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SportsDayDFW.com writer David Moore chatted with fans on Tuesday and answered questions about the Dallas Cowboys and Rob Ryan. Here are some highlights:
Q: Why is Jason Garrett such a Tashard Choice hater and loves Marion Barber? Choice has vision and moves chains. I really don't get it.
David Moore: He doesn't hate Choice. That's much too strong. He did believe going into this season, and for a big part of the season, that Barber was the superior back. I'm not sure it's possible for Garrett to believe that any more. I'm not sure anyone can.
One other point: the offense had trouble finding a rhythm early in the season. Choice wasn't the odd back out because Garrett didn't like him. He disappeared because the offense had enough trouble getting two backs involved and Garrett believed that Barber and Felix Jones were better.
Q: How will the Cowboys approach the draft differently without a period of free agency to fill some of the holes that need to be filled?
David Moore: They really can't approach it differently. There will be free agency. The teams just don't know when that period comes open and how long it will be, but they do know they will be able to pick up free agents. The trick here is that the players drafted want be able to practice with their new clubs during a lockout. Their progress will be slowed. But again, I don't believe that will alter any team's approach because no one can say how long a lockout will last.
Q: I'm okay with the Ryan hiring but still wonder why his former boss, Eric Mangini, wasn't called in for an interview.
David Moore: The Cowboys have no interest in illuminating us as to why they chose not to talk to some qualified individuals. But I think it's instructive to look at the profile of the people who were under consideration for the job. Vic Fangio, Greg Manusky, Paul Pasqualoni and Ryan all have one thing in common beyond their experience with a 3-4 defense. None of them has ever been a head coach in the NFL.
Garrett has only eight games of head coaching experience on any level. I'm not saying he refused to look at qualified defensive coordinator candidates with a head coaching background. But if you are comfortable with coaches who have only been defensive coordinators, if you feel they are the best fit for what you want to do, it makes sense for a first time coach to bring them in rather than hire a coordinator who is also viewed as a head coach.
Q: Do think the Cowboys will trade out of the first round in this year's draft if they can’t get Patrick Peterson?
David Moore: I think the Cowboys would be foolish to trade out of the first round when they have the No. 9 pick just because they were unable to get Peterson or any other quality player. This team needs to maximize its talent after this dreadful season, not try to pick up more picks and see if that gets the job done. The Cowboys need to cling to their first round position and draft someone who will help immediately.
Q: Do you think Hudson Houck can be effective as the running coordinator?
David Moore: Houck has been in this league for a lot of years. Garrett has a lot of faith in him. If he does become the running game coordinator, it's because Garrett believes they are on the same page on what needs to be done and Houck's oversight will allow Garrett to address more of his head coaching duties. If this happens, it's also fair to speculate that the offensive line assistant who is hired will have a more hands-on approach in developing the young linemen on this roster. That's a good thing.
Q: Do we know yet if Ryan is going to be our new defensive coordinator and what do you think that means for the Cowboys? How good do you think he is at evaluating talent?
David Moore: He will be the defensive coordinator. How he evaluates talent is the interesting question. It's safe to say he has more talent on this defense, as bad as it was last season, than he did on his units in Oakland and Cleveland. He has another point working in his favor here:
the offense. The Cowboys are a much better offensive team than what Ryan was accustomed to in his time with the Raiders and Browns. That makes a big difference in what a defense can do and how it performs.
Will these Cowboys be a great defense? I don't know about that. But they have the talent, with a shrewd draft and some well-placed free agent pickups, to move back into the top half of the league next season.
Q: Of those players on injured reserve, who do you think will improve the team next year?
David Moore: Marcus Spears ended the season on injured reserve but it's doubtful he'll be back. Two rookies ended the season there as well - safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and defensive lineman Sean Lissemore. Owusu-Ansah should be in the mix at safety next season. The Cowboys really like his skills. Lissemore is undersized and Ryan may have a different view of what he can contribute than the previous regime.
The most notable offensive players to end on IR were Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and John Phillips. Romo and Bryant are starters. Phillips had an outstanding training camp.
Q: Are Bruce Matthews and Dan Campbell interviewing for the same coaching spot?
David Moore: Yes. Both are interviewing for an assistant offensive line position that will assist Hudson Houck. Campbell obviously has ties here from his playing days, but Houck's ties to Matthews go all the way back to the early 1980s when Houck was Matthews OL coach at USC.
Q: How do you think Rob Ryan will do as defensive coordinator and what will the new defense look like?
