Why do so many see McQuistan & Austin as chump change?

[carphalen5150]

Why is it a reach?? Both are big, both are fast and both can catch. What does it take to be a very good or great WR? Does one have to come from a big program? That seems to be the general thought in this regard. If a player doesn't play for a big program or isn't drafted High, then their skill level can not be that good or on par with others that did. I think that is crazy. I think they both have the physical tools to be very successful. The question is, how will the use them. Which is basically the same question of everyone that is drafted. It doesn't matter if you take Ginn, Bowe or any other WR this year, the draftee will determine his future and being a high draft pick doesn't guarantee anything other than a roster spot for at least a year or two.

What I saw from both Austin and Hurd is that they are athletes right now. Can they be decent down the road...maybe, but to say that Austin is capable of replacing Glenn is a very optimistic projection.

Why are you sold on Austin in particular...I know, I know, you saw him make a long catch on a fly pattern in the preseason and then a kickoff return in the playoffs, but beyond that why are you sold on him?

I could care less where people are drafted, what I saw from both Austin and Hurd were athletic guys who do not know how to run routes now who are beneficial to us as special teamers.

To say though that Austin is a sure fire replacement though is a huge reach...I mean Randall Williams is laughing at that one.

 

[theogt]

Randall Williams, 6'3", 235 pounds, bullet fast. Undrafted FA out of New Hampshire. Every year in TC he caught everything thrown at him.

In 2 years with the Cowboys he played in 17 games and had 1 catch. His only contribution of note, the onside kickoff return against the Eagles.

In 2 years with the Raiders he has done a little better. 41 receptions. No TDs though.

Size and speed don't matter all that much.

That was the first play at a live game in Texas Stadium that I ever saw. That will forever go down as one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed, and I was a sitting beside a guy wearing a McNabb jersey. Randal Williams is a true American hero. I immediately turned to the guy and did the Jeremy Shockey point and laugh.

 

[Vintage]

That was the first play at a live game in Texas Stadium that I ever saw. That will forever go down as one of the greatest things I've ever witnessed, and I was a sitting beside a guy wearing a McNabb jersey. Randal Williams is a true American hero. I immediately turned to the guy and did the Jeremy Shockey point and laugh.

The Jeremy Shockey thing happened after the Randal Williams return, I thought....

 

[theogt]

The Jeremy Shockey thing happened after the Randal Williams return, I thought....

I don't think he invented the point and laugh. But the two handed point and laugh can be named after him, regardless of whether it happened before he did it.

 

[Vintage]

If McQ is the answer, great.

If not, we better have a viable option in '08.

McQ has yet to prove he is anything more than a backup at this point. Counting on him to replace Flozell in '08 seems a bit foolish to me. Yeah, his brother was a starter...... So what? That doesn't mean he will be just as good. Twins or not.

 

[Hostile]

If McQ is the answer, great.

If not, we better have a viable option in '08.

McQ has yet to prove he is anything more than a backup at this point. Counting on him to replace Flozell in '08 seems a bit foolish to me. Yeah, his brother was a starter...... So what? That doesn't mean he will be just as good. Twins or not.

Not to nit pick, but I think we need a viable option in 2007. Not having one in 2005 was brutal.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

If McQ is the answer, great.

If not, we better have a viable option in '08.

McQ has yet to prove he is anything more than a backup at this point. Counting on him to replace Flozell in '08 seems a bit foolish to me. Yeah, his brother was a starter...... So what? That doesn't mean he will be just as good. Twins or not.

Oh, I fully expect the Cowboys will draft at least one OT to help provide competition... it just won't be happening in round 1.

 

[Angus]

I don't remember anyone classifying them as "chump change." I've heard people say there isn't enough evidence yet. Is it possible you take umbrage with any lack of perceived faith no matter how realistic the logic behind it might be?

Not enough evidence for who, Hostile? You and other fans who have not been seeing him in practice every day? I agree there is not enough evidence available for us to anoint him a starter, but there is no evidence that he is not as talented as any prospect in the draft. Whether there is enough evidence for the coaches to decide (either way) is something else again. His draft status is irrelevant now that he is on the team.

 

[Hostile]

Oh, I fully expect the Cowboys will draft at least one OT to help provide competition... it just won't be happening in round 1.

It might not. I don't expect them to, unless of course the talent sitting there for them is atop their list. Then they could. In other words, if by some miracle Levi Brown fell that far, because I think Staley is more late 1st or early 2nd.

