My Assessment of Why OT Was Addressed So Late in the Draft.

[AMERICAS_FAN]

The decision to switch to a 2-TE offense is what made dallas selct Fassano (sp?) in the 2nd round over drafting an offensive lineman. And once they drafted Fassano there was no justification to draft any other OL until very late in the draft, since by the time Dallas was picking in round 3 and after, there were no immediate-starting OLinemen left.

So what really sparked this was the decision to awitch to a 2-TE offense. The question now is this: Is this good or bad for the Dallas offense, given that they could have alternatively stayed with the current offense and draft an OLineman in round 2? How does the 2-TE offense help in the blocking schemes on running and passing downs?

**

 

[FLcowboy]

I would have to think that Columbo has a chance to contribute. If he were not progressing in his rehab, BP would find a way to get rid of him just like Rogers.

Even Columbo or the rookies don't pan out, we should have a healthy Adams and Fabini is much better than Pettiti.

I think Petitti is going to surprise a lot of people on this board. A healthy Rivera and Petitti will be a lot better than they appeared to be last year. Fabini will have to earn his starting position, and I don't think pPetitti will easily hand it over.

 

[Tristan]

I agree that the million$ question is wether or not we wanted McNeil, and if so gambled and lost by trading down and allowing S.D. to take him.

I really liked Winston as well, and really think he will be a steal.

But, I remember Jerry saying that if you look at it from the prospective that Flozell is going to be our left tackle for a while, and that we are set there, then we would only be looking at a guy who could come in and play right tackle right away. To me that would mean Justice or McNeil, and I guess we felt Colledge could play Right Tackle as well.

So back to the point, if we did want McNeil and missed out on him for an extra sixth and a seventh then I would say big mistake!

but if we would have preferred Fasano over McNeil anyway then I like the pick. I would sure love to know the truth about the afforementioned question.

 

[SouthernStar]

2nd Round
Winston Justice, USC
Daryn Colledge, Green Bay
<---------------------------Anthony Fasano was picked here.
Marcus McNeill, Auburn
Andrew Whitworth, LSU
Jeremy Trueblood, Boston College

I think that this says it all.
Evidently, they think our O-line is better than the posters think.
Also, the changes in offensive philosophy will help the O-line performance.

 

[Tristan]

I would also disagree with the guy who said that McNeil couldn't come in and play right away. Of all the tackles I feel him and Justice have the size athletiscm and experience to produce sooner rather than later.

You probably wouldn't put them in there day one, but I could see maybe taking over for Fabini by mid season, and really playing well down the stretch.

There has been many examples recently of rookie right tackles doing quite well on winning, or playoff teams recently. A few examples are Jordon Gross for Carolina, Sean Olivea (7th round) for S.D. , Max Starks (4th round) for Pittsburgh last year, Sean Locklear for Seattle, and even Kahlif Barnes for Jacksonville last year.

I know our experience with Pettiti didn't go so well, but that had a lot to do with Flozell going down, as well as the fact that he really had a lot of catching up to do physically and it obviously took a toll on his body later in the season.

On the contrarie, I get the Impression that McNeil is in pretty good shape for a man his size, injry concerns aside.

 

[Paniolo22]

The decision to switch to a 2-TE offense is what made dallas selct Fassano (sp?) in the 2nd round over drafting an offensive lineman. And once they drafted Fassano there was no justification to draft any other OL until very late in the draft, since by the time Dallas was picking in round 3 and after, there were no immediate-starting OLinemen left.

So what really sparked this was the decision to awitch to a 2-TE offense. The question now is this: Is this good or bad for the Dallas offense, given that they could have alternatively stayed with the current offense and draft an OLineman in round 2? How does the 2-TE offense help in the blocking schemes on running and passing downs?

**

Well, when did they make THAT decision? AFTER they drafted Fasano?

 

[TroyEmmittAndMichael]

I really do not think that if the BOYS really wanted a higher ranked OT, that they would have played the game that way. Just too cute- I think they really felt no need to get any but a late draft project.

Actually, JJ stated in his post-draft press conference with Jeff Ireland that getting an early round OL was a consideration that they were not able to address. Copy and past the link into your browser address field to listen:

mms://bluestar.wmod.llnwd.net/a627/o1/press_jones_043006.wma

Reporter: "Was there anything that you didn't get that you would have wanted?"

