Scout's Eye: 12 Thoughts On The Younger Players To Close Out Minicamp

[xwalker]

So when Sturm's work is positive regarding a player you like, then it has merit?

I said in the other thread when I first commented on Sturm's McFadden article that he is the best local sport media guy and normally does good work. He just has a problem understanding Math which is not an uncommon problem.

 

[Stash]

I said in the other thread when I first commented on Sturm's McFadden article that he is the best local sport media guy and normally does good work. He just has a problem understanding Math which is not an uncommon problem.

Not all of us have a degree.

 

[xwalker]

I thought he dogged Parnell and thought Weems would surpass him, then he got injured.

He said they were both sucking. That was while we could not see them. Once the preseason games started, Parnell was dominant and Broaddus was wrong.

 

[xwalker]

Not all of us have a degree.

I don't have an art degree. I don't attempt to offer opinions on art.

 

[xwalker]

Not really. If Dallas preferred him over Free, they could have made it happen, just like they do with any player they want to keep.

Parnell got a 32M contract with about 15M guaranteed.

Free basically got a 1 year, 6M contract (advertised as a 3 years, 15M). The Cowboys then drafted an OT in the 3rd, signed a 1st round talent as a UDFA and have a guy they've been developing since December 2012.

 

[xwalker]

Oh no question.

The Jags overpaid because they can't develop enough decent offensive linemen.

The Cowboys were in the same boat not that long ago.

Teams like the Jags do have to overpay; however, the Packers starting RT Bulaga was a free agent at the same time as Parnell and got less money than Parnell. The Jags had a huge amount of cap space. They could have signed Bulaga or at least driven up his price by making him and offer, but they preferred Parnell.

 

[gmoney112]

Bleh, who cares about the Weems/Parnell situation. Parnell was fine, then he got massively overpaid. It happens. If we could have kept him at a reasonable price, we probably would have. As a wise Justin Timberlake once said, he's "Dead and gone.. dead and gone."

Really intrigued to see Byron in game action. He's supposedly a very intelligent football guy, like a Sean Lee of the secondary type of guy. If we can get pass rush this season, which by all accounts is looking like it's at least going to be a competitive one, a nickel package of byron/carr/scandrick will be pretty decent indeed.

 

[xwalker]

Coaches hate inconsistent. You can't coach around inconsistent.



Let's be a little more contextualized with the #s here. Sturm gave Free 5.5 sacks. That 1.5 more than the left tackle who most would say is pretty good. PFF had him with 3 - tied with several others. These aren't bad #s.

Yes, Parnell had zero. But clearly the coaches who look at actual assignments and how players carry those through care far less about outcomes over a small sample than whether the guy did what he was supposed to

Free only played 11 of the 16 games. The 5.5 projects to 8 if he had played 16.

Parnell just needed more time playing actual games. No player with that few games played is going to be consistent. Players have to play in real games to become consistent. There is a limit to what can be accomplished in practice. In college Parnell was a backup DE for 1 year in 6 games. He had 1 prior start with the Cowboys before the 2014 season.

How inconsistent can an NFL Offensive Tackle really be if he started 5 games and didn't give up a sack?

The kept Free because he was much cheaper. His contract was advertised as 3 years, 15M, but will be 1 year, 6M if they find a young cheap replacement. Parnell's contract was 32M with about half guaranteed. The OL coach Callahan also departed and he was the person that lobbied for Parnell to start over Free.

 

[AbeBeta]

His total contract was 32M. Tyron's contract was 110M. Free got 15M.

Now we both know that you know total money is irrelevant.

 

[Stash]

Teams like the Jags do have to overpay; however, the Packers starting RT Bulaga was a free agent at the same time as Parnell and got less money than Parnell. The Jags had a huge amount of cap space. They could have signed Bulaga or at least driven up his price by making him and offer, but they preferred Parnell.

Based on nothing other than your opinion.

Bulaga in all likelihood told the Jaguars he wasn't interested. Just like Demarco Murray did.

Both Bulaga and Randall Cobb stayed in Green Bay because they cared more about winning and being relevant than simply getting paid.

Parnell jumped at the ridiculous money the Jaguars offered him before they came to their senses.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Put me in the camp that believes Parnell was severely overpaid.

Absolutely. But that is what you have to do when you can't draft them.

 

[FiveTime]

Sorry to hijack the negativity of this thread but man, I'm excited about Byron Jones!

You shouldn't apologize; that isn't hijacking. He was one of the points in the article

 

[AbeBeta]

Free only played 11 of the 16 games. The 5.5 projects to 8 if he had played 16.

Parnell just needed more time playing actual games. No player with that few games played is going to be consistent. Players have to play in real games to become consistent. There is a limit to what can be accomplished in practice. In college Parnell was a backup DE for 1 year in 6 games. He had 1 prior start with the Cowboys before the 2014 season.

How inconsistent can an NFL Offensive Tackle really be if he started 5 games and didn't give up a sack?

