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Dallas Cowboys 2014-2015

Discussion in 'Football: NFL, College, High School' started by Francis3422, May 4, 2014.

  1. Francis3422

    Francis3422 Member

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    So I had been counting on the Rockets to get me to about late May or early June before the abyss that is the time with no NFL and no NBA. I guess my semi-interest in World Cup and the Astros will have to help me cope.

    I was hating the draft being delayed but now I am thankful that I have it to look forward to next week. I still see Lillard hitting that three every time I blink.

    The Cowboys have pretty much alienated me from believing in them the last couple years but I am hopeful that this is the year that we go 3-13 or so and get a high enough draft pick to where Booger Jones decides to rebuild and give up control to his son. I pray every day that Jerry Jones says something racist. So we have the draft and a few offseason signings to discuss I am aware of at least a few other Cowboys fans on the board..... So here we go.

    The Draft

    Where do we need help? (everywhere)

    The Dallas Cowboys pick #16 in the draft. We need help everywhere on defense. We are not expected to draft CB because that position is "fortified" This is really sad however as "fortified" means fielding Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr. Brandon Carr of the giving up 300 yards to Calvin Johnson fame and Claiborne being an enigma who has mostly been injured. Suffers from chronic burn injuries because of his inability to defend the slant route. He cost us trading up a first and second rounder a couple years back. The rest of the secondary is Chris Wilcox and Barry Church. I think these are actually decent players. The Boys invested a 3rd rounder in Wilcox last year and he has only played safety for a couple years. He looks to be a playmaker and I could fathom him growing into a free safety. Church plays with some boom (great at line of scrimmage) but also bust (against the pass sometimes).

    Linebacker and Defensive line is where we absolutely need improvement. We have a top 10 linebacker (Lee) but he cannot stay healthy. Bruce Carter had a great rookie campaign but mostly was a dud last year as the team switched to the 4-3. We lost Demarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher. We brought on the injured Henry Melton and re-signed the injured Anthony Spencer. Dallas payed Spencer 10 million dollars to play a game last year. Spencer is coming off of microfracture and may not be ready for camp. Melton is widely projected to be ready. The Cowboys need to put a couple young stars on the defense to build around.

    The offensive line was the best it had been in awhile last year. Tyrone Smith is already really good and is 24 years old. Travis Frederick came in and solidified the center position. The guard play (Leary and Bernardeau) was solid for the most part. Doug Free had a bounce back year at righ tackle. This will be the last year in Dallas for Doug Free. His contract goes up to bi $$$ again after this season. As well, Ron Leary does have a chronic Knee conditiion and Bernardeau is probably the weak link out of the 5 right now. I could see Dallas addressing either/both of Tackle and Guard in the early or mid rounds of the draft. In theory, a first round right tackle (Lewan or Martin) that could play guard for a year really gives Dallas a great group on the line to build around.

    We probably don't need receiver early and we sure as hell don't need TE early. Jerry Jones already spent a second rounder last year on TE Gavin Escobar. Escobar was decent in his own right but we had more pressing needs. WR is probably another strength area. Dez Bryant is amazing and suffers from the fact that the coaches are morons and don't try to get him the ball. This is hopefully going to change since Scott Linehan is coming in. to be the OC. Dez Bryant and Terrence Williams are a good little group and Cole Beasely is a decent slot option. The Cowboys have a special team ace (on both sides) in WR 4 with Dwayne Harris. I could see the Cowboys going WR in round 1 or 2 if the right one is there. IMO if we go receiver it needs to be a speedster.

    Then there is quarterback. We paid Romo so we could watch him decline well into his late thirties. This is probably going to amount to a few good draft picks over the next 2-3 years. We just won't have the defense to support the offense over the next couple years.

    I believe that the Boys are hoping for Manziel to fall to #16 and if somehow he does I do believe they will take him. Despite the needs on defense.

    Since him falling to #16 is not likely, I am hoping for Aaron Donald or Taylor Lewan to be there. I believe either represents a supreme talent for picking #16. My Cowboys mock is below. Please chime in with your own Dallas Mock.

