Roster thoughts

[mattjames2010]

He ran a 4.46 at Indy which is a not very favorable track. His short area burst and long speed actually stood out from the 3 games I watched.

He takes bad angles and doesn't see the field well in pursuit but I am not qualified to really speak to whether or not that could be coached up in that particular player. But if Henderson, Marinelli, and Garrett bring him in and say they can teach him and have particular plans and techniques that will fix the identified issues then I am fine with them being high on him.

We don't have inside information and the Cowboys to my mind have earned a bit of the benefit of the doubt.

Oh, I know what his 40-time was, and that's great. I go by what I see on film though, and what I see is similar to what we have in Church in terms of speed. I also don't think much of him in pass coverage.

Is he better than Church and Wilcox? I think he's certainly better than Wilcox and I think he's even more aggressive than Church and loves to make tackles. I wouldn't hate the pick, but he's a second rounder for me. Who knows where the Cowboys have him on their draft board.

 

[mattjames2010]

I agree with you X.......our two biggest issues are DB and DE, with backup OT being our 3rd.

I would not be upset if our entire draft consisted of DB, DE, and OL......also, if our draft fell this way, I would be absolutely jacked.....

1 - CB Byron Jones
2 - CB Eric Rowe
3 - DE ZaDarius Smith
4 - DE Henry Anderson
5 - OT Chaz Green / OG Mark Glowinski
7 - OT Laurence Gibson
7 - S Suite

I'd be happy with Chaz Green. One of the two players, the other being Buck Allen, I'm hoping we snag.

However, we have to draft an RB, man. I have no problem grabbing a CB or safety, but two so high seems to be an overload; especially since one of the two won't be seeing the field much at all.

 

[pancakeman]

I'm going to create a mixed drink to sell during the draft. I'll call it "the second round TE".

Probably too sour and bitter.

 

[Corso]

I'm going to create a mixed drink to sell during the draft. I'll call it "the second round TE".

You PM me the recipe and I will make it and give pics in the chat room or thread of me making and drinking it during the draft.
If the recipe is deemed worthy of me making and drinking, of course...

 

[Corso]

I am happy to announce that I fulfilled my promise of Likepocalypsing page one of this thread.

One and done like college basketball.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

The biggest priority for me would be to draft a CB in the first 2 rounds.

We don't even have starters. Cannot go into this season relying on Claiborne and Carr.

You forgetting Scandrick

 

[Kaiser]

I think the key positions drafted are CB, RB, DE, OG, and FS. The other picks will be BPA or a project player they like.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Oh, I know what his 40-time was, and that's great. I go by what I see on film though, and what I see is similar to what we have in Church in terms of speed. I also don't think much of him in pass coverage.

Is he better than Church and Wilcox? I think he's certainly better than Wilcox and I think he's even more aggressive than Church and loves to make tackles. I wouldn't hate the pick, but he's a second rounder for me. Who knows where the Cowboys have him on their draft board.

Well we see completely different things then. Church doesn't run well at all, certainly poorer than Wilcox. Randall doesn't seem to know how to tackle. Makes good fodder for discussion down the road when they start playing again.

 

[Macnalty]

Rowe at 60 would be the steal of the draft.

Yes I agree not likely, Williams and Collins are gathering lots of communications in the other NFL fan forums so they might be a rare menu item.
Marchetta passed me some helpful info on WR Ty Montgomery out of Stanford for a DeWayne Harris replacement anybody else have thoughts on him, I dismissed him when I was watching WR's thought he was more of a running back at WR. This info paints him as a faster Larry Fitzgerald.
Is he a better bet than Kenny Bell Nebraska WR?

 

[LandryFan]

I cannot wait to watch all the meltdowns that's going to be happening on Draft days. Right here. On the forums- are we going to have a Live Chat??? Oh Gawd I hope so!
I'm going to be sitting here... plenty of hard liquor and various other medications by my side...
I went and got those little umbrellas that they put in your drinks when you order those ridiculously sweet conflagrations like Mai Tai's and Blue Hawaiians (my favorite band...) so I can put them in my bottles of beer and Collins' of Scotch and Tequila drinks.

Just going to kick back and watch the world burn on this site all day for days.

Glorious. Absolutely glorious. I love the Draft!


Edit: I'm in such a good mood I'm handing out likes to every poster on this page! It's a Likepocalypse!

Just here to get my "Like"...

Edit...dang, looks like the offer was only good for page one.

 

[Corso]

Just here to get my "Like"...

Edit...dang, looks like the offer was only good for page one.

You get a like for helping to defend and protect the greatest nation on the planet and it's people.

 

[LatinMind]

I see each player as a probability. The more options with talent the better the probability of getting production from the position.

IMO, the Cowboys are doing a better job of giving themselves a lot of options in recent years; whereas, in some past years they over focused on the top players at the positions and when they got injured (or quit like Ratliff) they were scrambling to find bodies to play.

