Draft/ Free Agency: A Shot At Redemption

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 10, 2012 8:59 PM CST

Good Evening BTB Community, I have once again found myself with ideas to bounce off of you guys. I want to say a big thanks to all of you for your feedback on my Mockery post. I also want to extend some gratitude for getting a consideration for Fan Post Of The Week for my lament for a "Dog" post. Although if someone can help me out I didn't quite understand what "Handle of The Year" Candidate meant?

Anyway, after my earlier Mockery post I have taken into consideration all of your feedback and I agree whole heartily that maybe it was a little too good to be true. I couldn't just sit back and not re-think my process. Therefore Today's Post is centered around the same topic and in the end I will post my 1st Look at what I believe the 2012 Dallas Cowboys Roster will have in store.

More Free Agency and Draft Topics after the jump.

After the last post and a good nights rest I got to thinking about my choices and I realized that I needed to tweak the list because after studying and researching a lot more there is no way Janoris Jenkins falls to the 2nd unless some major wheeling a dealing takes place (ask Ric Flair). Therefore I even started to change my Draft and Free Agency completely, and it may be similar in some places but drastically different in others.

Once again, note that I believe the Cap Space will provide our Dallas Cowboys with options, but also allow them to be somewhat aggressive during the process. I also thinks it's important to know that I do believe in Jason Garrett's ability to evaluate talent. The same can be said for Rob Ryan, because simply put his whole "scheme" evolves around what talent he has. He did the best he could with the lack of "play makers" he was given. That being said I trust that they can get a few real players into Valley Ranch and set themselves up for a future run.

Before I unveil my new Mockery, it must be said that recently I was watching HBO's Hard Knocks with The Dallas Cowboys (both seasons), and after seeing some of the same mistakes with certain players I want reveal my what-to-do-with-who list.

Name	Position	Final Decision
Alan Ball	Cornerback	I'll pack his bags, no problem.
Martellus Bennett	Tight End	Great Blocker, lazy receiver and a distraction, replace him with John Phillips, and add a TE in the late rounds, or FA.
Keith Brooking	Inside Linebacker	Liability in coverage, interesting if he would take the minimum and use him to teach Lee/Carter/Lemon, but realistically, Thank you and goodbye.
Derrick Dockery	Offensive Guard	Useful in rotation purposes, but Holland would be my choice if you were keeping one.
Abram Elam	Safety	Safety pool isn't looking so good, keep him if he's reasonable, which he will be.
Montrae Holland	Offensive Guard	See Dockery, however the more I think about it, I see one of our younger guys stepping up. See him compete in Camp.
Bradie James	Inside Linebacker	See Brooking, he won't accept minimum, and already believes his days in Dallas are over. We wish you well in future endeavors
Jon Kitna	Quarterback	Retired.
Matt McBriar	Punter	I believe he will make a full recovery from his injury and will be good for us again. Sign him.
Sammy Morris	Running Back	Murray, Jones, Tanner; Thanks for the help but your services are no longer needed.
Laurent Robinson	Wide Receiver	I don't see why everyone is down to lose the most productive receiver we had all year, the guy has chemistry with Romo. Sign him.
Anthony Spencer	Outside Linebacker	More I think about the less I want him, upgrade in FA, but most likely Draft.
Frank Walker	Cornerback	Walk on out of here.
Tony Fiammetta	Fullback	Finally have a True Fullback, sign him.
Chris Griesen	Quarterback	Not the answer for 2nd String, nor 3rd String. Cut City.
Terence Newman	Cornerback	If I'm packing Alan Ball's Bags, I'll make sure to stuff him in one.
Kevin Ogletree	Wide Receiver	Good Young WR Depth. Cut this fool.

Now that we have that out of the way, I can now put together a list of Free Agent acquisitions. I know the above list may seem harsh to some, but so is life and we have to get the RKGs' of the world in here if we are going to make a Championship Caliber Team. The only negative part to this is that leaves some holes that must be addressed. After deliberating and trying to become a bit more realistic, I was able to tweak out a new and hopefully improved list.

