"Pet Cats"

[xwalker]

The pet cat concept is interesting. I think seeing people on the message board defend their pet cats gives you an idea of what happens on NFL teams. When all of the scouts, coaches and executives have input into the draft process, there are going to be a lot of pet cats involved.

People here at CZ will defend their pet cats to no end regardless of how many facts or other issues are discussed. If their pat cat had a great combine but didn't do much on the field, then they find reasons that the on field stuff didn't matter. The opposite also occurs. If somebody's pet cat has the worse combine performance in history, then you get "when does that position ever run 40 yards or bench press on the field, etc.".

Whatever the situation, somehow people's pet cats are the exception to the rule. Sometimes it is even suggested that coaches change their scheme to fit player X when that coach/coordinator has rarely if ever played/drafted a similar player.

For me, having a pet cat is a no-win situation. If you have an early pet cat, then you feel validated if he performs well prior to the draft and moves up the rankings; however, then you realize that he is no longer a bargain for your team to draft. On the other hand, if he moves down the rankings, then your pet cat probably was not that good and your "scouting" credibility takes a hit.

I may be guilty of some of the aforementioned justifications. I've said in the past that drafting Guards in the 1st might not be a good long-term strategy. Like everybody with a pet cat, I've come up with some justifications for drafting Cooper. It appears that he can also play Center, which is a position that I think should be drafted in the 1st round due to the difficulty of finding one in Free Agency. My second justification is that he would be a top 5 player in this draft if he played a higher value position, IMO.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Well in Coopers case you could argue that when it was reported that the cowboys might be looking for a OG/OC type...that would fit Coopers Profile.

To the pet cat situation.

I have a pet cat (Tavon Austin) but I am also realistic enough to know that as amazing as I think he is...the Oline or Dline is the way we should go if we stay at 18.

So sometimes people have pet cats and will defend them or complain if we don't take them...but not everybody goes to that extreme.

Some people just dig in on a multitude of topics and that is their nature.

 

[Shinywalrus]

Confirmation bias is the #1 enemy of most sports dialogue, whether professional or amateur. It's usually worst, however, when someone is deeply invested in what they're supporting. I'm not sure how strongly people can attach themselves to pet cats relative to, say, first line starters for their favorite team.

There are a few players where there's an emotional connection for understandable if not purely sensible reasons - there's a Ragin Cajun DB named Melvin White that I'm rooting for because he grew up where I grew up and because I got to see him play when he was young. If I'm being fair, I'm liable to ignore just about anything - like the fact that he didn't get a combine invite - that tells me that he's not going to be a success.

There are other players that I would naturally want to hate - Aggies like Damontre Moore - who I've become so convinced by when I watched games that I'm not too concerned about their combine performances.

Seems like the only thing you can do - because it's perfectly natural - is try to be consistent. If we're touting the pure athletes based on the combine or Pro Days, dismissing bad performances in the combine can obviously be inconsistent.

I think the heart of the matter is like everything else on the internet - people want to be there first, and "pet cats" give people the opportunity to stake a claim on something. Little downside to it, because most people don't hold themselves or others accountable for pet cats that didn't pan out. Remember how many people sported Ray Ray Armstrong or Taylor Mays signatures on these boards?

 

[Risen Star]

Well in Coopers case you could argue that when it was reported that the cowboys might be looking for a OG/OC type...that would fit Coopers Profile.

To the pet cat situation.

I have a pet cat (Tavon Austin) but I am also realistic enough to know that as amazing as I think he is...the Oline or Dline is the way we should go if we stay at 18.

So sometimes people have pet cats and will defend them or complain if we don't take them...but not everybody goes to that extreme.

Some people just dig in on a multitude of topics and that is their nature.

But you're also smart enough to know the Cowboys should take the best player, because you don't want to look back in three years and wonder why you didn't take the perennial pro bowl WR and you're stuck with a lesser G.

To me it comes down to who is the most informed voice in the room? The scouts. So they should really dictate our picks by putting together a draft board that we stick to. And if their information is flawed, revamp the scouting department.

 

[xwalker]

But you're also smart enough to know the Cowboys should take the best player, because you don't want to look back in three years and wonder why you didn't take the perennial pro bowl WR and you're stuck with a lesser G.

To me it comes down to who is the most informed voice in the room? The scouts. So they should really dictate our picks by putting together a draft board that we stick to. And if their information is flawed, revamp the scouting department.

This is the area where I think Garrett adds the most value to the Cowboys. He believes in scouts (his Dad was one) and in doing extensive checks on the mental-makeup of players.

