow choice came when Newton was still iffy even as a first-rounder.)
But for you "need" freaks, and based on the deluge of local and national mock drafts, there should be a cornerback, a defensive lineman (concentrating on defensive end) and now even an offensive tackle available at No. 9.
A month ago, no O-lineman in this draft was considered worthy of going in the top half of the first round. But twice last Week, I saw mockers that had the Cowboys taking the same guy, USC tackle Tyron Smith.
The Cowboys don't need to Ouija board this draft. Cute is out. Your beloved "need" will be there at No. 9.
Keep Terence Newman.
Yes, he will be 33 next season. Yes, he can't shake injuries, particularly last season when a painful rib problem greatly reduced his level of play in the second half of the season.
And yes, Newman is owed $8 million for 2011.
But the money can be negotiated, and Newman, even with injuries, is still better than any corner they have, now more than ever.
Mike Jenkins might have been the worst starting CB in the league last season, doing a total regression from the previous year. He will still be here, but who knows what to expect next season.
Orlando Scandrick is serviceable but hasn't indicated he's an everyday corner.
Even if you land a corner in the draft with the projected talent of LSU's Patrick Peterson, which is doubtful, do we assume he steps right in and plays right away at an NFL level?
Back to Newman. Admittedly, you have to expect ailments again will hamper him, but with luck, it won't be the type of injury that wrecked part of his '10 season.
Make the tough roster decisions, and then the easy ones, too.
Gone will be Marion Barber. Gone will be Roy Williams. Gone, because of injury issues, will be Marc Colombo despite the respect factor for his toughness.
Other starters going, going, gone?
Leonard Davis and Keith Brooking, because of age.
Now for the hang-ups on several of those names:
Expect no answer from here on the why, but Red J seems to love Barber. That one was the biggest mystery of Jason Garrett's brief head-coaching reign last season.
There has been no such love displayed between Red J and Roy, but Uno Uno is a walking case of salary cap hell if you dump him, meaning it's the long-ago busted trade that keeps on hurting.
Another Roy problem is the Cowboys would be left with only two legit NFL wideouts if Williams is gone. On that one, I'd still take my chances.
Davis has slipped at guard the last two seasons and was even briefly benched last season. But is there a young guy ready to assume his O-line spot?
Brooking was very good two seasons ago, and then showed his age last season. But he was also playing hurt last season. Older players tend to stay injured, yet could the Cowboys gamble on Brooking for another season?
Speaking of injury, Brooking's replacement, Sean Lee, seems to be a much younger version of injury prone.
It was also interesting that when Rob Ryan took over as defensive coordinator last month he heaped praise on Brooking. Not sure what that means, but I wouldn't count out Brooking just yet.
For now, of course, we just wait.
The NFL has shut down, but that came long after the Cowboys did.
And at Valley Ranch, Jerry didn't even leave a light on.
The NFL officially shut down last weekend.
But our local football team beat the league to that closed door by a good 21/2 months.
The Dallas Cowboys, except for coaching staff hires and draft work, shut down football operations the second the 2010 season ended.
Based on the dormant state of late, you could guess that somebody at Valley Ranch actually believes everything is OK with the football talent on hand.
But really, I'd have to give even Jerry more credit than that.
Some friends of mine are convinced the Cowboys' spider-hole hiding since early January is a financial indication the team is "football broke." That might be valid.
There are reports the Cowboys have more committed money to players for 2011 than any club in the league.
Rather scary when you've got a team coming off a 6-10 record.
In the brief free agent window that came open, and is now closed, the Cowboys were not even rumored to be active, even for a safety, one of the more glaring needs.
Overall, it didn't appear the Cowboys were pursuing any football body.
At some point -- probably a distant point -- the NFL will resume normal operations. At the moment, however, all we know is the draft is a go for late April.
So let's start there, and guess along with what the Cowboys will do somewhere down the line in an attempt to upgrade a mess:
The draft.
Don't get cute again and start trading down. When you are in the top 10, stay there.
For those hell-bent on the Cowboys drafting for "need," it appears the need will show up at No. 9 in the first round.
(Count me out on the "need" theory. Count me in on drafting to the board. But I'm a loner in that opinion, and besides, my man Cam will be long gone by No. 9. Allow me to point out, however, my much-cussed opinion of mid-January that Cam should be the Cow choice came when Newton was still iffy even as a first-rounder.)
But for you "need" freaks, and based on the deluge of local and national mock drafts, there should be a cornerback, a defensive lineman (concentrating on defensive end) and now even an offensive tackle available at No. 9.
A month ago, no O-lineman in this draft was considered worthy of going in the top half of the first round. But twice last Week, I saw mockers that had the Cowboys taking the same guy, USC tackle Tyron Smith.
The Cowboys don't need to Ouija board this draft. Cute is out. Your beloved "need" will be there at No. 9.
Keep Terence Newman.
Yes, he will be 33 next season. Yes, he can't shake injuries, particularly last season when a painful rib problem greatly reduced his level of play in the second half of the season.
And yes, Newman is owed $8 million for 2011.
But the money can be negotiated, and Newman, even with injuries, is still better than any corner they have, now more than ever.
Mike Jenkins might have been the worst starting CB in the league last season, doing a total regression from the previous year. He will still be here, but who knows what to expect next season.
Orlando Scandrick is serviceable but hasn't indicated he's an everyday corner.
Even if you land a corner in the draft with the projected talent of LSU's Patrick Peterson, which is doubtful, do we assume he steps right in and plays right away at an NFL level?
Back to Newman. Admittedly, you have to expect ailments again will hamper him, but with luck, it won't be the type of injury that wrecked part of his '10 season.
Make the tough roster decisions, and then the easy ones, too.
Gone will be Marion Barber. Gone will be Roy Williams. Gone, because of injury issues, will be Marc Colombo despite the respect factor for his toughness.
Other starters going, going, gone?
Leonard Davis and Keith Brooking, because of age.
Now for the hang-ups on several of those names:
Expect no answer from here on the why, but Red J seems to love Barber. That one was the biggest mystery of Jason Garrett's brief head-coaching reign last season.
There has been no such love displayed between Red J and Roy, but Uno Uno is a walking case of salary cap hell if you dump him, meaning it's the long-ago busted trade that keeps on hurting.
Another Roy problem is the Cowboys would be left with only two legit NFL wideouts if Williams is gone. On that one, I'd still take my chances.
Davis has slipped at guard the last two seasons and was even briefly benched last season. But is there a young guy ready to assume his O-line spot?
Brooking was very good two seasons ago, and then showed his age last season. But he was also playing hurt last season. Older players tend to stay injured, yet could the Cowboys gamble on Brooking for another season?
Speaking of injury, Brooking's replacement, Sean Lee, seems to be a much younger version of injury prone.
It was also interesting that when Rob Ryan took over as defensive coordinator last month he heaped praise on Brooking. Not sure what that means, but I wouldn't count out Brooking just yet.
For now, of course, we just wait.
The NFL has shut down, but that came long after the Cowboys did.
And at Valley Ranch, Jerry didn't even leave a light on.
