BigDFan5;1876035 said:
Hilarious
While trying to make it seem zrin is not giving any credit to jimmy, you in the same post give no credit to jerry. If you believe jerry was not involved in his football teams decisions at all when Jimmy is here you are more ignorant than some of your recent posts suggest
Jimmy handled personnel and Jerry signed the checks and handled the business end of marketing the Cowboys in a way that reinvented the NFL. Jerry is responsible for making more money for the owners than they could have ever dreamed. It was a combination that worked and saved this franchise.
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedc...lassic/recordbook/draft/1989/042489draft.html
Johnson displays new skill at trade
His first draft nets Cowboys a bonus pick
4/24/1989
By BERNIE MIKLASZ / The Dallas Morning News
As an encore to his selection of quarterback Troy Aikman with the first pick in the NFL draft Sunday, first-year Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson locked himself into a tense trading duel with Raiders owner Al Davis, the Darth Vader of the NFL.
The Cowboys were sitting with the first pick in the second round when Davis called. Davis, drafting 11th in the second round, badly wanted Penn State guard Steve Wisniewski and feared another team would snatch him.
Davis, the man in black and winner of three Super Bowls, was eager to make a deal with the rookie NFL coach.
"He said, 'Jimmy, this is the first time we've dealt with one another, and it will be a good experience,'" Johnson said. "I said 'Al, this is my first time, so I need an extra pick.'"
The haggling went on for five minutes. Davis agreed to give the Cowboys his No. 2 and an additional third-rounder, but Johnson wanted more and asked for a No. 5. Davis had three selections in the fifth round and was trying to sell Johnson the worst one.
Johnson had four other interested teams hanging on the line and used them as leverage against Davis. "I kept telling Al he needed to help a rookie out," Johnson said. "We talked three different times and took it down to the final seconds."
Davis finally relented and gave Johnson the Raiders' first pick in the fifth round – the seventh.
Johnson had swung his first NFL trade. On his terms.
The Cowboys drafted Wisniewski for the Raiders and then swapped him and the Cowboys' sixth-round choice to Davis for picks in the second, third and fifth rounds.
For moving down 10 spots in the second round and tossing in an extra No. 6, Johnson wound up with two picks in the third instead of one and three in the fifth instead of two. And in the second round he got the player he wanted – Syracuse fullback Daryl Johnston, a strong inside runner who can serve as a punishing, 237-pound blocker for Herschel Walker.
With the first pick in the third round, Johnson drafted Pitt offensive lineman Mark Stepnoski, a 6-2, 269-pound right guard who may have a future at center with the Cowboys.
"This is an extremely tough individual," Cowboys line coach Tony Wise said. "This guy will hit you right in the mouth."
Finally, it was to the defense and some necessary patches for the Cowboys' front four. With the Raiders' third-round pick, Johnson went for 275-pound Florida defensive lineman Rhondy Weston. With the first choice in the fourth, Johnson recruited a lean pass-rusher from UT-El Paso – 6-6, 245-pound Tony Tolbert.
Weston appears to be a bargain. Some rated him a second-round talent, and he is capable of playing inside or at either end. "We were really surprised that he was there," Johnson said.
Tolbert, an outside linebacker who had 11 sacks last season, will be converted to defensive end. Johnson has 4.7-second speed in the 40-yard dash. "We were attracted to him for his pass-rush ability," Johnson said.
With the Cowboys' defense 25th in points allowed last season, it was surprising that their first three selections were on offense: a quarterback, a fullback and a guard.
"I told the offense they'd better score a lot of points," Cowboys defensive line coach Butch Davis said in jest.
Johnson said he resisted the temptation to reach for a lower-rated defensive prospect in the second round. The defensive ends he liked – Trace Armstrong and Bill Hawkins – had been drafted.
So Johnson went for the sure thing, a fullback who figures to start immediately. Veteran Timmy Newsome, 31, averaged only 2.3 yards per carry last season, suffered a calf injury and is considered a below-average blocker.
"We felt fullback was one of the major needs coming in," offensive coordinator Dave Shula said. "We have some age there, and we need to upgrade that position."
Johnston averaged five yards per carry as a senior. The Cowboys were concerned that Walker, with 361 carries, was overworked last season. "He'll take some of the pressure off Herschel," running backs coach Joe Brodsky said.
For the third round, the Cowboys again had their eye on a pass-rusher – Auburn's Brian Smith – who was drafted in the second round.
So Johnson turned to Stepnoski, who can start at a number of places. Center Tom Rafferty is 35, right guard Crawford Ker is unsigned, and left guard Nate Newton weighs 358 pounds. Overall, line depth is weak.
The Cowboys used the first of their three fifth-round picks on Clemson tight end Keith Jennings, a converted wide receiver.
The second selection of the fifth – the one that came in the Raiders' trade – brought Georgia Tech outside linebacker Willis Crockett.
The Cowboys took Florida defensive tackle Jeff Roth with the fifth-round choice they received from Denver last June in exchange for Tony Dorsett, their all-time leading rusher.
The draft resumes Monday morning with the sixth round. The Cowboys' first-day haul: three defensive linemen, a quarterback, a fullback, a guard, a tight end and a linebacker. And this clearly was Johnson's production. He and his staff personally scouted, coached in all-star games or coached against every player the Cowboys drafted.
After the fourth round, ESPN draft analyst Paul Zimmerman declared the Cowboys' draft the best in the NFL to that point.
But the trade really made Johnson's day. He took on Al Davis and held out for a good price.
"I feel very good about what we've done," Johnson said. "I don't know if I could be any happier with this draft."
