couchscout
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What's going on guys? Hope everyone is having an awesome day. I was planning on doing a free agency recap sometime about now, but The Emperor approached me about doing a radio show on that subject, so I'm gonna save talk about specific players we've recently signed for that. I'm sure he'll be properly advertising the show as he gets closer to being ready to host it. However, I still have a few things I'd like to talk about. Probably won't be a long post today, but should give you guys some things to think about.
Money Money Money
I heard several people gnashing their teeth over the 10 mil per season number we're gonna be paying Carr, and I just wanna take the time to remind those people that the numbers as we knew them, are gone. 10 mil used to be reserved for top flight corners, now pretty good corners are gonna be getting that, and top flight corners are gonna get 15 mil. With the new CBA, teams have to spend more, and lots of teams had/have lots of cap space, they have to spend it somehow. It will probably take 3-4 seasons for salaries to normalize where we'll be able to reliably predict what a free agent should and will get. Just keep that in mind when you see that 10 mil per season and start freaking out.
Anthony Spencer
My employer asked me for an eval on Spencer a couple weeks back, and I told them the same thing I've told ya'll, that Spencer is an enigma to me, he's the hardest player on the team to evaluate...and it's not close. He wrote me back a few days after that explaining that when you break it down to it's simplest form, there are 3 types of players in the league. Guys who can't do it, guys who can do it but need help around them, and guys who can do it all by themselves. Spencer fits squarely in the can do it but needs help category. The majority of the players in the league are in the same category. At first I was steadfastly against franchising him, but then I started watching his tape some more, and I found some interesting things. He's not a bad player, by any stretch of the imagination. The nickname "Almost Anthony" is very apt. As a pass rusher, he is consistently almost there. When Spears/Lissemore would get a really good push, Spencer put a lot of heat on QBs. When those guys got stonewalled, Spencer's effectiveness dropped about 50%. Also, when the coverage was very good (happened way way too rarely this season), Spencer usually beat Ware to the QB (probably due to Ware getting extra attention, but still). Assuming the acquisitions we've made so far and will make in the draft turn out to be upgrades, I see no reason Spencer couldn't have a true breakout season. The Cowboys thinking could be along the lines of "let's give him one season in which we actually have a secondary, and then make a decision." Not a bad plan, I know this, Spencer wasn't the problem with the defense last year, and most likely won't be next season either.
The case for Decastro
Guard just isn't that important of a position to have an elite player. Yeah, you want guys in there who can do the job, but the benefits from having an elite guard are far outweighed by having an elite player at almost any other position. Thats just football fact. However, Decastro has something going for him as far as being a draft prospect that not a single other draftee this season has. He's already better than 80% of the starting guards in the NFL. Most of the time, your drafting on potential, even when a guy is already good, you don't know how that is gonna translate to the next level. With Decastro, thats not a worry, there isn't a team in the league (except probably Tampa Bay) that has 2 guards better than him. He would start at one spot or the other for 31 teams, day one. No one else can say that.
The case for a pass rusher
The Giants proved once again this season that impact an elite pass rusher can have. Having 2 or 3 of them is like having a huge bottle of wart-be-gone. It doesn't hardly matter what the rest of the defense is doing when the opposing QB is eating dirt every other play. The big problem with drafting these guys, is they seem to have the same boost or bust factor that QBs have. And teams around the NFL seem to have the same trouble figuring out which guy will translate to the next level, and which one won't. However, I think the Giants have laid out a very simple blueprint, you just keep drafting pass rushers, every draft. It doesn't matter if you already have Tuck, Kiwanuka, and Umenyoira, you take JPP anyway. This is why I think you'll see the Cowboys select someone they think can translate to the next level as a pass rusher. If none of those guys are there when they pick, then they take Decastro. Just my gut feeling.
