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Jerry's crazy if he can't see CB problem
January, 25, 2011
By Tim MacMahon
Cross your fingers that Jerry Jones is just throwing up a smokescreen with take-it-easy talk about the cornerbacks. If that isn’t the case, the man might be crazy.
“They’re a little better than probably the taste we have in our mouth,” Jerry told reporters at the Senior Bowl while sticking up for the cornerbacks.
OK, well, that’s true. But only because the cornerbacks can’t be much worse than the bitter taste they left with their 2010 performance.
Mike Jenkins gave up 935 passing yards, according to Stats Inc., which ranked second in the NFL. He also led the league’s cornerbacks in penalties committed.
Terence Newman gave up 871 yards, the sixth-most in the league. And he seemed to get worse as the season progressed, giving up a big play almost every game in the second half of the season.
Orlando Scandrick gave up a 65.3 completion percentage, the fifth-highest among corners who were targeted at least 50 times. At least he played significantly better after Wade Phillips was fired. At one point, teams had completed 21 of 25 passes thrown Scandrick’s way.
If the Cowboys don’t consider cornerback a glaring need, they’re delusional.
They have to hope that Jenkins can have a bounce-back season. He made the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2009 and appeared destined for stardom. You can’t just give up on a recent first-round pick who has demonstrated that kind of ability.
But the Cowboys need to push Jenkins, not coddle him. It’s probably not a coincidence that he had his best season when he had to battle Scandrick for a starting job. If nothing else, that job ought to be an open competition.
The more pressing issue is replacing Newman. Maybe that doesn’t need to happen immediately. Perhaps Newman, who turns 33 in September, can squeeze one more decent season out of those legs.
The Cowboys just shouldn't count on that. And they ought to be eager to find Newman’s successor as soon as possible, considering that cutting him would create $4 million in salary cap space.
We’ll give Jerry a break and judge him by his actions instead of his words. We’ll wait until we see whether he passes on one of the top two corners in the draft -- LSU’s Patrick Peterson and Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara -- before coming down too hard.
If they end up with one of those corners in the first round, Jerry gets a pass. It's fine to mislead the media in the months before the draft.
It'd be ridiculous to fail to recognize such an obvious problem area.
January, 25, 2011
By Tim MacMahon
Cross your fingers that Jerry Jones is just throwing up a smokescreen with take-it-easy talk about the cornerbacks. If that isn’t the case, the man might be crazy.
“They’re a little better than probably the taste we have in our mouth,” Jerry told reporters at the Senior Bowl while sticking up for the cornerbacks.
OK, well, that’s true. But only because the cornerbacks can’t be much worse than the bitter taste they left with their 2010 performance.
Mike Jenkins gave up 935 passing yards, according to Stats Inc., which ranked second in the NFL. He also led the league’s cornerbacks in penalties committed.
Terence Newman gave up 871 yards, the sixth-most in the league. And he seemed to get worse as the season progressed, giving up a big play almost every game in the second half of the season.
Orlando Scandrick gave up a 65.3 completion percentage, the fifth-highest among corners who were targeted at least 50 times. At least he played significantly better after Wade Phillips was fired. At one point, teams had completed 21 of 25 passes thrown Scandrick’s way.
If the Cowboys don’t consider cornerback a glaring need, they’re delusional.
They have to hope that Jenkins can have a bounce-back season. He made the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2009 and appeared destined for stardom. You can’t just give up on a recent first-round pick who has demonstrated that kind of ability.
But the Cowboys need to push Jenkins, not coddle him. It’s probably not a coincidence that he had his best season when he had to battle Scandrick for a starting job. If nothing else, that job ought to be an open competition.
The more pressing issue is replacing Newman. Maybe that doesn’t need to happen immediately. Perhaps Newman, who turns 33 in September, can squeeze one more decent season out of those legs.
The Cowboys just shouldn't count on that. And they ought to be eager to find Newman’s successor as soon as possible, considering that cutting him would create $4 million in salary cap space.
We’ll give Jerry a break and judge him by his actions instead of his words. We’ll wait until we see whether he passes on one of the top two corners in the draft -- LSU’s Patrick Peterson and Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara -- before coming down too hard.
If they end up with one of those corners in the first round, Jerry gets a pass. It's fine to mislead the media in the months before the draft.
It'd be ridiculous to fail to recognize such an obvious problem area.