HUGE DRAFT MISTAKES: Moss and now JONES!

[Reality]

He was not a proven receiver and we had immediate defensive needs. We didn't "miss out" on him like Moss. Moss was an established college receiver with all the credentials but his off-the-field issues were a concern for a team drenched in off-the-field problems with previous players and desperately searching for a cleaner (and more marketable) group of players.

Moss wasn't passed on by a lot of teams, he was avoided. Jones was simply a shot in the dark.

-Reality

 

[DLCassidy]

I'll admit I did like Matt Jones last year. I liked him better than Mike Williams. But was thrilled with the Spears pick and I still think it was the right move. The draft is a crapshoot. Should we be gnashing teeth about passing on Tom Brady for 6 rounds while we're at it? Let it go CC.

As for Jones, he can go off all season if he wants, beginning week 2 of course, and I won't care. You can't spend your life doing woulda coulda shoulda.

 

[aikemirv]

DeMarcus Ware? Hello....I am talking Spears! The man on the stationary bike for two years running......no way Ware.

Hindsight? Come on Zoners.......at the Combine Jones posted a 4.3 forty and catching everything.....coaches and scouts alike was raving about him!

Come on Zoners.......I know at least ONE of you can step forward and admit you liked JONES at the 20th pick for us vs Spears! Hell, we needed WR bad at that time......

If you knew ahead of time you were going to get Canty in the 4th round and you knew ahead of time that Ratliff was going to turn out OK and the fact that Canty was going to come back then I would have considered taking a WR, but it would not have been Matt Jones, it would have been Mark Clayton.

Matt Jones was a risk and we can't afford risk with our drafting.

 

[Vintage]

crazyC... you need to stick to you one liners like "good post" , "good report", "thanks for the info"...... cause your gonna get killed with this one!

and for the record I'm glad we took Spears. Jones is switching position and that takes time!

What do you mean?

I thought it was almost apocolyptic.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Who cares about Matt Jones? Cry me a river. Go be a fan of the Jaguars.

Never will happen!

Cowboy fan forever....

 

[RealCowboyfan]

DeMarcus Ware? Hello....I am talking Spears! The man on the stationary bike for two years running......no way Ware.

Hindsight? Come on Zoners.......at the Combine Jones posted a 4.3 forty and catching everything.....coaches and scouts alike was raving about him!

Come on Zoners.......I know at least ONE of you can step forward and admit you liked JONES at the 20th pick for us vs Spears! Hell, we needed WR bad at that time......

Yeah, you do have a point.

Quote To This Matter::

"You can't move foward if you keep bringing up the past." - Terrell Owens / aka "Get Ya Popcorn Ready Cause It's Gonna Be A Show" - T.O.

 

[FolsomCowboy]

crazyC... you need to stick to you one liners like "good post" , "good report", "thanks for the info"...... cause your gonna get killed with this one!

That actually made me chuckle

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Jones was a little bit of a risk, but that was based on his attitude. There isn't any doubt that he does have (although the term is so overused now) freaky athletic skills for how big he is. He's almost unguardable as a WR and I fully expect our corners to give up a few passes to him on opening day.

I like Spears a lot, I really do. And we needed 34 ends badly in order to make the switch. But yeah, I was all for us taking Jones. You don't have mulitple SEC coaches calling you the best athlete in the conference without there being a ton of ability there.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I don't remember anyone thinking Spears was a bad pick when we did it and only with 20/20 hindsight seeing the unexpected injuries could anyone say it now. And I still would not agree that it was a mistake he has played through a lot of stuff and I'm sure he will continue to hang tough.

As for the 4.3 Forty and catching the ball...ok...but that didn't prove that he could run routes and get open. He was a gamble and it is still not certain that he is going to be as great as you say.

As for needing a WR "bad" at the time; we had Keyshawn and T. Glenn with a couple of promising young guys behind them. I admit I wanted us to get a WR that year but it was not such a need that I would have traded wither of our first rounders for an experiment like Jones.

For the record, I liked Jones. I liked him better then Spears. Got fried for that but it is what it is. Water under the bridge. Lets play football.

 

[jterrell]

I was going to make the same comments 30 other guys did I would simply add be sure Jerry Jones would not have passed on Matt Jones were he available at a selection of some value.

We drafted mid to high first and Ware was the right call if you factor in Merriman's agents.

Jones was probably a 2nd round value, a great gamble in round 3 and as a 1st was a bit of a reach.

Had we signed him he would have been our 4th Wr early then our 3rd when Crayton went down. We'd likely have the same Wr corps as last season instead of TO.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

crazyC... you need to stick to you one liners like "good post" , "good report", "thanks for the info"...... cause your gonna get killed with this one!

and for the record I'm glad we took Spears. Jones is switching position and that takes time!