Name	Age	Former Team	Needs Addressed
Carl Nicks- OG	26	New Orleans Saints	Interior Offensive Line
Mike Adams - S	30	Cleveland Browns	Secondary
Laurent Robinson - WR	26	Dallas Cowboys	WR Depth
Tony Fiammetta - FB	25	Dallas Cowboys	Run Blocking
Red Bryant	27	Seattle Seahawks	Pass Rush NT

Now before I get chastised, let me give you some explanations. The only big splash here would be the Carl Nicks signing, everything else is not going to break the bank. Mike Adams is going to be a Rob Ryan guy that would probably do better than Elam. Tennessee is not valuing Jason Jones enough in my opinion, they moved him out to Defensive End after a successful year at the Nose Tackle position. Then I can see us trying Ratliff out at Defensive End and adding another year to his career. Now on to my new Draft Selections for our 2012 Dallas Cowboys:

Round	Name	Need Addressed
1	Janoris Jenkins CB-N. Alabama	Secondary
2	Vontaze Burfict- OLB -Arizona St.	Pass Rush
3	Tank Carder ILB- TCU	Inside Linebacker Depth
4	Josh Norman CB- Coastal Carolina	Secondary Depth
(4)	Brandon Lindsey DE -Pitt	DL Depth Rotation
5	Kellen Moore QB- Boise St.	QB
6	Matt Daniels SS- Duke	Secondary Depth
7	Emil Igwenagu- TE Umass	TE Depth

Now after deliberating the Quarterback pick in Kellen Moore, I believe he could go in the 5th, I just don't see many people being interested in him because of his lack of size, but we can take a chance on him and see if we can develop him into a strong future Quarterback. If it doesn't pan out then I don't believe it's terrible to have him as a back up while we find an eventual replacement for Tony Romo.

So without further ado here is my 1st Full Look at what the 2012 Cowboy's Team will look like:

Position	1st String	2nd String	3rd String	Depth
Quarterback	Tony Romo*	Kellen Moore	Stephen McGee	N/A
Half-Back	DeMarco Murray*	Felix Jones	Philip Tanner	Chauncey Washington
Full-Back	Tony Fiammetta*	Shaun Chapas	N/A	N/A
Wide Receiver	Miles Austin*	Dez Bryant*	Laurent Robinson*	Radway, Holley, Holmes
Tight End	Jason Witten*	John Phillips	Emil Igwenagu	N/A
Center	Phil Costa	Kevin Kowalski	Bill Nagy	N/A
Guard	Carl Nicks*	David Arkin*	Kyle Kosier	Montrae Holland (if not cut)
Tackle	Tyron Smith*	Doug Free*	Jeremy Parnell	N/A
Nose Tackle	*Red Bryant (DE)**	Sean Lissemore	Josh Price-Brent	N/A
Defensive End	Jay Ratliff*	Marcus Spears	Jason Hatcher	Clifton Geathers, Kenyon Coleman, Brandon Lindsey
Outside Linebackers	DeMarcus Ware*	Vontaze Burfict*	Victor Butler	Baraka Atkins, Alex Albright
Inside Linebackers	Sean Lee*	Bruce Carter*	Tank Carder	Brashton Satele
Cornerbacks	Mike Jenkins*	Janoris Jenkins*	Orlando Scandrick	Josh Norman
Safeties	Gerald Sensabaugh*	Mike Adams*	Barry Church, Danny McCray	Matt Daniels, Justin Taplin-Ross
Kicker/ Punter	Dan Bailey*	Matt McBriar-P *
LS	J.P. LaDouceur*

*Starter

No Star = Position Battle

Well there you have, my 2nd Chance at redemption. I believe this to be a better but also more realistic shot at our Roster. However my friends here will always let me know if I'm wrong. Then I'll just be back with another installment until I can get it right. Go ahead friends, roast away!

Another user-created commentary provided by a BTB reader.

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Comments

59 Players

This is what they will have to make final decisions off of to get to 53.

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 10, 2012 9:07 PM CST reply actions

Jason Jones isnt a nose tackle, he'd be a 3-4 End. he's even smaller than Ratliff.

Other than that I wouldnt complain, I think we can do more to improve this team if we dont sign Nicks, but I certainly wouldnt be unhappy if we did.

by Proxy406 on Feb 10, 2012 9:17 PM CST reply actions

Agree, Jones is 6'5" 275 lbs. He was very good at DT and had an off year when he switched to DE

for the Titans. He would be an upgrade over Spears, Coleman. Doesn’t address NT problem unless we can get by with Bent, Lissy and Rat. Would like Rat more at DE. Burfict hasn’t played OLB in 3-4. Was a ILB in college. I’d be concerned about his ability to replace Spencer.

Do agree that we can afford Nicks, bu I still like DeCastro in the first if he falls to us.

All of this is a crap shoot and may become somewhat clearer after FA is over.

Wish you were here and comfortably numb.

by pfloyd1 on Feb 10, 2012 10:18 PM CST up reply actions

What's your definition of clear?

