Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Can the Dallas Receivers Fill Owens' Void?

By Sandy Thompson

With the loss of Terrell Owens, one of the top receivers in football, many are speculating that the Cowboys will have an off year, regressing from their 2008 form. I, on the other hand, see a pretty solid offense in Dallas, and feel that their wide receivers will be just fine. Let's have a look at the situation in Dallas.

1. Roy Williams. Easily a number one wide receiver in his own right, but due to Owens' reputation, Williams is being forced to live up to a really high standard. I think he'll pleasantly surprise many football fans, as he's never played for a quarterback with Romo's talent. Williams will most likely have a career year in 2009.

2. Patrick Crayton. Crayton has progressively improved in each of the last few seasons, and I hope that 2009 will bring the same. He's 30 years old now, but little playing time in his earlier years has kept him fresh, and he's been a very solid role player in Dallas, making nice contributions at the number two wide receiver position last year. I expect to see Crayton with another 500-700 yard season, and he'll be alright in Dallas.

3. Miles Austin. Just 25 years old, Austin put himself on the map last season with a few big plays. Plays that found him the end zone on deep bombs from Tony Romo. For this reason, many feel that Austin is a better option than Crayton, and rumors persist about a position battle between Austin and Crayton in camp for the number two spot.

Austin's may end up seeing many of the passes that Owens saw in previous seasons; the deep Romo bombs are a nice fit given Austin's raw speed, and lining up in the slot will throw many offenses off should Austin make an impact in Dallas.

4. Sam Hurd. Like Austin, Sam Hurd is a young receiver on the rise with great speed. He has the local media abuzz with his great play in training camp, but the same thing occurred last season, and Hurd made little impact during the regular season.

While he may just be a 4th receiver, Romo likes to spread the offense out, and I think he'll be a valuable role player in Dallas this season. I wouldn't be surprised to see about 30-40 yards per game, with a few touchdowns to go with it.

Short of these four wide receivers, I don't see anyone else at the position making much of an impact in Dallas next season. There's some talent to be tapped into, and a top NFL quarterback passing them the ball. Hopefully this will be enough to win some games.

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