Point/Counterpoint: Ware or Hatcher the greater need?

[Cotton]

Point: If All Leave, Ware Will Be Most Missed On D-Line
Posted 30 minutes ago

Rowan Kavner
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas – The image of DeMarcus Ware schooling Tyron Smith daily in Oxnard, Calif., is still implanted in my mind.

Not schooling like teaching, although he did that as well, just as he has throughout what will likely be a Hall of Fame career. He was schooling like dismantling, as he beat and embarrassed any offensive tackle he went up against, including at times the young and budding star who wound up going to the Pro Bowl.

Then the injuries set in. Again.

There’s no arguing the decline the stats will show in Ware, who dropped from 19.5 sacks in 2011 to 11.5 in 2012 and down to a career-low six last season. But where some players decline from a lack of talent in older age, Ware’s decline can be attributed solely to injury. He’s still got the talent.

Ware returned from his 2012 injuries to become a force in training camp in 2013. That player everyone saw is still a double-digit sack performer. It was a daily and weekly beat down during that camp for anyone he went against last season, and that carried into the early portion of the year. It’s easy to forget Ware quickly compiled four sacks in the first three weeks of the season.

The Cowboys have some tough financial decisions to make on the defensive line in the coming weeks and months regarding the futures of Ware, who’s still under contract, and pending free agents Anthony Spencer and Jason Hatcher.

It makes sense to assume Ware won’t make it through a 16-game season scot-free at 31 years old. It hasn’t happened in recent years, and it’s difficult to repair a body from injuries after two straight seasons with many to choose from. But would it make any more sense to assume Hatcher, who’s 19 days older than Ware and also suffered a stringer injury last year, will repeat his monstrous 11-sack season for the next couple years?


There’s no doubting that seeing a capable Ware make plays and return to form for another team would be much more of a dagger than seeing that happen with Spencer or Hatcher.

Now, this doesn’t mean the Cowboys should continue to pay veterans whose careers are dwindling. They absolutely should try to figure out a way to limit the contract of Ware, who’s the second-highest paid player on the team behind Tony Romo and is set to make $12.25 million in base salary and count $16 million against the cap in 2014. But they shouldn’t let him get away if he’s willing to negotiate down to a respectable number similar on the salaries of other top-flight veteran defensive ends.

He’d be missed much more than Hatcher or Spencer after totaling 117 sacks and 32 forced fumbles with the club, serving as one of the most consistent pass rushers this team’s ever seen. Given his level of production over such a long span, he’s more of a sure bet than either of the other two players, who’ve had fewer than seven sacks in all but one season of each of their careers.

The Cowboys know if Ware can stay healthy, even if that may be a big “if,” they’ll still be getting a star defensive end. That training camp sensation is one healthy offseason from returning in full force. It’s not worth letting that get away if they can pick away at that gigantic contract they brought upon themselves.

 

[Cotton]

Counterpoint: Hatcher Is a Bigger Need For 2014
Posted 40 minutes ago

David Helman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas – I’m not here to compare the stats or the legacies of DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher.

If we’re looking back at their contributions to the franchise since they joined up with the Cowboys in 2005, and 2006, it’s not even close. Ware has 90 more sacks, 371 more tackles, 98 more starts and six more Pro Bowl selections.

One guy is a Ring of Honor-type guy, the other isn’t.

If we’re just talking about 2014, though – a season in which the Cowboys might retain either Hatcher or Ware but almost certainly not both? I’m starting to think Jason Hatcher might be the more viable player to keep for the future.

For starters, Hatcher is likely the more affordable of the two players. The endless speculation about Ware’s future, which was aided by owner/general manager Jerry Jones’ speculation at the NFL Scouting Combine last week, is due largely to the fact that he’s slated to cost the Cowboys $16 million this year.

Even if Ware is agreeable to the oft-discussed idea of a pay cut, the drop in pay probably wouldn’t drop him too far down the team’s list of highest-earning players.

The free agency market is going to determine Hatcher’s worth, but the price for a 32-year-old defensive tackle with one year of top-notch play on his resume might not be back-breaking.

Furthermore, we know what Hatcher can do in the 4-3 system defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli will be looking to improve this year. Hatcher was a serviceable lineman in the old 3-4 defense – he started 27 total games and accumulated 16 sacks in seven seasons.

In one year as a 4-3 three-technique tackle, he started 15 games and notched 11 sacks. Obviously, that’s unexpected production for almost any defensive tackle. But we know now that Hatcher is capable of much better production at this position, and with this defensive coordinator.



Ware has battled the full spectrum of injuries in the past two seasons, as both a 3-4 linebacker and a down 4-3 defensive end. In his first season with Marinelli, his six sacks were less than half of his career average and his 28 total tackles was the lowest total of his career.

The different nature of the positions may make things harder on Ware as he ages. He battled similar injury issues in 2012, in the 3-4 scheme, and still posted a respectable 11 sacks.

Finally, I think the need might be more immediate. The Dallas defense was bad across the board last year. The pass rush was bad, which in turn made the secondary vulnerable. The rushing defense was bad, partly thanks to the loss of Sean Lee.

I think Hatcher makes a bigger impact in both areas. He’s clearly shown an aptitude for blowing up the pocket and rushing the passer. In the interior of the defensive line, he’s also able to help clog up the running lanes and protect the Cowboys’ linebackers from a battering.

On top of that, if the Cowboys bring back their Pro Bowl three-technique, it lessens the odds they’ll spend their No. 16 on another defensive tackle – like Aaron Donald or Timmy Jernigan, for instance. That pick, and others, could then be spent improving the outside pass rush at a much cheaper cost.

It’s not an easy conclusion to come to, as Ware is one of the all-time great players in franchise history, but I think his linemate might mean more to the Cowboys’ odds of winning in 2014.

 

[Clay_Allison]

Shouldn't try to keep either.

 

[Genghis Khan]

ware.

 

[UncleMilti]

If we had a GM that actually knew talent, Ware and Hatcher could probably be replaced in this draft, with added security in a FA pickup for a decent cost.

Instead, I look for Ware to be restructured or something stupid which impacts the cap even worse down the road when Ware is really washed up or no longer playing, no decent FA signings, and head scratching draft pics.

Its just the way PT Barnum runs the carnival.

 

[jsmith6919]

I think Ware ends up coming back at a reduced salary, but I bet it's a lot higher than any of us want to be.

 

[boozeman]

If I am picking one...Ware.

Hatcher's one year of productivity can be replaced in the draft.