Good Article About McClay on BTB

[Risen Star]

The one question that all Cowboy fans should want answered is "Will the type of evaluation continue that landed Claiborne in Dallas continue?". I don't care who is running the show. I just want improvement. I think they totally screwed the pooch with Mo and all of these small school projects. These small school guys have been wasted picks and they offer a boom or bust potential that Dallas can't afford to gamble on.

I never understood why Tom Ciskowski decided to trade up for Claiborne.

Hey, this is fun.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I think they totally screwed the pooch with Mo

The Cowboys front office couldn't look into their crystal ball and see he was going to be hurt and miscast for the first 2 years of his career here?

 

[Wolfpack]

I am still steamed that the guy in charge of the 2009 draft class wasn't fired.

 

[Hostile]

So...what about the Lacewell years minus Jimmy?

Ackles was sharp. All in all, Jerry Jones had the best group under Johnson.

Under Lacewell as the head honcho? Don't make me laugh.

I already said Lacewell wasn't any good without Jimmy until Parcells arrived. He was only as good as the quality of the HC. I think you can say that of most teams can't you? The HC is the architect. The decisions are made to fit his schemes and vision. Not sure why that is so hard to grasp. We see it all the time.

 

[jnday]

The Cowboys front office couldn't look into their crystal ball and see he was going to be hurt and miscast for the first 2 years of his career here?

The miscast is their own fault. It was stupid, yes stupid, to hire a DC that was going to run zone coverages with man CBs. It is a huge waste of talent and resources. When it comes to Claiborne's talent, it was a bad scouting. Somewhere along the way, the fact that he is soft should have came into play.

 

[big dog cowboy]

When it comes to Claiborne's talent, it was a bad scouting.

How do we know that? Get him healthy and in the right scheme and he could flourish. Perhaps both will happen next summer.

 

[Wolfpack]

I already said Lacewell wasn't any good without Jimmy until Parcells arrived. He was only as good as the quality of the HC. I think you can say that of most teams can't you? The HC is the architect. The decisions are made to fit his schemes and vision. Not sure why that is so hard to grasp. We see it all the time.

I don't think Wade had much input…he was there in the war room just for the bourbon and BBQ. He looked more confused than Jerry.

Wade didn't even get to choose his own staff let alone have draft input. Just like Jason doesn't get full input on his own staff…just like Dave Campo didn't get full input, or Barry or Chan. I don't know why it's so hard to grasp, we've seen the same pattern all the time.

 

[Alexander]

I already said Lacewell wasn't any good without Jimmy until Parcells arrived. He was only as good as the quality of the HC. I think you can say that of most teams can't you? The HC is the architect. The decisions are made to fit his schemes and vision. Not sure why that is so hard to grasp. We see it all the time.

It is hard to grasp because the model you described has not and does not always work that way. Jones changes his methods constantly and it leads to a distinct lack of vision, which in turn affects the drafting.

Dave Campo had very little to do with the formation of his football teams, at times even his coordinators had as much influence. Bill Parcells had perhaps the most input and influence of any coach save Johnson and it paid dividends. Wade Phillips was a clear step down. He did not always have complete influence or even the strongest in the room. Garrett had more say especially over the offensive players (Felix Jones was a classic example, when Phillips preferred Chris Johnson). Garrett appears to be right in the middle. And if his new coordinator can sway Jones to ignore the draft board like they did with Floyd, he is hardly the master architect.

 

[Vintage]

It is hard to grasp because the model you described has not and does not always work that way. Jones changes his methods constantly and it leads to a distinct lack of vision, which in turn affects the drafting.

Dave Campo had very little to do with the formation of his football teams, at times even his coordinators had as much influence. Bill Parcells had perhaps the most input and influence of any coach save Johnson and it paid dividends. Wade Phillips was a clear step down. He did not always have complete influence or even the strongest in the room. Garrett had more say especially over the offensive players (Felix Jones was a classic example, when Phillips preferred Chris Johnson). Garrett appears to be right in the middle. And if his new coordinator can sway Jones to ignore the draft board like they did with Floyd, he is hardly the master architect.

I agree with this post.

To add, I think Jones listens to and is swayed by too many opinions. I don't think he is a dictator trotting out new laws as he sees fit.

 

[Alexander]

I agree with this post.

To add, I think Jones listens to and is swayed by too many opinions. I don't think he is a dictator trotting out new laws as he sees fit.

It is clear that anyone who assumes Jones does not "listen" is incorrect. If anything, he listens too much, mainly because he is incapable of making an educated decision on his own.

One of the clear pitfalls of having an unqualified part-time general manager.

