jterrell
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If you are a Cowboys fan scratching your head right now after day 1 on the NFL draft I do not at all blame you. I can't blame you for feeling Dallas ignored need along the OL and at FS either. After months of hashing out that Dallas would look to those areas they simply did not.
And while I hate to scare you, it seems it was by design. Dallas was quite willing to share that they thought TE was the value in round 2. They claimed to be ready for anything and it appears they were. They made two seperate trades down to garner a late 4th, extra 6th and extra 7th. We'll get to tomorrow later but it shouldn't be a snoozefest with all those picks.
Recapping the picks:
round 1: 18. I felt the move here was to trade down. If not then Lawson or Carpenter was your guy. Dallas essentially stated they felt drafting Carpenter allowed them to take the best player and not have to adjust anyone else. The implication is they felt Lawson could have only played where DeMarcus Ware is earmarked and thus would have meant moving Ware across the field. Its always hard to read PArcells but it is not hard to suggest he'll draftt he known and he knows Bobby Carpenter. Parcells follows the kids of his ex-players and coaches. That pick was pretty easy to call really. Gosselin had Carpenter rated at 18 so it was an even value for Dallas.
round 2: 49. I thought Marcus McNeill was the pick here. He's a big RT type. Some question about his back but he supposedly passed all the physicals. Dallas opted to trade down with the Jets which was odd only in that it did not bring the return of a 4th rounder they were openly coveting.
53: Anthony Fasano. Rather shocking honestly to see Dallas go TE here. Witten is a young Pro Bowler and we just signed a blocking TE in free agency away from the defending NFC Champs. Jones offered that Fasano was the highest rated player and they had a plan for him. That plan was to go to a 2 TE set and balance the formation so defenses couldn't overload either side. TO and Fasano on one side and Witten and Glenn on the other. Once explained it makes some sense. Fasano certainly presents a threat the Cowboys sometimes fullback did not. They wanted to ditcht he fullback for a while and Fasano allows them to. Both he and Witten have played h-back and Fasano knows Parcells basic offense because thats what Charlie Weis employs at Notre Dame. Gosselin had Fason as his 54th rated prospect and Dallas selected him at 53 so again fairly even. Even more though, Goose broke Fasano down and compared him to ex-Parcells love child, Mark Bavaro.
round 3: 80. Here I am expecting they really have to go FS. Maybe they can go OT but most are gone and Pat Watkins, Ko Simpson and others are there for the taking. With the 3 or 4 of the OT's going off the board Dallas opted to trade down again and pick up that elusive 4th rounder.
92: Here I am thinking they moved down to set up a FS or OT pick. But they fooled me again with a massive DE from Grambling named Jason Hatcher. He's got measurables for days at 6'7", 285 pounds and running 4.8's. I wish I could offer some great insight but I have never watched him at all. Dallas did say they drafted him to play DT and think he can easily hold 30 more pounds of muscle. He seems a slightly bigger version of Chris Canty. Bill Parcells just can not get enough big, nasty DL. Goose had Hatcher ranked 88th and we took him 92nd so he was a solid value.
Jeff Ireland has a short track record here but a glowing one thus far. I'd say he deserves the benefit of the doubt with regards to Hatcher who very few have seen play. That doesn't mean there isn't at least some head scratching.
Dallas will very likely plug in Carpenter and Fasano as starting players in 2006. I can see that as a big plus when Carpenter is replacing a steady but smallish Al Singleton who is coming off of major injury and Fasano replaces a fullback we were always reluctant to play anyways. Having watched a handful of both Ohio State and Notre Dame games I am pleased by the talent of both those guys. Hatcher is an unknown for me but I'll trust his ranking and consider him a long-term project.
Tomorrow promises to reward some of the more annoyed Cowboys faithful.
Right now Dallas is slated to pick late 4th, mid 5th, two times in each the 6th and 7th rounds. And more than a couple of players who fans were calling for are still there including:
Darnell Bing, Safety of USC.
Ko Simpson FS of South Carolina.
Max Jean-Gilles OG of Georgia.
Demetrius Williams, WR of Oregon.
Gabe Watson, NT of Michigan.
Jonathon Scott, OT of Texas.
Rodrique Wright, DT of Texas.