That is funny......I like that! :laugh2:

Zoners, I do not dis-like Spears but Jones was an excellent opportunity and I happen to like him before the draft. When we took Ware, I really wanted Jones at #20.

Guess alot of you are correct.....I need to get over it....but, sometimes it is hard! And each time I see Matt Jones blow past someone for a score with that 6'6'' frame and 4.3 speed.....you guys may hear me cry a little again!

 

[burmafrd]

Fall in love with numbers and you will get burned. Jones has not proven himself as a #1 or even a #2 WR yet. I need to see a lot more before I would give him that. And it still does not justify drafting him in the first rd. that was a HUGE gamble that could just as easily blown up.

 

[1fisher]

That is funny......I like that! :laugh2:

Zoners, I do not dis-like Spears but Jones was an excellent opportunity and I happen to like him before the draft. When we took Ware, I really wanted Jones at #20.

Guess alot of you are correct.....I need to get over it....but, sometimes it is hard! And each time I see Matt Jones blow past someone for a score with that 6'6'' frame and 4.3 speed.....you guys may hear me cry a little again!

I hear what you're saying CC..... I watched Jones in ALOT during his tenure with the Razorbacks and I kept saying that this guy would go a long way with his speed..... however, I'm glad we took spears! He will help make our defense solid for a long time (hopefully)!

 

[AtlCB]

That is funny......I like that! :laugh2:

Zoners, I do not dis-like Spears but Jones was an excellent opportunity and I happen to like him before the draft. When we took Ware, I really wanted Jones at #20.

Guess alot of you are correct.....I need to get over it....but, sometimes it is hard! And each time I see Matt Jones blow past someone for a score with that 6'6'' frame and 4.3 speed.....you guys may hear me cry a little again!

If you want a WR with freakish measurables, maybe we should bring Randall Williams back.

 

[QT]

I also prefer Jones over Spears. I'm not on the Spears bandwagon. He really hasn't impressed me.

If this, if that. If buffalo had continued to have an awful season the year before, we could have had Ware and Merriman. How you like them apples?

 

[Vintage]

That is funny......I like that! :laugh2:

Zoners, I do not dis-like Spears but Jones was an excellent opportunity and I happen to like him before the draft. When we took Ware, I really wanted Jones at #20.

Guess alot of you are correct.....I need to get over it....but, sometimes it is hard! And each time I see Matt Jones blow past someone for a score with that 6'6'' frame and 4.3 speed.....you guys may hear me cry a little again!

For what its worth, I like it when you post stuff beyond the one liners....even if I disagree with it and even if its wrong.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Had we signed him he would have been our 4th Wr early then our 3rd when Crayton went down. We'd likely have the same Wr corps as last season instead of TO.

I'm struggling to see the down side here.

:laugh2:

 

[joseephuss]

I don't truly understand why people don't like Spears. I guess there could be other prospects that Dallas could have drafted at #20. I just don't see Matt Jones as one of those guys.

I truly don't see what is so special about Jones. Not as a 1st rounder at least. Perhaps in the 3rd. He averaged 12 yards a reception last year. That is very low for a guy that is supposed to be a burner, deep threat. Michael Irvin averaged 20.4 yards per reception his rookie year and was not considered a speed guy. Antonio Bryant averaged 16.7 yards per reception his rookie year and also was not known as a burner.

 

[illone]

Don't jump the gun on Jones. You can't call him a draft mistake until he actually produces in the NFL consistently. For crying out loud the Skins passed on Santana Moss to draft Rod Gardner, LOL!

Funny how things turn out. I'd say the bigger mistake on the Cowboys part was drafting Quincy Carter. Just think, Steve Smith was available.

 

[ravidubey]

Matt Jones was an experiment at WR and a huge gamble in the first round. We had many more pressing needs than a WR last year.

I don't know how you can say this. I think if the Boys knew they were going to land Canty in the 4th they might have taken Jones in the 1st instead of Spears. Dallas had a need to build a 3-4 defense but they added the most difficult piece of that puzzle by drafting Ware.

They also had unproven Crayton and two 30+ and injury-prone WR's in Keyshawn and Glenn on the field. Neither had played a full season without some kind of major injury. It could be argued that Jones was an ideal pick and not a gamble at all.

As it has turned out in hindsight, we are into TO (another injury prone 30+ guy) for 25 million and Spears has had his 2nd knee injury in as many TC's. We also have a ton of youth and high picks sitting on our defense and tons of age at WR, OL, and QB on our offense.