San Antonio Express News: Defense Doomed for another bad season

The San Antonio Express News has an article up here that basically says Terence Newman's injury may hobble the Dallas defense enough to ruin its season.

Hey, I'd be the first one to say that Dallas fans should have some concern about the secondary this year. But I'd be the last to say the defense won't do well this year. Of course, the writers ties in the Greg Ellis saga, Isaiah Stanback's injury (this guy doesn't play defense and I wouldn't say he is an intricate part of the team) and the depth problems at cornerback.

Here's a snippet:

But what happens if Glenn goes down? Phillips painted a bleak picture when asked Thursday about the state of the team's corners not named Newman, Glenn or Henry, who opposing offensive coordinators like to pick on so much.
"I like some of the things they are doing certainly, but I don't have a great feeling that we've got four corners or five corners that can really play," Phillips said, making it clear he sees nothing special in Nate Jones, Jacques Reeves, Joey Thomas, Quincy Butler and rookies Alan Ball and Courtney Brown.

The writer, Tom Orsborn, then goes from journalist to columnist with this comment:

But if Ellis doesn't return, Spencer is just so-so and Newman is hobbled, the defense could be in for another disappointing season.

And right there he lost my attention. Thank god the article ended there. Point is, I DO think the defense will be improved this year. By blitzing more and changing the way we use our safeties, I think it will rush quarterbacks and allow for more interceptions and sacks.

Dallas plays Houston tonight in their third preseason game. Tonight we should get a good two-quarter look at starting defense. I'm not about to say Spencer is so-so. I will make that judgment after watching him play in a few season games. But even if he is, I just disagree that will be in for another disappointing season for the defense. We may be in for some disappointment with our secondary.

Can Bruce Read make the special teams Special?

Dallas has a new special teams coach in Bruce Read. He has five years of NFL experience and has been a special teams coach his entire 22-year career with Oregon State University, NY Giants, San Diego, and University of Montana (he was actually assistant coach for one year there).

Don't get me wrong, our special teams was above average, besides the field goal kicking game. The Cowboys averaged 23.3 yards per kickoff return last season, eighth in the NFL. The Cowboys scored on one punt return when Terence Newman ran a 56-yarder in the finale against Detroit (which we lost!). Newman led the club with 10.1 yards per punt return, but it's not good enough

Apparently, the word is Isaiah Stanback is going to take over for Newman for punt returns. The rookie from Washington was a quarterback there before he injured his foot, ending his season.

He did have some kick returns but nothing stellar:

KICK RETURNS           G   No.    Yds  TD  Lg Avg/R Avg/G
2003................  11     8    133   0  23  16.6  12.1
2004................   7     0      0   0   0   0.0   0.0
2005................  11     0      0   0   0   0.0   0.0
2006................   8     0      0   0   0   0.0   0.0
TOTAL...............  37     8    133   0  23  16.6   3.6

Stanback competed on the college team as a sprinter. He was just shy of setting the school's 100-meter record. Did you know that the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the 45th round of the 2006 draft? He is obviously speedy.

But time will tell if he can catch the ball from the air, dodge tacklers and hit the end zone a few times a year to help the Cowboys reach the playoffs. I am so excited for the season to start!

Did this draft pick surprise you?

Am I the only Cowboys fan who was surprised Dallas chose Isaiah Stanback as their third overall pick in the NFL draft? He played QB but rumors are we plan to use him as a receiver.

He is coming off a season-ending foot injury that required surgery. He's about 6 feet 2 inches and 215 pounds. He can run a 4.4.

In 37 games (23 starts) at Washington, Stanback completed 269 of 523 (51.4%) passes for 3,868 yards with 22 TD passes and 12 interceptions, which ranks him 11th all time for Washington. He really only has about two years of experience as a QB and has a very raw arm. His health and durability are concerns and we're asking him to be a receiver or punt returner? I was stumped with this selection. We picked Stanback up in the 4th round, it should be noted. We just missed running back Michael Bush (also coming off injury) from Louisville, not that he was on our radar, but I'd take him over Stanback.

Our receiving corps is aging, but I don't see Stanback as the answer.

During an interview, Stanback was asked if he anticipates being a receiver or kick returner.

He said he believes he will be used as a receiver but he will play whatever they want him to play because he is a team player. He could mix in as a back up quarterback, but that stumps me even more and reminds me of the Quincy Carter fluke.