Talked with an ESPN consultant yesterday

[Fletch]

I met a friend at my favorite local watering hole last night. The Zone Sports Bar & Grill. In the process, I ended up meeting an official consultant from ESPN who was spending his last night in town drinking a few suds. He was in from Dallas for meetings with Cox Cable who has pulled a local station from it's viewing list. I guess ESPN wanted to make sure they weren't going to get pulled as well. He didn't go into detail.

Anyway, we talked a little bit, and I flat out asked the guy if he knew anything about the Darren Howard to Dallas scenario. He just kinda smiled and pulled out an actual business card from one of his buddies who works for Jerry Jones. There had to have been 20 or so business cards from various businesses, but I definitely noticed the big blue star on this particular one. Didn't catch the name on the card because I was allready a believer of his credentials and if he had any credible information.

As we talked a bit, he told me he was friends with Stephen Jones as well; without me even having to pry for further proof. Said they talked via phone in late January. Well from what I gathered from this guy, he told me that Jerry and Bill are more or less posturing. And that since the draft is about a month away, that they are trying to get some other teams into the Howard sweepstakes and that this is more or less a smoke screen on the Cowboys part.

So then I mention draft. He said, from what I've heard , they have targeted a guy and are trying to get a specific team or teams to go in another direction, giving the Cowboys a clear path come draft. The guy was definitely on the up and up, so it will be interesting to see if this all plays out as he says.

[dargonking999]

wow so basically this is a try to get teams tothink we're staying in the 4-3 so they might not try adn grab some of those 3-4 players, wow Jerry does know how to use his brain, naww this was all BIll

[HipHop]

Not that I doubt you, because I dont by any means....but that was very ambiguous.

Does this mean we aren't interested in Howard?

[31hammer]

Not that I doubt you, because I dont by any means....but that was very ambiguous.

Does this mean we aren't interested in Howard?


Why didn't you just say?

Whacha talkin' about Willis?

[junk]

I met a friend at my favorite local watering hole last night. The Zone Sports Bar & Grill. In the process, I ended up meeting an official consultant from ESPN who was spending his last night in town drinking a few suds. He was in from Dallas for meetings with Cox Cable who has pulled a local station from it's viewing list. I guess ESPN wanted to make sure they weren't going to get pulled as well. He didn't go into detail.

Anyway, we talked a little bit, and I flat out asked the guy if he knew anything about the Darren Howard to Dallas scenario. He just kinda smiled and pulled out an actual business card from one of his buddies who works for Jerry Jones. There had to have been 20 or so business cards from various businesses, but I definitely noticed the big blue star on this particular one. Didn't catch the name on the card because I was allready a believer of his credentials and if he had any credible information.

As we talked a bit, he told me he was friends with Stephen Jones as well; without me even having to pry for further proof. Said they talked via phone in late January. Well from what I gathered from this guy, he told me that Jerry and Bill are more or less posturing. And that since the draft is about a month away, that they are trying to get some other teams into the Howard sweepstakes and that this is more or less a smoke screen on the Cowboys part.

So then I mention draft. He said, from what I've heard , they have targeted a guy and are trying to get a specific team or teams to go in another direction, giving the Cowboys a clear path come draft. The guy was definitely on the up and up, so it will be interesting to see if this all plays out as he says.

Were Terry Glenn and Ty Law there eating as well? J/K :D

[RoysAHitta]

is fletch being serious? or was this a joke?

[Rack Bauer]

Jerry Jones was at my house yesterday. He said he was just doing the Howard "thing" to try and get The Mad Midget interested so that he would end up giving up MORE then he did to get him, then pay him a ton of money.

Basically he's just f'in with Dan Snyder.

[Nors]

No Fletch nailed it


This whole 4-3 Howard was a ruse.... Deal happened yet?


Not happening, they only fooled the suckers as 3-4 obviously is in the works.

