Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Bill

by Rafael Vela on Apr 20, 2005 12:13 AM CDT

Who will be the new Parcells' "guy" come draft day?

In a draft that is filled with pass rushers of all shapes, sizes and skills, the question of which one(s) Bill Parcells will select is driving Cowboys fans to madness. That's because Parcells, despite his reputation as a hard-nosed coach who like hard-nosed players, does not always select pass rushers who mirror his personality. There is not one Parcells type, but several. And there is not one Parcells draft profile but two. Figuring out which Bill will "pick the groceries" this Saturday is anybody's guess.

Planet Parcells
The brutal Bill Parcells has one mentor and one collaborator. As a young assistant and later as head coach with the New York Giants, Parcells was taught the draft game by George Young, a master evaluator who helped build the Dolphins Super Bowl teams in the early '70s. From Young, Parcells learned what he termed the "planet theory" of selecting linemen; there are only so many large human beings with athletic skills on the planet, and when you get a chance to select one, you don't pass it up.

Young put this theory in practice when he built the defenses that won titles for New York in '86 and '90s. The cornerstones were two king-sized outside linebackers, Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks. Both were 250 lbs., in an era when lineman averaged 270 to 280 lbs. They were big enough to stuff tight ends and take on tackles, and they funneled all action inside, where the Giants had big linemen and inside linebackers ready to scrum. The Giants were a physical team, and on draft day they were always looking for big front seven players who liked to play rough.

The other major influence on Parcells is his close friend Ron Wolf. Like Parcells, Wolf learned the NFL game with an organization that preached size and brute strength. As a young scout with the Raiders in the '60s, Wolf helped build one of the AFL's premier defenses. The Raiders had a fearsome line that featured oversized ends Ben Davidson and Ike Lassiter flanking tackles Tom Keating and Dan Birdwell. Only the Chiefs redwood forest of Aaron Brown, Buck Buchanan, Curley Culp and Jerry Mays could compare with the '60s Raiders in terms of brawn.

Oakland was, in effect, fielding a 4-3 scheme with four tackles. When Wolf became an NFL GM with the Packers, he drafted according this philosophy. When Green Bay won the Super Bowl in '96, it had the NFL's largest line, with 305 lb. DE Reggie White and 285 lb. DE Sean Jones flanking 370 lb. DT Gilbert Brown. The runt was Santana Dotson, a 285 lb. speed tackle in the LaRoi Glover mold. When Jones retired, Wolf drafted Vonnie Holliday, a 295 lb. defensive tackle from North Carolina, and moved him outside.

Wolf's Packers tried to overmatch their opponents physically. With four tackles across the line, few teams could run on Green Bay effectively. The superhuman rushing skills of White helped the Packers muster an effective push with just four men.

Perhaps no football man outside the Cowboys organization is trusted more by Parcells than Wolf. When the Packers were looking for a head coach in the wake of Mike Holmgren's departure for Seattle, there were strong rumors that Wolf would hire his buddy Parcells.When Parcells took over the Cowboys in 2003, he summoned Wolf to attend Dallas' practices and give him an honest assessment of his new team's talent level.

If you go by the planet theory, the Cowboys' pick is simple. There is only one lineman from the crop of defensive ends who fits the draft schema preferred by Young, Wolf and the younger Parcells -- LSU end Marcus Spears. It's no secret that Parcells likes the 6'4", 307 lb. Spears, who played like a "man among boys," according to several draft pundits who watched this year's Senior Bowl practices. He's physical and is a good fit for both the 4-3 and the 3-4. (A player Spears is often compared to is Richard Seymour, the multiple-Pro Bowl 3-4 end for the Patriots.)

Parcells' planet theory should, in theory, make pick eleven easy. Let's put Spears on the roster and move on to pick 20, right? Not so fast. While Parcells has expressed an allegiance to the planet theory in the past, his history as a drafter shows another personality.

Thoroughbred Bill
Parcells is also a horse racing fan and at his New England and New York stops, he has shown a preference for faster, more agile ends. In 1994, Parcells' Patriots picked fourth. The top rated player that year was Ohio State's enormous DT Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson. Another planet-sized option was Texas A&M's DT Sam Adams. Parcells watched as Wilkinson went number one and Adams was picked 8th. He settled on USC DE Willie McGinest, a 255 lb. tweener who has swung between a 3-4 OLB and a 4-3 DE in a distinguished eleven year career.

