Post by prossman on Mar 19, 2009 6:31:51 GMT -7
DC.COM: Eatman: Maybe Galloway Trade wasn't So Bad
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9 Years Later
Eatman: Maybe Galloway Trade wasn't So Bad
Nick Eatman
March 18, 2009 5:21 PM
IRVING, Texas - Over the last two decades, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hasn't received too much criticism, especially in the last 10 years.
Now, Cowboys general manager Jerry Jones . . . that's a different story. And that doesn't seem like it will change at all, especially as long as the team's playoff-win drought is alive.
Many of his personnel decisions have been questioned. Scratch that, just about all of his decisions have been questioned and scrutinized. However, that's the nature of this business and no one seems to understand it more than Jones himself.
Just like everything we do in life, some decisions we make turn out golden. Others . . . not so much.
For Jerry Jones, one move that has followed him over the years was his decision to trade two first-round picks to Seattle, in exchange for wide receiver Joey Galloway.
Two No. 1's? That was steep back in 2000. It's downright unheard of now. Part of the reason you won't see a team fork over two No. 1's for one player is because of the Cowboys-Seahawks trade some nine years ago.
Like it is today, the standard for signing a player who was given the franchise tag is two first-round picks. But it's always been negotiable, even back in 2000. Look at the Patriots, who gave the franchise tag to quarterback Matt Cassel this off-season. They ended up getting a high second-round pick from the Chiefs. That's right, a starting quarterback with a franchise tag that will warrant a contract in the neighborhood of $14 million is worth just a second?
And now the Patriots are looking to shop that same pick, 34th overall - to Carolina for one Julius Peppers, another franchise tagged player from the Panthers?
So much for two No. 1 picks. Teams these days aren't even giving up one.
However, that's how desperate the Cowboys were to find another star receiver after Michael Irvin suffered the neck injury in 1999 and had decided to retire.
Jerry and the Cowboys needed a splash. Galloway wasn't happy in Seattle, where he sat out the first 10 games of the 1999 season in a holdout. So he went for it.
Two No. 1 picks to Seattle for Galloway.
At the time, the move was highly questioned. After the Cowboys went 5-11 three straight years, Galloway never made the Pro Bowl and scored just 12 touchdowns in four years, while Seattle drafted both Koren Robinson and Shaun Alexander with those two picks, it's now considered one of the worst NFL trades in recent history.
Looking back, was it really that bad of a move?
In my opinion, Jerry Jones has received way too much criticism on this deal. Why is it relevant today? It's not.
But it's the middle of March. The spring-break version of Valley Ranch consists of quiet hallways. I saw where Galloway signed a one-year deal with the Patriots this week. And this is something I've been pondering for a while. So I figured this day would be as good as any to bring it up.
OK, so it's easy to call that one a bust when you look at Galloway's numbers here in Dallas.
In four seasons, although he played just one game in 2000 before suffering a torn ACL in the opening loss to the Eagles, Galloway had just 151 catches for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns. Even when you average that over just three seasons, we're talking about 50 catches a year for about 750 yards and three scores. OK, so that looks like Patrick Crayton-type numbers. Not bad production, just not for a No. 1 receiver worth two first-round picks.
I get that part. But I've got another number for you: Seven.
As in seven quarterbacks that threw passes to Galloway in a four-year span. For some teams, that's rather common. But it probably doesn't translate to any success.
If it did, you wouldn't be swapping out quarterbacks left and right.
You don't see many college programs that have seven quarterbacks in four years.
Let's face it. Galloway was brought in here to play with Troy Aikman. And they did for about two quarters in that Philadelphia opener. Aikman suffered a concussion and didn't return. Then Galloway got hurt in the fourth quarter, after catching his only touchdown of the season, a pass from Randall Cunningham, and he would never catch another pass from Aikman.
Once Galloway returned in 2001, it was hard to tell what the real problem was, and why he wasn't showing the world of talent he displayed in Seattle, where he had three 1,000-yard seasons and another 987-yard year in four seasons.
In 2001, the Cowboys started four quarterbacks for at least two games each. Quincy Carter, Ryan Leaf, Anthony Wright and Clint Stoerner all got a turn that year. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a haven for receivers. But coming back from the injury the year before, Galloway wasn't all the way back yet.
He didn't really show that explosiveness again until 2002, where he had his best numbers - 62 catches for 908 yards and six touchdowns, despite playing half the season with Carter and the other half with Chad Hutchinson.
In 2003, when Bill Parcells arrived, the Cowboys had three big-play receivers in Galloway, Terry Glenn and Antonio Bryant. Still, Carter was the one throwing the ball, therefore the numbers still weren't that high. He only had 34 catches, but with 672 yards, Galloway led the NFL with a 19.1 yard average.
Still, Parcells wanted his own guy. He traded Galloway to Tampa for Keyshawn Johnson, who clearly wasn't the same player he was earlier in his career, but very serviceable for two years.
