Was drafting Spears a mistake?

[Bone]

If we could have traded up a future #1 and last year's 2nd #1 to move up to get Merriman and Ware. That would have been truly awesome, but other than that I am happy with Spears.

Bone
out.

 

[Stautner]

If we could have traded up a future #1 and last year's 2nd #1 to move up to get Merriman and Ware. That would have been truly awesome, but other than that I am happy with Spears.

Bone
out.

So, you think it would have been a better idea to have 2 pass rushing OLB's and no DE's capable of handling the 3-4 ........?

 

[BigDFan5]

I was upset that we passed up Kyle Orton... Confused on the drafting of another RB in Barber... Wondering why a Safety wasn't drafted in the 2nd round instead we pick up a TE... I thought, and anytime you can get a draft pick from a NFC EAST TEAM it's a good thing... So yes I agreed with Canty and Ratliff... I just wish we could have foreseen Canty and Ratliff and passed on Spears... That's what Free Agency is for, we could have found a DE... Hello John Abraham....

So basically you were against barber, and wanted a high safety Yet barber has been a very good RB that plays an important roll, and we got a FS in the 5th that is starting. So what you are saying is you were all wrong on everything? I agree


BTW Abraham was never a FA and he would be a OLB in our system not a DE. You seem to not understand the difference in the defenses

 

[cowboys41fe]

Who is to say that Canty and Ellis could not have worked...

 

[Bone]

You've got Canty, Hatcher, Ellis played there last year, and Ratliff (that's his true position). Find a back up nose tackle and you're good. Yes, I think that is better. I would trade Spears and Carpenter for Merriman in a second.


Bone
out.

 

[Stautner]

Who is to say that Canty and Ellis could not have worked...

First of all, at the time we drafted Spears we had no way of knowing that Canty would even be avialable later on, and even if we did Canty was coming off major knee surgery and a serious eye injury.

Secondly, Ellis is a 270 pound 4-3 DE. It is commonly accepted that 3-4 DE's need to be much bigger - more like Spears and Canty so they can fully occupy 300+ pound O-lineman and therefore free up the LB's to make plays. Ellis recognmized that he wasn't a fit as a 3-4 DE and expressed his concerns about it, and Parcells made it very clear that was the case as well.

 

[BigDFan5]

I guess if you want to continue having fools gold... HUTCHINSON, Q CARTER, HENSON... ROMO??? We can only HOPE ROMO is the real deal, if not... Again fools gold... Just draft a QB...

you do know there are drafts every year right?

 

[BigDFan5]

Who is to say that Canty and Ellis could not have worked...

There is so much wrong with this it isnt even funny.

First Ellis did not fit at DE in the 34

second Canty was a 4th rde pick we had no idea we would get him while we were on the clock at 20

third even if we had the ability to see the future and know we were getting Canty he had eye problems and wasnt expected to play last year

fourth even if we looked farther into the future and saw we could get Canty and his eye would heal, we STILL would have needed another 34 DE

 

[Rush 2112]

The linebackers didn't help, but the rookie ends were at fault as well.

I think it was Jaws that broke this down sometime last season and very clearly illustrated that they were having issues at times and were being targeted by opposing offenses.

Do you disagree that it is a worthwhile discussion? Could the team have found a player with a greater game day impact and filled the 3-4 DE position through other means? Certainly bears discussing.

Now if Spears had proven himself to be valuable as a pass rushing tackle on nickel downs, I don't think it would be worth discussing at all. So far, he hasn't shown much in that regard.

As far as the DE's go, I would think that the fact that they were rookies and both coming of injuries would contribute to that.

OLB's......two were replaced.....Ellis for Singleton and Singleton for Fujita.

Think it is pretty evident that Fergie was gimpy all year as well.

Shanle was pretty much a disaster vs the run......

List goes on and on.

 

[junk]

As far as the DE's go, I would think that the fact that they were rookies and both coming of injuries would contribute to that.

OLB's......two were replaced.....Ellis for Singleton and Singleton for Fujita.

Think it is pretty evident that Fergie was gimpy all year as well.

Shanle was pretty much a disaster vs the run......

List goes on and on.

You're digressing.

Could the team have found a reasonable player to play 3-4 end and used the draft pick on a higher impact player or a developmental player at a position that is typically harder to fill?

Jury is still out, but I don't think it is an assumption that should be tossed off so easily like it was by many on here.

 

[Stautner]

You're digressing.

Could the team have found a reasonable player to play 3-4 end and used the draft pick on a higher impact player or a developmental player at a position that is typically harder to fill?

Jury is still out, but I don't think it is an assumption that should be tossed off so easily like it was by many on here.

That's the nature of most posters - they refuse to look at gray areas and any side of an issue that may be different than there own.