In '97, Parcells' Jets had the top pick overall. Most pre-draft speculation had New York selecting USC's mammoth DT Darrell Russell. After much deliberation, the Jets passed on Russell and traded down with the Rams, who used the top pick on OT Orlando Pace. Parcells' misgivings about Russell have proven to be well founded; Russell sabotaged a promising career with a litany of off-the- field incidents and is now out of the game.

In 2000, after much wheeling and dealing, the Jets had consecutive picks at twelve and thirteen. Here, Parcells drafted to both tendencies, selecting 295 lb. end Shawn Ellis with his first pick and speedy 255 lb. end John Abraham with the second.

The bottom line is that Parcells has drafted both brawlers and speedsters at his many coaching stops. I am convinced that Spears is a prime target, but with many recent mock drafts suggesting that Spears could be available at pick 20, it would not surprise me at all to see Dallas pick a faster 3-4 OLB type like Demarcus Ware or Shawne Merriman if the Cowboys stay at pick eleven.

Will Parcells go big or go fast? My gut tells me we might see a replay of 2000, where he went with bothoptions. Do not be at all surprised if Dallas leaves round one with two rushers, a masher and a speedster.

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I my self would to see this happen. Maybe pick up a pick up a safty or wr with the 2nd rd and a Ot with the 4th or an fre agency after all the cuts. This would give us a super bowl caliber D. spears glover fergason ellis as our DL. LBs of brady nguyn merriman or ware and henry newman willams and hopefully poole. who are u gonig to pick on . maybe james but singleton has to play some where? I just like bradie jamess upside. I can see parcells doing that. With julius on clock controll .lookout nfc. defence wins championships. We need an OT and a wide to sure up a offense Maybe in the later round I like chris henry of WV but remind me alot of antiono bryant . I truthfully think are bigest need is at saftey. With an above avg free saftey r defense will be better than 03. I also see the redskins w 2 #1s now I hope they choke again. they are just trying to keep up with joness.

by chris on Apr 20, 2005 2:05 AM CDT reply actions

Getting Merriman and Spears would be ideal, but lets not forget they’re 9 teams picking between 11 and 20.. But i would love to get both players given the oppourtnity..

Draft day is going to be very intresting, even more now that the Redskins have also netted a 1st rounder from the Broncos (25th overall), and several news sources say they are high on Jason Campbell… reason why I mention this is because Denver needed a FS, and now with them out of the late 1st round… I would like to think that would bring us 1 step closer to Pool..

I’m gonna make a prediction here, probably a slim chance this is going to happen… but i think its possible… Merriman will be drafted ahead of Johnson by the Lions… leaving us with Johnson at #11… and this is to the tune of Edgerinn James being selected #4 overall (1st back off board) ahead of the Great Ricky Williams in the ’99 Draft.

by moh on Apr 20, 2005 4:29 AM CDT reply actions

Bigger is better
I think spears should be picked at #11, waiting to see if he is still around at #20 seems too risky for me. He is the best and safest pick that fills a major need. #20 is trade bait if we can turn that into another first and a 2nd rick pick would give us alot of options. Depending on how this draft starts out there could be some good offensive players falling. I hope the redskins and green bay are both interested in Jason Campbell oh the trade possibilities. We trade with gb(a 2d and ?)let green bay get the quarterback washington wants (i despise the redskins). with gb’s pick i say we take the best player available offense or defense. clayton, tuck, pollack, roth, barnes or play it safe and take pool i just really hope they take spears at 11 there aren’t too many that come along with his mix a size and athleticism and he would help the young lb’s like james and the others. If any of the trades happen in two rounds we could come out with a de, lb, fs, wr or ol. we should end up with a good amount of quality players. hooray

by LaMonte on Apr 20, 2005 4:38 AM CDT reply actions

I don’t think Merriman is going to make it past the lions either. I like DJ but I like Spears more. He can be used in the 4-3 or 3-4. By what I’ve been reading it looks like Bill wants to give his younger linebackers a try. Based upon the thorougbred scenario you would think DJ but looking at the size of the de’s in the draft and the lack of depth on the team roster I’m thinking Spears at 11 and Tuck at 20 you can then rotate spears and Tuck at the end positions in the 4-3 on passing downs to get more speed off of the edge and use him as a linebacker in the 3-4 and have him spell Ellis occassionally.

