Cowboyzadam
08-16-2007, 03:31 AM
Calvin "Lucky" Watkins earned his paycheck by writing two stories for today's paper. It's a coincidence that he focused on two of the Cowboys with the most to gain financially this season: FS Ken Hamlin and RB Julius Jones. (QB Tony Romo, LT Flozell Adams and RB Marion Barber would be the others on the short list.)
Hamlin signed a one-year deal on the cheap (by NFL standards) after he found little interest on the free-agent market following four seasons as a starter in Seattle. Jones, who is coming off his first 1,000-yard season, is entering the final year of his contract. That Jerry let Jones get to this point without an extension shows that the Cowboys have doubts that he can be much better.
Maybe Hamlin will prove to be the missing piece for a secondary that was awful down the stretch last season. Maybe Jones will flourish now that he's free from Bill Parcells' robotic orders and bust out for 1,500 yards or so.
If those things happen, Jerry will be happy to write big checks to keep them. It's more likely, though, that at least one of them will be somewhere else next season.
Hamlin signed a one-year deal on the cheap (by NFL standards) after he found little interest on the free-agent market following four seasons as a starter in Seattle. Jones, who is coming off his first 1,000-yard season, is entering the final year of his contract. That Jerry let Jones get to this point without an extension shows that the Cowboys have doubts that he can be much better.
Maybe Hamlin will prove to be the missing piece for a secondary that was awful down the stretch last season. Maybe Jones will flourish now that he's free from Bill Parcells' robotic orders and bust out for 1,500 yards or so.
If those things happen, Jerry will be happy to write big checks to keep them. It's more likely, though, that at least one of them will be somewhere else next season.