SPORTSDAY

Posted by Chris/Denton @ 4:49 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Good for Ratliff, he's played his butt off this year and I for one thought the defense would suffer greatly when Ferguson went down in week one.

Who should worry MORE about their roster spot, Fergy or Spears? I wouldn't be shocked to see Ratliff as the starting DE next season.

Posted by Saint Jimmy @ 4:54 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Chris, that's the beauty of this deal. Ratliff can start at DE or NT so we won't have to over-extend ourselves in free agency or the draft for someone to replace Spears or Ferguson.

Posted by J V Donnant @ 5:00 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Good for Jay and for Jerry! Jay has surprised everyone except himself with his performance and unlike so may just-out-of-college athletes he's actually EARNED his big payday!

Way to go, Jerry, for rewarding performance and not mere potential!

Posted by Eddie @ 5:01 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

I think Ratliff should be starting in the place of Marcus "Bust" Spears. We will definitely get more QB sacks and pressure. Jay is a natural DE, especially with Canty on the other side. We will have Fergusion and Tank back next year to handle the nose guard duties. We need to Trade Spears for some picks because we have Hatcher and Bowen for legimate backups.

Posted by J V Donnant @ 5:01 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Good for Jay and for Jerry! Jay has surprised everyone except himself with his performance and unlike so may just-out-of-college athletes he's actually EARNED his big payday!

Way to go, Jerry, for rewarding performance and not mere potential!

Posted by Scott in SA @ 5:05 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

I'll post my first comment here. Dip$hit Jimmy, has Rat proved himself as a DE as well in this D or are you just speculating? Glad we resigned him and will be glad to get rid of Spears if we get value for him. The signing bonus with other glaring weaknesses is my beef with this. Could have got this 7th rounder for way less. This assures that any injury to T-New or Henry next year kills our secondary.

Well, you can kiss some of this year's free agents goodbye. We just gave RATLIFF an 8 million dollar signing bonus and a 5 year 20 million dollar contract. So, we can also kiss any big off-season pick-ups off as well...Good job Jerry, continue to reward mediocre players with massive contracts (i.e. Bradie James). Our defensive middle has been soft all year, and Ratliff has done well considering Ferg's absence...but GOOD GOD!! JAY RATLIFF?? Just stupid, Rat is still just a backup playing over his head. This is garbage.

Posted by Mooreman @ 5:10 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Major props to Jerry Jones. NT is often an afterthought for fans because they don't get the run DE and LBS get, but Ratliffs play has been huge this year. I felt we would get even better play from Tank, but the truth is Ratliff is easily outplaying him. You can never have enough D linemen but I'm pretty sure Spears has 6 games left as a Cowboy

Posted by Saint Jimmy @ 5:13 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Scott, you really need to get over this 7th round talk. Just because you're a late round pick doesn't mean you aren't worth big bucks (Tom Brady ring a bell retard?).

And I stick to the retard name because...uhh HELLLOOOOOOOO!!! Have you forgotten that Henry and T-New have been injured all year long and our secondary hasn't been killed. And why do you continue to say 8 million and 5 year 20 million? You f'ing r-tard it breaks down like this...5 year 20 million with 8 million gauranteed. No big freakin deal.

Posted by Daivd Scartelli @ 5:27 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Eddie nailed it! I agree with his comments 100!

Posted by Chris/Denton @ 5:29 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Scott in SA, please never move the D/FW area. We have enough morons here already. Do you realize that Ratliff already has more sacks that Fergy did last year and MANY more QB pressures with 3 games still to go? What round was Romo drafted in? Oh wait, he wasn't even drafted!

Pardon my sarcasm but these "jump on the bandwagon when the Cowboys are doing well" people that have no clue of what they are talking about chaps my a$$.

Posted by Teddy @ 5:33 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Spears will not lose his roster spot. He was a first round draft pick. Cowboys have already committed plenty of money to him. He has started nearly every game since he was drafted in 2005. His performance is not as good as a first rounder. But since money has already been committed to him and his base salary is not big next year, I do not see he will lose his roster spot next year.

