gimmesix
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
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One of the things I enjoyed about the Cowboys drafting Anthony Spencer is that it is apparent he was the primary player they were targeting in the first round.
Matt Mosley had reported the night before the draft that Dallas' plan was to trade back a few spots and get Spencer, and Jerry Jones said Spencer's name was ready to be turned in at pick 22 before the trade was completed with Cleveland. So, whether or not any of us agrees with the pick, it is a great thing that Dallas got the player it wanted AND picked up Cleveland's first-rounder next year.
It also should give us a true gauge of our front office. If Dallas had been forced to settle on an alternate player, then there is an excuse for failure. Since Spencer was the Cowboys' guy, the front office's reputation lives or dies with him.
Looking at Dallas' other draft picks, it's clear that some of them were not Dallas' primary targets and some were:
THIRD ROUND First of all, the evidence points to Dallas targeting a receiver (or perhaps even a group of them) in the second round and trading down when all of them were gone. Second, although there is no concrete evidence, I wonder if Dallas wanted to take CB Usama Young in the third round, but picked Marten when Young went right in front of the Cowboys. They seemed to show a lot of interest in Young before the draft, and only a little in James Marten (primarily at the Senior Bowl from what's been written and Marten's comments).
FOURTH ROUND There is little reason to believe that Isaiah Stanback was not Dallas' top target heading into the second day of the draft. They took him four players into the second day, he was mentioned prior to the draft and fourth round as a player Dallas was interested in and Jeff Ireland has since declared how happy he was that Stanback was available.
Doug Free is another story. It appears from DMN's blog that LB Zak DeOssie was the player Dallas wanted. Free was likely considered by Dallas the best player available when it used its second pick of the round.
SIXTH ROUND Although Dallas obviously wanted Nick Folk over Mason Crosby, I'm not sure if Folk was the Cowboys' top target at kicker. Justin Medlock went 18 picks before Dallas took Folk, so he could have been the No. 1 kicker on the board.
Trading up from pick 200 to 195 to get Deon Anderson makes it clear the Cowboys wanted the fullback, but was this also possibly a reactionary pick? Brian Leonard had went one pick before Dallas' second-round selection; Le'Ron McClain went at the end of the fourth round (Dallas could have got him with its second fourth-rounder if it wanted him, though); and Oren O'Neal went at the top of the sixth, 20 picks before Dallas selected Anderson and four before it picked Folk. So, it's hard to tell which fullback Dallas preferred. I think it's possible that O'Neal was a target because he played for Arkansas State (Larry Lacewell's old school that he still has strong ties to) and Lacewell would have filled Jerry Jones' ear with info about O'Neal.
SEVENTH ROUND There is a war room thread I read somewhere that depicts Dallas' conversation about Courtney Brown and Alan Ball. I'm not sure when they became targets, but it appears that both were when Dallas drafted Brown at No. 212. The Cowboys had to choose between them at that pick, so they had to be elated to be able to also get Ball at pick 237.
Sorry if I rambled on too long, but I just wanted to discuss the draft from the viewpoint of looking at who Dallas clearly wanted. I think it's obvious that Spencer, Stanback and Ball were targeted by the Cowboys, while the others might have been victims of circumstance or alternate choices ... so I'll keep an eye especially on how those players turn out and look forward to what Dallas does with Cleveland's pick next year knowing that the Cowboys still got the player they wanted.
Matt Mosley had reported the night before the draft that Dallas' plan was to trade back a few spots and get Spencer, and Jerry Jones said Spencer's name was ready to be turned in at pick 22 before the trade was completed with Cleveland. So, whether or not any of us agrees with the pick, it is a great thing that Dallas got the player it wanted AND picked up Cleveland's first-rounder next year.
It also should give us a true gauge of our front office. If Dallas had been forced to settle on an alternate player, then there is an excuse for failure. Since Spencer was the Cowboys' guy, the front office's reputation lives or dies with him.
Looking at Dallas' other draft picks, it's clear that some of them were not Dallas' primary targets and some were:
THIRD ROUND First of all, the evidence points to Dallas targeting a receiver (or perhaps even a group of them) in the second round and trading down when all of them were gone. Second, although there is no concrete evidence, I wonder if Dallas wanted to take CB Usama Young in the third round, but picked Marten when Young went right in front of the Cowboys. They seemed to show a lot of interest in Young before the draft, and only a little in James Marten (primarily at the Senior Bowl from what's been written and Marten's comments).
FOURTH ROUND There is little reason to believe that Isaiah Stanback was not Dallas' top target heading into the second day of the draft. They took him four players into the second day, he was mentioned prior to the draft and fourth round as a player Dallas was interested in and Jeff Ireland has since declared how happy he was that Stanback was available.
Doug Free is another story. It appears from DMN's blog that LB Zak DeOssie was the player Dallas wanted. Free was likely considered by Dallas the best player available when it used its second pick of the round.
SIXTH ROUND Although Dallas obviously wanted Nick Folk over Mason Crosby, I'm not sure if Folk was the Cowboys' top target at kicker. Justin Medlock went 18 picks before Dallas took Folk, so he could have been the No. 1 kicker on the board.
Trading up from pick 200 to 195 to get Deon Anderson makes it clear the Cowboys wanted the fullback, but was this also possibly a reactionary pick? Brian Leonard had went one pick before Dallas' second-round selection; Le'Ron McClain went at the end of the fourth round (Dallas could have got him with its second fourth-rounder if it wanted him, though); and Oren O'Neal went at the top of the sixth, 20 picks before Dallas selected Anderson and four before it picked Folk. So, it's hard to tell which fullback Dallas preferred. I think it's possible that O'Neal was a target because he played for Arkansas State (Larry Lacewell's old school that he still has strong ties to) and Lacewell would have filled Jerry Jones' ear with info about O'Neal.
SEVENTH ROUND There is a war room thread I read somewhere that depicts Dallas' conversation about Courtney Brown and Alan Ball. I'm not sure when they became targets, but it appears that both were when Dallas drafted Brown at No. 212. The Cowboys had to choose between them at that pick, so they had to be elated to be able to also get Ball at pick 237.
Sorry if I rambled on too long, but I just wanted to discuss the draft from the viewpoint of looking at who Dallas clearly wanted. I think it's obvious that Spencer, Stanback and Ball were targeted by the Cowboys, while the others might have been victims of circumstance or alternate choices ... so I'll keep an eye especially on how those players turn out and look forward to what Dallas does with Cleveland's pick next year knowing that the Cowboys still got the player they wanted.
