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

[supercowboy8]

Originally Posted by SDogo

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

Konz is great value. Iupati went 17th, Pouncey went 18th, Mike POuncey went 15th, all great value.

[Picksix]

Originally Posted by casmith07

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

It's not an issue.

Perhaps. I'm sure we'll have other guys to pay. You've got Spencer, Sensy, Elam. Not that any of them should break the bank, if they're signed at all. But then you possibly have a FA or two from another team. And even if we do have a lot of cap room, you still don't pay Newman another $8M.

[casmith07]

Originally Posted by Picksix

Perhaps. I'm sure we'll have other guys to pay. You've got Spencer, Sensy, Elam. Not that any of them should break the bank, if they're signed at all. But then you possibly have a FA or two from another team. And even if we do have a lot of cap room, you still don't pay Newman another $8M.

Spencer is not likely to be back. Same with Sensabaugh and Elam.

You didn't notice a significant increase in play from our secondary with Newman back?

Sorry. Unless we're going for a sure thing in round 1, I'm not ready to part ways with a guy who's consistently been our best corner since he strapped on a helmet with a star on it.

[jamesdojr]

After Phil Costa's performance, I wouldn't be opposed to looking at a center in the first rounf IF we are (hopefully) picking at the end of the round. But I still think Costa has a chance to develop. Outside of the miscommunication on the botched snaps, he has blocked well.

As far as Guards go, I really like what we have in Arkin and Nagy, and Dockery. I think Arkin and Nagy (one or both) will become a quality starter.

I like CB or Safety in the first round. Newman is getting older and has become very brittle. He may stick around for another year or two but we need to develop that next starter in the mean time. So I like your second round position choice but would prefer it be in the first round.

Unfortunately from everything I've read, it doesn't sound like there will be any Patrick Peterson's in 2012....

[VACowboy]

I know we need a corner and a safety, but in my opinion, a team gets more out of an OL that blows holes open and keeps the pocket clean than it does a couple of DBs. It's impossible to pre-judge the careers of players entering the league. Claiborne or Minnifield may be the next Revis. Who knows? Right now, however, it looks to me like no corner we pick will have the impact that a center like Konz would.

I didn't realize we were currently in the 13th slot. I went by last year's lone .500 team, which picked 16th. I'd love to trade down from 13 to the 17-20 area and grab Konz, but not much further. It's not like Jerry and JG are gonna pick another first-round OL, anyway.

[RS12]

Konz currently listed as a mid second rounder by draft scout.

[supercowboy8]

Originally Posted by Picksix

Perhaps. I'm sure we'll have other guys to pay. You've got Spencer, Sensy, Elam. Not that any of them should break the bank, if they're signed at all. But then you possibly have a FA or two from another team. And even if we do have a lot of cap room, you still don't pay Newman another $8M.

we also have 20 million is dead money for players we dont have, so there goes that 20 million

[supercowboy8]

Originally Posted by RS12

Konz currently listed as a mid second rounder by draft scout.

that means nothing, the guy will be a 1st rounder, I would love to get him in round 2 but that wont happen

[ninja]

Costa is playing well with a lot of upside. I see Costa improving as the season goes. If so, why draft a center in the first round? Unless you want to move Costa to guard.

The way things are playing out so far, an OT might be a better choice in the first with the way Free is playing.

[supercowboy8]

Originally Posted by ninja

Costa is playing well with a lot of upside. I see Costa improving as the season goes. If so, why draft a center in the first round? Unless you want to move Costa to guard.

The way things are playing out so far, an OT might be a better choice in the first with the way Free is playing.

Costa is playing horrible, the stats prove it. Costa is the worse player on the line according to the stats and reviews. Nagy is second. Center as of right now is #1 priority. 2nd is OG, this OL has to be fixed, we can't run the ball with this OL.

as of right now offseason needs are
Center, OG, CB, 3-4 DE, NT, and then safety.

I know CB might need to be #1 but Newman is still under contract and we just signed Scandrick long term and Ryan really likes him.

Calasis Campbell should be signed the day Free agency starts, He is a beast and would be great in Ryans scheme.

Resign Spencer if he keeps having a good year. Resign Sensy and Elam, I would love to sign Michael Griffin but money wise it makes sense to just resign Sensy and Elam.

Also Matt Forte and Peyton Hillis would be nice adds. If Forte can run behind that sorry OL in Chicago then he could do it in Dallas. But they will want to much money than I am willing to pay for a RB. I think if we get this OL fixed then Jones and Murrey and hopefully we will see Tanner can run good enough.

Draft rounds 1-5 BPA C, OG, CB, NT

[VACowboy]

Originally Posted by ninja

Costa is playing well with a lot of upside. I see Costa improving as the season goes. If so, why draft a center in the first round?

Opinions differ widely on Costa's play so far. Couchscout has seen the all-22 and is a professional player evaluator, and he says Costa is playing well. I'll take his word for it, for now. But with my untrained eye I can see that 1) the Dallas OL has so far not played a very physical brand of ball, and 2) Peter Konz is all about kicking ***. What I want to see in Dallas is an OL that bullies defenses, and I'm not sure Costa is built for that type of work.

[Biggems]

Originally Posted by RS12

Konz currently listed as a mid second rounder by draft scout.

well, at 32 it is not that big of a reach for a player with a mid 2nd round grade, especially if he is a great C prospect from Offensive Line University.

[The Realist]

Originally Posted by VACowboy

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.

[View Full Quote]• 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.

Perfection. I agree. Right now NFLDS has Hayward in 4 but he looks better than that. He'll be a riser.

[DFWJC]

Originally Posted by VACowboy

Opinions differ widely on Costa's play so far. Couchscout has seen the all-22 and is a professional player evaluator, and he says Costa is playing well. I'll take his word for it, for now. But with my untrained eye I can see that 1) the Dallas OL has so far not played a very physical brand of ball, and 2) Peter Konz is all about kicking ***. What I want to see in Dallas is an OL that bullies defenses, and I'm not sure Costa is built for that type of work.

It's way too early on Costa.
The guy is basically a rookie.

[Manwiththeplan]

Originally Posted by SDogo

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

16th

IND, STL, MIA, ARZ, JAX, PHI, CAR, DEN, MIN, SEA, CLE (from ATL), NYJ, KC, CHI and CLE are the top 15 in that order I believe.

and FWIW, I'd take Konz or Brewster at 16.