Around the NFL: Cowboys Extend Two; Schweigert Released

I definitely think Barber is worth it. He's a TD machine. He led NFC RB's in 2006 w/ 14 rushing TDs, and has 2,760 total yards and 33 TDs in 3 seasons despite always sharing carries. Plus he's never really been injured, playing in 45 out of 48 possible pro games. He's only 24 and rather fresh with less than 500 career carries. And it's not like he's going to be asked to carry 30 or even 20 times a game since Dallas drafted Felix Jones.

So in my opinion they locked up a durable, hard running, TD scoring, young RB for a good price ($16M in guarantees). It was Portis money 4 years ago when Clinton signed his contract. Take into account inflation/salary cap escalation, and it's really not Portis money anymore. If Barber had the yards/TDs in his first few seasons that Portis did, his contract today would have been much larger.

I think Newman is overrated, but whatever.

Like I said, I think his stats are skewed. He's going to get his TDs when he's asked to punch it in on the goal line on every down.

I wouldn't say Newman is overrated, he's a pretty good corner, even though that's a hefty contract for someone almost 30.

Nice points on Barber, but I would have liked to see the Cowboys wait until about mid-season to sign him. Like they did with Romo last season. Yeah MB3 had stellar numbers as a #2. But facts are facts and he has only been the "starter" for ONE game since being drafted by Dallas. And that was the playoff game against the Giants this year. The team announced him as the starter a week before that game. I would have liked to measure his value a little more as a starter to gauge his worth.

Newman is really not over rated as many people accuse him of being. He is a good corner that some QB's tend to avoid. That is why you see Henry and the safeties with a lot of interceptions, they just do not throw Newmans way a lot.

Another point on my case for Newman. I think we all can agree that Deon Sanders was a great corner during his NFL career. In the 5 years Deon was with Dallas, Deon Sanders had 14 interceptions. Newman, in 5 years with Dallas, has had 16 interceptions.

I liked the Newman deal. I think he is worth that money and it is not an outrageous number like Clements, Samuals or Hall.

I understand you wanting to wait until mid-season to extend him, but then he may skip some "voluntary" workouts or possibly even hold out of training camp.

This whole "starter" thing is a bit overhyped IMO. Just because Julius Jones was on the field for the first offensive play of the game doesn't mean Barber wasn't the primary ball carrier. Last season Barber had more carries, 400 more rushing yards, 8 more TDs, and over 1 yard more per carry.

I think Barber has the potential to be a very good every down back, but with Felix Jones replacing Julius Jones, his role will probably stay the same (except that he'll "start").

As far as his contract is concerned, it's not like you made him the richest RB in football. Not even close. Hell, Michael Turner just got $15M guaranteed from Atlanta and he's been a backup his entire career. In fact, in less time as a pro, Barber has 27 more TDs and over 1000 more rushing yards than Turner. And their contracts are very similar. So the Cowgirls did a good job with this I think.

Like I said, I think his stats are skewed. He's going to get his TDs when he's asked to punch it in on the goal line on every down.


I don't think his stats are skewed. It's not like he's a big, slow, one-dimensional battering ram. The guy has averaged nearly 5 yards per carry each of the past 2 seasons. He deserves the TDs if he delivers them every time he's asked. He's fast and powerful, and catches the ball well. I know, I know, I'm defending a Cowboy, but I think Marion Barber is an excellent back (and he really helped me win a fantasy fb championship in '06).

I would love to see the Redskins sign Schweigert. The Raiders could screw up Christmas dinner.

Great points. I was going to mention the inflation factor, and its something that everyone has to consider in evaluating this deal.

It's a big risk for any Running back. Barbers first three years in Dallas look very similar to Portis' first two years in Denver, so he should be solid into his 30's. But if he gets hurt, and the risk of that is always there, that's a lot of money tied up in a player who isn't helping your team.

Will be interesting to see if Barber actually makes Portis money though. According to JLC, Portis has made a ton of cash in his deal through restructures. If Barber is limping a bit in a few years we'll see if JJ wants to pay out the last years of his deal.

I think Newman is solid & a good team guy, he deserves his deal more than Barber does his. Someone said Newman's close to 30, I think he's only in his 5th year, so he'd be 27-28?

Will be interesting to see if Barber actually makes Portis money though. According to JLC, Portis has made a ton of cash in his deal through restructures. If Barber is limping a bit in a few years we'll see if JJ wants to pay out the last years of his deal.

I think Newman is solid & a good team guy, he deserves his deal more than Barber does his. Someone said Newman's close to 30, I think he's only in his 5th year, so he'd be 27-28?He was the 5th pick in 2003, so this would be his 6th season.

Terence Newman Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NewmTe20.htm)

He will turn 30 just three days before we open the season in NY.

Barber is a beast, I've always wondered why he wasn't the "starter" and didn't get 20 carries a game. He does take a ton of punishment though. Hard to see him having a long career.

Barber is a beast, I've always wondered why he wasn't the "starter" and didn't get 20 carries a game. He does take a ton of punishment though. Hard to see him having a long career.I feel like he seems like he's such a great runner only because he doesn't get that many carries a game. He typically came in to deliever the knockout punch after the D had been pounded a bit. If his coaches really thought that he could have kept that sort of thing up for the whole game I'm sure they would have told JJ to hit the bench a lot sooner.

I feel like he seems like he's such a great runner only because he doesn't get that many carries a game. He typically came in to deliever the knockout punch after the D had been pounded a bit. If his coaches really thought that he could have kept that sort of thing up for the whole game I'm sure they would have told JJ to hit the bench a lot sooner.The bolded point really isn't true, necessarily. He did play a lot of third downs, but the carries between him and JJ were split pretty equally throughout the season, and not really in any particular situation.

What has yet to be seen is what age/increased workload might do to his effectiveness. He's going to start this year and see 60-70 percent of the touches, so if he holds up this year he can silence all the doubters.

I don't like the Newman contract because the guy is at his peak right now, and if he plays all the contract (won't happen), he'll be 35 in it's final year.

Relative to the way they Cowboys have built their team, it was probably their only option with Newman was to extend him or let him hit the market next year. But I have a feeling that he's going to lose effectiveness before Dallas is willing to take him out of the starting lineup because of this deal.

Granted, we're talking 4 years down the road, but those years count too.