But after Spears contract is over, he may not be re-signed if he does not step up next year. Both Ratliff and Hatcher can replace him if Candy is re-resigned.

I think Fergy will likely be done. He will be 34 or 35. He may not be the same player after such an injury and his base salary will be 4 or 5 million next year.

Posted by Scott in SA @ 5:42 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Chris, Saint Dumb$hit,

My whole point in bringing up the draft position thing was to say that we didn't HAVE to pay Rat that much right now. If our NT in a 3-4 has a lot of sacks it either means he is a stud (ala Marcus Stroud) or that teams we play are passing and we are now playing a one gap versus a two gap 3-4 like last year.

Chris, I grew up in Dallas and have been a Boys fan since I was a toddler. An overachiever like Romo or Brady at QB is different than signing a NT with that big of a signing bonus. They could have spread this out and gone to get what they really need, which is a true lock down corner.

Did we really need to give Ratliff 8 million up front? I don't think so.

Posted by Chris/Denton @ 5:51 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Scott, Archer posted the numbers and it shows Ratliff will cost the Cowboys $1.8 mill next year and based on the way he's played he could have demanded MUCH more if the Cowboys had let him hit F/A. Fergy makes like $4 mil a year and Ratliff can play DE which is his normal position.

Did you think the Cowboys were going to sign some big F/A CB with 3 games to go in the season? No, there's none out there available and they will more than likely use one of those 1st round picks in the draft to upgrade that position.

Calm down, this is a GOOD thing.

Posted by Tod @ 5:51 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Answer to the overpaid talk - you need to check out the list of cap room teams have next year (Peter King references it a lot). EVERY team (except the Redskins) has tons of cap room. Players who aren't resigned now are going to have teams throwing money at them - simply because so many teams will have money to spend. Signing other teams' free agents will be hard, it's best to wrap up the guys you like now. Smart move by the Cowboys.

Posted by Scott in SA @ 6:02 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Chris/Denton,

I didn't mean the Boys need to pick up a stud corner this season. That's impossible. I meant we need to pick one up for next year and move Henry to nickle. We do that and stay injury free for the most part and we have a top 3 D, IMO. We need to address CB in the draft, yes, but we also need to get a "Deion" like signing as we did in 1994 to solidify the secondary. The NFL is so pass happy now that it's the most important need we have right now.

Posted by Darius @ 6:09 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Ratliff has proven that he is a real player. Last year he rotated at end and played tackle on the nickel. This year he has held up as the starting NT and we are still a top 10 team on D and very strong against the run. If we keep Fergie and Tank next year, we can have an awsome DL rotation with Canty, Fergie, Ratliff, Spears, Tank, Hatcher, and Bowen (you can NEVER have enough good linemen). And our cap situation is strong. So quit the complaining.

Posted by Aaron Layman @ 8:48 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Good move. Surprised by the 8 million signing bonus though. Still, I prefer the Cowboys to draft, develop, and resign. As a fan, I enjoy seeing the same players every year, continuity is a good thing. Now they need to get Crayton, Hamlin and Adams resigned, and they need to get something done with Barber. Another good draft and that should solidify the Cowboys as a perennial contender.

Posted by kameleon_o @ 11:48 PM Fri, Dec 14, 2007

Do some of you guys not pay attention to what other DT/NT's are making in this league?? Ratliff's not getting paid like a "pro-bowl" caliber NT. He's getting paid like a "starting" caliber NT. Not a pressure player?? What the heck do you think a NT is there for?? To get double digit sacks of the QB?? How many sacks does Jamal Williams have?? Oh yeah, none!! Man, some of you guys would bi*** about winning the lottery. We got a young, starting quality NT/DT/DE for an average type salary, a guy who has probably been our best D-lineman this year, even better than Canty, and you guys ain't happy?? Why am I not surprised??

Posted by Davo @ 10:03 PM Sat, Dec 15, 2007

i think he'll take over for spears as the DE next season...he's been a beast in the midlle, and i think he has the ability to move outside again...