would February Draft be better for the cowboys?

[cowboyjoe]

February Draft??...Currently the NFL owners are meeting and one of the reported items up for discussion is the NFL Draft and a possible move from April to February. This would certainly put NFL talent evaluators in a time crunch. After all, the NFL Combine currently takes place in February and the loss of two months would really be tough on NFL coaches. Scouts have all year to evaluate a prospect. Coaches only have a few months to do so after the season ends.

got a question, would having the nfl draft in february be better for the cowboys? Some NLF teams dont do a good job scouting etc, and by the time nfl draft combine is underway, those other teams catch up.

so what do some of you think, would this help the cowboys with having a better draft in february, and are you for the draft in february or are you against it in february.

I am going on record, im for draft in february.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I am against it because it would truly make the long off season exactly that - a long off season.

Is it a benefit to the Cowboys? Anyones guess.

 

[cowboyjoe]

i think it would benefit the cowboys because of the cowboys scouting department is supposedly said that their scouting team is way ahead of other teams in scouting.

while other teams can catch up by all of the nfl draft coverage that starts in march from nfl. This would mean that you basically have to scout players during their coverage at their bowl games and their college games.

way back before the college draft got alot of attention the big name teams hit on gems in lower rounds because other teams didnt spend alot on their scouting department

 

[cowboyjoe]

kinda like when the cowboys fond cliff harris, drew pearson, tony romo, bill bates, leon lett, herbert scott, (larry allen in 2nd round) as undrafted free agents and low round picks. If you have a real good scouting department, then you can get a jump on other teams with your drafting, etc.

 

[jterrell]

I'd say split the difference, and draft in March.

About 4 weeks after the combine. Give guys a shorter period to get pro days in but draft early enough so the rookies have ample time to get to the team's complex and learn the systems.

I have to disagree with whomever above suggested moving the draft up lengthens the off-season. I'd say it is just the opposite.

Move up the rookie camps of course and get these guys on their teams weight and conditioning programs.

 

[cowboyjoe]

Pro Football Weekly: Owners might consider moving N.F.L. draft to late February.

DD.comment: One thing about moving the draft up two months. Check NFL.com or ESPN's N.F.L. section, they remain very vibrant and relevant in March, April and early May, mostly due to the tremendous amount of fan interest in the N.F.L. draft. If the N.F.L. wraps the draft up by early March, they'll have 4 or 5 months (instead of 2 or 3) when the league gets very little media coverage and fans will just ignore the product in large numbers. We see this first hand, as our own traffic takes a huge nose-dive in mid May. Sure there is free agency, but most of the top free agents that fans care about are signed in the first 7 to 9 days of the process.

Also, we agree that all the Pro Day's can be taxing for scouts, having to go from one school to another. And, with the running backs and cornerbacks (as a group) running so poorly at the last Combine, we can foresee a scenario where fewer skill position players even bother to run at the Combine (meaning the N.F.L. wastes money bringing them in). They might just claim they "tweaked their hamstring" and wait for Pro Day, so they can be hand-timed on a blazing fast track at, or near, their own college. What we think could be a viable option to replace all these Pro Days, is a group (7 to 10) of quick "Regional Combines" held for all the prospects that didn't get invited to Indianapolis. So, for example, instead of N.F.L. scouts trekking from one Northeastern school to another in March, all the prospects from schools like Syracuse, Pitt, Connecticut, Hofstra, Delaware, Penn State, Boston College, ect. can workout in one place and be electronically timed. These Regional Combine's could be held at a college (i.e. Syracuse's Carrier Dome) or they can be held at the indoor practice facility/bubble owned by the New York Giants or the Philadelphia Eagles. Same thing could be repeated in all parts of the U.S., with Southern and Western teams being able to host these regional Combine's outside. Also, since these Combines would be wrapped up in one day, all it would cost is the price of a train ticket, which could be covered by agents or the league. We know we have some daily readers from NFL.com, hopefully they can bring up this Regional Combine idea to commissioner Roger Goodell, assuming he hasn't considered it already?

***

 

[Doomsday101]

February Draft??...Currently the NFL owners are meeting and one of the reported items up for discussion is the NFL Draft and a possible move from April to February. This would certainly put NFL talent evaluators in a time crunch. After all, the NFL Combine currently takes place in February and the loss of two months would really be tough on NFL coaches. Scouts have all year to evaluate a prospect. Coaches only have a few months to do so after the season ends.

got a question, would having the nfl draft in february be better for the cowboys? Some NLF teams dont do a good job scouting etc, and by the time nfl draft combine is underway, those other teams catch up.

so what do some of you think, would this help the cowboys with having a better draft in february, and are you for the draft in february or are you against it in february.

I am going on record, im for draft in february.

I don't think it would be good for any of the teams or players getting ready for the draft. I could see moving up to late March as opposed to mid April

 

[EPL0c0]

I am against it because it would truly make the long off season exactly that - a long off season.

Is it a benefit to the Cowboys? Anyones guess.

I agree...it's already a longtime between Super Bowl and Draft then Camp.

The one benefit would be more time to work on getting players signed and into the facilities to begin training and conditioning.

