dmq
03-31-2005, 07:38 AM
Draft-day pressure is mounting
11:16 PM CST on Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Throughout the off-season Matt Mosley joins DallasNews.com assistant sports editor Ted Gangi in a question and answer session. The following is a partial transcript of their sitdown this week.
The Cowboys have two of the first 20 picks in the draft. Realistically, how much help can the Cowboys get for the 2005 season?
The Cowboys have more pressure than ever on them in this draft. After that initial week of free agency when they signed three guys, there was a lot of excitement that was building that week. Those were kind of "foundation" guys, guys you to get, stop-gap guys. Those are guys that were definite upgrades at those three positions.
If you are a team like the Eagles or the Patriots, you can draft players that are going to help you down the road. You don't fill holes, you take the best player available. I hear different teams talk about taking the best player available. The Cowboys are not in that position. What the Cowboys have to do with that first pick – I don't see any other way around it – they have to find help in the pass rush. That could be a guy who can stand up in that 3-4 or rush off the end in a 4-3 or a bigger player, like Wisconsin's Erasmus James, who could step into a 4-3 and provide some pass rush. That's where they have to go with that first pick. They will take the best pass-rusher on the board at that point.
The Cowboys have been caught up in making draft-day deals. Have they placed too much emphasis on that as opposed to just concentrating on picking the best player at a given spot in the draft?
The Cowboys are in better shape now and have a better idea of what they want to do on draft day than they did a few years ago. They did have some salary cap problems in the past. When you start trading first-round picks for guys like Joey Galloway, you get yourself in trouble. Jerry Jones has learned his lesson and is not going to repeat those mistakes.
What they love doing is trading down to get those extra picks. This draft is just not loaded with can't-miss stars. Last year, you had more of those guys. I think there's a good chance that the Cowboys will take that second pick and trade down in order to get additional picks. They'd like to get a third-round pick. They think there can be a lot of value in that third and fourth round, where they might go after a wide receiver. This draft is deep enough at receiver that they could get a guy there that could help them later.
It will be interesting to see how they try to acquire more draft picks. If they think they can get just as good a value in the fifth round as the third round, they will just keep trading down. If they start this draft with eight picks, it wouldn't surprise me if they end up with 11 or 12 players.
When you see teams go from 6-10 to the Super Bowl, does that create the myth of the quick fix? The Cowboys are not going to go from 6-10 to the Super Bowl in one year, are they?
Could they go from 6-10 to 10-6? Yes. I have a hard time thinking that anything they do in this draft could get them to the Super Bowl. We talk a lot about parity and the NFC was so watered down last year. There were some mediocre teams that made the playoffs.
Can the Cowboys make the playoffs? Yes. Can they pull off one of those huge turnarounds and get to the Super Bowl? I don't think so.
The Cowboys have to build on something. What hurt them more than anything was that 10-6 season with Quincy Carter here was a mirage and they thought a little bit too highly of themselves. They didn't do enough things last year to get them to that next level.
People can say they have an upgrade at quarterback with Drew Bledsoe. But I keep coming back to the fact that the Bills let this guy go and they have all the other parts and they opted to put their franchise in the hands of a guy who has thrown five passes instead of a known commodity.
There's no guarantee that Bledsoe steps in and takes the offense to another level and fans are going to have to temper their enthusiasm with what might happen.
With Bill Parcells, you have to keep asking, is it a win-now situation or are they setting themselves up to win down the road? Parcells has two years left on the contract and I don't see any way he goes past that. So, it will be interesting to see how they approach this season. You did see them become more aggressive in free agency, but if they didn't do that you would have had fans on the verge of revolt around here.
It's unlikely that the Cowboys would trade the No. 11 overall pick. Who could you see the Cowboys taking in that slot?
They are going to look at the top pass-rusher on the board. The name that I see on many mock drafts is Shawne Merriman from Maryland, a guy who played defensive line, but is being billed as an outside linebacker. He's 6-4, about 250 with a 41-inch vertical jump, kind of a freak of an athlete. He's a guy they think has so much upside.
From this part of the country, you have to throw out Derrick Johnson's name. He's a superb player, but he relies so much on his speed that he'll run around different blockers to make players. The Cowboys feel like they need a guy who will take on blocks. But, the truth is, he may already be off the board.
Erasmus James is a defensive end from Wisconsin. He's a terrific pass rusher. He gets off the ball well. For a huge guy, he has great speed. He's 6-3 and 285. To put him on the other side, opposite Greg Ellis, gives you something. He's a guy that's probably big enough to play end in a 3-4.
I think LSU's Marcus Spears will go later in the first round and David Pollack from Georgia will go later.
