Cowboys Draft Thoughts

This was definitely one of the more exciting drafts in recent Cowboys history. When you have two 1st round picks that tends to happen. I think its clear the Cowboys weren't using this draft to help solidify their future but to help them win now. Not only did they forgo the cardinal rule of taking the best player available (which is what most teams that have few holes to fill do), but they didn't even take the best player available at their position of need. Instead, they took the player they thought best fit their team and complemented their current players. When pick 22 came up I, and every other Cowboys fan, was thinking holy crap theres a top tier player available at CB and RB. I was rooting heavily for Mendenhall who many had projected as perhaps the best RB in the draft. The selection of Jones was mildly shocking at the time.

Having said all that, I'm pretty happy with the Jones pick and the rest of the draft for that matter. Jones simply adds another facet to our offense. I trust our boy genius of an offensive coordinator to take advantage of Felix the Cats deadly speed and ability in space.

Moving up to take Jenkins was just phenomenal. Judging by San Diego's selection of Antoine Cason two picks later, it seems that Jenkins would not have made it to us had we stayed put. Kudos to Jerry for getting the guy he wanted. I can't wait to see Pacman and Jenkins on the field instead of Jacque Reeves and Nate Jones. A bit of an upgrade I'd say.

There was a lot of clamoring for the Cowboys to take a WR in the draft. However, I think Bennett can provide another weapon in the passing game just like another WR can. He won't be able to stretch the field but splitting him or Witten out wide presents a matchup problem for the opposition. I'm not expecting a whole lot from Bennett this year as his learning curve may be steep and he may not yet be able to block well enough to stay on the field. However, given the choice of Fasano or Bennett give me Martellus any day as Fasano was pretty much a pass catching neanderthal. Thanks Bill. Hope you enjoy your fellow Jersey boy.

As for the rest of the draft, seems like we got excellent value in Tashard Choice and Orlando Scandrick. I'm a huge fan of drafting guys who were productive at major college football programs. Sometimes theres a lot of overthinking that goes into drafting with all the measurables taken into account. Choice can be a contributor as a prototypical running back should he need to spell Barber for whatever reason. It also gives the Cowboys some leverage in contract negotiations with MBIII if Choice shows he can play. Scandrick thought he was going to be taken as high as the 2nd round. The Walden dude... who knows.

Are the Cowboys stockpiling early picks for next year to make a move for a WR? Don't put anything past Jerry. This NFL season will be grand.

Avery Gasping for Air

If it wasn't already clear before, it should be pretty evident now that Avery has completely lost this team. The Mavs players decided to have their own practice even though Avery had already cancelled practice. Judging from Avery's quotes, he doesn't appear to be too happy about it. Being the ego-maniac control freak that he is, I'm not surprised.

"After the conversation, the players decided to have more of a players-only practice, and from what I heard, it went pretty good,"

"Somebody amongst the players decided that they thought they needed some sort of practice."

"We're in a situation where I don't know if we need another drill,"

"We've been having drills and scrimmages since the first day of training camp and if you don't have it by now, I don't know if you're going to have a CliffsNotes session and get it. "

"I was just thinking about keeping the legs fresh and meeting on the plane. But they decided they needed to go down on the court and do something. We'll see what type of carryover it has."

Like a parent telling a kid ok fine its up to you but we'll see whos right. If, and more accurately when, the Mavs lose this series and the rumors of Avery's firing commence, do you think the quotes from the Mavs players will be more along the lines of "We'd love to have Avery back, we would hate to see him go" or "Its not in our hands, its a tough situation"? I'll take the latter. I have little doubt that Avery won't be the coach of the Mavs next year.

Draft talk

I'm pretty pumped for the draft tomorrow. The Cowboys have the potential to add some nice pieces to the team as well as doing a little moving and shaking. Jerry loves to wheel and deal so with 2 1st rounders you kind of expect something to happen. Don't be surprised to see Jerrah deal 22 or more likely no. 28. A few thoughts on what the Cowboys might do and what I'd like to see...

