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It will come as no surprise that the biggest need for the Dallas Cowboys this season will be on the defensive side of the ball.. They lost both starting cornerbacks and two safeties to free agency. Two defensive linemen were also lost from the 2016 team that finished with a 13-3 record..
Thanks to that record Dallas had the 28th pick in the first round and it was essential they find a quality player. 2015 second round defensive end Randy Gregory was just found guilty of yet another drug test and has probably seen the end to his NFL career.
With their first pick in the 2017 draft Dallas selected defensive end Taco Charlton of the University of Michigan.
Charlton can play either side of the defensive end, and possibly sometimes in the middle. He is six foot six, and 277 pounds and still impressed coaches at the combine with a 32 inch vertical jump. This was universally proclaimed as a great pick by scouts, who look for Taco to get plenty of playing time in 2017.
In the second round Dallas found some help for that depleted secondary when they picked Chidobe Awuzie of the University of Colorado. He is six foot two and 202 pounds.
Awuzie (#7 in White) can play either left or right corner and also has some experience at safety. His versatility is a real strength and most say he is a sure fire hit.
Round Three rolled around and with the 92nd overall selection Dallas returned to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan to choose cornerback Jourdan Lewis.
Lewis, in the Maize & Blue, is five foot eleven and one hundred and eighty-six pounds. He is accused of a physical confrontation with a woman and has a trial in July. Lewis and the Cowboys are confident of him being cleared of any charges. He too can play either corner and is described as a hard hitter.
Saturday, the final day of the college draft, was a good day for the Cowboys as they picked up six players despite not having a selection in the fifth round.
In the fourth round the Cowboys surprised some when they went for a running back..
Actually, Ryan Switzer is not only a running back but also a kick returner. He is five foot eight and tips the scale at one hundred and eighty-one pounds. The North Carolina Tar Heel was their top receiver in 2016 and returned four kicks for touchdowns. He is expected to be a contributor to the special teams in 2017.
No pick for the Cowboys in the fifth round, but they had two in the sixth round. With their first one Dallas chose Xavier Woods, a 5 foot seven, one hundred and ninety-seven pound safety.
Actually, Dallas moved up in the draft to pick Woods. He comes from Louisiana Tech, a small school, but remember Terry Bradshaw came from Louisiana Tech and he has a fist-full of Super Bowl rings.
Also in the sixth round and the 216th overall pick, Dallas went for more assistance in the secondary when they picked Marquez White out of Florida State.
White is six foot and weighs one hundred and ninety-five pounds. He also played basketball for the Seminoles, as well as being the captain of the football team in 2016. He has good speed and exceptionally long arms, which should help at cornerback.
Dallas had three picks in the seventh round, and with the first one they tried to find help on the defensive line as they selected Joey Ivie of the University of Florida.
Ivie is six foot three and three hundred pounds... an obvious pick for the 3-technique (nose guard). He was a mainstay for the Gators this past season, but he played in only 16 of the past 36 games for Florida. His endurance may be in question.
With the 239th selection, and the second pick in the seventh round, Dallas returned to the Big Ten Conference when they selected Noah Brown of The Ohio State University.
Brown is a wide receiver and should bolster the Dallas receiving corp. He is six foot one and two hundred twenty-two pounds. Despite being a big receiver, he still ran a 4:59 in the forty yard dash at the combine. In 2016 he had 32 receptions for the Buckeyes for 402 yards and 7 touchdowns. Probably will contribute on special teams in 2017.
With their final pick of the 2017 College Draft, Dallas returned to the University of Colorado for more help on the defensive line.
Jordan Carrell (in the gray) is six foot two and 290 pounds. He led the Buffaloes with five sacks of the opposition in 2016. At the Pro Football Combine he ran a 4:98 in the forty yard dash. If you're keeping count, that is two from the University of Colorado and two from the University of Michigan. Two more from the state of Florida...one from Florida State and one from Univ of Florida.
That wraps up the draft, but before I close let me remind you that last year in the second round Dallas took a chance and chose Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith.
Smith did not play a single play in 2016 and the nerve damage in his knee has progressed better than most expected. He would have been the top player taken in last years draft had he not suffered the knee injury in the team's bowl game. Team doctors say he should be near 100 per cent by the beginning of the 2017 season.
Dallas Cowboys 2017
Schedule
September 10th- New York Giants @ Dallas
This will mark the fifth time in six years that Dallas has opened the season against the Giants.
September 17th- Dallas @ Denver Broncos
If you count only the regular season games, Dallas is winless in 25 years at the Mile High City. This will be their first game there since 2008.
September 25th- Dallas @ Arizona Cardinals
You have to go back to 2006 to find Dallas' last win at Tempe. It was the first win for a young quarterback named Tony Romo. He won't be on the team this year.
