The Lawson hurdles

[theogt]

Ware lined up quite a bit on the left side last year. I have no idea how many times it happened, but I remember it happening more than a handful of times and thats just from casual observation. You swithc your outside LBs to disquise blitzes etc.

 

[theogt]

I'll literally hurt someone if we draft a WR in the first round (none of them are worth a first this year. Period).

I wouldn't say none of them are worth a first pick this year. I would absolutely love to have Chad Jackson. The guy is going to have an excellent NFL career. However, based on OUR needs it wouldn't be worth a first round pick.

 

[Rack]

Ware lined up quite a bit on the left side last year. I have no idea how many times it happened, but I remember it happening more than a handful of times and thats just from casual observation. You swithc your outside LBs to disquise blitzes etc.

No, he didn't. He probably lined up on the left side about 2% of his total snaps. Parcells said himself he didn't want to move him around too much cuz he was already learning a new position as it was. Didn't want to have him do too much.

I would absolutely love to have Chad Jackson.

He smells too much like Alexander Wright to me.

The guy is going to have an excellent NFL career.

That's what they said about Alexander Wright.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Here's the deal for me.

Dallas has three options when it comes to safety.

1. Draft one in the first round at 18. Or move down to acquire an additional pick and draft one later on the first day.

**I don't believe they will draft one at 18. The other is a distinct possibility.**

2. Draft a cornerback at 18 and move Henry to safety.

**This has possibilities. It gives the team a corner and prepares us for life after Henry.

But, you now have most of your defensive dollars tied up in the backfield.**

3. Wait out the draft and make a move on Law.

**This offers the opportunity of number 2 without sinking a long term contract into the backfield. Law played for 3 million last year.

But, his 3 million brought 10 picks. Possible, if Seattle blinks and Dallas feels the exit of Killer Davis is significant.***

The reason I start with safety is simple. It impacts the linebacker position.

Which is more important? An outside linebacker that covers tight ends and still can bring it on rushing the passer?

Or as safety playing center field and preventing the farkin' Commanders from tossing deep and coming back after being owned for 52 minutes?

....

My idea would be to draft Carpenter. The guy plays the position we covet. He has run faster than the 40 time he posted. He is a sideline-to-sideline linebacker that does it all. Some things better than others.

But, we do not convert a guy who hasn't played this position.

We don't rely on a guy who is a tweener.

We aren't pinning our hopes on a guy who is - at this point - been successful simply because of speed - AT ANTHER POSITION.

....

Now consider one point.

In the Denver game, we lost because we couldn't stop them, not because of the pass, but because of the run.

The turning point in that game was a break-away run by Dayne.

With Wimbley, Lawson, and Kiwanuka, you are converting a player away from the position he played in college.

You have three players who are taller and leaner. They can add weight.

But...Are we in the window now, and how long will it stay open?

Can we afford to wait these guys out when we can draft a kid that played the position? Played on one of the best defenses in the Nation. Excelled at his spot. And is at the right size and weight to move into that spot immediately.

Free agency is still alive and well. There are linemen and safeties solutions still on the blocks. And we need some experience there instead of a rookie who will make crucial mistakes if this is truly our year.

I advocate Law, in a Nors-ish way.

One last point. I see people worrying about offense. It is a concern.

Yet, during the first five games, with the offensive line we had last year, Bledsoe was either leading or near the top for quarterback efficiency.

He posted the SECOND best passing season for a Cowboy quarterback...EVER.

Now add a REAL WR threat that can score from anywhere on the field and a healthy Julius Jones.

I believe Carpenter is the answer. Then make a move to acquire a corner via FA or the draft and move Henry.

But I do not like the idea of moving down. If Carpenter is there, take the player who will be a Cowboy for ten years and stop getting cute.

 

[speedkilz88]

Lawson played LB up until his junior year and he dropped into zone coverages even as a DE. Rack you keep saying his coaches don't think he has the instincts to play LB. Many have asked for proof and I haven't seen a response yet. But I would like to add that a 4-3 LBs responsibilities are different than a 3-4 and that even Ware's coaches said that he struggled at LB for them. The scouts know what they are doing and he has been compared to Willie McGinest and Carl Banks. Sounds exactly what we are looking for.

 

[btcutter]

It basically boils down two major needs on offense and two major needs on defense.

Offensive Needs
1. OL - Basically this is less of a need because we addressed it in FA and Flo is coming back. Also, it shouldn't necessarily be addressed at #18 because we can get similar quality players in round 2.