 

[cowboyjoe]

here is some more info on draft in february, reasons why and why not;
Why the NFL will keep the draft in April
by Tom Kowalski | Opinion
Sunday March 22, 2009, 5:18 PM
DANA POINT, Calif. -- There's been a lot of buzz recently about the NFL moving its draft up a month or two and there are some legitimate reasons why it makes sense. However, there are two bigger reasons why the NFL won't really consider it. Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee, put the rumors to rest, but he didn't go into the real strategy behind the league keeping the draft right where it is.

The NFL holds its draft in late April because it fills a sports vacuum. The college basketball tournament is over and the buzz from baseball's Opening Day has subsided while the NBA and NHL playoffs have yet to heat up. The NFL draft, for that 10-day period dominates the headlines across the country.

Also, moving up the draft would rob the league of several weeks of free publicity as the media and fans relish in the debate about mock drafts, trade scenarios and which players are seeing their stock rise or fall. If the draft was moved up, those individual pro workout days would be eliminated. Look at the incredible amount of hoopla, especially in Detroit, that was generated by Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford's workout. And you'll see a lot of media attention paid to the workout of USC quarterback Mark Sanchez later this month.

The NFL is the most popular sport in the country and they've become masters at keeping their brand in the public eye nearly year-round. When it comes the draft schedule, they won't mess with success.


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COMMENTS (6)Post a comment
Posted by lionized37 on 03/23/09 at 12:38PM
Even if I was first, I wouldn't say it.

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a commentPosted by Rottman on 03/23/09 at 12:43PM
The draft and Thanksgiving day game-it's our superbowl!! About all we have to look forward too as Lion fans-says alot doesn't it?

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a commentPosted by gwisman on 03/23/09 at 12:45PM
Wow...the league won't move the draft. Thanks Killer!

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a commentPosted by gblionsfan on 03/23/09 at 12:57PM
I love the build up for the draft, the stories, and everything that works up to the big day. It makes the draft feel like that much more of a holiday.

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a commentPosted by FLLion71 on 03/23/09 at 1:00PM

They should move the draft around to different NFL ciies, so all of us could attend at some time or another. It's complete BS that it's in NY every year, just because the League's offices are there.

I HATE seeing Jets fans boo their 1st round pick year in and year out.

Inappropriate? Alert us. Post a commentPosted by bigdsports on 03/23/09 at 1:01PM
The NFL draft could go head to head against any other sport no matter what and would still pull great ratings. The NFL is just that great.

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[cowboyjoe]

here is what McKay said;
College Football Talk Live Blogs Fantasy Mill

MCKAY ON POSSIBLE MOVE OF DRAFT: “WE’VE NEVER DISCUSSED IT”
Posted by Mike Florio on March 22, 2009, 9:46 p.m. EDT
In response to a Pro Football Weekly report that the NFL is contemplating a move of the draft from late April to late February, multiple league insiders tell Howard Balzer of the Sports Xchange that no such move is being contemplated.

Said Falcons president Rich McKay, co-chair of the Competition Committee: “We’ve never discussed it. We’ve discussed the offseason calendar a lot, but there has been no discussion of moving the draft up.

“We had that discussion eight years ago, but I don’t think we’ve had it since then. We’ve discussed the calendar, but that wasn’t any of the things we discussed.”

Added Rams G.M. Billy Devaney, who previously worked under McKay in Atlanta: “This is the first I’ve heard of anything like that.”

It doesn’t mean that there aren’t people in the league who’d like to move the draft. But if the co-chair of the Competition Committee hasn’t even heard about the possible move, it’s highly unlikely that such a radical change would be adopted in the near future.

And if the overriding goal in moving the draft is to cut costs due to the bad economy, chances are that the economy will recover before the league lines up sufficient support for such a dramatic change to the offseason calendar.

 

[cowboyjoe]

you have to keep in mind too, sometimes general managers like McKay says one thing, while not trying to give things away; here is what one person said on what McKay said;

John Cittebart says:

March 23rd, 2009 at 7:49 am
Moving the draft to February would have a huge impact on free agency and player salaries.

Teams dip in to free agency ahead of the draft because of the uncertainty of the draft results. If the draft comes first, then there’d be less holes to fill via free agency.

Given this, I can’t see McKay telling the truth on this issue.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I'd say split the difference, and draft in March.

I could see moving up to late March as opposed to mid April

Put in the middle of March Madness? Never happen.

 

[Doomsday101]

Put in the middle of March Madness? Never happen.

Good point, Then leave it as is. I think it is more important for teams to have ample time to make evaluations of players and college players getting prepared for the NFL. I also think college players need the time to get their house in order with agents they plan on hiring as well as recovering from the season they just finished

 

[Future]

I honestly don't think any team would get an advantage or anybody. Scouting departments would simply start scouting earlier. I don't think there would be any difference at all. Leave it as is.

 

[BigBoy63]

A benfit of this would be more time for players to get adjusted to teams etc... But i still would rather have it in April.

 

[Randy White]

tend to agree because going in February would mean relying almost exclusively on scouts since coaches or even GMs would have almost no time to make their own evaluations.

When the Cowboys' scouting department is calling the shots, the Cowboys do very well in the draft.

:starspin

 

[Chief]

Put in the middle of March Madness? Never happen.

That was my thought.

No way the NFL will touch March. The draft has become a media event and they want their weekend all to themselves.