October 1st- Los Angeles Rams @ Dallas
This will be the first L.A. team to visit Dallas in the regular season since 1992. The Rams are still in a rebuilding mode and with their poor home attendance, maybe wishing they had stayed in Saint Louis.
October 8th- Green Bay Packers @ Dallas
Definitely a grudge game here with Aaron Rogers and the Pack. Green Bay has eliminated the Cowboys from the playoffs twice in the last three years.... Ugh!
October 22nd- Dallas @ San Francisco 49'ers
After a bye week, the Cowboys travel to the Bay Area to take on the Niners. This is the site of Zeke Elliott's first one-hundred yard rushing game in 2016, a feat he duplicated seven times to set a new Dallas rushing record for rookies.
October 29th- Dallas @ Washington Redskins
A return to Washington, site of Dak Prescott's first career win after replacing Romo in 2016. The Cowboys have won six of their last eight trips to D.C.
November 5th- Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas
Indians for the second straight week as KC comes to town. This will be the first Dallas game broadcast by CBS with Tony Romo in the booth instead of on the field.. Got to be an emotional game.
November 12th- Dallas @ Atlanta Falcons
This will mark the first time Dallas will play in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta. Maybe the Interstate 85 and Interstate 20 problems will be solved by then.
November 19th- Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas
Lots of new names on the Eagles roster, but it's the same old rivalry. A national TV audience will be watching this one.
November 23rd- San Diego Chargers @ Dallas
Happy Thanksgiving ! This will mark the 50th time the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving Day,..but it will be a first for the Chargers. Phillip Rivers still the QB in San Diego.
November 30th- Washington Redskins @ Dallas
Back to back Thursday games for Dallas. These NFC rivals will be at the top of their games for this one. Unfortunately, only one can win the division championship.
December 10th- Dallas @ New York Giants
Never a dull moment when these two meet. Former Coach Tom Landry loved this game since he was a former player and coach for the Giants before coaching Dallas for 29 years. Look for all out passing battle between Dak and Eli.
December 17th- Dallas @ Oakland Raiders
It has been 22 years since Dallas has won a game in Oakland. All the way back to when number 21 was worn by Deion Sanders instead of Zeke Elliott. This should be a shootout.
December 24th- Seattle Seahawks @ Dallas
This game will mark only the tenth time Seattle has visited Dallas, and the Cowboys are 6-3 in that time...but the Hawks put a 13-12 loss on Dallas in their last meeting.
December 31st- Dallas @ Philadelphia Eagles
New Year's Eve battle in the City of Brotherly Love ! Cowboys had won four straight times in Philly before last year's meaningless game. This one should mean a lot more, and determine who goes on to the playoffs.
U.S. Army Picks New Handgun
This is it.... The Sig Sauer P320,...a modular designed polymer strike-fired pistol. The design allows for the weapon to be adapted to fire 9mm, .357 Sig, or .40 Smith & Wesson ammunition. Each pistol will be configured to allow the addition of silencers.
The annoucement concludes a five year study at a cost of almost seventeen million dollars. The new pistol won out in competition from Smith & Wesson, Glock, and Beretta for the 580 million dollar contract. The new pistols will begin delivery from the Exeter, New Hampshire plant immediately and continue over the next ten years..
The Sig Sauer XM17 will have the military designation of M17 and will replace the Army's M9, a Beretta 92f, which has been the official sidearm since 1985.
I know these are Marines firing the M9 Beretta, but it has been issued to Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine troops since 1985. The biggest complaint over the M9 was its failure to stop a combatant with a single shot. In a survey of recent returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, only 58% gave the M9 passing grades. Others were disgusted with it and evidently those complaints have finally landed on receptive ears among the big brass at the Pentagon.
This is a 100 year old Colt Model 1911 .45 caliber pistol, and it was the official military sidearm from 1911 through 1985 when it was replaced by the Beretta M9. The Beretta was suppose to save on ammunition weight and carry a larger magazine capacity than the 1911 pistol. Many special operations forces such as Army Special Forces and Navy Seals have been using the Colt instead of the Beretta. One hit with a .45 bullet will usually suffice for most victims. The basic design of John Browning has not changed much over the years and just about every gun manufacturer offers a version of the model 1911. This is the one that graces my nightstand at this very moment..
My Dad taught me that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.' I think that is a great discription for the model 1911... but technology marches on and now America's forces will turn to the Sig Sauer to provide reliability and forcefulness. The announcement did NOT specify just what caliber the new pistol would come in, but did say the M17 would come in the full size and compact models for troops with smaller hands.
SIG Sauer XM17 MHS pistol
