Crack Hits:Freebased Ideas, Episode 3

In this weeks episode of Crack Hits we will dive into the draft, talk about Jason Garrett, and talk about the win over the Eagles. For the record, we can't lay down and lose to the Eagles B team guys. That is not what the star stands for, we do not tolerate laying down. I've seen a bunch of moronic statements lately on this issue, you play to win the game, as Herm Edwards said it ever so subtle. With yesterdays win, we currently stand at 9th overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. In this episode of Crack Hits we will dive into the draft, and take a look at a few of Chia's pet cats. As always lets get it smokin up in here.

Last night I was pleased with the Cowboys ability to win the game. Granted this was a B team of Eagles and we should of won the game, but this is young Stephen McGee's first game starting as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, not a easy task. He got back to his old habits of not seeing the whole field, and frankly I was a little pissed off about that. I saw a quarterback who wasn't afraid to throw the football last week. I think McGee will get better with time, we can't write this guy off yet. The few times I have seen him throw the ball, last week being one and the other against the Dolphins in the preseason, McGee has a nice strong arm. He was not accurate at all yesterday, and I think the nerves of his first start and Philly bringing the house got to him. But what I gotta admire about him is he never folded, and he never made that big mistake. What McGee did do a good job of was using his legs. McGee has some wheels, and a uncanny ability to know where the marker is. McGee has a future in Dallas, but that future might be short if he never unleashes and throws the ball downfield. I think once McGee gets past that he could be a decent and maybe a starting QB in the NFL.

Roy Williams, god where do I start with this guy. As I reported in a fanshot earlier this week, Roy Boy compared himself to Michael Jordan. I don't even want to touch on his comments, where he also took subliminal shots at Jason Garrett. What I will say is be a man, I didn't like TO, but at least he had the balls to say he didn't like Garrett. In this game Roy had the signature moment that defined his career with the Dallas Cowboys. A juggling act of by my count at least 5 attempts to secure a ball, and if he came down with it had a shot for a TD. Roy is a goofy and sloppy WR imo. When Romo was alive and well this season those 2 actually found some chemistry. But since Romo went down, Roy has gotten lazy and sloppy again on his route running and his hands have turned into stones again. I really hope this is the last I see of #11 in Dallas, because for his salary and non beneficial skills to suit us in the slot WR position, we should cut our losses and move on.

I am a big fan of Felix Jones, and he continues to grow and improve. I still am a firm believer in that Felix has the big play ability, but can run the ball in between the tackles. Felix really had some nice games for us this year, alot of the 11 carries 80 yards type games, and with a improved OL and more carries, Felix can continue to grow and improve. Again an area he has vastly worked hard on and improved is catching the ball. I see Felix growing into the Ray Rice type of player I have always wanted in Dallas. Felix has the gamebreaker ability, now just give him the OL he needs to succeed for us please for the love of god. And I hope this is the last game I see of Marion Barber in Dallas, yes I loved what he did for us but over the last 2 years I have grown sick of a RB who has a identity crisis. He doesn't have a clue on what he wants to be, a finese runner? a power runner? He is confused, and lost the hurts that I use to bust a nut about. His legs are becoming old man status, its amazing how fast a great player dissolved into a average player. Clearly he isn't a big fan of Jason Garrett, and Marion I am siding with Garrett for the reason that no player is bigger than the head coach, that whole way of thinking needs to go, and it starts with you. Again thanks for the great moments, because at one point you were one of the best RB'sin the game, but clearly your style of play ran you into the ground.

DeMarcus Ware had a beast of a game, 3 sacks anda recovered fumble for a TD. I love seeing Ware get the opportunity to score a TD. Ware finishes the season with 15.5 sacks, the NFL leader. So much for a down year for Ware, andhe still leads the NFL in sacks. Spencer actually made a few nice plays yesterday finishing with 2 sacks 6 tackles and the strip that led to Ware's TD. Spencer needs to come back andbecome the player we saw in 2009 because he is a big reason for our lack of pass rush this season. With the 9th pick in the 2011 draft, one could argue a guy like Robert Quinn does make a strong argument. I also know we need to get Ratliff some help on the DL. Again he was double teamed yesterday, Ratliff is a beast sired in the pits of hell, but he needs some help because the man can't do everything by himself. I am a big believer in if we fix the pass rush and DL, that it will also help the secondary out. Last year we had the pass rush and disruption along the DL that led to the QB having to get rid of the ball. This year our secondary is getting toasted for alot of reasons, but when the secondary has to hold their coverage longer and longer, it leads to big plays. Stephen Bowen actually had a nice game, and does get pressure on the QB. Bowen is a guy we might need to think about long term. Mike Jenkins leads the NFL in pass interference, and again had a down game. Jenkins has the talent to be a top 10 CB in the NFL, he needs to work his ass off and get the right attitude for next season. Newman is deeply starting to concern me, and you all should be concerned to. Newman is a player know for his speed, and once a aging player know for his speed is getting straight outran, and outran by inferior players, we may have a serious problem on our hands. If you want evidence of this, watch that Hall guy from the Eagles run a double move and straight outrun Newman for a huge play. Now I think Newman is more hurt than we actually know about, and considering injury history in Dallas, I wouldn't be shocked to find out next season that this is the case. But we need Newman to play for us at a high level for one more season. Unless we get a nice CB in the later part of the draft, we could be in big trouble. Alan Ball had a awful game yesterday, Alan Ball doesn't even get face time in Crack Hits, he sucks that bad. Lets move on.

