DMN Blog Gosselin: Early Defensive ROY candidate prediction

[WoodysGirl]

Derrick Johnson Rookie of Year?


I just finished watching the first practice of the Kansas City Chiefs minicamp. Pencil in Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson as the favorite for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. He's going to get the chance to play right away on a defense that is in dire need of playmakers. Johnson batted down a swing pass in practice with a basketball-type jump. He looked like Ben Wallace skying to block a shot, drawing whoops from his defensive teammates. How did this guy slide to the 15th pick of the draft?

Posted by Rick Gosselin http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/standing/icons/email.gif at 4:40 PM (E-mail this entry)

http://www.beloblog.com/sportssay/

 

[ddh33]

Johnson has the potential to be a big-time playmaker. Personally, I like Ware as defensive rookie of the year. I think he's going to lead our team in sacks and make several big plays this year...

 

[Banned_n_austin]

I know DJ is going to come out and light it up. We're all going to be wondering what might have been - seriously. DJ is a special player. I sure hope Ware pans out.

~fingers crossed~

 

[Jersey]

His "upside" is plays in mini-camp. Ware & Spears will do this in big games, not when everyone is at half speed. He is what he is, AVERAGE.

 

[Qwickdraw]

Keep an eye out for Ware to contend for that honor IMO.

I also think Thomas Davis on that CAR defense will be a competitor as well. Depends on whether they play him at LB or SS, though.

 

[ravidubey]

DJ and Ware are different kinds of players. Dallas didn't need yet another sideline to sideline defender they needed proven pass rushers-- guys who can take on linemen and win.

 

[speedkilz88]

So a guy with the rep of being a great athletic talent, but has problems against the power guys on the line looks good in shorts. Great scouting Goose!

 

[big dog cowboy]

Popularity contests (defensive rookie of the year or any post season award) among linebackers always falls in line with whoever has the most QB sacks. I'll put my bet on Ware.

 

[Hollywood Henderson]

Yep, I think Parcells will put Ware in a position to excell & make big plays!

 

[Billy Bullocks]

Personally, I think DJ and DW are going to be really good. Down the line, I think Canty will be damn good. Spears will be very solid. I think DJ will be a much better 4-3 backer, but Ware will be a menace in the 3-4 off the edge

 

[parchy]

I like how he deflects one pass and all of the sudden he's a shoe in for DROY.

 

[SuspectCorner]

i really like the sideline-to-sideline speed of johnson. he'll be a fine player.

but demarcus ware has "quicks to spare" and is ALSO a powerful tackler.

i don't think the cowboys failed to notice this. quite the contrary.

 

[jbsg02]

Antrel Rolle could make a run at it in Arizona

 

[DallasEast]

This year's DROY boils down to one question:

"Will Erasmus James be healthy or not"?

If he's injured for any great stretch of time, then I'm putting my money on Rolle.

 

[lkelly]

How many tackles do players make in mini-camp? Has DJ even attempted one yet? Let's not get too carried away naming him defensive player of the year because he batted down a pass.

 

[Redball Express]

This isn't an either or debate.

DJ in the right scheme will be a great addition to any defense. Ware likewise. I think the only reason he wasn't taken by us is that he's a 4-3 LBer primarily and we are not going to use the 4-3 as our base defense. He's not as multi-dimensional as a guy like Ware can be.

3-4 lbers, the type we needed, could be had latter in the draft, such as a Burnett. As someone said, we had 4-3 lbers already that we are going to be trying to convert to the 3-4. Needing a pass rush off the edge and the depth to play a 3-4 on the DL was obviously the reason we did what we did and got what we got.

Had there not been so many quality DL in this draft, to fill the biggest need we had, it would have been probable we'd have not gotten a Ware or a Spears as they would have been gone.

At that point, I'm sure we would have strongly considered taking DJ with Coakley gone. And nobody would have thought it a poor pick.

The whole draft just fell exactly to our biggest needs and I wish DJ all the best. I think Ware will prove more a big playmaker because of how he will be used. But DJ will be an excellent talent, too.

Goose actually gets it right most of the time. We'll see. Like him or hate him, he's a measuring stick against which most everybody compares the other writers to. I have no problem with that.

Goose tries to hold himself above being a local homer reporter and it rubs some the wrong way. But give him his due. He's trying to report fairly and unbiasedly. Not easy to do in Dallas. Blackie Sherrod was like that. And he was a great reporter in his prime.

Goose is just trying to be old school. I never get the feeling he's trying to shove some unfounded opinion down your throat like Mickey does or others. I think he gets his information often from outside Dallas about Dallas and that just creates a different perspective for us as readers.

Really, I fail to see why he rankles so many here. We need guys like him that don't owe anybody on the team 'yes-stories'. I'll bet even BP reads him with interest..whether he likes what he reads or not.

parcellwaterboy

 

[Yeagermeister]

5 years from now are we going to have We should have taken DJ over Ware threads also?

 

[Hostile]

5 years from now are we going to have We should have taken DJ over Ware threads also?

Who's gonna wait 5 years? I predict this year there will be someone.

 

[Tio]

His "upside" is plays in mini-camp. Ware & Spears will do this in big games, not when everyone is at half speed. He is what he is, AVERAGE.

Please. WHat would make you believe this. DJ has proven it on the field more than both of our rookies, winning the DPOY last year in college and setting a record for most FF in a season. I like Ware and Spears, but to just blindly suggest our guys will be much better is very homerish as DJ was better in college and has just as good of measurables.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Please. WHat would make you believe this. DJ has proven it on the field more than both of our rookies, winning the DPOY last year in college and setting a record for most FF in a season. I like Ware and Spears, but to just blindly suggest our guys will be much better is very homerish as DJ was better in college and has just as good of measurables.

What will be interesting to see is if DJ can translate his style of play in college to the pros. Last year he was a man among boys. Not this year. My bet is those who complain about Dat not making plays behind the line of scrimmage will be the same ones who critize DJ for the same thing.