The Landry Hat » Jeff Federspiel http://thelandryhat.com A Dallas Cowboys Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more. Fri, 17 May 2013 20:00:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 The Cowboys Use Franchise Tag On Spencer; What’s Next? http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/08/the-cowboys-use-franchise-tag-on-spencer-what-next/ http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/08/the-cowboys-use-franchise-tag-on-spencer-what-next/#comments Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:00:21 +0000 Jeff Federspiel http://thelandryhat.com/?p=23536 Well, Jerry, you have surprised me again.  I thought it was going to be a difficult process to get the Cowboys under the salary cap, when they were so recently $20 million over.  It took them barely 24 hours to pull the trigger to get under.  Ok, I thought, they got under the cap well [...]

The Cowboys Use Franchise Tag On Spencer; What’s Next? - The Landry Hat - The Landry Hat - A Dallas Cowboys Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

]]> Well, Jerry, you have surprised me again.  I thought it was going to be a difficult process to get the Cowboys under the salary cap, when they were so recently $20 million over.  It took them barely 24 hours to pull the trigger to get under.  Ok, I thought, they got under the cap well in advance of the March 12 deadline, but surely there’s no way they can retain Anthony Spencer.  Well, then they put the franchise tag on him.  You can say what you want about the front office, but they sure have a way of making a difficult situation look easy.

December 30, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) is tackled by Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker Anthony Spencer (93) at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 28-18. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

To this end, I am curious to find out what their intentions are with Mr. Spencer.  Did they buy themselves some time to try to lock him up long term?  There is no question Spencer had a fantastic year last year and was arguably the best player on the defensive side of the ball.  His ability to play the run and effectively disrupt the pass game through both coverage and pressuring the quarterback is an incredible value.  Since the Cowboys are changing their defensive scheme to a 4-3, the coverage aspect of Spencer’s game is irrelevant, but his ability to play the run and pressure the quarterback, will continue to be a hugely valued asset.

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]]> http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/08/the-cowboys-use-franchise-tag-on-spencer-what-next/feed/ 0 Cowboys Clear Cap and Combine Contemplations http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/01/cowboys-clear-cap-and-combine-contemplations/ http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/01/cowboys-clear-cap-and-combine-contemplations/#comments Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:00:24 +0000 Jeff Federspiel http://thelandryhat.com/?p=23381 Great news!  The Cowboys got under the cap after being a projected $20m over just a few days ago.  The Cowboys restructured the deals of Brandon Carr, DeMarcus Ware, Miles Austin, Ryan Cook, and Jason Witten to move an unspecified amount of money ahead of the cap deadline of March 12.  While many of these [...]

Cowboys Clear Cap and Combine Contemplations - The Landry Hat - The Landry Hat - A Dallas Cowboys Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

]]> Great news!  The Cowboys got under the cap after being a projected $20m over just a few days ago.  The Cowboys restructured the deals of Brandon Carr, DeMarcus Ware, Miles Austin, Ryan Cook, and Jason Witten to move an unspecified amount of money ahead of the cap deadline of March 12.  While many of these moves were expected, I guess I didn’t realize how quickly and dramatically it would all take place – particularly with no designated June 1st cuts.

Dec 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) puts his hand on the back of tackle Doug Free (68) during the game against the New Orleans Saints at Cowboys Stadium. The Saints beat the Cowboys 34-31 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The contract restructuring of these five players had to be done to a certain degree to get under the cap by March 12, but I have to wonder what these moves did to the Cowboys financial situation of the future.  Jerry and son have always been creative with their financial flexibility, but are they delaying and worsening a future cap doomsday?

Doug Free

Am I losing my mind or did I hear something about the Cowboys potentially moving Doug Free to guard?  The guy’s biggest weakness has been his ability to play with power and anchor down on his man, and they’re talking about moving him inside to guard?  I sure hope that this is speculation run rampant, because this would seem to indicate a completely wrong-headed concept and signal some troubling deficiencies in talent evaluation in Valley Ranch.  Now that the Cowboys under the cap, I think what they do with Free is going to be very interesting.

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]]> http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/01/cowboys-clear-cap-and-combine-contemplations/feed/ 0 Cowboys At The Combine – Offensive Line Edition http://thelandryhat.com/2013/02/22/cowboys-at-the-combine-offensive-line-edition/ http://thelandryhat.com/2013/02/22/cowboys-at-the-combine-offensive-line-edition/#comments Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:00:35 +0000 Jeff Federspiel http://thelandryhat.com/?p=23194 Tomorrow, instead of doing anything commonly deemed to be productive, I am going to spend the day watching the NFL Scouting Combine.  In particular, I will be parked firmly on the couch watching the offensive linemen run their drills, for this is likely the pool of players that the Cowboys will draw from with their [...]

Cowboys At The Combine – Offensive Line Edition - The Landry Hat - The Landry Hat - A Dallas Cowboys Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

]]> Tomorrow, instead of doing anything commonly deemed to be productive, I am going to spend the day watching the NFL Scouting Combine.  In particular, I will be parked firmly on the couch watching the offensive linemen run their drills, for this is likely the pool of players that the Cowboys will draw from with their 18th pick in the 1st round (I hope).  Here are some things I will be looking forward to.

Feb 21, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas A

Luke Joeckel, T, Texas A&M

Most pundits have Joeckel going in the first handful of picks in the draft, and many have him going to the Chiefs first overall.  He is clearly out of the Cowboys reach, but I think it will be interesting to see how the dynamic plays out between him and Eric Fisher for the first overall tackle taken.

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