Very interesting comments from Stephen Jones during season-ticket call

erod

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Every year, Stephen Jones and Brad Sham do a one-hour conference call for season-ticket holders. Always interesting, but this year was especially so. Stephen is more forthcoming these days because of his prominence, I believe.

Among the very interesting points he made:

- Jonathan Cooper will start at left guard, and Lael Collins will be the right tackle. He didn't say that flat out, but he definitely implied it. He said they're looking at Collins hard at tackle, and that they had Cooper as a top 10 pick when he came out in the draft, and they think he fits this style.

- They will call Tony Romo if something happens to Dak. He said it frankly. He wasn't sure if Romo would be interested, but he had no qualms about calling McManus at CBS and letting him know of their interest. He thought McManus would eat up that kind of attention, too. I was surprised that Stephen was so open about this.

- Jaylon Smith's nerve is definitely regenerating. He said there is a tremendous buzz around the practice facilities because it looks like he's going to fully heal in time, maybe this season, and shed the brace altogether.

- Lucky Whitehead might as well pack his bags. Stephen said Ryan Switzer gives them a much shiftier returner, a more polished receiver, and a guy that can run the jet sweeps like Whitehead. He added that they want to package Switzer with Beasley in formations, and that Beasley's size has concerned them in terms of injury potential, so another receiver like him was crucial because he's so important to the offense and Dak. He referenced Edelman and Amendola as an example of how to use them both.

- Rico Gathers is improving. I hope I end up being dreadfully wrong about Gathers, and Stephen said he'd be very surprised if he didn't make the 53. He said he's totally committed to football, which is something they haven't always seen from players switching sports like this. He said Eberflus told him that Gathers was uncoverable in the red zone. Byron Jones can't cover his big frame.

- Ivie was entirely Rod Marinelli's pick. Stephen said that pick made Marinelli more giddy than any of the defensive picks because he loves powerful guys like Ivie that never take off a play.

- They chose Charlton over Watt primarily based on scheme, but they also think Charlton will be more impactful sooner than Watt. He said both have high ceilings, so it was a tough choice.

- He said the draft would probably have to be held at the stadium if the crowd was anything like Philly. The Star couldn't hold that many, he said.
 
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Stash

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Every year, Stephen Jones and Brad Sham do a one-hour conference call for season-ticket holders. Always interesting, but this year was especially so. Stephen is more forthcoming these days because of his prominence, I believe.

Among the very interesting points he made:

- Jonathan Cooper will start at left guard, and Lael Collins will be the right tackle. He didn't say that flat out, but he definitely implied it. He said they're looking at Collins hard at tackle, and that they had Cooper as a top 10 pick when he came out in the draft, and they think he fits this style.

- They will call Tony Romo if something happens to Dak. He said it frankly. He wasn't sure if Romo would be interested, but he had no qualms about calling McManus at NBC and letting him know of their interest. He thought McManus would eat up that kind of attention, too. I was surprised that Stephen was so open about this.

- Jaylon Smith's nerve is definitely regenerating. He said there is a tremendous buzz around the practice facilities because it looks like he's going to fully heal in time, maybe this season, and shed the brace altogether.

- Lucky Whitehead might as well pack his bags. Stephen said Ryan Switzer gives them a much shiftier returner, a more polished receiver, and a guy that can run the jet sweeps like Whitehead. He added that they want to package Switzer with Beasley in formations, and that Beasley's size has concerned them in terms of injury potential, so another receiver like him was crucial because he's so important to the offense and Dak. He referenced Edelman and Amendola as an example of how to use them both.

- Rico Gathers is improving. I hope I end up being dreadfully wrong about Gathers, and Stephen said he'd be very surprised if he didn't make the 53. He said he's totally committed to football, which is something they haven't always seen from players switching sports like this. He said Eberflus told him that Gathers was uncoverable in the red zone. Byron Jones can't cover his big frame.

- Ivie was entirely Rod Marinelli's pick. Stephen said that pick made Marinelli more giddy than any of the defensive picks because he loves powerful guys like Ivie that never take off a play.

- They chose Charlton over Watt primarily based on scheme, but they also think Charlton will be more impactful sooner than Watt. He said both have high ceilings, so it was a tough choice.

- He said the draft would probably have to be held at the stadium if the crowd was anything like Philly. The Star couldn't hold that many, he said.

Awesome news across the board, thanks so much for sharing it with the rest of us.

:bow:
 

waldoputty

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Every year, Stephen Jones and Brad Sham do a one-hour conference call for season-ticket holders. Always interesting, but this year was especially so. Stephen is more forthcoming these days because of his prominence, I believe.

Among the very interesting points he made:

- Jonathan Cooper will start at left guard, and Lael Collins will be the right tackle. He didn't say that flat out, but he definitely implied it. He said they're looking at Collins hard at tackle, and that they had Cooper as a top 10 pick when he came out in the draft, and they think he fits this style.