 

[Hostile]

Not enough evidence for who, Hostile? You and other fans who have not been seeing him in practice every day? I agree there is not enough evidence available for us to anoint him a starter, but there is no evidence that he is not as talented as any prospect in the draft. Whether there is enough evidence for the coaches to decide (either way) is something else again. His draft status is irrelevant now that he is on the team.

So, you're saying that those who have no doubts at all have seen him (I thought this was about 2 guys, but I'll play along) in practice every day?

Cool, I did not know that.

What gets me though is how you agree with my point that there is "not enough evidence" and then somehow assign me to having said "no evidence."

I didn't bring up his (their) draft status. The only player whose draft status I brought up is Randall Williams.

back at ya.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I know you're not suggesting that MW, but you aren't exactly looking at the whole picture either with that 23%.

Hos the fact is for a team to be successful it is necessary to have some of the ugly-ducklings on your roster that were second day picks and undrafted free agents become (at least) solid contributors. A team doesn't have the flexibility within the scope of the draft and the salary cap to have ready-made "pure-breds" man every position.

And quite frankly if some of the guys like McQ don't pan out (to at least be acceptable starters) then we probably won't be a championship quality ball-club.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It might not. I don't expect them to, unless of course the talent sitting there for them is atop their list. Then they could. In other words, if by some miracle Levi Brown fell that far, because I think Staley is more late 1st or early 2nd.

Sure if Brown was there I would consider it... but we both know that probably isn't going to happen. I, like you, would like to see Barbre in a Cowboy uniform in '07.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

It might not. I don't expect them to, unless of course the talent sitting there for them is atop their list. Then they could. In other words, if by some miracle Levi Brown fell that far, because I think Staley is more late 1st or early 2nd.

Don't forget the possibility of them trading down to the bottom of the first round.

 

[Hostile]

Sure if Brown was there I would consider it... but we both know that probably isn't going to happen. I, like you, would like to see Barbre in a Cowboy uniform in '07.

I think we need an OT whether McQuistan pans out or not. I think 4 is the minimum you should have and I honestly do not want to move Davis to either OT spot is something happens to either Columbo or Flo. I don't see what is wrong with that, or how wishing for that has me painting McQ as "chump change."

 

[masomenos]

I believe both McQuistan & Austin can really contribute to this team & won't dismiss them as chump change like some on this board have done. Nor when I read a statement in Flozel Adams' replacement posting that McQuistan as a 7th rounder hasn't shown anything. Since others posted that Austin as an undrafted player probably won't be much either so I decided to include him in my disclaimer.

Now I'm not going to bet my mortgage on either but not going to dismiss them either. Parcells has a good eye for talent and many of the players he drafted, undrafted rookies we signed and yes even FAs have made big contributions to this team. Yes some have failed but no team has a 100% successful rate so get a life. Anyway, part of the dismissal of both players seem to follow the line that since Parcells liked them they probably won't do much, etc. So, before we discuss McQuistan & Austin, let's step back and take a look at a few other players he selected when the odds against them.

Now let me see. Are we or aren't we committed to an undrafted QB who Parcells signed in his first season (2003), allowed him to develop & then started him in 06 when Parcells jerked Bledsoe. Romo absolutely amazed everyone in his first 5 games & was the talk of the NFL, etc. Performance certainly dropped off in last 5 games but he still ended up highly rated at around 95% in QB rankings. What were his odds?

We also desperately in need of an OT in 05 and instead Parcells signed an OT late in November who he know couldn't help us that year but hoped this player could rehab enough to help in 06. Instead, Colombo won the starting RT job where he played all 17 games & who most on this board were thrilled to have re-signed. What were those odds?

I could go on but want to discuss McQuistan and Austin.

Did any posters to the Flozel Adams Replacement site listen to Parcells PC last summer when he discussed McQuistan? If not, he was laughing when he said he received calls from other teams asking about their getting McQuistan. Parcells made it clear McQuistan wasn't going anywhere; that's when we knew McQuistan made the team. In another PC Parcells said McQuistan would be the next starting LT for the Cowboys but he 1 year behind his twin brother who drafted in 3rd round & started whole season for the Raiders; remember our McQuistan played 2 less years of football then his twin brother. McQuistan was not activated last year but we do know he has all the intangibles for a LT including fact he a very hard worker with a nasty disposition on the playing field. BTW: Yes, I still want us to draft an OT who can challenge McQuistan but also doing so gives us flexible on whether to re-sign Adams. I'd like Doug Free if we can get him in the 3rd round or Barbre in 3-4.

