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Left Behind
Ellis: Good For Flo, But Cowboys Shouldn't Look Back
IRVING, Texas - Let's get this out of the way: Good for Flozell Adams.
I think anyone who has followed or been around the Cowboys over the last decade-plus has an appreciation for just how good of a player and a team member the longtime left tackle was during his time here. Rarely appreciated, Adams is the only Cowboys player to be on the team throughout the decade of the 2000s, and among the most consistent in that time, all the way up until his final season with the club, 2009.
But despite the fact Adams started at right tackle for Pittsburgh in every game in 2010, proving he's still very capable and helping the team get to the Super Bowl - which apparently is being played here this year - the Cowboys shouldn't spend a lot of time second-guessing their decision to release him in the spring.
And yeah, they definitely could've used him. Marc Colombo wasn't the same after leg trouble, and Alex Barron was a joke in his one start. In retrospect, Adams would've at least been better than Barron this year, and probably Colombo too.
But unfortunately for the Cowboys, these decisions aren't made with the luxury of knowing how things are going to work out. Based on everything they knew at the time, the team made the most logical choice it could. They did so knowing there was some risk of Adams going on to play somewhere else and making them look foolish. In fact, Jerry Jones mentioned it when talking about Adams a month before he was let go.
"Let me say this," Jones said at the NFL Scouting Combine last February. "Flo over the years, anything that has fallen off skill-wise, he's smart and he's made up for it in the experience of knowing his craft, and last year was a perfect example of it. He's still got that natural length about him and he's hard to get around. That served us well last year.
"If we could have a season like (2009) out of him this year it would be great. I was very pleased with his season. Certainly that's the question mark. That's when you have a decision to make right there - can you get another year like that out of him?"
Truth be told, the Cowboys didn't think so. They believed Colombo was better than Adams in 2009, at least up until he fractured his leg at Green Bay. And they definitely thought Doug Free was better. And he was. And younger. And cheaper.
Money, as usual, was at the heart of this whole thing. Adams, due $5 million in base salary in 2010, plus a $2.5 million roster bonus last June, was the most costly of the three tackles and had a lot of meat left on his 2008 contract, a six-year, $43.8 million extension. In most years, you would think twice about dumping Adams due to the money that would accelerate into the salary cap, but 2010 was different because the cap went away. Basically, the Cowboys were able to cut Adams and safety Ken Hamlin without penalty.
Someone out there is saying to themselves, "Yeah, but they didn't have to release him, even if they didn't think he was better than Colombo. He would've been a better backup than Barron."
I get that he's a better player than Barron, but after 12 seasons with the club, they just couldn't ask him to be a backup. They just couldn't ask him to move to the right side and let Free have his spot. Their options were to either get better at left tackle with Free, or get worse with Flo, who, at 35 now, is in the midst of the natural regression every player goes through.
That's business. Sometimes you've got to make difficult choices. Actually, the Cowboys may have another one this offseason, in deciding whether Colombo is past the point of no return. This question is even tougher, because there isn't a good young player waiting in the wings to take Colombo's spot. The Cowboys were able to let go of Adams because they knew Free could play. Right now they know nothing of Sam Young, and they may not get to draft or sign a tackle who is ready to start, especially considering the possibility that training camp ends up being some two-week deal, with no OTAs or minicamps ahead of time.
Again, none of this is meant to be a shot at Adams, who is probably feeling pretty good about himself right now, and deservedly so. He has definitely paid his dues in this league, and I imagine there won't be a single sight that will make me smile during Super Bowl week so much as the big fella sitting at a podium having to answer questions on Media Day. The entire time I was around him, he might've said two sentences.
I realize most Cowboys fans are currently biting their nails about Pittsburgh's chance to take a commanding lead with a seventh Super Bowl win, and you've got every right to root against them. But if the Steelers do beat Green Bay, everyone should be happy for Flo.
Ellis: Good For Flo, But Cowboys Shouldn't Look Back
IRVING, Texas - Let's get this out of the way: Good for Flozell Adams.
I think anyone who has followed or been around the Cowboys over the last decade-plus has an appreciation for just how good of a player and a team member the longtime left tackle was during his time here. Rarely appreciated, Adams is the only Cowboys player to be on the team throughout the decade of the 2000s, and among the most consistent in that time, all the way up until his final season with the club, 2009.
But despite the fact Adams started at right tackle for Pittsburgh in every game in 2010, proving he's still very capable and helping the team get to the Super Bowl - which apparently is being played here this year - the Cowboys shouldn't spend a lot of time second-guessing their decision to release him in the spring.
And yeah, they definitely could've used him. Marc Colombo wasn't the same after leg trouble, and Alex Barron was a joke in his one start. In retrospect, Adams would've at least been better than Barron this year, and probably Colombo too.
But unfortunately for the Cowboys, these decisions aren't made with the luxury of knowing how things are going to work out. Based on everything they knew at the time, the team made the most logical choice it could. They did so knowing there was some risk of Adams going on to play somewhere else and making them look foolish. In fact, Jerry Jones mentioned it when talking about Adams a month before he was let go.
"Let me say this," Jones said at the NFL Scouting Combine last February. "Flo over the years, anything that has fallen off skill-wise, he's smart and he's made up for it in the experience of knowing his craft, and last year was a perfect example of it. He's still got that natural length about him and he's hard to get around. That served us well last year.
"If we could have a season like (2009) out of him this year it would be great. I was very pleased with his season. Certainly that's the question mark. That's when you have a decision to make right there - can you get another year like that out of him?"
Truth be told, the Cowboys didn't think so. They believed Colombo was better than Adams in 2009, at least up until he fractured his leg at Green Bay. And they definitely thought Doug Free was better. And he was. And younger. And cheaper.
Money, as usual, was at the heart of this whole thing. Adams, due $5 million in base salary in 2010, plus a $2.5 million roster bonus last June, was the most costly of the three tackles and had a lot of meat left on his 2008 contract, a six-year, $43.8 million extension. In most years, you would think twice about dumping Adams due to the money that would accelerate into the salary cap, but 2010 was different because the cap went away. Basically, the Cowboys were able to cut Adams and safety Ken Hamlin without penalty.
Someone out there is saying to themselves, "Yeah, but they didn't have to release him, even if they didn't think he was better than Colombo. He would've been a better backup than Barron."
I get that he's a better player than Barron, but after 12 seasons with the club, they just couldn't ask him to be a backup. They just couldn't ask him to move to the right side and let Free have his spot. Their options were to either get better at left tackle with Free, or get worse with Flo, who, at 35 now, is in the midst of the natural regression every player goes through.
That's business. Sometimes you've got to make difficult choices. Actually, the Cowboys may have another one this offseason, in deciding whether Colombo is past the point of no return. This question is even tougher, because there isn't a good young player waiting in the wings to take Colombo's spot. The Cowboys were able to let go of Adams because they knew Free could play. Right now they know nothing of Sam Young, and they may not get to draft or sign a tackle who is ready to start, especially considering the possibility that training camp ends up being some two-week deal, with no OTAs or minicamps ahead of time.
Again, none of this is meant to be a shot at Adams, who is probably feeling pretty good about himself right now, and deservedly so. He has definitely paid his dues in this league, and I imagine there won't be a single sight that will make me smile during Super Bowl week so much as the big fella sitting at a podium having to answer questions on Media Day. The entire time I was around him, he might've said two sentences.
I realize most Cowboys fans are currently biting their nails about Pittsburgh's chance to take a commanding lead with a seventh Super Bowl win, and you've got every right to root against them. But if the Steelers do beat Green Bay, everyone should be happy for Flo.