The worst thing about the release of Taco

OmerV

Well-Known Member
Messages
25,860
Reaction score
22,387
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
I just posted this in another thread like ten seconds ago, Watt would only have one spot in Dallas and its LDE where DLaw already was.

Watt would be a pass rush specialist with Dallas rather than an every down player, but of course, hindsight tells us a pass rush specialist would have been more productive than Taco.
 

kevm3

Well-Known Member
Messages
9,683
Reaction score
12,698
Dallas usually tries to make it work with players so I don't fault them for that. My issue is that if they knew this guy was on his way out, showcase him and get something for him. Why did everyone know he was going to get cut, which essentially means we get nothing for him?
 

Kaiser

Well-Known Member
Messages
16,628
Reaction score
28,430
Watt would be a pass rush specialist with Dallas rather than an every down player, but of course, hindsight tells us a pass rush specialist would have been more productive than Taco.

Sure, if you knew he was going to dog it you would never draft Taco. The Machota article and other say Dallas considered Watt a better player but a guy who only fit at DLaw's position. But as a general rule you spend a #1 pick on a situational pass rusher that plays 30 - 50% of the snaps?
 

OmerV

Well-Known Member
Messages
25,860
Reaction score
22,387
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
No, the worst think is they could have just drafted TJ Watt who everyone in the world with half a brain knew was and would be a better football player than Taco. With less overthinking and a little common sense and flexibility, we could be sitting here today with the same exact defense we have with TJ Watt and Thornhill added to it. Makes me sick to think about it and it’s not like those guys have come out of nowhere and no one knew they would be good. Both were consensus no brainer picks that Dallas simply passed on.

That's not exactly true. If every teams knew Watt would be as good as he is he wouldn't have lasted until the 30th overall pick.
 

OmerV

Well-Known Member
Messages
25,860
Reaction score
22,387
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
The bigger issue than his attitude was the fact he dogged it in practice and elsewhere. People criticize Dez for being a diva - and he was - but Dez put in 110% all the time, there was never a question about that part of it.

Apparently Taco never put in any effort, going back to his rookie year.

Of course, dogging it is tied to attitude.
 

KingintheNorth

Chris in Arizona
Messages
17,304
Reaction score
23,644
Where do you put Watt on our defense? We don’t run a 3-4 anymore. Does he have the same impact as a 4-3 OLB?

When I see people say this I immediately know that they do not understand modern football.

I will post this one last time so people can understand once and for all that a 3-4 ROLB and a 4-3 RDE are the same player. So much so that most teams now refer to it as "Edge" for either scheme when looking at players in the draft or free agency.

DeMarcus Ware
2004 season - RDE at Troy University
2005 through 2012 - ROLB for the Dallas Cowboys (Bill Parcells, Rob Ryan, Wade Phillips all run a 3-4 scheme)
2013 season - RDE for the Dallas Cowboys (Monte Kiffin runs a 4-3 scheme)
2014 season - RDE for the Denver Broncos (Jack Del Rio runs a 4-3 scheme)
2015 through 2016 - ROLB for the Denver Broncos (Wade Phillips runs a 3-4 scheme)


There are numerous other examples.
 

jaythecowboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,862
Reaction score
2,248
Sure, if you knew he was going to dog it you would never draft Taco. The Machota article and other say Dallas considered Watt a better player but a guy who only fit at DLaw's position. But as a general rule you spend a #1 pick on a situational pass rusher that plays 30 - 50% of the snaps?

Watt could easily be a RDE for the Cowboys. He was basically the same size as Randy Gregory coming out of college. Who said Watt would play D Law's position? Taco is the LDE the Cowboys tried to pass off as a RDE.
 

CouchCoach

Staff member
Messages
41,122
Reaction score
74,900
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
He was acting like a man-child. He's not the first football player to do that. It is frustrating when someone who should be a professional acts like that. It happens way too often in the league.
Entitled high school players become entitled college players and entitled NFL players become ?

A lot of these guys have been coddled and handled with care because they can play football and the skids greased for them to the point they think they're privileged characters and now college HC's have gone so far to make guarantees to recruits which is why we're seeing this transfer issue, which is only going to escalate.

Actually, I am surprised we don't see a lot more of this with more players but it is still a small % of the NFL population. Guy gets it in his head he's special and that's not easy to get out of his head. Add to this that most of these blue chippers are slow to mature because they don't have to make the same sacrifices other college students have to make like working a real job while trying to get their diploma.
 
Top