Twitter: Fisher draft leftovers re: Hitchens, Ealy, and Crichton

[L-O-Jete]

I was responding to a specific poster's quote so without reading that too then perhaps you are taking it out of context. I hope you're not also going to tell me this quote means they drafted him to only be a ST player.

“We’ve got some linebacker coaches and a defensive coordinator (Rod Marinelli) and a head coach (Jason Garrett) that are grinning ear to ear … you have a special teams coach (Rich Bisaccia) over here who laid in front of the train for you, so whatever you do, you’ll have to be the best special teams player we got.”
-Jerry Jones on the Phone Call telling Hitchens he’s been drafted

Of course the guy is going to be playing STs since he'll likely be a backup for the immediate future. Hopefully he'll also be taught how to play LB so if needed he'll fit the bill.

To me it means the ST coach had a lot to do with his getting picked, if you have no problem with that, I daresay if we were asked to design the organizational charts yours would look quite different from mine...

 

[jobberone]

To me it means the ST coach had a lot to do with his getting picked, if you have no problem with that, I daresay if we were asked to design the organizational charts yours would look quite different from mine...

No it doesn't mean that. It means the STs coach really liked the player. Now perhaps they were looking at two or more players there which all were fine with but the STs coach wanted our player more. I don't know. But he wasn't drafted to just be a STs player. But if life is that simple for you then salute.

 

[31RoyW31]

Backing up Lee means you are basically a part-time starter. Similar to a nickel back you are going to play a lot.

 

[Alexander]

Backing up Lee means you are basically a part-time starter. Similar to a nickel back you are going to play a lot.

That is what makes this selection rather frightening.

 

[Zekeats]

Sooo, we drafted a back up....specifically? I doubt it, they just want to be sure he has the talent before moving Lee. It would protect him playing WLB and would allow him to flow to the ball easier. Might be our own Derrick Brooks. Still makes me wonder why Carter could flow to the ball better as a MLB in a 3-4 as opposed to the prized WLB position in a 4-3? How was he able to shed/disengage as Mike in a 3-4 but not as the WLB who is supposed to have protection from OL? Maybe the smarter move is to move Carter back to Mike to see if that doesn't rejuvinate his play. His speed makes him an ideal coverage back @ SLB but not so much to shed blockers (which is his knock @ the moment).

He's a 4th round pick.....don't look too far past it

 

[rpntex]

So the quote directly from Jones referring specifically to Bisaccia means nothing?

Yes, it means that Bisaccia's input is valued, just as much as the opinion of any member of the coaching staff is. Team don't draft a player in the 4th round expecting his to come in and start immediately. With rare exceptions, players taken later in the draft are expected to play on special teams. Therefore, the special teams coach's opinion on a player who he sees as one who can play a pivotal role on special teams is highly valued.

 

[BigStar]

He's a 4th round pick.....don't look too far past it

I hear that (4th rounder = hinder expectations etc.) Really just an intro for my Lee/Carter rant

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

To me it means the ST coach had a lot to do with his getting picked, if you have no problem with that, I daresay if we were asked to design the organizational charts yours would look quite different from mine...

So you think the ST coach should not be consulted for fourth round picks. I have to say this is one of the more myopic and frankly asinine takes that I have seen in awhile. That is bad enough but then you choose to fixate on that and just discard everything else.

Eberflus said that his friend, the DC at Iowa who coached with for 9 years at Toledo, had a big influence on his desire to see him drafted. Marinelli when he talked to him said that he really liked how he ran and hit. Stephen Jones in his conference call said that the characterizations of special teams or career backup were unfair to Hitchens. He said that the plan was to have him come in and compete. If he doesn't win one of the LB spots they saw him as backing up Lee and either way to play on special teams. Garrett in the presser stated that they expected him to come in and compete immediately.

It seems to me that all of the coaches that matter really liked him but because of whatever reason you are determined to handwave at one line about Bissaccia and then double down with this organizational chart line.

Lets see your organizational chart. I could use a laugh. I can see why you got mad at me in the other thread now. You really do think you can manage an NFL franchise. Good times.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I wasn't thrilled with the Hitchens pick, but that was more than offset for me because of the nice work the Cowboys did in the 5th and 7th rounds– just terrific value IMO.

And given that they (the Cowboys) achieved good value with the Martin pick at #16, I'm giving the Cowboys the benefit of the doubt on the Hitchens selection– I want to see what the kid brings to the table before I bash the pick again.

 

[MikeT22]

Virtually every player drafted is initially thought of as a back-up... granted there are some in the 1st and 2nd rounds that were chosen to fill an empty or nearly empty void on the roster, but most are coming into a situation where the drafted player is at least initially playing behind an established player of some capability.

And when you get to the 4th round? Yeah, all the players chosen are back-ups to one extent or another.

The issue isn't that he may start out as a backup. The issue is we took a guy most considered as a 7th round prospect in the 4th.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

The issue isn't that he may start out as a backup. The issue is we took a guy most considered as a 7th round prospect in the 4th.

But Mike if you play the "Which one of these things isn't like the others" game, every other pick the Cowboys make over those three days represented good value for the spot selected... So did they screw up in the 4th round or do they know something that others did not?

At this point I think it's too soon to tell, but given the good value on the other selections made I think the player and the organization deserve some time to show if the player was the right choice or not.

 

[speedkilz88]

Was it mentioned that Eberflus coached with the Iowa position coach who sold him on this guy? Hitchens was playing OLB (best for the team) but just going by his build he looks like a natural MLB.

 

[Verdict]

In my opinion, the Cowboys primary objective during the first two days of the draft was to come out of the draft with a starting RDE. There were only two realistic candidates, Barr and Lawrence. They were going to do everything they could to get one of these two players.

That is sure what it looks like the organization is saying.

 

[ThreeandOut]

I saw an interesting post on Twitter earlier today comparing workout numbers and 2013 statistics for Hitchens and CJ Mosley. The numbers were very comparable or, in some cases, better for Hitchens.