BTB: Cowboys Still Looking For Answer At Fullback

[cowboyjoe]

Cowboys Still Looking For Answer At Fullback

by Tom Ryle on Aug 17, 2011 3:30 PM CDT in Dallas Cowboys 2011 Pre-Season

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2011/...eview-fullback

In football, there are the glamour jobs and the plain ole' working stiff jobs. The flashy positions start with the quarterback, the real movie stars of the league. Then you have the flashy receivers, the running backs (especially big with the fantasy guys), and even the tight ends are getting more notice as they become more like big receivers in the pass-focused NFL.

And on defense, you have the hunter-killer linebackers, the ball hawking cornerbacks, and the safeties manning the last line of defense.

[Woods]

Out of the options listed in that article, given the personnel on the roster as of today, I'd prefer the option of keeping 4 TEs.

I suppose that the Cowboys could always try to bring in a veteran FB (Weaver or the like?), but assuming the Cowboys don't, I would rather keep our top 4 TEs.

We could put Chapas on the PS as insurance in case Garrett wants to go in another direction later in the season.

[stasheroo]

Originally Posted by Woods

Out of the options listed in that article, given the personnel on the roster as of today, I'd prefer the option of keeping 4 TEs.

I suppose that the Cowboys could always try to bring in a veteran FB (Weaver or the like?), but assuming the Cowboys don't, I would rather keep our top 4 TEs.

We could put Chapas on the PS as insurance in case Garrett wants to go in another direction later in the season.

I thought about Leonard Weaver as well, but I read that his knee injury was so severe that he won't be ready to play for quite some time.

There were some quality fullbacks available. I'm disappointed we didn't try harder to get one of them.

I wonder if the Eagles are keeping Owen Schmidt or if Tony Richardson still wants to play?

[Woods]

Originally Posted by stasheroo

I thought about Leonard Weaver as well, but I read that his knee injury was so severe that he won't be ready to play for quite some time.

There were some quality fullbacks available. I'm disappointed we didn't try harder to get one of them.

I wonder if the Eagles are keeping Owen Schmidt or if Tony Richardson still wants to play?

I just hope we don't end up keeping a FB who is "average" or "below average" if a TE (for example) is the better player.

I'm not sure who else is available in FA though at the FB position.

[BAT]

Originally Posted by stasheroo

I thought about Leonard Weaver as well, but I read that his knee injury was so severe that he won't be ready to play for quite some time.

There were some quality fullbacks available. I'm disappointed we didn't try harder to get one of them.

I wonder if the Eagles are keeping Owen Schmidt or if Tony Richardson still wants to play?

Schmidt is intriguing. What about Hynoski, is he still available?

Phillips at FB may be the the best solution. Phillips has more pop as a lead blocker than either Gronk or Chapas right now.

[CowboyStar88]

I have seen nothing to indicate that Gronk hasn't had a good camp. I think he will be just fine. The guy is a hard worker and I feel that it will benefit him. I think if the guy continues to grow and work hard he could become a very good FB.

[Bullflop]

Originally Posted by Cowboystar17

I have seen nothing to indicate that Gronk hasn't had a good camp. I think he will be just fine. The guy is a hard worker and I feel that it will benefit him. I think if the guy continues to grow and work hard he could become a very good FB.

Just wondering here. Would the fact that the team is shaking the bushes looking for a replacement be any indication?

[jrumann59]

If I remember correctly weavers injury was an ugly one along with Bradley's

[LeonDixson]

Gronk has pretty good hands coming out of the backfield. How would you guys rate his lead blocking skills?

I agree with Woods that keeping 4 TE's may be the better option, but I wouldn't be unhappy with Gronk. He has clearly outplayed Chapas IMHO.

[ThreeSportStar80]

The fullback position is quickly becoming less important honestly.

[realtick]

I'm convinced true fullbacks are a rare breed. You have to be sorta bat bleep crazy and want to hit something over and over again.

I didn't really understand the drafting of Chapas because I think he's almost a clone of Gronkowski; almost exact body height/weight and body types. Neither of them are considered maulers.

I was bummed to hear after the 2010 draft that the Cowboys were interested in John Connor.

To me, the fullback position on this team is an either/or type of deal. Either they find a true snot-rocker, or just take a different approach and utilize Phillips as the H-back.

As receivers, neither Gronk or Chapas bring much, I'd rather give a guy like Rucker a spot.

[Reality]

The level of articles coming out of BTB has been so bad lately that it makes PFT look intelligent. This is yet another article written by an average fan whose only knowledge is limited to tweets and speculation by others.

Take this quote for example ..

And then there is that other working class guy. The almost forgotten position, the one some teams don't even have anymore. The fullback.

Fullbacks are a not a forgotten position .. a lot of offenses simply do not require one enough to use up a roster space for the position. If they are only going to call 3-5 players per game that require a lead blocker, it's very easy to get a tight-end or even a lineman to do it rather than waste a roster spot that may be required for depth at a more more important position to their offensive system.

Dallas still uses the fullback. But right now, just who they are going to use seems to be more than a little uncertain, and the expected candidates may not be the answer after all.

The starting fullback is Gronkowski. While he may not be Moose (who really is any more?), he's well ahead of the other guys. And for those thinking "let's just keep a fourth tight-end to play full-back" let me ask you this .. Do you really think Rucker is a better lead blocker than Gronkowski? Do you want to risk Witten getting rolled up on just to save that spot for a fourth tight-end that may never see the field otherwise?

And the last question I would ask is this .. do you really think that if the Cowboys keep 4 tight-ends that the fourth would be active on game days? Heck, it would be smarter to keep Gronkowski and make him inactive than to cut him and keep a 4th tight-end.

Gronkowski is quick (not fast, but quick) to the hole which makes him a viable threat on short down yardage and he has great hands out of the backfield which makes him a threat out of the backfield that we have not had from that position since Moose retired.

But even with knowing that, let's say the Cowboys choose to go without a true fullback on the team. So Witten or Phillips plays h-back and lead blocks a few more times per game than they normally would. Now let's say that one of those players suffers a season-ending injury while on fullback blocking duty. How many fans will be screaming that Jerry and/or Garrett are idiots for not keeping Gronkowski?

#reality