[Eskimo]

Very ambiguous - could it mean that we are trying to make teams think that we are desperate for a RDE so that a team that is sitting behind us will be content to let us pick away thinking that we will go DE since we didn't get Howard? Meanwhile, we will pick the player they were thinking would drop to them because we were interested in a DE?

Could this be about us choosing a WR ahead of SD? Perhaps Mike Williams who they allegedly covet - the only problem is that I don't see MW being on the board at #11 with Bears, Bucs, Titans, Skins and Vikings picking ahead of us - one of them will grab him.

[jksmith269]

That was intresting so lets see how things play out....

[AmishCowboy]

If it's about a guy moving up, maybe is Merriman?

[godofwar]

Hey Fletch. I just noticed that we're from the same town. I hardly ever go to the Zone anymore, but sounds like I'm missing out. Thanks for the info.

[Tio]

No Fletch nailed it


This whole 4-3 Howard was a ruse.... Deal happened yet?


Not happening, they only fooled the suckers as 3-4 obviously is in the works.Yes, because it would completely destroy your 3-4 crusade if it were true.

[jobberone]

Good stuff. Nice read.

[TonyS]

As we talked a bit, he told me he was friends with Stephen Jones as well; without me even having to pry for further proof. Said they talked via phone in late January. Well from what I gathered from this guy, he told me that Jerry and Bill are more or less posturing. And that since the draft is about a month away, that they are trying to get some other teams into the Howard sweepstakes and that this is more or less a smoke screen on the Cowboys part.

So then I mention draft. He said, from what I've heard , they have targeted a guy and are trying to get a specific team or teams to go in another direction, giving the Cowboys a clear path come draft. The guy was definitely on the up and up, so it will be interesting to see if this all plays out as he says.

So...Stephen Jones has surrounded himself with people that go around telling strangers what their draft strategy is? If I am getting this information off of a forum, don't you think people much more "in the know" on other teams can get it as well? Kind of ruins the smokescreen doesn't it?

I wish I wasn't such a pessimist. :D

[Cbz40]

Fletch why didn't you get the guy drunk and find out who we have targeted? lol

[jimmy40]

I met a friend at my favorite local watering hole last night. The Zone Sports Bar & Grill. In the process, I ended up meeting an official consultant from ESPN who was spending his last night in town drinking a few suds. He was in from Dallas for meetings with Cox Cable who has pulled a local station from it's viewing list. I guess ESPN wanted to make sure they weren't going to get pulled as well. He didn't go into detail.

Anyway, we talked a little bit, and I flat out asked the guy if he knew anything about the Darren Howard to Dallas scenario. He just kinda smiled and pulled out an actual business card from one of his buddies who works for Jerry Jones. There had to have been 20 or so business cards from various businesses, but I definitely noticed the big blue star on this particular one. Didn't catch the name on the card because I was allready a believer of his credentials and if he had any credible information.

As we talked a bit, he told me he was friends with Stephen Jones as well; without me even having to pry for further proof. Said they talked via phone in late January. Well from what I gathered from this guy, he told me that Jerry and Bill are more or less posturing. And that since the draft is about a month away, that they are trying to get some other teams into the Howard sweepstakes and that this is more or less a smoke screen on the Cowboys part.

So then I mention draft. He said, from what I've heard , they have targeted a guy and are trying to get a specific team or teams to go in another direction, giving the Cowboys a clear path come draft. The guy was definitely on the up and up, so it will be interesting to see if this all plays out as he says.So our whole strategy is to try to fool the world and we start by telling an ESPN consultant our plans? Good one Fletch.

[WoodysGirl]

Fletch why didn't you get the guy drunk and find out who we have targeted? lol

I was thinking the same thing. If you're gonna get dirt, get ALL the dirt. :p:

[zagnut]

Well from what I gathered from this guy, he told me that Jerry and Bill are more or less posturing. And that since the draft is about a month away, that they are trying to get some other teams into the Howard sweepstakes and that this is more or less a smoke screen on the Cowboys part.

