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With aging core and young players not quite ready, Cowboys getting squeezed from both ends
DAVID MOORE Staff Writer
Published: 04 January 2014 10:01 PM
Updated: 05 January 2014 08:01 PM
For the first time since training camp got underway 25 weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys have a weekend without a practice on the horizon or a game on the schedule.
All that remain are the wounds from their shortcomings and an uncertain future.
Think of the Cowboys as a Ferrari 458 Italia that has been left outside during a hailstorm. The damage isn’t severe enough to invest in a new obscenely expensive car, but the body work and new coat of paint can’t cover every flaw.
The front office and coaching staff may be able to address five to eight key issues in the coming weeks and months. Heck, let’s be generous and say it takes care of 10. What about the next 10? The franchise will have to slap some paint on it and move on.
An aging core concerns skeptics. Quarterback Tony Romo, tight end Jason Witten and defensive end DeMarcus Ware will all be well into their 30s before next season kicks off. Romo and Ware wrestle with physical questions that go beyond their age.
But what about some of the team’s younger players? Linebacker Sean Lee, running back DeMarco Murray and cornerback Morris Claiborne are three pillars for the future. Yet these three have started only eight games as a group over the last two seasons.
The Cowboys are getting squeezed from both ends. Time is running out for their marquee players to experience success while key young players miss too many games for the team to gain traction in the standings.
The clock is ticking
Romo will turn 34 before the upcoming draft.
Witten and Ware both turn 32 before training camp gets underway.
This group combines for 31 years of NFL experience.
“Well, they are certainly very good football players,” head coach Jason Garrett said. “Tony Romo is a fantastic football player. Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware, those guys are great players. We have seen that over the course of their careers. They are a big part of our football team. We evaluate them just like we evaluate everyone else.
“Age is certainly a factor in this league. There is no question about that. But having said that, these guys are really good football players.”
Romo had one of his top seasons with 31 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions. But he did miss the final game of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his back for the second time in nine months.
Jerry Jones has said that the surgery was not dramatic and that there is no concern going forward. The Cowboys owner can say whatever he wants. Questions will persist about Romo until he’s able to take the practice field for an extended period.
“Well, again, it’s a medical thing,” Garrett said. “We feel really good about the procedure he went through the other day, and we feel really good about the rehabilitation program that he’s going to be on. We feel like there’s a great history of players coming back from this kind of surgery.
“Tony’s going to work very hard at it. It’s really important to him to come back and be better than ever.”
Witten’s numbers dropped, which was to be expected after he set an NFL record for receptions by a tight end (110) in 2012. But he reasserted himself in the red zone with eight touchdown receptions and showed no signs of slowing down.
The same can’t be said of Ware. The veteran defender made the switch from outside linebacker to defensive end in the Cowboys’ new 4-3 scheme and endured an injury-plagued season.
Ware finished with a career-low six sacks, missed the first three games of his career and watched his consecutive Pro Bowls run end at seven seasons. Reconciling his contract with his production will be one of the most sensitive off-season projects for the club.
Romo, Witten and Ware comprise the veteran face of these Cowboys. Yet the team has only one postseason victory during their tenure. Ware acknowledges that the window of opportunity is closing.
“I think every year, you lose something,” Ware said. “You lose years and you lose time, and with time sometimes things get diminished a little bit. …
“This year, yeah, we did lose something, but you’ve got to let that motivate you to play better for the next season and keep moving.”
The next generation
Lee and Murray flash star potential. Claiborne was a top-10 pick in the ’12 draft.
So why has this young nucleus, along with first-time Pro Bowlers Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith, been unable to lift the franchise back into the playoffs?
Lee has moved past Ware. He is the team’s best defensive player. But the linebacker has missed 15 games in the last two seasons and 18 in four seasons overall. He has never started more than 10 consecutive games and was not on the field to end the last two seasons.
Murray has missed 11 games in his three seasons. He has never started more than eight consecutive games and wasn’t on the field to end his rookie season.
Claiborne has missed seven games in his two seasons and lost his starting job to Orlando Scandrick.
When you wonder why the Cowboys have been unable to break away from their 8-8 inertia, don’t minimize the 36 games these players have combined to miss over the last four seasons.
In the coming months, you will hear the call for the Cowboys to select a quarterback in the May draft. Their needs in the defensive line are obvious.
But do injuries and lack of depth mean this team must also consider using its limited resources at linebacker, running back and possibly cornerback?
Age isn’t the only impediment to success.
