Sports Illustrated NFL writer Peter King appeared on KESN-103.3 FM's Galloway and Company to talk about a number of Cowboys-related items. Here are some highlights from his appearance:
On what Jerry Jones said to him during his visit to Cowboys camp:
We talked a lot about the business of football. He took me to see the art all over the stadium -- he's so proud of that stuff. I kind of grilled him on Nnamdi (Asomugha). I find the whole Nnamdi thing fascinating. From this standpoint: at the end of the day it's apparent that it wasn't the Cowboys and it wasn't the Jets -- maybe it was Houston. Was there really nobody willing to pay Nnamdi Asomugha 15-16 million a year? The last contract he signed in Oakland almost three years ago was for $15 million a year. Are you telling me that football economics, the guy has confirmed he's one of the two best corners in football, and this year he signs for $12 million a year? It was a bizarre free agency thing. So Jerry and I were talking a little about that. I know there's questions about the offensive line, I would feel a lot better about this team if I felt better about the corners and I don't.
On why the Cowboys haven't done more to address to cornerback situation:
I think probably when they were sort of looking at what they were going to do in the draft, they had other needs that they wanted to address, so after they addressed those needs in the draft, they figured "Well, we'll get one in free agency." But with all due respect to Jonathan Joseph, do you really want to pay him $10.5 million a year -- the second corner on the Bengals? And I like Joseph, I really do, but that is going to be an interesting thing. If the Houston Texans fail to improve on defense, they really shouldn't, but if they fail to improve on defense, they're going to look back at that money they spent on Joseph and question it.
On if Rob Ryan can make a difference with the questionable personel they have at some positions:
I spent some time today with DeMarcus Ware . One of the things about this defense, and I think cleartly one of the things that Ryan expects of his players -- and you wouldn't think this when you look at Rob Ryan and you look at the disheveled appearance -- this is really a thinking man's defense. This is a defense where DeMarcus Ware thinks they're going to do some things in terms of football intelligence that are really going to confuse the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys of the world. The Wade Phillips defense was not anything confusing. I like that, but it also worries me. The thing that worries me about that is you look at this team and you say are they going to lose two games making mistakes in the fourth quarter on defense where somebody is in the wrong spot because he didn't know what he was suppose to do. That would worry me about that. I think the larger issue is you have to be confident on what you're doing on defense. This team I think is going to take a while before it's confident. I don't think you need superior players to play well in this defense. ... I'm not convinced that you have to necessarily add a lot of great players, but the one thing you need in this defense: very good corners, and that's the one thing the Cowboys lack in my opinion.
On what Jerry Jones said to him during his visit to Cowboys camp:
We talked a lot about the business of football. He took me to see the art all over the stadium -- he's so proud of that stuff. I kind of grilled him on Nnamdi (Asomugha). I find the whole Nnamdi thing fascinating. From this standpoint: at the end of the day it's apparent that it wasn't the Cowboys and it wasn't the Jets -- maybe it was Houston. Was there really nobody willing to pay Nnamdi Asomugha 15-16 million a year? The last contract he signed in Oakland almost three years ago was for $15 million a year. Are you telling me that football economics, the guy has confirmed he's one of the two best corners in football, and this year he signs for $12 million a year? It was a bizarre free agency thing. So Jerry and I were talking a little about that. I know there's questions about the offensive line, I would feel a lot better about this team if I felt better about the corners and I don't.
On why the Cowboys haven't done more to address to cornerback situation:
I think probably when they were sort of looking at what they were going to do in the draft, they had other needs that they wanted to address, so after they addressed those needs in the draft, they figured "Well, we'll get one in free agency." But with all due respect to Jonathan Joseph, do you really want to pay him $10.5 million a year -- the second corner on the Bengals? And I like Joseph, I really do, but that is going to be an interesting thing. If the Houston Texans fail to improve on defense, they really shouldn't, but if they fail to improve on defense, they're going to look back at that money they spent on Joseph and question it.
On if Rob Ryan can make a difference with the questionable personel they have at some positions:
I spent some time today with DeMarcus Ware . One of the things about this defense, and I think cleartly one of the things that Ryan expects of his players -- and you wouldn't think this when you look at Rob Ryan and you look at the disheveled appearance -- this is really a thinking man's defense. This is a defense where DeMarcus Ware thinks they're going to do some things in terms of football intelligence that are really going to confuse the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys of the world. The Wade Phillips defense was not anything confusing. I like that, but it also worries me. The thing that worries me about that is you look at this team and you say are they going to lose two games making mistakes in the fourth quarter on defense where somebody is in the wrong spot because he didn't know what he was suppose to do. That would worry me about that. I think the larger issue is you have to be confident on what you're doing on defense. This team I think is going to take a while before it's confident. I don't think you need superior players to play well in this defense. ... I'm not convinced that you have to necessarily add a lot of great players, but the one thing you need in this defense: very good corners, and that's the one thing the Cowboys lack in my opinion.
