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Five Wonders: Homefield advantage?
November, 25, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have a quick turnaround with the Philadelphia Eagles visiting AT&T Stadium on Thursday, but it has no effect on Five Wonders.
We're here every Tuesday during the season.
Away we go:
" Not to get carried away, but I wonder if the Cowboys can end up with home-field advantage. Let's start with the premise that they have to sweep the Eagles to get that done. They trail the Arizona Cardinals by a game but lose the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Cardinals end the year with Seattle and San Francisco. The Green Bay Packers might be the best team in the NFC right now, but they play New England this week and close the year against Detroit at home. In between is a pretty soft schedule. The Cowboys have the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Seahawks but lose it against the Niners. The Seahawks have two games versus San Francisco, play at Philadelphia and at Arizona. The Niners have San Diego as their toughest non-division game left. The possibility is there but the Cowboys almost have to win out to get it done. Maybe I should've wondered about a first-round bye instead.
" I wonder if a couple of Cowboys can use this late-season run to make a Pro Bowl bid. The Cowboys played on national television on Sunday, will play the only game on Thursday afternoon and then have back-to-back night games against the Chicago Bears and Eagles. The fan voting ends on Dec. 15. The players and coaches vote on Dec. 19. The teams are announced on Dec. 23. So far I would say DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin have good chances of making the all-star game. I wonder if guys like Rolando McClain and/or Dwayne Harris could make a push. For all the grief fans sometimes receive for their votes, players don't pay much attention. If McClain and Harris can have monster games with everybody watching, that could help their candidacy.
" I wonder if the Cowboys would look to sign left guard Ronald Leary to a contract extension. There has been plenty of discussion about the futures of Bryant, Murray and a few others, who will be unrestricted free agents, but little about Leary, who will be an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason. The Cowboys don't have to rush Leary because they own his rights at least through 2015, but they have given a multi-year deal to an exclusive rights free agent before. In 2012, they gave tackle Jermey Parnell a three-year deal that included a $1 million signing bonus. The Cowboys might want to stagger some of the deals they will have in the future along their line with Travis Frederick (2016) and Zack Martin (2017). Leary, whose knee condition has not cost him a game yet, is a solid starter and a building block. Maybe the Cowboys can work something out.
" I wonder how different the Cowboys' defensive line will look in 2015. Of the 10 linemen on the 53-man roster, four could be unrestricted free agents after the season: Henry Melton, Anthony Spencer, Nick Hayden and George Selvie. The Cowboys have acknowledged they're rebuilding the defensive line the way they have the offensive line. They need numbers and it will take time so maybe a couple of them can be stop-gap players as they rebuild on the fly. They will have Ben Gardner, a seventh-rounder in 2014, coming off shoulder surgery. They could see Amobi Okoye, who is spending the year on the non-football illness list, develop. Jack Crawford and Jeremy Mincey are signed through 2015, so this is a process that will take more than a few years.
" I wonder if the Cowboys will have a cornerback lead the defense outright in interceptions. Brandon Carr did it in 2012 with three, but the last time a corner led the team in picks outright was Mike Jenkins in 2009 when he had five. Terence Newman tied safety Gerald Sensabaugh for the lead in 2010. Newman tied linebacker Sean Lee for the lead in 2011. The Cowboys' current interception leaders are linebackers Rolando McClain and Bruce Carter and safety Barry Church with two. Carr is still looking for his first pick. Orlando Scandrick has one, as do Tyler Patmon, who is out for another week or two with a knee injury, and Morris Claiborne, who is out for the season.
November, 25, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys have a quick turnaround with the Philadelphia Eagles visiting AT&T Stadium on Thursday, but it has no effect on Five Wonders.
We're here every Tuesday during the season.
Away we go:
" Not to get carried away, but I wonder if the Cowboys can end up with home-field advantage. Let's start with the premise that they have to sweep the Eagles to get that done. They trail the Arizona Cardinals by a game but lose the head-to-head tiebreaker. The Cardinals end the year with Seattle and San Francisco. The Green Bay Packers might be the best team in the NFC right now, but they play New England this week and close the year against Detroit at home. In between is a pretty soft schedule. The Cowboys have the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Seahawks but lose it against the Niners. The Seahawks have two games versus San Francisco, play at Philadelphia and at Arizona. The Niners have San Diego as their toughest non-division game left. The possibility is there but the Cowboys almost have to win out to get it done. Maybe I should've wondered about a first-round bye instead.
" I wonder if a couple of Cowboys can use this late-season run to make a Pro Bowl bid. The Cowboys played on national television on Sunday, will play the only game on Thursday afternoon and then have back-to-back night games against the Chicago Bears and Eagles. The fan voting ends on Dec. 15. The players and coaches vote on Dec. 19. The teams are announced on Dec. 23. So far I would say DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant, Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin have good chances of making the all-star game. I wonder if guys like Rolando McClain and/or Dwayne Harris could make a push. For all the grief fans sometimes receive for their votes, players don't pay much attention. If McClain and Harris can have monster games with everybody watching, that could help their candidacy.
" I wonder if the Cowboys would look to sign left guard Ronald Leary to a contract extension. There has been plenty of discussion about the futures of Bryant, Murray and a few others, who will be unrestricted free agents, but little about Leary, who will be an exclusive rights free agent in the offseason. The Cowboys don't have to rush Leary because they own his rights at least through 2015, but they have given a multi-year deal to an exclusive rights free agent before. In 2012, they gave tackle Jermey Parnell a three-year deal that included a $1 million signing bonus. The Cowboys might want to stagger some of the deals they will have in the future along their line with Travis Frederick (2016) and Zack Martin (2017). Leary, whose knee condition has not cost him a game yet, is a solid starter and a building block. Maybe the Cowboys can work something out.
" I wonder how different the Cowboys' defensive line will look in 2015. Of the 10 linemen on the 53-man roster, four could be unrestricted free agents after the season: Henry Melton, Anthony Spencer, Nick Hayden and George Selvie. The Cowboys have acknowledged they're rebuilding the defensive line the way they have the offensive line. They need numbers and it will take time so maybe a couple of them can be stop-gap players as they rebuild on the fly. They will have Ben Gardner, a seventh-rounder in 2014, coming off shoulder surgery. They could see Amobi Okoye, who is spending the year on the non-football illness list, develop. Jack Crawford and Jeremy Mincey are signed through 2015, so this is a process that will take more than a few years.
" I wonder if the Cowboys will have a cornerback lead the defense outright in interceptions. Brandon Carr did it in 2012 with three, but the last time a corner led the team in picks outright was Mike Jenkins in 2009 when he had five. Terence Newman tied safety Gerald Sensabaugh for the lead in 2010. Newman tied linebacker Sean Lee for the lead in 2011. The Cowboys' current interception leaders are linebackers Rolando McClain and Bruce Carter and safety Barry Church with two. Carr is still looking for his first pick. Orlando Scandrick has one, as do Tyler Patmon, who is out for another week or two with a knee injury, and Morris Claiborne, who is out for the season.