Where do we go from here?

So, as I'm sure most of you know (probably because I've complained about it to you), at around midnight this morning, the Cowboys (against my wishes, way to not even consult with me), decided to part ways with Terrell Owens. If, you read the blog beneath this, you'll see that I must have been born a prophet, because I wrote at length about how much trouble the Cowboys would find themselves in if we parted ways with him.

I tried writing about this topic early this morning, right after the reports were released of the Cowboys cutting Terrell, but all I could get down on paper was the longest list of expletives you would have ever seen. And well, this is a family blog, we keep it PG-13 (at least until the Yankees first 4 game losing streak) and I just wouldn't resort to that avenue.

Since it's been nearly 24 hours and cooler heads are starting to prevail, I pose a question to myself, as well as anybody else who reads this (Probably nobody, so really it's to myself I guess), where do the Cowboys go from here?

You just cannot replace a guaranteed 70 receptions, 1,000 yards receiving and 10 or 11 touchdowns a year internally. I'm sorry, but there's nobody on the Cowboys at this moment in time that can replace him. It just won't happen. And if Jerry Jones honestly thinks that the Cowboys can skate by and win without his presence in the locker room, that's fine, but you can't win without him on the field. He'd be senile and in need of being replaced or taken out back and given the Old Yeller treatment if he honestly thinks our pu pu platter of receivers is good enough to strike fear in the heart of opposing defenses.

Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, Isaiah Stanback and Travis Wilson; those are the names of our wide receivers now. If you just thought to yourself "who are those last two guys?" Well, you're not alone because I don't think their own families would be able to pick them out of a crowd of people.

Roy Williams, our new #1 receiver, has caught a measley 281 passes in his career. The Cowboys gave up 3 draft picks to acquire him last season and in nearly 3/4 of a season, he only mustered up 19 catches. Thanks for the contribution Roy!

Patrick Crayton, or "Stone Hands" as I refer to him thanks to his HUGE dropped pass in the 3rd Quarter of the Dallas Cowboys - New York Giants Divisional Playoff game, is now our #2 receiver? Excuse me while I bang my head into the keyboard repeatedly.

159 career receptions and 18 touchdowns for Stone Hands. I like to think of him as everything that a receiver shouldn't be. He can't block in the run game, even remotely. And he couldn't catch a cold if he tried, let alone a pass when there's no defender within 5 yards.

And our last two receivers aren't even worthy of separate paragraphs. Travis Wilson and Isaiah Stanback have combined in their careers to have a whopping 4, yes, 4 receptions and 56 yards! YOUR DALLAS COWBOY WIDE RECEIVERS LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!!!!

They aren't going to get the job done. No way, no how. Somebody needs to be brought in to help the depleted receiver position and to keep Jason Witten sane since he'll be seeing double coverage and hell triple coverage since we have no offensive weapon now. The first names that came to my mind were Anquan Boldin and Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson. That's entirely wishful thinking on my and every other Cowboy fans part, since we gave three draft picks to the Detroit Lions (including our first round pick this season) to get Roy Williams. In hindsight, it'd be really nice to have that first round pick, because Percy Harvin or Hakeem Nicks would make me feel a little better about life.

Obviously, they will need to sign somebody then. But, having done this too late, they missed out on going after T.J. Houshmanzadeh. And after him, the free agent receiving corps really takes a turn for the worse. The best possibilities you ask? Those would be D.J. Hackett, Lance Moore, Mark Clayton, Bobby Engram and Shaun McDonald....I swear, I think they were once a boy band in a past life.

So, that brings us to this quandry. Marvin Harrison? Now that's a tough choice. Granted, he would fit in, just for his criminal record (he has shot people folks), but, he's 35 years old, the same age as Terrell Owens. While he does boast career stats of 1,102 receptions, 14,580 yards and 128 touchdowns, his best years are far far far behind him. He hadn't been the #1 option in Indianapolis for at least three years and I think I run quicker when I see a spider than he does with an open field in single coverage.

Which brings me to who I would love the Cowboys to be able to snag. Torry Holt, the Rams star receiver. Word has been spreading that Holt wants his release in St. Louis and they are likely to grant it in the coming weeks. He is exactly the type of player the Cowboys could use. He's beneficial in a few ways. First, he's one of the all around great guys in the NFL and would be a fixture in the locker room (which is apparently really important to Jerry Jones) and secondly, he's a big game, go to receiver. Granted he is 32 years old (still three years younger than Owens or Harrison) and his best days are beginning to be behind him as well, but he's still got a little giddy up in his step and I think could do great things in Big D.

And obviously, since I am writing about my hopes that we get Torry Holt, it will have the adverse effect. I wrote about how the Yankees needed Manny Ramirez and within 4 days, he re-signed with the Dodgers. I wrote about how the Cowboys needed to keep Terrell Owens more than anything and within 12 hours we released him.

This means one of two things. Either the Cowboys won't sign anybody and throw Roy Williams to the fire and expect him to suddenly channel his innermost talent and be the #1 receiver he NEVER WAS in Detroit. Or, we'll sign one of the boy band members of the free agent market.

With that being said, let me just get this out of the way: Welcome to the Dallas Cowboys Shaun McDonald. Weren't you a member of the Doobie Brothers? Wait, you're saying that was Michael McDonald? Is there even a difference at this point? Why don't we just sign him to play receiver and Christopher Cross to play linebacker. That's what the Cowboys are turning into now; one big joke.

Until next time...