The Cowboys' Big Decision

In the draft at Guard I really like Charles Spencer, he shows me some Larry Allen in him, he could be a real steal in the second. As for Tackle Justice is the only guy I would think of drafting on day 1. We have other needs, Tackle can be addressed in Free agency, but to pass on a talent like Justice, even if it ment not having Carpenter, would be stupid.
To me the draft should look like this:
1:Justice/Carpenter
2:Spencer/Fasano
3:Stovall/Nance

Gilles really impresses me as a guard- the closest thing to LA that I have seen. He is really athletic for his size- watched him do the drills today and was astonished by the mobility of a guy weighing 355 lbs. I think he needs to lose about 15. If he did that he could be a dominating guard.

Matt,

Spencer is getting A LOT of attention. I saw the Patriots absolutely love the guy. I don’t know if they would take him in the first round, but if Dallas likes him and he’s around at 49 they should consider him lucky and take him.

On the Scott front, there are also A LOT of teams in the very late 1st and early 2nd that like the guy. He won’t make it past 40 IMHO, cause to may teams between 25 and 40 or so have him on their radar.

lou c,

Nice job.

I think Spencer is the most likely option after we pick up a veteran OT in free agency. He is now being listed as an OT on some draft sites. If he can play T it will surely make his value rise on Parcells’ board. Spencer as you said was a DT in his first 2 years at Pitt. For him to take on a new position and impress scouts as much as he did at the Senior Bowl, tells us a lot about his learning curve. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say he could play 4 positions at the NFL level. When I saw his one on one rush drills against the best college seniors, he impressed me. His footwork was good and created space with his hands. He looked like a OT. If he has good recognition, I believe he can be one of those rare “NFL ready” 2nd rounders. Let’s hope he is there when its our turn.

great write up.
here"s boylharts profile on Spencer,
Strengths
Charles is a big, strong kid that has very good athleticism for his position. He does an excellent job of hand fighting and is good at keeping his balance and not overextending himself when run blocking. Charles improved every time I saw him play and seems to be a very coachable player. He is becoming more consistent as he is challenged and at this stage, does not seem to have reached his athletic peak. Charles has also been able to handle with ease the mental requirements of an O-lineman and shows some future leadership qualities.

 
Needs to Improve
Charles has not gone up against quality players that have pressured him beyond his abilities. To his credit, so far he has handled every challenge put in front of him and his Senior Bowl workouts have been a big help to him.

 
Bottom Line
There is no doubt about this kid’s talent and character, but I just have to ask – who changed this kid over from a DT to the offensive line? Iâ€â"¢m not saying it was a big mistake, but I am saying that if Charles had stayed as a DT and had improved the way that he’s improved as an O-lineman, then he would have been a top ten pick in this draft. So why was he changed over? I watched Charles play in a game in the 2002 season as a DT and he just sent chills up and down my spine. He was dominating and handled his assignment with ease. He was up against Boston College and he kicked those guards around like a woman kicks her drunken husband out of the house and to the curb. I have no clue why anyone would ask this kid to go to the other side of the ball after they had seen that display of dominance. As we get closer to the draft, Charles just might squeeze himself into the first round. For me personally, I would work him out as a DT at the combine to see if he can still be effective. Guards are always all over the place but a DT/NG with the potential that I saw in him are not! If this kid can play like he did in 2002, then someone made a big mistake and cost this kid a lot of money in the bargain. Charles has a future as a left guard and might in the future be able to play LT or RT. However, if he can play DT/NG, he can write his own ticket in the NFL.

 also the sleeper on the O-line this year seems to be Rob Sims from ohio state do you have any combine info on him. He might be the logan mankins this year taken at then end of round 1. I saw a clip of him lifting 225 and he did more than the guys before him but of course the NFL channel broke for another commercial break.

If we can’t get LA to restructure his contract, what is he worth in trade. I mean he is old and expensive, but the guy is a powerhouse, and as of late becoming more of a vocal leader.

Ok guys Im kinda new here so dont kill me for this about how about this for an o-line scenario. First and obviously Flozel comes back and soldifies the left side again. Second get Peterman in there and see if he can play, Im not saying cut LA but redo his contract in a major way and keep him around to share time with Peterman till we find out about this kid. Next I think signing Bently has to be a priority as our centers stunk last year and I see why Tuna made the comment about being held hostage at that position. Next move Gurode over to the right side to replace Rivera and redo his contract to keep him around to split time with Gurode just in case. Lastly I say bring Rodgers back to compete with petiti for the start on the left side and let the better man have it loser is backup. I am very leary about bringing in another 30 plus lineman to an already old group. If this would work and yes I realize that is alot of ifs our first two picks could finish up the d(olb,fs) the rest goes to best available or biggest need. This way the team gets substantially younger and next year we go after our future wide outs, the verdict is either in or out on henson if out we go after our next qb. Just some thoughts and thanks for a great informative site.

sorry meant Rodgers and petiti on right side

If we weren’t going to sign a veteran RT I’m drafting Jonathon Scott at 18. Hes better right now than Rodgers and Petitti and will be better than both in the future. Everyone just assumes that Petiti will develop into a good RT but I’m not sold on him. I dont see him as anything more than a backup.

Dat retired Friay, February 24, 2006.