So then I mention draft. He said, from what I've heard , they have targeted a guy and are trying to get a specific team or teams to go in another direction, giving the Cowboys a clear path come draft. The guy was definitely on the up and up, so it will be interesting to see if this all plays out as he says.

This is very interesting. If it is true...way to go dude. You just gave away Bill and Jerry's super secret, uplift mofo, ultimate draft day party plan. If we end up having to draft Erasmus James, it's on your head! :D

Just to assume it's true, there are a bunch of ways to read this. Who in front of us would we care about influencing? In terms of direct competition, we would only care about NFC teams: Detroit, Washington, Arizona, Minnesota, Tampa, and Chicago. In terms of competition over a needed position likely to be drafted that high (DE, WR, or maybe OLB)...

M. Williams: Minnesota, Tennessee, maaaybe Wash., maaaybe Tampa.
S. Merriman: Detroit, Arizona, or Cleveland. Maaaybe Tennessee as a LOLB.
D. Johnson: Detroit, Minnesota, Chicago, and maybe Cleveland.

By showing interest in Howard, what would we be trying to do?

1) Create a market for Howard in the hopes that someone ahead of us would trade for him, reducing the number of potential suitors for another 4-3 DE like Merriman. Seems unlikely, as we would be showing a desire to get a DE and failing -- which would tell everyone we want a DE at 11. Someone behind us would now know to trade up.

2) Cause a team to so mortally fear our front four that it would push Alex Barron into the top 10. Also seems unlikely. Washington would be the team most affected by our line, but they have good tackles already and we beat their everytime anyway.

3) Make teams believe we are going to a 4-3, when if fact we are switching to a 3-4. The unsuspecting team trades down, thinking they can pick up their guy below us. Then we swoop in and pick Merriman. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone ahead of us that will trade down that far is playing the 3-4, and two 3-4 teams, San Diego and Houston, draft directly behind us, meaning the trading down team would likely not get their guy.

4) Suggest strongly that we want a DE, when REALLY we want the WR or the OLB. 4-3 teams behind us that want a DE would trade up, causing a run on DE to go higher than they would have normally. Imagine how much it helps us if Spears, Erasmus James, Dan Cody and maybe even Travis Johnson all went in the top 10 due to teams trading up with, say, teams who might want Mike Williams. Ha! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is: "Never get involved in a land war in Asia." But, only slightly less well known is this: "Never go in against Jerry, when a deal is on the line!

Ding, ding, ding. I think #4 seems very plausible if the parent story is true. We then draft Mike Williams, or Derrick Johnson at 11 and live happily ever after.

[Wood]

Just got off the phone with Jerry...said the Howard thing was a smoke screen for them to move back in the draft and take a TE in the 5th round again.

[jimmy40]

I met a friend at my favorite local watering hole last night. The Zone Sports Bar & Grill. In the process, I ended up meeting an official consultant from ESPN who was spending his last night in town drinking a few suds. He was in from Dallas for meetings with Cox Cable who has pulled a local station from it's viewing list. I guess ESPN wanted to make sure they weren't going to get pulled as well. He didn't go into detail.

Anyway, we talked a little bit, and I flat out asked the guy if he knew anything about the Darren Howard to Dallas scenario. He just kinda smiled and pulled out an actual business card from one of his buddies who works for Jerry Jones. There had to have been 20 or so business cards from various businesses, but I definitely noticed the big blue star on this particular one. Didn't catch the name on the card because I was allready a believer of his credentials and if he had any credible information.

As we talked a bit, he told me he was friends with Stephen Jones as well; without me even having to pry for further proof. Said they talked via phone in late January. Well from what I gathered from this guy, he told me that Jerry and Bill are more or less posturing. And that since the draft is about a month away, that they are trying to get some other teams into the Howard sweepstakes and that this is more or less a smoke screen on the Cowboys part.