11:16 PM CST on Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Throughout the off-season Matt Mosley joins DallasNews.com assistant sports editor Ted Gangi in a question and answer session. The following is a partial transcript of their sitdown this week.
The Cowboys have two of the first 20 picks in the draft. Realistically, how much help can the Cowboys get for the 2005 season?
The Cowboys have more pressure than ever on them in this draft. After that initial week of free agency when they signed three guys, there was a lot of excitement that was building that week. Those were kind of "foundation" guys, guys you to get, stop-gap guys. Those are guys that were definite upgrades at those three positions.
If you are a team like the Eagles or the Patriots, you can draft players that are going to help you down the road. You don't fill holes, you take the best player available. I hear different teams talk about taking the best player available. The Cowboys are not in that position. What the Cowboys have to do with that first pick – I don't see any other way around it – they have to find help in the pass rush. That could be a guy who can stand up in that 3-4 or rush off the end in a 4-3 or a bigger player, like Wisconsin's Erasmus James, who could step into a 4-3 and provide some pass rush. That's where they have to go with that first pick. They will take the best pass-rusher on the board at that point.
The Cowboys have been caught up in making draft-day deals. Have they placed too much emphasis on that as opposed to just concentrating on picking the best player at a given spot in the draft?
The Cowboys are in better shape now and have a better idea of what they want to do on draft day than they did a few years ago. They did have some salary cap problems in the past. When you start trading first-round picks for guys like Joey Galloway, you get yourself in trouble. Jerry Jones has learned his lesson and is not going to repeat those mistakes.
What they love doing is trading down to get those extra picks. This draft is just not loaded with can't-miss stars. Last year, you had more of those guys. I think there's a good chance that the Cowboys will take that second pick and trade down in order to get additional picks. They'd like to get a third-round pick. They think there can be a lot of value in that third and fourth round, where they might go after a wide receiver. This draft is deep enough at receiver that they could get a guy there that could help them later.
It will be interesting to see how they try to acquire more draft picks. If they think they can get just as good a value in the fifth round as the third round, they will just keep trading down. If they start this draft with eight picks, it wouldn't surprise me if they end up with 11 or 12 players.
When you see teams go from 6-10 to the Super Bowl, does that create the myth of the quick fix? The Cowboys are not going to go from 6-10 to the Super Bowl in one year, are they?
Could they go from 6-10 to 10-6? Yes. I have a hard time thinking that anything they do in this draft could get them to the Super Bowl. We talk a lot about parity and the NFC was so watered down last year. There were some mediocre teams that made the playoffs.
Can the Cowboys make the playoffs? Yes. Can they pull off one of those huge turnarounds and get to the Super Bowl? I don't think so.
The Cowboys have to build on something. What hurt them more than anything was that 10-6 season with Quincy Carter here was a mirage and they thought a little bit too highly of themselves. They didn't do enough things last year to get them to that next level.
People can say they have an upgrade at quarterback with Drew Bledsoe. But I keep coming back to the fact that the Bills let this guy go and they have all the other parts and they opted to put their franchise in the hands of a guy who has thrown five passes instead of a known commodity.
There's no guarantee that Bledsoe steps in and takes the offense to another level and fans are going to have to temper their enthusiasm with what might happen.
With Bill Parcells, you have to keep asking, is it a win-now situation or are they setting themselves up to win down the road? Parcells has two years left on the contract and I don't see any way he goes past that. So, it will be interesting to see how they approach this season. You did see them become more aggressive in free agency, but if they didn't do that you would have had fans on the verge of revolt around here.
It's unlikely that the Cowboys would trade the No. 11 overall pick. Who could you see the Cowboys taking in that slot?
They are going to look at the top pass-rusher on the board. The name that I see on many mock drafts is Shawne Merriman from Maryland, a guy who played defensive line, but is being billed as an outside linebacker. He's 6-4, about 250 with a 41-inch vertical jump, kind of a freak of an athlete. He's a guy they think has so much upside.
From this part of the country, you have to throw out Derrick Johnson's name. He's a superb player, but he relies so much on his speed that he'll run around different blockers to make players. The Cowboys feel like they need a guy who will take on blocks. But, the truth is, he may already be off the board.
Erasmus James is a defensive end from Wisconsin. He's a terrific pass rusher. He gets off the ball well. For a huge guy, he has great speed. He's 6-3 and 285. To put him on the other side, opposite Greg Ellis, gives you something. He's a guy that's probably big enough to play end in a 3-4.
I think LSU's Marcus Spears will go later in the first round and David Pollack from Georgia will go later.