Adjusting an old football adage
"You have to run the ball to win", people have been saying that for a long time now. And I suppose there was a time when it was true, but it's never really been a completely accurate statement. The truth is "you have to BE ABLE to run the ball to win". Just running doesn't equate to success, otherwise thats what everyone would do. Think about the past 5-6 Super Bowl winners, they all had excellent passing attacks they relied heavily on, but could also run when it was needed. Sometimes those teams were able to run because they were built as a running team but struck gold at WR/QB (Giants, Steelers), sometimes they could run because their passing attack was so dominant that they constantly faced 6 man boxes (Saints, Packers) and sometimes they were built for balance (Colts), but in all cases, they could run when needed, and to throw the opponent off balance.
I bring this up to talk about Garrett and his playcalling a little bit. In a report I sent to my employer I mentioned that he doesn't like to run very much and it seems he will give up on it when it's not working. My boss wrote me back explaining that more and more of the OCs in the league are starting to learn that running just to stay balanced gets you nowhere. He mentioned that I should pay closer attention to play calls when watching other teams, and note how many of them give up on the run if it's clearly not working.
I brought all that up to get to my final point. We've got to BE ABLE to run the ball next season. That is how this offense takes the next step. We need both more push up front at the snap, and a much higher success rate of hitting targets on the second level. Replacing Kosier and Nagy/Holland/Dockery will go a long way towards that goal. It'll be very interesting to see what this offensive line looks like the first day of training camp, and how it evolves from there. But at all costs, we have be able to consistently get chunk yardage out of the running game next season.
The best place on Earth.
I told Reality this back during the season, and I've heard it mentioned again recently, so I thought I'd share. Apparently, in the scouting/front office communities, Cowboyszone is considered to be the best fan site in the NFL by a pretty wide margin, and is considered to be right up there with the best fan sites in all of sports. You'd be floored by some of the people who have accounts here, and regularly check this site. You might be careful spouting off too many crazy opinions, you could have real NFL GMs with multiple Super Bowl rings laughing at you. But definitely big props to Reality, the mod staff, and everyone else who contributes to this board, pretty cool thing being singled out as the best.
As usual, I'll try to answer as many questions as I can for the next 24 hours or so. No questions about recent signings though, you can get those answers by listening to the upcoming radio show.
Money Money Money
I heard several people gnashing their teeth over the 10 mil per season number we're gonna be paying Carr, and I just wanna take the time to remind those people that the numbers as we knew them, are gone. 10 mil used to be reserved for top flight corners, now pretty good corners are gonna be getting that, and top flight corners are gonna get 15 mil. With the new CBA, teams have to spend more, and lots of teams had/have lots of cap space, they have to spend it somehow. It will probably take 3-4 seasons for salaries to normalize where we'll be able to reliably predict what a free agent should and will get. Just keep that in mind when you see that 10 mil per season and start freaking out.
Anthony Spencer
My employer asked me for an eval on Spencer a couple weeks back, and I told them the same thing I've told ya'll, that Spencer is an enigma to me, he's the hardest player on the team to evaluate...and it's not close. He wrote me back a few days after that explaining that when you break it down to it's simplest form, there are 3 types of players in the league. Guys who can't do it, guys who can do it but need help around them, and guys who can do it all by themselves. Spencer fits squarely in the can do it but needs help category. The majority of the players in the league are in the same category. At first I was steadfastly against franchising him, but then I started watching his tape some more, and I found some interesting things. He's not a bad player, by any stretch of the imagination. The nickname "Almost Anthony" is very apt. As a pass rusher, he is consistently almost there. When Spears/Lissemore would get a really good push, Spencer put a lot of heat on QBs. When those guys got stonewalled, Spencer's effectiveness dropped about 50%. Also, when the coverage was very good (happened way way too rarely this season), Spencer usually beat Ware to the QB (probably due to Ware getting extra attention, but still). Assuming the acquisitions we've made so far and will make in the draft turn out to be upgrades, I see no reason Spencer couldn't have a true breakout season. The Cowboys thinking could be along the lines of "let's give him one season in which we actually have a secondary, and then make a decision." Not a bad plan, I know this, Spencer wasn't the problem with the defense last year, and most likely won't be next season either.