If indeed the rumors are true, then Jason Garrett is the 8th Head Coach in Cowboys history, and I couldn't be happier. Garrett is everything we need in a head coach. He is young, smart, stern, demands greatness, and is full of life. Wade was the exact opposite of Garrett, and Garrett isn't soft like Wade was. I saw a coach come in and take over a lifeless team, and led this team through some adversity. It would of made me sick to my stomach if I saw another assistant leave Dallas to go on and become a good head coach on another team. I see alot of Sean Payton and John Harbaugh in Jason Garrett. Garrett has been a part of greatness, and he wants his team to be great. He learned from Jimmy Johnson and backed up a Hall of Fame QB in Troy Aikman, and being a part of great teams is something players never forget. I think Garrett is the right choice for us and if he is allowed to make some personnel decisions, we could do great things. Garrett had Dom Capers lined up as his DC, if he was accepted for a head coaching job. I have heard rumors that Garrett also had plans to bring in Dom Capers but Brian Stewart threw a hissy fit and Wade stood up for his man. Regardless bringing in a new DC and nice OC would compliment Garrett and give our players a great coaching staff. We need to give our players a strategical edge, and I think Garrett and a new staff will give us that, we our back on the road to greatness.

Alot of personnel decisions need to be made, including cutting some of the fat. We have a bunch of aging and overpaid players that need to be released. Roy Williams, Marion Barber, Leonard Davis, Marc Columbo, Keith Brooking, and Igor Olshansky all need to be released. This season showed us who the weak links were, and who the aging overpaid players were. I say its time to trim the fat, and get younger in the process. I don't even need to go into a long paragraph on these players, everyone on this site has issues with at least one or more of these players, and knows deep down these players do not need to be included in the Jason Garrett era.

With yesterdays win, we now have the 9th pick in the draft. The blue chip prospects may be gone, but we can still get a nice player with this pick. Now whether that player is Marcell Dareus, Robert Quinn, Cameron Jordan, Derrek Sherrod, I dont care, I just want the best player on the board that's not a QB, RB, TE, WR. We really could argue that a pass rusher like Von Miller or Robert Quinn makes alot of sense, and I wouldn't argue that point. Spencer flat out is not getting the job done, and its seriously a problem for a 3-4 defense that relies on the OLB's getting to the passer. Robert Quinn is a outstanding player, Wes Bunting said he was the best pass rusher in college last season, and guys like Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay still have Quinn on their big board, even though Quinn missed the whole season due to a suspension. One area I have major trouble in is the idea of trading out of this pick. I am a firm believer in if you get a top 10 pick, and you hardly ever pick in the top 10, you stay put and draft a good player there. Now we have some needs, and another 2ndor 3rd round pick would do us good, but the last time I saw us pick in the top 10 was a long time ago. People will complain about losing the 6th overall slot, but I cannot lay down and do that, its just not the honorable way of doing things. If we were meant to lose that game, and we had our 3rd string QB, if was meant to be, it was meant to be. I tell you right now, losing to the Eagles B team would of been crushing.

Now I want to touch on player that right now is a borderline 1st round pick, but with a weak safety class, could jump up that board with a strong combine if he indeed does declare, and that's Rahim Moore from UCLA. I got to watch Rahim Moore play a couple of times this year and he indeed is the best FS in college football. For TOO long we have become accustomed to having mediocre play at the FS position. I think good teams have good FS play, and a good FS can be the glue of the secondary. Alan Ball was flat out a piece of garbage in the FS spot this season, besides the play he made on Peyton Manning, I can't remember any other plays where I said "Wow now thats a nice play". It could be a reach to take Moore 9th overall, but the draft boards change drastically from January to April. Come April Moore might be a top 15 pick, who knows, all I know is that we need help in that area. Now I am not saying we should draft Moore, I am simply putting the idea out there. As of right now I am clueless to on who we are taking in the draft, its a long ways out and Crack Hits will have alot of draft coverage, so if you want some draft talk, read the future installments of Crack Hits, draft time is my favorite time of the year, and Dez Bryant made me cream my pants last year, folks we might have another cream in the pants moment again this year.

