Separating the Wheat from the Chaff

Bob Lilly was my father's all-time favorite player and he has watched the team from inception. I'm planning on purchasing him this as soon as possible...so you may also be interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Lilly-Reflections/dp/087833338X

Chaz Green has the potential to be a really good guard, particularly when they want him to pull, because he looks to operate well in space and on the run. Lenny Jones has a long ways to go before John Randle comparisons, but that would be a huge get considering the suspensions the Cowboys have to weather early. And considering that latter point, Lenny definitely has a chance. As for Taco, I really don't have high hopes for him this year. Next year, though, after having spent an offseason with our strength and conditioning coaches, he will be better suited to use those long arms. Right now, I don't think he has the requisite strength necessary to take full advantage of his length.

Thank you for the conversation. I don't have likes yet, but thank you for the information to read about Bob Lilly. I have pictures with him and an autographed t-shirt from an old Whooping Crane Run he attended back when.

John Randle was a walk on and just wouldn't not be heard from...we shall see with Lenny Jones, maybe.

Thanks for picking me back up on Green. He's still a Cowboy for a reason, huh?

Most players take two to three off seasons to match physical base levels in the NFL. I'm hoping for big hearts starting now.
 
Tapper
Chido
Taco
Skipper
Woods
Lewis

That's where my eyes will be.
Is Jourdan Lewis playing tonight? Last I heard he has a leg issue of some sort that I have yet to see defined.

My eyes will pretty much be in the same place as yours but for some reason I am really expecting Taco to struggle in the early going of his career. In fact, I would not be surprised at all if Tapper doesn't outplay him initially. Despite not playing last year and only being a fourth round pick compared to Taco's first round pedigree, the fact that Tapper probably has a better handle of the playbook and spent the offseason in Cowboys strength and conditioning program may give him a slight advantage. That, and given his better overall speed both off the line and the long variety, Tapper seems better suited for RE than does Taco. Taco strikes me as more of a LE, but I could be wrong.
 
Thank you for the conversation. I don't have likes yet, but thank you for the information to read about Bob Lilly. I have pictures with him and an autographed t-shirt from an old Whooping Crane Run he attended back when.

John Randle was a walk on and just wouldn't not be heard from...we shall see with Lenny Jones, maybe.

Thanks for picking me back up on Green. He's still a Cowboy for a reason, huh?

Most players take two to three off seasons to match physical base levels in the NFL. I'm hoping for big hearts starting now.
I tell people all the time "The conversation" is what this is all about. I wouldn't contribute without it. Just ask other sites I've contributed to before...if it doesn't illicit comments, it's not worth my time and I'd stop contributing here.

That said, thanks for sticking around!

Big hearts! I like that. Because at the end of the day you can have every physical and talent advantage available to humans in the world, but if you don't have heart, you won't be in the NFL long...point blank!

And that is also why the draft is such a crap shoot. You never really can tell where a kids heart is at and rather or not he has enough of it to push through all the distractions that the NFL and subsequent money brings.

Here's hoping the Cowboys have enough collective heart to weather those aforementioned suspensions, because if they do, there is absolutely nothing the NFL can throw at them that will decide where they go this season.
 
I tell people all the time "The conversation" is what this is all about. I wouldn't contribute without it. Just ask other sites I've contributed to before...if it doesn't illicit comments, it's not worth my time and I'd stop contributing here.

That said, thanks for sticking around!

Big hearts! I like that. Because at the end of the day you can have every physical and talent advantage available to humans in the world, but if you don't have heart, you won't be in the NFL long...point blank!

And that is also why the draft is such a crap shoot. You never really can tell where a kids heart is at and rather or not he has enough of it to push through all the distractions that the NFL and subsequent money brings.

Here's hoping the Cowboys have enough collective heart to weather those aforementioned suspensions, because if they do, there is absolutely nothing the NFL can throw at them that will decide where they go this season.

:clap:After weathering the storm, they then will have the rudder in hand. And won't snap the main staff by going across shore break, and flipping over.
 
:clap:After weathering the storm, they then will have the rudder in hand. And won't snap the main staff by going across shore break, and flipping over.

Some people see obstacles as challenges, whereas others see obstacles as opportunity. It is easy to see the obstacle in having to go through the first 2 - 4 games without a full complement of talent; however, the opportunity in that is that those same players missing time should be fresher down the stretch provided they do their part in the weight room and on the practice field while they are out. It also grants players that would not normally see the field the opportunity to prove they belong...which could be bad news for the suspended player, but at the end of the day, they too will be a better player for it because you know they will do their darnedest to never lose their spot again because of off-the-field stupidity.
 
Without fail, every year this happens; it’s cliché. In the weeks leading up to the first sneak-peek at what the Cowboys depth really looks like against NFL-level competition, there is always a practice-warrior or two that emerges. Said player’s attitude and approach towards practice is second to none leading to many analyst and fans alike salivating at their potential. And then once the big lights come on in real game action that same player disappears, all their effort in practice summarily washed away as they sink below the play of their peers. It never fails.

This is how coaches ultimately decide who will be on the 53; the preseason outings, after all, are the final test that really count, not so much the quizzes (training camp/practice) leading up to it. And this year’s collection of Cowboys have 5 test to prove their value…and unlike previous years where teams where forced to cut down to 75 players the week prior to the last game, all 90 players will essentially be afforded the same chance…for the most part. Oddly, the chance you are granted largely depends on what you show in camp/practice, but what you show in camp is an after-thought to what you show come gameday.

