Jaylon Smith

[cern]

Jaylon's a crap shoot. hope he makes a full recovery. but not holding my breath. if what we saw from him this year will be his best, then he can be considered a 2nd round bust. still want hitch to be resigned.

 

[waving monkey]

If Smith continues to play with that brace and can play like he did toward the end of the season
he'll be a good LB not great, good. To dismiss Smith because he is still wearing a brace is bias.
Why is that you have evidence that he can play well with the brace.

 

[Idgit]

You can overkill any position to sleep well at night

HItchens is not even a starter if he re-signs and we don't want him to be...... he isn't good enough
where would RoSmith play for 3 years......Left Bench....you only get them for 5 years
DWilson plays 15 snaps as SAM and is another backup MIKE
Wilber will resign for his annual 1m
STs and depth is why we kept March and Trevon Johnson

Zach Brown signed a 2.5m deal last year.......vet LBs get less than vet RBs..... there are a dozen 2 down MIKEs that won't get signed or drafted

Using your thinking we should trade for Alex Smith and draft Josh Allen at 19 in case Dak gets hurt

Hitchens is our 2nd best LB. He’s a starter.

Wilber will be in Oakland with Basacia.

Using my thinking, we ought to upgrade Dak’s backup, yes.

 

[Idgit]

No worries; we'll just call 44-year old Justin Durant for another go around.

You know they will. Or his equivalent. And Lee will get hurt and we’ll sit around scratching our heads wondering why we can’t stop teams on third downs anymore.

 

[Nashville_Cowboy]

Roquan Smith please!

 

[Nightman]

Hitchens is our 2nd best LB. He’s a starter.

Wilber will be in Oakland with Basacia.

Using my thinking, we ought to upgrade Dak’s backup, yes.

He isn't good enough to start long-term.........we need to shoot higher....... JSmith's floor is Hithcen's ceiling

If Wilber leaves there are 100 guys in college that can do what he does for 1m

You want to spend the 19th pick and another 20m on FA QBs this offseason......that is Sofa King We Todd Did

 

[hornitosmonster]

I know you guys want to give up on the kid because he wasn't All Pro his first season but you just can't pull the plug yet. He is working his way back in and showing progress.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

He isn't good enough to start long-term.........we need to shoot higher....... JSmith's floor is Hithcen's ceiling

If Wilber leaves there are 100 guys in college that can do what he does for 1m

You want to spend the 19th pick and another 20m on FA QBs this offseason......that is Sofa King We Todd Did

I don't understand your post here. Hitchen's ceiling is JSmith's floor? From what I've seen, Smith and Hitchen's aren't even in the same universe. Smith has, to this point, never shown that he can play at the level Hitchens is playing right now. They are two completely different LBs. I Smith had never suffered the injury that he did, he could still not play the role that Hitchen's does for us. He's not that type of LB IMO.

I don't understand?

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I know you guys want to give up on the kid because he wasn't All Pro his first season but you just can't pull the plug yet. He is working his way back in and showing progress.

2nd season.

 

[Idgit]

He isn't good enough to start long-term.........we need to shoot higher....... JSmith's floor is Hithcen's ceiling

If Wilber leaves there are 100 guys in college that can do what he does for 1m

You want to spend the 19th pick and another 20m on FA QBs this offseason......that is Sofa King We Todd Did

? I never suggested we spend the #19 and $20MM on a QB. Where are you getting that from?

Let’s just agree to disagree on the floors and ceilings of Jaylon Smith and Hitchens. Hitchens is a long term starter in this league and will get paid like one. Jaylon is a question mark fans overrate because of his pre-injury college production.

 

[Nightman]

I don't understand your post here. Hitchen's ceiling is JSmith's floor? From what I've seen, Smith and Hitchen's aren't even in the same universe. Smith has, to this point, never shown that he can play at the level Hitchens is playing right now. They are two completely different LBs. I Smith had never suffered the injury that he did, he could still not play the role that Hitchen's does for us. He's not that type of LB IMO.

I don't understand?

Hitchens is a back up that can start a game or two in a pinch
JSmith has speed and size that makes him a force at LB when healthy

Paying Hitchens to be your MIKE is settling for mediocrity and is a terrible plan..... he doesn't do anything great.....he is not a thumper, not a cover guy, not a blitzer.......... JSmith can do all those things

There is a reason JSmith was a Top5 talent.... I think he still has IT

Our D was horrible with Hitchens as the man inside.......he is no SLee either

 

[Nightman]

? I never suggested we spend the #19 and $20MM on a QB. Where are you getting that from?

