Cowboys already playing catch-up
Still plenty of dealing to do, but 'Skins stacking the deck in their favor
05:06 AM CST on Friday, March 17, 2006
The NFL's free-agency signing period is barely under way and already the Washington Redskins have taken significant steps in moving toward Seattle as the cream of the conference.
Their local rivals also have taken steps, it would seem, toward becoming the second-most relevant professional team in Texas.
Let's see if we have this straight.
The Redskins get the multitalented Antwaan Randle El, an impressive receiver-return man whose touchdown pass to Hines Ward broke open the Super Bowl for Pittsburgh. For a couple of mid-round draft picks, the Redskins get 49ers receiver Brandon Lloyd, who set career highs in catches and yards last year pretty much by burning Cowboys corner Anthony Henry (albeit an injured Henry).
The Redskins get Pro Bowl safety Adam Archuleta from St. Louis either as insurance against Sean Taylor spending time in the iron hotel for assault charges in Florida or to team with Taylor as the NFC's best pair of safeties.
The Cowboys get Kyle Kosier, a guard from Detroit, which could lead to the release of the most unloved 10-time Pro Bowl player in league history.
If Larry Allen goes, and with La'Roi Glover already released and scooped up by the Rams, the Cowboys may have their eye on the league mark for Pro Bowl trips released in one off-season.
The Cowboys also signed linebacker Akin Ayodele from Jacksonville to replace Dat Nguyen, who has retired. Or Scott Fujita, who is a Saint.
But not both.
Right now there's more talk around the country about the Houston Texans and what they will do with Reggie Bush and his impact on that team than there is about what Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells are up to as they approach Year 4.
If they don't get moving, the Cowboys also are approaching Year 10 without a playoff victory. This already is a franchise record for longest lull between postseason wins.
Maybe it's not as bad as it looks for the future Arlington's Team. It is early in the signing period. Undoubtedly, the Cowboys will be players at some point, although one has to say the $28 million splash on Henry, Marco Rivera and Jason Ferguson did not achieve its intended result.
It's simple. The Cowboys missed the playoffs (again) because they weren't as good as Washington. A split with the Redskins would have put Dallas in and Washington out.
Instead, the Redskins won at Tampa Bay and hung in rather gamely in Seattle, at least gaining a taste of what it takes to get it done in January.
The Cowboys went through the motions against St. Louis on their final night and went home.
A year ago, the Redskins lacked explosion on offense outside of Santana Moss, who developed into a Pro Bowl wide receiver. The additions of Randle El and Lloyd (four catches for 142 yards against Dallas) change that.
Now, Washington has more speed at receiver than Dallas in addition to a better running game with Clinton Portis more reliable than Julius Jones.
The Redskins were slightly better than Dallas on defense in 2005. The addition of Archuleta on one side and subtraction of Glover on the other certainly has done nothing to change that.
It's early, of course, and Redskins owner Danny Snyder has been known to miss on some previous money-for-nothing shopping sprees.
But this time he has added three quality players and three players that Dallas could have used. Instead, they'll be used twice against the Cowboys next season.
On top of that, the Redskins have added offensive coordinator Al Saunders, probably the best in the game. He made the Kansas City Chiefs into the most dynamic offense in the league, and that was without quality at wide receiver, which he now has.
The Cowboys saw their play-caller, Sean Payton, go to New Orleans to serve as head coach, so the offense again figures to be a mixed bag headed by Bill Parcells.
For now – with a long way to go in free agency and, of course, a draft to follow – the top of the NFC looks like Seattle-Carolina-Washington. Not necessarily in that order, either, as maybe Edgerrin James helps Arizona take a game from the Seahawks and costs Seattle its precious home-field advantage.
All we know about the Cowboys is that when it comes to the best in the NFC, on paper, they have not yet joined the discussion.