David Moore: His 3-4 defense has different gap responsibilities against the run than that of Wade Phillips. That aspect of the defense is more similar to what the Cowboys ran under Bill Parcells. The Cowboys should blitz and attack more under Ryan. He wants to force the issue on defense more than Phillips.
Q: Ryan's record in Cleveland (if I recall correctly 22nd overall in defense this year) is not great. There must be something I'm missing.
David Moore: Ryan has been a defensive coordinator for seven years in this league. Five times he ranked in the bottom 10 in scoring defense and six times in yards allowed. His best defense statistically came in 2006, when the Raiders finished No. 3 in overall defense.
Your concern is understandable. But there are people around the league who think Ryan is good and he just hasn't had the talent for that to be evident. As I mentioned earlier, he was cursed to be the defensive coordinator on some team's with truly bad offenses.
Only once in the last five years has Ryan been part of a team when the offense averaged at least 17 points. Once. His defenses have been put in some bad spots because the offense gave them no relief.
Q: Who on the offensive line should come back next year, and who should go packing and be gone? The offensive line was horrible.
David Moore: Doug Free and Kyle Kosier are both free agents. The Cowboys need to keep Free. Whether or not Kosier returns is likely tied into whether the team can get someone comparable and younger. If they can, then I think Kosier is gone.
It's hard to envision a spot on this line for Marc Colombo going forward. Center Andre Gurode will likely stay. In my mind, Leonard Davis can still be a part of this line going forward but I don't know that it's as a starter. The bottom line: I'd say two, and possibly three of the starters won't return as starters. I think it's hard to replace any more than that in the line in one off-season.
Q: What do you think they will do with Roy Williams since his contract is up?
David Moore: Unless Williams is willing to take a substantial pay cut - and why would he? - I would say the Cowboys will give serious consideration to cutting him and taking the $3-plus million cap hit that goes with it. I don't think it's definite that he won't return, but his comments toward the end of the season and his decline in production lead you down that road.
Q: Even though we are not hiring an offensive coordinator, do you think that we should?
David Moore: I think that being the head coach of a team, especially for the first time, is a huge undertaking. I think it makes more sense to be the head coach and bring in an offensive coordinator. It may also come as a surprise to you that I wasn't consulted by Garrett before he chose to do otherwise.
Q: Why is Jason Garrett such a Tashard Choice hater and loves Marion Barber? Choice has vision and moves chains. I really don't get it.
David Moore: He doesn't hate Choice. That's much too strong. He did believe going into this season, and for a big part of the season, that Barber was the superior back. I'm not sure it's possible for Garrett to believe that any more. I'm not sure anyone can.
One other point: the offense had trouble finding a rhythm early in the season. Choice wasn't the odd back out because Garrett didn't like him. He disappeared because the offense had enough trouble getting two backs involved and Garrett believed that Barber and Felix Jones were better.
Q: How will the Cowboys approach the draft differently without a period of free agency to fill some of the holes that need to be filled?
David Moore: They really can't approach it differently. There will be free agency. The teams just don't know when that period comes open and how long it will be, but they do know they will be able to pick up free agents. The trick here is that the players drafted want be able to practice with their new clubs during a lockout. Their progress will be slowed. But again, I don't believe that will alter any team's approach because no one can say how long a lockout will last.
Q: I'm okay with the Ryan hiring but still wonder why his former boss, Eric Mangini, wasn't called in for an interview.
David Moore: The Cowboys have no interest in illuminating us as to why they chose not to talk to some qualified individuals. But I think it's instructive to look at the profile of the people who were under consideration for the job. Vic Fangio, Greg Manusky, Paul Pasqualoni and Ryan all have one thing in common beyond their experience with a 3-4 defense. None of them has ever been a head coach in the NFL.
Garrett has only eight games of head coaching experience on any level. I'm not saying he refused to look at qualified defensive coordinator candidates with a head coaching background. But if you are comfortable with coaches who have only been defensive coordinators, if you feel they are the best fit for what you want to do, it makes sense for a first time coach to bring them in rather than hire a coordinator who is also viewed as a head coach.
Q: Do think the Cowboys will trade out of the first round in this year's draft if they can’t get Patrick Peterson?
David Moore: I think the Cowboys would be foolish to trade out of the first round when they have the No. 9 pick just because they were unable to get Peterson or any other quality player. This team needs to maximize its talent after this dreadful season, not try to pick up more picks and see if that gets the job done. The Cowboys need to cling to their first round position and draft someone who will help immediately.
