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IRVING, Texas - Sensing some restlessness out there.
Like, when are the Cowboys going to do something - anything?
Good gosh, it's free agency, isn't it? Hasn't the trading period opened? Eight days have passed and not a peep out of the Dallas Cowboys, not a thing.
Still the same ol' Dallas Cowboys from 2009, yep, the same ones to finish 11-5, win their second NFC East title in three years, tag the Saints with their first loss in the opening 14 games, and in New Orleans at that, and win their first playoff game in 13 years.
Same Cowboys to set the team's single-season total yardage record at 6,390, most since 1979, and finish second in total offense to only the Super Bowl champion Saints, along with resetting the single-season passing yards record for the second time in three seasons (4,483 yards), both times eclipsing the previous record set in 1983.
Same team to finish ninth in total defense, limiting opponents to all of 250 points, the fewest allowed since giving up an identical 250 points in 1996 - 14 seasons ago.
Maybe that's a good thing then.
Here is another thought: The Cowboys haven't lost a player, either. Not a one, mostly because Cowboys owner Jerry Jones already had locked up his premium players to long-term deals, the last and most important one going to DeMarcus Ware, and partly because this uncapped season means all 11 of their tendered restricted free agents were restricted instead of being unrestricted if this were a normally capped season.
So relax. And yeah, I know, everyone wants to play with someone else's money in free agency and the trade market since you never have to bear the consequences. Like, come on, be honest. How many of you would like to admit that back in mid-season of 2008 you were cheering the Cowboys trade for Roy Williams, just rubbing your grubby hands together in glee to have T.O. on one side and Roy on the other?
There are a couple of other things working here that need to be pointed out. First, this unrestricted free-agent pool is filled with has-beens and those with increasing age. Saw something where as of Friday morning there were 127 unrestricted free agents out there at least 30 years old. Also found someone's list of the top 25 unrestricted free agents from last week. Of the top 25, 22 would be at least 30 years old this coming season - seven at least 35 and 11 at least 34. Of the top 10, nine were 30 years old, and the average age of the top 10 was 33.6.
The Cowboys did such a good job last year of attempting to increase talent while at the same time decreasing the average age on the roster, why would they want to start signing a bunch of these Thirtysomethings now? Especially after seeing what might happen if you give some young guys a chance to play, with Miles Austin, Mike Jenkins, Anthony Spencer, Bobby Carpenter, Alan Ball, Kevin Ogletree and Doug Free coming immediately to mind.
Plus, if you invest in these Thirtysomethings then all you do is retard the potential progress of those like Jason Williams, Brandon Williams, Robert Brewster, Marcus Dixon and maybe Travis Bright, Jesse Holley, Manny Johnson and Stephen Hodge if his knee ever comes around.
Next, regardless if you want to admit it or not, and I see Jones did this week, the Cowboys have a self-imposed salary cap, something known as a budget, just like you and me at home. Except theirs likely has more zeros on the bottom line before reaching the decimal point than ours. So do a lot of other teams, and as I pointed out last week, you watch, because while there is no maximum limit you can spend in an uncapped year, there also is no minimum you are required to spend, meaning a whole lot of teams will come in this year under last year's $109 million minimum.
I mean, I know we all think Jones has a bottomless pit of money to spend on player salaries, and sometimes it must seem that way, but it just ain't so.
And if that is so, what happens if teams start signing some of these 11 restricted free agents to offer sheets? Don't you want to have the money available to match? And from the looks of how salaries in free agency are being structured, you had better have now-money since teams are giving these guys less signing bonus that can be prorated over the life of the contract or guaranteed roster bonuses to be paid down the road and far more immediate roster bonuses to be paid in 2010.
Certainly, the Cowboys aren't going to let Austin walk. No way. Same with Gerald Sensabaugh, especially since the safety position is so iffy anyway. They likely want to keep at least - at least - two of their three restricted defensive ends (Marcus Spears, Jason Hatcher, Stephen Brown), if not all three. Unless, of course, someone wants to give them a first for Spears coming off his best two seasons of his five-year career. That all could cost money.
Although, parlaying the likes of Hatcher, Bowen, Sam Hurd and Cory Procter into possible seconds might seem pretty reasonable, but signing those reciprocal second-round draft choices this summer will cost a pretty penny, too.
So I'm just sayin' . . .
Plus, if you look at the Cowboys history of signing unrestricted free agents, especially the past 10 years, they haven't been all that active. The Cowboys did not sign an unrestricted soul in 2001, 2004 and 2008, and two other years (2007 and 2009) no more than three.
Also, over the past 10 years they have signed a total of 29 unrestricted free agents. Want to know how many unqualified hits they've had? Try six, Ryan McNeil, La'Roi Glover, Jeff Robinson, Anthony Henry, Kyle Kosier and Leonard Davis, with the jury still out on the past three, Sensabaugh, Keith Brooking and Igor Olshansky, although the first-year returns on all three were quite high. Some were just OK, but not necessarily worth the money spent, guys such as Kevin Hardy, Richie Anderson, Dan Campbell, Jason Ferguson and Ken Hamlin.
See, just don't get itchy, and neither should the Cowboys. Otherwise you end up with the likes of some of the decade's biggest flops, like Mike Vanderjagt, Jason Fabini, Anthony Thomas, Rocky Boiman, Ryan Hannam, Donald Mitchell, Ryan Young, Bryant Westbrook and Paul Justin. Yeesh! Although the good thing about all that mess, to be fair, is only Vanderjagt got any amount of money.
Plus, the last thing the Cowboys need to do is mess up a good thing.
Right, it was a good thing in 2009, wasn't it? Just not good enough, and because of that the Cowboys, and you, too, should be cautious judging too harshly on needs following the 34-3 loss at Minnesota. One game, albeit one bad game.
Plus remember, this is free agency, and only eight days have passed, not some First Monday.
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Mickey Spagnola - 
