igtmfo
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- The "real" draft board is tiny. Though there are maybe 100-120 guys on our draft board every year, there are really only 20-30 guys pinpointed. Jimmy Johnson advocated focusing on twenty to thirty prospects, and then using strategies to get as many of them at the right value/round as possible (in fact he taught this to Belichick, who lately only had 25 guys on his entire draft board one year). I believe we continue this strategy. Last year, Mike Hamlin, Buehler and McGee were three of those guys we focused on and got. More on Mike Hamlin below.
- Trades involving vets, ever? Nice to think we can pawn off a vet for a draft pick (or the opposite), but can anyone remember the last time we did it during the draft itself? Before the draft for sure. But during? Maybe you guys can remember. It looks like something Jerry doesn't like to do.
- We will try hard to recoup our missing fifth pick. Hey, last year Baltimore moved up three spots in the first round and all it cost them was a fifth rounder. We always try to fill in missing low-round picks by trading down a little in early rounds. If you don't have that chip each round, your trading-up ability suffers. Like right now, we would have to use a fourth-round pick to trade up in some round because you don't have a fifth (likewise a sixth would be too little to get the deal done).
- We don't scout small schools much at all anymore. Ciskowski said this was our new policy over a year ago. Then we go and pick Jason Williams, so go figure.
- We take calls, not make calls in the War Room. Jerry once spoke of this like it was an axiom for him. I'm sure we make some, but often when we move up to get a desired player, it's because a team called him first with a trade-down deal. Jerry got rich buying old oil wells from distressed sellers.
- QB won't be an afterthought. Besides OL, DB, ILB and maybe a kick returner (which we tried for last year, but couldn't pull off), QB may get a late "need" look. Tim MacMahon/ESPN interviewed Jerry at the combine and wrote "Jerry admitted the Cowboys haven't seen much from McGee." (I think that means they're disappointed.) ... At least a priority UDFA to compete with McGee, but it won't be just a camp body this year. Maybe even a street FA vet QB to push McGee and Kitna a little.
- The strange case of Mike Hamlin. Late on the first day of the draft last year, around the time we were scheduled to make our first pick (second round), a Cowboys front office guy told 105.3 (anonymously) that the Cowboys weren't going to take a safety with the pick (one of our needs), but liked Mike Hamlin the next day. But we waited until our second fifth-round pick to finally take Hamlin. My question: if he was so coveted and safety was a need, why did we wait until nearly the end of the draft to take him. How did we know he would still be there? ... Answer: extraordinary spy stuff is going on with the player (and maybe his agent?) to know just who else is interested in him and how much interest, and it is the same way with the rest of the two dozen guys that we really covet. Either that, or the draft is rigged. The same thing happened the year before with T. Choice: The War Room scene was videotaped and shown on "The Blitz" later that night. The debate was whether we should trade our 111 pick for Cleveland's third round pick the next year. Jerry went to the magnetic draft board and said to the room: We can either have the running back and this guy (nametag in his hand - we also had a second fourth-round pick, 11 picks later), OR get the running back and have a three-pick next season. So we sent the 111 pick to Cleveland, taking T. Choice with the 122 pick. But how did Jerry speak with total confidence that Choice would be there 11 picks later?? ... If they weren't so confident, Jerry would have taken Choice with the 111 pick. It's very mystical.
- Trades involving vets, ever? Nice to think we can pawn off a vet for a draft pick (or the opposite), but can anyone remember the last time we did it during the draft itself? Before the draft for sure. But during? Maybe you guys can remember. It looks like something Jerry doesn't like to do.
- We will try hard to recoup our missing fifth pick. Hey, last year Baltimore moved up three spots in the first round and all it cost them was a fifth rounder. We always try to fill in missing low-round picks by trading down a little in early rounds. If you don't have that chip each round, your trading-up ability suffers. Like right now, we would have to use a fourth-round pick to trade up in some round because you don't have a fifth (likewise a sixth would be too little to get the deal done).
- We don't scout small schools much at all anymore. Ciskowski said this was our new policy over a year ago. Then we go and pick Jason Williams, so go figure.
- We take calls, not make calls in the War Room. Jerry once spoke of this like it was an axiom for him. I'm sure we make some, but often when we move up to get a desired player, it's because a team called him first with a trade-down deal. Jerry got rich buying old oil wells from distressed sellers.
- QB won't be an afterthought. Besides OL, DB, ILB and maybe a kick returner (which we tried for last year, but couldn't pull off), QB may get a late "need" look. Tim MacMahon/ESPN interviewed Jerry at the combine and wrote "Jerry admitted the Cowboys haven't seen much from McGee." (I think that means they're disappointed.) ... At least a priority UDFA to compete with McGee, but it won't be just a camp body this year. Maybe even a street FA vet QB to push McGee and Kitna a little.
- The strange case of Mike Hamlin. Late on the first day of the draft last year, around the time we were scheduled to make our first pick (second round), a Cowboys front office guy told 105.3 (anonymously) that the Cowboys weren't going to take a safety with the pick (one of our needs), but liked Mike Hamlin the next day. But we waited until our second fifth-round pick to finally take Hamlin. My question: if he was so coveted and safety was a need, why did we wait until nearly the end of the draft to take him. How did we know he would still be there? ... Answer: extraordinary spy stuff is going on with the player (and maybe his agent?) to know just who else is interested in him and how much interest, and it is the same way with the rest of the two dozen guys that we really covet. Either that, or the draft is rigged. The same thing happened the year before with T. Choice: The War Room scene was videotaped and shown on "The Blitz" later that night. The debate was whether we should trade our 111 pick for Cleveland's third round pick the next year. Jerry went to the magnetic draft board and said to the room: We can either have the running back and this guy (nametag in his hand - we also had a second fourth-round pick, 11 picks later), OR get the running back and have a three-pick next season. So we sent the 111 pick to Cleveland, taking T. Choice with the 122 pick. But how did Jerry speak with total confidence that Choice would be there 11 picks later?? ... If they weren't so confident, Jerry would have taken Choice with the 111 pick. It's very mystical.