Now re Austin. Cowboys signed 2+ undrafted free agents in 06 but two of them (Austin/Hurd) realy stood out. We only saw Austin in first preseason game cause it later came out Parcells trying hide him so he could waive him & re-sign to our PS. But that didn't work out cause Cowboys learned thru their contacts that other teams had seen enough of him in just 1 game that he would be grabbed off the waiver wire; same went for Sam Hurd. So Parcells forced keep both Austin & Hurd on the team (along with McQuistan, Hoyte and Elam) knowing all needed development. Austin saw virtually no playing time at WR cause how could Parcells justify sitting either TO or Terry Glenn much. Anyway, while neither Hurd nor Austin had ever played ST before & knowing Parcells demanded his backups play ST, Hurd became one of our better ST & Austin stepped in for Thompson when he went down to become a good PR--frankly better then Thompson cause Austin has good speed and can evade tacklers, etc. BTW: I would still go along with signing a WR like Meacham or Bowe but none of the others. I just don't like Jarrett's lack of speed, etc. If we must draft a WR, I want a player who clearly shows he can become our #1 WR cause Cowboys have already ticketed Austin with his size/speed/hands to replace Terry Glenn.

I'm sure I left out some other points I wanted to make but this is long enough. My only regret is that Austin didn't get more playing time at WR. If Payton had been our OC he would have sure tried get him some opportunities. Frankly I wonder what kind of opportunities any WR we draft this year will get in regular season.

I actually agree with everything you're saying. I also think that McQuistan and Hurd/Austin have potential to contribute to this team. However I'm also willing to say that to expect them to develop into quality starters is kind of going out on a limb. The point I was making with the Flozells Replacement post was that the odds are stacked against McQuistan and that while he did make the team, and show some potential, he wasn't exactly battling out quality players for a roster spot. We needed depth at LT and he fit the bill. See you say that you want us to draft a guy like Barbre still, and that's all I'm saying too. We should draft someone else so that we're not putting all of our hope on long odds, it's just not smart to do. Maybe ultimately McQusitan's role is as a backup, maybe it's more, but we should at least bring in some competition for him.

Really the same goes for Hurd and Austin, bring in competition. What are the odds that two UFAs become quality starters for us? Is anyone really comfortable with a receiving corps of Austin, Hurd, and Crayton after TO/TG are gone? I'm actually going to be making a post regarding WRs later on today, so I'll discuss all of that more, but I can tell you that something like 80% of the top 25 WRs were drafted in Rd 1 or 2. Again, we're just talking about odds of success here. If we draft a WR this year then we will most likely have to cut either Hurd or Austin unless we want to carry 6 WRs (which certianly isn't unheard of). You also say that you're fine with drafting a WR early, and thats good, because that's where you're most liekly to find a difference maker. Yes Austin and Hurd can still contribute to the team, Austin as a return man and Hurd as depth.

 

[burmafrd]

We did not go after ant tackles in FA- so that would indicate the coahes believe that McQ is AT LEAST a good backup. Now if we ignore the Tackles in the draft you have your answer.

 

[sacase]

You know it seems to me that every year posters like to pick out someo UFA or 6th or 7th round picks that they fall in love with and feel they are the answer at whatever position. I just dont' understand the love affair with UFA's. Maybe its cheering for the underdog's.....meh....

 

[Angus]

No one is saying that they are ashamed that the Cowboys free agent QB became a Pro Bowler, so that argument doesn't quite hold water.

IMO, it's a point of pride to be able to get great play from free agents or late round draft picks.

But that does not mean you pass on good players when those guys are still unproven.

You are playing Madden, but the coaches are not. You don't know what reserve players are capable of, but they probably do. Those players are only "unproven" to you, not necessarily to them. Nobody is arguing that better players should not be acquired if they are available, but it is your inability to know whether or not there are better players available that is in question.

You are assuming there are more worthy prospects out there without any evidence and some of us are not making that assumption. Our mutual, if understandable, ignorance of what the reserves offer is not a basis on which to make a judgment, but only to ask for more information.

 

[Angus]

So, you're saying that those who have no doubts at all have seen him (I thought this was about 2 guys, but I'll play along) in practice every day?

Cool, I did not know that.

What gets me though is how you agree with my point that there is "not enough evidence" and then somehow assign me to having said "no evidence."

I didn't bring up his (their) draft status. The only player whose draft status I brought up is Randall Williams.

back at ya.

No. I'm saying people on a message board who have not seen what the coaches have seen are not in a position to make a valid judgment about the worth of a player. We may form prejudices one way or another, but it is usually an uninformed prejudice. It is not faith in the players that is in operation (or not), it is faith in the coaches who are in a position to more validly make a judgment.

 

[tunahelper]

How can anyone in or out of the organization classify these two players as anything?

They still need to show us all their skills in live real action.

So time will give us this answer??????