Written by theMBIIIeffect
Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like my pen name is safe for at least one more year.
According to Jean-Jaques Taylor of the Dallas Morning News, Cowboys running back Marion Barber will likely play next season in Dallas.
“I think Barber will be back for another year,” Taylor said. “He’s been banged up each of the last two years, and the Cowboys probably aren’t ready to give up on him yet. Besides, he’s due $4 million whether he’s in Dallas or not. Jerry (Jones) hates paying people for nothing.”
While searching for a new name to write under would be irritating (any suggestions, anyone?), the Barbarian deserves at least one more season in Dallas. He had another injury-plagued season, carrying the ball 214 times for 932 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He also had 7 rushing touchdowns.
While his numbers look pretty good, Felix Jones (116 carries, 685 yards, 5.9 ypc) and Tashard Choice (64 carries, 349 yards, 5.5 ypc) have proven to be dangerous rushers and should be close in Barber’s rear-view mirror.
Taylor brings up a good point in saying that the Cowboys owe Barber $4 million, whether he’s in Dallas or not. But the question is whether or not Barber’s trade value will increase or decline after this next season.
Even though his numbers look decent, Barber had problems in short-yardage situations, especially in the red zone. If he continues to have these problems or gets hurt for the third straight season, other teams are unlikely to pony up much in terms of a trade.
The Cowboys really ought to look at trading Barber, but perhaps not for a draft pick like everyone is saying. A move for want-away receivers Anquan Boldin or *gulp* Brandon Marshall (and the corresponding release of Roy Williams) in this uncapped year might be a move that would make the Cowboys a much more dangerous team.
Jerry Jones could use another receiver and the draft isn’t the place to do that this year. ESPN’s Mel Kiper has projected our 27th overall pick in the first round as Maryland’s Bruce Campbell. That’s the smart move, with Flozell Adams starting to show his age. I could see the Cowboys taking a wide receiver/returner like Mardy Gilyard or Dexter McCluster in later rounds.
Trading Barber for a proven wide receiver would make the most sense to me in terms of production. While Boldin and especially Marshall could have a negative effect on team chemistry, having their production in our offense would be a welcome addition.
I’ll just have to let Jerry know that I wouldn’t mind finding a new name to write under.
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On the name change thingy. You can’t use Bevomav..a truly great name..but how about “Cheedelt”?..That has a nice ring to it..LOL
A couple of points on your post..Can we admit JJ hates to pay money for nothing..He was forced..kicking and screaming to release TO..No way he releases MBIII or RW..and trades never happen in the NFL..Plus do we really want another TO?..Which Anquan and Brandon are on the way to being..
McCluster would be a great pick in the later rounds..If he is available he would fix the return need on Special Teams..
All good points, Bevo. I’d love to see McCluster in the second or third round. He’s small but he’s an absolute burner. I would love to see him in the slot, too.
Right now, he’s allegedly going to be slower than Kansas State’s Brandon Banks in the 40, but I don’t see it. McCluster is even faster in games.
I think your best bet is the Cardinals. They have two great receivers and are probaly going to be hurting awhile without Warner. Also they don’t have a good run game. I would say give them Barber and Roy but Jerry was an idiot for signing him so much money. So maybe the Cardinals would be interested in Barber to get a run game to help out leinart. They need a run game so they don’t have to put so much on leinart. We all know this is very unlikely to happen but it is the best choice to try the Cardinals.
TEXAS,
He is not going to the Cardinals..They have a great rb duo in Hightower and Wells….Both I think are better than Barber…
Yo MBIII..
I have three names to watch..
McCluster we know of..4.36/40..ESPN has him late 3rd or 4th..but his stock is rising
Trindon Holliday..LSU..5′5″ 161 pounds..4.25/40 maybe the fastest guy in years to come out of the draft..ESPN has him 6th round..strictly a return man
My favorite..