The Kosier injury shakes everything up.

Even if you pick up Nicks in FA, you’re still counting on Costa and a group of young guys to pick up the slack for 2 spots.

Nope.

I say you still draft Decastro. End this Offensive line catastrophe once and for all. Screw personnel the Defense needs a couple of 4 star guys and time to breathe generated by a well orchestrated offense. Get Gilmore in the 2nd to step in behind Mike Jenkins. Trade back into the 2nd round and pick up Burfict.

Pick up Brewster or Jones in the 4th.

Draft Cliff Harris and Ryan Broyles late

Play more 4-3 and Nickle.

by mfoster on Feb 12, 2012 7:34 PM CST up reply actions

It wasn't Jones

I confused him with somebody else I wanted, I have to go back and look, oh and terrell thomas was on my last one he wasn’t supposed to be on this new one, I replaced him with S Mike Adams instead of Elam.

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 10, 2012 10:51 PM CST up reply actions

maybe Red Bryant from Seattle?

by DB23 on Feb 11, 2012 9:22 AM CST up reply actions

+1

Exactly who I was thinking of, I like him, and I don’t think he would break our pockets, I edited it to show

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 2:48 PM CST up reply actions

He plays DE

I believe he could be used in our scheme as a nose, he has the size and I would rather use him there than Spears, and if it didn’t work we could keep ratliff there and use him as a pass rush DE

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 2:53 PM CST up reply actions

Some stuff I don't get

First of all I don’t even think he will last to the second round. His best fit is as a MLB in a 4-3 so if he played in a 3-4 he would play ILB like Lee or Carter. When people say he can play outside and rush the passer it’s because he can blitz and could play SAM in a 4-3. He’s more of a traditional linebacker than a pass rusher.

If you want a pass rusher than look at 3-4 Rushing OLB’s like Mercilus and Jenkins in round 1, Curry, Perry and Lewis in round 2….

In free agency, you got Nicks’ age wrong he is actually 26, and I don’t know realistic it is that the cowboys could get him. He’s probably the best guard in the league and entering his prime so I don’t really think its likely he’d come to Dallas. A lot of teams are gonna pursue him too.

And what about Center? That’s probably a bigger need than guard too.Costa is horrible.

The rest of the picks are good especially Jenkins.

Favorite Prospects: Martin, Burfict, Rainey, Curry

by bitterlyhonest on Feb 10, 2012 11:45 PM CST reply actions

Costa improved as the year went on

Besides out of Costa, Kowalski, and Nagy one of these guys will contribute maybe even 2 of them

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 2:59 PM CST up reply actions

Icebone

Good post, definitely rec worthy. I do have a point of contention. If you’re looking for pass rush in the 2nd round, check out Vinny Curry from Marshall, he played the 43 DE position, which is the same as the 34 OLB. Burfict is a 43 Middle Line Backer, or 34 Inside Linebacker. The only reason the Cowboys would draft Burfict, as insurance for Bruce Carter at ILB.

Here’s Vinny Curry’s Profile

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1695468/vinny-curry

Curry is 6’3 263; similar build as Spencer. In three years as a starter, Curry put up 26.5 sacks (2nd all-time amongst current college players), 48 tackles for loss (the current leader), and 9 forced fumbles (7th all-time).

"The tone is business," Garrett said. "Let's get to work. The Giants are going to be at the Meadowlands on Sunday at 4:15. They're an awfully good football team. We have to get ready for them."

by Rohpuri on Feb 11, 2012 12:44 AM CST reply actions

I drafted him in Madden 12 in the 2nd

He already has 7 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in 9 games

by BrickTop on Feb 11, 2012 2:15 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

sweet!

"The tone is business," Garrett said. "Let's get to work. The Giants are going to be at the Meadowlands on Sunday at 4:15. They're an awfully good football team. We have to get ready for them."

by Rohpuri on Feb 12, 2012 1:26 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

Thanks Rohpuri

I will definitely be looking into Curry before my next post.

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 3:00 PM CST up reply actions

Don't forget about Dwayne Harris.

He was making an impression before his injury. Going to have a shot at the squad.

What is the star now? A fallen piece of hardened plastic? The heaviest franchise in American sport? A false idol adored by many millions? The epitome of all that can be achieved with hard work? All that can be lost with too strong a sense of entitlement? A welcome coping mechanism, distracting from the real negativity on Earth? A bonding and separating agent?

by BlueNSilverBlood on Feb 11, 2012 1:27 AM CST reply actions

You ‘handle’ is your username, Michael “IceBone” Sisemore.

by One.Cool.Customer on Feb 11, 2012 5:28 AM CST reply actions

OCC

Funny story on how I received that nickname, two words “rap battle”, 6 more words “I’m a Ginger, and I won.”