by LaMonte on Apr 20, 2005 7:11 AM CDT reply actions

i agree w/ lamonte.

spears at 11. but i also feel a trade down is good too. like a few picks down, then get spears still or the other big guy like spears (?) and then have 20 to get a speedster, the other 2nd to get pool or considine or the best guy available. then our 42 to get an OT. like munoz. then fill in the rest with guys BP feels are the best.

by Ryan on Apr 20, 2005 7:53 AM CDT reply actions

Watch out for SanDeigo taking Spears at #12

by Chadd on Apr 20, 2005 9:35 AM CDT reply actions

You could also use the “Planet Parcells” theory to draft Merriman. He may not be a large human for a DE, but he is certainly a large human for a LB.

by Gene on Apr 20, 2005 10:48 AM CDT reply actions

Beating the same drum here but … its Spears, Pollack, and Johnson, if Spears is there at 11. If not we trade down with either Baltimore or Green Bay … then its Pollack, Davis or Clayton, Tuck, and Johnson.

by Eric on Apr 20, 2005 11:09 AM CDT reply actions

All I keep hearing is Spears, Spears, Spears giving us flexibility to either go 3-4 or 4-3. If we trade down a few slots from 20, we could get a nearly identical player in USC’s Shaun Cody and still obtain another pick. The 20-24 range will be a hot spot now that Washington has moved to 25. Anybody wanting Jason Campbell will have to leap frog the Skins.

by Carl S. on Apr 20, 2005 11:26 AM CDT reply actions

whats left in free agency though really, unless someone lets someone go whivh happens alot after the draft, but not to often. i think unless mike williams is available it should be all defense but we cant let a good safety go, thats key to letting roy play the way he should play…

by mike on Apr 20, 2005 2:47 PM CDT reply actions

I like Merriman or Ware at 11, Clayton at 20, and Justin Tuck at 42. Since Mike Williams will be gone at 11, I think we pick Clayton at 20. If Tuck isnt there at 42, we could take Brodney Poole.

by Lou on Apr 20, 2005 2:54 PM CDT reply actions

Hey got some insight News. I work with D. Johnson’s mon and she said Texasns are trying to trade up to Tennessee to take D.J. Who knows. Does’t make sense to me because they just trade for defense. What about Elton Brown as RT. Could be their in the 3rd round. This Brown is huge and one hell of a run blocker. Or Erasomous James would make sense if we trade down from 11 and pick an extra pick or two.

by John Reed on Apr 20, 2005 4:14 PM CDT reply actions

i really dont think we should take basically 2 de with are first rounders. i would like to get some help in the secondary at safety more then 2 de. even a top tier wr. mark clayton grew up a cowboy fan hes undersized but all he does is make big plays…

by mike on Apr 20, 2005 4:42 PM CDT reply actions

I think Carl makes a good point. What say you, Rafael — is Spears so much better than Shaun Cody? Or for that matter, why so little talk of Dan Cody anymore?

If EJames’ ankle checks with docs, I think the comment about trading down a few from 11 and getting him may work well, too. We are pretty sure there’ll be one of our key rushers, probably James, around 15, but we hang on to our 20th. Either way, if we decide we’re not really interested in a WR like Troy Williamson who might slip to 11, or one of the CB’s, Rolle or Jones, whom I think more and more won’t fall, then it’s just pass rushers, and I’m beginning to think that DeMarcus Ware/Shawn Merriman aren’t so clearly above the other DE’s that you need to stay at 11 if you want a good DE. Sets up to me more and more likely that we trade down if we’re only going for the pass rushers.

by GG on Apr 20, 2005 5:28 PM CDT reply actions

wut does does anyone think of moving rolle to safety

by Matt on Apr 20, 2005 5:31 PM CDT reply actions

Matt, I feel ya on Rolle, I think he could be a Pro Bowl safety, but it’s not a big enough need for us to take him at #11. He’s going to be great though.

by Carl S. on Apr 20, 2005 7:30 PM CDT reply actions

that’s alot of money for a safety. i like rolle but if he’s like the any of the other miami players he’s going to be a headache if he doesn’t play where he wants. hey how about this for late rounders mark bradley and antonio perkins. we get wr/cb and special teams. we could end up with 3 OU players in this draft if we get poole early. someone please fill me in on considine, never seen him play.

