Peeking Ahead...

I don’t know if that’s going to be the game that leads off NBCâ€â"¢s new Sunday night package or the ESPNâ€â"¢s inaugural Monday night game, I’m just sure that I’ll be sitting somewhere watching the game…

Rafael:
I’m seeing your prospect at C in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl game, Kyle Young of Fresno St., and I can’t see Bledsoe taking snaps from him, being as high as Young is (6-5) he bends his knees to low from the ground, because he has to or he would be an easy target for DLineman’s, Pinegar also has to bend his knees giving some delays to his handoffs.

BTW, Pinegar is really accurate, I hadn’t seen him play.

Chandus,

He squats like he’s laying an egg, no? It’s the wierdest C stance I’ve ever seen. Still, you can coach him to get his butt higher. What you can’t coach is a center who goes 330 and blows up interior lines. I did a little research and found out that when he was a redshirt freshman, Fresno played Oklahoma in Norman. Young was making his first or second college start. He drew Tommie Harris and blanked him. Harris got one assisted tackle for the day.

He looks wierd and he looks like fast guys can get around him, but nobody does. And he absolutely destroyed USC’s interior line this year. Fresno had Logan Mankins drafted in the first round this year, but Pat Hill calls Young the best lineman the school has ever had. If that stance drops him in the draft, I’ll do cartwheels.

Rafael:
Well, I don’t think that he’s going to drop in the draft for his stance, I’m saying that he might be best suited to play G in the NFL, a G that can also play C in a pinch, much like Gurode with much more talent.

I know that you can coach a player to take out what you don’t like of him, I just think that Young as a C doesn’t have an option, because with his height if he stands higher he gives room to the defender in front of him and soon the battle is lost. He would have to see lots of film from Jeremy Newberry of San Francisco to learn how to be effective with that height. Other than him I couldn’t find a really effective 6-5 C.

Chandus,

Then how come nobody in the college game has exploited his height? He’s played some good teams. Fresno is one of those programs that barnstorms playing anybody. When you have a big center who can handle big nose tackles, you don’t move him unless you have to.

Yeah, and you may be right, he could be pretty good Center in the league. I also think that if we draft from spots 18 to 22 and at OLB you can still grab Greenway or Carpenter, Parcell’s going to walk out with one of them. I’m sure that Young won’t be there in picks 50-55.

Chandus and Rafael,

What round do you see him going?

I think the Boys will focus on suring up the defense first. Haloti Ngata , Bobby Carpenter, and Gabe Watson are my early favorites for the first two rounds. It just seems fitting to get a true NT with that type of size and possibly move Glover over to DE a bit more. Carpenter’s size and speed at that specific position, one of need for the Cowboys, just makes a whole lot of sense.

Now I know both of you have kind of disagreed with my Charles Woodson to FS thing, but I can always hope.

… Put Carpenter, Watson, and Woodson out there with what we already have … and I think we are talking a Super Bowl type defense. Its my thinking that once everyone else is accoustomed to the 3-4, it will be much easier to plug in rookies.

Eric R.,

I don’t see Watson or Ngata being selected with pick one. Glover didn’t look good at DE against the run. The only reason to select these guys is if you planned on cutting or trading Glover. I’m sure this will be a big subject of debate as will Ellis’ status, but until they’re moved, I’m assuming they’re staying put.

Dallas is actually in a tweener position, IMO. A little too low to get a guy like Michael Huff, who would made a difference at FS, and a little high to select somebody like Carpenter, who ranks in the 30-40 range, right now, from what little I’ve seen.

Get into the playoffs and win at least a game. That would make the season a success and make the draft picture a little clearer for me.

As for Young, who knows. He’s a junior and hasn’t declared. Arguing over him may be moot, though I imagine he’s a high to mid second rounder if he comes out. That’s where Al Johnson was picked and where good centers usually go, in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

EricR,

One more point. I don’t disagree about Woodson to FS as a concept. I just don’t see the cap figures making sense. He’s lost value, but not so much that he won’t still get paid good money to play on the corner.

I think that Young is going to elect to be drafted this year, his QB comes out this year and there’s uncertainty at the QB position, he’s on the spotlight now he should take advantage of it.

EricR:
In this last 2 years I’ve paid attention to Woodson’s tackling and he looks too soft too repeatedly, how much does that have to do with the franchise tag he’s been given is a good question, before that I hadn’t seen him tackling. I just think salary cap and experience wise you’d do much better with a Will Demps or a Chris Hope, hey, even a Ty Law who certainly recovered from his last season injury and knows how to get to the ball.

Happy New Year all and hope everyone has had safe and enjoyable holidays.

Here’s a new years resolution or two for our Cowboys.

WOW what a year……if we want to keep our Coach we gotta start putting games away earlier and run run run the ball. Resolution 1……find the fix on the O Line…..via Draft……via FA……via a new O Line Coach…..via some health and wealth for FLO and Rivera.

Resolution 2……..Part of resolution one results in Resigning Parcells to a 5 year deal. He and Drew finish out as Cowboys and then as Drew said the stories can be written. I think Bill has 3 more in him. I don’t think he wants to leave just yet……

Resolution 3…….WOW……i predicted 11-5 the eternal homer optimist that I am but if you told me we would lose Flozell Adams, Petitti would start 16 games at Tackle and Nguyen, Al Singleton, Kalen Thornton, Eventually Burnett…….would all go on IR……and the other revolving doors at the linbacking Corp…….I would have doubted 8 win season.

