Myth of the Cowboys 3rd Wide Receiver

By:  Bobby Shores
[Editor's Notes:  Not a well put together piece, information is good, but this article jumps around and has about as much continuity as the Cowboys offensive line, but that's what I get when doing this while watching film and being in a time crunch]

I am so tired of hearing about who is going to be the Dallas Cowboys 3rd wide receiver(WR) this year. All I hear when listening to the Talkin' Cowboys Podcast and The Lunch Break Podcasts are:
     "How is "x" player looking for the 3rd receiver spot?"
     "Who is the 3rd receiver going to be?"
     "Who is going to step-up and replace Laurent Robinson as our 3rd receiver?", etc.

There are a hundred variations of these questions and they dominant the airwaves. In fact, if someone knew nothing about football or the Dallas Cowboys and started learning about them by listening to the current coverage, they would most likely come to the conclusion that the 3rd WR is the most important position on a football team, and definitely the most important player on the Cowboys (if they accidentally turned on ESPN they would think Tim Tebow is the greatest player to ever live as a "news" network gave him an impromptu birthday party). Right now it seems that the Cowboys entire season hinges on who fills the 3rd WR role....

So how did this infatuation with the 3rd WR begin? Well, it began way back in 2011 when the Cowboys picked up Laurent Robinson to provide a veteran presence as the young receivers weren't ready for significant snaps and as insurance for the unproven and oft-injured starting receivers of Dez Bryant and Miles Austin. From the "3rd receiver" spot Robinson went on to have a career year with 54 catches for 858 yards and most importantly 11 touchdowns. Not only did he become a major part of the offense but he was the most consistent threat and Tony Romo's favorite red zone target.

For obvious reasons the Cowboys wanted (and tried) to resign Robinson during free agency, but when the Jacksonville Jaguars inexplicably paid him like a #1 wideout there was no way Dallas would be able to commit that much money to the position, and thus the noise started for the Cowboys to replace the 3rd wide receiver.

Debunking the Myth

Next I would like to say that while Robinson was originally the 3rd WR on the depth chart, he was basically the 1st WR in reality. Yes, Dez Bryant and Miles Austin are technically the starters, but since Austin missed most of the season with another hamstring injury and Bryant was banged up every game and basically didn't show up after halftime, Robinson became the default #1 receiver. Really you could say that him and Bryant were 1a and 1b, with the stats bearing that out as his and Bryant's stats (63-928-9) were nearly identical [Editor's Note: Miles Austin came in at 43-579-7 for the season technically making him the 3rd WR by stats.].

Since we now know that in reality Robinson was not the 3rd WR last year, lets look at the total output of all the Cowboys weapons to see where everybody ranks. Tight End Jason Witten led the team in receptions and yards (79-942) and added 5 touchdowns himself. When taken as a whole it now looks like Robinson, Bryant and Witten were essentially 1a, 1b, and 1c when it comes to aerial targets. Then if you add in DeMarco Murray's 897 rushing yards, it now looks like he was 1d.

So yes Laurent Robinson was "technically" the 3rd WR last year and due to injuries, ineffectiveness (Bryant 2nd half disappearing acts), and the rapport that he and Romo developed he became a bigger part of the offense then most 3rd WR's do, or do they? Let's go back a few years and see what the "3rd WR" typically does in this offense....

In 2010 the 3rd WR had 530 yards, 2009 he had 596 yards, 2008 he only had 278 yards, 2007 314 yards, 2006 516 yards. Basically the 3rd WR has 400-500 yards receiving and a few touchdowns, really not much production.

Another reason why the 3rd WR is less important this year is that I believe the Cowboys have a very potent backfield if Murray and Jones can remain healthy and the offensive line can play well.

In the Cowboys offense, this year, years past, and for the foreseeable future the 3rd WR is usually going to be the 5th option AT BEST and realistically the 6th or 7th. In the passing game, Romo (or whoever plays QB) is going to typically look for Bryant, Austin, Witten, Murray, and Tight End #2 before going to the 3rd WR; and in a lot of cases they will look for the other back (Felix Jones) before the 3rd WR. Yes, I know that this is all dependent on personnel, formation, defensive looks, progressions, etc. but regardless the 3rd WR is going to be one of the last looks.