That is what everyone is suggesting at LB....... we have SLee and JSmith as starters and people want to spend 20m on Hitchens and the 19th pick on Ro Smith...... that is insane

 

[Verdict]

Regardless of how much Jaylon does or doesn't progress this off season I still think we need to make drafting a LB a priority.

Lee isn't particularly young anymore and his injury issues crop up without a doubt every year. And even if we do retain Hitchens that shouldn't deter us from making LB a priority. Just my opinion.

Lee is still performing at a high level, and is a great contract value, assuming he is healthy. But Father Time is undefeated. Age will eventually get him too the same way it got to Witten.

We need to find Lee's replacement and have him ready to go when Lee falls of the cliff. Let's not have a "Witten scenario" with Lee still calling his own number and playing deep into his 70's because he has "earned that right".

 

[condoin125]

Hopefully he turns into that beast the Cowboys gambled and waited a year to play.

You're too positive, I want the old Heathgs back.

 

[Sydla]

I don't understand your post here. Hitchen's ceiling is JSmith's floor? From what I've seen, Smith and Hitchen's aren't even in the same universe. Smith has, to this point, never shown that he can play at the level Hitchens is playing right now. They are two completely different LBs. I Smith had never suffered the injury that he did, he could still not play the role that Hitchen's does for us. He's not that type of LB IMO.

I don't understand?

And I don't understand your last point. You said if Smith had never suffered the injury he did, he could still not play the role Hitchens does for us. What do you mean? Because talent wise, there is no comparison and if Smith had not gotten hurt, he could pretty much do whatever Hitchens does, probably a lot better. No, he probably wouldn't have played special teams for us but that's not because he couldn't, but rather because they probably wouldn't play Smith there like they don't play Lee and other key players on special teams.

The issue at hand is what is Hitchen's role worth? To me, if you have to pay him what would amount to Top 5-7 ILB money, it's a bad deal and you are overpaying for him.

 

[Idgit]

That is what everyone is suggesting at LB....... we have SLee and JSmith as starters and people want to spend 20m on Hitchens and the 19th pick on Ro Smith...... that is insane

I’m not spending the 19 on a LB if we sign Hitch. But I am probably getting a few in rounds 3-6 to replace Wilber and Durant and Damien Wilson after next season. That position group is thin.

 

[Idgit]

I know you guys want to give up on the kid because he wasn't All Pro his first season but you just can't pull the plug yet. He is working his way back in and showing progress.

I’m all for him getting reps. He’s a potential freak.

I’m against building the LB group around him as if he’s a young star when all he’s shown to date is he’s an adequate role player. Too important a position to go light at.

 

[Aviano90]

You're too positive, I want the old Heathgs back.

New season. IMO, the needle is headed back up for 2018...at least so far. We'll see how the draft and free agency plays out and hope we avoid suspensions/major injuries in the off season programs but, for now, no reason to continue complaining about the same things I complained about in the 2017 season. I think everyone else is hammering those points enough that I can just sit back and read.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Don't know that Smith is still as physically recovered as he will be, and certainly hasn't played enough to have learned the defense or the NFL game as much as he probably can. It's still too early to tell. To me I'm more concerned that he seems to be out of position too much (which could be lack of NFL experience) and doesn't recognize plays like he should. He was such a physical talent in college that he could compensate for the lack of recognition with speed and athleticism. Can't do that in the NFL and be a top notch player.

Would still draft a linebacker just in case...

 

[GenoT]

Before he was injured (Jan 2016), Jaylon Smith was projected as a top-5 overall draft pick.

The Cowboys took him in the 2nd round in 2016 and stated he wouldn’t play but would instead concentrate on rehab for that season. They also said that while they felt he would be ready for the first game of 2017, he would be brought along slowly.

Due to various injuries (Lee, Hitchens), JS played more reps than were initially intended. I felt he held his own, improving during 2017, but was far from a dominant player.

Management having already gambled two seasons that Jaylon Smith would one day come close to his pre-injury potential on a consistent basis, we fans should now be allowed fairly high expectations for him in 2018.

We’ll see.