Garrett hired an outside company that specializes in helping to evaluate the mental-makeup of players. IMO, some past draft failures were due to mental-makeup more than physical ability. Robert Brewster and Jason Williams had physical ability but the mental side caused them to fail. Brewster was lazy and didn't really like football and Williams couldn't learn the scheme.

 

[ABQcowboyJR]

yeah.....Warford has been a big pet cat of mine since I started looking at guys to draft. He has really rose out of reach IMO. It is still fun to have your pet cat guys though. Last year mine was Jake Bequette and he didn't really move all that much throughout the draft process. Ended up in NE and have not heard much from him since.

 

[DFWJC]

No doubt, once someone has a pet cat there is a huge blind spot.

I actually like Cole Beasley okay, though he's not at all a pet cat. (always prefered Harris > Beasley)
But this kid literally walked out on the team...flat out quit last year during preseason. Yet he possibly had more threads dedicated to him than any other player not named Romo.
He was a pet cat for so many board members that they looked the other way when he gave up and quit the team.

That's just how it works. We're human. Andggod for him btw, b/c it worked out alright.

 

[Mr_Bill]

But you're also smart enough to know the Cowboys should take the best player, because you don't want to look back in three years and wonder why you didn't take the perennial pro bowl WR and you're stuck with a lesser G.

To me it comes down to who is the most informed voice in the room? The scouts. So they should really dictate our picks by putting together a draft board that we stick to. And if their information is flawed, revamp the scouting department.

Again, the BPA issue pops up.

The problem is that most draft web sites have a board ranked 1 through whatever. However, that is not how NFL teams do it. As xwalker put it in another thread, NFL teams place players in tiers. Then, they draft higher-tiered players over lower-tiered ones. But, within each tier, they go by need. To this I would add that they probably also consider system fit within a given tier.

In this particular case, do you really believe that Tavon Austin is in a tier higher than Jonathan Cooper? Actually, even if you go by a numbering system, can you find a board where Austin is ranked higher?

 

[Idgit]

Again, the BPA issue pops up.

The problem is that most draft web sites have a board ranked 1 through whatever. However, that is not how NFL teams do it. As xwalker put it in another thread, NFL teams place players in tiers. Then, they draft higher-tiered players over lower-tiered ones. But, within each tier, they go by need. To this I would add that they probably also consider system fit within a given tier.

In this particular case, do you really believe that Tavon Austin is in a tier higher than Jonathan Cooper? Actually, even if you go by a numbering system, can you find a board where Austin is ranked higher?

It's not all scouting, in any event. Some players develop later. Some end up in offenses that better fit their skill sets. Some have better coaches. Some end up building confidence gradually because of the situation they end up in or the players they end up behind.

The draft is essentially acquiring the best raw materials for the program you're trying to build. The plan matters, the builders matter, the construction matters. And sometimes sound-seeming materials end up faulty once they're actually used.

You don't go into the process just relying on the person who evaluates the raw materials. It really is a process, even on draft day. If the process is flawed, it doesn't matter who the GM is. If the GM is flawed, and insists on overriding the process, it doesn't matter what the process is. If everything works as it should, you end up with a team capable of contending with the other organizations where everything works as it should.

 

[Risen Star]

I'm well aware of tiers and how more often than not you're going to have similar ranked players available at the top of the board. I'm talking about when you don't and there's one clear cut best player per the scouting department.

I can't say the OL or DL is the way to go at 18. It's the biggest need, but it may not be the way to go. You have to see what's there.

 

[Idgit]

So...is this a thread where we're all in agreement? I think it is, right? How often does that happen?

 

[burmafrd]

Schwenke has become mine.

 

[Idgit]

Schwenke has become mine.

And just two weeks after Valentines.

I hope you two are very happy together.

 

[xwalker]

And just two weeks after Valentines.

I hope you two are very happy together.

 

[burmafrd]

And just two weeks after Valentines.

I hope you two are very happy together.

you can have Costa. You two are obviously very close.

 

[Risen Star]

So...is this a thread where we're all in agreement? I think it is, right? How often does that happen?

I disagree with your next post.

 

[Idgit]

you can have Costa. You two are obviously very close.

I'm intrigued by Schwenke, too. (Everyone wants a Schwenke!). Just playing around with your word choice.

And all I've ever said about Costa is 'lets see how he plays this season,' for the record. I'm not particularly in the tank for him and only think people dislike him for reasons that have more to do with how he got here and less to do with his potential or his actual play.

 

[Idgit]

I disagree with your next post.

I'm pretty sure you actually agree with it.

 

[tm1119]

Gerald Hodges. Can be had in the 3rd, maybe even 4th and he is a starter day 1