With all this said, I have an article coming out soon about the state of the Cowboys wide receivers, so stay tuned!

Wanna get the jump on fantasy football? Check out Fantasy Corner guaranteed to win or your money back!

Use the money you win using our fantasy football advice and buy SleeperTees!

Follow ReclinerQB on Twitter:  @ReclinerQB

Don't Forget to Follow ReclinerQB.com's other contributors on Twitter: @amazingmattyp, @SonnyPrier, @CoreyDoiron, @mwyche2, @TCM_Revolver, @ChurchOfYoda

What Will Happen To Dez Bryant? From the Top Down

By:  Bobby Shores
Wanna get the jump on fantasy football? Check out Fantasy Corner guaranteed to win or your money back!

With the news  breaking today that Dez Bryant had been arrested for "domestic violence", my first thought was, "Now we will find out if the Cowboys have any leaders in the locker room". First let me say that I think "leadership" is WAY overblown in today's NFL, it seems to all boil down to every good team has "great leadership", while every average-to-bad team "lacks leadership", and the Cowboys are under the microscope more than most. Does anybody else remember how Eli Manning was not a leader, didn't demand accountability, etc. until the playoff run last year when it all switched to how he demands perfection and respect in the huddle, born leader like his brother, etc.

Unconfirmed Pic of NorthPark Mall Security that busted Dez

I wanna start this off with saying that I do not think Bryant is a bad guy, yes there have been a few incidents he has been involved in that made news, but were ultimately very minor in nature. I mean seriously, who cares if the guy is like 40% of America and can't manage his money, or if he is like 45% of American youth and wears his pants to low and talks back to the "rent-a-pigs" at NorthPark mall, or like 90% of America and wants to beat the hell out of Lil' Wayne. Of course this latest incident has the potential to be more serious, I do not want to make you think I am taking a "domestic violence" accusation seriously, I am.

This article is not going to be judging Bryant on what happened, with the lack of details and different stories floating around out there, let's get the truth before we tear Dez apart. Yes, Bryant is a very passionate guy, especially on the field, but nothing I have ever seen or read made me think he was either violent or even capable of violence. I have respect for any guy that can sit there calmly while another man calls his mom a prostitute, no matter what the situation is. While we are waiting on the facts of the case to make their way into our hands, let's begin the speculation on what could happen to him on the football side.

Let's start at the top of the food chain and work our way down. Commissioner Roger Goodell may decide that Bryant has put himself in enough bad situations that it's time to act and discipline him, and he doesn't even need charges to be pressed, an arrest or conviction to use the god-like powers given him as judge, jury and executioner. Since this is his first "real" issue with legal involvement, I do not expect much more than maybe a meeting or phone call from Rog letting Bryant know that he is on his radar.

Moving on down, the next level of discipline can be imposed by Jerry Jones and/or Jason Garrett, we know that Jones is kind of a softy and will probably not due anything more than a good stern talking to, but rest assured this will be brought up again when it comes time to negotiate a new contract. This incident, more than any other, can and will be used by Jones and his son to not only sign Bryant for less than he would have gotten without it, but he will also be able to write in language that protects the Cowboys, their money and their cap space if he screws up again. Above all else, Jones is a businessman and will pounce on any weakness to get what he wants.

Garrett on the other hand has spent his time as head coach building a team full of "good" guys, respected players with no baggage, great work ethics that are disciplined. The fact that he approved bringing in Bryant shows the amount of talent that he has. If this had happened during the season I could see Garrett ripping a page from his coach, Jimmy Johnson, and sitting Bryant for a series; much like Johnson did to Irvin years ago. Since this will likely be forgotten by most of us the day players report to training camp, I believe Garrett should use this as a way to not only punish Bryant, but also fix his biggest deficiency....conditioning. We all know that Bryant was in such bad shape last year that he literally disappeared during the second half of nearly every game, even when he was blowing it up during the first half. So punish him by making him run, and run, and run, and run, and run every single day after practices; it will help Bryant and the team!

