Cowboys at the bye and a four round draft (long) - Dallas Cowboys Forum

VACowboy · 10-11-2011

This started out as a mock draft and grew, so I decided to post it here instead of the Draft Zone.

The first quarter of the season is gone. Dallas is 2-2, and as Bill Parcells says, "You are what your record says you are." For sure, the Cowboys are an NFL football team with two wins and two losses. Hard to argue that. But that's not quite the end of it for me. In my mind, getting dominated and blown out is a lot different than outplaying your opponent and losing because you make a couple of dumb mistakes. Sometimes you get beat. Sometimes you lose. And in my opinion, no team has beaten the Dallas Cowboys so far in 2011 but the Cowboys themselves.

Point is, after four games, Dallas is a .500 team, but just because the team is .500 now doesn't mean it has to stay that way. I think we've seen a whole lot to be hopeful about and plenty of reasons to believe that things are about to get really interesting.

• The most obvious is health. The team has been nicked and hobbled since training camp. Newman has played one game. Austin, Bryant, Scandrick and Hatcher have all missed significant time, and scads of others have been playing hurt. But the bye is here, and what perfect timing. Players are resting, healing up, and on Sunday, the team will be in Foxboro at near 100% with Red, Rowdy Rob and their boys coming off two weeks of preparation.

• Youth. The roster contains 10 rookies and nine second year players. That's 36%, and we're not just talking about a bunch of practice players. Tyron Smith, Costa, Nagy, Lee, Bailey, Brent, Bryant, Holley, Albright, Harris, Church and McCray have all made significant contributions on game day, whether on special teams or offense/defense. The guy that no one saw coming, though, is Sean Lissemore. This former sprinter from the College of William & Mary is having a heck of a season at DE, stuffing runs and pushing the pocket. He makes drafting a DE in 2012 a non-necessity.

• The offensive line isn't perfect, but the guys are young and playing very well, all things considered. What is certain is Tyron Smith's trajectory. We knew he was a physical freak. We figured he'd be a Pro Bowl-type player with a little experience and some time in Woicik's weight room. But what no one guessed is that after four games he'd be the Cowboys' best offensive linemen, and one of the best RT in the league. He'll move to the left side next year and let Free play the position where he excelled in 2009. Overall, I think we need to consider the effect of the Detroit defensive line last night against Chicago and compare it to last week. Did Suh even play in Dallas?

• The defense: I'd hoped that Ryan would do something with the talent on this team. I knew he'd done more with less in the past and guessed that the Dallas D would improve some simply through the unpredictability Ryan would bring. We all knew blitzing and pressuring the QB was his thing, but who expected our team to lead the league in stopping the run? Through four games, Ryan is doing what he's always done, getting the most out of his players and turning out a defense more than good enough to win any game. Guys like Lissemore and Sensebaugh are having an impact, Hatcher is playing the best ball of his career and Lee has become a monster--not to mention Jenkins' return to form. And this has all happened with the team playing with less than a full deck. The cool thing is, the players are still learning Ryan's playbook. This defense is going to get BETTER, and I think by mid-November will be a dominant force.

• Jason Garrett is running the team. He's gotten rid of dead weight and instituted a system of accountability at Valley Ranch. The best players play, end of story, and if you don't work hard, play hard and embrace Garrett's philosophy of improvement through attention to detail, you can go play football somewhere else. The most encouraging thing to me is that, a letdown with a 24-point lead aside, these guys play hard, whistle to whistle, and that's not something we've been able to say about the Cowboys for a good while.

• Bottom line: the Cowboys have beaten two current division leaders, dominated a third to a 24-point lead and had the Jets dead to rights with seven minutes left--on the road, on opening Sunday night, the tenth anniversary of 9/11. And while there are no moral victories in a 16 game NFL season, I believe you have to actually look at the games to see the whole picture. The fact is, Dallas has outplayed every team they've faced and given two of those games away, plain and simple. Those losses count, sure, but I think what the game play says about the Cowboys is very important, and what it says is that this team is very good, in all phases. And it's only going to get better. Come January, I truly believe that the Dallas Cowboys will be the team nobody wants to play.

The offseason...