So then I mention draft. He said, from what I've heard , they have targeted a guy and are trying to get a specific team or teams to go in another direction, giving the Cowboys a clear path come draft. The guy was definitely on the up and up, so it will be interesting to see if this all plays out as he says.
If you meet this guy again ask him why he didn't come to College Station when Cox pulled ESPN Classic for the E Network. How do you tell the difference between an official ESPN consultant and an unofficial consultant? Was he wearing an official ESPN jacket?

[kojak]

Why didn't you just say?

Whacha talkin' about Willis?

LMAO!!


I hope this deal is dead. Not that I wouldn't mind having Howard but not at that price.

[Big D]

If this is true, you just blew it for us!

:mad:

[Qwickdraw]

True or not... this makes for a very interesting perspective Fletch.

The only thing I can really surmise from this if it is indeed true is that we are not targeting Merriman because he fits the mold of both situations.
1. A team could believe that we are staying in the 4-3 and desire a pass rusher which he is.
or
2. they could think that we are really switching to a 3-4 in which case Merriman would probably the most sought after OLB.

IMO, most teams are considering Merriman the #1 choice for a 3-4 OLB and the #1 or #2 choice for a 4-3 DE. If we wanted Merriman, then we would have thrown up a smokescreen involving the likes of Burress or something. If we're throwing up a screen using a DE, then we might very well be targeting a WR.

[ddh33]

I'll play along because this is a fun, new twist to what is quickly becoming a boring story.

I think Zagnut pretty well layed out a few of the scenarios, although I'm not exactly convinced that Merriman is the Cowboys target. There's another possibility though that Dallas is trying to keep team behind them from trying to trade up. In that regards, I think every team is a potential competitor for the services of any particular player. It's one of the things that makes the draft so fun.

But Marcus Spears is a name that I think a lot of fans should keep their eyes on. I'm not completely convinced that Dallas has forgotten all about him.

[EGG]

So down at Valley Ranch they are telling ESPN consultants that the Howard deal is all a bunch of hooey,,, hmmm, well that's one way to keep a secret I guess~!

[Champsheart]

Fletch why didn't you get the guy drunk and find out who we have targeted? lol

I actually was thinking when he saw the business card with the blue star he should have snagged it and ran.

Then we could have made a phone call and got some real answers. :)

[SuspectCorner]

fletch, i like ya and will give ya the benefit of the doubt. but the ESPN guy? he gets no slack at all.

the easiest way to blow your cover is to tell anybody associated with the media.

think about it for a minute. if such a machiavellian plot we're underway - JJ BP and SJ wouldn't breathe a word of it to anyone outside the triumvirate... including underlings - and even the ladies they love and/or live with. much less some network suit.

and the effectiveness of such a plot, even were security maintained, is HIGHLY questionable.

i hope you weren't buying rounds until that gasbag blew the joint.... :D

[mr.jameswoods]

I'm willing to give Fletch's story the benefit of the doubt, because you would laugh how small this world really is. Besides, with the failure to sign Howard and have anything signficant in writing other that some reported meetings, how do we know this rumor isn't true? It could very well be true. Time will tell.

[DWAREZ]

Fletch why didn't you get the guy drunk and find out who we have targeted? lol

LOL Because then he might of thought Fletch was targeting him...LOL :)

[zagnut]

Now that I think about it, what the heck is an ESPN consultant?

[Redball Express]

Hey Fletch..

I think the guy is pulling your leg. I find it highly unlikely that any team would discuss draft plans or FA plans with anybody. Any town he drops into, he's got a thousand stories for any team for any fan. Pick one.

I don't think there are any smokescreens being pulled and no mis-direction plays being planned by the Cowboys.

There are so many holes still to be filled on this team that if the Cowboys just stay exactly where they are, they have the best chance to improve. They don't have to invent anything with rumors or off-the-record conversations. They don't have to reach. They don't have to move up or down.

