Is this what someone said??
Four Downs: NFC East
Dallas Cowboys
Don't perceive the hype
With their three-year, $25-million contract for Terrell Owens, the Dallas Cowboys have inflicted pain upon millions of innocent Americans, not to mention Bill Parcells. Maybe it would be worth it if wide receiver was a position of need for the Cowboys. But whatever weaknesses Dallas' offense may have had last season, wide receiver wasn't one of them.
In Philadelphia, Owens filled a clear, gaping hole in the offense. That team was in desperate need of a true No. 1 receiver. In Dallas, Owens replaces Keyshawn Johnson, and while that's an upgrade, it's really just a small one. Over the past few years, Owens has better numbers, but he also got to play with better quarterbacks. Owens had 230 more yards and six more touchdowns in 2004 — but he also had Donovan McNabb throwing him the ball, not Vinny Testaverde.
At Football Outsiders, our Defense-adjusted Value Over Average metric compares every play to the league-average, for both teams and players — with quarterbacks being compared only to other quarterbacks and wide receivers only to other wide receivers. Last year, the combined DVOA for Dallas receivers was 9.2 percent, which ranked eighth in the league. Add in Jason Witten and the combined DVOA for Dallas receivers and tight ends is 14.0 percent, tied for fifth in the league with NFC champion Seattle.
And yet, Drew Bledsoe had a DVOA of only 5.3 percent, which ranked him 18th among all quarterbacks with at least 250 pass attempts. Matt Hasselbeck — getting roughly the same value from his wide receivers and tight ends — had a DVOA of 28.4 percent, which ranked sixth. What's the difference? The Seahawks have a younger and more accurate quarterback, a better running game and a far better offensive line. That means fewer sacks, fewer interceptions and fewer balls just thrown away due to pressure.
If Bledsoe has shown the world anything in the second half of his career, it's that he is completely ineffective without solid protection in front of him. Yet, only the Texans, Vikings and Jets allowed more sacks than the Cowboys last season. Behind an offensive line that was old and injured and then became young and inexperienced, Bledsoe was, at best, a mediocre quarterback in 2005.
If you enjoyed T.O.'s tantrums after Donovan McNabb failed to see him open downfield, just imagine what will happen as Owens races clear down the sidelines only to look back and see Bledsoe on his back for the fifth time that game.
Dallas has not yet brought in a quarterback to compete with Bledsoe or to back him up in case the he goes down for a significant period of time from one sack too many. To address their offensive line woes, the Cowboys signed Jason Fabini from the Jets — one of the three teams to allow more sacks than the Cowboys.
Fabini is 32 and coming off a season where he missed seven games because of a chest injury. If healthy, he will be an upgrade at right tackle from Rob Pettiti. Then again, almost anyone Dallas signed would have provided an upgrade over what Pettiti gave them last season, possibly including me.
The Cowboys also signed blocking tight end Ryan Hannam from Seattle. Hannam will replace Dan Campbell, who signed a five-year deal with the Lions. In addition, guard Kyle Kosier was brought in as a backup across the line and a possible starter at guard should the Cowboys release perennial Pro-Bowler Larry Allen — due a $2 million bonus on April 1.
Read Story
"Jerry, what in the world was you thinking about bringing T.O. here?"