Resolution 3…….Brady James please stand up. What a 3rd Year……this was the year we needed to know and you showed up. Welcome and I for one am banking on building the D around this guy in the middle. Parcells will add two linebackers in the Draft. Thornton gets healthy…..Burnett returns…….and Ware has a whole full offseason of conditioning, film study and the staff decides the hell with him covering TEs……..go get the QB!!! BeWARE next year.

Resolution what is it 4 now. Never will enter into the running back debate……we needed em both and we still need a FB. If Polite can improve fine if not find us one or get us another TE on the roster. Jones, Barber and Thompson will all get carries next year……and you know what we will need all three then too. Give any of em a hole and I think we will be allright.

Resolution 5…….the Free Safety spot I no longer worry. A healthy Anthony Henry, A Glenn, TNEW, Roy and Bierault? Maybe an FS in the draft maybe not…….Reeves is starting to show he can cover…..Roy could be a LB in the nickel or dime……Bierault can give Roy or the FS some breathers…..Davis Pile whoever….it is not as important with the corners we got………I want my money on the linebackers….who if we can find another one like Ware will get sacks before either safety has to defend a pass……give us LBs…..not FSs.

PS…….The San Diego chargers are watching the stock of Phillip Rivers fall faster than Enron under Ken Lay. I think Drew Brees will get a very pricey contract in the offseason indeed.

Terry Glenn arrested for public intoxication on Fri. night. I want to know what he was doing at a Jack in the Box at 1400 N. Hampton?? Not necessarily the high rent district…

Cris Carter’s “Pick 6” Article

Three weeks ago, the Panthers looked like they were in the driver’s seat to win the NFC South, but now they are struggling just to get into the playoffs. Carolina has been hurt by its inability to run the ball, its offensive line and its lack of a second receiving option behind Steve Smith. Those problems have contributed to the Panthers’ inconsistent play, which has also been affected by a very suspect run defense.
Prediction: Atlanta. I expect the Falcons to run the ball a lot against the Carolina defense, which gave up 194 yards to Dallas’ Julius Jones last weekend. Also, Michael Vick has played spectacularly against the Panthers, having beaten them six of seven times. Atlanta is motivated by its chance to finish with its second straight winning record for the first time in franchise history.
Carter also picks Dallas
I hope he is right
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=cc-picksix122805&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Rafael,

I just think that NT spot is a huge position in the 3-4 (no pun intended), and Dallas needs to put a young guy in there behind Ferguson. Watson pre-draft ranks have him going in the 2nd or 3rd rounds, but I think he will be a big time mover on teams’ boards. I think his skills, and the rarity of players his size, makes him very valuable.

Dallas has only a few players that will be unrestricted FAs. So of the current 53 man roster, they will only loose a few spots. I think this translates into flexability during the draft, that if Parcells wants to move up to grab a guy he likes, then he will use later round picks to do so, and/or possibly players on the roster now. .. Glover becomes a possibility there.
 
As for Woodson, he has averaged about $7 million a year for the past three. After a while some guys just want to win, and he seems the type to me. I don’t know what kind of $$ will be available after the draft, but I think he could be on our radar. Its my opinion that as offenses revolutionize, so too do defenses. Woodson is a great candidate for the new type of FS that will be needed to play man to man against freekish TEs like Gates and Shockey, but also have the skills to match up against 3rd WRs and play in zones well as well. Woodson fits that mold, and from everything I ever saw of him he is an exceptional tackler.

WOW Woodson (Darren) is SERIOUS about making a return and Parcells called him yesterday about playing in our 1st playoff game if we make it. Darren said he will wait till Monday to decide and see even if we do make the playoffs

Tough time to be a Raiders fan. Norv Turner should be looking for work real soon. The Raiders just find ways to lose. I was hoping they could beat the Giants, but I guess that’s just asking too much from the most penalized team in the league.

I guess it’s up to Philly and Atlanta now, but even if we don’t get into the playoffs, we still need to beat the Rams, because a 10-6 season is definitely a success, and a great springboard into next season, where we hope to have a better oline!

onepaniolo,

Watching Oakland is like watching a train wreck. How can one team be so undisciplined year after year, regardless of who the coach is? Does Al Davis actively seek out undisciplined players?

Four plays from in close and they couldn’t punch it in. Then they have one chance left — force a safety with the Giants at their own 1-yard line. So, what do they do? Jump offside. Incredible!

On the subject of safeties, I wonder if Jacques Reeves could play safety. He’s a bit undersized at 5-11 and 190, but he tackles well and he can cover.

He might be more valuable as a free safety than as our 4th CB. Size might be the only drawback. Still, it might be something to try in training camp. He can always move back, if needed, or it doesn’t work out.

Mr. Bill,
IMO I believe that Al Davis DOES seek out scumbags to play for him, no matter the awesome talent and skill that so many of his players have possesed and displayed.

Take it from an Oregon boy. Ngata is a junior and must declare early. He is the real deal though. For a an Oregon player to be a Nagurski finalist and win Pac-10 Defensive player of the year says a lot. It also says a lot about the C from Fresno St. When they played the Ducks in Sept., Ngata did not have his best game of the year. I would love to see Ngata in metallic blue, but something tells me that BP has his eye on someone else.