Jordan Shipley..UT 6′1″ 185..4.4/40..ESPN has him the 7th ranked WR in the draft..late 2nd or 3rd..
The thing is this guy had 116 reception for 1485 yards and against Alabama doubling him all over the field he caught 10 passes for 122 yards and 2 td’s..He was also the 3rd leading punt return man in the country..
Shipley will be a star the other two guys will be return men..
Bev no offense but I dont see any of those guys on our draft board with the exception of shipley…
Yo David..
Holliday in the 6th round would be a steal..4.25/40 is amazing..So fast it is Bob Hayes fast..(For some reason the Cowboys never seem to look to Austin for a player..Even took a frigging Aggie as a QB..What a waist of a pick}He is just returner..but one big need is a return man for special teams..
BTW..Matt Stover..a Dallas native..will be a free agent..He is 42 but is 5/5 on FG in playoffs..No big leg but very accurate..He says he has always wanted to be a Cowboys..was in punt pass and kick and wore a Cowboys uniform..Just saying..
Guys,
The Boys have a stud(Felix), very good (Tashard) and good (Barber) in their backfield. There is not enough balls to get to all three of them already…No one I repeat no one is going to trade for Barber and eat his contract. He is not that good…JG needs to take his head out of his ass and make Felix the man with getting him the ball at least 15-20 times in carries and 5 plus in passes…Then you work in tashard and have barber go back to his closer role but still get Felix the ball a lot towards the end of the game..So why in the world would you bring in another back from the draft..It would be a wasted pick..And I seriously doubt they take an rw in this draft higher than the 6th round..The Boys need o-line depth, inside linbacker depth and an upgrade at free safety…Thats where their draft needs to be focused..If some top 5 wr slipped for some reason to the 3rd round like bryant did then maybe but it would be a risk..
AH..Draft Needs..
Well this may be an exciting Free Agency..Teams can write off contracts and not pay a penalty..This is an uncapped year..We may well see some big name F/A on the street..There will never be another off season like this off season..
Plus with a looming lock out in 2011..there will be teams cutting payroll..Plus this season there will be no minimum on how little a team can spend..Tight azz teams can have a 30 mil payroll if they wish..
Bev,
The Boys are extremely limited in free agency this year when it comes to signing high profile players. They can only sign one player for more than 5.5 mil a year…They can sign as many as they want as long as they are signed for less than 3.7 mil a year…They fall under the last 8 rule…So I wouldnt be expecting them to go crazy after fa’s like everyone is hoping…
Good pull on Holliday. He’s absurdly fast. The only question I’d have is whether or not he’s durable enough for the NFL. Being 5′5 and a featherweight isn’t a good thing. McCluster is as fast and as shifty an every-down player as I’ve seen since Chris Johnson. He runs mean and can take-and give-serious abuse. If we go get him, Sam Hurd should be very worried about his job.
David: We’re probably going to go o-line in the first round to get some depth there. As far as inside linebacker goes, I think we’re good with a serviceable Bobby Carpenter and Jason Williams. At safety, look for Michael Hamlin to get a look. If not, that might be a position that we try to address in free agency. We might look at Major Wright from Florida on the second day of the draft, but other than that, this draft is going to have a lot of safeties going before our first pick.
Bevo, you’re going to hate me for this, but for some reason, something in my brain just screams “no” about Shipley. I don’t know what it is. I hope I’m wrong here because he seems like a good guy, but something just doesn’t feel right.
Here’s another question: would a paid Anquan Boldin be better or worse than Roy Williams was this past season?