• I'm anti-drafting a 1st round WR. I think this is an overblown position of need for the team not to mention rookie WR's rarely make a big impact. Unless its Limas Sweed at 28, I'll be displeased with drafting any WR in the 1st.
• On the other hand, theres a lot of rumors floating around about trading a 1st round pick for a legit NFL receiver, namely Roy Williams, Anquan Boldin, or Ocho Cinco. I don't really see it happening but I'd be ecstatic if it happened.
• The name being thrown around most at 22 is Felix Jones. Is he a draft steal due to the fact that he had to share time with DMC or is he a bust who we'll find out looked good running against defenses that had been worn down by DMC? Mel Kiper loves him and thinks hes a steal so I'm on board.
• The other possibility at 22 is a corner. Aqib Talib would be a pretty good value pick if hes there. Him and Pacman could light up some fat blunts together as long as they're not doing it in a strip club. Do the Cowboys spring for a corner here or wait till 28 or even later? I think RB is a greater position of need after the acquisition of Pacman but that leads to another point...
• How much do we trust Pacman to stay straight? If you don't trust him at all, then CB is still a high priority. However, if he manages to stay out of trouble then you're basically drafting a 4th string corner behind Newman, Henry, and Pacman. 1st round picks should pretty much be drafted for the intent of starting or at least playing 60% of the snaps on their side of the ball... not to just shore up the dime package.
  
• If the Cowboys do draft a 1st round corner, I'd say Terrence Newman may be looking at his last year as a Cowboy. Hes a free agent after next year and if you've got a cheap young corner, Pacman, and Anthony Henry under contract, can you justify paying him elite money? Keep in mind that he would be 30 and take a look at the outrageous contracts shutdown CBs are getting these days. Again, this is also contingent on how Pacman behaves. Another variable at play here is Roy Williams aka The Fat One. He would be a much more cap friendly cut after this year, or at least so I hear. If hes cut then perhaps Henry would move to safety, in which case maybe you do justify drafting a 1st round CB as well as re-signing T-New. Or... you draft someone to fill Roy's shoes, which leads me to...
• Kenny Phillips. First of all, hes from The U which leads to instant credibility when you're talking about a DB. Allow me to quote this scouting report:

  "Excellent athleticism...Great timed speed with a burst to close...Instincts and awareness are outstanding..Fantastic range...Terrific hands and ball skills....Very physical and aggressive...Solid tackler who will deliver the big hit...Does a very nice job in run support..Good leaping ability...He excels in both man and zone coverage..Team leader...Productive...Great program pedigree"

  Its like the anti-Roy Williams, particularly the parts about instincts, awareness, and ball skills. He could play in the slot for this year and step in as the safety next year. Perhaps a bit high at 22, although not a terrible pick, but an excellent pick at 28.
• Say we don't draft a RB at 22. I will then proceed to root heavily for trading out of 28, getting a high 2nd round pick, and drafting Jamaal Charles. Aqib Talib at 22, then JC in the 2nd round, commence party in the pants.

Super Bowl

Pacman is official. Lets hide the strippers in Dallas for a year, at least until we have one Super Bowl win under our belt. I like it, arrests be damned. Draft thoughts upcoming...

Sinking ships

If the Mavs lose tonight this series is over. Thats all there is to say about that. This group is too mentally fragile (i.e. a bunch of female reproductive organs) to overcome a deficit like that.

I was at Fenway on Sunday so I got to witness the Rangers debacle live and in person. I envy the spirit and passion that Boston has for their baseball team. Its unlike anything I've ever seen. Not even the Cowboys enjoy that level of support in Dallas.

If Ron Washington wants to stick around while this team rebuilds, hes going to have to show that he can produce a team that displays at least a hint of toughness and basic baseball acumen, irrespective of the level of talent. He gets a pass in his first year, but fool me twice then shame on me. This pattern thats developing has really shortened his leash.

Baseball 101

Apparently a runner on 3rd with no outs scores 87% of the time. Terrible situational hitting and completely awful defense has the Rangers wondering why they aren't sitting a couple games above .500 considering how solid the starting pitching has been. We're hitting .184 with RISP. Excuse me while I vomit. This stat should get better, but who knows about the defense. Having a shortstop who routinely ranks among the worst in the league in terms of SS range doesn't really help when you have groundball pitchers on the mound. I guess you have to live with that in MY but I feel like griping.

What a sports night

Rangers DH sweep, Stars up 3-0, Mavs clinch the playoffs.

Mavs, please don't give me false hope. You've already put me through so much suffering.

Random

A random link but I thought this was an amazing interview. While we're witnessing the greatness that is Tiger, its hard for us to truly grasp the utter domination that we're privy to seeing right now. Its also impossible to comprehend the near maniacal single minded focus of uber-successful, transcendent athletes like Tiger and MJ. You get a small glimpse of that in this interview. Its somewhat humorous how awestruck Van Pelt is during the interview but can you really blame him?

You could use some baseball

I like the Rangers commercials this year. That was a very sufficient road trip considering it was against the division's best and facing some of the best from each pitching staff.

Mavs

I can't stand this team. That was pretty typical last night. You can never feel good about any of their games until the end because you know that 10 minute stretch of horrid play or late game meltdown is coming. It was all there last night. Missed FTs, poor composure, terrible offensive playcalling, not hitting shots when it counts, etc.