DAVID MOORE Staff Writer
Published: 04 January 2014 10:01 PM
Updated: 05 January 2014 08:01 PM
For the first time since training camp got underway 25 weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys have a weekend without a practice on the horizon or a game on the schedule.
All that remain are the wounds from their shortcomings and an uncertain future.
Think of the Cowboys as a Ferrari 458 Italia that has been left outside during a hailstorm. The damage isn’t severe enough to invest in a new obscenely expensive car, but the body work and new coat of paint can’t cover every flaw.
The front office and coaching staff may be able to address five to eight key issues in the coming weeks and months. Heck, let’s be generous and say it takes care of 10. What about the next 10? The franchise will have to slap some paint on it and move on.
An aging core concerns skeptics. Quarterback Tony Romo, tight end Jason Witten and defensive end DeMarcus Ware will all be well into their 30s before next season kicks off. Romo and Ware wrestle with physical questions that go beyond their age.
But what about some of the team’s younger players? Linebacker Sean Lee, running back DeMarco Murray and cornerback Morris Claiborne are three pillars for the future. Yet these three have started only eight games as a group over the last two seasons.
The Cowboys are getting squeezed from both ends. Time is running out for their marquee players to experience success while key young players miss too many games for the team to gain traction in the standings.
The clock is ticking
Romo will turn 34 before the upcoming draft.
Witten and Ware both turn 32 before training camp gets underway.
This group combines for 31 years of NFL experience.
“Well, they are certainly very good football players,” head coach Jason Garrett said. “Tony Romo is a fantastic football player. Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware, those guys are great players. We have seen that over the course of their careers. They are a big part of our football team. We evaluate them just like we evaluate everyone else.
“Age is certainly a factor in this league. There is no question about that. But having said that, these guys are really good football players.”
Romo had one of his top seasons with 31 touchdown passes and only 10 interceptions. But he did miss the final game of the regular season after undergoing surgery on his back for the second time in nine months.
Jerry Jones has said that the surgery was not dramatic and that there is no concern going forward. The Cowboys owner can say whatever he wants. Questions will persist about Romo until he’s able to take the practice field for an extended period.
“Well, again, it’s a medical thing,” Garrett said. “We feel really good about the procedure he went through the other day, and we feel really good about the rehabilitation program that he’s going to be on. We feel like there’s a great history of players coming back from this kind of surgery.
“Tony’s going to work very hard at it. It’s really important to him to come back and be better than ever.”
Witten’s numbers dropped, which was to be expected after he set an NFL record for receptions by a tight end (110) in 2012. But he reasserted himself in the red zone with eight touchdown receptions and showed no signs of slowing down.
The same can’t be said of Ware. The veteran defender made the switch from outside linebacker to defensive end in the Cowboys’ new 4-3 scheme and endured an injury-plagued season.
Ware finished with a career-low six sacks, missed the first three games of his career and watched his consecutive Pro Bowls run end at seven seasons. Reconciling his contract with his production will be one of the most sensitive off-season projects for the club.
Romo, Witten and Ware comprise the veteran face of these Cowboys. Yet the team has only one postseason victory during their tenure. Ware acknowledges that the window of opportunity is closing.
“I think every year, you lose something,” Ware said. “You lose years and you lose time, and with time sometimes things get diminished a little bit. …
“This year, yeah, we did lose something, but you’ve got to let that motivate you to play better for the next season and keep moving.”
The next generation
Lee and Murray flash star potential. Claiborne was a top-10 pick in the ’12 draft.
So why has this young nucleus, along with first-time Pro Bowlers Dez Bryant and Tyron Smith, been unable to lift the franchise back into the playoffs?
Lee has moved past Ware. He is the team’s best defensive player. But the linebacker has missed 15 games in the last two seasons and 18 in four seasons overall. He has never started more than 10 consecutive games and was not on the field to end the last two seasons.
Murray has missed 11 games in his three seasons. He has never started more than eight consecutive games and wasn’t on the field to end his rookie season.
Claiborne has missed seven games in his two seasons and lost his starting job to Orlando Scandrick.
When you wonder why the Cowboys have been unable to break away from their 8-8 inertia, don’t minimize the 36 games these players have combined to miss over the last four seasons.
In the coming months, you will hear the call for the Cowboys to select a quarterback in the May draft. Their needs in the defensive line are obvious.
But do injuries and lack of depth mean this team must also consider using its limited resources at linebacker, running back and possibly cornerback?
Age isn’t the only impediment to success.