2. Future WR - Of course we do not have immediate needs at the WR position. We do however need to develop some young WRs for the future. The conventional wisdom, though, is that this need isn't sufficient to warrant a first round pick, who would basically be relegated to kick/punt returns his first year.

Defensive Needs

1. OLB - Plain and simple we need an OLB opposite Ware. Singleton and Burnett are major question marks.

2. FS - Major need in most people's opinion but we've got so much money tied up in the secondary that we're not going to use a #1 on FS.

Conclusion - OLB is the biggest need that can be addressed with a first round pick.

I can't agree with you that OLB is our #1 priority. OL to me is much more of an uncertainty then OLB. We can get very good quality OLB with this draft being very deep at that position and Al is returning after all. He's at least adequet. I can't say the same with our OL. Our best player (Flo) is coming back from knee surg and he was already inconsistent prior to his injury. Then after Flo, we got a whole bunch of if's and but's.....Can you really tell me you wouldn't put a better player in LG, C, RG and RT if you have a chance to??? We know Bledsoe is a statue so we better protect him well. Without an adequet OL, we can have two Jerry Rices in his prime and OJ and we still won't make the playoffs.

To me, our OL holds the key to our season and any chance to upgrade it, we should!

 

[bobbie brewskie]

Lawson played LB up until his junior year and he dropped into zone coverages even as a DE. Rack you keep saying his coaches don't think he has the instincts to play LB. Many have asked for proof and I haven't seen a response yet. But I would like to add that a 4-3 LBs responsibilities are different than a 3-4 and that even Ware's coaches said that he struggled at LB for them. The scouts know what they are doing and he has been compared to Willie McGinest and Carl Banks. Sounds exactly what we are looking for.

yea, they also compared ware to LT and JJ to E. Smith. i mean all of these rookies are being compared to some of the best to ever play the game . . . but from what everybody is saying about Lawson i am really convinced that he is our best bet with the #18 pick, carpenter may be more of a run stopper but from what i hear lawson will not only play the SOLB position fairly well but will also make D. Ware better and he disguises our blitz packages a bit more.

 

[Rack]

Lawson played LB up until his junior year and he dropped into zone coverages even as a DE. Rack you keep saying his coaches don't think he has the instincts to play LB. Many have asked for proof and I haven't seen a response yet. But I would like to add that a 4-3 LBs responsibilities are different than a 3-4 and that even Ware's coaches said that he struggled at LB for them. The scouts know what they are doing and he has been compared to Willie McGinest and Carl Banks. Sounds exactly what we are looking for.

I already posted it. It's not my fault you weren't around to see it.

carpenter may be more of a run stopper

Carpenter can ALSO rush the passer. That's the point people keep missing COMPLETELY.

Carpenter is a better run stopper, but can ALSO rush the passer (have to post it twice to try to get it through your heads). He can even play DE on passing downs (he did it at OSU).


With Carpenter you're getting what we need NOW. You aren't converting someone to a new position and hoping he'll learn it at an accelerated rate. You're getting the guy that can already stop the run and can still get to the QB. He can also cover TEs/RBs if need be.

With Lawson you're doing Ware all over again, only this time you're doing it by moving the guy to the SOLB position (harder to go from pass rushing DE in college to SOLB in the NFL then from pass rusher to WOLB) or you're moving Lawson to the weakside and Ware to the strong side in which case you'd have TWO guys learning new positions.


And even without all that (above) who is to say Carpenter won't be a better pro then Lawson anyway? Someone said above that all Carpenter has over greenway is 10 lbs (whatever), well all Lawson has over Carpenter is speed (and Carpenter isn't slow). Lawson isn't a great pass rusher. He's a great SPEED rusher. IMO, the better TECHNICAL pass rusher (between the two) is Carpenter.

1. What do you think translates better to the NFL?

2. Which do you think is easier to neutralize?



Don't get me wrong (I have to keep pointing this out) I like Lawson. But Carpenter is a better FOOTBALL player and has just as much a chance at success in the pros in the LONG RUN as Lawson does. Plus, he's a better fit for what we actually NEED on D.

 

[Clove]

Actually if you think about it, it might be a good idea to draft a Corner Back like Antonio Cromartie or even Jason Allen as a cornerback. Cromartie is big and fast, and before the injury, he was all world.

