CFZ Bust Decisions

[blueblood70]

Mazi and Schoonmaker in year 2, let's see how they improve. Too bad many fans can't wait.

Agree, Wright and Gallimore must go. Gallimore is a FA, will DQ make a trade for Wright, even if a 6th or 7th round pick. I will take it.
Ball, I may give him another year, at least for some depth, unless they find a FA or draft a replacement. Sometimes it takes a while to get over those injury bugs.

Same for Goltson, give him another year, or draft a replacement, maybe DQ trades for him as well. I can move on from him.
Waletzgo, I would hang onto to him for another year as well, but same as Ball, draft or a FA can replace him.

Sam Williams. I keep him for sure, he has potential, so maybe Zimmer can teach some discipline as that may be more the reason he did stupid stuff.

Tolbert and Brooks need more time.

What about Damon Clark though, I thought he was on the verge to break out, then seems he did nothing. Was DQ using him wrong last year. I would like to see what Zimmer does with him as well.
Depends how many LB's they bring in to compete.

Mukaumo, I can move on from him as well. And Eric Scott, who seems to be slow, I never liked that trade. Trade him to DQ's team as well.

The reality of it though. You really can't dump all of these players. You still need core players. Between FA and the draft, and if any are trade, which I doubt. Can they find enough decent enough to replace them. Unless you are a fan of blowing up the team from that stand point.

Some of you must have a really odd or different way to view what a bust actually is how can I project who was injured who was a high risk pick in the fifth round in D.Clark be considered a bust? we're not talking about guys who might need to be cut off the team we're using the word bust this dude was had a major back injury and we no one was ever sure if he was going to come back from it but if he doesn't make it on the team full time what if he's just a good special teams player and a second or third option at linebacker once we get some real linebackers in front of them how is a 5th rounder with red flag injuries become a bust, they're not a bust..

From my view I label bus center first two rounds or someone you pick high in the third round where you trade up to get them but anything low third round to the seventh round well you don't have a whole lot of expectations how can any of those be considered busts?

my ex of label bust is Taco, Hill, MoC, to name few....

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Mazi and Schoonmaker in year 2, let's see how they improve. Too bad many fans can't wait.

Agree, Wright and Gallimore must go. Gallimore is a FA, will DQ make a trade for Wright, even if a 6th or 7th round pick. I will take it.
Ball, I may give him another year, at least for some depth, unless they find a FA or draft a replacement. Sometimes it takes a while to get over those injury bugs.

Same for Goltson, give him another year, or draft a replacement, maybe DQ trades for him as well. I can move on from him.
Waletzgo, I would hang onto to him for another year as well, but same as Ball, draft or a FA can replace him.

Sam Williams. I keep him for sure, he has potential, so maybe Zimmer can teach some discipline as that may be more the reason he did stupid stuff.

Tolbert and Brooks need more time.

What about Damon Clark though, I thought he was on the verge to break out, then seems he did nothing. Was DQ using him wrong last year. I would like to see what Zimmer does with him as well.
Depends how many LB's they bring in to compete.

Mukaumo, I can move on from him as well. And Eric Scott, who seems to be slow, I never liked that trade. Trade him to DQ's team as well.

The reality of it though. You really can't dump all of these players. You still need core players. Between FA and the draft, and if any are trade, which I doubt. Can they find enough decent enough to replace them. Unless you are a fan of blowing up the team from that stand point.

I think Clark would have been fine if LVE was in there telling him where to line up. Both Bell and his production declined when LVE went down in game 5.

I think Zimmer and his new assistants could do some good here. I don't know that they can reach the peaks of turnovers and sacks like Quinn saw but I think that they will raise the floor by improving the fundamentals and scheme knowledge throughout the defense.

 

[big dog cowboy]

And Eric Scott, who seems to be slow, I never liked that trade. Trade him to DQ's team as well.

Can't give up on him yet. He was just a rookie 6th rounder. Cowboys gave up 2 picks to get him so he will get at least one more year.

Because he's shown nothing he is untradeable.

 

[thunderpimp91]

I don't see how you can put Schoonmaker and Mazi in the same category.

Schoonmaker may never be great, but he played a lot of snaps this year on both offense and special teams. He'll at least be a decent contributor.

Mazi, on the other hand, was completely worthless. He barely played, and when he did he was awful. There is some major problem with him that no reporter (for some reason, I guess team pressure) wants to tell us about.

At a lower level, although it's too early to say, I strongly suspect Eric Scott can't play. Not even active for a single game when you had injuries at the position.

Schoonmaker played 221 snaps last year and that was "a lot of snaps". Mazi had 304 snaps and "barely played".

I'm convinced Mazi could cure cancer and this board would bash the kid.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Schoonmaker played 221 snaps last year and that was "a lot of snaps". Mazi had 304 snaps and "barely played".

I'm convinced Mazi could cure cancer and this board would bash the kid.

