The word "rebuilding" has been tossed around regarding the Cowboys quite a bit lately, and it may or may not be happening, depending on whether you see the glass half-full or half-empty.
For the most part the turnover has been localized to the offensive line, as the Cowboys decided they needed to get younger up front. It was going to be necessary at some point, but is still clearly a risk for a team hoping to compete for something.
So here's a what if, a wrinkle in time kind of thought. How differently might things have worked out if the fist-bump-heard-round-the-world a month back had actually signaled Nnamdi Asomugha was joining the Cowboys?
If the team had landed the $12 million per year free agent cornerback, then Terence Newman probably wouldn't be around anymore. That everyone knew at the time.
But few people saw the decision to release Andre Gurode coming. Gurode might still be around, because the Cowboys would have to think twice about gambling on an unproven guy like Phil Costa if they had just signed a supposed impact defender, maybe just what the team needed. Even Montrae Holland could've held onto his starting job rather than handing it over to rookie Bill Nagy.
Would the Cowboys have pursued a veteran wide receiver like Randy Moss, or even Steve Smith, the ex-Giant who also wound up in Philly? If they were loading up on defense, why not bolster an offensive position that gives a lot of people doubt?
The Nnamdi chase is ancient history now, and obviously we'll never know what might have happened. The point is moot.
But it was closer to going down than most people will probably remember. The Cowboys put in a very serious offer, and believed they had Asomugha until the Eagles swooped in at the last minute.
It might go down as an unseen turning point, for better or worse, of the franchise, depending on how you view that glass of water.
