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DMN:Parcells promises change is coming next season


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http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/football/cowboys/stories/010505dnspocowlede.79ea85a9.html

Parcells promises change is coming next season

Coach takes some blame; meeting set with Jones to develop plan

02:22 AM CST on Wednesday, January 5, 2005

By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News

IRVING – Coach Bill Parcells has vowed things will be different with the Cowboys in 2005 and is scheduled to have a meeting with owner and general manager Jerry Jones today.

Parcells met with the players Monday and the assistant coaches, some of who might not be back, on Tuesday.

Parcells told the team Monday that he "assumed too much about you guys," according to some players, and that they need to look in the mirror. The players said Parcells placed part of the blame on himself for the 6-10 finish.

As for the coaches, Parcells held an impromptu meeting in the locker room with his assistants immediately after Sunday's loss to the New York Giants, which caught some players by surprise.

Several assistants have contracts that expire in the next few weeks.

"I don't want to critique them one way or the other," Jones said before Sunday's game.

Parcells is considering a change to the 3-4 defense, which defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has never coached full time. Jones believes Zimmer could handle the change, if one came.

"I've just seen him adapt, and he's a student of the game," Jones said. "He spends a lot of time with it. He's completely dedicated, and I think he's one these individuals that can adapt."

Of the team's five unrestricted free agents, quarterback Vinny Testaverde is the likeliest to return. Jones has said it is possible Testaverde could be the starter again.

The Cowboys could have $20 million to spend in free agency, which would allow them to room to cut high-priced players who underperformed this season. It also gives them room to sign free agents.

Three have surgery: Wide receivers Keyshawn Johnson (right knee, left ankle) and Quincy Morgan (left knee) had surgery Tuesday.

Johnson was bothered by torn cartilage for most of the year. His left ankle was fractured Sunday.

Morgan was bothered by a bone growth behind his knee. Neither player is expected to need a lot of rehabilitation time.

Backup offensive lineman Tyson Walter had surgery on his dislocated left wrist Monday. Walter suffered the injury on a kickoff return in the first half Sunday.

Long snapper Jeff Robinson (elbow), linebacker Al Singleton (abdomen) and running back Richie Anderson (neck) could also need surgery.

Power rankings: Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was ranked 30th on The Sporting News' annual Power 100 list, a ranking the top sports figures.

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue was ranked No. 1. Jones was the second highest-rated NFL owner behind New England's Robert Kraft (No. 27).

Briefly: Running back Keylon Kincade, defensive tackle Jermaine Brooks, tight end Landon Trusty and cornerback Lenny Williams were signed to 2005 contracts Tuesday. They ended the year on the practice squad. Only cornerback Jeff Sanchez was not re-signed. ... The Cowboys' off-season conditioning program begins March 20.

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Wow, I wonder what Jerrah will do this time, cheek implants perhaps? Or maybe he'll have a Cary Grant chin put in to lessen the "Skelator Effect". Perhaps he just wants to remove some of those varicose veins in his legs that he developed from all that pacing on the sideline during games...

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The coiwboys are in a position to really improve imo. They are 20 mil under the cap and Im not sure that it is counting all the LTBE incentatives not reached. They have two first rounders. I know I sound homerish but I expect us to make a nice recovery...

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Originally posted by SonnyRules

They had a chance to improve last off-season and didn't do much in the FA market.

I'm curious if they will actually step up this year and spend some money.

This was extremely puzzling last off-season. The Cowboys seemed to NOT want to improve their team. The only explanation I had was that the Cowboys seemed to be attempting to setup a salary cap system like the Eagles (lots of LTBE incentives resulting in lots of cap space the next year) and the Patriots (trying to get lots of draft picks). The result was in a quiet off-season with some bad signings to boot (Dat Dude I'm looking at you).

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Originally posted by SonnyRules

They had a chance to improve last off-season and didn't do much in the FA market.

I'm curious if they will actually step up this year and spend some money.

Parcells had to give this team a chance. He needed to see if it was just a fluke or could they really contend this year. The obious answer was no.
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Originally posted by RW31

The coiwboys are in a position to really improve imo. They are 20 mil under the cap and Im not sure that it is counting all the LTBE incentatives not reached. They have two first rounders. I know I sound homerish but I expect us to make a nice recovery...

Yeah that does sound promising, but your team needs a QB badly and I do not see much promise in Romo sits to pee or Henson...Parcells made a huge mistake by playing Vinny Greenballs this season.

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Originally posted by DrivingBandit

Yeah that does sound promising, but your team needs a QB badly and I do not see much promise in Romo sits to pee or Henson...Parcells made a huge mistake by playing Vinny Greenballs this season.

Naa, I think playing Vinnie was the right move and they should stick with him again next year.

Maybe keep him around until hes 50 or so.

:cheers:

:dallasuck

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Originally posted by SonnyRules

They had a chance to improve last off-season and didn't do much in the FA market.

I'm curious if they will actually step up this year and spend some money.

This was more of the problem than Not selecting the right guys.

Wiley was obviously a bad choice. The Keyshawn trade was a good choice. The Eddie George signing wasn't great, but it wasn't completely horrible. He did do what he normally does, which isn't saying very much. We also didn't pay any money for him either.

I am wondering if this reallywasn't their plan all along. Every media outlet was saying that the Cowboys were building for 2005, but I didn't believe it. Now, in retrospect, it seems that they may have been doing just that.

Last year's FA crop was hardly impressive. You guys did well to get three impact FA's in Springs, Griffin, and Washington. They may have been the 3 best FA's on the Market other than Kearse. They may have wanted to see how the group of players performed again, and how some of their young players developed with another year under their belt.

Obviously, some of the young players didn't develep and now it is pretty clear what needs to be done.

I do think they will upgrade their talent, especially on D, this offseason. They are going to open their purse strings and let some money fly out.

This should be a very interesting off season, as usuall.

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I think the biggest blunder the Cowboys made last offseason was not adding a solid CB. We may never again see that many good CBs hit the open market. There may be 1 or 2 good ones out there this year but you are going to have to pay dearly to land them as just as many teams have holes at that position as they did last season.

I recall Parcells saying at some point last offseason that he didn't think the players were worth what they were getting. Well, simple supply and demand should tell him that those same caliber players this year will cost even more.

If he had looked at the list of top corners in the league - virtually all of them have come from the first few rounds of the draft. That position is probably the most well-scouted of any. He should have known better than to and strike gold in the later rounds last year. It just doesn't happen.

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We're very lucky that Parcells is so arrogant that he thinks he can win with a bunch of no names at key positions. Going into a season with great promise, he cut his starting qb and put a stopgap qb in the twilight of his career in the most critical position.

He gambled big time on Julius and had Jerrah not insisted on signing George, they would have been royally screwed when Jones went down.

Parcells shies away from high priced, big name free agents because he thinks he can simply outsmart every other team regardless of talent.

Can you imagine what Dan would do going into an offseason with $20 million to spend?

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