Jerry: "Offensive line. Earlier, higher."

Ultimately, the way the draft unfolded coupled with the decisions JJ and Posse made to stand pat and move down in Rounds 2 and 3 instead of moving up resulted in the Cowboys inability to add a quality OL in this draft.

Fact is that JJ was somewhat disappointed with not getting a quality OL, but instead of dwelling on this disappointment and allowing the media to characterize the Cowboys draft as a disappointment which makes the front office look bad, JJ spun the Fasano pick as a need by revealing the team's offensive philosophy for this season (2TE set). IMO, a good offense starts with the offensive line, and I would have much rather had a 2nd-3rd round OT who was the 5th OT off the board than the 4th TE off the board in Fasano.

The 3rd Round is where we could have addressed the TE need. At the time we chose Fasano, on the board still were Tony Scheffler, Leonard Pope, David Thomas, and Owen Daniels. Although these guys may not be as talented as Fasano in JJ's and Parcell's eyes, the drop-off in talent is probably not as large as the drop-off in talent between a 2nd round OT like Trueblood, McNeill, Whitworth and a 7th round OT like McQuistan and Whitley, which is why I think we should have taken an OL and not a TE so soon.

So in general, I'm displeased with what transpired in the 2nd-3rd round, but I'll still be rooting for Fasano and Hatcher to shut me up and prove me wrong.

 

[AsthmaField]

Wait, wait...the main point of the pro-Fasano folks is that he is another offensive weapon. So which is it? Is he there to keep Drew upright? If so, a true lineman seems better suited to protect the QB...then you wouldn't need extra TE help. If he's here to catch passes that's a nonstarter because once again Drew will be getting mauled back there. Either conclusion doesn't make much sense to me.

I shouldn't have to tell you that either of the two TE's can go out in a pass pattern or stay in to block. It isn't an either/or thing. Fasano can stay in and block to help protect Bledsoe, or he could go out for a pass.

The good thing about it is, the defense won't know which we're going to do. That's why we're switching to a two TE set. Both can stay in... either can go out... both can go out. The Motion TE can go in motion and have the ball snapped when he's behind the QB and end up basically being the FB. There are so many things a team can do out of a two TE set and it keeps the defense guessing.

Last year, when we brought in two TE's, you could bet it was a running play. When we sent the FB out and brought in Crayton... you can bet the defense knew it was a pass play... heck I did, so they should certainly know.

The personnel changed with the down and distance. With Fasano and Witten on the field along with Owens and Glenn and Julius Jones, we can run just about any play out of that personnel group. They'll be on the field on first down, second down, third down and fourth down if we go for it. There won't be any tipoffs for the defense to know our intentions and that will help our unpredictability.

Fasano is a very talented guy and he was listed as the best blocker in the draft at TE. He'll help with blocking if we need him to, or he'll go out and move the chains. It's a very good thing IMO and he was a much better pick than an OL who probably wouldn't beat out any of the incumbents this year.

To run the two TE set like we want to... we had to have a talented second TE to go with Witten. We got one in Fasano. He's another Witten who blocks better and will be a huge asset.

 

[SkinsandTerps]

Damn. I hate to say it but I thought the Cowboys might have been targeting McNeil and Colledge too. Good insight.

 

[Paniolo22]

My bottom line is I'd rather have Fasano lead blocking than Polite. So since we're switching, i'm ok.

 

[BlueStar II]

It wouldn't surprise me at all to see that Parcells will be keeping a close watch on OL who may be released after June 1st. Perhaps that may be why we didn't address the OL earlier in the draft, and plus the fact that it seemed like possible OL that we might have been interested in, seemed to be selected by other teams before we had the chance to get them in the round that Parcells felt that they would still be available in.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

I think BP is just tired of taking an OL High and him not panning out. With the luck BP has had drafting OL since hes been here, got just as good a chance getting a starter late as early, so why go early.

 

[Manster68]

LETS ALL BE CLEAR ON THIS.

Only Dbrickshaw can start next year. ONLY HIM. None of the other OT can come in and play as well as flozell fabini petiti or kozier. NONE.

Next year we WILL draft a higher OT but for this year we honestly were not looking for a starter.