LB is a good example. Instead of spending big there on 1 or 2 players, they added solid veterans that were better than minimum wage backups. There is a little extra cost paying Brinkley and Gachkar around 2M instead of the 700K minimum, but Lee is the only guy getting significant money so it evens out. They even added Rivers in FA and the signing of Watson last season seemed to be geared towards 2015. With only 2 LBs in the Nickel which was well over 50% of the snaps last season, they really have a lot of LBs. In past years they probably would have added one big dollar FA and the backups would have been a cast of guys like Cam Lawrence.

My concern this year is CB and Safety. They basically need 3 starters at CB but really only have one reliable one. I'm fine with the starting Safeties, but there is not much behind them unless you want to see more of Jeff Heath.

The other concern is the backup OT. They really seem to like Weems but at some point he has to prove himself. I'm not sure if they see Hawkins as an OT or OG. Their assessment of these guys is really critical. If they are legit options, then they'll be less likely to draft one early, but with Romo's health being the team top priority and Doug Free having 2 ankle surgeries in a 1 year time-span and now being 31, they can't afford to be wrong.

Finally, DE is not deep. Lawrence, Mincey and Hardy with Hardy currently suspended for the beginning of the season. Both the starter and primary backup at LDE from last season are gone (Selvie and Spencer). Gardner will be like having a draft pick this year, but he was not a late round pick because of injury. Jack Crawford's best game last season was at DT. Boatright and Edwards didn't play that much last season and were not really wow players in college.

IMO DT is similar to LB in that they have a lot of options. There are question about the starting 1tech, but it's a heavy rotation regardless. Josh Brent would be an ideal 1tech in the base if he gets back to his pre-wreck form. He was never in shape last season. T. McClain was never healthy last season but flashed nice ability as a 1/3 tech combo. Ken Bishop appeared better physically than Hayden but was really raw as a small college rookie. Chris Whaley was a udfa because he was injured before the draft and would be forced to redshirt is rookie year. He looks really good in game footage and likely would have been a mid round pick if not injured. Coleman is talented by goofy. If appears that Hardy might slap the goofy out of him. The Cowboys didn't really have that Star type play on the DL last year to influence guys like Coleman. Jack Crawford's best game was the 1 where he moved from DE to DT. Hardy and Mincey have both played a lot of snaps at DT in their careers.

Dude you got to get over Free's ankle (surgery). Its basically called a clean out of bone spurs. The team chose a RT with bone spurs over your savior for the OL. Let it go. Free is not a concern. The team has always felt that way. And they showed it by resigning him. Let it go.

Agree with LB and CB. But i think Dallas has two reliable CBs. Carr gets a bad wrap on alot and rightfully so because of his contract. But wilcox did him no favors on the backend.Wasnt as bad as heath in 2013. But it wasnt good.

Safety would have no problem with this team drafting a S and working him into starting at some point. Church and Wilcox playing together is a liability because they are both the same type of safety. Neither of them has big range. One of them has the speed, but takes really bad angles and overruns the play to cheat to the outside. The other has average speed but makes up for it by knowing his assignment and where he should be. Of course wilcox is the first one, and thats coachable so i would go with him over Church and bring in a real FS and work him in instead of forcing Wilcox to play FS.

Think Dallas needs a big DT like Davison in RD4. Big strong and nasty, and can get after the QB from the 1. Brent and Bishop are like Hayden, strong but neither of them are going to give you any passrush. Davis is big but can get passed that double to get after the QB.

 

[xwalker]

Dude you got to get over Free's ankle (surgery). Its basically called a clean out of bone spurs. The team chose a RT with bone spurs over your savior for the OL. Let it go. Free is not a concern. The team has always felt that way. And they showed it by resigning him. Let it go.

Agree with LB and CB. But i think Dallas has two reliable CBs. Carr gets a bad wrap on alot and rightfully so because of his contract. But wilcox did him no favors on the backend.Wasnt as bad as heath in 2013. But it wasnt good.

Safety would have no problem with this team drafting a S and working him into starting at some point. Church and Wilcox playing together is a liability because they are both the same type of safety. Neither of them has big range. One of them has the speed, but takes really bad angles and overruns the play to cheat to the outside. The other has average speed but makes up for it by knowing his assignment and where he should be. Of course wilcox is the first one, and thats coachable so i would go with him over Church and bring in a real FS and work him in instead of forcing Wilcox to play FS.

Think Dallas needs a big DT like Davison in RD4. Big strong and nasty, and can get after the QB from the 1. Brent and Bishop are like Hayden, strong but neither of them are going to give you any passrush. Davis is big but can get passed that double to get after the QB.

 

[LandryFan]

You get a like for helping to defend and protect the greatest nation on the planet and it's people.

Thank you, sir. I truly appreciate that.

 

[erod]

This not a great draft for offensive linemen or safeties, and the other positions will be picked through quickly.