First, we must resign Sensebaugh, Elam, Spencer and McBriar. The team has the cap space to do it. Get 'er done.

Spencer is playing extremely well, as is Sensebaugh. Elam is steady. We need the two safeties to hold the fort for one more year. McBriar is, well, McBriar. We'll lose Newman, Choice, probably Ball and Bennett. This all makes corner the team's greatest need, followed by interior OL, DL, FB, safety, OLB and TE. Butler has really been a disappointment.

In my opinion, no single position group has a greater affect on a football game than the OL. The big guys make everyone better, from the QB, the RBs and the receivers to the entire defense. A dominant OL allows a quarterback to go through all his reads, step up and make his best throw. It opens up the entire playbook to the offense in any situation, allows it to control the clock and score touchdowns in the red zone. It wears down opposing defenses, keeps its own defense off the field and fresh, and puts games away in the fourth quarter. In my estimation, THIS is what the Dallas Cowboys need.

So, the draft...
(a nod to The Realist)

1. Peter Konz (C), 6-5 315, Wisconsin
This guy is a big, athletic mauler who can handle nose tackles one on one. He's a monster in the running game and terrific in pass protection. He moves well in space and pulls very well. He's just an absolute stud at the center position who's ready to start in the NFL right now.

2. Casey Hayward (CB), 5-11 190, Vanderbilt
He's a great cover corner with superb ball skills, who will also stick his head in and inflict a hit. He has four picks through four games against big boy competition. I like Minnifield and Boykin, too.

3. Kevin Zeitler (OG), 6-4 312, Wisconsin
This guy is the guard I really want and I think we'll probably have to trade up a bit to get him. I could go on about him, but it's just easier to say he's Peter Konz playing guard. These two guys have been blowing holes open in a pro-style running attack as well as anyone in the country.

4. Kyle Wilber (OLB), 6-5 240, Wake Forest
Big kid with good speed and great smarts. Playing OLB in a 3-4 defense, Wilbur has two sacks, 3.5 TFL and two forced fumbles. That's through four games. Last year he totaled 6 and 14.5.

visionary · 10-11-2011

very nice post
where do I sign up for that draft?
good job

sonnyboy · 10-11-2011

Dallas is 2-2, and as Bill Parcells says, "You are what your record says you are."

This just always pissed me off. It's so ignorant.

You are what you are after 16 games because that's when they total it up, break ties and send 12 teams to the post season.

Between now and then, especially after only 5 weeks, it's perfectly reasonable to compare us to any other team regardless of record.

Cleveland is the only other 2-2 team after 5 weeks. Here's their body of work:

Lost to the Bengals in Cleveland by 10.
Beat the Colts in Indy by 9.
Beat the Dolphins in Cleveland by 12.
Lost to the Titans in Cleveland by 19!

So lets do the math. They've played 4 teams who most likely won't finish better than .500. 3 of 4 at home and the one road game was against a free falling Colts team that hadn't adjusted to life without Peyton.

Would anyone in their right mind compare this favorably to what the Cowboys have done?

Now this is just one example and it is a bit of an extreme. But they are the only other 2-2 team right now.

Point I'm making is that this early on, it's fair to make this type on comparison to just about any 1-3, 3-1, 2-3, 3-2, 4-1, even 5-0 team.

casmith07 · 10-11-2011

Good draft but Casey Hayward is no Terence Newman.

I think Newman sticks. I think we churn at the bottom for the secondary.

VACowboy · 10-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by casmith07

Good draft but Casey Hayward is no Terence Newman.

I think Newman sticks. I think we churn at the bottom for the secondary.

I sure as heck wouldn't be opposed to that. I think Mario Butler can play.

Star4Ever · 10-11-2011

Depending on where we draft and how the draft falls, I think we take a corner with our first pick. Either that or a safety. Again, it depends where we are and how things fall, but I still see us taking someone in the secondary with our first pick unless a great player that we didn't think would be available at another position falls to us for some reason.

Deep_Freeze · 10-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Star4Ever

Depending on where we draft and how the draft falls, I think we take a corner with our first pick. Either that or a safety. Again, it depends where we are and how things fall, but I still see us taking someone in the secondary with our first pick unless a great player that we didn't think would be available at another position falls to us for some reason.