MB3,
Why should Sam Hurd worry about his job? Especially since Mcluster is an rb…Hurd is arguably our best player on special teams according to the coaches..He is also a good depth wr with good hands. I can not see any scenario where they draft an rb….That would be a dumb wasted pick..There will be plenty of fa’s available to look at..And as for telling me we are prob going to draft an o-lineman with our first pick well thats what I had already said…And yes Carpenter had a nice year but that does not mean I would not look at any other stud inside backers if they were available…We basically know nothing from the mike backers we drafted last year..They were injured most of the year and even then they were projected as special teams players…With your logice we might as well draft a qb with a high pick as well…This team is very close to the big one so why not fill the needs and get depth where needed…Rb is the least of their needs..
mb3,
Thats a tough question because if you recall Boldin didnt even play in the playoffs..Roy had a good first game against the eagles..And I dont care what happened in minnesota with roy..Romo didnt have time to throw to himself let alone anyone else..As soon as adams went down the game was over….Funny how people hate on adams tho…
MB3..
Jason Williams is an OL not IL..the guy who many project as the heir apparent to Brookings or James is Steven Hodge..He was a safety at TCU but is thought to be able to convert to ILB in the 3-4..Only 6′ but he is a big hitter..
Don’t like Shipley..no biggie..I have another Longhorn..Earl Thomas..Safety..and a big int guy at UT..Probably a first rounder though..Remember these words..Shipley will be a star..Alabama with that great defense couldn’t control him..He has been underrated his whole career..
Yo MBIII..
I just looked..
McCluster is projected as a Second for now..but his stock is rising..My problem is the size..5′8″ 165 pounds..plus in his biggest game..Alabama..he had 3 for 22 zero td’s..
Shipley is projected late Second or Third..is bigger an performed when they needed him..
No brainer..but in all honesty..I don’t see the Cowboys taking either one..Now Holliday in the Fifth or Sixth is worth trying..Man that 4.25 speed is inviting..
I just want to see Crayton and Ogletree replaced on returns..Go get someone..
McCluster is going to be a WR in the pros. He’s the Percy Harvin wr/rb combo. He’s too small to be a full-time RB in the pros. Hurd should watch for his job because we’re probably not going to keep 6 WR’s and he’s at the bottom of the pile. We’d have a lot of defensive guys like Hodge, Williams and M. Hamlin to take over.
I also was referring to which one would be better in the locker room between Roy and Boldin. When Boldin gets what he wants, he shows up and he’s a good team guy. You have to please Roy (thought not to the same extent as T.O.). Also, I don’t hate Adams, he’s just getting old very quickly. Edge rushers in our division are speed guys now and that’s a nightmare match up for Adams.
Williams was an outside backer in college, but Jerry had plans on moving him inside and getting him to play nickel backer. He’s big enough to do it (6-1, 246). See here: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=2A803863-9171-A21B-A7BE640585C34C86
MBIII..
Sorry I got some bad info..blame Tim MacMahon
The problem with McCluster is his stock is shooting up..He looked great at the Senior Bowl and next to the Combine that is the place to see scouts..
I just don’t see the Cowboys taking him first round..and he will be gone come the 27th pick in the Second..
Anquan really just wants to be paid..The Cards basically took care of everyone but Anquan..He is a great receiver and even while playing on one leg he performed last season..
I just hope the Giants don’t get him..That would be bad for the Cowboys..
Unfortunately I think Marion would be a good fit on the Eagles. With Westbrook as a possible retiree, and McCoy not being a power back, I think they would welcome Marion to fill that specialty void.
Also, I can’t imagine the would draw more than a late 3rd round pick considering his production and recent injury history.
Having said that, I don’t think there is any possible way that we give a player to the Eagles for a song only to have him convert on 4th and short.
Joe, there is to be NO, and I repeat for extra emphasis, NO trading with anyone in our division. The only thing I’d be willing to give the Eagles is a few black eyes.
And Bevo, if we want to get into the top half of the second round, we can. We can trade our pick to someone like Kansas City or Cleveland, who needs picks to get more bodies. I think Kansas City is going to be very, very active on draft day.
MBIII..
Yes they can..but I don’t think they will..There is too much need in the Oline to take a flyer on a WR..From listening to JJ he likes the guys he has..
