The Dallas Cowboys Unusual Off-Season.

It is very rare for the Dallas Cowboys to be quiet. For years they have been at the forefront of off season moves and seem to always be the centre of attention when it comes to the free agency, trades and moves at the draft. Every year they are consistent favorites to make it to the Super Bowl, however this year things look a little different. It is quiet in Dallas, no one is taking and no moves are being made. Whether that is a good or bad thing remains to be seen.

At the beginning of the off season the Cowboys shocked a lot of people, including the receiver himself, when they released perennial all star Terrell Owens. Owens has become the symbol for change this year in Dallas but there were actually a lot more moves made on the defensive side of the ball. The Cowboys have cut lose 10 players from last year's defense even though they were the 8^th best in the NFL. Roy Williams, Adam Jones, Zach Thomas, Anthony Henry and Greg Ellis were all cut this year and Carlos Polk, Keith Davis, Tank Johnson, Kevin Burnett and Chris Canty chose not to resign. That is a lot of production that needs to be replaced for the upcoming season and is going to be difficult to do.

It seems that the Cowboys are relying on the players they already have on the bench considering the only signed three defensive players, Keith Brookings, Igor Oshansky and Gerald Sensabaugh. They didn’t have a high pick in the draft either and were not able to make a selection until the third round when they picked outside linebacker Jason Williams.

It appears that the main motivation in the off season was to save money. By releasing the 6 players mentioned the team saved over $18 million dollars and with a couple of other moves they are close to saving $30 million. This may go a long way in resigning franchise players such as DeMarcus Ware or any new rookies that emerge as exciting talent. With the Cowboys turning towards their bench this year and putting a lot of hope on the young players there is opportunity like never before among the team for new faces and new stars to come forward and start leading the team. By not signing big name free agents the Cowboys will have the finances to sign these players should they emerge as elite names.

It is quite abnormal to see the Cowboys so quiet and not going after big name free agents like Albert Haynesworth or trying to put together a trade for Julius Peppers. The normally exciting and go get them Cowboys are sitting back and maybe finally starting to realize that you cannot just buy a championship. It appears they are starting to take after the methods of the Pittsburgh Steelers and are trying to build from within. Whether this will work for the team remains to be seen, but one thing is consistent. There will always be exciting football in Dallas.