So what did you all think of Sam Hurd's performance?

[CowboysFaninHouston]

The only thing I would say about this is that we got rid of capable backup TE who we drafted only a year earlier (Fasano) in order to draft Bennett, and the reason was to have another receiving weapon. If we aren't ableto use him, or can't use him, as a receiveing threat, then it was a stupid move. We could have used the draft pick for a position we could upgrade.

we didn't get rid of fasano for the reason you mentioned. we got rid of him because he wasn't very good blocker and we expect our TEs to also be a little bit of an H-Back. Phillips was good in that role last year. he also showed he can catch a little. Bennett is far superior to Fasano in blocking and he is a much more talented reciever...the one difference is what's inside their head.... bennett should be more mature.....

 

[Stautner]

Once again, who's passes are you ready to cut down on in order to get Bennett more involved ?

And the bold part, that couldn't be anymore accurate. And you know what ? it cost a TD yesterday. The pass thrown to Austin in the corner of the endzone was a horrible decision by Kitna. He made up his mind he was going to throw that pass from the second he got the ball instead of reading the defense, which left Marty B completely open 5 yards away from the endzone and nobody within 15 yards of him. Kitna himself apologized to Bennett on the sidelines afterwards.

It dopesn't matter whose pass gets cut out. Take 5% away from 3-4 guys and add that to what chances he already gets and suddenly he is a weapon. Well, assuming he makes plays with those chances.

 

[Randy White]

so, you are telling me the Cowboys used a 2nd round pick to draft depth at a position that would be covered for the next 5+ years while ignoring positions where upgrades to the starters might be needed?

First of all, the primary position needs AT THE TIME were already filled. The Cowboys spent a #1 pick on a RB, Felix Jones, and a #1 pick on a CB, Mike Jenkins.

Second: Bennette was NOT the main target in the 2nd round. I don't know how many times that sentence must be posted in order for people to understand it. The Cowboys were expecting to draft a wide receiver with that pick, but when all the receivers they were interested in were taken, they went to their back up plan, which was drafting a TE. That Martellus Bennett was still there, was icing on the cake, in their point of view, because he was a player they targeted, but not necessarily at that pick. In other words: THEY WENT WITH THEIR DRAFT BOARD.

Third: The Cowboys, at the time of the draft, had only two tight ends on the roster, Jason Witten and Tony Curtis, and went into the draft with a fully understanding that they were going to draft a TE, but they just didn't expect it to be that early.

The fact is they brought in Bennett to be another weapon in the offense, not to just make sure we had a decent backup TE.

And he's been a weapon on the offense, but just because YOU think that " weapon " means catching passes doesn't make it so. Without looking it up, I'm willing to say that Bennett has started at least 65% of the offensive snaps since he was drafted ( not counting the games he missed with an injury ), and I'm probably being conservative with that figure. He's been a solid contributor in the blocking department and, at times, catching the ball.

For whatever reasons, people thought that when the Cowboys were going to go with a 2 TE offense that it meant that the 2 TEs were going to be catching 70 passes each for 800 yards and 8 TDs, or something to that effect. That's NEVER happened in the history of the game and never will, unless the NFL eliminates the WR position.

 

[Randy White]

It dopesn't matter whose pass gets cut out. Take 5% away from 3-4 guys and add that to what chances he already gets and suddenly he is a weapon. Well, assuming he makes plays with those chances.

No particular order:

2010:

Jason Witten
Roy Williams
Miles Austin
Dez Bryant

Who's 5% are you going to take from out of this group ?

2009:

Miles Austin
Jason Witten
Roy Williams
Patrick Crayton

how about this one ?

2008:

Terrell Owens
Roy Williams
Jason Witten
Patrick Crayton

and this one ?

And that's just the receiving core. In 2008, Marion Barber had 52 catches for 417 yards. In 2009, that figure was split between Barber ( 26 ) and Felix ( 19 ). In 2010, that figure has been completely turned over to Felix Jones ( 46 catches ) so far.

So, I'll ask once again, where are you going to get the passes from ? You want the Cowboys to become a run-n-shoot offense that includes two TEs ?

 

[Doomsay]

2 passes in the endzone ? How can anybody come to that conclusion ?

Both of those passes where bad throws by Kitna. Neither one gave him a real opportunity to make a play with the closest one being a highlight real catch if he was able to hang on to the ball when he hit the ground after diving for it.

Kitna puts just a little bit of touch on either one or both and those are touchdown catches.

I only saw one of them - where he came from left to right in the endzone - that looked pretty tough for anybody to make.

 

[realtick]

Every team needs a 4th or 5th receiver like Sam Hurd. That being said, the longer you play a guy like Hurd in a prominent role the more warts will show.

Remember last season's game against the Broncos? I think they went to Hurd times in the endzone and he dropped two of them.

 

[Stautner]

First of all, the primary position needs AT THE TIME were already filled. The Cowboys spent a #1 pick on a RB, Felix Jones, and a #1 pick on a CB, Mike Jenkins.

Second: Bennette was NOT the main target in the 2nd round. I don't know how many times that sentence must be posted in order for people to understand it. The Cowboys were expecting to draft a wide receiver with that pick, but when all the receivers they were interested in were taken, they went to their back up plan, which was drafting a TE. That Martellus Bennett was still there, was icing on the cake, in their point of view, because he was a player they targeted, but not necessarily at that pick. In other words: THEY WENT WITH THEIR DRAFT BOARD.

Third: The Cowboys, at the time of the draft, had only two tight ends on the roster, Jason Witten and Tony Curtis, and went into the draft with a fully understanding that they were going to draft a TE, but they just didn't expect it to be that early.



