BTB: Dallas Cowboys Draft Myths Debunked

[CCBoy]

Dallas Cowboys Draft Myths Debunked
by One.Cool.Customer


http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2012/...myths-debunked



Myth No. 1: Jerry Jones loves drafting skill position players.
For all we know, Jerry Jones may indeed love drafting skill position players, but he certainly hasn't been doing it a lot. Tony Violetti from draftmetrics.com took an extensive look at each NFL team's drafting tendencies from 1992-2011. His findings will be a shock to many who firmly believe that Jerry Jones has a penchant for "shiny things" in the draft:

•Only 20% of the Cowboys' total draft picks from 1992-2011 are offensive skill position players, the second lowest value in the league.
•In the first three rounds of the draft from 1991-2011, the Cowboys spent only 16.1% of their draft picks on skill position players. This is the lowest value in the league.....






Myth #3: The Cowboys have neglected drafting linemen.

While it is true that Tyron Smith was the first lineman the Cowboys took with their first round pick since Jerry Jones took over the Cowboys, it doesn't mean they haven't drafted linemen in the other rounds.

In fact, as Tony Violetti also shows, the Cowboys spent 34, or 20%, of their 170 draft picks between 1992 and 2011 on offensive lineman. That percentage is the highest of any team in the league. The Cowboys may not have been particularly good at picking linemen, or they may have let a couple of good ones slip through their fingers, but they did draft more than any other team.

In the 23 drafts under Jones, the Cowboys have picked at least two offensive lineman in 14 drafts, and did not pick a single lineman only three times. And it's a pretty good bet that 2012 will not be the fourth such year....

[Randy White]

Originally Posted by CCBoy

Dallas Cowboys Draft Myths Debunked
by One.Cool.Customer


http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2012/...myths-debunked

Myth No. 1: Jerry Jones loves drafting skill position players.
For all we know, Jerry Jones may indeed love drafting skill position players, but he certainly hasn't been doing it a lot. Tony Violetti from draftmetrics.com took an extensive look at each NFL team's drafting tendencies from 1992-2011. His findings will be a shock to many who firmly believe that Jerry Jones has a penchant for "shiny things" in the draft:

Myth #3: The Cowboys have neglected drafting linemen.....

I posted something similar last year, only on a smaller scale, in response to people saying that Jerry Jones was neglecting the offensive line. Over the turn of the century, the two positions where the Cowboys have spent the most resources on, in terms of draft picks, have been linebacker and O-linemen, both with the equal amount of picks. That's not counting free agency either.

Now, that most of them haven't worked out is a fair criticism, but it's not because of the lack of investment.

[burmafrd]

2006-2010 the Dallas Cowboys was the only team in the NFL NOT to use either a 1st or 2nd rd pick on a O lineman.


FIVE YEARS.

So that Myth WAS accurate as regards HIGH RD picks.

[CCBoy]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

2006-2010 the Dallas Cowboys was the only team in the NFL NOT to use either a 1st or 2nd rd pick on a O lineman.


FIVE YEARS.

So that Myth WAS accurate as regards HIGH RD picks.

It still had very high dollars in veterans on the roster...accross the line at that point.

[jimnabby]

Originally Posted by CCBoy

It still had very high dollars in veterans on the roster...accross the line at that point.

The problem was that they were all old. Columbo, Bigg, Kosier, Gurode and Flo were all 30+ by 2008. And in 2008, 2009 and 2010 we drafted two linemen - one in the 3rd and one in the 6th. A succession plan for the OL should have been a high priority, but it wasn't.

[CCBoy]

Originally Posted by jimnabby

The problem was that they were all old. Columbo, Bigg, Kosier, Gurode and Flo were all 30+ by 2008. And in 2008, 2009 and 2010 we drafted two linemen - one in the 3rd and one in the 6th. A succession plan for the OL should have been a high priority, but it wasn't.

Let's see, Flo was replaced by a successful Doug Free. But the other two had a projection of from three to five seasons back in 2008. Colombo got injured and Leonard Davis went from All Pro to the trash pile in two seasons. That sometimes happens, and sometimes doesn't. But to say the team hadn't invested in reasonable rounds in the draft for interior linemen just isn't true. They didn't match up, is closer to what occured. Interior linemen go lower in the draft.

[Doomsday]

Originally Posted by CCBoy

It still had very high dollars in veterans on the roster...accross the line at that point.

Offensive line is one of those positions where you have to be constantly looking for reinforcements and youth.

[mmillman]

good example of how you can twist statistics

Dallas may draft a lot of offensive linemen but the vast majority over the last decade and a half have been in later rounds where they are less likely to stick.

