The upside and possible downside of this year's draft

[Ranching]

Credit for what? 30 yesrs of incompetence

That's why the LOL....get a grip Loopey!

 

[acr731]

Reminds me of the much heralded (former Baylor Basketball player) TE Rico Gathers, the guy who earned All Pro status in trainingcamp according to some, LOL!

What's wrong with that? Downs is already being elevated to all pro status and the DC, Parker, is being named as a potential HC candidate - all before training camp has even started and neither has been involved in a single Dallas Cowboys game.

Usual CZ stuff, though.

 

[Diehardblues]

What's wrong with that? Downs is already being elevated to all pro status and the DC, Parker, is being named as a potential HC candidate - all before training camp has even started and neither has been involved in a single Dallas Cowboys game.

Usual CZ stuff, though.

All true. But that’s exactly what’s wrong with it. And why some like Bob are calling it out .

 

[MapleLeaf]

I have the feeling that we’re going to see a lot of specialization and rotation happening in Parker’s defense.

My worry about this is hurry up offences managed and paced properly will keep specialist packages off the field.

Now their offences have to execute, but if we are up against a top flight offence with a real field general behind the centre, then that can negate a specialist defence with the hurry up.

We have seen this with Dallas versions of multiple package defences under different coordinators.

 

[MapleLeaf]

Any player can bust but Downs is about the least likely player to bust from this draft.

Most of the time, when a player busts coming to the NFL, it is a mental issue (immaturity, laziness, slow-processing, bad work ethic, etc) or injuries. A lot of super talented guys that bust are either just not smart, don’t have good football IQ, don’t put the work in, terrible study habits, don’t really love playing the game, etc.

I am hoping that the filters that were applied to Downs are also applied to the other draft picks. Based on recent players we have had come and go from Dallas through the draft we have suffered from the type of players who are limited by your explanation of their mental capacity.

 

[MapleLeaf]

If we got 4 starter quality players, that’s huge. Downs is a lock but 3 more would be huge

This would be nice.

What we want to avoid is Downs becoming a bust. Then we are relying on our FA strategies, and that is not a favourite pathway for this team.

Hit on Downs. Get solid contributions from a few other players and our FA additions, and then we are talking.

 

[AsthmaField]

I am hoping that the filters that were applied to Downs are also applied to the other draft picks. Based on recent players we have had come and go from Dallas through the draft we have suffered from the type of players who are limited by your explanation of their mental capacity.

I’m with you. I’m tired of dumb players too.

You have to have the physical ability to play pro football… but the mental side of it is so important and often goes overlooked.

Ray Lewis was great, and he had physical ability but he was smart as hell. Super high football IQ. Ed Reed was the same way. Those two watched a ton of film and it was nearly impossible to beat that defense.

Football IQ is vital if you want to be great.

 

[OGSixshooter]

That 83 year old was smart enough to trade up to take Downs.

He did it? LOL...you guys are special.

 

[doomsday9084]

Any player can bust but Downs is about the least likely player to bust from this draft.

Most of the time, when a player busts coming to the NFL, it is a mental issue (immaturity, laziness, slow-processing, bad work ethic, etc) or injuries. A lot of super talented guys that bust are either just not smart, don’t have good football IQ, don’t put the work in, terrible study habits, don’t really love playing the game, etc.

If anyone has watched much of Caleb downs, you know for 100% certain that all of those reasons will not apply to him… which is why people are saying he has a very low chance of being a bust.

He is smart, football smart, studies more than just about any other player, loves to play the game and the game is very important to him.

How smart? How much does he study? So much so that he was able to walk in to Alabama, a super talented team, and as a true freshman start for Nick Saban on that year’s national championship team.

Coach Saban notoriously hates playing freshman (especially true freshman) and is one of the most demanding coaches of all time who harps on the small details. Saban also came up through the coaching ranks as a defensive backs coach (for Bill Belichick) and was ultra demanding of his players there, in part because the way he likes his DB’s to play at Alabama. It is a very complicated scheme, especially for the safeties.

So Downs, coming in as a true Freshman and starting day 1 for Saban was exceedingly remarkable. And not only did he start immediately, he played well enough to be named freshman all-American that season and help win the National Championship.

Downs is a really good athlete, plays physical and hits hard. However, what makes him so special is all between his ears. He understands football. He innately understands the angles, leverage, and physics that go in to playing the sport. He studies a ton, and wants to be great.

Those things really matter in the NFL, particularly in Dallas, where Downs will be asked to do a lot in a scheme that requires more thinking than safeties usually do. Parker will ask a lot of Downs.