    #16-Aaron Donald (DT-PITT)
    #47-Chris Borland (ILB-Wisconsin)
    #78-Trai Turner (OG-LSU)
    #119- Will Clarke (DE-WVU)

    Obviously this is only through 4 rounds but it gives us a developmental G to fortify the offensive line and 3 players to continue to build the D around.
     
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  2. UtilityPlayer

    UtilityPlayer Member

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    I am not a Cowboys fan , but I live in Dallas. A lot of talk here is Jerry will try very hard to get Johnny Football. Obviously with the Cowboys , they have a tendency to make draft day trades.
     
  3. TheRealist137

    TheRealist137 Member

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    He just gave Romo a huge contract extension. Jones is stupid but not that stupid
     
  4. Francis3422

    Francis3422 Member

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    IIRC there is a way to cut Romo after 2 or 3 seasons where it saves us $$$$.


    Personally I have to come to hope that Manziel is there @16. Dallas has some good young players and taking Manziel, letting him sit for 2 years and building up the team is probably a good idea.

    Assuming Manziel is there my mock changes

    #16-Johnny Manziel (QB-TAM
    #47-Dominique Easly (DT-Florida)
    #78-Trai Turner (OG-LSU)
    #119- Will Clarke (DE-WVU)
     
  5. UtilityPlayer

    UtilityPlayer Member

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    Romo just had two back surgeries very recently, his health is definitely a question along with his age. He is not a young guy anymore in sports terms. Also Jones loves attention , nothing would attract more attention than drafting JFF.
     
  6. dc1985

    dc1985 Member

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    Great to see some fellow Cowboys fans. My Mock isn't ready yet but I'll post it tomorrow I have a full 7 round one with all 11 picks. But as to what we do in the draft I love Manziel to the point I would take him #1 overall if I was Houston. But I don't want him at 16. With the problems that we have I just can't justify taking him to sit him for 3 years. I see Romo playing at least 3 more possibly 4. If I knew he was going to retire after this next season or even after 2 I would take Manziel. But not to sit him 3 years.

    In all honestey I'm hoping to trade back pick up some extra picks and open up the possibilities with who the pick could be. If Donald or Barr are there at 16 I take one of those 2 but otherwise I try to move back.

    Also in response to the opening post I'm not as worried about the CB position. I think the primary struggles that Carr and Claiborne have had is they are being forced to play a zone coverage or soft man. They are both physical man to man corners and need to play a lot more physical on the line. I think they will both have a bounce back year.
     
  7. tmac2therack

    tmac2therack Member

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    I think getting rid of Miles will give T Will a chance to shine, he is going to be an awesome compliment to Dez, even more than last year when he was on his tear.
     
  8. mick fry

    mick fry Member

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    Its proven Jones doesnt give a rats ass about winning, its about filling the seats and making greenbacks. Manziel will fill that bill. I hope the Texans benefit from it.
     
  9. Francis3422

    Francis3422 Member

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    Jones cares about winning he just doesn't know how to create a SB team (from a GM level) and he is too proud and stupid to give up control. Steven Jones is smarter and is ok in my book.
     
  10. dc1985

    dc1985 Member

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    I think Stephen has more say than any one thinks. Which to me would explain the fact that no real effort was made in keeping Hatcher and very little was made to keep Ware. If it was up to Jerry I think he would of found a way to keep both reguardless of the salary cap issues. At this point I think Stephen makes the majority of the decisions and Jerry signs off on them but gives his two cents. Just like this draft. Manziel would be a Jerry pick but this is Will McClays draft he will control the board. If we take Manziel then they know something we don't about Tonys back. Otherwise we pass.
     
  11. crash5179

    crash5179 Contributing Member

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    Yes he is.

    He has made public statements about Manziel
     
  12. crash5179

    crash5179 Contributing Member

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    Jones only cares about winning if he can do it his way...period. He would rather lose than win with someone else pulling the strings. He much prefers the spotlight to winning. I don't even think winning is a close second.
     
  13. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    The Cowboys ending up with Manziel and him becoming a superstar would be the expected thing to happen to a Houston sports fan, wouldn't it?
     
  14. Nero

    Nero Member

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    Exactly.

    I am actually a big fan of BOTH teams and I would rather see Manziel in Houston than Dallas. I just think Houston's future is brighter.