What intrigues me more than anything else though, is how the guys in the locker room will react to this. There has been lots of negativity surrounding the Cowboys locker room because it lacks true leaders. The guys that you would expect to be the leaders, Jason Witten and DeMarcus Ware, tend to be "lead by example", and nobody is apparently a real "rah rah" vocal leader type, similar to Ray Lewis and Drew Brees. If the Cowboys have one, this is the time he needs to step up, get on Bryant and hold him accountable as his actions affect the entire team.

Who is this player? Is there one? Maybe it will be a group of veteran players that form a "leadership committee", much like the one that Tom Coughlin created with the Giants back in 2005. Regardless of who it is, somebody needs to take control before this gets out of hand. I still don't think that all of Dez's incidents COMBINED are as bad as the DUI issue that the NFL has......(sorry I will get off my soapbox).

Wanna get the jump on fantasy football? Check out Fantasy Corner guaranteed to win or your money back!

Use the money you win using our fantasy football advice and buy SleeperTees!

Follow ReclinerQB on Twitter:  @ReclinerQB

Don't Forget to Follow ReclinerQB.com's other contributors on Twitter: @amazingmattyp, @SonnyPrier, @CoreyDoiron, @mwyche2, @TCM_Revolver, @ChurchOfYoda

Don't Blame it on Tony Romo!

By:  Christian Hardy

After both Cowboys’ losses this season, Tony Romo was the one who took the blame. What happened to the performances by Tom Brady in week three, and Ryan Ftizpatrick (in a completely different way) in week four. It’s quite apparent that there is a huge difference in these three guys, but why is Romo the one who is criticized the most? Why is he the one who takes the blame for every Dallas Cowboys loss? Certainly it can’t be all the quarterbacks fault. Or can it?

On Romo’s first interception, Romo didn’t see Bobby Carpenter playing shallow and then drop back into coverage, on what was a terrible play action call. Disregarding the bad decision by Romo, the former Cowboy Bobby Carpenter returned the interception past nine (yes, nine) Cowboys on the way to the endzone.


On the second interception, the pocket was completely collapsing (Tyron Smith’s back was nearly bumping into Romo) and right as Romo threw the ball he was bumped by a Lions’ defender. It was another bad decision, but this one is on more on the offensive line. Even Laurent Robinson knew it wasn’t Romo’s fault as he took the blame for it after the game. For the second time in the game, an interception ended up in the endzone. This time, though, it was Chris Houston.


The third interception was even less Romo's fault than the others. On this play he is going for the big play (deep to Witten on the seam route) instead of the smart play (checking it down); but that’s what a quarterback is forced to do when he has no running game to help him out. Romo was pressured heavily again on this throw, even being hit as he threw which took a tremendous amount of power off of his throw and it fell short, just short enough for Stephen Tulloch to get his hands on it for the interception. 


With better protection from his offensive line, Romo is golden on two of those three interceptions, and with a small amount of tackling from any offensive player the points don't go up on the board. The last thing we as fans should want to do is take the imagination and creativity out of Romo's game, as that is how the Cowboys put points on the board. Even if you try to say, “Well, Romo always throws interceptions in the fourth quarter,” you would be wrong, Romo has the second best TD/INTratio in the fourth quarter since he set foot in the league as a starter.

While Romo may have contributed to the epic collapse in the second half, where did the defense disappear to? Take a look at Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford's stats for the two halves:


 -1st Half - 9 for 24 (37.5% completion percentage) 0 touchdowns & 1 interception.


 -2nd Half -12-19 (63.2% completion percentage) & 2 touchdowns. 


How ridiculous is that? When the offense and Romo need the defense the most, they allow Stafford to throw all over them like it's 2010. I mean Stafford might look like the hero here, but he has a sub-par game with a 71.9 passer rating (Romo had a passer rating of 86.4 in this game). Even in the 4^th quarter, Rob Ryan still couldn’t figure out that it is going to take more than one corner to cover Calvin Johnson (they couldn’t even do it with 12men on the field). 

