No Pet Cats in the Draft

[Kangaroo]

Team Report: Inside Slant

Inside Slant | Notes and Quotes | Strategy and Personnel Bill Parcells made a point of shunning any pet cats in the draft room.
Pet cats, according to Parcells, were prospects a scout or coach liked, grew fond of and made a point of trying to draft that pet cat. The funny thing is Parcells had a few pet cats of his own.
Jacob Rogers, a draft bust in 2004, was one of Parcells' pet cats. So was defensive end Marcus Spears.
It is said the Parcells wanted to draft Spears before linebacker DeMarcus Ware in 2005 but was overruled by owner Jerry Jones.
Of course Jones is not immune to pet cats, considering he was the one who lobbied against rhyme and reason for Quincy Carter.
But with Parcells gone, Jones has the final say in the draft room. And it's his mission to make sure no pet cats get drafted.
He said the Cowboys will only be partial to the draft board in the 2007 draft.
"There won't be that potential lobbying that you might have gotten that might have influenced that draft board that really you shouldn't do," Jones said. "You should put your highest-rated player by the guys that spend 100 percent of the time out here.
"I think this is going to be the purest scout-evaluation (draft) from the December grade."
With a new coaching staff in place, the Cowboys are especially likely to stick to their draft board.
The scouts, led by chief scout Jeff Ireland, have done most of the work and the Cowboys will lean on their labor. They will rank and draft according to the board.
"The only times coaches and scouts don't see eye to eye is around draft time, because coaches start liking players," Ireland said. "You have to fight that. I think we've done a good job of that.
"But you can't manufacture these players; they all can't fit the blueprint," Ireland said. "It happens on every staff. You don't want guys falling in love with players or need positions. Those are the traps; people start believing we need a receiver, and a fifth-rounder becomes a third-rounder.
"You have to fight that with the scouts and coaches. That's why it's my job to look at every player and decide."
With Parcells as the coach and man with the final say in the draft room, the Cowboys had middling success the last four years.
The Cowboys have 10 picks in the 2007 draft.
Jones said he wants a success



Link Here




http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/teamReport?categoryId=67043&type=InsideSlant

 

[hendog]

Jeff for GM!

 

[Aikbach]

Jeff for GM!

He pretty much is, Jerry says yay or nay but I think he's smart enough to realize on draft day Irleand has given him the best information and more often than not it should be heeded.

 

[theogt]

Geez...talk about a rip-off:

Cowboys seek scout-heavy draft this spring
By MAC ENGEL
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

IRVING -- Bill Parcells was a cat guy. He had a big, fat pet cat at his house. And he had his pet cats at Valley Ranch, too. Especially in April.

"Pet cats" is a Parcellsism; they were the prospects whom a coach or scout adored. They are often so fond of such prospects they try to make sure their "pet cat" is drafted, regardless what the scouting consensus is.

And every coach, general manager or scout has a pet cat; 2004 second-round flop Jacob Rogers was a Parcells' pet cat. Former quarterback Quincy Carter was a Jerry Jones pet cat.

Now Jones, the owner, is playing the part of animal control, and is trying to get rid of the felines around Cowboys headquarters.

"There won't be that potential lobbying that you might have gotten that might have influenced that draft board that really you shouldn't do," Jones said. "You should put your highest-rated player by the guys that spend 100 percent of the time out here.

"I think this is going to be the purest scout-evaluation [draft] from the December grade."

With a new coaching staff, expect the Cowboys to stick to what chief scout Jeff Ireland and his staff suggest. Unlike previous years when Parcells was known to lobby for a player, and his voice was hard to ignore, the Cowboys plan to rank and draft according to what the scouts say. Period.

"The only times coaches and scouts don't see eye to eye is around draft time, because coaches start liking players," Ireland said. "You have to fight that. I think we've done a good job of that."

A coach may want a certain type of player -- big linebackers, tall receivers, a player who fits a scheme -- and he might lobby a scout to take a player who fits that role. So much so they "reach" for that player and take him a round or two earlier than he should be selected.

Glancing at those four previous drafts, Parcells' fingerprints are all over -- Bobby Carpenter, Marion Barber, Rob Petitti, Anthony Fasano, Chris Canty, Marcus Spears, Stephen Peterman to name a few.

"But you can't manufacture these players; they all can't fit the blueprint," Ireland said. "It happens on every staff. You don't want guys falling in love with players or need positions. Those are the traps; people start believing we need a receiver, and a fifth-rounder becomes a third-rounder.

"You have to fight that with the scouts and coaches. That's why it's my job to look at every player and decide."

Parcells would not have accepted the head coaching job if he didn't have some sway in the draft. And under Parcells, the Cowboys had what Jones describes as "middle of the road" success. Not a "C" grade, but right down the middle.

With 10 picks in this draft, Jones said he wants a success rate of 70 percent. He wants seven of the 10 on the 53-man roster and those picked on the first day challenging for starting spots. He'd love to find a fullback, too.

To find those seven players, he plans to rely exclusively on the scouts. And not the phone calls that come from his friends outside Valley Ranch. He plans to rely exclusively on Ireland and on the eyes of longtime scouts Walter Juliff, Tom Ciskowski and the rest.

He wants a "clean board,' a draft board free of agendas or reaches. A board assembled by the people who live on the road in the fall watching college football games and watching scores of tapes.

He wants a board free of pet cats.

Since when did Mac Engel begin working for Fox Sports?

 

[Aikbach]

Geez...talk about a rip-off:

Since when did Mac Engel begin working for Fox Sports?

Maybe it is a mislabeled AP piece.

 

[dargonking999]

I say we write to the DMN, and tell them of this "article" And watch fox sports burn!!!!

 

[junk]

Local writers often contribute to other places.

JJT's work shows up in the Sporting News and USA Today.

 

[burmafrd]

We only had two first day busts in Peterman and Rogers in the last 4 drafts.
that is 10 out of 12; over 80%. Second day has been worse, but then it always is. Compared to the drafts before that, from 94 on, I would not complain of the same rate of success.

 

[AmishCowboy]

Were Peterman and Rogers,Parcell's pet cats?.

 

[Aikbach]

Were Peterman and Rogers,Parcell's pet cats?.

I dunno, it is customary in the media to make such grand assertions, we do know Dallas drafted them with high draft picks however.

Rumored back in 1996 was that Parcells was very unhappy about Robert Kraft's insistence on drafting Terry Glenn when Parcells was sold on defensive end Cedric Jones out of Illinois.

If that is true it is ironic, Jones was a Shante Carver clone for the Giants and Glenn and Parcells were the odd couple that worked it out.

Kraft was later forced to trade the enigmatic Glenn for his flippant conduct with management and Bellicheck.

Now older and mellower Glenn has been a largely overlooked stud in a Cowboy uniform.

 

[jobberone]

.............

Kraft was later forced to trade the enigmatic Glenn for his flippant conduct with management and Bellicheck.

Now older and mellower Glenn has been a largely overlooked stud in a Cowboy uniform.

Boy that was a great trade.

 

[Cowboy Junkie]

funny thing this article starts out by saying that Jerry over ruled Parcells on drafting Ware before Spears and then gose on to say that it was Parcells that always had final say and how now Jerry will, so whitch one is it????

 

[AbeBeta]

our drafting was sooooo much better under Parcells. Jerry's pet cats were first rounders that he traded up for. Bill used 2nd and 3rd rounders. No contest