IRVING, Texas -- Five wonders makes its final call for the regular season today and oh what a season it has been. The Dallas Cowboys have fewer wins than weekly wonders and that almost seems impossible with what the expectations were at the start of the season.
So for the final time in 2015, away we go:
** I’m not a fan of saying, "This guy was snubbed from the Pro Bowl," because often left unsaid is who would you take out of the mix for that guy to make the all-star game. Sean Lee had a Pro Bowl season for the Cowboys, but he was not voted onto the team. Four of the six outside linebackers picked for the roster come from 3-4 schemes. Playing in a 4-3, Lee isn’t going to be able to match the sack totals of a DeMarcus Ware or Von Miller. What’s funny is those guys will have to play in a 4-3 defense in the Pro Bowl. But I wonder if Lee becomes a first-time Pro Bowler in 2016. Given Lee’s injury history, I’m sure he was a little under the radar entering this season, but after posting a career high in tackles and staying mostly healthy (15 games) he has to be in the mix with a similar season in 2016.
** I applaud Darren McFadden for what he has been able to do since becoming the Cowboys’ every-down back. He needs 3 yards to reach 1,000 for the season, which is made even more impressive after he posted just 129 yards in the first five games. At the pace he has maintained over the last 10 games, McFadden would have a 1,389-yard season. But I more than wonder whether the Cowboys look at a running back early in the draft (top three rounds) or in free agency (not big money) to pair with McFadden in 2016. McFadden turns 29 next August and he will be coming off the most carries he has had in his career. One of the reasons the Cowboys did not go all out to re-sign DeMarco Murray was all of the work he was given in 2014. They have to think about the same with McFadden.
** Brandon Carr is set to make $9 million in the final year of his contract in 2016 and count $13.8 million against the cap. That’s a lot of coin for a cornerback who does not have an interception since 2013. But I wonder if the Cowboys look to do a new deal with Carr that reduces his cap figure but allows him to make $9 million in some form next year. Hear me out: The Cowboys need cornerback help. They probably overpaid for Carr in 2012 but every team that has hit the cornerback market lately has overpaid. Earlier in the year I wondered if the Cowboys would keep Morris Claiborne over Carr but with Claiborne having missed four games (and maybe his fifth this week), I’m rethinking that. Claiborne just can’t stay healthy. Carr has not missed a game in his career. There’s something to be said for being there week after week. Now, even if they keep Carr, the Cowboys need to have corner as a priority in the draft.
** Back to running backs for a second. Much has been made about Brandon Weeden’s run of success with the Houston Texans around these parts, but I wonder if anybody wondering about the team’s decision to part ways with Christine Michael earlier in the year was quieted down. Picked up in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks, Michael ran 15 times for 51 yards in six games. He briefly joined the Washington Redskins’ practice squad before going back to his first team, the Seattle Seahawks. In his first game he ran 16 times for 84 yards against the Cleveland Browns, prompting some to wonder why he couldn’t do such a thing with the Cowboys. He got the start for Seattle two days ago against the St. Louis Rams and had six carries for 6 yards.
** Tight ends coach Mike Pope turns 74 in March and has been an NFL assistant coach for 33 years. Jason Garrett holds Pope in the highest regard but there comes a time when a coach wants to retire. Maybe that happens this offseason for Pope. If so, I wonder if the Cowboys attempt to bring in Dan Campbell as their tight ends coach in 2016 provided he does not shed the interim head coach tag with the Miami Dolphins or find himself in the mix of other head coaching jobs. The Cowboys had interest in bringing Campbell in a few years ago but could not make it work. The Dolphins haven’t won enough games but Campbell made them competitive when they were just listless to start the season.