Viewing this weekend's Divisional rounds of NFC and AFC ball brought back criminal images of Dallas Cowboys' Training Camp in San Antonio this past off-season. For those of you that can't, or simply won't, remember the joy, jubilation and fist-bumping on the Alamodome practice surface as Jerry Jones once again netted the most sought-after free agent on the 2011 market, it never came to fruition. The guy pictured above was the coveted prize, the object of Jerry's Desire, and for fleeting seconds, everyone in Dallas thought Jerry had once again star-searched, and star-netted. The Cowboys swung. And missed. Not only on Nnamdi, but more importantly, they let the entire free agency "Secondary" crop walk before their very eyes. They couldn't be bothered with "necessary," but instead preferred "nice." How wrong that choice turned out to be.
Asomugha and the Cowboys were both home and on the couch for this year's post-season proceedings, once again proving, he with the most toys doesn't always win. The enamored Nnamdi Sweepstakes caused the Cowboys to both lose their minds and the opportunity to net productive and serviceable "Secondary" talent. 
A quick scan of this weekend's action revealed the likes of a Jonathan Joseph, Donte Whitner, Carlos Rogers and Danieal Manning just to name a few. These "can't be bothered with" talents sure seemed to fit the bill in San Fran and Houston. Not only fit the bill, but contributed mightily to propelling each to post-season play, but no, the Cowboys wanted none of that action. Their eyes were on the "prize."
How did that work out for them? Fleeced by Philly. That's how that circus rolled in and out of town. Left holding a bag of "could have, should have, would have" beens while the market's closing bell tolled most loudly with definitive finality. Congrats, Cowboys, for your efforts, you are now relegated to riding the crazy rails of the Terence Newman train, and we all know how that cross-season venture ended. A "wreck" of monumental proportions.
And herein lies a disturbing trend which must stop if the Cowboys have any inkling and hopes of ever returning to prominence. Sure, Abe Elam knew Rob's scheme and expectations, but were they suggesting Donte Whitner couldn't have grasped and implemented the same nuances and techniques? Surely, they weren't saying that, were they? Just saying, but did anyone happen to lay witness to Whitner's game-altering heroics as the 49ers dispensed with the high-flying Saints? Was there something there not to like? It appears Jerry the General Manager still "lusts" for apparent home runs when the game calls for singles and possible extra bases. Yes, Deion paid hardware-collecting dividends, but for every "Prime" there are a whole host of Joey Galloways, Roy Williams', Marcellus Wiley's, Tank Johnson's and Pac Man Jones'. It would have been hard to miss with a guy who actually played and contributed in all three phases of the game.
Not every acquisition has to be a tailor-made Maserati. More than not, something or someone rolled off a Detroit assembly line will serve the purpose. So, Danieal Manning isn't the Hall of Fame Sanders, and never will be, but the man returned more kicks and punts than either Abe Elam or Gerald Sensabaugh fielded this year correct? The two-phase player didn't even register on the Cowboys' radar. The question that needs to be screamed from the highest of mountain-tops is "WHY?" You roll the dice on the Nnamdi Asomugha's of the world when you are a player away from the Promise Land. Folks, the Cowboys are two players, at least, away from a trip to the Island of the Misfit Toys! "Nobody wants a Charlie in the Box...."
Really didn't care if it was Carlos Rogers or Carlos Santana being rolled out at Corner, anything was better than "Hello Newman." Seriously, scroll up and down this blog's ladder, and please inform the masses why any of these four guys didn't fit the bill as it related to the Dallas Cowboys Secondary. None of them fit? Really? If that is the case, and everyone at Valley Ranch swears and testifies to the decisions, then the problems are bigger than most fear, and they may actually be insurmountable. That, Cowboys Fans, should worry you to your inner core. Mother Nature's Clock is ticking on the Pro Bowl talent that takes residency within the Cowboys' roster, and trolling for the likes of a Nnamdi Asomugha, in hopes of landing the lunker, will only allow the last grain of sand to pass through the Window of Opportunity.
Someone needs to sneak up on Jerry, in a deep slumber, and slap the Bose Headphones to his thick, star-ladened skull.........
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