I'm hoping for four really solid contributors from this draft.

 

[zekecowboy]

I'm going to create a mixed drink to sell during the draft. I'll call it "the second round TE".

I don't think we will be drafting any tight ends this year.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Maybe so on the CB in 2nd but I keep hearing talk of Safety Damarious Randall as someone the Cowboys like a lot. Granted a lot of talk going on this time of year but given Dallas is at #27 I would not be surprised to see Dallas move out of the 1st and pick up extra picks in the 2nd and 3rd rd.

I have heard the same Randall talk and frankly I don't get it. The guy is pretty raw as a safety and didn't they already go down that road with a similar player in Wilcox who you presume they might be trying to replace?
If they take a safety, which I think they should, I hope it's Derron Smith or James Sample in the middle rounds.

 

[Oh_Canada]

This not a great draft for offensive linemen or safeties, and the other positions will be picked through quickly.

I'm hoping for four really solid contributors from this draft.

I think it's actually a pretty decent group of olineman, but the talent at defensive end is vastly overrated. Very little depth at that position.

 

[morasp]

Wilcox is still working on taking better angles.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I see each player as a probability. The more options with talent the better the probability of getting production from the position.

IMO, the Cowboys are doing a better job of giving themselves a lot of options in recent years; whereas, in some past years they over focused on the top players at the positions and when they got injured (or quit like Ratliff) they were scrambling to find bodies to play.

LB is a good example. Instead of spending big there on 1 or 2 players, they added solid veterans that were better than minimum wage backups. There is a little extra cost paying Brinkley and Gachkar around 2M instead of the 700K minimum, but Lee is the only guy getting significant money so it evens out. They even added Rivers in FA and the signing of Watson last season seemed to be geared towards 2015. With only 2 LBs in the Nickel which was well over 50% of the snaps last season, they really have a lot of LBs. In past years they probably would have added one big dollar FA and the backups would have been a cast of guys like Cam Lawrence.

My concern this year is CB and Safety. They basically need 3 starters at CB but really only have one reliable one. I'm fine with the starting Safeties, but there is not much behind them unless you want to see more of Jeff Heath.

The other concern is the backup OT. They really seem to like Weems but at some point he has to prove himself. I'm not sure if they see Hawkins as an OT or OG. Their assessment of these guys is really critical. If they are legit options, then they'll be less likely to draft one early, but with Romo's health being the team top priority and Doug Free having 2 ankle surgeries in a 1 year time-span and now being 31, they can't afford to be wrong.

Finally, DE is not deep. Lawrence, Mincey and Hardy with Hardy currently suspended for the beginning of the season. Both the starter and primary backup at LDE from last season are gone (Selvie and Spencer). Gardner will be like having a draft pick this year, but he was not a late round pick because of injury. Jack Crawford's best game last season was at DT. Boatright and Edwards didn't play that much last season and were not really wow players in college.

IMO DT is similar to LB in that they have a lot of options. There are question about the starting 1tech, but it's a heavy rotation regardless. Josh Brent would be an ideal 1tech in the base if he gets back to his pre-wreck form. He was never in shape last season. T. McClain was never healthy last season but flashed nice ability as a 1/3 tech combo. Ken Bishop appeared better physically than Hayden but was really raw as a small college rookie. Chris Whaley was a udfa because he was injured before the draft and would be forced to redshirt is rookie year. He looks really good in game footage and likely would have been a mid round pick if not injured. Coleman is talented by goofy. If appears that Hardy might slap the goofy out of him. The Cowboys didn't really have that Star type play on the DL last year to influence guys like Coleman. Jack Crawford's best game was the 1 where he moved from DE to DT. Hardy and Mincey have both played a lot of snaps at DT in their careers.

If I consistently try to look at the team as a one year proposition it makes it difficult. And my thoughts always start to get desperate. Such as needing 2 corners, a tackle, a DE, linebacker, ect...ect...

I find I see things more clearly if I go by the theory that the team really just needs to get good players every year and continue on that path over a long period of time. This is the best way to assure that the team will be competitive for the long haul. Which in my opinion, is the best way to win a championship. If we get caught up in thinking that Romo only has a 2 year window and we have to win now, then we will make poor and desperate decisions. We throw everything at the next two years and it doesnt work out, which it may not, then we will be stuck all over again rebuilding for 5 years. I would rather take it slower, make long term decisions and see how things play out. With this strategy, and good drafting, the team will be stacked by the time Romo retires. Leaving a great team surrounding whatever young QB we are grooming. A la Seattle when they added the talented Wilson. The only problem I see is that Jones is NOT doing much to find the next young stud QB. He is thinking 2 or 3 year window with Romo. So instead of using a 2nd rounder on a possible replacement that he can groom, he is trying to fill short term needs to make a run now. If there is a young QB you think can be the franchise, then need to take him.