Jerry said they wanted some depth but I believe kyle can fill in somewhere and petiti had all last year to gain experience and this offseason to get in the right kind of shape. fabini can help him some more with technique and knowledge of what to do.

EVERY SINGLE WRITER who says..."yah cant depend on fabini...IS A MORON.

That guy is healthy and was proven to be a dependable tackle. We are much better off with him. I hope he is reading all of this tripe and comes out and throws strahan into the stands.

My only question mark is kyle kosier. Still I wouldnt count out peterman there. This could be the beginning for him. But we will have to see.

Either way we were not going to get an OT who could start next year. It wasnt happening in this draft. I mean if we did start them it would mistake and sack city all over again.

Very nicely put.

Also, I am not giving up on Colombo, Peterman, or Petitti.

 

[Manster68]

2nd Round
Winston Justice, USC
Daryn Colledge, Green Bay
<---------------------------Anthony Fasano was picked here.
Marcus McNeill, Auburn
Andrew Whitworth, LSU
Jeremy Trueblood, Boston College

I think that this says it all.
Evidently, they think our O-line is better than the posters think.
Also, the changes in offensive philosophy will help the O-line performance.

I assume part of that philosphy is Owens at one end and Glenn at the other - thus daring teams to put 8 men in the box.

 

[DLCassidy]

IMO Colledge would have been a Cowboy if he had been there at 49. They liked his feet and his ability to play different positions, including both tackle slots and guard. The fact that we moved down to me shows we weren't targeting McNeil. IMO McNeil would NOT start over Fabini and it's questionable whether he will be able to play any other position in the NFL other than RT.

It doesn't surprise me that we had little interest in slow footed guys like Trueblood or Whitworth. Petitti is a similar player, no sense in redrafting the same guy.

I was wrong about us liking Winston, perhaps we felt unsure about him coming off the knee injury. We may end up regretting that move because I think Winston could have challenged Kosier at LG this year and give us depth at both tackle positions.

But think of it this way, if Kosier DOES step up, we're really talking about improved depth, at least for this year with that 2nd rounder. Not to minimize depth. But Fasano could well have a larger impact than that 2nd round OL backup. Certainly Toledo was a developmental guy and if he had slipped a few more slots we may have picked him up in the 4th. The bottom line if we get lucky with the health of our starters we can address the issue next year and be not much worse off.

 

[TroyEmmittAndMichael]

Fact is that JJ was somewhat disappointed with not getting a quality OL, but instead of dwelling on this disappointment and allowing the media to characterize the Cowboys draft as a disappointment which makes the front office look bad, JJ spun the Fasano pick as a need by revealing the team's offensive philosophy for this season (2TE set). IMO, a good offense starts with the offensive line, and I would have much rather had a 2nd-3rd round OT who was the 5th OT off the board than the 4th TE off the board in Fasano.

The 3rd Round is where we could have addressed the TE need. At the time we chose Fasano, on the board still were Tony Scheffler, Leonard Pope, David Thomas, and Owen Daniels. Although these guys may not be as talented as Fasano in JJ's and Parcell's eyes, the drop-off in talent is probably not as large as the drop-off in talent between a 2nd round OT like Trueblood, McNeill, Whitworth and a 7th round OT like McQuistan and Whitley, which is why I think we should have taken an OL and not a TE so soon.

Discovered this in Spags write-up today that was posted by WoodysGirl http://dallascowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55219


Some post-draft thoughts: The Cowboys very well might have taken Boise State offensive tackle Daryn Colledge with their 17th pick in the second round. But when Green Bay grabbed him at 15, the Cowboys dropped down four spots, got a sixth and seventh for their troubles, and took Fasano. Had Colledge lasted two more picks, chances are they would have nabbed him and then in the third round tried to get the tight end, either Leonard Pope or Dominique Byrd . . . . Don't think third-round pick Jason Hatcher was an after-thought. The Cowboys were on to him, and had some good information on him coming out of Grambling State . . . .


The fact that Spags has confirmed my suspicion doesn't provide me with any relief or a more talented OL for the Cowboys. It just confirms my disappointment that OL wasn't addressed properly in this draft. Sigh....


:suxiggle: E-girl, :suxjints: G-spot, and :suxskins: Foreskin fans may your respective teams respectively suck.