The kept Free because he was much cheaper. His contract was advertised as 3 years, 15M, but will be 1 year, 6M if they find a young cheap replacement. Parnell's contract was 32M with about half guaranteed. The OL coach Callahan also departed and he was the person that lobbied for Parnell to start over Free.

That projection is silly. It isn't some highly predictable event. It is - even by Sturm's admission highly subjective. Had PFF put Free in a worse light, you'd be pushing their #s.

You continue to focus overly on outcome. Sacks aren't a great metric as no one can agree on whose fault it was and they are relatively rare and subject to small sample biases. Even based on you claim that Free projected to 8 sacks over the season, we are still talking a rare event.

 

[xwalker]

Why didn't the Cowboys keep Parnell and let the older, less reliable player go?

1. Money. Parnell got over twice as much total money and guaranteed money as Free. Parnell's contract was 32M with almost half guaranteed. Free can be cut after this season and his deal will be 1 year, 6M. Money is obviously a big issue this year. They let Murray depart over 2M per year.

2. They drafted a 3rd round OT, a 7th round OT and signed a 1st round talent as a UDFA. I think they want to replace Free as soon as possible with a young cheap player. Parnell would have been expensive for 4 years.

3. The OL coach Callahan that departed this off-season had tension with Garrett going back to 2012 because Callahan wanted to bench Free and start Parnell but Garrett didn't want to bench Free. Callahan appealed directly to Jerry and the compromise was to have Free/Parnell rotate series for the final 4 games that season. That was the start of the tension between him and Garrett. The following year Callahan appealed directly to Jerry to become the play caller and the tension really escalated between him and Garrett. Callahan is gone and Garrett remains. The guy that remains probably advocated to re-sign his pet cat.

 

[gimmesix]

I didn't take it as a knock on Parnell, but rather an endorsement of Weems and a positive sign for a position where the team had a need. Given the bad news we've gotten on both Gibson and Green in terms of injury, it's nice to hear some good news about another tackle.

Maybe. It definitely would be a good thing if Weems just turned out to be as good as Parnell was for us. I think the way Broaddus said it, though, he's undervaluing Parnell, possibly to build up Weems. It's tough to find backup tackles who can step in without a drop-off or much of a drop-off. For Weems to turn into another one would mean that Dallas' scouting department has done a fantastic job in that regard.

Of course, that's our hope. Weems develops. Green develops. Gibson develops. And we can replace Free when the time comes without spending much money and still have a cheap, quality backup, too.

 

[Stash]

Free only played 11 of the 16 games. The 5.5 projects to 8 if he had played 16.

And projection is in what way reality? More 'fun games with math'. You want to project a negative number for Free because you can't stand the guy. Your bias is transparent.

The kept Free because he was much cheaper. His contract was advertised as 3 years, 15M, but will be 1 year, 6M if they find a young cheap replacement. Parnell's contract was 32M with about half guaranteed.

Why do you fail to mention the $3 million the Cowboys would have in dead money next year in your 'Free must go' diatribe?

The OL coach Callahan also departed and he was the person that lobbied for Parnell to start over Free.

Yet, he didn't take Parnell to Washington with him...

 

[xwalker]

Based on nothing other than your opinion.

Bulaga in all likelihood told the Jaguars he wasn't interested. Just like Demarco Murray did.

Both Bulaga and Randall Cobb stayed in Green Bay because they cared more about winning and being relevant than simply getting paid.

Parnell jumped at the ridiculous money the Jaguars offered him before they came to their senses.

Cobb got 10M per year and is the #2 WR in Green Bay. That is not exactly getting underpaid as a #2 WR.

 

[Stash]

Maybe. It definitely would be a good thing if Weems just turned out to be as good as Parnell was for us. I think the way Broaddus said it, though, he's undervaluing Parnell, possibly to build up Weems. It's tough to find backup tackles who can step in without a drop-off or much of a drop-off. For Weems to turn into another one would mean that Dallas' scouting department has done a fantastic job in that regard.

Of course, that's our hope. Weems develops. Green develops. Gibson develops. And we can replace Free when the time comes without spending much money and still have a cheap, quality backup, too.

Absolutely. At this point, it's pointless to even mention Parnell's name. He's gone. He can't and won't help this team in any way. But some people just can't let go.

We need to look to the future and hope that the players we do have can develop and contribute. I've never been a huge fan of Weems to this point because he's never done anything to deserve notice. But if he does, it's great for him, great for the team, and great for us.

If he can develop into the swing tackle, he can get himself paid, just like the last guy was able to do.

 

[FaSho]

His total contract was 32M. Tyron's contract was 110M. Free got 15M.

That's a pretty hefty salary for a mostly unproven RT. RT's aren't valued as highly as LT's.

 

[gimmesix]

Weems' problem is that he's never been healthy. Parnell got opportunities to start, Weems hasn't. It is not like there is an even amount of evidence to project the two on the same level.

I'll agree with that, and considering Broaddus is stating his belief based on how Weems has looked in shorts, it's not much of a branch to stand on. It would be great if he can just replace Parnell on an equal level. It would be fantastic if he can be even better. But any projection is just a reach right now, which I suppose is what Broaddus is paid to do.