Mike Lombardi on KTCK

[InmanRoshi]

We like Claiborne as a player, but we're not sure about giving up so much to get him?
I think anytime you can get a super blue chip player or a player you think is a multi time Pro Bowler you got to do it. He plays CB like a WR. He wins later in the route than earlier in the route, which is a good fit for Ryan's blitz schemes.

Is CB one of the few positions you would move up like this for?
I would do it for a pass rusher, a left tackle, corner. Look at FA. What was most expensive. You can't get CB unless you really pay. You have to draft what you can't buy.

Isn't this a move you make when you're more one player away rather than Dallas who is so far away from contending?
I don't think they are. They need to figure out what they're going to do at safety, but Mike Jenkins is in the last year of his contract and he isn't very good. I think he's at his best as a 4th CB. I know everyone down there wants an OL, but I think Callahan will do a good job with that OL. I think they're just a few pieces away.

Is his Wonderlic overblown?
That's a shame it gets out. The wonderlic is a test where if you don't fully concentrate and apply yourself the score looks bad. You just got to spend time with the player, there is no test that is a substitute for that. The reason you test these players is as teachers you're trying to figure out the best way to teach the student. Maybe he needs to just get up on the white board to learn.

Who's draft did you like?
I like Tampa, Barron is a really good safety. I like Doug Martin, ended up with two first rounders. Patriots got a 3 run homer, I thought CHandler Jones was the best outside rusher in the draft and then they end up with a stud in Hightower, who I think Pittsburgh really really wanted but DeCastro was just a bigger need.

I wasn't in love with Cleveland. The key for the Rams is how well they execute these picks. People say "Oh they got all these picks!", but the picks don't mean anything if they turn out to be good players.

Questions about Tannehill?
I got a lot of questions about Tannehill. You guys have been around sports your entire lives, do you think Dan Marino or any other great QB showed up to his college campus and they looked at him and said "Let's try you at WR". If you're selected with a Top 10 pick as a QB you should be able to see it right away. He's a good athlete. I have questions with how he processes information. We'll see.

Are you confident Luck and RG3 will both be great?
The key is how the team is tailored around him. That's the key for QBs. The Patriots tailor their offense to what Brady does best. Colts did it with Manning. RG3 needs vertical outside WRs. You want him to be the point guard on a fast break and moving around on his feet . Luck needs to throw to the middle of the field. They'll take Colby Fleener at the top of the 2nd round. Control the middle of the field with touch and timing routes, he's not going to throw a lot of comeback routes on the outside of the hashmarks.

Biggest reach?
Irvin was a surprise, but I like him. I thought he was a 1st round player. He has off the field issues, and Carrol could care less about off the field issues.

Cowboys a lot of misses in the 2nd day. Don't they need to improve on that?
They found DeMarco Murray last year, give him credit for that. They need a safety. I don't think they have as many holes as people think. They have a lot of talent .

Goodell last night hugging weirdly too long?
It was the hardest draft I've ever been to. The picks were coming in fast and furious, and there must have been a keg backstage for the players because the players took forever to come out to the stage. The picks were backlogged. We knew about trades and picks but couldn't announce they because we were backlogged on the announced picks on stage.

[morasp]

Originally Posted by InmanRoshi

Is CB one of the few positions you would move up like this for?
I would do it for a pass rusher, a left tackle, corner. Look at FA. What was most expensive. You can't get CB unless you really pay. You have to draft what you can't buy.

We have the Left tackle and pass rusher and we also payed for another top corner so by his formula sound like we're making the right moves

[DEZBRYANT x88x]

Originally Posted by morasp

We have the Left tackle and pass rusher and we also payed for another top corner so by his formula sound like we're making the right moves

Seriously. Some of these morons who hate the pick make me scratch my head. To be honest we nipped the Rams for a 4th round pick.

[InmanRoshi]

The Ticket guys have been driving me crazy acting like the Cowboys are about 20 players away from being in the Giants class. I'm not disagreeing that the Cowboys have a lot of areas they could upgrade, but these guys have forgotten that the Cowboys were literally one poorly executed play away from wrapping up the NFC East in Week 14 and shutting the Giants out of the playoffs. That's how thin the margin is between Superbowl and non-contender. They still seem to think you have to build the 93 Cowboys, 76 Steelers or 84 Niners roster before you can win a Superbowl. I don't recall any of those teams having a 4 game losing streak in the regular season like the Giants did last year. The Giants had a servicable at best OL, pedestrian RBs and a hot mess in the secondary. They didn't have a great 53 man roster. They got great QB play, two elite units at WR and DL that were difference makers, and they got hot at the right time. That, and a lot of luck, is all you need in today's NFL to win a Superbowl.

[EGG]

C/G and a pass rusher (OLB or DE)is the minimum that Jones has to fill before the season starts to be seriously competitive this season IMO. After that, some DL and OT depth would be nice. That's not very many holes though some FA dollars will likely have to be spent for one of the holes.