As for Galloway, he went to the Bucs and thrived. After played just 10 games in 2004 and having only 416 receiving yards, he produced three straight 1,000-yard seasons for the Bucs from 2005-07, earning himself a Pro Bowl selection.
Now that's the player the Cowboys were expecting all along. It was the player Jerry thought he was getting. You can't really blame the guy for taking a big chance on a player with that type of potential. As Galloway has now proven since he left the Cowboys, he's still a top-notch receiver.
Galloway ranks 25th on the NFL's all-time list with 10,070 yards. That's good for eighth among active players. Galloway still falls under that category after signing a one-year deal with the Patriots. That's an interesting move considering Randy Moss will be on one side with Wes Welker working the middle. That could be big-time for Galloway, who shouldn't get too many double-teams. If there's one thing he can still do, it's run.
So the Cowboys obviously didn't fork over to No. 1s for a dog. He just didn't have the right surroundings.
OK, now let's look at the draft and what they gave up. You can look at the deal and say the Cowboys gave up two No. 1 picks. But I vividly remember scouting director Larry Lacewell stating the team really only surrendered one pick, if you indeed count Galloway as a "first-rounder" himself.
It's easy to see Alexander's numbers and say the Cowboys could've had that. But we all know they wouldn't have drafted him, not with Emmitt Smith still in the fold. Alexander went with the 19th overall pick in 2000. Who were the Cowboys going to take at No. 19? Another Ebenezer Ekuban? A Shante Carver?
Look at those drafts. Let's say they did have a first-round pick in 2000. Would it have been anyone who could play? Based on what the Cowboys did in 2000, you could argue it was the worst draft in club history.
Five players in all: Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larrimore, Michael Wiley, Mario Edwards and Orantes Grant.
The next year wasn't much better. Quincy Carter, Tony Dixon, Willie Blade, Matt Lehr, Markus Steele, John Nix, Colston Weatherington and Daleroy Stewart. Now, that's a solid arena team right there.
Seriously? There's no telling who those first-round picks would've been.
My point is that maybe Jerry was onto something there. He had seen the Cowboys draft Carver, Kavika Pittman, David LaFleur, Greg Ellis and Ebenezer Ekuban with their first picks of the last few years.
With little results coming from those players, I don't think you could fault him for taking a chance at a veteran player.
But he got hurt. Then his quarterback got hurt. And the Cowboys never found any type of adequate replacement.
Nine years later, Galloway is still playing, and up until last year when injuries shortened his season to just five games, he's still playing at a high level.
Because of that trade, you probably won't see any team make a move like that again. And that includes the Cowboys for sure.
But looking back nine years, it really wasn't as bad as you think.
__________________
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9 Years Later
Eatman: Maybe Galloway Trade wasn't So Bad
Nick Eatman
March 18, 2009 5:21 PM
IRVING, Texas - Over the last two decades, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hasn't received too much criticism, especially in the last 10 years.
Now, Cowboys general manager Jerry Jones . . . that's a different story. And that doesn't seem like it will change at all, especially as long as the team's playoff-win drought is alive.
Many of his personnel decisions have been questioned. Scratch that, just about all of his decisions have been questioned and scrutinized. However, that's the nature of this business and no one seems to understand it more than Jones himself.
Just like everything we do in life, some decisions we make turn out golden. Others . . . not so much.
For Jerry Jones, one move that has followed him over the years was his decision to trade two first-round picks to Seattle, in exchange for wide receiver Joey Galloway.
Two No. 1's? That was steep back in 2000. It's downright unheard of now. Part of the reason you won't see a team fork over two No. 1's for one player is because of the Cowboys-Seahawks trade some nine years ago.
Like it is today, the standard for signing a player who was given the franchise tag is two first-round picks. But it's always been negotiable, even back in 2000. Look at the Patriots, who gave the franchise tag to quarterback Matt Cassel this off-season. They ended up getting a high second-round pick from the Chiefs. That's right, a starting quarterback with a franchise tag that will warrant a contract in the neighborhood of $14 million is worth just a second?
And now the Patriots are looking to shop that same pick, 34th overall - to Carolina for one Julius Peppers, another franchise tagged player from the Panthers?
So much for two No. 1 picks. Teams these days aren't even giving up one.
However, that's how desperate the Cowboys were to find another star receiver after Michael Irvin suffered the neck injury in 1999 and had decided to retire.
Jerry and the Cowboys needed a splash. Galloway wasn't happy in Seattle, where he sat out the first 10 games of the 1999 season in a holdout. So he went for it.
Two No. 1 picks to Seattle for Galloway.
At the time, the move was highly questioned. After the Cowboys went 5-11 three straight years, Galloway never made the Pro Bowl and scored just 12 touchdowns in four years, while Seattle drafted both Koren Robinson and Shaun Alexander with those two picks, it's now considered one of the worst NFL trades in recent history.
Looking back, was it really that bad of a move?
In my opinion, Jerry Jones has received way too much criticism on this deal. Why is it relevant today? It's not.