Jason Allen played cornerback before, and was a stud at corner. My thinking is, Henry Costs a ton of money, but your 18th pick is only going to cost you about 1.2 million. So you're still not breaking the bank IMO, in your secondary.

Here are the players rookie salaries
http://www.footballdynastyleague.com/Salaries.htm

So either way it goes, if you can't get the best (Huff) then why not get the best Corner or second best corner and slide Henry to FS where his speed will not be a factor. Furthermore, we still have Beriault who could possibly be a big step for us. Beriault could come in and play FS when you have a 4 Wide set to cover.

On a 3 wr set, your secondary could look like this.
CB- Newman -CB Glenn -CB Cromartie
FS-Henry SS -Williams

On 4 wr Sets, your secondary could look like this.
CB-Henry CB-Newman CB-Glenn CB Cromartie
FS- Beriault SS-Roy Williams (you can't throw against that)

If we were to match the Keith Davis offer, then at times in the Dime
RW could be our MLB in that package while Beriault and Davis could play
Safety.

 

[Rack]

Actually if you think about it, it might be a good idea to draft a Corner Back like Antonio Cromartie or even Jason Allen as a cornerback. Cromartie is big and fast, and before the injury, he was all world.

Jason Allen played cornerback before, and was a stud at corner. My thinking is, Henry Costs a ton of money, but your 18th pick is only going to cost you about 1.2 million. So you're still not breaking the bank IMO, in your secondary.

Here are the players rookie salaries
http://www.footballdynastyleague.com/Salaries.htm

So either way it goes, if you can't get the best (Huff) then why not get the best Corner or second best corner and slide Henry to FS where his speed will not be a factor. Furthermore, we still have Beriault who could possibly be a big step for us. Beriault could come in and play FS when you have a 4 Wide set to cover.

On a 3 wr set, your secondary could look like this.
CB- Newman -CB Glenn -CB Cromartie
FS-Henry SS -Williams

On 4 wr Sets, your secondary could look like this.
CB-Henry CB-Newman CB-Glenn CB Cromartie
FS- Beriault SS-Roy Williams (you can't throw against that)

If we were to match the Keith Davis offer, then at times in the Dime
RW could be our MLB in that package while Beriault and Davis could play
Safety.

I would LOVE to get Cromartie, but I think cuz he didn't play last year (injured) he'll be available to us in the second.


Carpenter then Cromartie would be nice.

 

[MiStar]

Nice post, Rack.

Ware is not changing positions, the coaches are asking him to bulk up, because he got stymied at the point of attack much too much.
As for the earlier idea of drafting a corner and moving Henry to FS, it seems like a crazy idea to take a very good corner and move him to a position of lesser importance in favor of some unproven commodity? If we draft a guy like Whitner, Huff, or Allen, we could easily play them at FS in running situations and as nickel backs in passing situations, which leaves the door for a move to corner in case of injury or something like that.

Both Henry and Newman are young, and if I had my way, they'd be our starting cornerbacks for at least the next four years, making top-notch corners very low on the want list.

 

[Rack]

Nice post, Rack.

Ware is not changing positions, the coaches are asking him to bulk up, because he got stymied at the point of attack much too much.
As for the earlier idea of drafting a corner and moving Henry to FS, it seems like a crazy idea to take a very good corner and move him to a position of lesser importance in favor of some unproven commodity? If we draft a guy like Whitner, Huff, or Allen, we could easily play them at FS in running situations and as nickel backs in passing situations, which leaves the door for a move to corner in case of injury or something like that.

Both Henry and Newman are young, and if I had my way, they'd be our starting cornerbacks for at least the next four years, making top-notch corners very low on the want list.

Excellent point about Henry.


It wouldn't make sense to move him. I'd love to get Cromartie and move him to safety. But we'd need a vet safety for a year just incase Cromartie doesn't learn the position quickly enough.

 

[Clove]

I would LOVE to get Cromartie, but I think cuz he didn't play last year (injured) he'll be available to us in the second.


Carpenter then Cromartie would be nice.

That my friend, would be a dream come true.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Well, Parcells was talking about Henry moving and playing some safety, if I recall correctly.

I just believe there are answers whicyh would put an experienced player at safety and still bring inn a kid who could startm within the first few games at OLB.

I see no reason to move Ware, or bring in another player like him for a position which is distinctly different.

I think the window is this year.

