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Posted by jellis at 4/19/2010 10:21 AM CDT on truebluefanclub.com
As the final days tick off before the NFL Draft begins on Thursday, it goes without saying that the Cowboys' picks will be made based on their confidence in the players already on the roster.
Whether the Cowboys select a safety early, as many mock-drafters have predicted, will be largely based on the club's opinion of Alan Ball, who started four games last year while Ken Hamlin was nursing a high ankle sprain.
Ball has three years in the league, but just started converting to safety last year. Compare that to Mike Hamlin, who also has a shot at the job opening, but fought through injuries as a rookie last year.
While he's not exactly Ronnie Lott, Ball does fit the mold of a cover safety. He had four pass defenses last year, equaling Ken Hamlin's number in less than a third of the snaps. Hamlin was a more active tackler when healthy, though, posting 74 stops compared to 19 for Ball.
If Ball were the primary safety, the Cowboys could also stay in their base defense on occasion to let him play man coverage with Gerald Sensabaugh dropping into a deep zone. That's the kind of flexibility they imagined when they began working him at both cornerback and safety last summer.
So while we try to decide who the Cowboys like best among Earl Thomas, Taylor Mays, Nate Allen, Morgan Burnett and all those guys, the more vital question ahead of Thursday's first round might be what do they think of Ball.
As the final days tick off before the NFL Draft begins on Thursday, it goes without saying that the Cowboys' picks will be made based on their confidence in the players already on the roster.
Whether the Cowboys select a safety early, as many mock-drafters have predicted, will be largely based on the club's opinion of Alan Ball, who started four games last year while Ken Hamlin was nursing a high ankle sprain.
Ball has three years in the league, but just started converting to safety last year. Compare that to Mike Hamlin, who also has a shot at the job opening, but fought through injuries as a rookie last year.
While he's not exactly Ronnie Lott, Ball does fit the mold of a cover safety. He had four pass defenses last year, equaling Ken Hamlin's number in less than a third of the snaps. Hamlin was a more active tackler when healthy, though, posting 74 stops compared to 19 for Ball.
If Ball were the primary safety, the Cowboys could also stay in their base defense on occasion to let him play man coverage with Gerald Sensabaugh dropping into a deep zone. That's the kind of flexibility they imagined when they began working him at both cornerback and safety last summer.
So while we try to decide who the Cowboys like best among Earl Thomas, Taylor Mays, Nate Allen, Morgan Burnett and all those guys, the more vital question ahead of Thursday's first round might be what do they think of Ball.
