JJ Wilcox will be our starting FS, Stephen Jones pretty much says

[Doomsday101]

Yeah, not this season. He would probably have to gain at least 20lbs.

I can see in nickel or dime that Chruch could but he is a safety he needs to stay at safety. He has never played the spot and now we change the position he has known and had success in? Sorry I don't see it.

 

[Denim Chicken]

I can see in nickel or dime that Chruch could but he is a safety he needs to stay at safety. He has never played the spot and now we change the position he has known and had success in? Sorry I don't see it.

Just an option if some of the other safeties come on and he becomes expendable at the position.

 

[Doomsday101]

Just an option if some of the other safeties come on and he becomes expendable at the position.

I guess I would just as soon get a safety to play safety and a LB to play LB. If someone can beat him out then great

 

[Denim Chicken]

I guess I would just as soon get a safety to play safety and a LB to play LB. If someone can beat him out then great

I hear you. The transition can be made, though. Believe Holloman switched successfully in Carolina.

 

[casmith07]

I can see in nickel or dime that Chruch could but he is a safety he needs to stay at safety. He has never played the spot and now we change the position he has known and had success in? Sorry I don't see it.

This. It's as if these guys have already forgotten the Alan Ball experiment. And that was just within the secondary.

 

[Doomsday101]

I hear you. The transition can be made, though. Believe Holloman switched successfully in Carolina.

Not saying transition can't be made but bulking up could very well take away from Church ability, not sure it is worth risking a solid player. He is a good safety I don't see the need to move him. As for the other starting safety position Dallas has drafted but again it seems some are unwilling to give Wilcox the chance based on a rookie season in which he missed 3 games due to knee injury.

 

[Section446]

I believe the Jones' about as much as I believe politicians and used car salesmen.

 

[Idgit]

CZ translation is based on Jone's off season actions, not his remarks. Who else is going to be given consideration at this point? It isnt like we havent seen this scenario play out before with Jones in recent years.

I'd bet a fair amount it's based on the title of the thread, and not on either the team's offseason actions or the content of Jones' quotes.

 

[the_h0wey]

I think most of us are intrigued by Wilcox's potential but befuddled by why a less talent like Heath played over him last year and our excitement over Wilcox is always tempered by the latter point. Well, based on these statements by Stephen Jones, I'm pretty much back on that wagon full time and now see safety as an afterthought in this draft. If a guy who had only played safety for 1 year in college was ready to be penciled in as a starter until the biggest loss of his life, then an extra year of NFL experience and more time removed from that catastrophic event should pretty much cement is place in the starting lineup. I've seen signs of him capable of being a FS like the pass to Desean Jackson that he broke up in the end zone and the way he almost caught Victor Cruz from behind.


“J.J. Wilcox had an outstanding training camp,” Jones said. “The day his mother passed, he was actually promoted to be the starter. Everybody deals with adversity in different ways, especially a heartfelt loss like losing your mother. No one knows how anyone’s going to respond to that, and obviously he was very close to his mother who had been sick, and had taken wonderful care of her and was obviously just a terrible, gut-wrenching loss for him. I just think it took him a while to respond. But toward the end of the year, we were starting to see flashes of the J.J. that we saw in camp.”

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/article-RowanKavner/Stephen-Jones-Talks-Lee’s-Spot-Starting-Safeties-More/b45fc2c3-4d86-47f8-a8ad-d54089f67442

Does any other team proclaim someone a starter that has done little or nothing to earn it?

 

[Doomsday101]

Does any other team proclaim someone a starter that has done little or nothing to earn it?

I think many teams put rookies out there as starters with the knowledge they will make mistakes in the process.

 

[iceberg]

Is it hate,if it's true?

in this case, it's NOT true, which is why i said they're making stuff up to keep the hate alive. Jones did NOT say JJ is the starter yet the OP pushes what was said into something he can whine about and starts making stuff up to be mad about.

 

[gimmesix]

I love Church as a nickel back like he was used at the end of the season in the nickle package. He is intelligent and great in run support. The problem is that his range is limited and he does nothing to slow down big fast receivers over the middle of the field which is what killed us all too often. That and Carr being unsuited for all those zone calls and no pressure.

I would like better range on deep patrol and leave Church to the underneath stuff. Great defense requires range on the back end.

I think I think more highly of Church than a lot of fans because I believe his intelligence and instincts help him overcome some of his speed deficiencies. I do agree, though, that he is not suited to be the deep safety in Cover 1 looks. Playing to his strengths is letting him get under routes and come up in run support.