Q: Do you think Hudson Houck can be effective as the running coordinator?
David Moore: Houck has been in this league for a lot of years. Garrett has a lot of faith in him. If he does become the running game coordinator, it's because Garrett believes they are on the same page on what needs to be done and Houck's oversight will allow Garrett to address more of his head coaching duties. If this happens, it's also fair to speculate that the offensive line assistant who is hired will have a more hands-on approach in developing the young linemen on this roster. That's a good thing.
Q: Do we know yet if Ryan is going to be our new defensive coordinator and what do you think that means for the Cowboys? How good do you think he is at evaluating talent?
David Moore: He will be the defensive coordinator. How he evaluates talent is the interesting question. It's safe to say he has more talent on this defense, as bad as it was last season, than he did on his units in Oakland and Cleveland. He has another point working in his favor here:
the offense. The Cowboys are a much better offensive team than what Ryan was accustomed to in his time with the Raiders and Browns. That makes a big difference in what a defense can do and how it performs.
Will these Cowboys be a great defense? I don't know about that. But they have the talent, with a shrewd draft and some well-placed free agent pickups, to move back into the top half of the league next season.
Q: Of those players on injured reserve, who do you think will improve the team next year?
David Moore: Marcus Spears ended the season on injured reserve but it's doubtful he'll be back. Two rookies ended the season there as well - safety Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and defensive lineman Sean Lissemore. Owusu-Ansah should be in the mix at safety next season. The Cowboys really like his skills. Lissemore is undersized and Ryan may have a different view of what he can contribute than the previous regime.
The most notable offensive players to end on IR were Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and John Phillips. Romo and Bryant are starters. Phillips had an outstanding training camp.
Q: Are Bruce Matthews and Dan Campbell interviewing for the same coaching spot?
David Moore: Yes. Both are interviewing for an assistant offensive line position that will assist Hudson Houck. Campbell obviously has ties here from his playing days, but Houck's ties to Matthews go all the way back to the early 1980s when Houck was Matthews OL coach at USC.
Q: How do you think Rob Ryan will do as defensive coordinator and what will the new defense look like?
David Moore: His 3-4 defense has different gap responsibilities against the run than that of Wade Phillips. That aspect of the defense is more similar to what the Cowboys ran under Bill Parcells. The Cowboys should blitz and attack more under Ryan. He wants to force the issue on defense more than Phillips.
Q: Ryan's record in Cleveland (if I recall correctly 22nd overall in defense this year) is not great. There must be something I'm missing.
David Moore: Ryan has been a defensive coordinator for seven years in this league. Five times he ranked in the bottom 10 in scoring defense and six times in yards allowed. His best defense statistically came in 2006, when the Raiders finished No. 3 in overall defense.
Your concern is understandable. But there are people around the league who think Ryan is good and he just hasn't had the talent for that to be evident. As I mentioned earlier, he was cursed to be the defensive coordinator on some team's with truly bad offenses.
Only once in the last five years has Ryan been part of a team when the offense averaged at least 17 points. Once. His defenses have been put in some bad spots because the offense gave them no relief.
Q: Who on the offensive line should come back next year, and who should go packing and be gone? The offensive line was horrible.
David Moore: Doug Free and Kyle Kosier are both free agents. The Cowboys need to keep Free. Whether or not Kosier returns is likely tied into whether the team can get someone comparable and younger. If they can, then I think Kosier is gone.
It's hard to envision a spot on this line for Marc Colombo going forward. Center Andre Gurode will likely stay. In my mind, Leonard Davis can still be a part of this line going forward but I don't know that it's as a starter. The bottom line: I'd say two, and possibly three of the starters won't return as starters. I think it's hard to replace any more than that in the line in one off-season.
Q: What do you think they will do with Roy Williams since his contract is up?
David Moore: Unless Williams is willing to take a substantial pay cut - and why would he? - I would say the Cowboys will give serious consideration to cutting him and taking the $3-plus million cap hit that goes with it. I don't think it's definite that he won't return, but his comments toward the end of the season and his decline in production lead you down that road.
Q: Even though we are not hiring an offensive coordinator, do you think that we should?
David Moore: I think that being the head coach of a team, especially for the first time, is a huge undertaking. I think it makes more sense to be the head coach and bring in an offensive coordinator. It may also come as a surprise to you that I wasn't consulted by Garrett before he chose to do otherwise.