I have to agree with this, there is no reason to go overboard on the OL, especially since we are still developing some youth down there already. Although I'm never really against drafting OL, we got alot of other needs to address on this team also.

Even if TNew signed a one year deal, we still need a guy there, preferably a first rounder. There will be good safeties available in the 2nd round. Hopefully we are in the position to take the best available player in every round, would be nice for once.

ufcrules1 · 10-11-2011

"Jason Garrett is running the team. He's gotten rid of dead weight and instituted a system of accountability at Valley Ranch. The best players play, end of story, and if you don't work hard, play hard and embrace Garrett's philosophy of improvement through attention to detail, you can go play football somewhere else. The most encouraging thing to me is that, a letdown with a 24-point lead aside, these guys play hard, whistle to whistle, and that's not something we've been able to say about the Cowboys for a good while"

He needs to also hold himself accountable for his playcalling when we have a 24 point lead.

This team also has to let go of the "Something bad is going to happen" mentality. This cost us the game in NY and cost us the game against Detroit. The whole team on offense and defense started to give up a bit at the end of that game when the momentum changed. So they weren't playing their hearts out from whistle to whistle. They are hands down better than last year and play with a lot more heart... but the mentality has to change. It's Rob and Jason's job to make them understand that. They have to play like every game is the superbowl and balls to the wall the WHOLE game.

SDogo · 10-11-2011

Currently picking 13th. We better come away with more value then Konz.

Joe Rod · 10-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

Currently picking 13th. We better come away with more value then Konz.

I would hope that if they do go interior O-line that they try to trade back and grab an extra second to get a corner or safety. The second round currently seems to be the spot for Safeties and Dallas has neglected those spots for far too long now.

Just my way too early opinion.

windward · 10-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by SDogo

Currently picking 13th. We better come away with more value then Konz.

If we end up 13th, then Burfict looks tempting.

Picksix · 10-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by casmith07

Good draft but Casey Hayward is no Terence Newman.

I think Newman sticks. I think we churn at the bottom for the secondary.

I think the issue with Newman will be our cap situation. We have a lot of dead money next year. We also have a lot of rollover (currently) money to help offset that. It will most likely depend on whether we can afford him. Can't keep paying him what they have been. He's not worth 8 million a year. Will he take a pay cut? If he wants to stick, he may have to.

Picksix · 10-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonnyboy

Dallas is 2-2, and as Bill Parcells says, "You are what your record says you are."

This just always pissed me off. It's so ignorant.

You are what you are after 16 games because that's when they total it up, break ties and send 12 teams to the post season.

Between now and then, especially after only 5 weeks, it's perfectly reasonable to compare us to any other team regardless of record.

Cleveland is the only other 2-2 team after 5 weeks. Here's their body of work:

Lost to the Bengals in Cleveland by 10.
Beat the Colts in Indy by 9.
Beat the Dolphins in Cleveland by 12.
Lost to the Titans in Cleveland by 19!

So lets do the math. They've played 4 teams who most likely won't finish better than .500. 3 of 4 at home and the one road game was against a free falling Colts team that hadn't adjusted to life without Peyton.

[View Full Quote]

Thank you. Another one of those myths that seems to be taken as fact. Atlanta ended up 13-3 last year, after several close wins over average to poor teams. They didn't look even close to a 13-3 team in their playoff game. I don't care how well GB played. That team was a fraud.

casmith07 · 10-11-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Picksix

I think the issue with Newman will be our cap situation. We have a lot of dead money next year. We also have a lot of rollover (currently) money to help offset that. It will most likely depend on whether we can afford him. Can't keep paying him what they have been. He's not worth 8 million a year. Will he take a pay cut? If he wants to stick, he may have to.

We will have $20M in cap room next year, even with paying DeMarcus $9M, Newman $8M, and Romo $6M.

It's not an issue.

supercowboy8 · 10-11-2011

I dont like Casey Heywad in round 2. He is very overrated. Look more at Stephon Gilmore, Chase Minnifield maybe in the 2nd round but I doubt it, Xavier RHodes, Coryell Judie, Shaun Prater, and Desmond Trufant.

I love the 1st and 3rd round picks.