Al Johnson...

[speedkilz88]

Kiper also listed Al Johnson at 6-3 1/2 305 at the combine and that is on the big side for a center in the nfl.


//and I guarantee you Al is heavier than the listed 296. That weight is from last season after he came back from his knee rehab. If you remember Parcells made it public that he need Al to get his weight back up.

 

[kartr]

Some of us are actually fans of the Cowboys and not locked into 1 particular player. I like both players but if Gurode proves himself to be the better of the player he will win the job if not at least his improvment gives Dallas a legit backup player at the position.

Yeah, what gives with this Gurode hate. Gurode has always been a good player for us, they just had playing out of position.

 

[kartr]

I disagree Nors...it is not the mental aspect of Gurode that is the problem but that Gurode is slow a foot he is also unable to change direction quickly... which makes playing Guard not an ideal position for him...I think he stands a much better chance of playing Center if the position does not require a lot of blocking in space and pulling(I think Gurode can reach the MLB in a 4-3 a lot better than he can locate and block a OLB on a pull)the tighter the quarters the better Gurode becomes and it doesn't get any tighter than Center on the oline

If Gurode wins the battle, could Johnson bulk up enough to play some guard or does he not have the frame for it.

 

[kartr]

He was moved to guard because the team needed him more there then at center in college.....it wasn't because he wasn't very good at center.

I believe that Gurode was a very good guard at college, but he had a legitimate right tackle playing next to him in Victor Rogers. Maybe Gurode's failure at guard here had more to do with our right tackle problems.

 

[kartr]

I agree that Johnson and Newman both are overrated by some but I think Newman comes closer to being an adequate CB than Johnson does to a Center... atleast from what I have seen...but heck I have been wrong before..so if Al turns into Mr. Center it won't hurt my feelings any...but if I was Coach that is a place I would have looked to upgrade this year...

I agree with all points here, I thought Newman was more a special team ace than shut-down corner and I couldn't see drafting a center in the second round when we already had Gurode. I thought we should have drafted Kevin Williams in the first and Rashean Mathis in the second in 2003. My feelings were to get a pass rusher and a quality corner. To me quality d-linemen trump corners every time. I don't believe that corners make linemen better, I believe the reverse is true, that's why Larry Brown was so successful here;he had Charles Haley playing in front of him.

 

[Waffle]

Funny how we've perhaps come full circle...

http://www.basketballdraft.com/football/2002/preview/news/2002/07/28/king_postcard_cowboys/

Andre Gurode, the second-round pick from Colorado, is well on his way to winning the center job here. The Cowboys can't say enough good things about his quickness and versatility. He showed a little boxer-jab type of mean streak on a few defensive linemen Saturday.