A second TE isn't going to play as much as a supposed starting NT.

And four snaps in the playoff game? Come on. He was behind guys like Gallimore who aren't any good.

I don't see how people defend Mazi. Can he turn it around? I guess so. But how can you defend him based on what we've seen? He did absolutely nothing.

And please don't drag out the line that we are expecting sacks from a NT. We have eyes. And we can see how often he was put on rollerskates from even average players.

 

[Cowboys5217]

Here's the harsh truth - most guys that are busts year one are busts period. You can list outliers, but that never disproves the rule. If you examine NFL history you will find that the vast majority of year one eyeball test busts were busts no matter how long you gave them to try and turn it around.

 

[Coogiguy03]

They seem to always get it in year 4 somehow!! Time to get a big deal

 

[darthseinfeld]

You're on the Jalen Tolbert train? He wasn't terrible but I didn't see a whole lot out of him myself. Would love an all-out competition for that spot of his and if a rookie or camp invitee shows more upside, I'm just fine letting him go.

I think at best Tolbert is another Ced Wilson

 

[InPhiltraitor]

Schoonmaker played 221 snaps last year and that was "a lot of snaps". Mazi had 304 snaps and "barely played".

I'm convinced Mazi could cure cancer and this board would bash the kid.

Don’t think most are bashing him on snap count. In fact, I saw enough snaps to better form an opinion.

I was looking for him to have more reps ending in a stalemate with his blocker. To me, that would have been a win and it didn’t happen nearly enough. At best, expectations have to be somewhat tempered for our first round selection.

If there’s hope it’s that his technique can catch up to his strength which thus far has been nullified. Perhaps the change in the coaching staff works wonders for this kid.

 

[thunderpimp91]

A second TE isn't going to play as much as a supposed starting NT.

And four snaps in the playoff game? Come on. He was behind guys like Gallimore who aren't any good.

I don't see how people defend Mazi. Can he turn it around? I guess so. But how can you defend him based on what we've seen? He did absolutely nothing.

And please don't drag out the line that we are expecting sacks from a NT. We have eyes. And we can see how often he was put on rollerskates from even average players.

First off my apologies because I was looking at the wrong number of snaps for Schoon. He had over 300 snaps in total so he did actually have more snaps than Mazi, that's my mistake.

Still their snap counts were pretty similar. Mazi was never a starter aside from the games Hankins missed. The guy just like Schoon was a role player in year 1. Most of Mazi's snaps also came as a 3/4T too, The guy really didn't play the nose as much as people want to believe. Neither Mazi or Schoon played that well in year 1, no argument there. As far as future ceilings though I would absolutely take Mazi. Mazi is three years younger than Schoon, and IMO progressed better than Schoon during the year. I saw Mazi get better off the snap. He has a really strong bullrush in the pass game, sadly he just has nothing to play off of it. That's a big piece I'm looking to see him improve on into year 2. He also was a pretty good run player when the Oline played straight up. Where he got embarrassed was in reading blocks. The kid was easy to trap, he got beat on reach blocks constantly. Honestly I think the issue with Mazi has to do with block recognition, which isn't uncommon, but he seems to need a ton of reps if he is going to get better at it. This is probably why Michigan had him do that delayed get off that has carried over to the NFL, to help him get an extra half second to read/react.

 

[OmerV]

If Trey Lance doesn’t close the gap on Rush this off-season was that move a bust?

I think he was mostly talking about players drafted by the Cowboys, but without a doubt it will be disappointing if Lance doesn't show something this year.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

A second TE isn't going to play as much as a supposed starting NT.

And four snaps in the playoff game? Come on. He was behind guys like Gallimore who aren't any good.

I don't see how people defend Mazi. Can he turn it around? I guess so. But how can you defend him based on what we've seen? He did absolutely nothing.

And please don't drag out the line that we are expecting sacks from a NT. We have eyes. And we can see how often he was put on rollerskates from even average players.

It's easy when your characterizations do not fit what actually occurred.

I would also add that Mazi was not 'terrible' despite being late off the snap all season long. He wasn't getting routinely blown off the ball and outmuscled. He was just inconsequential for the most part.

The only side I am on is reality and fair characterizations.

 

[KJJ]

One thing I know from following the NFL for more than 50 years is if a player is going to become a “great” player you’ll see at least flashes their rookie year. Players develop quicker now and are much more ready to contribute early because of all the rookie and mini camps. Preseason has become dedicated to young players. We’re seeing rookie QBs stepping and having great seasons. If a rookie isn’t showing anything that’s a big red flag.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

It's easy when your characterizations do not fit what actually occurred.

I would also add that Mazi was not 'terrible' despite being late off the snap all season long. He wasn't getting routinely blown off the ball and outmuscled. He was just inconsequential for the most part.

The only side I am on is reality and fair characterizations.

I think terrible is a fair characterization. Four snaps in the playoff game say the coaches agree with me.