It is the mental side of football that makes Downs great, and it is the mental side of football that makes Downs about as bust proof as a player can get.

If he stays healthy in his career, I just don’t really see a way that Downs won’t be great.

As a side note, he also won a natty the next year and then anchored the #1 defense in football for much of the year in an NFL scheme run by a Belichik disciple.

I think that Downs' floor is "good". The big issue with him is his position. There is a reason why safeties aren't highly valued. If he becomes a "good" safety, that's not a huge needle mover. In order to really impact the team from the safety position, he really does have to be all pro level or better. IMO, that's why he dropped to #11 instead of being taken at 1 or 2.

 

[AsthmaField]

As a side note, he also won a natty the next year and then anchored the #1 defense in football for much of the year in an NFL scheme run by a Belichik disciple.

I think that Downs' floor is "good". The big issue with him is his position. There is a reason why safeties aren't highly valued. If he becomes a "good" safety, that's not a huge needle mover. In order to really impact the team from the safety position, he really does have to be all pro level or better. IMO, that's why he dropped to #11 instead of being taken at 1 or 2.

Yeah, he dropped because he’s a safety and most teams won’t ask him to do what he’ll be doing in Dallas for Parker. He’ll be playing all over the defense. He will be worth it in this defense for sure.

 

[cowboyfan4life_mark]

I believe one of the biggest differences in this new look D is that it has new players. No more of that “Hot Boyz” stuff. It’s players that want to play…as a team.

 

[RonWashington]

After the initial interview stage when Dallas came back to CP i’m sure Parker would not have taken the job if he wasn’t allowed to take a wrecking ball to the D and bringing in players in FA ( Thompson , the Ram CB’s ) then the draft that fit a scheme because a disastrous run as DC would hurt any future teams calling .

 

[Arkyvarminter]

I think the Defense is going to surprise people after they have played together for awhile...

 

[kskboys]

It "appears " that you don't want to give Jerry any credit....lol

I will give him credit when he steps down as GM and hires a quality GM.

 

[kskboys]

My question to that would be: Does that make the D predictable?

All D's are predictable. It's not rocket science.

 

[gimmesix]

POSSIBLE DOWNSIDE

• Several guys we selected - Malachi Lawrence and Jaishawn Barham for example - will need some time to develop. MLaw is a great athlete but he’s also a bit raw. Barham is also likely going to need some time to develop. Those two guys are talented but they have not exhibited consistency in their positions in college. Patience will be needed.

I think Barham could need less developmental time if he's returning to ILB like the team has said. I think Michigan did him a disservice moving him to DE last year because he had to learn the nuances of that position. I'm sure they did it because they needed him there, but maybe he goes earlier if he stays at LB since his film there in 2024 is better than his film at DE.

The biggest question about him seems to be coverage. He shows burst and power at LB, with the ability to stack and shed. I think he's going to end up out there because we don't have another linebacker with his physicality. We have smaller linebackers who play physical, but he gives us some length and size that they don't have.

 

[exciter]

Barham is an inside backer that they can move around. Lawrence is an edge. Overton will play inside.

Barham was an ILB who got moved to edge because he lacked discipline and played out of control far too often.
Attempting to move him back would seem redundant at this stage but I guess we'll see.

 

[Diehardblues]

Another one of those special, specially idiotic, takes when Jerry does something right, it’s because of someone else or he got lucky and when he does something wrong it’s his fault

You know the one thing I’ve always admired about Jethro is he doesn’t shy away from taking responsibility. He’s willing to stand in the fire and take the heat.

And he can go into Damage Control spinning his narrative as well. He has some skills attempting to sway public opinion.

He’s even admitted he’d of fired a GM with his record. Basically saying knock me down if you can. He’s in a category all on his own. A very special POS.

But most wouldn’t choose to be. And why they hire people they can fire. They need scapegoats to feed to the wolves. That’s what separates our owner.

He’s living out his dream to be a Football Guy. He’s brilliantly orchestrated all of these Revenue generating schemes for a fail safe means to play out his fantasy without any financial hardships for lack of success on the field. .

 

[reddyuta]

my worry is we have a lot of guys still on this defense who are not smart enough to run this Multiple Defense of CP,hopefully the new guys like Downs can alleviate those mental mistakes.

 

[lopey]

He’s talking about a specific action. No one cares about your agenda. I take it back, plenty do and it’s tiresome. Why can’t someone comment on a trade, a draft pick or something else without the repeated ridiculous interjection? We already know and it has nothing to do with the specific action taken. You provided absolutely nothing to the discussion at hand.

He can be a homer all he wants. And im going to call him on his homerism. Called a discussion