position where he has to learn to catch it.)
Not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but maybe next year the Cowboys will look to the draft or free agency for some receiver help. Whether Austin cools off or continues his Jerry Rice impersonation, he's shown that he'll be in the mix. And with Roy Williams' contract situation, and since he's only 27, he'll be around for a while, too. But after that, who knows what will happen at the receiver position, especially with the pending CBA situation, which could result in an uncapped 2010 season.
I mention all of that to say the Cowboys had to let these young guys show themselves this year.
They knew guys like Marvin Harrison were out there, and he still is. And guys like Torry Holt, Matt Jones and Amani Toomer. They could've gotten those players. But it wouldn't have allowed them to see what they're seeing right now.
For Austin, it's paid off. And with that, he'll probably get paid off pretty nice, himself.
But the best part of what the Cowboys have done with these young guys is that they've picked their spots.
You can't just go young across the board. They're not playing Doug Free over Flozell Adams because he's nine years younger.
They didn't go with Bobby Carpenter inside, although he's eight years younger than Keith Brooking.
At backup quarterback, the Cowboys didn't just put Stephen McGee out there to back up and learn from Tony Romo. Instead, they've got a 37-year old veteran in Jon Kitna that is ready to play when called upon.
So there is a science to it. And it looks like it's usually a hit-or-miss deal.
Halfway through the season, it looks like the Cowboys have done way more hitting so far.
