Ok, I actually thought of this about a week ago when watching a few old episodes of *Hard Knocks *from 2008 when it seemed more like Ringling Bros. circus was rolling into town.
But now that Cole Beasley has got himself into the news this week by answering a question about Wes Welker, I figured the timing would be right to bring it out.
Ok on a radio show this week, Beasley said something about Welker, maybe that he was faster and even more versatile because he can play two positions –both inside and outside. Beasley has since come back on that statement with tweets saying "Welker is one of the best" and adding that Beasley is "not even established."
Obviously, Beasley has some confidence to him. He has to be that way. If you're a receiver at 5-8, and you've made it this far, you've got to have a little swag to him. And I'm sure Beasley has been compared to Welker (for multiple reasons) his entire life.
But there is a guy out there that might be a better comparison. In fact, it's one the Cowboys' front office and coaching staff should be thinking about.
Forget Welker, but how about Danny Amendola?
More importantly, the Cowboys ultimately let Amendola get away (although it wasn't exactly a black-and-white situation). He went to Philadelphia and then St. Louis where he was a very productive slot receiver who caught 85 passes for 689 yards and had nearly 1,600 combined return yards in 2010. He suffered an arm injury last year and missed most of the season but is expected to make a full recovery this year.
But the point is, Amendola was rather small and played in a wide-open college offense, but had good hands, ran crisp routes and was very tough.
Back in 2008, the receiving corps was pretty crowded with Terrell Owens, Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, Patrick Crayton and Isaiah Stanback and we had no idea Roy Williams would be added to the mix later in the year.
Amendola spent the whole year on the practice squad, but instead of re-signing with their original team like most do at the end of the season, he bolted for Philadelphia.
Either way, Amendola would've been a good player for this team. Instead of using the likes of Stanback or Hurd or even Kevin Ogletree or Jesse Holley, he would've been a good slot receiver for this team and a decent punt returner as well.
Not saying Amendola would've been a star this team could use a few more solid players, especially at receiver.
So as we roll up on training camp, we know someone who is going to stand out at receiver. From the looks of things, it could very well be Beasley because he catches the ball well, runs very good routes and knows how to find holes in the defense to get open.
So when it's time to make those roster decisions, you have to wonder if the Cowboys are going to be thinking about Amendola back in 2008 when they make the final call on a guy like Beasley.