But it's the middle of March. The spring-break version of Valley Ranch consists of quiet hallways. I saw where Galloway signed a one-year deal with the Patriots this week. And this is something I've been pondering for a while. So I figured this day would be as good as any to bring it up.
OK, so it's easy to call that one a bust when you look at Galloway's numbers here in Dallas.
In four seasons, although he played just one game in 2000 before suffering a torn ACL in the opening loss to the Eagles, Galloway had just 151 catches for 2,341 yards and 12 touchdowns. Even when you average that over just three seasons, we're talking about 50 catches a year for about 750 yards and three scores. OK, so that looks like Patrick Crayton-type numbers. Not bad production, just not for a No. 1 receiver worth two first-round picks.
I get that part. But I've got another number for you: Seven.
As in seven quarterbacks that threw passes to Galloway in a four-year span. For some teams, that's rather common. But it probably doesn't translate to any success.
If it did, you wouldn't be swapping out quarterbacks left and right.
You don't see many college programs that have seven quarterbacks in four years.
Let's face it. Galloway was brought in here to play with Troy Aikman. And they did for about two quarters in that Philadelphia opener. Aikman suffered a concussion and didn't return. Then Galloway got hurt in the fourth quarter, after catching his only touchdown of the season, a pass from Randall Cunningham, and he would never catch another pass from Aikman.
Once Galloway returned in 2001, it was hard to tell what the real problem was, and why he wasn't showing the world of talent he displayed in Seattle, where he had three 1,000-yard seasons and another 987-yard year in four seasons.
In 2001, the Cowboys started four quarterbacks for at least two games each. Quincy Carter, Ryan Leaf, Anthony Wright and Clint Stoerner all got a turn that year. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a haven for receivers. But coming back from the injury the year before, Galloway wasn't all the way back yet.
He didn't really show that explosiveness again until 2002, where he had his best numbers - 62 catches for 908 yards and six touchdowns, despite playing half the season with Carter and the other half with Chad Hutchinson.
In 2003, when Bill Parcells arrived, the Cowboys had three big-play receivers in Galloway, Terry Glenn and Antonio Bryant. Still, Carter was the one throwing the ball, therefore the numbers still weren't that high. He only had 34 catches, but with 672 yards, Galloway led the NFL with a 19.1 yard average.
Still, Parcells wanted his own guy. He traded Galloway to Tampa for Keyshawn Johnson, who clearly wasn't the same player he was earlier in his career, but very serviceable for two years.
As for Galloway, he went to the Bucs and thrived. After played just 10 games in 2004 and having only 416 receiving yards, he produced three straight 1,000-yard seasons for the Bucs from 2005-07, earning himself a Pro Bowl selection.
Now that's the player the Cowboys were expecting all along. It was the player Jerry thought he was getting. You can't really blame the guy for taking a big chance on a player with that type of potential. As Galloway has now proven since he left the Cowboys, he's still a top-notch receiver.
Galloway ranks 25th on the NFL's all-time list with 10,070 yards. That's good for eighth among active players. Galloway still falls under that category after signing a one-year deal with the Patriots. That's an interesting move considering Randy Moss will be on one side with Wes Welker working the middle. That could be big-time for Galloway, who shouldn't get too many double-teams. If there's one thing he can still do, it's run.
So the Cowboys obviously didn't fork over to No. 1s for a dog. He just didn't have the right surroundings.
OK, now let's look at the draft and what they gave up. You can look at the deal and say the Cowboys gave up two No. 1 picks. But I vividly remember scouting director Larry Lacewell stating the team really only surrendered one pick, if you indeed count Galloway as a "first-rounder" himself.
It's easy to see Alexander's numbers and say the Cowboys could've had that. But we all know they wouldn't have drafted him, not with Emmitt Smith still in the fold. Alexander went with the 19th overall pick in 2000. Who were the Cowboys going to take at No. 19? Another Ebenezer Ekuban? A Shante Carver?
Look at those drafts. Let's say they did have a first-round pick in 2000. Would it have been anyone who could play? Based on what the Cowboys did in 2000, you could argue it was the worst draft in club history.
Five players in all: Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larrimore, Michael Wiley, Mario Edwards and Orantes Grant.
The next year wasn't much better. Quincy Carter, Tony Dixon, Willie Blade, Matt Lehr, Markus Steele, John Nix, Colston Weatherington and Daleroy Stewart. Now, that's a solid arena team right there.
Seriously? There's no telling who those first-round picks would've been.
My point is that maybe Jerry was onto something there. He had seen the Cowboys draft Carver, Kavika Pittman, David LaFleur, Greg Ellis and Ebenezer Ekuban with their first picks of the last few years.
With little results coming from those players, I don't think you could fault him for taking a chance at a veteran player.
But he got hurt. Then his quarterback got hurt. And the Cowboys never found any type of adequate replacement.
Nine years later, Galloway is still playing, and up until last year when injuries shortened his season to just five games, he's still playing at a high level.
Because of that trade, you probably won't see any team make a move like that again. And that includes the Cowboys for sure.
But looking back nine years, it really wasn't as bad as you think.
__________________