When Dallas Cowboys Owner and GM Jerry Jones inducted Drew Pearson, Larry Allen, and Charley Haley in to the Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor, it brought the total to 20 men (18 players plus Tom Landry and Tex Schramm) in the Ring. It also sparked questions about whether Charley Haley deserved to be in The Ring, and that controversy led some of us to start thinking about who should be the next to get inducted in to the Ring.

Nov 6, 2011; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys ring of honorees Charles Haley speaks during the halftime ceremony from the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

We decided to let you, the Landy Hat faithful, determine which Cowboy player(s) most deserve to be in the Ring of Honor. We will begin providing profiles for the 10 finalists this week. If you want to read about the methodology we used to create the list of 10 finalists or the 3 players who received Honorable Mentions for almost making the Top 10, please click here. (more…)

I am quite surprised how many experts believe the Dallas Cowboys want David DeCastro with the 14th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. I do not think the Cowboys want DeCastro at 14, nor do I think that they should pick DeCastro.

Nov 5, 2011; Corvallis, OR, USA; Oregon State Beavers offensive guard David DeCastro (52) lines up against the Stanford Cardinal during the first half at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Z. Rider-US PRESSWIRE

The following is a list of reasons why they shouldn’t, and therefore probably won’t, pick DeCastro:

1. There is not enough value in a Guard to justify using a top 15 pick. Compared to just about every other position on a team, an excellent Guard is easy to find.

2. There is a reason that in the 13 drafts since 2000(and probably more, I just stopped at 2000 because more than 10 drafts seemed like a reasonable sample size), no one (not even the Raiders) have used a top 15 pick on a Guard. The closest was last year when a Center, Mike Pouncey, was chosen with the 15th pick. That being said, Centers rarely get drafted in the first 15 picks, and they have more relative value than Guards.

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As Jerry Jones, Jason Garrett, and Rob Ryan prepare to lead the Dallas Cowboys into free agency and the 2012 draft, they must all be focused on the obvious fact that the defense is the weak leak on this team. The defense gave up 24 or more points in almost half their games last year (7 out of 16); the Cowboys lost 3 games when they scored 24 or more points.

The offense is fairly solid: the interior line and a 3rd WR (if Laurent Robinson isn’t resigned) are the only big needs other than the need for depth behind the starters. Expect the Dallas Cowboys brain-trust to be focused on rebuilding the defense this off-season.

Despite having no off-season and very little new talent (just Kenyon Coleman, Abe Elam, and Sean Lee were new starters) Rob Ryan significantly improved the defense last season. This season made it painfully obvious that Ryan needs better players before we can evaluate his ability as a Defensive Coordinator (or potential Head Coach.) Expect Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett to make all reasonable efforts to get the players that Ryan wants for his defense.

Click on the link to read about the re-building that has been started and what is left to accomplish.

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