And in case you think I'm a draftnik who never liked the pick so my ego is involved, no. I was all for the pick and was excited when we took him. But being objective, he was awful.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Don’t think most are bashing him on snap count. In fact, I saw enough snaps to better form an opinion.

I was looking for him to have more reps ending in a stalemate with his blocker. To me, that would have been a win and it didn’t happen nearly enough. At best, expectations have to be somewhat tempered for our first round selection.

If there’s hope it’s that his technique can catch up to his strength which thus far has been nullified. Perhaps the change in the coaching staff works wonders for this kid.

The poster I responded to specifically brought up the snap counts. To be honest I wouldnt temper expectations going into year two. I saw a ton to like from Mazi this year, and he has the physical abilities to thrive, he just has a very limited repertoire and struggles to read blocks in the run game. This lead to not so great results on the field but I think you can absolutely see the attributes that made the Cowboys want to take him round 1. A lot of his issues are areas that we should be able to see significant improvement from a player going from year 1 to year 2. I'm probably as bullish of a person as youll see on these boards in terms of Mazi, but I also acknowledge that this is starting to feel like a make or break year for the guy outside of injury. Either the guy develops a pass rush move to play off his bullrush and starts to identify the trap, reach, and double blocks or he doesn't. If he doesnt we are in trouble. He's shown that his strength plays at this level in both the pass and run game, and can hold his own straight up, he also showed significant improvement in getting off the ball. I look for him to surprise a lot of people this year.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I think terrible is a fair characterization. Four snaps in the playoff game say the coaches agree with me.

And in case you think I'm a draftnik who never liked the pick so my ego is involved, no. I was all for the pick and was excited when we took him. But being objective, he was awful.

Show the plays then. If what you say is the case then there should be reels of it.

 

[Bobhaze]

You're on the Jalen Tolbert train? He wasn't terrible but I didn't see a whole lot out of him myself. Would love an all-out competition for that spot of his and if a rookie or camp invitee shows more upside, I'm just fine letting him go.

I’m not necessarily on the Jalen Tolbert train. Just pointing out he went from total bust to some upside in one year. Just making the point that you can’t judge a player just on one year.

 

[Bobhaze]

Never be too quick to give up on a guy.

Remember Jalen Tolbert.

 

[fivetwos]

I’m not necessarily on the Jalen Tolbert train. Just pointing out he went from total bust to some upside in one year. Just making the point that you can’t judge a player just on one year.

Can’t expect non top 20 picks to be great right away. The ones that are are the exception.

It’s quite reasonable to figure a mid round pick would take until say, mid way through year three for the light to go on.

In that case you have the rest of that season plus all of one more before you have to pay them or they walk.

A guy like Damone Clark should have been a ST player this past season with a vet stopgap FA in front of him. THATS where they drop the ball far too often….on the field anyway.

It’s one thing to “like your guys” in a developmental manner, but if they were ready to give what you are asking of them, they would have been drafted higher.

A guy like Bell wasn’t even drafted…and those two were the middle of our defense that got trucked in the playoffs.

They both showed promise, but neither was ready to be a starter on a team that expects to contend.

 

[SiCk_DiAbLo]

I believe it takes at least 2 and probably 3 full seasons to know whether a player is a bust or not. The Cowboys have several players on their roster now that it is safe to say are busts which will be listed later. BUT…although Mazi Smith and Luke Schoonmaker had disappointing first years here, it’s still too early to declare them busts.

We saw Jalen Tolbert have a terrible rookie season followed by lots of improvement. He's an example of not giving up on a guy too early. Dorance Armstrong is a guy who took some time to develop. (We may not be able to afford him going forward because of his development as a good pass rusher) Point is, you can’t give up on a guy too early.

Here are the guys I think we now have enough evidence to say they are busts:

• CB Nashon Wright. ST guy at best. Can’t cover. He needs to be released.
• T Josh Ball- Always injured and even when he was healthy just never showed much.
• DL Neville Gallimore- he’s just average. Can make an occasional play but we can draft someone with more upside to give us that.

To me, we need to release those three guys. Enough evidence out there to say goodbye.
Here are the players I would put on BUST WATCH meaning they are in danger if they don’t improve or show more:

• Chauncey Goldston - decent at times but again, finding a guy who can give you 1 sack a year and few tackles is not hard.
• Sam Williams- this will surprise some. SW has big talent but his stupid penalties, off field stupidity and lack of consistency make his next season important to prove he’s worth keeping around.
• Matt Waletzko - like Josh Ball has struggled to stay healthy. He must show this year that he can stay healthy and contribute.

I know many fans will say Mazi is a bust. Maybe he is but it’s still too early to give up on him or any other drafted rookies. But the clock is ticking.
Anyone else on your “bust watch”?

The whole Team has been a Bust...The goal is to get to the Super Bowl, this team hasn't even sniffed it yet...