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 3:02 PM CST up reply actions

Good Post IceBone.

Completely agree with the players released. As for the draft, I have some concerns.
1) Burfict – After his anger management program will he be as aggressive or in jail ?
Ben Jones C is likely a better pick.
2) Carder – Not sold on this one. Inconsistant. You pick up Satele as a FA so why not give
Orlie Lemon a shot. Plus Vinnie Curry OLB should be available in the third
3) Lindsey – We have lots of DE for the rotation. Love to get a FS here. Jackson FS or
Whitley from Arkansas should be there in the 4th.
4) Moore – He is short for a QB. Better to use 4th round and try for Cousins or Foles and use this pick of a FS.
Good work done. rec

by oldboysfan on Feb 11, 2012 7:27 AM CST reply actions

Thnx

Will definitely look into some of your suggestions, I think JG could get a handle on Burfict, but agree since JG is preaching RKG, Burfict might not fit.

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 3:05 PM CST up reply actions

Overall this would add talent to our roster - however, I would prefer this instead...

Round 1 – Jenkins
I am liking this pick more and more. I think that Jenkins is a safer prospect that Kirkpatrick because he is showing more maturity as of late. My biggest concern is his size. He’s going to have to be one freak of nature to be able to man up against the receivers in this league.

Round 2 – ~~Burflict~~ Either Mark Baron, Markelle Martin or George Iloka. How many more years do we pretend that we can get by with less talent at safety than the rest of the league.
Forget Burflict – we need disciplined, smart players. We don’t need penalties that give the opponent’s offense new life on a 3rd down.

Round 3 – ~~Tank Carder~~ Ben Jones C
We cannot go into next year with the center position not addressed. This is more important than a guard. I like the idea of having Nicks and still want to sign him, but we need a center more. We should add one of the top FA centers or pick one up in the draft (preferably Ben Jones)
A lot of people on this blog like Tank Carder. I haven’t seen him play, but I think I would take a risk and hope that he falls to the 4th round and take him there.

both 4ths – Tank Carder and Josh Norman

5th – Replace Kellen Moore with the highest rated player left. Moore is too short and will not be anything more than a tablet holder in the NFL. We already have one of those. Since a 2nd quarterback is a position of need, we should pick up a seasoned vet in FA. There are a lot of WR FA and WR is deep in the draft. A good one is bound to fall here. Take the fastest one who has return ability and hope he is the answer to some of our ST woes.

6th and 7th – Probably the best position to consider at this point would be small school TE, DE, or DT who has all the measurables and a lot of upside.

Good work and I really appreciate that you’ve let us tweak your ideas. It seems that collectively, there are a lot of us who are thinking the same things. i.e. Center, CB, FS needs.

by FanSince72 on Feb 11, 2012 7:47 AM CST reply actions

Appreciate Encouragement

I look to all of you, because I believe that with everyones consideration we’ll get this right.

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 3:06 PM CST up reply actions

I agree with this take, for the most part.

An Iloka/Barron, Jones, Norman haul in rounds 2-4 would be great; all guys who I can see contributing next year. Burfict probably won’t be there in the 2nd, and with Carder, as of this moment I feel like there are other guys likely around at that slot better and more fitting for Dallas. Someone correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t Jones a guy who also has some experience at guard? So, if the Nicks fantasy turns out to be just that, you can maybe look at a Chris Myers type and have some flexibility with Jones at multiple interior spots.

The first rounder I really just think should be BPA, and in the off-chance that guy ends up being someone like Richardson or Blackmon, you take the best offer for multiple picks in return. The Patriots basically did this two years out of three with Dez Bryant and Mark Ingram.