Willie McGinest of the patriots might be available

Offensive players take longer to mature into quality players. Defensive players are often good right out of the gate. I draft defense and bring in offense thru free agency.
Draft- Bobby Carpenter, Daniel Bullocks
FA-Jason Fabini, Jared Sowell, Ryan Longwell, Eric Moulds
I also love Make Kameaoto as a DT.

Dave:
It’s certainly a possibility that Bill goes with what he has, but… What would happen if Rogers flames out again? Petitti is left alone, again. What if, God forbides, Adams goes down again?

Parcells, his staff and all of us along the way, went through that this past season and there’s no way in which he’s going to be caught with his pants down again.

lou c:
Good writing, I’m also wishing that we do land Spencer, he seems to have all the edge to become quite a dominant specimen inside.

I envision that a veteran will be signed this offseason to play RT and if Rogers, Petitti, Columbo and Tucker don’t show any improvement throughout the season, then look for a Tackle being drafted next year, that crop seems to be quite spectacular (Levi Brown, Doug Free, Joe Thomas, Mike Otto and company).

Dave,

I’m with you on signing Bentely. He makes our line better and younger right away. He plays center, but because he can also play guard, he gives us more depth if we need it. He should be ideal for a QB, like Blesdsoe, who needs to stay in the pocket and take a big step forward.

As for trusting rogers and petiti to fight it out for the RT spot, no way. I like your optimism, but if we learned one thing last season, we learned Petiti is not yet ready for prime time. Moreover, he now has far more experience than rogers, and at this time last year, rogers had only a very slight edge over Petitite. From everything we’ve seen, neither can be trusted to do the job this season.

Give me Fabini and Bentely. We can win with those two.

Could MB3 play FB? He seems like a Richie Anderson type player. Hard nosed, versatile, good blocker. he and JJ on the field at the same time could be a lethal combo.

hes too small…plus…un;ess we want a BIG upgrade…polite is a good fullback..

Iron man:
Polite isn’t a good FB, average to bellow average might be a more accurate description, after seeing film in every game in which he participated and more than once he made a mistake, be it with his hands of stone (missing a catch) or just by getting past the guy he was supposed to block in the first place.

And do I need to mention that he’s a liability carrying the ball?

You know Polite has problems when his biggest strength is purportedly blocking, but yet, when we get on the goal line, we take him out in order to put our DE into the game (marcus spears).

Scout.com is reporting that there has been significant progress in reaching a new CBA. An anonymous NFL insider said that there is a very strong possibility of reaching a new CBA.

The article predicts the cap will be 95M.

It is thought that the Bills will release Troy Vincent who played Safety and had 4 interceptions last year. He is aging but still playing extrenely well at Safety. What do you think? Is he worth having in Silver and Blue?

Do you think ther is any possibility that Parcells could convince Ty Law to play for less and accept the starting Free Safety for Dallas? Troy Vincent and Rod Woodsen made a effective transition. It would give Dallas the best secondary in the NFL and would rival the all-time best.

biotrek,

It would be one of the great selling jobs of all time. Law made $10M last year in New York. He had a monster second half and finished with 10 INTs.

He’s still one of the best CBs in the game and CBs put Ss to shame money wise. Why would he leave millions on the table and switch positions when he didn’t have to?

Rafael-I dont see it happening either, but Law has been forthcoming that he loves Parcells and maybe he’s put the money aside to join Parcells and win a SuperBowl.
I wonder what teams will offer him considering he is getting up there in age? Rafael-What do you thinki of Troy Vincent? I really think we need to go afer Make Kameaoto. I have a feeling that Glover is going elsewhere and Kameaoto will plug the middle and prevent the inside run alowing our LB’s to run the field.

I see the O-Line situation in these terms:

If they sign Fabini or Runyan, it is possible to see a first day OT because of their age, although highly doubtful.

If they sign Ashworth, they aren’t going to draft an OT this year. He’s young enough for them to wait and see what they have in Pettiti/Colombo/Rogers/Tucker.

If they don’t get a OT in FA…they’re drafting one…probably in round one, probably Jon Scott.

At guard, it’s like this:

If they re-sign Gurode, they probably aren’t going to draft OG first day since he and Peterman were both high draft picks as I recall and they have too much invested in LA/Rivera.

If they don’t get Gurode back, they will probably draft an OG in round two. Probably Spencer, but maybe Jean-Gilles. I am still remembering M-J-G pancaking Watson to his ass twice in the Senior Bowl, along with about 3 more DT’s.

Center is IMHO the most important position, and here we are either looking at Bentley or more of the same. I believe wholeheartedly that the Saints are going to pick Mangold with the 2nd pick of the draft to replace Bentley as long as he’s still on the board. Great idea, bring in a QB and Center in the same draft class!! I saw Mangold lift in the weightroom part of the Combine Friday and I was wishing like crazy the Cowboys could get him on the team. He didn’t put up the weight Spencer did, but man he’s got a chip on his shoulder and an ill temperament. Exactly what I like to see in an O-Lineman. The weight lifting coach said “Ok, ok…take a seat there Mr. Buckeye” after Mangold announced his name to scouts and Mangold just scowled at him like he wanted to kill him. It was hilarious. Him and LA next to each other would be hell for defensive lines.

lou c:

Great writing and evaluations!! I am glad to read your research on this. I have always enjoyed your posts.

BTW – I meant to say “Mangold with the 2nd pick of the 2nd round” to the Saints…not the 2nd pick of the draft, obviously. Either way, I’m envious of them in that slim regard.