 

[Vintage]

It is clear that anyone who assumes Jones does not "listen" is incorrect. If anything, he listens too much, mainly because he is incapable of making an educated decision on his own.

One of the clear pitfalls of having an unqualified part-time general manager.

Listening to multiple opinions in and of itself isn't bad.

But lacking the ability to differentiate between good and bad opinions is what has plagued him.

 

[Alexander]

Listening to multiple opinions in and of itself isn't bad.

But lacking the ability to differentiate between good and bad opinions is what has plagued him.

It is fine for multiple opinions, but the value he gives and the depth of the opinions are really remarkable. From assistants to former coaches/associates, it has to be a disjointed mess.

Many have stated that they have to "make sense" to him. His issue is that he should not be so dependent on being convinced. That just notes his lack of ability to independently function as the GM.

 

[ABQcowboyJR]

One thing I think is very clear when looking at Will McClay, he seems to be able to translate a coaching style or philosophy into a player acquisition filter. All of the finds he has had seem to fit into the scheme very well. Maybe this is a shift from strictly BPA to the BPA that fits into the regimes scheme.

 

[Risen Star]

One thing I think is very clear when looking at Will McClay, he seems to be able to translate a coaching style or philosophy into a player acquisition filter. All of the finds he has had seem to fit into the scheme very well. Maybe this is a shift from strictly BPA to the BPA that fits into the regimes scheme.

Why is this a good thing even if true?

Which would you prefer - a team that looks to acquire the best talent available and then fit the scheme around that talent....or.....a team that looks for the best fits for whatever scheme they are currently running?

It's like we're all supposed to celebrate a shift to listening to the coaches over the scouts and drafting for need.

Not me.

 

[ABQcowboyJR]

Why is this a good thing even if true?

Which would you prefer - a team that looks to acquire the best talent available and then fit the scheme around that talent....or.....a team that looks for the best fits for whatever scheme they are currently running?

It's like we're all supposed to celebrate a shift to listening to the coaches over the scouts and drafting for need.

Not me.

I'm not saying its a good or bad thing yet. It just seems like this might be the kind of change we are seeing.

 

[theebs]

broaddus this morning on talking cowboys mentioned that mcclay was promoted because he has made so many good moves.

Credited him for George selvie and brian waters and a number of the other defensive pickups

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Like it took a skilled scout to want Brian Waters? Half the people here wanted to sign him three years ago.

 

[theebs]

Like it took a skilled scout to want Brian Waters? Half the people here wanted to sign him three years ago.

hey man, we are a top flight brand.

 

[Doc50]

The one question that all Cowboy fans should want answered is "Will the type of evaluation continue that landed Claiborne in Dallas continue?". I don't care who is running the show. I just want improvement. I think they totally screwed the pooch with Mo and all of these small school projects. These small school guys have been wasted picks and they offer a boom or bust potential that Dallas can't afford to gamble on.

I think a lot of FO-types rely on stat comparisons to make their judgements. But small school dominance doesn't compare at all to the level of play at major D1 programs. So, a true scout must be able to judge these guys objectively on skill, and disregard their stats.

A few will rise to the top every year, but not near as many as the Cowboys gamble on. Could be at least part of the reason our depth has been less than desirable -- we draft a small school longshot instead of a blue chip second tier player. Jimmie always said you just need to get proven footbal players.
Small school guys haven't proven anything against the lesser competition.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I've said this for quite some time, the GM's job is often over-stated and this idea of a coach 'having a good eye for talent' is hogwash.

If you look at 30-31 teams in the NFL (there's always 1 rogue team)....they are going to have roughly the same draft boards. You won't see some teams having a lot of players projected to go in the 1-2 rounds and other teams looking at those players as 6-7 round prospects. You may get a few 'strays' here and there, but by and large the draft boards are eerily similar.

What it comes down to is the coaching staff being able to develop these players. Coughlin had a series of great drafts with the Jaguars and then the Giants. Did he just happen to find great GM's everywhere he went? The same with Parcells. Why did the Niners get dramatically better when Harbaugh came into town?

Where our GM screws up is that he hires some weak coaches and he doesn't learn from past mistakes very well. He's a GM that for years felt that anybody could be a HC until he finally grabbed Parcells. He still has a propensity to eliminate our draft picks in favor of trading for a free agent (can't develop players if you don't get them).

I think this is a step in the right direction. The entire Floyd thing seemed fishy to me. I couldn't understand why some scouts were upset over the decision. We needed more picks and Floyd didn't fit our defensive scheme. And we BADLY needed a center (went thru 6 centers in 2012 and none of them were any good).

Still, it doesn't prove anything until it actually proves something.






YR