July 30, 2012; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley (47) runs with the ball during Redskins training camp at Redskins Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

The difference between Witten and Cooley is that Witten gets more yards per season.  Injuries slowed Cooley down in 2009 and 2011 as played less than 8 games in both of those seasons.  He broke his ankle in 2009 and had arthroscopic knee surgery in January 2011.  During the 2011 season, he broke his finger during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles.  To make matters worse for him, he was told by team doctors that his knee needed an additional four to five weeks of recovery from the surgery he had at the beginning of the year.

Cooley was placed on injured reserve in 2009 and 2011.  In his return to play this season, SI.com reporter Peter King stated, “Cooley looked to be in great shape during training camp.”

How could the Cowboys benefit from having Chris Cooley?

Jason Garrett, the Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys, can run his two tight end sets a bit more effectively.  Current Tight End Jason Witten and Cooley are the same age, so splitting time would be something that could be done.  This could be done so that Witten and Cooley can play a little bit longer in the league.  We already have a 2 running back system in place, so having a two starting tight end system in place would be a benefit to the team and both to Witten and Cooley.

Statistically, Witten and Cooley match up very well.  For their career average of yards per catch, they are only separated by .4 of a yard.  Witten is at 11.4 yards per catch, while Cooley is at 11.0.

Another upside to having Cooley, if Jason Witten is slow to recovery from his spleen injury; it would be better to have Cooley than John Phillips, a 4^th year player who has only contributed 2 complete seasons in 2009 and 2011.   Cooley also played some fullback, so having a multi-positioned player plays into the Cowboys favor.

A downside of having Cooley would be his hit on the salary cap.  According to a February 23^rd article on the ESPNDallas.com website, Dallas has 19 players counting more than $1 million dollars against their salary cap.  Cooley counted nearly $4 million dollars against the Redskins, this according to rotoworld.com.  The other factor to consider is that Cooley wants a starting job.  Redskins’ officials suggested that Cooley wanted to be released so that he could find a starting job elsewhere.

NFL.com reports that there are 6 possible suitors that could use Cooley’s services and not one of those teams are the Cowboys.  Gregg Rosenthal, the editor for Around the League states that the Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, and a return to Washington at a reduce salary cap hit are all possibilities.

Could the Cowboys structure a deal to get Cooley?  If Jerry Jones wanted him enough, he could get it done somehow.  Jones has one tool that the other 31 teams do not have…Stephen Jones, Jerry’s son.  Stephen Jones is very good at getting the numbers to work for the Cowboys.

I cringed when Cooley would make a big play against the Cowboys, not just once a year but twice a year as we have to play against the NFC East rival Redskins.  It would be a nice sight to see Cooley in blue and silver, making those same plays against his former teammates.

This week’s poll is dedicated to Chris Cooley and his recent attempt to rekindle the Cowboys vs. Redskins rivalry.

As a Cowboy fan, I don’t just cheer for my team, I necessarily hate every other team. My loyalty to them is unwavering; my faith in them is beyond irrational. With the exception of long time greats like Dorsett, Emmitt, and LA, I won’t even allow myself to like ex-Cowboy players when they switch teams. I even hate rugby teams because they play a sport similar to football and they have no stars on their uniforms.

Despite my dislike for anything related to football that is not the Cowboys, there are some teams that I loathe more than others.

Truth be told, my animosity for some of the other NFL teams is, in reality, a compliment. There is no point hating teams that are terrible year in and year out.  So, yes, some of the teams made my list just because they are excellent teams.

To find out the specific reasons why I abhor each team, click on the link.

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In an article written by Cooley on his website (which you can read here), he explains how he wants to reignite the rivalry between the two clubs. Well Cooley, mission accomplished. To stir the boiling pot of rivalry a little bit more, Cooley even took the time to answer some of those Cowboy hate tweets himself. He explains why in this segment from his recent posting:

Finally, those of you that responded on Twitter, you made this easy. Your clumsy charm and the outpouring of the appalling tweets has inspired me to feed the fire of an NFL rivalry that seems in need the more flame. Thank you for caring so much. I genuinely appreciate you making me the number 1 Google search yesterday. I’d like to give a special thanks to those fans who want to choke me out, burn my house down and not only see me endure career ending injury, but break my neck and die. Clearly football is important to you, you are the people who make the NFL what it is! I’m aware at this point, that I could choose the high road, but a little pettiness makes for much more fun. Plus, I’m assuming if you tweeted you wouldn’t mind a response.

Read his answers to Cowboy fan’s hate tweets, after the break: (more…)