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Every week, Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor answers questions from fans as part of his newsletter. Here's a sneak peek at some of his questions from this week's newsletter, which gets sent out Wednesday.
Q: Which is best for the 2011 season, more wins now and still no playoffs, or fewer wins and a higher draft pick? -- Michael Murray Sr.
TAYLOR: I'd say the draft pick. The Cowboys are better than they've performed this year, and it would be good to finish bad enough to get another impact player like Dez Bryant in the first round of this draft. But I'm sure the people paying $340 a seat in Jerry World would prefer wins.
Q: Has DeMarcus Ware, my absolute favorite player on defense, hit his peak? Will he ever be the same player he was in 2008?
Are lingering injuries the problem? Too many double teams? No help from Jay Ratliff and Anthony Spencer? Too much time on the field? Lack of motivation from some outside source that the general public knows nothing about affecting his game? And if you think Dallas is in something of a minor rebuilding mode and you trusted Jerry to get the picks right, would you trade him for two first-rounders? -- J.D.
TAYLOR: I don't think so. After all, he is second in the league in sacks and is a half-sack away from becoming the first player in franchise history to record five straight 10-sacks seasons. He's having a good season - not a great season. It happens sometimes. He'd be more effective if Anthony Spencer was having a great year, because then he might occasionally get single coverage. Without Spencer, he gets double-teamed regularly and occasionally has to fight through three blockers. I don't know that you'll ever see him get 20 sacks again. That's probably unrealistic. There's a reason why it's called a career year. As for trading him, that would have to be considered insane. Yes, players such as Reggie White, Deion Sanders and Julius Peppers have left teams in their prime, but they were free agents. Eric Dickerson, Randy Moss and Marshall Faulk were stars who were traded in the prime of their careers, but they had contract issues that couldn't be solved. Moss and Charles Haley were so disruptive that they were traded. I guess you could argue the Champ Bailey to Denver trade, but Clinton Portis was considered an elite top-five runner at the time of the trade. That was really a deal that involved superstar for superstar, and Denver did it because Mike Shanahan believed his system could make you and me a 1,500-yard rusher. An elite pass-rusher is one of the hardest players to acquire in the NFL. You just don't trade those types of players. Besides, you could probably never ever get equal value for Ware because the draft is such a crapshoot. You'd have to trade him for a player of equal caliber, which would be hard to do.
Q: The Cowboys are not going anywhere this season. I believe they could use Tony Romo's spot by placing him on injured reserve. What do you think? -- Eddie Garcia
TAYLOR: I'd agree with you. There's no hope for the playoffs, so this is a lost season. But the Cowboys seem determined to use him again this season. It makes no sense to me, subjecting him to further injury risk by playing him at the end of the season. But it's their choice, and if he's medically cleared, he'll be playing in the last couple of games to the season.
Every week, Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor answers questions from fans as part of his newsletter. Here's a sneak peek at some of his questions from this week's newsletter, which gets sent out Wednesday.
Q: Which is best for the 2011 season, more wins now and still no playoffs, or fewer wins and a higher draft pick? -- Michael Murray Sr.
TAYLOR: I'd say the draft pick. The Cowboys are better than they've performed this year, and it would be good to finish bad enough to get another impact player like Dez Bryant in the first round of this draft. But I'm sure the people paying $340 a seat in Jerry World would prefer wins.
Q: Has DeMarcus Ware, my absolute favorite player on defense, hit his peak? Will he ever be the same player he was in 2008?
Are lingering injuries the problem? Too many double teams? No help from Jay Ratliff and Anthony Spencer? Too much time on the field? Lack of motivation from some outside source that the general public knows nothing about affecting his game? And if you think Dallas is in something of a minor rebuilding mode and you trusted Jerry to get the picks right, would you trade him for two first-rounders? -- J.D.
TAYLOR: I don't think so. After all, he is second in the league in sacks and is a half-sack away from becoming the first player in franchise history to record five straight 10-sacks seasons. He's having a good season - not a great season. It happens sometimes. He'd be more effective if Anthony Spencer was having a great year, because then he might occasionally get single coverage. Without Spencer, he gets double-teamed regularly and occasionally has to fight through three blockers. I don't know that you'll ever see him get 20 sacks again. That's probably unrealistic. There's a reason why it's called a career year. As for trading him, that would have to be considered insane. Yes, players such as Reggie White, Deion Sanders and Julius Peppers have left teams in their prime, but they were free agents. Eric Dickerson, Randy Moss and Marshall Faulk were stars who were traded in the prime of their careers, but they had contract issues that couldn't be solved. Moss and Charles Haley were so disruptive that they were traded. I guess you could argue the Champ Bailey to Denver trade, but Clinton Portis was considered an elite top-five runner at the time of the trade. That was really a deal that involved superstar for superstar, and Denver did it because Mike Shanahan believed his system could make you and me a 1,500-yard rusher. An elite pass-rusher is one of the hardest players to acquire in the NFL. You just don't trade those types of players. Besides, you could probably never ever get equal value for Ware because the draft is such a crapshoot. You'd have to trade him for a player of equal caliber, which would be hard to do.
Q: The Cowboys are not going anywhere this season. I believe they could use Tony Romo's spot by placing him on injured reserve. What do you think? -- Eddie Garcia
TAYLOR: I'd agree with you. There's no hope for the playoffs, so this is a lost season. But the Cowboys seem determined to use him again this season. It makes no sense to me, subjecting him to further injury risk by playing him at the end of the season. But it's their choice, and if he's medically cleared, he'll be playing in the last couple of games to the season.
