Dallas Cowboys: Risky moves building a Juggernaut?

The Dallas Cowboys have taken many risks this offseason, but are they building a juggernaut in the process? The NFC East is on notice. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL TD Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate the NFL and sports.

Dan:

The Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones are nothing if not interesting. I’ll get to the draft in a moment, but Dallas has been signing ‘risky’ player after ‘risky’ player throughout this off season. Offensive tackle La’el Collins, currently being questioned in the murder of his girlfriend, went undrafted and has now signed with America’s team.

Back in March Dallas signed defensive end Greg Hardy. It’s like they want to add men with questionable treatment of women to their roster. Both Hardy and Collins have a ton of talent, but it’s also unclear if either player will rise up from their legal issues.

To add one more name to the list of ‘risky’ business, the Cowboys drafted self-proclaimed pot smoker Randy Gregory in round two of the draft. Another solid player with a checked past.

I know you dislike the Cowboys, to put it politely. After a stellar season of twelve wins last year, what is going on in Dallas? No one jumps off their draft board besides Gregory. Yes they filled holes across their defense. But Darren McFadden is not a replacement for DeMarco Murray. The infallible Brandon Weeden is backup to Tony Romo.

If I’m a Cowboys fan, this all should scare me right? Lots of risky additions and one major loss on offense makes my warning bells go off. Good news for Giants, Eagles, and Redskins fans.

iJan 11, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo (9) looks to throw against the Green Bay Packers in the 2014 NFC Divisional playoff football game at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Todd:

We wholeheartedly disagree on this. I think the Dallas Cowboys have had a stellar offseason with these moves. As someone who isn’t fond of the franchise, these moves as a whole tick me off because of how much talent Dallas has gained.

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Individually, each move may not make the most sense. The Greg Hardy signing was shaky and supposedly has gotten destroyed in local media. The 10-game suspension (which Hardy is appealing) doesn’t help matters. However, nationally, this transaction hasn’t really even been spoken about. It was mostly forgotten because Hardy the player and Hardy the story doesn’t have the draw of someone like Ray Rice.

If he serves 10 games and never ends up contributing to Dallas, it was a risk that missed but doesn’t leave any long-term consequences. The same goes for each of the college players the Cowboys have added.

Randy Gregory’s marijuana problem is not a problem at all. The main concern is over his mental health and his ability/desire to compete for a franchise. We still don’t know many details of this, but it’s possible he could fizzle out and never play a down for Dallas. It’s also possible he lives up to his previous top-10 draft billing.

And the same goes for La’el Collins. If the legal system catches up to him because he was more involved than it currently seems, he may never play in the NFL. If he has reached the end of that though, Dallas just added another first-round offensive lineman, but this one for far fewer millions of dollars.

So individually, each “questionable” player could fade away and not help Dallas one iota. But will all three fail? If just one lives up to his talents, weren’t all three worth the risk? Besides bad publicity, there isn’t really an on-field downside of these moves either. And as I stated, perhaps the local Dallas radio shows are bad-mouthing each one, but are they going to stop loving the Cowboys? Nationally, not much has been said against the Cowboys. If anything, people like it that they are giving Gregory and Collins chances to succeed.

So no, Cowboys fans should not be scared. Heck, even Darren McFadden may be able to run wild behind this pending offensive line. If Romo is healthy, I’m now worried that Dallas is the heavy favorite to win the NFC East.

Next: Is Knowshon Moreno the answer for the Cowboys?

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