 

[theogt]

I can't agree with you that OLB is our #1 priority. OL to me is much more of an uncertainty then OLB. We can get very good quality OLB with this draft being very deep at that position and Al is returning after all. He's at least adequet. I can't say the same with our OL. Our best player (Flo) is coming back from knee surg and he was already inconsistent prior to his injury. Then after Flo, we got a whole bunch of if's and but's.....Can you really tell me you wouldn't put a better player in LG, C, RG and RT if you have a chance to??? We know Bledsoe is a statue so we better protect him well. Without an adequet OL, we can have two Jerry Rices in his prime and OJ and we still won't make the playoffs.

To me, our OL holds the key to our season and any chance to upgrade it, we should!

I agree that there are some question marks, but as for clear starters we have one at every position but LG. Flozell, Al, Rivera, and Fabini are all clear starters. If they all stay healthy they'll do just fine. As for LG, it would be a wasted to take a G in round one. You take one in 2nd or third, but remember we have a 3rd in Peterman. BP has spoken highly of Peterman in the past. Hopefully he's ready to step up. Not to mention there was that statistical analysis of Kosier and LA which had Kosier doing better.

 

[theogt]

No, he didn't. He probably lined up on the left side about 2% of his total snaps. Parcells said himself he didn't want to move him around too much cuz he was already learning a new position as it was. Didn't want to have him do too much.

Like I said, I can't prove this, but I know it has to be much larger than 2%. It would be one hell of a coincidence if the plays I remember constituted every single time he played on the left side.

 

[ghst187]

I like Lawson's athleticism, but our defense needs a Carpenter. Carpenter fits us better then any other prospect (OLB) in the draft.

I actually agree, but I still want Lawson. If we get Carpenter instead, i'll still be a happy guy. Probably even Wimbley.

 

[speedkilz88]

I don't see how Carpenter goes in the first when he can't go through all the drills with the leg/ankle? injury he had. Just like Chris Canty fell because of the knee/eye injury Carpenter should fall to at least the second round where pretty much the experts have him going anyways.

 

[neosapien23]

I already posted it. It's not my fault you weren't around to see it.





Carpenter can ALSO rush the passer. That's the point people keep missing COMPLETELY.

Carpenter is a better run stopper, but can ALSO rush the passer (have to post it twice to try to get it through your heads). He can even play DE on passing downs (he did it at OSU).


With Carpenter you're getting what we need NOW. You aren't converting someone to a new position and hoping he'll learn it at an accelerated rate. You're getting the guy that can already stop the run and can still get to the QB. He can also cover TEs/RBs if need be.

With Lawson you're doing Ware all over again, only this time you're doing it by moving the guy to the SOLB position (harder to go from pass rushing DE in college to SOLB in the NFL then from pass rusher to WOLB) or you're moving Lawson to the weakside and Ware to the strong side in which case you'd have TWO guys learning new positions.


And even without all that (above) who is to say Carpenter won't be a better pro then Lawson anyway? Someone said above that all Carpenter has over greenway is 10 lbs (whatever), well all Lawson has over Carpenter is speed (and Carpenter isn't slow). Lawson isn't a great pass rusher. He's a great SPEED rusher. IMO, the better TECHNICAL pass rusher (between the two) is Carpenter.

1. What do you think translates better to the NFL?

2. Which do you think is easier to neutralize?



Don't get me wrong (I have to keep pointing this out) I like Lawson. But Carpenter is a better FOOTBALL player and has just as much a chance at success in the pros in the LONG RUN as Lawson does. Plus, he's a better fit for what we actually NEED on D.

While your are right about Carpenter being a better all around player, I really like Thomas Howard more than Lawson. I actually think Thomas Howard is a better prospect for Dallas. He is much faster and he weighs the same as Lawson despite being 3 inches shorter. If Dallas can trade with Indy and get their first and second round picks, it wouldn't break my heart if they took Howard with the 30th pick because Carpenter and Lawson were both off the board.

 

[Rack]

While your are right about Carpenter being a better all around player, I really like Thomas Howard more than Lawson. I actually think Thomas Howard is a better prospect for Dallas. He is much faster and he weighs the same as Lawson despite being 3 inches shorter. If Dallas can trade with Indy and get their first and second round picks, it wouldn't break my heart if they took Howard with the 30th pick because Carpenter and Lawson were both off the board.

That wouldn't bother me at all either. Although I'm not sure Howard's style of play would fit the 3-4.