I've received a bit more e-mails recently than I usually do, so I wanted to start knocking some of them out now. Below are two that I've received from readers:
Is there any comparison for John Beck to Tony Romo?
I'm one of those people who hate comparing players to each other because every player has different strengths and weaknesses. However, if you twist my arm, I'd say that there are some similarities between Romo and Beck. It starts with their build. Both players are 6'2. Tony weighs about 12 or so pounds more than John, but John has reportedly been asked to bulk up slightly this offseason. So they'll likely look similar in stature next season. Both also made their NFL debuts at the age of 26. A major difference, though, is that Romo already had been in the league for 2 years and had two years to get to digest the offense while Beck was obviously a rookie.
Their play is also similar, though. They can both move around the pocket well and scramble to make a play if needed and both are smart decision makers with strong, accurate arms, though I think John's release is a little quicker than Tony's. And not to use an overused cliché, but both players do seem to play the game with that kind of excitement and enthusiasm that a player like Brett Favre had. But one thing I noticed when looking back at John's college career, I think he'll be a true leader both on the field and in the locker room while I don't see the same kind of leadership in Romo.
So that's all I'll say about comparing these two, with this one caveat: when comparing the two, don't look at their numbers. After all, if Beck played in Dallas' offense with guys like Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, those 2 running backs, and that very solid offensive line, he'd put up numbers very similar to Tony.
Do you really think that with this so called heavy weight pro duo team here with Parcells and Ireland, we are really being aggressive in this free agent signings? I mean c'mon, I thought we where going to fill holes with players that would make an impact. I would have gone after LB Lance Briggs, that fills the Zach Thomas hole. Asante Samuel that fills the number 1 corner hole. Gibril Wilson that fills the Yeremiah Bell hole. The only other signings I like are Randy Starks, Justin Smiley, and Ernest Wilford. But we could have traded the second second round pick to Detriot for Shaun Rogers. I think if we would have gone down this path we would have been the winners in the free agent world. With what happened I'm really starting to think that this is just another foiled plan that isn't going to work and I'm starting to question my loyalty.
I've actually received many of these kinds of e-mails recently. It seems that everybody was hoping for a big-name signing. But why would they do that when they have so many holes to fill?
Here's all I'll say. If you didn't jump off the ship last year when it was going down, then you might as well just stick around to see what the new crew members can do. I, personally, really like what they are doing. They brought in young players who are hungry and have things to prove in this league. Bill and Jeff also replenished the special teams units. We all saw how piss poor both our blocking units and coverage teams were last year. Clearly, this new regime has a plan and they are putting this plan into action. Don't be frustrated over getting no big names. Besides, Lance Briggs isn't a fit in this defense, Asante Samuel got way too much money, and Yeremiah Bell was re-signed.
Now let's see what these two have planned for the remainder of free agency and the draft. Then, once we see this roster come together, we can all share our thoughts on the offseason moves.