You can determine value in many ways. You can look at Pro Bowl appearances, stats, league-wide respect, intangibles, etc. But for the sake of today’s post, we’re looking at replace-a-bility. Which players, if injured, would be the hardest to replace on this roster?
Without doubt, Tony Romo is #1. Despite the impressive effort of Jon Kitna last season, it’s safe to say that while his leadership intangibles may outpace Romo’s, his raw physical ability is somewhat lagging. Dallas would be MOST affected by the loss of Tony Romo.
But Who’s #2?
For my money, #2 is Miles Austin. No other player could impact the game due to injury like Miles Austin.
The receiver core is already thin at best. You’re looking at Miles Austin, Dez Bryant, and Kevin Ogletree as your top three receivers. After that, you have no real NFL game experience on your roster.
Romo doesn’t even have to pass to Miles that often. He can hit Dez and Witten all day long while mixing in a few screen passes to Felix and the Cowboys would do fine. You obviously want Miles Austin involved, but even if he’s taken out of the game, he’s going to draw a top cornerback every play. So unless they’re playing Philly, Dallas utilizes Austin by legitimately distracting the opponent’s defense. By taking that top cornerback out of the game, Austin frees up every other eligible receiver to wreak havoc on the defensive schemes.
In the past year, you’ve seen Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams, and Sam Hurd move on to “greener” pastures. Okay, okay. No big loss there. But at least you knew they’d played in the game. They wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the responsibility.
You may get some quality minutes from backup receivers Raymond Radway and Dwayne Harris. They’re unproven commodities with possible upside.
So what happens if Miles Austin gets hurt?
You’re looking at a starting lineup of Dez Bryant, Dwayne Harris, and Kevin Ogletree. Now imagine you’re playing the Philadelphia Eagles with their triple threat corners in Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie, and Samuel. Are you nervous yet?
The saving grace is this unthinkable scenario is Jason Witten and the tight end core. You have three solid receiving tight ends in Witten, Bennett, and Phillips. It’s conceivable that if Dallas gets in a rut, you can run two tight end sets until the cows come home.
So there you have it. Because he’s the only wide receiver with more than one year of NFL experience, Miles Austin is your second most valuable player.
