N. Illinois coach: Free better than Super Bowl starter
Cowboys fourth-round pick Doug Free is often compared to fellow former Northern Illinois tackle Ryan Diem, who starts at RT for the Colts.

Northern Illinois coach Joe Novak says Free has more potential than Diem. An excerpt of Novak's quote from Free's NFL.com scouting report:

"Doug Free's a lot better athlete than Ryan Diem. (Free) can run! You just don't see many offensive linemen that can run at that size like he can. What's impressive is he'll sit back in pass protection and then we'll throw the ball down the field and he'll run down field and block a safety. I mean, get downfield! You just don't see kids who can do that. He's special. Our kids call him 'Doug Freak' because he runs so well."

I'll bow to superior knowledge for now...

I think the Cowboys should use one of their 6th round picks on Crosby, if he is still available.
Most of these low round picks are not going to make the team because of the depth of the cowboys.

Anyone you pick now, has to have tremendous upside.
Otherwise, they are merely camp bodies.

Who is Folk?
I thought Crosby was supposed to be the best kicker in the draft.

apparently he is not very accurate and his leg is not that powerful. Was horrible at the combine. Maybe a product of the Colorado air..

that Jerry and Ireland know what they are doing.  As long as we get Courtney Brown I can live with this draft.  And throw in Ilaoa and I will be very pleased with the draft.

somebody explain this to me; I'll can the "negativity" and the JJ bashing, and just ask:

Why?

I thought Crosby was supposed to be the best kicker; so IF they spend a high 6th on a Kicker, which they supposedly said they'd never do; why Folk instead of Crosby/someone else??

maybe we are thinking of moving him to guard as well.

in the 6th

i hate FBs.

Boooooooooooooo.

Did we ever sign Jeb Huckeba?

From NFL Draft Scout:

In 47 games at Connecticut, Anderson started 23 times. He carried 114 times for 420 yards (3.7 avg) and one touchdown. He had 48 receptions for 394 yards (8.2 avg) and three scores, adding 12 yards on one kickoff return. He also recorded 40 tackles (21 solos).

Positives: Has very good muscle mass throughout his frame. He has a thick chest, broad shoulders, good bubble, thick thighs and calves...Has natural hands to secure the ball outside his frame and good balance as a runner and blocker, keeping his pads low and feet churning to push the pile...Is a quick study with good intelligence and field vision, as he takes plays from the chalkboard to the field with no problem and shows good instincts to pick up the stunts and blitzes...Tough, physical blocker who will not hesitate to sacrifice his body to make a play...Determined special-teams gunner who shows urgency getting down the field to make the tackle...Takes on a different persona when he steps on the field and plays until the whistle...Shows adequate initial quickness out of his stance...Has a quick short-area burst and does a good job keeping his balance while clearing out the rush lane...Hits the hole at a low pad level and with good strength, using his leg drive to break tackles and his strong upper frame to power through trash...Has good vision picking the creases between the tackles, but needs to pick and slide with better urgency...Best served using his power to break tackles rather than attempt to elude...His power is evident in his ability to punish defenders and push the pile...Consistently keeps his feet moving and does a good job of keeping his pad level down...Shows good movement on contact and works hard to finish his runs...Natural hands catcher, but has been limited to screens and dump-offs...Does a good job of adjusting to the ball in flight, but lacks the leaping ability to compete for it at its high point...Punishing drive blocker whose overall strength and hand punch lets him sustain the rush lanes...Excellent wedge-buster who plays with good urgency...Plays on all the coverage and return units and has the wrap-up tackling technique to not only stop the returner, but also the upper-body strength to create turnovers...Times his hits properly and could eventually make a decent linebacker candidate because of his tackling form.

