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Bob Sturm: Seven games left … here’s your upcoming Cowboys wins and losses
Special contributor Bob Sturm answered questions in a chat Wednesday. Here are some highlights.
Question: Out of the guys the Cowboys lost last year, who would be best to have back? Ware? Hatcher? Jay Ratliff?
Bob Sturm: DeMarcus Ware. It is not even close. I think Ratliff is pretty average these days. The Cowboys rode him hard and he is only good some of the time anymore. Hatcher is excellent, but I am not sure Crawford hasn’t been better down by down. But, Ware? Ware is a passing down edge threat every time and while he is not what he once was, he would still be the best rusher this team has in 2014.
Question: Curious given our recent third down struggles on defense (good job detailing btw) what has happened to that “sit on the sticks” 3rd and long defense we were using early in the season where we rushed minimally and sat everybody at the marker. Seemed like it worked really well early on, but has been retired now. Is that accurate? Any idea why?
Bob Sturm: I only remember them using that against Houston, so there is some level of matchup considerations we should look at to say that it made sense there but not every week. I am not positive what that was, but we can surmise that they did not think Ryan Fitzpatrick had an arm that maybe Palmer or Brees do have. I will ask around.
Question: where do you see the cowboys finishing this season?
Bob Sturm: I think 10-6 if I had to guess. Win versus Jacksonville, then 3-3 down the stretch with wins H Philly, A Wash, and A either Chicago or NYG. Loss at Phil, loss H Indy. 10-6. Good enough? It will be tight.
Question: Do you see Jerry trading for Manziel? Colt McCoy? Others?
Bob Sturm: I highly doubt that Manziel is going to be dealt and I highly doubt any team in their right mind would pay for Colt McCoy. He is waiver wire caliber in the NFL it seems.
Question: Hitchens, Durante, McClain, Lee. Is Carter not long for the Cowboy world?
Bob Sturm: That seems likely that Carter will either be back at a low price or will play elsewhere. This is barring a major uptick in the last 7 games. He is clearly not in the big picture plans at the moment and it has been this way since mid-2013.
Question: If Romo plays how well do you think he will perform?
Bob Sturm: If he plays – he will, I assume – I have to think they will be very careful with the game plan to try to function and win without asking too much of him. I could be wrong, but it will be run, run, and quick passes. They can’t ask him to stand tall for 30-40 passes and 8-10 hits. He can’t do that this week.
Special contributor Bob Sturm answered questions in a chat Wednesday. Here are some highlights.
Question: Out of the guys the Cowboys lost last year, who would be best to have back? Ware? Hatcher? Jay Ratliff?
Bob Sturm: DeMarcus Ware. It is not even close. I think Ratliff is pretty average these days. The Cowboys rode him hard and he is only good some of the time anymore. Hatcher is excellent, but I am not sure Crawford hasn’t been better down by down. But, Ware? Ware is a passing down edge threat every time and while he is not what he once was, he would still be the best rusher this team has in 2014.
Question: Curious given our recent third down struggles on defense (good job detailing btw) what has happened to that “sit on the sticks” 3rd and long defense we were using early in the season where we rushed minimally and sat everybody at the marker. Seemed like it worked really well early on, but has been retired now. Is that accurate? Any idea why?
Bob Sturm: I only remember them using that against Houston, so there is some level of matchup considerations we should look at to say that it made sense there but not every week. I am not positive what that was, but we can surmise that they did not think Ryan Fitzpatrick had an arm that maybe Palmer or Brees do have. I will ask around.
Question: where do you see the cowboys finishing this season?
Bob Sturm: I think 10-6 if I had to guess. Win versus Jacksonville, then 3-3 down the stretch with wins H Philly, A Wash, and A either Chicago or NYG. Loss at Phil, loss H Indy. 10-6. Good enough? It will be tight.
Question: Do you see Jerry trading for Manziel? Colt McCoy? Others?
Bob Sturm: I highly doubt that Manziel is going to be dealt and I highly doubt any team in their right mind would pay for Colt McCoy. He is waiver wire caliber in the NFL it seems.
Question: Hitchens, Durante, McClain, Lee. Is Carter not long for the Cowboy world?
Bob Sturm: That seems likely that Carter will either be back at a low price or will play elsewhere. This is barring a major uptick in the last 7 games. He is clearly not in the big picture plans at the moment and it has been this way since mid-2013.
Question: If Romo plays how well do you think he will perform?
Bob Sturm: If he plays – he will, I assume – I have to think they will be very careful with the game plan to try to function and win without asking too much of him. I could be wrong, but it will be run, run, and quick passes. They can’t ask him to stand tall for 30-40 passes and 8-10 hits. He can’t do that this week.