Calvin Lowry, FS of Penn State.
So try not to jump off any cliffs and I promise this team will be a solid group in 2006.
And while I hate to scare you, it seems it was by design. Dallas was quite willing to share that they thought TE was the value in round 2. They claimed to be ready for anything and it appears they were. They made two seperate trades down to garner a late 4th, extra 6th and extra 7th. We'll get to tomorrow later but it shouldn't be a snoozefest with all those picks.
Recapping the picks:
round 1: 18. I felt the move here was to trade down. If not then Lawson or Carpenter was your guy. Dallas essentially stated they felt drafting Carpenter allowed them to take the best player and not have to adjust anyone else. The implication is they felt Lawson could have only played where DeMarcus Ware is earmarked and thus would have meant moving Ware across the field. Its always hard to read PArcells but it is not hard to suggest he'll draftt he known and he knows Bobby Carpenter. Parcells follows the kids of his ex-players and coaches. That pick was pretty easy to call really. Gosselin had Carpenter rated at 18 so it was an even value for Dallas.
round 2: 49. I thought Marcus McNeill was the pick here. He's a big RT type. Some question about his back but he supposedly passed all the physicals. Dallas opted to trade down with the Jets which was odd only in that it did not bring the return of a 4th rounder they were openly coveting.
53: Anthony Fasano. Rather shocking honestly to see Dallas go TE here. Witten is a young Pro Bowler and we just signed a blocking TE in free agency away from the defending NFC Champs. Jones offered that Fasano was the highest rated player and they had a plan for him. That plan was to go to a 2 TE set and balance the formation so defenses couldn't overload either side. TO and Fasano on one side and Witten and Glenn on the other. Once explained it makes some sense. Fasano certainly presents a threat the Cowboys sometimes fullback did not. They wanted to ditcht he fullback for a while and Fasano allows them to. Both he and Witten have played h-back and Fasano knows Parcells basic offense because thats what Charlie Weis employs at Notre Dame. Gosselin had Fason as his 54th rated prospect and Dallas selected him at 53 so again fairly even. Even more though, Goose broke Fasano down and compared him to ex-Parcells love child, Mark Bavaro.
round 3: 80. Here I am expecting they really have to go FS. Maybe they can go OT but most are gone and Pat Watkins, Ko Simpson and others are there for the taking. With the 3 or 4 of the OT's going off the board Dallas opted to trade down again and pick up that elusive 4th rounder.
92: Here I am thinking they moved down to set up a FS or OT pick. But they fooled me again with a massive DE from Grambling named Jason Hatcher. He's got measurables for days at 6'7", 285 pounds and running 4.8's. I wish I could offer some great insight but I have never watched him at all. Dallas did say they drafted him to play DT and think he can easily hold 30 more pounds of muscle. He seems a slightly bigger version of Chris Canty. Bill Parcells just can not get enough big, nasty DL. Goose had Hatcher ranked 88th and we took him 92nd so he was a solid value.
Jeff Ireland has a short track record here but a glowing one thus far. I'd say he deserves the benefit of the doubt with regards to Hatcher who very few have seen play. That doesn't mean there isn't at least some head scratching.
Dallas will very likely plug in Carpenter and Fasano as starting players in 2006. I can see that as a big plus when Carpenter is replacing a steady but smallish Al Singleton who is coming off of major injury and Fasano replaces a fullback we were always reluctant to play anyways. Having watched a handful of both Ohio State and Notre Dame games I am pleased by the talent of both those guys. Hatcher is an unknown for me but I'll trust his ranking and consider him a long-term project.
Tomorrow promises to reward some of the more annoyed Cowboys faithful.
Right now Dallas is slated to pick late 4th, mid 5th, two times in each the 6th and 7th rounds. And more than a couple of players who fans were calling for are still there including:
Darnell Bing, Safety of USC.
Ko Simpson FS of South Carolina.
Max Jean-Gilles OG of Georgia.
Demetrius Williams, WR of Oregon.
Gabe Watson, NT of Michigan.
Jonathon Scott, OT of Texas.
Rodrique Wright, DT of Texas.
Calvin Lowry, FS of Penn State.
So try not to jump off any cliffs and I promise this team will be a solid group in 2006.
