dbair1967
04-21-2005, 05:59 AM
Cowboys just need to keep it simple
By Randy Galloway
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Saturday can not get here fast enough.
Upon arrival, Saturday will not move fast enough.
Nothing drags on like an NFL Draft.
Figure on about nine hours Saturday, and about the same on Sunday.
Hollywood marriages don't last this long.
Neither have most Cowboys' draftees over the past 10 years.
The NFL Draft is the most overblown media event in sports.
But in my business, the people demand to know. That's why the draft continues to be overblown. There's a demand for media guesswork.
Therefore, it's imperative I offer a strong opinion, first, on what the Cowboys should do. And then Saturday night, on what they did do.
Which is basically never what I thought they should do or would do.
But I can fake it. I can guru-up with the best of 'em.
Shawne Merriman? Never heard of him until a month ago.
Demarcus Ware? He's from Troy? Is that in America?
Anyway, those are two names who are supposed to be high on the Cowboys' got-to-have first-round list.
Me? I like Matt Jones from Arkansas.
Why? Well, the dearly departed Barry Switzer, who as the Cowboys' head coach knew as much about the NFL Draft as I do, was once being grilled by the media on why a certain player had been taken.
Fed up, Switzer finally fired back:
"Because he's a damn football player."
If the Cowboys had drafted more damn football players, Barry wouldn't be selling fried chicken in Oklahoma.
I'm all for that.
Drafting damn football players.
Julius Jones comes immediately to mind.
But the Cowboys have had many more Jacob Rogerses than Julius Joneses.
Speaking of Julius:
Since Big Bill pulled a swift one last April in trading out of the first round, picking up a first-rounder for Saturday, and then drafting a damn football player (Jones) early in the second round, what's the issue?
The Cowboys have the 11th pick and the 20th pick of this draft. And then the 10th pick in the second round, No. 42 overall.
So if you have three picks in the first 42, why get cute on Saturday?
Why is there all this talk about trading down and trading around?
Stay where you are. Is that a problem? Is it even an issue?
If your football people cannot find a couple of damn football players with three of the first 42 picks in this draft, then the next step is obvious.
Fire everybody.
Start with the general manager.
Oh, I forgot. That's Jerry.
But outside of that one year he went wacko on Quincy Carter, I don't see Mr. Jones as a big problem in the drafting equation.
He has scouts. He has coaches. He knows by now to listen.
I'm more interested in what Big Bill is thinking.
By Saturday night, once the first-day picks are in, Big Bill is supposed to speak for the first time in months.
Meanwhile, we've heard plenty from Jerry of late.
Jerry hints at the dreaded cuteness for Saturday.
Trade down, trade all around. Generate extra picks. Recoup that third-rounder the Cowboys don't have.
Oh, brother.
Then again, all this might be a smokescreen.
This time of year, why would anyone actually tell you what his team is thinking in the draft?
One theory says the Cowboys want an impact defensive player in the first round and then will use the other first-rounder to generate more picks.
Babe Laufenberg, the Channel 11 guy who used to play the game, says if anyone would care to review the statistical numbers over the last five years, then the Cowboys should draft nothing but offensive players.
Personally, it's not in my Star-Telegram contract to provide statistical numbers, but memory alone tells me the Cowboys, since Aikman, have been much more anemic offensively than defensively.
So let Babe do the drafting.
Frankly, I don't see any problems for the Cowboys on Saturday. They have plenty of needs, and they have multiple early picks to fill those needs.
So, Bill ...
Don't screw it up.
And, also, draft quickly. It's a long, long day, and night.
By Randy Galloway
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
Saturday can not get here fast enough.
Upon arrival, Saturday will not move fast enough.
Nothing drags on like an NFL Draft.
Figure on about nine hours Saturday, and about the same on Sunday.
Hollywood marriages don't last this long.
Neither have most Cowboys' draftees over the past 10 years.
The NFL Draft is the most overblown media event in sports.
But in my business, the people demand to know. That's why the draft continues to be overblown. There's a demand for media guesswork.
Therefore, it's imperative I offer a strong opinion, first, on what the Cowboys should do. And then Saturday night, on what they did do.
Which is basically never what I thought they should do or would do.
But I can fake it. I can guru-up with the best of 'em.
Shawne Merriman? Never heard of him until a month ago.
Demarcus Ware? He's from Troy? Is that in America?
Anyway, those are two names who are supposed to be high on the Cowboys' got-to-have first-round list.
Me? I like Matt Jones from Arkansas.
Why? Well, the dearly departed Barry Switzer, who as the Cowboys' head coach knew as much about the NFL Draft as I do, was once being grilled by the media on why a certain player had been taken.
Fed up, Switzer finally fired back:
"Because he's a damn football player."
If the Cowboys had drafted more damn football players, Barry wouldn't be selling fried chicken in Oklahoma.
I'm all for that.
Drafting damn football players.
Julius Jones comes immediately to mind.
But the Cowboys have had many more Jacob Rogerses than Julius Joneses.
Speaking of Julius:
Since Big Bill pulled a swift one last April in trading out of the first round, picking up a first-rounder for Saturday, and then drafting a damn football player (Jones) early in the second round, what's the issue?
The Cowboys have the 11th pick and the 20th pick of this draft. And then the 10th pick in the second round, No. 42 overall.
So if you have three picks in the first 42, why get cute on Saturday?
Why is there all this talk about trading down and trading around?
Stay where you are. Is that a problem? Is it even an issue?
If your football people cannot find a couple of damn football players with three of the first 42 picks in this draft, then the next step is obvious.
Fire everybody.
Start with the general manager.
Oh, I forgot. That's Jerry.
But outside of that one year he went wacko on Quincy Carter, I don't see Mr. Jones as a big problem in the drafting equation.
He has scouts. He has coaches. He knows by now to listen.
I'm more interested in what Big Bill is thinking.
By Saturday night, once the first-day picks are in, Big Bill is supposed to speak for the first time in months.
Meanwhile, we've heard plenty from Jerry of late.
Jerry hints at the dreaded cuteness for Saturday.
Trade down, trade all around. Generate extra picks. Recoup that third-rounder the Cowboys don't have.
Oh, brother.
Then again, all this might be a smokescreen.
This time of year, why would anyone actually tell you what his team is thinking in the draft?
One theory says the Cowboys want an impact defensive player in the first round and then will use the other first-rounder to generate more picks.
Babe Laufenberg, the Channel 11 guy who used to play the game, says if anyone would care to review the statistical numbers over the last five years, then the Cowboys should draft nothing but offensive players.
Personally, it's not in my Star-Telegram contract to provide statistical numbers, but memory alone tells me the Cowboys, since Aikman, have been much more anemic offensively than defensively.
So let Babe do the drafting.
Frankly, I don't see any problems for the Cowboys on Saturday. They have plenty of needs, and they have multiple early picks to fill those needs.
So, Bill ...
Don't screw it up.
And, also, draft quickly. It's a long, long day, and night.