Archer: Henry Melton would trade sacks for wins

Henry Melton would trade sacks for wins
November, 3, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Henry Melton would like to make a trade.

“It’s feeling better coming in here with no sacks and a win rather than coming in here with sacks and a big L on the sheet,” the Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle said after Sunday’s 28-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Melton said his sacks of Carson Palmer Sunday were because of his teammates' effort.

“I feel bad for a lot of the guys who were actually around him and can’t get him down,” Melton said. “I sneak in there and get a couple.”

Melton had 1.5 sacks in the loss, upping his team-leading total to five on the season. It was his second straight multi-sack game with the Cowboys. He had two sacks in last week’s loss to the Washington Redskins.

“It’s coming a little bit more naturally,” Melton said of his play. “I’m getting kind of in a groove.”

But he said he is still not 100 percent from anterior cruciate ligament surgery that limited him to three games last year. He spent part of Sunday’s game with a heating pad on his right leg as he has battled groin and hamstring injuries.

The Cowboys will need him, especially if they will be without Tyrone Crawford for a long stretch. Crawford suffered a right knee injury late in the loss.

“I’m feeling all right,” Melton said. “It’s coming along. Still got a long way to go, but hopefully the momentum just continues to build.”

Well, the good news is that Melton is starting to look like the guy he was before he got hurt, so it's one less area we'll have to address in the offseason.

Still, a DE is a must as is acquiring quality depth for the line as well.

I'd also put safety high on our list of needs because it's about time we get a real difference-maker back there instead of putting out JAG after JAG back there.

Texas Ace said:

Well, the good news is that Melton is starting to look like the guy he was before he got hurt, so it's one less area we'll have to address in the offseason.

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If we resign him. I don't think we pick up his option and I'm sure there will be other teams in play.

Did Demarcus Lawrence even play on Sunday? He made 0 impact that I saw.

vince said:

Did Demarcus Lawrence even play on Sunday? He made 0 impact that I saw.

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For the amount of plays he was on the field, he got quite a bit of pressure and was solid against the run.

vince said:

Did Demarcus Lawrence even play on Sunday? He made 0 impact that I saw.

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Yes he played and had a couple of bright moments on the pass rush. He needs more experience and game time.

Deuce said:

For the amount of plays he was on the field, he got quite a bit of pressure and was solid against the run.

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L.T. Fan said:

Yes he played and had a couple infringements on the pass rush. He needs more experience and game time.

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I guess I expected too much. He just didn't stand out to me as I thought he should have.

vince said:

I guess I expected too much. He just didn't stand out to me as I thought he should have.

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It's going to take some time as he adjusts to the speed of the game at this level. He seemed a little slow off the ball, but I think that will get better the more playing time he gets.

vince said:

Did Demarcus Lawrence even play on Sunday? He made 0 impact that I saw.

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I loved what I saw of him. He was stiff against the run and got some pressure on the QB...not sure how you missed that.

Carp said:

I loved what I saw of him. He was stiff against the run and got some pressure on the QB...not sure how you missed that.

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Yeah, he definitely got some good penetration, and was disciplined in his gap assignments.

I'm pretty sure it was his pressure off the edge that maybe Palmer step up in the pocket and right into Melton's second sack.

Carp said:

I loved what I saw of him. He was stiff against the run and got some pressure on the QB...not sure how you missed that.

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Maybe he didn't play enough. I did however noticed him being a little slow off the ball as mentioned by Iamtdg.

I like the attitude and I think you have to pick up the option. These guys don't grow on trees.

Rev said:

I like the attitude and I think you have to pick up the option. These guys don't grow on trees.

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Agreed.

Rev said:

I like the attitude and I think you have to pick up the option. These guys don't grow on trees.

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I don't know that we can afford it. It's a big number and Dez, Murray and McClain will be standing in line for their deals.

Deuce said:

I don't know that we can afford it. It's a big number and Dez, Murray and McClain will be standing in line for their deals.

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We can't pay both Murray and Dez. Pay one, franchise the other.

As for McClain, even with the surpsingly good season, I wouldn't give him more than 4 mill a year at most.

Texas Ace said:

We can't pay both Murray and Dez. Pay one, franchise the other.

As for McClain, even with the surpsingly good season, I wouldn't give him more than 4 mill a year at most.

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Yes, but can we franchise one and still give Melton $9M?

Franchise Murray, let Dez go, pay Melton and McClain.

Use saved money from Dez to fill more holes on DL.

Make DL as good as OL. Win.

Deuce said:

Yes, but can we franchise one and still give Melton $9M?

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Restructure the deal then.

No one is gonna pay Melton 9 mill next year, so restructure it to a 3 or 4 year deal with a decent signing bonus and lower the cap number for next year.

Deuce said:

I don't know that we can afford it. It's a big number and Dez, Murray and McClain will be standing in line for their deals.

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It's not a big number it's 9 mil guaranteed next season but the cap hit gets prorated over the 3 years of the contract. It means his cap hit next year would be like 3 mil.