O-Line - give up the draft for FA?

[DBOY3141]

Just picked up the Sporting News Draft magazine and it talks about our last 5 years of drafting. We've drafted 7 offensive lineman since 2004 (BP took 5, we took 2 after he left). None are starters and most are not on the team anymore. So I ask the question, should we give up the idea of drafting oline until after the 5th round, since it's obvious the Cowboys have no clue on what to look for and use those draft picks for other areas and use FA to acquire our oline?

Another thought about two of our olineman.

McQuisten/Free - I think it's obvious that the coaches have no faith in these guys being starters since they have been here for 2 to 3 years and we have given Flo and Columbo new 5 & 6 year contracts in the last year. If they had faith we could have used that money to resign Ware. I think McQuisten is gone this year and Free gets one more year to show something but I'm not counting on it.

 

[Common Sense]

Makes you wonder.

 

[EveryoneElse]

I would say yes. I think FA has been better to Jerry and company when it comes to O-lineman.

 

[JBS]

i say no, we need to draft them a bit higher, most of our recent oline selections have been 3rd and 4th rounders, maybe one or two of them have been in the 2nd. Plus, Parcells was running those drafts and now we have ciskowski is running the show and so far he has done an outstanding job. I say give him a shot to select some olinemen.

 

[Jon88]

The last good OLineman we drafted was Flozell Adams, and he fell into our laps, just as Larry Allen did. Whoever is in charge of scouting OLinemen needs to be put somewhere else.

 

[Woods]

I'm not that negative on Free as many others on this Board.

We have to remember this guy came from a small school, and while he has the natural frame to get a lot stronger and bigger, it usually takes a few years (assuming you're drug free).

I think we've got to give the guy at least this year to see what he can do. I think he definitely has the athletic ability to play. Coming from a small program, he needs time to develop.

And while I'm at it, in many of the mock drafts that I've been reading on this Board, virtually everyone has at least 1 (if not more) small school prospects that they like. Again, while these guys may have great verticals and 40s, be prepared to wait at least a couple of years to see if they pan out.

 

[peplaw06]

Well the fact that 2 of our 5 starters are guys we drafted would lead me to say no.

 

[Common Sense]

i say no, we need to draft them a bit higher, most of our recent oline selections have been 3rd and 4th rounders, maybe one or two of them have been in the 2nd. Plus, Parcells was running those drafts and now we have ciskowski is running the show and so far he has done an outstanding job. I say give him a shot to select some olinemen.

Parcells' drafts were just fine, for the most part. There's no evidence that we've drafted OL any better since he left. But we should draft OL earlier at some point and stop drafting project and second-tier linemen so much.

 

[Jon88]

Well the fact that 2 of our 5 starters are guys we drafted would lead me to say no.

I forgot about Gurode. He was actually the last good lineman we drafted, but he was also a second rounder. Good eye, peppy.

 

[TonyS]

I wonder if it is the drafting or the player development (read: coaching). Probably a bit of both, but does anyone remember anyone other than Gurode on the o-line that we've drafted and actually got better with time?

 

[Jon88]

I wonder if it is the drafting or the player development (read: coaching). Probably a bit of both, but does anyone remember anyone other than Gurode on the o-line that we've drafted and actually got better with time?

Flozell Adams and Larry Allen are the only ones I know of besides Gurode. Pretty terrible track record considering how many lineman we've drafted. Remember Clay Shiver? Man he was awful, and he was a second rounder.

 

[JBS]

Parcells' drafts were just fine, for the most part. There's no evidence that we've drafted OL any better since he left. But we should draft OL earlier at some point and stop drafting project and second-tier linemen so much.

how could you say that parcells drafts were fine? Overall, maybe. As far as offensive linemen are concerned they were horrible. As the original poster mentioned, parcells drafted 5 during his tenure here - ZERO of those 5 are worth anything. That would be a 0% success rate, that is far from fine. Since he has left we have only drafted 2, I would bet that if we drafted 3 more over the course of the next two years at least one of them would see the playing field. Parcells cant even say that much.

 

[AKATheRake]

The last good OLineman we drafted was Flozell Adams, and he fell into our laps, just as Larry Allen did. Whoever is in charge of scouting OLinemen needs to be put somewhere else.

Those are facts. The good big men don't fall out of the first round unless something serious is wrong with them mentally or injury that will re-occur. So we either look in the first round or depend on FA for tackles. You can get some decent guard in the early 2nd round.

 

[Jon88]

Those are facts. The good big men don't fall out of the first round unless something serious is wrong with them mentally or injury that will re-occur. So we either look in the first round or depend on FA for tackles. You can get some decent guard in the early 2nd round.

Larry Allen fell out of the first round because he came from Sonoma State, which is a really small school. Like John Madden said, had everyone known how good he would be, he would have been the first pick overall. People who never got a chance to see him in his prime really missed out on something. He was the most dominating football player I have ever seen.

 

[DBOY3141]

Marten and Free were drafted after Parcells left. Marten in the 3rd round and he was cut last year. Free hasn't seen the field, understand he's from a small school so I can see giving him another year. So it's not only Parcells that can't evaluate talent on the o-line.

 

[Disturbed]

FA is too expensive and the more you rely on it the worse off you will be in the long run. The best way to build a championship team is through the draft. And we should not give large contracts to older players (over 30) which is also very negative for the team's long term success.

Is the issue "player quality" or "coaching"? I am beginning to think that Dallas has both -- OL coaching issue and talent assessment issue. I find it interesting that Parcells was able to draft all other positions, but not OL...what gives....this is just very strange. So something must change at Dallas to improve drafting, coaching, and execution.

And one last thing, Romo is fairly evasive which makes our current line appear better at times than it really is.....our OL is below average but paid like it is the best in the league. Sad really...

 

[DBOY3141]

Since we've had two different coaching staffs and still no quality o-line in the last 5 years, I think it falls on the scouts. Don't know if we've replaced those guys but we need to. I agree we shouldn't shell out money to folks 30 or older, but when you can't develop through the draft you have no choice.

It's not my money and the salary cap is a joke so who cares how much it costs.

 

[big dog cowboy]

O-Line - give up the draft for FA?

No.

We use all 11 picks on O-lineman this year.

 

[mmillman]

Who says it is only the O-line? When was the last time Dallas drafted a really good WR? When was the last time Dallas drafted a good QB? When was the last time Dallas drafted a really good safety?

 

[BourbonBalz]

Flozell Adams and Larry Allen are the only ones I know of besides Gurode. Pretty terrible track record considering how many lineman we've drafted. Remember Clay Shiver? Man he was awful, and he was a second rounder.

I know this is going several years back, but then again so are Flozell and Allen. Anyone remember Erik Williams? Best I remember he was pretty damn good.