First Round Draft Picks Signing Status

[Hostile]

http://www.theredzone.org/firstround.asp

Only 5 under cantract so far.

 

[Vintage]

http://www.theredzone.org/firstround.asp

Only 5 under cantract so far.

I think over the next day or two, you'll see a rush of signings including Spencer....the bottom half of the draft is relatively easy to sign because there isn't much haggling (and when there is, its usually over smaller amounts).

What will be interesting is how the top 10 picks sign for...and how fast they sign.

We might be in this position next year.

 

[burmafrd]

does seem slower this year.

 

[Hostile]

does seem slower this year.

Slower than i ever remember. Some were saying that is because of the 2nd round and how to deal with it to make the accounting work.

I think only one 2nd rounder is signed...Kevin Kolb for Philly. That was the last I heard anyway.

 

[AbeBeta]

seems like Spencer is pretty well slotted -- I imagine there is some holdup b/c Jerry shot his mouth off about how he was set to draft Spencer at 22 - agents eat that stuff up.

 

[Hostile]

Two more 1st rounders have signed. Jamaal Anderson with the Falcons and Anthony Gonzalez with the Colts.

No word on our picks yet.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

Quinn falling to #22 is actually holding up Spencer. Everyone's waiting to see in Condon pulls a mega-deal for him out of the Browns. No one wants to be the agent who got the short end of the stick.

 

[YosemiteSam]

The way I see it. There shouldn't even be a negotiation. There should be set pay levels each year on what each draft position gets paid. That way, all players are in camp. I mean, it ends up like that anyhow most of the time. A is paid more than B and B is paid more than C etc.

 

[Hostile]

Quinn falling to #22 is actually holding up Spencer. Everyone's waiting to see in Condon pulls a mega-deal for him out of the Browns. No one wants to be the agent who got the short end of the stick.

That is something I hadn't considered but it makes some sense.

 

[YosemiteSam]

That is something I hadn't considered but it makes soem sense.

Yeah, and consider this. With Ellis aling, it just make Spencer's position that much stronger allowing him to hold-out until Quinn settles.

 

[Hostile]

Yeah, and consider this. With Ellis aling, it just make Spencer's position that much stronger allowing him to hold-out until Quinn settles.

Yeah, but if I'm Stephen Jones or Jerry I'm telling him the time was never better for him to cement his place as the Starter. That's what I want anyway. I want him to be better than Ellis. If He's only as good as Ellis I'll be a bit disappointed because frankly Ellis has never totally impressed me.

 

[Vintage]

Yeah, but if I'm Stephen Jones or Jerry I'm telling him the time was never better for him to cement his place as the Starter. That's what I want anyway. I want him to be better than Ellis. If He's only as good as Ellis I'll be a bit disappointed because frankly Ellis has never totally impressed me.

We know Spencer can get after the QB. We saw that his senior year in College. That should transition well to the pros. We also saw him shed blocks and play the run well too in college and that should transition well too.

The remaining question, is coverage.

Parcells wasn't perfect. But look at the way he developed Ware. Ware right now is about as complete of an OLB in a 3-4 as you can get. Parcells had a vision for Ware and sculpted him that way. Yeah, I want to see Ware rush the QB more.

But I also want to utilize all of Ware's abilities. And if that calls for Ware to go into coverage time to time, we know he can do that.

One of the benefits we had last season was with Ellis healthy, teams had to pick their poison. If they motioned a TE into the slot on Ware's side, Ware would move into the slot and take the TE. Ware was much better in coverage than Ellis, so this wasn't a huge disadvantage for us. We sitll had Ellis coming at the QB from the other side (which he did pretty well, all things considered).

So we had a pretty good pass rusher still rushing the QB and a pretty good coverage LBer in coverage. We weren't hurting. If teams tried to do it the other way and isolate Ellis in coverage (which was a disadvantage for us), we would then have Ware (quicker, faster, and better) coming at the QB off the blind side. So we were protected that way too.

Either way, a competant pass rush was coming at them. The only difference was, do they gamble on blocking Ware just enough to take advantage of Ellis, or do they want the 'lesser' of the two rushing them?

When Ellis went down, that's when we hurt. Because no one offered that problem like Ellis did.

Hopefully Spencer can do that as a rookie (and I think he can).

The only remaining question I have is how will Spencer develop. Wade had Phillips and Merriman in San Diego. Merriman developed into a more one dimensional player (though admittedly, a great one dimensional player). Phillips developed into a more complete OLB.

Was it the players? Does Merriman just lack the ability to cover well? Does Phillips just have a natural all around game? Or did Phillips develop him that way? I honestly don't know.

I hope Spencer becomes a Phillips type. While I'd love to see him be able to rush the QB as well as Merriman, I think I'd "settle" for a Phillips type pass rush and the complete overall game that Phillips has.

Having two OLB's like that would really make it hard for defenses. Because if you isolate either of them in coverage, you have the other coming after you. And both could hold up in coverage.

But this is just my opinion...

 

[sago1]

I think the Cowboys want to start Ellis (if he's healthy enough?) and then bring in Spencer in various situations to utilize his best talents now. If Ellis not healthy enough, then Spencer might have to be rushed but he's a smart dude and Ware even was quoted saying Spencer was ahead of him at this point when he was a rookie. In any case I want Spencer in as soon as possible as he needs the work so I sure hope he's signed asap.

 

[YosemiteSam]

We know Spencer can get after the QB. We saw that his senior year in College. That should transition well to the pros. We also saw him shed blocks and play the run well too in college and that should transition well too.

Greg Ellis could rush the QB in college too. He was (still is?) North Carolina's all-time sack leader surpassing Lawrence Taylor and William Fuller. Ellis also was a Rotary Lombardi award winner in college. This is why he was drafted 8th overall in 1998.

 

[speedkilz88]

Greg Ellis could rush the QB in college too. He was (still is?) North Carolina's all-time sack leader surpassing Lawrence Taylor and William Fuller. Ellis also was a Rotary Lombardi award winner in college. This is why he was drafted 8th overall in 1998.

Yes, but Ellis never had that great first step and great speed. He is basically a great motor guy with okay speed quickness. While Spencer has that great first step and very good speed.

 

[aikemirv]

The way I see it. There shouldn't even be a negotiation. There should be set pay levels each year on what each draft position gets paid. That way, all players are in camp. I mean, it ends up like that anyhow most of the time. A is paid more than B and B is paid more than C etc.

Agents would not like that very much - It would eliminate the need for them.

Hmmmm. less lawyers - I like that idea

 

[YosemiteSam]

Agents would not like that very much - It would eliminate the need for them.

Hmmmm. less lawyers - I like that idea

Not really, players still need agents to hammer out other parts of the contract and of couse handle other deals/PR for the players. The benefit is it puts much less pressure on the players and teams to get a contract done. If a players wants more money, then he better bust *** in college to get his draft position as high as possible.