Izell Reese VERY smart pickup? - Dallas Cowboys Forum

TheSport78 · 06-04-2005

"Not only is Reese a rangy cover safety, but he also is a strong special teams player, which was the reason he was able to stick with the Cowboys in 1998. The 31-year-old Reese led the Cowboys his rookie season with 21 special teams tackles - 16 of those coming in the final eight games of the season."

just a thought guys...at first when we signed Reese i basically thought.."ok a mediocre player thrown in the mix for FS"...but then i remembered what parcells said about not having Davis on special teams would really hurt. soo what i'm thinkin is that jerrah dug up Reese and the main factor in signing him was contributing greatly on special teams in davis' absence. i think if we have reese playing special teams, and who is also a safe reliable backup to davis/whoever wins the job, things would be more equal? thoughts?

scottsp · 06-04-2005

Sure. Why not? I'm always for contingencies like this. The move itself does not eliminate the possibility of acquiring additional talent, should it become available - at free safety or elsewhere.

I like it as well.

Qwickdraw · 06-04-2005

I think it's a good signing.
What we lacked last year was experience at the position. Dixon actually had potential, just no experience whatsoever. That's the same position our candidates are in today. K. Davis and Beriault have the potential but no exp. Now we afford ourselves the ability to have a good comp in camp for the spot and give the position to a playmaker with potential like Davis. But if he appears to be suspect after a few games, you put in an experienced vet who may not make alot of big plays, but won't hurt you with mental mistakes either.

KDWilliams85 · 06-04-2005

[font=Tahoma]I'm with Qwickdraw on this one. This is rather intelligent. Given Parcells' stance on Davis being a stud ST player, Reese is that FS that Davis would be if he wasn't around.

So, Davis or Reese would be the starting FS while the other one was on special teams. It's a win-win given the premise.
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mbanx · 06-04-2005

I'm onboard as well with the signing. I don't know alot about Davis physically except he can lay some fierce hits on special teams.

flashback · 06-04-2005

I was never really impressed with Izell when he was here, and it's a little surprising that he's stuck in the league this long. But the TheSport is right, this signing is for depth and special teams. If he doesn't outplay the kids, he won't be here come the regular season, but if he can contribute its a smart signing.

And I know this reveals an unhealthy interest in the Redskins, but isn't it funny that their working out and trying to sign just about every veteran DB in the NFL, and we go get Reese right when their superstar FS gets into trouble?

Big Country · 06-05-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by flashback

I was never really impressed with Izell when he was here, and it's a little surprising that he's stuck in the league this long. But the TheSport is right, this signing is for depth and special teams. If he doesn't outplay the kids, he won't be here come the regular season, but if he can contribute its a smart signing.

And I know this reveals an unhealthy interest in the Redskins, but isn't it funny that their working out and trying to sign just about every veteran DB in the NFL, and we go get Reese right when their superstar FS gets into trouble?

I think the signing of Reese is a terrific move on Dallas part... not only do they leave the Skins with one less alternative in their search for DBs in FA,
but now the Dallas defense is just one better in the talent department... Reese is not going to break the bank or go on a 100 tackle or double digit int. season, but if the talent for this new Dallas defense is anything close to spectacular, then the experience of Reese as even a solid role player will become much more evident when Dallas is sacking the lights (hopefully) out of the opposing offense. The presence of another big DB in the Dallas backfield will make their defense even better.

:jints: :iggles:

dallascowboysfan31 · 06-04-2005

can you imagine if davis develops into a stud. i mean aren't we due to find a diamond in the ruff anyway. roy and killer davis back there. OMG!!!!!!

Erik_H · 06-04-2005

re-posted from anther thread...
*

Ok, I like this move. Not because it gives us a great FS, but because it settles things for us. There are a bunch of advantages to this signing. Let's see if I can make sense of this in a way that can be followed.

We know (pretty much) how good Reese is. He's got experience, and some real know-how about the position, but he's no playmaking star. If he were, he'd still be a Bill.

For the sake of agrument, let's make a 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being a player of Tony Dixons caliber (not particlarly fair since he's really a SS, but anyway..) and 10 being Ed Reed. Let's put Reese as a 5.

BP pretty much knows this, so he doesn't have to worry too much about evaluating him. He now knows that in a worst case scenario, he's got a "5" player manning the FS spot.

Now this "5" player has come in and set the bar for the competition. He's come in cheaply enough that there is no pressure to have him start.

Before we got Reese, we had a bunch of real unknowns battling out each other, which makes the comparisions difficult. Without Resses we'd have had a starter by default without really having an idea of his competence.

Now we have a baseline with which to compare the other candidates. If say, Davis, should win the spot, then we can expect that he'll be at least a "6" which I'd satisfied with. Ya can't have stars at every position and FS is one of the easier ones to protect if they're at least "OK"

A bigger signing (such as Chavous, Shulters or that other guy) would have clearly precluded an open competition, whereas Reese's low salary invites it.

Add to that, better than average Special Teams qualtiy of play, I think this helps us.

We ARE in better shape because of this move.

Cogan · 06-04-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallascowboysfan31

can you imagine if davis develops into a stud. i mean aren't we due to find a diamond in the ruff anyway. roy and killer davis back there. OMG!!!!!!

I don't know if it's saying much, but Davis was runner-up for NFLE MVP a year ago. I know the comp is not even close, but it does show he has the potential if given the chance. The Reese signing was a good one. You basically have two players with similar abilities, except Reese has experience & Davis is the better athlete. Both are studs on special teams.
I would love for Davis to win the spot. Now, big Bill doesn't have to worry about a dive in ST talent.

WilmingtonHeel · 06-04-2005

I agree absolutely

**WoodysGirl** · 06-04-2005

It really is a nice solid pick up. For all the folks who wanted a FS, well we got one. He wasn't a "name" FS or a CB who can maybe, possibly convert to FS, but an actual FS. And we got pretty much what I thought we'd get at this point in FA. He's not much of an upgrade, but he provides another veteran presence in the secondary. The big plus for me is that he was once one of our own.

Like many, I think one of the young guys still starts. I have no real preference for any of them, even tho Davis seems to be high on everyone's radar.

Jersey · 06-04-2005

I think its a great move. We're not paying him a bunch, therefore there's no obligation to force him as the starter. Secondly, he's played well on some pretty good defenses that played the 3-4. His experience will allow our corners to play more aggressively knowing they have "smart" help back there. Not bad to fall-back on if Davis doesn't win the job. Reese's ST play is also an added bonus, and he's not ancient with just a year or 2 left in him. This allows us to cut Lynn Scott this year. I've always believed that we couldn't be a true elite team with guys of his talent level on our roster. Nothing against him, just being honest.

calico · 06-04-2005

I like the signing. I know he is not the stud that we expected, but I think he will help fill the hole until next year. I missed Reese alot a few years ago...

**jobberone** · 06-04-2005

I was of the opinion we would get a vet FS (along with a lot of others) but this surprised me a little. Izell is a solid player. I would have preferred Chavous but maybe he's hurt and/or wants too much money. He may turn out to be another Teague which would be ok with me.