I trust the scouting staff to make the right choice at #14. I like Jenkins, so if he’s the guy, I will be on board. However, given the depth at corner in this draft and the fact that rookie corners lately have struggled initially, I can see the logic in going the free agency route(or, Routt, perhaps, if I can break out the puns), instead taking a developmental corner or two in the later rounds, and using that top 15 selection on someone else who you hope can come in and be an immediate stud. Again, this is where the scouting department earns their keep. I don’t know what the right answer is at this point. Maybe it’s DeCastro, or Upshaw, or Ingram, or Poe, or whoever.

by Alan Smithee on Feb 11, 2012 7:07 PM CST up reply actions

Draft rankings

CBS and NFP have Norman as a 2/3d rd and Carder as a 6/7th rd so might want to adjust. Rd 3 too high for an ILB anyway, bigger needs.
As mentioned, look at Curry or the other DE/OLB types in round 2 if you want to fill Spencer’s spot.
I like Adams at FS, if gonna have a JAG there, at least let him be someone who can cover and play deep instead of another OK run stopper who’s lost more than 10 yards from scrimmage.

by DB23 on Feb 11, 2012 8:16 AM CST via mobile reply actions

You are correct.

The draft rankings are all over the place right now. Checked CBS, PFW and Draft-tec and the rankings change drastically. This settles somewhat after the combine, but it is still fun to look at the possibilities.

by oldboysfan on Feb 11, 2012 8:26 AM CST up reply actions

If we really do draft Kellen Moore...

…then we have to drop Steven McGee. If Romo went down for a couple of games those remaining QB options would equal automatic losses.

Bring in a veteran to play 2nd string while developing Moore as your 3rd string.

The NFC East has won 12 Super Bowls; oddly none of those have come courtesy of the Eagles.

by gee-roj on Feb 11, 2012 9:45 AM CST via mobile reply actions

Agree with getting a veteran QB,

but look at who is out there at a reasonable price. Not a lot that I would like with the Cowboys. Maybe, if we could pick up someone like Colt McCoy from Cleveland at a reasonable price, it would give a decent backup with some potential. The Browns appear to be all gaga about RG3 in the draft. Not so fond of what I see right now.

by oldboysfan on Feb 11, 2012 10:22 AM CST up reply actions

I like that 7th round pick :)

The rest is good too.. Rec!

by NUHuskyCowboyMinutemanCeltic on Feb 11, 2012 1:27 PM CST reply actions

Burfict isn't a passrusher

He would be an ILB in a 34, not an OLB. He has no passrush experience and he has no passrush moves. He is good at blitzing, but blitzing is not the same as passrushing. Also, taking Tank Carder in the 3rd is WAY too high. A lot of boards have him as a 5th or later pick. Plus, we’d be going ILB back-to-back while not ever replacing Spencer.

Josh Norman is probably going to go as high as the 2nd round and definitely wouldn’t be around in the 4th. Overall, not a very good draft, imo. Replace Burfict with Curry, Carder with Iloka (FS), and Norman with James-Michael Johnson…then we’re talking.

by inwittenitrust on Feb 11, 2012 2:20 PM CST reply actions

Thank you for your opinion

Thats the beauty of it, the Draft is still 2 months away, I have time to re-evaluate and make more posts.

by Michael IceBone Sisemore on Feb 11, 2012 2:51 PM CST up reply actions

Definitely

We haven’t even hit the combine yet. Stocks are going to rise and fall quite a bit over the next 2 1/2 months. We’ll be looking back at these in April and snickering thinking so-and-so was going to around in the 3rd or what’s-his-name was a sure-fire first rounder!

by inwittenitrust on Feb 11, 2012 2:55 PM CST up reply actions

kellen moore is the same height as drew brees

if he is there in the 3rd round, grab him. but i doubt he will last that long.

why pay nicks $10M? Mathis can do the job almost as well.

by the_hat on Feb 11, 2012 8:26 PM CST reply actions

Hmm

… Kellen Moore … in the 3rd..?

by BrickTop on Feb 12, 2012 4:18 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

drafting a QB is not worth it

If Romo goes down and missed 4-5 games would you be happy with a mid-round draft QB or McGee to replace him > we would be better suited in getting a vet QB to back up Romo like we did with Kitna

by LeedsCowboys on Feb 12, 2012 5:04 AM CST reply actions

Vontaze Burfict risky 2nd round pick

Not RKG for starters, and that would make 3 straight years of drafting a ILB in the 2nd round. Don’t see that happening

Billion dollar dream and hundred dollar nightmares

by djthumpl on Feb 12, 2012 9:10 AM CST reply actions

what is the love affair with Tank Carder?

yes he has a cool name and the Clay Matthews hair going on, but as a football player I really don’t think he is all that
I think he would be awful as a 3-4 ILB, lacks the strength to take on blockers and fill in the gaps and he would be an awful liability in coverage

"With the 14th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.........The Dallas Cowboys select..............Melvin Ingram DE South Carolina"

My card has been sent in

by Archie Barberio on Feb 12, 2012 12:19 PM CST reply actions