couchscout
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I wanna start out by telling you guys what a superhero Sdogo is. This is my first offseason/draft process where I actually have real NFL sources. Through my coaching career, I knew some coaches who knew some coaches who knew some LB coach that used to coach in the NFL, but not real NFL sources. And, I don't even have that many sources, I now know a lot of NFL people, but the number of them who actually talk to me about the goings on in their teams, and other rumors they hear is pretty small. That being said, the information has been flying at me so fast this entire off season, I don't know what to make of it all. How Sdogo manages to sift through it all, and decide what information is credible enough to post is beyond me. I think we all owe him a very large and very sincere thank you. I can't imagine trying to be as active and informed as he is here AND do my job. So, thank you man, forget Superman, you're the superhero I look up to most. 
Tony Romo -
Wow, there have been a lot of threads regarding our QB the last few weeks, and they all boil down to the same few knuckleheads trying to tell us how terrible he is. I've told you all before, and I'm gonna keep repeating it. These people who think Romo is not elite do not know what they are talking about. Period, end of story. I know an NFL GM who has more than one Super Bowl ring on his hand, and gets to watch a future Hall of Fame QB play every Sunday who uses the Romo question to weed out the people who don't know football. He flat out told me when he meets a fan who recognizes him, and starts up a football conversation, he'll immediately ask what they think of Romo. If they say anything but how incredible he is, he automatically knows they don't know what they're talking about. Not to mention the well over 50 scouts I've met that all say Romo is elite. Those few on this board who will go to the ends of the Earth to tell us how terrible Romo is...they don't have one freaking clue about the sport of football. Not one. Not only that, but they seem to revel in that fact. I say we let them revel, no point in arguing with people who don't know what they are talking about in the first place, and don't have any interest in seeing the truth.
What I'm hearing
Sheesh, take this all with a massive grain of salt. I've heard so much crap the last few weeks, I have no idea what to believe. I've made note of the various thing I've heard and the people who told them to me. I got it all saved on a spreadsheet, I'm hoping that overtime I can weed out the people who feed me a lot of false info and find that 1% that are correct more often than not. I'm just gonna give you the juiciest of the stuff I heard, hopefully by next season I'll have a better handle on what is real and what isn't.
- I don't think the Cowboys are in love with anyone they anticipate being there at 14. These players all have questions or you're having to project what they might be able to do pretty heavily.
- Despite everything we've heard, I was told Barron was only an option in a trade DOWN scenario.
- Also heard just last week that a scenario involving a trade UP for Claiborne was in play.
- The Cowboys love Fletcher Cox, but don't want to trade up for him, I was told he is their favorite player that has a "reasonable" chance of being there at 14 (i.e. Not Luck, Griffin, Kalil)
- Decastro will only be the pick if all the defensive options they covet are gone by the time they pick. And then, it will most likely be to play C.
- The Cowboys have pinpointed a very small number of WRs they like, they would take one of those guys if he was available in the right round, otherwise they are out of the WR market. Bryant, Austin, Otree, Radway, Harris, Holmes. That's 6 WRs they like already on the roster.
- I'm told there are 3 potential "replacements for Spencer" the Cowboys like, none of which would be in play at 14. They all fall into a trade back up in the late 1st, or hoping one falls to them in the 2nd type scenario. I was given no names.
Bill Callahan -
Listening to The Lunch Break the other day, Broaddus mentioned that Callahan has had a Pro Bowl center at every one of his NFL stops. I found that pretty interesting, so I started doing some research, looking into his former teams, talking to a few people I know, etc. He has put together some excellent offensive lines, and some excellent running games. He's coached multiple Super Bowl offensive lines. Coaches get reputations for certain things, some have a keen eye for talent, and can find you diamonds in the rough. Some know exactly the type of player they need, so they have a roadmap to position group success. Apparently, Callahan is known for getting the absolute most out of what he has. Each player he coaches plays right at or above their ceiling. My eyes will be absolutely glued to the OL during training camp this summer. I can't wait to see what he does for guys like Free and Smith, and even Costa.
The Draft -
I've been compiling a list of things I'd like to see addressed with this draft. Obviously, you can't fill every last need with one draft, so over time I've pared the list down to what I think is a rational list of needs we could fill this weekend. This list is in no particular order, it's just what I would personally like to see out of this draft.
1. Potential long term replacement for Spencer
2. Interior pass rusher
3. At least 2 DB's, one of which must be a CB.
4. A return specialist.
5. A potential starting C
6. An ILB who can be a coverage specialist/special teams guy/depth
7. A TE who can threaten the seam.
I'm quite sure we won't come away with all of that, but I feel we have to hit 3-4 of those things to finish this little rebuilding phase we're going though.
Size Matter -
One of the things that drives me batty about the Cowboys scouting department is their over reliance on size, especially height. Our LBs are all very tall and pretty heavy. Every last one of our WR's except Harris are tall. Our DL are all very tall and again quite heavy, except Ratliff. You would think having Ratliff would teach them a lesson, sometimes a smaller and quicker guy can get the job done better. I personally believe this is a belief left over from the Parcells era, he was a big believer in size. But the NFL has gone to so much of a passing league, you need more and more guys with speed. It's getting to the point where defenses like Green Bays 2-4-5 are gonna be a requirement. Less big space eating guys, and more guys that are fleet of foot to chase down or stay with WRs, or quick twitch so they can penetrate and stop a run play before it even gets started are needed. We have a few players like this, we need more.