As for me, I see your point, but i also understand why we drafted Spears and i agree with the choice. I believe that Parcell's felt that just filling the spot with whatever FA we could acquire would prevent the defense from living up to it's potential. I know Spears doesn't seem like a glamor pick - no 3-4 DE really does - but there is much more to DE than sacks and high impact plays.

 

[aikemirv]

If I had a nickle for every one of these " should we have drafted" I would be a rich man!

 

[Rush 2112]

You're digressing.

Could the team have found a reasonable player to play 3-4 end and used the draft pick on a higher impact player or a developmental player at a position that is typically harder to fill?

Jury is still out, but I don't think it is an assumption that should be tossed off so easily like it was by many on here.

IMO no.

Seeing where the offensive lineman went......no thanks. Dave Baas and Chris Spencer can't sniff the field.

WR's - People are giving them away every year and easiest position to fill.

Romo vs Rodgers/Campbell? No thanks.

Only player I was mildly interested was Matt Jones.

That would have been a train wreck with our OL.

Matt Jones last year means no TO this year also IMO.

 

[Stautner]

If I had a nickle for every one of these " should we have drafted" I would be a rich man!

Well, the problem with a lot of people is that even if they realize that drafting isn't an exact science, they still expect it to be that way for the team they root for.

All we can do is rate the overall success of drafts by a particular coach and staff, and so far the Parcells group has seemed to do very well.

 

[Doomsday101]

That's the nature of most posters - they refuse to look at gray areas and any side of an issue that may be different than there own.

As for me, I see your point, but i also understand why we drafted Spears and i agree with the choice. I believe that Parcell's felt that just filling the spot with whatever FA we could acquire would prevent the defense from living up to it's potential. I know Spears doesn't seem like a glamor pick - no 3-4 DE really does - but there is much more to DE than sacks and high impact plays.

Your correct. In a 3-4 the OLB is the pass rusher not the DE they are not going to put up the big sack totals. In a 4-3 the DE is lined up many times on the outside shoulder of the tackle in the 3-4 he is lined up on the inside and his primary job is to occupy the O-Linemen and look for the run after that then he comes on the rush. There is a big differance in the stats for a DE in the 3-4 and those in the 4-3

 

[peplaw06]

Jury is still out, but I don't think it is an assumption that should be tossed off so easily like it was by many on here.

The reason we're tossing it off is because we're tired... We're tired of the endless second guessing in hindsight about who we should or should not have drafted. Go read Cobra's thread if you want to see how tired.

 

[junk]

I know Spears doesn't seem like a glamor pick - no 3-4 DE really does - but there is much more to DE than sacks and high impact plays.

I do agree with this. And I am typically not very interested in the "We should have picked so and so". That is an easy game to play.

However, it is interesting to discuss the "what ifs" in regards to taking the team in another direction.

While Spears is a solid pick, would the team have had better results drafting Matt Jones and using a platoon of Marques Douglas and Kenyon Coleman at DE?

Honestly, I would probably lean towards Spears, but I do enjoy going back and forth on subjects like that. Especially if the other posters bring up valid points that might make me look at something from a angle that is different than what I normally would look at it.

 

[Cochese]

The reason we're tossing it off is because we're tired... We're tired of the endless second guessing in hindsight about who we should or should not have drafted. Go read Cobra's thread if you want to see how tired.

Not only that, I would respect someones opinion more and not brush off the thread if they dont whine about not drafting Kyle Orton somewhere around page 2.

 

[junk]

The reason we're tossing it off is because we're tired... We're tired of the endless second guessing in hindsight about who we should or should not have drafted. Go read Cobra's thread if you want to see how tired.

So, don't read the thread. Don't post in it. Nobody is forcing you to participate.

 

[Stautner]

I do agree with this. And I am typically not very interested in the "We should have picked so and so". That is an easy game to play.

However, it is interesting to discuss the "what ifs" in regards to taking the team in another direction.

While Spears is a solid pick, would the team have had better results drafting Matt Jones and using a platoon of Marques Douglas and Kenyon Coleman at DE?

Honestly, I would probably lean towards Spears, but I do enjoy going back and forth on subjects like that. Especially if the other posters bring up valid points that might make me look at something from a angle that is different than what I normally would look at it.

If we had the choice between, say, Reggie Bush and Mario Williams I would feel the same, but picking later in the round and choosing between the players available at that point is such a crap shoot as to who will be better i just can't see the point.

Matt Jones looks pretty good now, but he was a QB and a white guy trying to play receiver before last year's draft ........he was potential and Spears was more of a certainty ....... he played a position where we were set at the No.1 and 2 spots (although depth and the future were concerns) and Spears spot was an immediate need.