Negatives: Dropped close to 15 pounds of excess weight during the 2006 offseason, but needs to be more conscious of his eating habits, as the additional bulk has caused stamina and speed problems in the past...Has decent straight-line quickness, but appears too stiff in his hips to generate good change-of-direction agility...Tends to lose body control blocking in space though, as he will lunge and dive at defenders rather than take good angles...Has had several off-the-field issues that could have been the result of a medical condition that he was diagnosed as having back in March 2006 and needs to be monitored...Will get too narrow in his stride when blocking in space...Has good short-area speed, but lacks the second gear to clear past the second level...Tends to lose balance when having to run distances and is best served as a lead blocker or short-yardage runner...Has some burst through the holes, but is inconsistent building to top speed and struggles to open his hips in attempts to redirect and bounce outside...Stays low in his pads and has a strong base to sustain the holes, but will lose balance in space, as he gets too narrow in his base and fails to take good angles in pursuit...Is a liability carrying the ball on the perimeter, as he is a one-cut runner with minimal hip shake and tends to get too erect in his stance when having to run long distances...Fluid in his stride, but doesn't do a good job of selling defenders in his route break point...Needs to demonstrate better route concepts and stop rounding his cuts...Doesn't have good balance in his kick-slide and likes to try and chip rather than punish...Keeps his pads low to generate movement through the holes, but needs to be more explosive extending his arms to lock on and sustain in pass protection.

Compares To: JAMEEL COOK, Houston Texans (Illinois)...Anderson is a physical drive blocker, but limited in pass protection and has minimal value as a running back. He is a decent short-area receiver, but his special-teams play is reminiscent to the Saints' Fred McAfee, as he excels flying down field to break up the wedge. He could make a nice living on special teams, but on offense, his contributions will be limited to short-area blocking in the ground game.

is not likely to happen now and I can only assume that Nate Jones, Jacques Reeves and Quincy Butler are better than any on the board today.

1. Key to future is the two draft choices for next year

2. Last year for Flozell

3. JJ must have a lot of confidence in backup WR's as they did not address this here. Also have one of next years first round picks to address this.

4. They are locked in on paying Newman next year market value or will use one of their next years draft picks next year.

5. I think they are counting on either Hamlin to pan out or Watkins to come on as they did not address FS

6. They could still use one of their draft choices of next year to potentially address RB (ie Michael Turner). With that said, if they have improved the OL enough, holes should be opening and they may not need to address it.

7. With this type of draft, drafting for the most part on value and not need. JJ must think they are very close talent wise to get to the SB.

Could this be a Brandon Siler (ILB) moment?

...this could be the most successful draft in ten year in terms of players with longevity.

courtney brown

but they did not seem to reach this year and overall had a solid draft that with some projects developing might truly be good.

By my very rough estimate right now SilverBlue and me are tied with a grand total of two.  (next time I should double the amount one may pick)

And Terry was the only person who actually considered us picking Free.  Props to Terry.

We'll see if this last pick will be the tie breaker between me and SilverBlue

Siler looks like a player.

Can I still root for him?  I am really conflicted.

weighs more than him.

Biography:
Four-year starter who posted career totals of 62/1/11 last season after 55/1/5 as a junior.

Pos:

Tall, thin cover corner who plays heads-up football. Effective facing the action, works well with safeties and quickly breaks on the ball. Reads the action, displays a good degree of suddenness to his game and fast up the field defending the run. Gives effort in all aspects of the game.

Neg:

Not strong at the point, has tackles broken and loses out in battles. Struggles staying with receivers out from their breaks.

tie.

SilverBlue and me picked the same two players Anthony Spencer and Courtney Brown.

(I would still double check your lists to make sure I didn't make a mistake.)

Matt Mosley's blog has some good Cowboys draft snippets.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft0...

Hit FIND and type in COWBOYS to cut to the chase.

our scouts ran him in WR drills and he must have done well.  I think he could be an antwan randall el type only better considering his size.

Give me Paul Soliai instead of Isaiah Stanback, and I would be tempted to give Jerry an "A" for his efforts!