    Ideally, we take Clowney or one of the other studs, and then watch Manziel slide down to around 20, and see Houston trade back into the 1st to grab him. That would be a great draft for Houston, since as we all know, Houston does ok early in the draft but pretty much sucks from about round 3 on down. So trading a bunch of late round assets is probably no big loss.

    As for Dallas.. it pains me to say it, but they are headed for lower-tier mediocrity for the foreseeable future, because they are cap-strapped so badly, and there are too many holes to fill, particularly on the lines.

    In all honesty, it's probably going to be a pretty gloomy season for both franchises.
     
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  15. Francis3422

    Francis3422 Member

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    Nero-

    Surprises me to hear you say the Offensive line is a problem area.
    We can roll into this year with the same line we had most of last year.

    Smith/Leary/Frederick/Bernardeau/Free and that was one of the better lines in the league.

    Obviously on the D side we may suck again but Spencer and/or Melton may end up recovering and that will give us a big boost.

    What I didn't post in my OP was that I am a proponent of the Cowboys ultimately trading back. Go back 8-10 spots and try to pick up a second. The Browns have emerged as a possibility here. Would love to get #26 and #35 off of them by trading them #16 and #78. I know that trade favors Dallas a bit but bear with me.
    That would give us #26, #35, #47 to address needs.

    #26-Ryan Shazier or CJ Mosely
    #35-Morgan Moses or Gabe Jackson
    #47-Dominique Easley or Scott Crichton

    This fortifies our offensive line for the next few years and gives us 1 playmaker at linebacker and 1 playmaker at DL. I really believe we need LB just as bad as DL.
     
  16. boomboom

    boomboom I GOT '99 PROBLEMS
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  17. dc1985

    dc1985 Member

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    Here is my full 7 round Cowboys Mock Draft

    Round 1 (Pick 16) Anthony Barr- DE, UCLA
    Also in the mix here, Aaron Donald, Ha Ha Clinton Dix, Taylor Lewan, Zack Martin, Odell Beckham Jr. Trade down possiblites, Re'Shade Hageman, Timmy Jernigan, Kony Ealy, Scott Crichton, and Demarcus Lawerence.

    Round 2 (Pick 47) Dominique Easley- DT, Florida

    Round 3 (Pick 78) Cody Latimer- WR, Indiana

    Round 4 (Pick 119) Dakota Dozier- G, Furman

    Round 5 (Pick 158) Stanley Jean Baptiste- CB, Nebraska

    Round 7 (Pick 229) Logan Thomas- QB, Va. Tech

    Round 7 (Pick 231) C.J. Barnett- S. Ohio St.

    Round 7 (Pick 238) Seantrel Henderson- T, Miami

    Round 7 (Pick 248) Christan Kirksey- MLB, Iowa

    Round 7 (Pick 251) Michael Dyer- RB, Arkansas Baptist/Louiville

    Round 7 (Pick 254) Chaz Sutton- DE, South Carolina

    I was thinking about going with a RB/LB somewhere around round 3-5 but didn't like the value there. Although could easily take Max Bullough from Michigan St over Dozier in the 4th. As far as RB I see taking a flyer on one lat but not to early since I think I want more time to evaluate Randle and they like Dunbar. If It was my decision I would trade down from 16 to around 23-26 and pick up a couple extra picks to use on D-Line.
     
  18. Francis3422

    Francis3422 Member

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    DC- I would be absolutely fine with that draft.

    Do you want Barr to play 4-3 end of are you projecting to grow him into OLB for a 4-3?
     
  19. UtilityPlayer

    UtilityPlayer Member

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    Cowboys home schedule is absolutely brutal .

    Niners , Saints , Texans( better than their record) Cardinals ( won 11 games last year I think ) Colts , NFC East.
     
  20. dc1985

    dc1985 Member

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    If we take him there I want him to be the end. He will have to put on a little weight and learn to contain better but I think he has the natural skill set to be the right DE. Wouldnt be opposed to making him the SAM linebacker replacing Carter and have Carter and Wilber Compete for starting WILL Linebacker. But at 16 Barr has enough raw talent I think he can play RDE and play it very well. But it might take a year to really blossom.
     

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