by LaMonte on Apr 20, 2005 8:49 PM CDT reply actions

cody does have a motor i forgot he played de/dt. he seems to be a little faster than spears but maybe not quite as athletic.

by LaMonte on Apr 20, 2005 9:22 PM CDT reply actions

sorry about the multiple posting. i’ll be more careful. can anyone give me a list of all of the cowboys picks. i can’t access the team web page.

by LaMonte on Apr 20, 2005 9:25 PM CDT reply actions

LaMonte, Im from Iowa so I’ve pretty much seen Sean Considine’s entire career. What you see is what you get with him, he’s a slightly above average athlete and a pretty intelligent player. He’s not going to turn any games around, but he makes very few mistakes. He’s an adequate tackler too. For lack of a better comparison, he makes me think of Brian Russell. Not as good as Poole, Sensabaugh, or Fuller, but would be a bargain in round 4.

by Carl S. on Apr 20, 2005 9:26 PM CDT reply actions

thanks Carl S. I just looked up his infon at nflfans.com. What can you tell me about Matt Roth i saw him play in the senior bowl but that doesn’t tell me how consistent he is. he did get compliments from some lineman so that’s a positive. can he play up and down. I live in Seattle and get to see uw all the time i wouldn’t be surprised to see the boys looking at khalif barnes if he falls to 42 and we’ve acquired another 2nd or a 3rd. he’s big fast and has a bad attitude on the field.

by LaMonte on Apr 21, 2005 12:04 AM CDT reply actions

Interesting read. Can’t wait to see how the draft turns out.

by osa420 on Apr 21, 2005 2:30 AM CDT reply actions

LaMonte, to answer your question about Roth, his biggest problem is his inconsistency. There are times when he looks great, but I remember a lot of games where you kind of forget he is on the field for 2 or 3 quarters. I mean, his motor is definitely not the problem, he truly does give 110% on every down, but often he is just overmatched. The better OT’s just suffocate him. The only way he could succeed in the NFL would be to play left end on an already stellar unit. NFL left tackles will eat him alive. He and David Pollack are the two guys that would drive me to jump out of a window if Dallas selects them.

by Carl S. on Apr 21, 2005 3:32 AM CDT reply actions

Thanks Carl that’s what i needed to know. Thanks for the Pollack comparison. I’m not too high on him either. These guys are good players but they need the right scheme to excel in. i’m not sure if either of them are fluid enough to cover in space de/olb because of their size. i put this in another posting Carl but what we you think if we traded Pete Hunter to SF for Saleem Rasheed. He fits the bill for the thoroughbred theory and you’re not losing anything for him backup ss/olb/special team/nickel back. I love db’s so i think we look at antonio perkins in the mid rounds his speed and special teams ability would help us we could use him as a returner nickel cb and maybe even fs who knows. On another subject I’m from illinois so enjoy all our players Iowa recruited, I’m jealous.

by LaMonte on Apr 21, 2005 3:45 AM CDT reply actions

Carl S. and LaMonte,

I’ve seen several reports that say both Roth and Pollack might be better suited as ILBs in a 3-4 scheme because big tackles could swallow them up if they stayed outside in the pros. The logical comparisons are between them and Matt Millen, who was a smallish 4-3 DT at Penn St. and Tedy Bruschi, who was a DE at Arizona. Both had great careers moving inside.

That said, ILB is not a high priority position for Dallas. If they get a good OLB/DE or DE type at 11, Pollack would make a lot of sense at 20.

by Rafael Vela on Apr 21, 2005 12:31 PM CDT reply actions

Now, that I agree with, I could see Pollack as that weak inside linebacker spot, but not on the edge. But I guess if you want an inside linebacker, I’d rather wait for a Channing Crowder or Barrett Ruud. Why convert a DE, when you can draft a guy who has played ILB. We could even wait until round 4 and target a guy like Robert McCune.

Maybe you can answer this for me. In all of this talk of LB’s and pass rushers, what’s the word on Kalen Thornton, I thought Parcells was high on him, but I have not heard his name in any of the offseason plans.

by Carl S. on Apr 21, 2005 3:06 PM CDT reply actions