What about you Cowboys fans saying that the Cowboys should get rid of Romo? I want to ask you, how many quarterbacks in the NFL are there that you would rather have than Tony Romo who has led us to the playoffs three times in four years? Last time I checked, that’s a good thing. Look, Romo isn’t perfect but he is a great quarterback, you’re just going to have to live with the fact that Tony Romo is the Dallas Cowboys right now; and the team goes as he goes.


Click it here for complete career stats breakdown  


Since 2006, no quarterback has a better passer rating than Tony Romo who has an abstract 100.0 rating in his career. He also has the third most touchdowns in the fourth quarter, as well as third most in yards. Remember, when he finally got playing time in 2006 he only played about half of the season, so those stats can be skewed a bit in terms of yardage and touchdowns, but that is still remarkable. He has also only thrown 17 interceptions in that time frame in the fourth quarter. In fact, he is a better quarterback in the fourth quarter and overtime than he is in the first three quarters. In quarters 1-3 since 2008 he has a 7.7 yards per attempt average (10^th in the league), but in the 4^th quarter and overtime he has an average of 8.6 yards per attempt (1^st in the league). And his TD-INT ratio, well, it’s impressive. Since 2008 in quarters 1-3 he averages 4.8 touchdowns for every interception (12^th), but in the 4^th quarter and overtime he averages 6.3 (2^nd). 


How impressive is that?


His interception percentage also drops from 2.6 to 2.1 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Stats aren’t everything but, they mean a lot. Romo already has 20 career games with 3 TD passes. I know you are asking, “What has Romo done is his career all time?” And boy do I have some surprises for you. For starters, Romo has the 4^th best quarterback rating of all time and the sixth best completion percentage of all time. He also has the 4^th best career yards per attempts ever, only behind three quarterbacks who all retired before the merger of 1960.

But what really stands out to me? Is it the fact that Romo has thrown more TDs than every quarterback other than Drew Brees and Peyton Manning? Nope. It’s that he is actually a really smart quarterback (explaining his score of 37 on the Wonderlic, representing all of those guys from Eastern Illinois). You see, Romo has an ESPN quarterback rating of 55.9 in his big games (includes Sunday, Monday, holiday, and playoff games), all 17 of them. What gives Romo a good passer rating and not a great QBR is the fact that he likes to let his receivers do the work for him. His receivers have the third highest yards after catch in third and fourth down situations when the Cowboys are down by eight or less, as well as the highest YAC percentage of passing yards in the same situation (ESPN Stats & Info). That is very impressive: it tells me that he knows what to do with the ball, but at the same time he knows when to find the open man.

The real question for fans of America’s Team is: Are you ever going to put faith in the franchise quarterback again, and when are you going to realize that this guy is the future, because he is the future, at least for now. Neither Head Coach Jason Garrett or Owner/GM/CEO Jerry Jones, is going to want Romo to get benched and neither should we. Seventy five percent of teams in this league would rather have Romo as their starting quarterback rather than the guy they have taking snaps for them now. But when are the media and fans going to stop putting all the blame for every loss on Romo’s back and start realizing that this is a team effort? 


That’s the question you all need to ask yourselves. Tony Romo is the pivotal point in this offense but the Dallas Cowboys do not live or die by just him, there are still 45 other guys active on game days. Is he a huge factor in every game? Sure, but that doesn’t mean you put the blame for every slight blunder on the shoulders of Romo.

Follow Christian on Twitter: @TheFFAddict and read his blog to feed your football addiction



And be sure to check out our "Fantasy Corner" for the latest and greatest fantasy sits, starts, & everything else.

Follow ReclinerQB.com's other contributors: @ReclinerQB @zatchj62 @heartsfootball @amazingmattyp @mwyche2 @sleepertees

The "X" Factor in the 2011 NFL Draft - D.J. Williams - Arkansas Tight End

Again I am writing about Arkansas players because that is what I know.  I am not giving them great marks across the board.  I am trying to be unbiased and give an honest assessment of how their abilities will translate to the NFL, and today's piece on Arkansas Tight End D.J. Williams is no exception.