- They will call Tony Romo if something happens to Dak. He said it frankly. He wasn't sure if Romo would be interested, but he had no qualms about calling McManus at NBC and letting him know of their interest. He thought McManus would eat up that kind of attention, too. I was surprised that Stephen was so open about this.

- Jaylon Smith's nerve is definitely regenerating. He said there is a tremendous buzz around the practice facilities because it looks like he's going to fully heal in time, maybe this season, and shed the brace altogether.

- Lucky Whitehead might as well pack his bags. Stephen said Ryan Switzer gives them a much shiftier returner, a more polished receiver, and a guy that can run the jet sweeps like Whitehead. He added that they want to package Switzer with Beasley in formations, and that Beasley's size has concerned them in terms of injury potential, so another receiver like him was crucial because he's so important to the offense and Dak. He referenced Edelman and Amendola as an example of how to use them both.

- Rico Gathers is improving. I hope I end up being dreadfully wrong about Gathers, and Stephen said he'd be very surprised if he didn't make the 53. He said he's totally committed to football, which is something they haven't always seen from players switching sports like this. He said Eberflus told him that Gathers was uncoverable in the red zone. Byron Jones can't cover his big frame.

- Ivie was entirely Rod Marinelli's pick. Stephen said that pick made Marinelli more giddy than any of the defensive picks because he loves powerful guys like Ivie that never take off a play.

- They chose Charlton over Watt primarily based on scheme, but they also think Charlton will be more impactful sooner than Watt. He said both have high ceilings, so it was a tough choice.

- He said the draft would probably have to be held at the stadium if the crowd was anything like Philly. The Star couldn't hold that many, he said.

holy crap - full of things we wanted to hear
cooper starting at guard with collins at rt
romo is the backup
lucky is done
gathers making 53
 

RS12

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- Jonathan Cooper will start at left guard, and Lael Collins will be the right tackle. He didn't say that flat out, but he definitely implied it. He said they're looking at Collins hard at tackle, and that they had Cooper as a top 10 pick when he came out in the draft, and they think he fits this style.
They dont think Chaz can stay healthy and Bell is a JAG.
 

MileyDancer

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Ah, I missed that! I really wanted to at least listen. I guess when you're in the hospital with a broken collarbone and 4 broken ribs (I went full-Romo), you forget about other things. Thanks for posting! Interesting about Collins, and I was kind of hoping they'd try him at tackle.
 

LittleD

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Just confirms that the FO reads this board from time to time. Lots of posters have advocated for the Collins move to tackle for over a year.
Now Jerry, if you're reading this...it's time to retire and move in with GW Bush in Crawford. Fixer Upper can build you a new home and you can become an HGTV star.
 

Derinyar

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Sounds good. Still sorta surprised that Green isn't a more serious thought at RT, guess the injury concern is just too much.

A lot of good news, but it is a sunshine pumping call.
 

perrykemp

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holy crap - full of things we wanted to hear
cooper starting at guard with collins at rt

It would be awesome if it all works out, however, at this point Cooper is a complete unknown.

He is on his 4th team in 4 years, has been injured beyond all get-out, and has lost a fair amount of this athleticism / flexibility that made his a Top 10 pick.

if he can somehow stay healthy, I think he could be a decent phone-booth type of guard IF the Cowboys thought Collins might be better at RT.
 

jterrell

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Sounds good. Still sorta surprised that Green isn't a more serious thought at RT, guess the injury concern is just too much.

A lot of good news, but it is a sunshine pumping call.
Green was a 3rd round pick who has stayed injured. La'el and Cooper were rated top 15 guys coming out.
Hardly shocking this is considered an optimal possibility but of course getting into camps and seeing it matters.
If La'el was gonna remain in Dallas long term it probably had to be at RT.
DAL doesn't have 20+ mil to hand another OG.
 

erod

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They dont think Chaz can stay healthy and Bell is a JAG.

I think it also says it's a lot easier to hide a weakness at guard than at tackle. And if they're going to pay Collins big money one day, it has to be at tackle, so they need to see it. You can't pay all three inside guys like all-pros. I still wish they would have paid Leary. That price was doable.
 

waldoputty

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It would be awesome if it all works out, however, at this point Cooper is a complete unknown.

He is on his 4th team in 4 years, has been injured beyond all get-out, and has lost a fair amount of this athleticism / flexibility that made his a Top 10 pick.

if he can somehow stay healthy, I think he could be a decent phone-booth type of guard IF the Cowboys thought Collins might be better at RT.

we all wanted collins to play RT - but we were kind of told he is much better at G.
it is much easier to get a G than a RT so that would be amazing!
 
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