The case for Decastro
Guard just isn't that important of a position to have an elite player. Yeah, you want guys in there who can do the job, but the benefits from having an elite guard are far outweighed by having an elite player at almost any other position. Thats just football fact. However, Decastro has something going for him as far as being a draft prospect that not a single other draftee this season has. He's already better than 80% of the starting guards in the NFL. Most of the time, your drafting on potential, even when a guy is already good, you don't know how that is gonna translate to the next level. With Decastro, thats not a worry, there isn't a team in the league (except probably Tampa Bay) that has 2 guards better than him. He would start at one spot or the other for 31 teams, day one. No one else can say that.
The case for a pass rusher
The Giants proved once again this season that impact an elite pass rusher can have. Having 2 or 3 of them is like having a huge bottle of wart-be-gone. It doesn't hardly matter what the rest of the defense is doing when the opposing QB is eating dirt every other play. The big problem with drafting these guys, is they seem to have the same boost or bust factor that QBs have. And teams around the NFL seem to have the same trouble figuring out which guy will translate to the next level, and which one won't. However, I think the Giants have laid out a very simple blueprint, you just keep drafting pass rushers, every draft. It doesn't matter if you already have Tuck, Kiwanuka, and Umenyoira, you take JPP anyway. This is why I think you'll see the Cowboys select someone they think can translate to the next level as a pass rusher. If none of those guys are there when they pick, then they take Decastro. Just my gut feeling.
Adjusting an old football adage
"You have to run the ball to win", people have been saying that for a long time now. And I suppose there was a time when it was true, but it's never really been a completely accurate statement. The truth is "you have to BE ABLE to run the ball to win". Just running doesn't equate to success, otherwise thats what everyone would do. Think about the past 5-6 Super Bowl winners, they all had excellent passing attacks they relied heavily on, but could also run when it was needed. Sometimes those teams were able to run because they were built as a running team but struck gold at WR/QB (Giants, Steelers), sometimes they could run because their passing attack was so dominant that they constantly faced 6 man boxes (Saints, Packers) and sometimes they were built for balance (Colts), but in all cases, they could run when needed, and to throw the opponent off balance.
I bring this up to talk about Garrett and his playcalling a little bit. In a report I sent to my employer I mentioned that he doesn't like to run very much and it seems he will give up on it when it's not working. My boss wrote me back explaining that more and more of the OCs in the league are starting to learn that running just to stay balanced gets you nowhere. He mentioned that I should pay closer attention to play calls when watching other teams, and note how many of them give up on the run if it's clearly not working.
I brought all that up to get to my final point. We've got to BE ABLE to run the ball next season. That is how this offense takes the next step. We need both more push up front at the snap, and a much higher success rate of hitting targets on the second level. Replacing Kosier and Nagy/Holland/Dockery will go a long way towards that goal. It'll be very interesting to see what this offensive line looks like the first day of training camp, and how it evolves from there. But at all costs, we have be able to consistently get chunk yardage out of the running game next season.
The best place on Earth.
I told Reality this back during the season, and I've heard it mentioned again recently, so I thought I'd share. Apparently, in the scouting/front office communities, Cowboyszone is considered to be the best fan site in the NFL by a pretty wide margin, and is considered to be right up there with the best fan sites in all of sports. You'd be floored by some of the people who have accounts here, and regularly check this site. You might be careful spouting off too many crazy opinions, you could have real NFL GMs with multiple Super Bowl rings laughing at you. But definitely big props to Reality, the mod staff, and everyone else who contributes to this board, pretty cool thing being singled out as the best.
As usual, I'll try to answer as many questions as I can for the next 24 hours or so. No questions about recent signings though, you can get those answers by listening to the upcoming radio show.