Figuring out that other safety spot is certainly the priority for now (and it wouldn't bother me if two safeties prove to be better suited to start for this team than Church). I think Wilcox will be the type of safety Dallas needs on the back end, once he figures out the mental part of the scheme and plays within that. Not knowing if he will keeps me from outright objecting to Dallas proactively seeking a safety in the draft. I just don't think it's a position Dallas has to push for right now because of the unknown "potential" it has with Wilcox, Heath and Johnson.

Let's get to know them a little better first and see if safety is a position we have to pursue next year ... if a safety doesn't fall into our lap in the draft who's much higher-rated on our board than the nearest defensive lineman, offensive lineman or possibly even linebacker and wide receiver.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

I look forward to Wilcox starting, not because I am sold on his talents but because he represent new blood. That is how you find talent, constantly testing new blood.

It worked for Jimma and I hope it work for Stephen and his coaches.

 

[gimmesix]

My question is if we get Ward do we just throw in the towle and get another safety if he does not play great ball in his rookie season? That appears to be what some are doing with Wilcox.

I think some are just wanting to hedge their bets. Why not "fix" the position instead of hoping Wilcox plays better?

The flip side of that for me is investing too much into one position forces you to invest too little in another. If we draft and first- or second-round safety, what good is it to have three starting safeties unless one can move to DE and provide the pass rush needed to keep any safety from getting beat?

We can upgrade any position, but some positions we know absolutely have to be upgraded now.

 

[Bcrav4]

I'm surprised no one has directly compared Wilcox and Ward, stats wise and measurables to see if Ward it's even better than what we already have.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I think I think more highly of Church than a lot of fans because I believe his intelligence and instincts help him overcome some of his speed deficiencies. I do agree, though, that he is not suited to be the deep safety in Cover 1 looks. Playing to his strengths is letting him get under routes and come up in run support.

Figuring out that other safety spot is certainly the priority for now (and it wouldn't bother me if two safeties prove to be better suited to start for this team than Church). I think Wilcox will be the type of safety Dallas needs on the back end, once he figures out the mental part of the scheme and plays within that. Not knowing if he will keeps me from outright objecting to Dallas proactively seeking a safety in the draft. I just don't think it's a position Dallas has to push for right now because of the unknown "potential" it has with Wilcox, Heath and Johnson.

Let's get to know them a little better first and see if safety is a position we have to pursue next year ... if a safety doesn't fall into our lap in the draft who's much higher-rated on our board than the nearest defensive lineman, offensive lineman or possibly even linebacker and wide receiver.

I think that Church is an adequate starter but I think for a top defense he would be a nickle back. His lack of range pigeonholes the defense but I definitely agree that there are bigger fish to fry and not that many S prospects this draft. After the top 3 they are not likely going to be better than Church.

 

[Doomsday101]

I think some are just wanting to hedge their bets. Why not "fix" the position instead of hoping Wilcox plays better?

The flip side of that for me is investing too much into one position forces you to invest too little in another. If we draft and first- or second-round safety, what good is it to have three starting safeties unless one can move to DE and provide the pass rush needed to keep any safety from getting beat?

We can upgrade any position, but some positions we know absolutely have to be upgraded now.

I understand but if we get Ward and he struggles in his rookie year do we then draft another? I'm not aginst getting a safety on the other hand you can't draft a player and after his rookie year give up on that player. Dafting another player does not mean we fixed it, it means we brought in a prospect that we hope will develop into a quality player.

I do agree that addressing the DL is critical and not just the pass rush but being able to stop the run that way safety is not having to creep up to the line as much.

 

[BigStar]

This. It's as if these guys have already forgotten the Alan Ball experiment. And that was just within the secondary.

To be fair, Alan Ball's lanky frame didn't ever make him a logical fit there. We were just that bad @ Safety, what is deja vu

 

[the_h0wey]

I think many teams put rookies out there as starters with the knowledge they will make mistakes in the process.

Absolutely, but once they have seen them play for a year and said player loses his job to an undrafted FA rookie, do they still proclaim them the starter the next year?

 

[iceberg]

Absolutely, but once they have seen them play for a year and said player loses his job to an undrafted FA rookie, do they still proclaim them the starter the next year?

i wish people would read the article and not base opinions on angry fans contrived headlines.

“My thoughts are that he’s really got a chance, if he goes back to playing like he had been in training camp and how he was playing toward the end of the year, to really be the guy opposite (Church),” Jones said.

where does that say he's going to be the starter?