GEORGE JOSEPH
SCHWENKSVILLE, PA
I know the defense is a mess so no use going there. Where is the deep ball on offense?
Nick: I'm with you. But I really don't think this team has players who can really stretch the defense. We don't see a ton of speed at the receiver position. The fastest guy they had was Miles Austin and he seems like he's lost that break-away speed. Dez is really good but not that fast. And we haven't seen Terrance Williams consistently get deep. Dwayne Harris and Cole Beasley aren't speedsters either. So they really lack that guy who can stretch the field. I think Jason Witten could use a guy like that to free up the middle.
David:Normally, I'd be right there with you. Honestly, though, against the Bears I thought the offensive gameplan was spot-on. You don't need to heave the ball downfield when the running backs are averaging seven yards per carry – you just need your defense to help you control the tempo of the game. Overall, it's a valid point. Tony Romo is No. 16 in the league in yards per attempt, which is the definition of mediocre. Nick is right that there isn't a breakaway speedster among these receivers, but that doesn't mean you can't take a few shots. When was the last time this offense threw the ball more than 15-16 yards downfield? The last [embedded_ad] time Bryant or Williams had a reception of more than 25 yards was in the beatdown loss to New Orleans on Nov. 10.
ROGER BRYAN VAN PELT
SCHERTZ, TX
DeMarcus Ware's performance and availability has now declined for the past two seasons. Would it benefit the club to consider trading him away? If so, what is his value?
Nick: There's no way his value would be that high, not compared to the type of player he's been. Teams see the tape too. There's a better chance of him getting healthy and returning close to that level than getting a bunch of draft picks for a future Hall of Famer. I'm not ready to say it's over for him. It was just a few months ago when he was looking as great as any player we've seen in recent years. He's hurt. He's not done.
David: I think in situations like this, people get caught up in looking at a player's reputation, rather than his future. If it were somehow possible to trade away Ware's nine seasons of productivity and 117 career sacks, you could probably get a dozen picks for him. It doesn't work that way, unfortunately. Ware will be 32 when the 2014 season starts, and his production has dropped off, as you noted, so it's hard to imagine getting much for him. What's more likely is the Cowboys re-structure his contract again to help their salary cap number and hope he regains his old prowess.
