I’ve been mostly quiet for the whole off-season, but with training camp about to kick off in San Antonio, I wanted to put down a few thoughts, hopes and concerns for the upcoming season. In no particular order:
 
Roy Williams. I’ve been pretty harsh in my assessment of Roy. I really had not followed his career in Detroit, so when th Cowboys first traded for him, using some of their extra picks, I was okay with the deal. I knew he’d been to a Pro Bowl, he looked pretty good in a few games against the Cowboys, and I remembered his college career down here in Texas. After his dismal showing with the Cowboys for two and a half years now, I did a little more homework. It turns out these years are not the aberration in his career. He’s only caught more than half the balls thrown his way twice in his career – over 60% just once. His Pro Bowl yardage resulted from being on a bad team that threw the ball a LOT. There are a lot of analysts and fans who keep believing he just can’t really be this bad. Rick Gosselin predicted he’d have his best year as a Cowboys. Well, that wouldn’t take much, would it? I’m going to stick my neck out here and make a prediction, which I don’t often do: Roy Williams isn’t going to get any better. Even if he could, there just won’t be enough opportunities for him on this offense.
 
The wide receivers. I’ve said for a few months now that I think the Cowboys may keep six wide receivers, an that Patrick Crayton has a lot more value to the team than – to pick a random example – Roy Williams. As recently as 2007, the team kept six receivers. What this will depend on, I’m afraid, is not the emergence of Dez Bryant or Kevin Ogletree, or the ability of Sam Hurd to move his Alamodome brilliance onto the actual playing field. Instead, it will depend on how well David Buehler does as placekicker. If he can handle field goal duties, that frees up one of last year’s two kicker roster spots, and makes room for Crayton to stay, and I think that would be a good thing.
 
But will David Buehler handle it? Some have criticized the team for not bringing in a veteran kicker to put a little pressure on Buehler in camp, but I think they’ve got it backwards. This guy already knows he can make the team if somebody else handles field goals. Bringing that guy in now puts less pressure on him, not more. They are doing the right thing to throw him out there without a safety net. Let’s hope he can handle it.
 
I think people are making too much of the safety situation. There was no drop-off when Alan Ball came in for Ken Hamlin in three starts last year, and there won’t be any drop-off this year, either. In addition, red-shirt Mike Hamlin is available, and I’d look for him to work his way onto the field some. One thing I have noticed about Wade – he finds a role for guys who can play. In fact, that may be one of the biggest differences between him and Parcells. Parcells looked for a guy to fit the role. Wade finds a role to fit the guy, and if last year showed us anything, it’s that he is not afraid to go with the young guys. Bottom line is that Ball may not be an upgrade, but he is definitely not a downgrade, and if the secondary is no worse and possibly better, you have to feel pretty good about it.
 
I also think people are making too much of Doug Free. He played what, five games at right tackle last year? You could argue the guy saved the season. He was very good. I know left tackle is different, but the guys who know more about it than I do seem to think he has the range, quickness and footwork to be a more natural left tackle than right.
 
That’s not to say I don’t have any worries about the offensive line. Those guys are all getting old, and we have no real proven depth. One injury can torpedo the season, as the Kyle Kosier injury in 2008 should have taught us. They were good last year, but not great. I’ll take that, if it comes with no injuries, and I think Free can make the line a net upgrade.
 
Break-out seasons? I’m not sure I expect to see any. We all keep waiting for Martellus Bennett to break out, but there just aren’t that many balls to go around. Jason Witten is one of the top receiving tight ends (literally) in league history. If Martellus Bennett puts up big numbers, that means Witten must be out with a season-ending injury. I’d like to see Marty B do more with his limited opportunities, but I don’t expect them to get less limited. Similarly, the three running backs have pretty well-defined roles. They all do good things when they get the ball, and the Cowboys are a very good running team. The backs’ success is as dependent on the offensive line as anything else, and I think they’ll be fine.
 
I do have some questions about Romo. As I’ve pointed out (even in 2008,) Romo’s INT percentage has improved every year he’s played. Last year’s 9 INT performance would be tough to improve on, so where else can he improve his game? His completion percentage, which had been declining from 2006-08, inched back up again last season, and I’d like to see him get that into the elite range. Another area that really jumped out at me last year was sacks. Traditionally, we charge these against the O-Line, which is fair, but the fact is, some quarterbacks get sacked more than others, regardless of the line. Romo has definitely improved his decision-making, but I think that has resulted in him taking more sacks than he should. A sack is better than a turnover, but it’s still a negative play, and I’d really like to see him improve on that, and I think he will.
 
That’s my thoughts – rambling and incoherent, as always.