Take Dak, for instance. By now this narrative is folk-lore, but it is absolutely applicable to my point. Dak was reportedly not a good practice player in the early going of training camp last year. Now, rather or not that was due to the lack of reps he was getting in the early going and the adjustment from college to playing at a professional level or simply because he is better with the lights on is debatable. What is not up for discussion is very few people had high hopes for Dak prior to his introduction against the Las Angeles Rams. Up to that point, the talk of the town was none other than current Free Safety Jameil Showers. Given his new position, without knowing what actually happened, you can probably already guess what ended up happening.

Dak managed 10 completions against 12 attempts for 139 yards (an average of 11.6 yards per attempt), 2 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 154.4 QBR. Jameil Showers, whom was competing against Dak for the backup spot behind Romo, followed him in that game and against lesser competition, threw 8 completions out of 16 attempts for 99 yards (6.2 per attempt), 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions (to his credit) and a 69.5 QBR. From that moment forward, regardless of what Dak did in practice, he owned the tongues of this town. Dak Prescott became a national story overnight and held that title until shortly after the loss in the Playoffs against the Packers earlier this year.

So here’s my question: Who are those guys this year? Who has stood out and practice? Who could you see snagging the preseason MVP trophy this year? Keep in mind, though, yet another cliché that has a tendency to run its course every year is that the preseason MVP often times disappears once the regular season lights come on, but for this discussion, that is irrelevant. Besides, Dak proved last year that is not a rule written in stone, as you could argue he only got better as the season progressed.

This is purely for the conversation to kill time between now and the opening whistle tonight, so once again:

Who would you say is the practice MVP that will disappear once the lights come on tonight?

&

Who is the guy that very few have high hopes for, but will absolutely make a statement tonight that he has arrived?

Caveat: Keep in mind, very few if any starters will play tonight and by merit of being starters wouldn’t really qualify for the above questions anyway.

Chidobe Awuzie, in my opinion, through very little fault of his own, is absolutely going to struggle tonight. I say “it won’t necessarily be his fault” because he has been asked to learn 4 positions as a rookie (Nickel Corner, Outside Corner, Dime Linebacker, and Safety). During a recent interview he came across as very confident he has a good handle on all of the positions he has been asked to work in, but I suspect against different NFL competition from the offense he has faced for the better part of two weeks, he is going to be spending a lot of time in his head, which will detract from the time he should be running to the ball. That, and without the benefit of oppositional tape to learn the opponent, his position in particular will suffer…and that should absolutely be expected and in no way be used to judge his value overall this early in the game.

The guy who will be the talk of the town (albeit, possibly for the wrong reasons, as well) is Dan Skipper. At 6’10” 311 lbs, he is a giant that has to overcome a slight height disadvantage on every snap. Whereas, most of the time you see guys attempting to overcome a lack of length, Skipper is operating on the opposite side of that God-must-hate-me spectrum, and overcome too much length. But the thing that separates him from most guys is he plays with an attitude…and that is an attitude that defenders absolutely hate.

What I am predicting will happen is that the opportunity to play against someone other than his own team is going to lend focus to his craft. Furthermore, given the nasty demeanor he seems to play with, I suspect he will also draw some Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties from the opposition, which will mean he may be the first offensive lineman in Cowboys history that is good for the occasional first down, despite the lack of an actual football in his hands.

Who you got?

Each time I see this thread title, I think Chafe instead of Chaff. Now I'm thinking of switching to boxers...
 
He did play in the 2 games where they needed him and played well. Most people didn't even notice that Tyron missed 2 games before mid-season.

Chaz Green is a complete and total bust. Told you when he was drafted, told you two years ago, told you last year and you wouldnt listen.

Get over it. You were dead wrong. Be a man and admit it and lets move on.
 
Chaz Green is a complete and total bust. Told you when he was drafted, told you two years ago, told you last year and you wouldnt listen.

Get over it. You were dead wrong. Be a man and admit it and lets move on.

You say that about all draft picks.

Chaz Green played the games they needed him to play.
 
i AM writing this after the game last night...but i am really looking forward to Tapper and Chido and Stephen Piea...i think pie-a will come back to
form when he played for Marinelli at Chicago....i already posted my dislike of Taco pick...lack of get-off speed and strength..i hope i turn out dead wrong
and i get egg on my face
 
You say that about all draft picks.

Chaz Green played the games they needed him to play.

Just admit you were wrong. I say that about busts. Some draft picks are good ones and some arent. Those are the facts.

And Green hasnt done anything. Cant even get on the field. Total and complete 100% bust.
 
Just admit you were wrong. I say that about busts. Some draft picks are good ones and some arent. Those are the facts.

And Green hasnt done anything. Cant even get on the field. Total and complete 100% bust.

green can play well. That has been shown. Sadly if you cannot stay on the field that matters little. Now one thing could be that he becomes the swing tackle; as a back up he has much less chance of getting injured. And since he has shown he can play either tackle postiion well that makes him a good backup.
 
green can play well. That has been shown. Sadly if you cannot stay on the field that matters little. Now one thing could be that he becomes the swing tackle; as a back up he has much less chance of getting injured. And since he has shown he can play either tackle postiion well that makes him a good backup.

Green played in two regular season games and held his own. He has also looked horrid in a few preseason showings. Im not going to sit here and say the kid has no talent. I think if he could stay healthy he could be a decent starter. But it doesn't matter. The kid cant stay healthy. Couldnt do it in college and cant do it in the pros.
 

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