I put OLine..Safety and ILB ahead of WR..IMHO..
Fair enough, Bevo. I just think we can do it all.
1st round: Campbell. If we need other guys, we address that in free agency. I like our depth should we add another good tackle prospect.
2nd round plus 5th (or 4th if we need it): Move up to get McCluster.
3rd round: Inside backer here. I think we could get a project-type guy in later rounds. There’s Linebacker U’s Sean Lee who will probably be available early in the second day. He was projected as a first-rounder until he tore his ACL. Jerry isn’t easily put off by injuries like this and it usually works out for us, like it did with Chris Canty.
We can address safety in free agency. The Rams could have a hard time hanging onto O.J. Atogwe as they designated him their franchise player last year and failed to get a long-term deal done. He’ll be a restricted free agent (I think? f-ing CBA rules…). Or we can go get Ryan Clark, who will be an unrestricted free agent. We do need to re-sign Gerald Sensabaugh and get rid of Ken Hamlin.
Use whatever picks we have left to find a good kicker. Seriously, draft like 3 of ‘em and whichever one pans out, we keep.
Yo MBIII..
It is early but I have looked at about ten mock drafts..Nearly all have the Cowboys taking Mike Iupati OG Idaho..6′6″/330 lbs..Some are calling him the next possible Larry Allen..One had Cambell who is described as raw but he is a tackle..
WR is the popular pick for the second round..Shipley..some kid from Minnesota and a lb from USC..round out the major drafts I have seen..
Kicker..as I stated earlier I would sign Matt Stover who will be free next year when Vinatari comes back..He is 5/5 in the playoffs..Not a big leg but money..
The thing is this team is not going to get a starter in the draft..All positions are already filled..with the exception of safety..I like you would look at FA..There is a catch this off season..Usually after four years a player becomes a UFA..but since this is an uncapped year..it has been changed to six years..That is why Miles Austin is a RFA instead of UFA..BTW..Atogwe has been franchised..so he is out..I like Mike Brown of the Chiefs..he is unrestricted and wants to play for a winner..He had 80 tackles..24 solo..3 picks and 2 sacks..He made 2.9 mil in KC..He would be an upgrade to Hamlin..
MBIII, I direct you to the 2007 draft. Cowboys traded down with the Browns into the 2nd round. They had their eye on a certain DE/OLB, Anthony Spencer. Who was their trading partner to get back into the first round, Philadelphia.
Philly got Kolb, we got Spencer and at present, we are the winners.
Joe, picks are different. You don’t trade players that have been on your team to divisional opponents. They come to play pissed twice a year. We’ll see who ends up being the winner on that one as Kolb looked pretty good in relief of McNabb this year.
We should trade Barber out of the conference. San Diego would be a perfect spot to team him with Sproles. thinking we could get a #3 and #5 for him. (We can replace him with the Blount kid from Oregon in the 4th round.) A rookie will accept being the 3rd back better than MB3 will.
The BEST OL is a must in round 1…..round 2 should be Arenas (CB/’Bama) who also returns kicks. Gives us 4 quality CB’s and takes care of the return concerns.
Would love a G/C in round 3. Kid from Baylor (Walton) could be there.
4th round would be a good spot to get a ILB to replace Brookings in ‘11.
*after all that, we could use a nother edge pass-rusher. remember when Ware went out last year? Butler isn’t the answer.
Espn fired Irvin due to bad ratings but it’s really due to the girl saying he raped her. It really sounds stupid in the first place don’t believe the girl. So my question is could there be a small chance he might be willing to take a coaching job here? Not head coach but like receiver coach maybe even OC?
this is all wishful thinking
The boys need to take the best player available and not draft for need..Thats how you end up with crappy drafts. And generaly I would agree with not trading a player within the division but in Barbers case if we got a good pick for him I would trade him to anyone..The guy has no burst right now and defenders are bringing him down by his shoelaces for the love of god….