And he's been a weapon on the offense, but just because YOU think that " weapon " means catching passes doesn't make it so. Without looking it up, I'm willing to say that Bennett has started at least 65% of the offensive snaps since he was drafted ( not counting the games he missed with an injury ), and I'm probably being conservative with that figure. He's been a solid contributor in the blocking department and, at times, catching the ball.

For whatever reasons, people thought that when the Cowboys were going to go with a 2 TE offense that it meant that the 2 TEs were going to be catching 70 passes each for 800 yards and 8 TDs, or something to that effect. That's NEVER happened in the history of the game and never will, unless the NFL eliminates the WR position.

Cowboys Finish With Six Picks In 2008 NFL Draft
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
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IRVING, Texas - When the day began, the Cowboys had two basic needs - not exactly starters, but two positions that could use some serious depth.


But the Cowboys were probably doing some cheering of their own when they were able to land Bennett.

In fact, Jerry Jones said he was trying to trade higher into the second round, with the possibility of taking a receiver, or even Bennett.

Bennett, a former basketball player at Texas A&M who is arguably the best overall athlete among the tight ends in the draft, could add another dimension to the offense, especially down the field.

"We didn't draft Bennett to be a backup tight end," Jones said. "We wanted to add a dimension to the offense."

 

[1fisher]

Is this the play that Lee suffered the concussion? He got rocked pretty good by two skins players!

 

[lockster]

This year seemed like quite the improvement. No more dropping passes, running wrong routes, and running his mouth. What more could you ask?

 

[The Quest for Six]

I was quite disappointed - and surprised - that Sam Hurd did not play in an expanded WR role as well as he has played WR when coming in for spot-duty. He's been around this team, in this offensive system, far too long to qualify for the "need a game or two to shake off the rust" excuse. If he plays this next game Christmas night, he absolutely must have a strong showing at WR, or his future on this team may be in question, IMHO.

Your thougts?

Hurd is nothing more than a special teams player, and an over paid one at that...time for him to go

 

[TellerMorrow34]

ANd that's one of the biggest myths that most fans swallow without questioning it, but it's a myth nevertheless. It's not if the ball hits your hands, it's if the ball is placed where you can make a play on it and, once again, the closest one of either throws would have been a spectacular catch..

People need to stop looking at great catches as something that's a given.

LOL. Ok. Just fans huh?

I guess every football coach who ever told their players that, on every level of playing, were also stupid for telling them that.

It's not a myth. If you get your hands on the ball you can catch it. It doesn't mean you will but you can, and if you're being paid to do it for a living then more often then not you should.

They were tough catches, and no one is disputing that, but they're tough catches that a lot of receivers make quite a few times a year. They don't always make them, every receiver drops passes or misses a ball, but none the less they're made and that's what you expect your NFL receiver to do.

I don't think it means he sucks, by any means, I just think it's a small reason that shows why he is usually no more than a 4th WR.

I guess since the hit your hands you can catch it is a myth then we should give Miles Austin a pass on every single one of his drops this year. Sure they were easier catches, and they did hit him in the hands, but I guess the rotation of the ball wasn't good enough, or the pass was too soft or too hard.

In short, by that line of thinking, I guess it's hardly ever a receivers fault when they don't catch the ball.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Hurd is nothing more than a special teams player, and an over paid one at that...time for him to go

I disagree. He's paid just fine for the darn find special teams player that he is.

 

[TheCoolFan]

He's gotta make those TD grabs in the endzone...just like that game-tying TD he couldn't get in the Broncos game last year

 

[NeonDeion21]

I really don't understand the hate on Sam Hurd. He plays hard, is a demon on ST, and knows all the positions at WR. The play he made on third down after catching the ball 4-5 yards short of the first down was impressive. I think I just forgot we are supposed to have All-Stars at every spot on the team.

For me, there will always be a spot on this team for Hurd.

 

[jobberone]

I agree with the OP. Hurd needs to show up Christmas night. He didn't impress anyone yesterday.

 

[TD-33]

Every team needs a 4th or 5th receiver like Sam Hurd. That being said, the longer you play a guy like Hurd in a prominent role the more warts will show.

Remember last season's game against the Broncos? I think they went to Hurd times in the endzone and he dropped two of them.

Romo went to Hurd, but Champ balled out of control and knocked them away. :cry:

 

[TD-33]

I disagree. He's paid just fine for the darn find special teams player that he is.

I really don't understand the hate on Sam Hurd. He plays hard, is a demon on ST, and knows all the positions at WR. The play he made on third down after catching the ball 4-5 yards short of the first down was impressive. I think I just forgot we are supposed to have All-Stars at every spot on the team.

For me, there will always be a spot on this team for Hurd.

+1
Think Hurd had a bad game, because the guy is mostly pretty clutch.


Mostly

 

[realtick]

Romo went to Hurd, but Champ balled out of control and knocked them away. :cry:

Bailey got a hand on the last pass attempt, but Hurd had the ball clang off his hands on the play prior.

 

[TD-33]

Bailey got a hand on the last pass attempt, but Hurd had the ball clang off his hands on the play prior.

Sorry, the tears clouded my vision.
That game was brutal.

 

[BubbleScreen]

Hurd was disappointing as a WR. I'm looking for 5 catches for 60 yards out of him, and it just didn't happen Sunday. He did end up with 4 catches, 1 for a first down if I recall. Two drops in the end zone, one of which (fade) was excusable. You have to make that second catch if you want to be clutch.

Hurd is not showing that he's the equal of Roy Williams or Patrick Crayton. If he can be at least Crayton-esque, I'm fine with keeping him as a highly paid ST that can give you 20-40 catches when needed. But based on the Skins game, he's overpaid.