This draft is loaded with plenty of talent at LB, DE, WR, RB, safety, and OL if we need with 3 choices in the first 43 picks that we can just sit back and watch the draft fall to us. If we do our homework, this should be a cakewalk for us come April.

As for trade rumors..

Dallas would like Howard, but I think the reason it all cooled, at least for now, is that Abraham of the Jets, has been told he could look for other teams to make a deal with. I have no doubts that BP and Jerry knew this was a possibility. I have no doubt that Abraham's ol' buddy Ferguson, whom we just signed from the Jets, still has Abraham's number in his speed dialer.

You think maybe they still talk..? Absolutely. You think maybe once the Jets and his agent got the Jets to give permission to talk with other teams, that a call wasn't made to Ferguson to get Stephen Jones' number in Dallas to explore any interest..?

I do. That was right about the time the whole thing for Howard cooled. Almost to the day a few days ago. Perhaps it's a coincidence. But it doesn't take much imagination to think that Abraham would be more desirable that Howard contract-wise and deal-wise.

I think Dallas would love to get Abraham here to pair with Ferguson. That would be a dream situation as far as BP would be concerned.

And I think the Jets would be happy to get something for Abraham if it looks like he may not be in their future plans. And since they traded a #1 to us last year, they might be interested in going back to the well with Dallas and workout a deal with us for Abraham.

Try to recoup from last year's trade a bit and hope to get something from us for signing Ferguson without them getting any compensation along with a deal for Abraham. While nothing more has been said about Abraham finding a team to go to..there is still plenty of time before the draft to see if something doesn't heat up.

And just the possibility of this could get NO to loosen up on their demands for Howard in any trade and take whatever Dallas has to offer and make the deal. With every day closer to the draft, I can see Dallas getting less and less interested in trading away any of thier '05 picks, which means especially that #2 this year that NO seems to covet.

But I have no facts to substantiate this, no 'buddy' I met in a bar that feed me this, but it's about as plausible as your 'ESPN' insider. Either he's jerking your string or you are ours..

..maybe both..?

hahhaaa..!!

Anyway, interesting reading.

Later.

ParcellsWaterBoy

[kidcrook]

I'm willing to bet that the "guy" that has been targeted in the draft is none other than Mike Williams.

[Hollywood Henderson]

I think teams are always putting up smoke screens this time of year...Some do it better then others...

I suspect Parcells needs 3 IMPACT players from our first 3 picks...

We must get a impact rusher at ether DE or OLB, perhaps both and a WR with game changing speed & RAC ability...

[Boston Cowboy]

.

And since they traded a #1 to us last year, they might be interested in going back to the well with Dallas and workout a deal with us for Abraham.


Don't you mean the Bills? I don't recall the Jets trading a #1 pick to us last year.

[bula]

Look, the absolute NUMERO UNO need for the cowboys is a Pass Rush -- Period end of story. That is the key to making the entire defense better. They can get this with either a 3-4 or a 4-3. I think that BP will not make a final decision on this until the personel he has to work with is set after the draft. I think he wants to go 3-4, and is trying to do so, but is keeping his options open - thus the moves being made allow this possibility. The wildcard is Howard. If the cowboys can get him for only a 2nd rounder, then they can fill 4-3 holes quickly with their 2 #1s (picks and trade downs). That is why Dat will NOT be traded. All the rest of this trade talk is bogus smoke screen BS. And yes, it's deliberate and intended to mix up what folks think the Boys will do with #11.

It's smart poker.

[Nors]

I was traveling recently in Baltimore. I went and had some beers at the ESPNZone. Ran into two guys, turns out related to Sports Insiders.
One guy Mal has a brother who is a high profile NFL Draft guy, the other's last name was King (and he doesn't write books) ;)

We started talking football and I turned the talk to Dallas. As the beer started to flow I was able to get the following out of these kin of "insiders".