At this juncture of Crack Hits, I would like to discuss some of my pet cats, a pet cat is a BTB signature by the way. A guy I love for us is Ahmad Black, a FS from Florida. Black was lights out in his bowl game, he was all over the field. What I like about Black is ball skills and ability to make hits in the tackle area, for his size 5'10 190. Some scouts say he will be a good player at the NFL level, some say he is primarily a nickel guy. Black was a 3rd rd pick before his bowl game, and now might be in the discussion for the 2nd rd. I just like Florida players, they can play at the NFL level and I really like Black's game.

Another S I really liked was Quinton Carter of OU. He has good size at 6'1 195, I personally like him at SS for us. Some guys like Wes Bunting don't like Carter all that much, and some love Carter. I personally love Carter for his size and ballhawk ability, and he can cover various players and has some nice speed. For the record I am not a Gerald Sensabaugh fan, he is a JAG, andI would much rather go with a player like Carter. What I think the Cowboys need to start drafting for is, draft players that were captains on their college teams.The Chiefs did this when Scott Piolicame in from the New England school of this idea. I think in areas such as FS and SS, a team captain like Carter could do us alot of good, Carter is heavily involved in making calls and being vocal, something Sensabaugh has voiced he doesn't like to do. Carter could be a nice bargain in the 3rd round.

One more safety I like is Kenny Tate from Maryland. He might scare some of you off because of his size at 6'4, but he is very fluid in the hips and cover area. He actually reminds me alot of Taylor Mays, but I think Tate is a way better player in the fact he can cover and has ball skills. Tate is a freak, andI saw him lined up all over the field in his bowl game. I wouldn't be shocked to see him wow scouts at the combine with his athletic markers, and scare some scouts away because of his size. But I am a big believer in Kenny Tate.

I still see the need of a ILB behind Bradie James. Sean Lee imo is going to be a stud, Iam a big Sean Lee guy. We have nobody for the future to pair him with, and thats deeply concerning. One player I like is Alex Wujciak from Maryland. He is the perfect Jack 3-4 LB imo and could see him being a beast for us paired with Sean Lee. I see him as a nice player in the phone booth that can get off of blocks and make the play on the football. He is a player I think that can be a bargain for us, yet come in and start very soon. Martez Wilson from Illinois is another ILB that I really like, he is just a freak. He has been compared to Karlos Dansby, boy we could need a player like that on defense. Quan Sturdivant from UNC is another ILB that is just a beast, but may be too high of a draft pick for us.

There are a few NT's I also really like. Phil Taylor from Baylor is that big mean fat NT I think we have always lacked. At 340 pounds Taylor is exactly what we need at NT, but again he could be too high of a draft pick, maybe high as the early 2nd rd. Kenrick Ellis also fits the bill at 340 pounds, andmay slip into the 3rd round. Ratliff is a beast, and I like Josh Brent, but we still need to get one of these space eaters at NT.

Ras I Dowling from Virginia is a CB I really liked too. We have had success with Virginia players recently and seem to scout their players. Last year we scouted Chris Cook really hard and really liked Cook. Ras I is a better prospect than Cook, and we could use to grab a corner in this draft if we can in the later rounds. Curtis Brown from Texas and Ryan Jones from Northwest Missouri State could be bargains later in the draft as well. This is a deep corner draft and we could get a nice bargain on a CB.

A few OL that I really like are Orlando Franklin, Marcus Cannon, Stephen Schilling, John Moffitt, Mike Pouncey, Gilbert from Florida, Linkenhol from Oregon State. I am a big believer in that we can get a nice bargain on a OL in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and maybe even a guy like Danny Watkins in the 4th or 5th. It could be a nice year to come out of this draft with 2 OL, that imo could be become instant starters.

Those are a bunch of names I wanted to throw out there, I also say we need to get a fast little slot WR, we have never had one and passed on a bunch of them in the later parts of the drafts for the "development" players that never panned out. If we release Marion Barber, we would be in need of a short yardage back, and there are actually a bunch of short yardage backs available in the later parts of the draft. Some say Lonyae Miller could fill that part, and he was actually a productive runner at Fresno State. This is something we will touch on Crack Hits in the future. Folks feel free to comment below on your pet cats, and any area of discussion that you want to touch on. Once again another great episode of Crack Hits, I look forward to your comments and thank you for taking to the time to read my posts. Until next time, Crack Hits 4 will be cookin' up. Peace.