That's it for me guys, sorry I couldn't be as informative as I wanted to be, but there was just no way for me to sift through all the information I got and have any real idea what is real and what's not. I wish you all a happy Christmas in April. I may be around to take some questions a little today, maybe a little tommorow. Will try to do a good question/answer session a couple weeks after the draft.
Tony Romo -
Wow, there have been a lot of threads regarding our QB the last few weeks, and they all boil down to the same few knuckleheads trying to tell us how terrible he is. I've told you all before, and I'm gonna keep repeating it. These people who think Romo is not elite do not know what they are talking about. Period, end of story. I know an NFL GM who has more than one Super Bowl ring on his hand, and gets to watch a future Hall of Fame QB play every Sunday who uses the Romo question to weed out the people who don't know football. He flat out told me when he meets a fan who recognizes him, and starts up a football conversation, he'll immediately ask what they think of Romo. If they say anything but how incredible he is, he automatically knows they don't know what they're talking about. Not to mention the well over 50 scouts I've met that all say Romo is elite. Those few on this board who will go to the ends of the Earth to tell us how terrible Romo is...they don't have one freaking clue about the sport of football. Not one. Not only that, but they seem to revel in that fact. I say we let them revel, no point in arguing with people who don't know what they are talking about in the first place, and don't have any interest in seeing the truth.
What I'm hearing
Sheesh, take this all with a massive grain of salt. I've heard so much crap the last few weeks, I have no idea what to believe. I've made note of the various thing I've heard and the people who told them to me. I got it all saved on a spreadsheet, I'm hoping that overtime I can weed out the people who feed me a lot of false info and find that 1% that are correct more often than not. I'm just gonna give you the juiciest of the stuff I heard, hopefully by next season I'll have a better handle on what is real and what isn't.
- I don't think the Cowboys are in love with anyone they anticipate being there at 14. These players all have questions or you're having to project what they might be able to do pretty heavily.
- Despite everything we've heard, I was told Barron was only an option in a trade DOWN scenario.
- Also heard just last week that a scenario involving a trade UP for Claiborne was in play.
- The Cowboys love Fletcher Cox, but don't want to trade up for him, I was told he is their favorite player that has a "reasonable" chance of being there at 14 (i.e. Not Luck, Griffin, Kalil)
- Decastro will only be the pick if all the defensive options they covet are gone by the time they pick. And then, it will most likely be to play C.
- The Cowboys have pinpointed a very small number of WRs they like, they would take one of those guys if he was available in the right round, otherwise they are out of the WR market. Bryant, Austin, Otree, Radway, Harris, Holmes. That's 6 WRs they like already on the roster.
- I'm told there are 3 potential "replacements for Spencer" the Cowboys like, none of which would be in play at 14. They all fall into a trade back up in the late 1st, or hoping one falls to them in the 2nd type scenario. I was given no names.
Bill Callahan -
Listening to The Lunch Break the other day, Broaddus mentioned that Callahan has had a Pro Bowl center at every one of his NFL stops. I found that pretty interesting, so I started doing some research, looking into his former teams, talking to a few people I know, etc. He has put together some excellent offensive lines, and some excellent running games. He's coached multiple Super Bowl offensive lines. Coaches get reputations for certain things, some have a keen eye for talent, and can find you diamonds in the rough. Some know exactly the type of player they need, so they have a roadmap to position group success. Apparently, Callahan is known for getting the absolute most out of what he has. Each player he coaches plays right at or above their ceiling. My eyes will be absolutely glued to the OL during training camp this summer. I can't wait to see what he does for guys like Free and Smith, and even Costa.
The Draft -
I've been compiling a list of things I'd like to see addressed with this draft. Obviously, you can't fill every last need with one draft, so over time I've pared the list down to what I think is a rational list of needs we could fill this weekend. This list is in no particular order, it's just what I would personally like to see out of this draft.
1. Potential long term replacement for Spencer
2. Interior pass rusher
3. At least 2 DB's, one of which must be a CB.
4. A return specialist.
5. A potential starting C
6. An ILB who can be a coverage specialist/special teams guy/depth
7. A TE who can threaten the seam.
I'm quite sure we won't come away with all of that, but I feel we have to hit 3-4 of those things to finish this little rebuilding phase we're going though.
Size Matter -
One of the things that drives me batty about the Cowboys scouting department is their over reliance on size, especially height. Our LBs are all very tall and pretty heavy. Every last one of our WR's except Harris are tall. Our DL are all very tall and again quite heavy, except Ratliff. You would think having Ratliff would teach them a lesson, sometimes a smaller and quicker guy can get the job done better. I personally believe this is a belief left over from the Parcells era, he was a big believer in size. But the NFL has gone to so much of a passing league, you need more and more guys with speed. It's getting to the point where defenses like Green Bays 2-4-5 are gonna be a requirement. Less big space eating guys, and more guys that are fleet of foot to chase down or stay with WRs, or quick twitch so they can penetrate and stop a run play before it even gets started are needed. We have a few players like this, we need more.
That's it for me guys, sorry I couldn't be as informative as I wanted to be, but there was just no way for me to sift through all the information I got and have any real idea what is real and what's not. I wish you all a happy Christmas in April. I may be around to take some questions a little today, maybe a little tommorow. Will try to do a good question/answer session a couple weeks after the draft.
....thats kinda how i judge football minds here