Bill Parcells has started binge drinking all offseason. Drains 30 packs daily and won't come out of his office except to pee. Jones is giddy and taken control of the draft board.

Remember this is how the draft works, players are grouped in 10's.
I was able to get Dallas top 10 from them.

1) Matt Jones
2) Adrian Mcpherson
3) RON Brown
4) Antrelle Rolle
5)Travis Johnson
6)Jason Campbell
7)Brandon Pool
8)Alex Smith
9)Marcus Spears
10)Derrick Johnson

Word has it JJ feels he can trade down "a couple of spots" and still get The top 2 guys on his board. Players targeted with those picks are Hush - Maurice Clarett and Jeremy Parquet a Tackle out of Southern Missisippi (His dad once belonged in the same Rod and game club as JJ'S cousin in Arkansas!)


you heard it here first.

[Redball Express]

Don't you mean the Bills? I don't recall the Jets trading a #1 pick to us last year.


Absolutely, the Bills. My error. Remind me to drink two cups of coffee before logging on here in the AM.

Still, the move with Abraham makes more sense than Howard and the Bills would be interested in a draft pick I'm sure. Possibly we exchange one of our #1 picks with them and let them move up. We still get the DE we need and the Jets get something for him and we still have both our #1's or something along those lines.

Or even trading our #20 pick in '05 to the Bills for Abraham and their third round pick. Something like that. They get to move up, we get to move back and still pickup a prime player and still get another pick in the third round which we are lacking.

The Bills win as they unload cap and get something for him. We win as he fits the defense of moving to the 3-4. Better than Howard would.

Something it's been speculated we want to do, move back and get more picks.

Howard is a 4-3 player and I'm not belieiving we are going to stay with the 4-3 much longer. A big trade and contract would tie us to the 4-3 completely for a guy like Howard.

Whatever. I see lot's of options. But I'm not seeing smokescreens where there aren't any. Regardless who we draft or who gets traded for, you are going to hear BP and JJ say he or they were "Their Guys" all along they wanted.

So we'll see.

I think they are looking for the key player(s) at the right price via trade draft or FA to complete the plans we have to finish up the draft. Thank goodness we have options.

I'd bet the notebook they have built with all the possible scenarios to prepare for this draft must be as thick as their playbook. Interesting to see which ones get dialed up.


Thanks for the correction.

later.

ParcellsWaterBoy

[Arch Stanton]

I met a friend at my favorite local watering hole last night. The Zone Sports Bar & Grill. In the process, I ended up meeting an official consultant from ESPN who was spending his last night in town drinking a few suds. He was in from Dallas for meetings with Cox Cable who has pulled a local station from it's viewing list. I guess ESPN wanted to make sure they weren't going to get pulled as well. He didn't go into detail.

Anyway, we talked a little bit, and I flat out asked the guy if he knew anything about the Darren Howard to Dallas scenario. He just kinda smiled and pulled out an actual business card from one of his buddies who works for Jerry Jones. There had to have been 20 or so business cards from various businesses, but I definitely noticed the big blue star on this particular one. Didn't catch the name on the card because I was allready a believer of his credentials and if he had any credible information.

As we talked a bit, he told me he was friends with Stephen Jones as well; without me even having to pry for further proof. Said they talked via phone in late January. Well from what I gathered from this guy, he told me that Jerry and Bill are more or less posturing. And that since the draft is about a month away, that they are trying to get some other teams into the Howard sweepstakes and that this is more or less a smoke screen on the Cowboys part.

So then I mention draft. He said, from what I've heard , they have targeted a guy and are trying to get a specific team or teams to go in another direction, giving the Cowboys a clear path come draft. The guy was definitely on the up and up, so it will be interesting to see if this all plays out as he says.

Thanks for the info Fletch.

Sounds like you still trying to convince yourself that we will be drafting a WR in the first round. You know we won't and you'll lose the bet! :p: