As good as Blake Jarwin is at catching passes, he will likely be the fifth most explosive catcher when the Cowboys are in their (probably) base 11, behind Cooper, Gallup, Lamb and Elliott (or Pollard). With that in mind, would it make sense for Blake Bell to get more shots than Jarwin because he is the best blocker? At least during the first attempts, Bell’s best block could have a greater impact on the game in progress than Jarwin’s best pass capture on the game of passes.– TODD RIFFEY / KENT, WA
Jonny: It may end up going this way over the season, but I don’t think the Cowboys have that intention. They are investing $ 24 million in Jarwin and will therefore not enter the first year of this agreement, letting him get away with a one-dimensional player, nor will they keep him on the bench. We are going to ask Jarwin to be a competent blocker so that he can justify being on the ground to make the attack which is going much more dangerous.
David: I understand your argument, but I do not agree. To start, keep in mind who Jarwin will be primarily in contact with – linebackers and sometimes security. It is a lag, which makes it valuable even if it is not as dynamic as the other options on the offense. On top of that, I think the blocking ability is overrated. Yes, the Cowboys will have to run the ball. But the passing game is king in the NFL, and the best receiving option is the guy who has to be on the field.
After 10 years of the Garrett regime, which position groups on both sides of the ball do you expect the most significant changes / surprises to occur compared to the status quo, as there are not necessarily preconceived preferences?– LANCE TAYLOR / DENVER, CO
Jonny: It could be a Rod Marinelli thing more than a Jason Garrett thing, but the almost immediate signatures of Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe stood out for me. Under Marinelli (and Garrett), the Cowboys generally favored fast tackles, even if that meant sacrificing size at the front. McCoy is bigger than the typical defensive tackle of the past few years in Dallas and he does it with legitimate speed. Meanwhile, at 350 pounds, Poe is pure power.
David: We wrote a lot about it on Monday, but I think it is worth repeating. There is no way to predict how this corner position will come off. You have two top recruits and about four highly qualified veterans. You have a new secondary coach at Al Harris who has a completely different idea of what he wants from his DBs. We can guess how it goes.