[Randy White]

Originally Posted by InmanRoshi

The Ticket guys have been driving me crazy acting like the Cowboys are about 20 players away from being in the Giants class..

And something else that wasn't included in your report:

Lombardi put ALL of those clowns, including Hitzgues who I really have alot of respect for, in their places when he said: " The Cowboys don't have as many holes as you guys think they do .. "

Since the drafted started, the Ticket crew have been harping about " the many holes " the Cowboys have on their roster. They've been making it sound like if Dallas has a strainer for a roster at Valley Ranch. Then when the trade went down, Norm immediately went to: " but now we don't have a 2nd round pick, oh lordi lord what are we going to do ? "

My question to him ( and to those who are saying the same thing ) right off the bat would be:

" If the Cowboys have this many holes, tell me exactly how many of them would A 2nd round pick fill ? "

[fanfromvirginia]

Originally Posted by InmanRoshi

The Ticket guys have been driving me crazy acting like the Cowboys are about 20 players away from being in the Giants class. I'm not disagreeing that the Cowboys have a lot of areas they could upgrade, but these guys have forgotten that the Cowboys were literally one poorly executed play away from wrapping up the NFC East in Week 14 and shutting the Giants out of the playoffs. That's how thin the margin is between Superbowl and non-contender. They still seem to think you have to build the 93 Cowboys, 76 Steelers or 84 Niners roster before you can win a Superbowl. I don't recall any of those teams having a 4 game losing streak in the regular season like the Giants did last year. The Giants had a servicable at best OL, pedestrian RBs and a hot mess in the secondary. They didn't have a great 53 man roster. They got great QB play, two elite units at WR and DL that were difference makers, and they got hot at the right time. That, and a lot of luck, is all you need [View Full Quote]in today's NFL to win a Superbowl.

Great points but I would add that they probably got hot at the right time (for the second time in the last few years) because of coaching. That is the ingredient you left out. At this stage, how close we are is primarily a function of how good JG (and his system) is.

[InmanRoshi]

Originally Posted by fanfromvirginia

Great points but I would add that they probably got hot at the right time (for the second time in the last few years) because of coaching.

I think you're using too small a sample size to decipher much of anything. But aside from that I would attribute it to coaching if the coaching could repeat this phenomenon dependably, but they don't. The Giants fell apart in December the previous two years. What happened to the coaching those years? Did Coughlin just discover how to coach last year when he's been in the biz 100 years? I doubt it. Did Coughlin just decide not to use it those years? When you can't replicate it, you have to attribute it to chance rather than some meritocracy.

[4lifecowboy]

Mike Jenkins a 4th corner at best? *** I stopped reading at that point.

[fanfromvirginia]

Originally Posted by InmanRoshi

I think you're using too small a sample size to decipher much of anything. But aside from that I would attribute it to coaching if the coaching could repeat this phenomenon dependably, but they don't. The Giants fell apart in December the previous two years. What happened to the coaching those years? Did Coughlin just discover how to coach last year when he's been in the biz 100 years? I doubt it. Did Coughlin just decide not to use it those years? When you can't replicate it, you have to attribute it to chance rather than some meritocracy.

I don't think Coughlin is a great coach for the reasons you state. I do think he is the kind of coach who can get his players to go on these kind of streaks. It is more of a hunch then a theory given the sample size. I am also defining coaching broadly to include systemic stuff like player acquisition and development.

[InmanRoshi]

Originally Posted by 4lifecowboy

Mike Jenkins a 4th corner at best? *** I stopped reading at that point.

Seems like the Cowboys agree with Lombardi. They've went all out to attain or retain 3 CBs on this roster, and seemingly have put no effort into keeping Jenkins.

[kmd24]

Originally Posted by InmanRoshi

The Ticket guys have been driving me crazy acting like the Cowboys are about 20 players away from being in the Giants class.

I think most of this comes from the fact that the peanut gallery doesn't like Livings, Bernadeau, and Pool. Their signings are treated as worthless, and they haven't even stepped on the field as Cowboys yet.

[Zimmy Lives]

I think it was a risky move given the other positional needs. I don't think it will pay off this year but maybe next year when the Cowboys focus on a playmaking DE.

If anything, the Cowboys now have playmakers at LB (Ware & Lee) and CB.

[Zimmy Lives]

Originally Posted by kmd24

I think most of this comes from the fact that the peanut gallery doesn't like Livings, Bernadeau, and Pool. Their signings are treated as worthless, and they haven't even stepped on the field as Cowboys yet.

I used to listen to the ticket when I was in my twenties -- same age as Dunham and Miller -- but I grew up. It's sad that men in their late forties are still using the same schtick.

[Risen Star]

Lombardi lost all credibility calling Mike Jenkins a 4th CB. That's insane.