@poeticg said:

Why?

@d-bone said:

I coach HS softball and 18u travel and I have been doing dynamics for the last 6 years. It's very rare to see any high level softball team doing old school static, team stretches. If you go to a MLB game and watch BP, you'll see the same.

Very cool, l wondered about the profile picture! I got a daughter who plays 12u travel ball. Good luck to you the rest of the season!

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

fixed it for you mike.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/outdated-strength-program-putting-dallas-161558566.html

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

I'd say that "Austin + Bennett" alone are still more valuable in the short term than Watkins. The short term being the first half of the 2014 season.

First, feel that I have to say that my extended string vs. Watkins was meant to be a more accurate choice than that offered by the poster I quoted. But by keeping Austin + Bennett as part of the "equation", I perpetuated a false choice as the drafting of Watkins would in no way have precluded the signing of either vet WR.

The above said, I am hard pressed to think of an instance where I would sacrifice long-term in favor of short-term.

Having a rookie QB and a rookie #1 WR learning together with very little help from the rest of the receiving corps is a recipe for disaster. Austin and Bennett have proven to have reliable enough hands and have seen success in this league. If Gordon is to be suspended (which is a foregone conclusion), I'd rather have two capable vets at the tail end of their careers help temper the learning curve for Manziel. I don't think anyone is doubting that Watkins would yield greater results past a half or full season. But having two experienced veterans with reliable hands can surely help a rookie QB.

At the very best, assuming Watkins is a game changing WR who can do absolutely no wrong... do you really want a rookie quarterback having that option right away? He'll learn that he can just heave shit up and have Watkins get it, which is what everyone was complaining about with Manziel/Evans.

I'd rather Manziel have to learn his progressions, spread the ball around, and learn how to pick apart an NFL defense with a multitude of receivers. This way, when Gordon comes back, he'll be able to hit the other guys to set Gordon up.

While I know you've predicted Manziel will start snap one, game one, I am not conceding that point. That said, if it is to be Manziel, then rookie QB/WR success is not without precedent. Dalton/ Green in Cinci is the most recent example. And IMO both Manziel and Watkins are better prospects than their Cinci counterparts.

I am dubious that having a trio of vet WRs helps a rook QB significantly more than a duo, or even that a duo, while significant, adds anything approaching twice the bennies of a single vet. There can be too many voices... too much help. And we've not even considered the QB coach yet. Assuming he's the right choice, the QB coach's voice should dominate.

Last year we had Brandon Weeden throwing to Josh Gordon, Greg Little and Travis Benjamin.

This year we'll have Johnny Manziel throwing to Miles Austin, Earl Bennett and Nate Burleson. (not factoring in Cameron)

That's just a weird thing to think about.

Agree... and only slightly weirder than Hoyer throwing to that vet trio...

@4-rings said:

The Cowboys lead the leg in hamstring pulls the last two years. Many thought it was the conditioning techniques of the S & C coach. It will be interesting to see if Miles still has hammy problems in Cleveland.

Thought crossed my mind as well. Here's hoping...

@4-rings said:

The Cowboys lead the leg in hamstring pulls the last two years. Many thought it was the conditioning techniques of the S & C coach. It will be interesting to see if Miles still has hammy problems in Cleveland.

This is what one of my Cowboy fans told me. I responded well that's better than a Browns staph infection.

Either way, I hope this is right and he doesn't actually have paper mâché hammy's.

@4-rings said:

This has also been my feeling, so let's see what happens here. I like the signing.

Mike

@texasag1969 said:

I would add Santonio Holmes to the mix as well. Keep them all through preseason and retain whomever rises to the top. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.

http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/players/santonio_holmes/2260

This sort of makes the argument that the QB makes the WR, not the other way around. So we may already have a Santonio Holmes on the roster as long as Hoyer or Manziel can get him the ball, in which case we don't need to sign him.

@cambridgeho said:

original shit right there.You sucked a dick while you typed bad news.

Nah...I don't know your mother.

http://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/players/santonio_holmes/2260

@tim-couch-pulls-out said:

Pretty awesome when broken down in writing.

@tour2ma said:

I'd say that "Austin + Bennett" alone are still more valuable in the short term than Watkins.

The short term being the first half of the 2014 season.

Having a rookie QB and a rookie #1 WR learning together with very little help from the rest of the receiving corps is a recipe for disaster.

Austin and Bennett have proven to have reliable enough hands and have seen success in this league. If Gordon is to be suspended (which is a foregone conclusion), I'd rather have two capable vets at the tail end of their careers help temper the learning curve for Manziel.

I don't think anyone is doubting that Watkins would yield greater results past a half or full season. But having two experienced veterans with reliable hands can surely help a rookie QB.

At the very best, assuming Watkins is a game changing WR who can do absolutely no wrong... do you really want a rookie quarterback having that option right away? He'll learn that he can just heave shit up and have Watkins get it, which is what everyone was complaining about with Manziel/Evans.

I'd rather Manziel have to learn his progressions, spread the ball around, and learn how to pick apart an NFL defense with a multitude of receivers. This way, when Gordon comes back, he'll be able to hit the other guys to set Gordon up.

Last year we had Brandon Weeden throwing to Josh Gordon, Greg Little and Travis Benjamin.

This year we'll have Johnny Manziel throwing to Miles Austin, Earl Bennett and Nate Burleson. (not factoring in Cameron)

That's just a weird thing to think about.

TyperWoods said:

Bad news...Austin pulled a hamstring signing the contract.

Your screen name is a hoot. Can't say the same for your post...

@cambridgeho said:

We didnt reach for a wr becuase we are going to have a smash mouth run game. Believe in it man, its here!

I'd settle for an identifiable run game.

@cvcanedy said:

And qbs were available in the 7th round. That's a poor analysis...it's about specific players and relative value.

So you'd like Shaw better had we spent a 7th on him?

XxDaBuckeyexX said:

exactly. Miles Austin and Earl Bennett are better for us in the short term than even the mighty Watkins woulda been.

Well... we had a good run of agreement, but all good things must come to an end.

Now if you'd said "Austin + Bennett + Gilbert + (Buff's 2015 1st & 5th) vs. Watkins", then I'd likely have agreed... unless I was in a bad mood.

@frenchie said:

All these moves might be great but it doesn't take away the mistake made in the second round of the draft. Farmer needed to take a talented WR and not an OG. OG's were available in the third round.

How would a 2nd round WR help us THIS YEAR? Rookies rarely contribute in their first season. Adding these vets is an extension of Haslam and Farmer's Win-Now approach...

@frenchie said:

All these moves might be great but it doesn't take away the mistake made in the second round of the draft. Farmer needed to take a talented WR and not an OG. OG's were available in the third round.

And qbs were available in the 7th round. That's a poor analysis...it's about specific players and relative value.

I for one am happy about this signing. More than any other receiver we signed this offseason so far. IF he stays healthy, yes. I'm surprised we got him actually...and then with an appropriate contract of low guarantee...again Farmer shows he kicks ass at this GM gig.

@frenchie said:

Hehe- we should have take Watkins @ #4. Nah- I can't fault Farmer much. RG was a total mess last year. If Gordon is gone for the year, hard to see the Browns as a playoff team anyway.