[Doomsay]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

2006-2010 the Dallas Cowboys was the only team in the NFL NOT to use either a 1st or 2nd rd pick on a O lineman.


FIVE YEARS.

So that Myth WAS accurate as regards HIGH RD picks.

/thread

[Randy White]

Originally Posted by jimnabby

The problem was that they were all old. Columbo, Bigg, Kosier, Gurode and Flo were all 30+ by 2008..

30 years is not " old " when it comes to offensive linemen, particularly the good ones. They often last to their mid 30's, and some of them to their late 30's, early 40's.

Look at the Giants O-line:

David Baas (30)
David Diehl (31)
Chris Snee (29)
Kareem McKenzie (32)
Stacy Andrews (30)

Packers O-line at the beginning of the season had 3 out 5 starters 30 years or older. Injuries have ravaged that O-line and they've had to player younger players because of that. As a result, Rodgers has been sacked 36 times, just as many as Tony Romo.

Patriots:

Connelly (29)
Waters (34)
Light (32)
Koppen (32)
Mankin (29)

They, too, have been hit by the injury bug, forced also to play younger players which has resulted in Brady getting sacked 32 times.

Ravens: Gurode (32), Birk (35), McKinnie (32)

And that's just a group of the current top teams.. The rest of the league is about the same with the exception of a few teams like the 49ers, who's O-line is very young..

[Randy White]

Originally Posted by Doomsday

Offensive line is one of those positions where you have to be constantly looking for reinforcements and youth.

Not necessarily. As a matter of fact, there's an argument to be made for the opposite.

Even the 49ers, with a very young O-line full of #1 draft picks, a strong running game and a conservative passing attack, they still allowed more sacks than anybody.

[CCBoy]

Good tutorial there, Randy White...

[CCBoy]

Originally Posted by mmillman

good example of how you can twist statistics

Dallas may draft a lot of offensive linemen but the vast majority over the last decade and a half have been in later rounds where they are less likely to stick.

Twist? Only if one is trying to exclude away from results as you are attempting. Now, go back and post opposite years, the total team productions in yardage for both age groups and team totals as the group(s) during that group's performance.

Just as this season, the 2009 was the only Dallas team who's combined totals topped 6,000 yards. Just off the top of your head, since that's what you are attempting to use here, how many NFL teams have topped with any significance, those very totals.

No, you are attempting to coattail contempt for not winning with actual points being differentiated. That invalidates some of the eye test you are attempting to use here. And you bused right on by the facts on position:

In fact, as Tony Violetti also shows, the Cowboys spent 34, or 20%, of their 170 draft picks between 1992 and 2011 on offensive lineman. That percentage is the highest of any team in the league. The Cowboys may not have been particularly good at picking linemen, or they may have let a couple of good ones slip through their fingers, but they did draft more than any other team.

In the 23 drafts under Jones, the Cowboys have picked at least two offensive lineman in 14 drafts, and did not pick a single lineman only three times. And it's a pretty good bet that 2012 will not be the fourth such year....

and that emphatically showed one in five picks went for offensive linemen, under Jerry Jones. That being the highest in the NFL.

Care to consider what rounds Larry Allen, Mark Tuinei, Mark Stepnoski, Flozell Adams, Ron Stone, Nate Newton, Ray Donaldson, or even Doug Free came to the roster from?

Larry Allen 2
Mark Tuinei rookie undrafted free agent as a defensive tackle
Mark Stepnoski 3
Flozell Adams 2
Ron Stone 4
Nate Newton undrafted free agent and originally signed with Washington
Ray Donaldson 2 *(played w/ Colts 13 years before signing w/ Cowboys)
Doug Free 4

All of those were what is now, Day 2, or Day 3 of the current draft system. Or after the draft....

[burmafrd]

BS.

Then why was our line poor?

It was poor because we refused to do LIKE EVERY OTHER TEAM IN THE NFL DID OVER THE LAST 6 years.

Which is use first or second rd picks on the O line.

[ChopBlock]

Originally Posted by burmafrd

2006-2010 the Dallas Cowboys was the only team in the NFL NOT to use either a 1st or 2nd rd pick on a O lineman.


FIVE YEARS.

So that Myth WAS accurate as regards HIGH RD picks.

Exactly right. And Tyron was the first OL we drafted in the first round since before Jerry bought the team.

And as for his penchant for "shiny things" that is more in regards to trades and free agent signings when he overpays since he doesn't know how to draft them in the first place. Ex: Joey Galloway, Terrell Owens, Roy Williams.