As a 6'2" 245lb Tight End you wouldn't think that D.J. Williams would be as intriguing an NFL prospect as he is.  The guy's game is not perfect, he is undersized, needs to work on his blocking, will not outrun all NFL DB's like Vernon Davis, and does not make a ton of "highlight reel" grabs.  He brings with him 3 years experience in Bobby Petrino's pro style offense that deployed him all over the field.  What else does he bring?  Versatility, rough life experiences that have made him mature beyond his years, and a team first mentality that makes him a "must have" for NFL teams.  His resume is thick with awards such as:
**The John Mackey Award - Given to the best Tight End in 2010
**1st Team All SEC in 2008 & 2010
**2010 Disney Spirit Award Winner - Given to college football's most inspirational figure

D.J. Williams had a rough upbringing, his father was a drug abusing, alcoholic, physically abusive man who terrorized Wiliam's family until he was able to sneak away with his mother and sister. Williams watched numerous times as his abusive father (currently in jail) nearly killed his mother, and when they finally fled to a local Dallas area shelter, they were told it was still to dangerous and to get farther away, so to Little Rock they went.  You can read the details of the story right here, and more about how great of a person he is right here, and I suggest you do, as it is an amazing story and these guys tell it much better than I ever could.  The best thing to come out of this story is what D.J. is doing now to help other people that are in abusive relationships or anybody needing help.  He uses his fame and his story to help people through community outreach programs ranging from Big Brothers & Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Club, Children's hospital, and  attends elementary schools to mentor kids with fellow teammate Ryan Mallett.  His easy going and approachable attitude allow him to make an impact anywhere he goes.

Enough about what made him what he is today, what can he do for your team on the field?  The tight ends in the NFL today that I can compare him with are Dallas's Jason Witten and the Redskins Chris Cooley.  I know, I know, Jason Witten is a 6'6" potential Hall of Fame tight end, and Chris Cooley is a guy that deserves Pro Bowl consideration every year.  When I say that Williams game reminds me of theirs, its because he is a tight end that in the NFL will probably be used more as an H-Back; a tight end that is used in motion a lot, will line up in the backfield using his shorter stout frame to get solid leverage on D-linemen and linebackers when run blocking.  Yes, he will need to work on his blocking skills, but a guy with his team first mentality and work ethic should have no problem picking it up.  The other part of his game that reminds me of Witten and Cooley is that he works the field like a seasoned veteran, finding holes in zone coverage and sitting down in the open spots; while not incredibly athletic (neither are Witten or Cooley) he is extremely effective in the short passing/screen game where he will make a guy or two miss and turn a short gain into a 1st down.  He has great soft hands and while he will not make the acrobatic catches, he will catch almost everything thrown to him useing his body to shield defenders from the game (just like Witten).  And you want durable? Then he is your guy!

D.J. Williams, if put in the proper system will be an elite contributor at the next level, and I think that someone will trade up to grab him at the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 3rd, if he is not snatched up early to middle 2nd round.  No matter what system he is in, he will make plays, but to truly maximize his unique potential and gifts, he needs a creative offensive mind or a team that employs versatile tight ends.  Teams that come to mind for me are:  Indianapolis Colts (he would be a more versatile Dallas Clark but they don't need a TE), New England Patriots (even though they are set at TE for years to come), Houston Texans (again fairly set with Owen Daniels), Arizona Cardinals (they need a short to intermediate threat for whoever their QB of the future is), St. Louis Rams (Bradford needs more weapons, and face it not even I know who their TE's are).  I am sure there are many other teams that could use him, but these are the ones that jumped out to me.

Not only will D.J. Williams make an impact between the white lines on Sunday's for whatever team is lucky enough to draft him, he will become an instant leader in the community and locker room, and provide valuable help for children and families in need.  In 5 years, I see D.J. Williams as being labeled one of the biggest "steals" of the 2011 draft, on the field, and just as importantly for the community that drafts him.