Henson's days in Dallas are numbered. (Slacker opinion)

imgv94 · 05-16-06, 04:09 AM

SUE ME!!!

IRVING, Texas - One of the most intriguing questions leading up to the NFL Draft last month was of the "what-if" variety.

"What if Jay Cutler falls to 18?"

"What if Texas' Vince Young happens to slip that far?

"And if either does, should the Cowboys grab a quarterback?

And then when USC's Matt Leinart began falling toward No. 10, hopes began to rise that he might tumble even further, or far enough for the Cowboys to consider trading up for an opportunity to grab a franchise-type quarterback.

Well, as it turned out, all three quarterbacks were gone after 11 picks, far before the Cowboys' 18th pick in the first round. And then as expected, the Cowboys did not select a quarterback on either day of the NFL's two-day draft.

So while the Cowboys failed to address the position again this year, other than signing rookie free-agent quarterback Jeff Mroz, that doesn't mean the Cowboys think their quarterback-of-the-future is settled.

No, the Cowboys are well aware Drew Bledsoe recently turned 34. And they also know Tony Romo and Drew Henson, the backups the past two years, are extremely short on NFL experience.

But if the team's lack of interest in a quarterback during the draft means anything, it's that the opportunity wasn't there to select one and that the Cowboys are looking more at the present than the future.

And why not?

Head coach Bill Parcells, who has just two more years on his contract, said last week this is probably the best collection of talent he's had with the Cowboys since taking over in 2003. No sense jeopardizing the present for a stab at the future.

Now the Cowboys have attempted a few inexpensive swings at hitting a home at the quarterback position since Troy Aikman's retirement following the 2000 season, ones that would not cost much if they missed.

They selected Quincy Carter with a second-round pick in the 2001 draft. Then they tried taking a couple of short cuts, hoping a couple of former college quarterbacks who first tried their hands at professional baseball could recycle their football careers. The Cowboys signed Chad Hutchinson and actually traded a third-round pick for Drew Henson.

The Cowboys whiffed on Carter, releasing him the first week of training camp three years later. The Cowboys whiffed on Hutchinson, cutting him two years later before the Cowboys even got to that 2004 training camp. And so far after two full seasons, the Cowboys haven't made solid contact yet on Henson, who after spending this spring in NFL Europe, likely returns this summer as no more than the team's third quarterback behind Bledsoe and Romo.

Even Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admitted before the draft it's probably time to start looking down the road at the quarterback position.

"I think with Bledsoe at the juncture he is in his career, we would be looking at what we're going to be doing in the future at some point - (just) not this year," Jones said. "I don't want to imply not next year or even maybe the next year. But this would be the time to be looking into the future and we may have it right here."

But it's easy to see why the Cowboys decided against selecting another young quarterback this year.

Chances are, even a first-round pick would not have beaten out Bledsoe for the starting job. And a quarterback drafted in the second round would have had difficulty overtaking Romo and Henson for the backup spot. And remember, the Cowboys aren't ready to give up on either of those two just yet.

That is why all the Cowboys did was sign Mroz, the undrafted quarterback out of Yale who at least gives them another live arm for off-season workouts and to help with the rigors of training camp.

Mroz certainly looks the part with his 6-5, 230-pound frame. And he was rather impressive last week at the Cowboys' three-day rookie mini-camp here at Valley Ranch. Of course, he was the only quarterback under contract taking part in the four practice sessions. The Cowboys did have a second quarterback on hand, inviting former Arkansas State quarterback Nice Noce in on a tryout basis, but he was not signed afterward.

While Mroz will have an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster since the Cowboys aren't likely to keep four quarterbacks, he does at least have some ties to the coaching staff.

Despite not getting invited to the Senior Bowl or the scouting combine in Indianapolis, Mroz worked on his mechanics under the guidance of Chris Palmer before Parcells hired his former coaching aide to become the team's quarterback coach. Mroz said Palmer helped him on his footwork along with other techniques during their workout sessions.

Despite earning All-Ivy League honors last year, throwing for 2,484 yards and 22 touchdowns, Mroz went undrafted. But since Palmer was familiar with the young quarterback, the Cowboys quickly signed him.

Assuming Mroz makes it to training camp, this will be the first time since Carter's final week with the team the Cowboys have four quarterbacks in camp. When Carter was abruptly released just six days into the 2004 training camp, the Cowboys just stayed as is with Vinny Testaverde, Romo and Henson.

Even last year when they added Bledsoe, the Cowboys still just took three quarterbacks to camp, figuring Bledsoe would need a generous amount of reps to familiarize himself with the Cowboys offense.

That, though, should not be the case this summer, and the last thing Parcells wants to do is wear out his veteran quarterback in training camp. So even though Romo and Henson still need all the work they can get, there still should be enough practice reps available for Mroz, and who knows, if he shows some potential, there could be a spot on the team's eight-man practice squad for him.

While the Cowboys still seem encouraged by Romo's development, time could be running out on Henson, the former Michigan quarterback and New York Yankee baseball prospect. Henson played in two games as a rookie in 2004, starting the Thanksgiving Day game against Chicago before being pulled in favor of the nicked-up Testaverde at halftime. The Cowboys eventually won that game, thanks in large part to Julius Jones' 150 yards rushing, but Henson has not played in a regular-season game since.

On top of that, he lost out to Romo for the backup job last summer, becoming the inactive third quarterback all season. And because of that inactivity, the Cowboys decided to send him to Europe this spring.

Henson did lead the Rhein Fire to a 4-0 start. However, things have taken a dramatic turn since, the Fire losing four of its last five games, including Sunday's 13-10 decision to Hamburg, leaving the Fire 5-4 and one game behind Frankfurt for the final spot in the World Bowl with one game to play.

Worse, Henson suffered a sprained medial collateral knee ligament in last week's 16-14 loss to Frankfurt, and has not played much in the past two games. He was unable to finish the Frankfurt game, and did not complete a pass (3-of-13) after completing the first three of the game. Then he did not even play in Sunday's 13-10 loss to Hamburg.

While Henson likely will remain no better than questionable for Saturday's season-finale against Cologne, the sprained knee isn't expected to prevent him from being ready for the late-July start to training camp.

But since Henson hasn't exactly lit up NFL Europe this summer - his 84.7 QB rating ranks third in the six-team league - his prospects of one day becoming the Cowboys' quarterback of the future seem to have diminished. Henson this spring has completed 101 of 183 passes (55.2 percent) for 1,188 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions. He averages, though, only 6.49 yards per attempt.

Still, no matter how Henson would have performed this spring in Europe, chances are the Cowboys were not going to find out much more about him, or even Romo, anyway this season. In fact, they probably hope they don't, which would mean Bledsoe remains healthy enough to play in all 16 games for a second consecutive year.

Good for the present, but does little to cause all those "what-if" questions concerning the future to subside.

slacker00 · 05-16-06, 04:18 AM

haha, imgv94, you're such a rebel!