The 2011 Cowboys Draft Thread

[thule]

Originally Posted by CDCB14

Thule, are you on the Peterson bandwagon?

Is there anyone who isn't? This doesn't mean I think he is the best player in the draft or that I value him over Prince...but I don't think you could find one person on this board who isn't a fan of his. As far as Prince and Peterson rank imo they are 1a and 1b...can't go wrong with either.

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I meant is that who you want if you have your choice of him, prince, any of the DE's, etc?

[thule]

Originally Posted by CDCB14

I meant is that who you want if you have your choice of him, prince, any of the DE's, etc?

Depends on where we are picking.

#1 pick in the draft I probably go Luck. I like Romo a lot...but no OT there is worth it and I like Luck a lot.

If i'm not a top 3 pick I look to move down. 5-tech's are everywhere in the top half of the draft should see a record of DE's go in the first round this year. IDK who I like the most...but I will say I think there are atleast 3 studs.

If Peterson is on the board and I can't trade down I think it's a no brainer.

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So your content with giving up on Romo if we have #1 overall?

[D-Unit]

Must haves: FS, SS, CB, OT, OGx2

Like to haves: DE, ILB, C

Nice to haves: K, NT

QB isn't even close to being on our list of needs. If we brought in a rookie QB, then we'd ruin him with the lack of a supporting cast. Young QBs who succeed have strong OLs and a strong Defense around them. We have neither. ...or did you have in mind that we'd store him on the bench until we had that? Ya right...when???

Lastly... we may be bad, but we ain't ending up with the #1 overall pick.

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I honestly think a name coach, some free agent o-lineman, and peterson/prince puts this team back in the NFC Championship picture.

All of which are easily do-able.

[D-Unit]

Originally Posted by CDCB14

I honestly think a name coach, some free agent o-lineman, and peterson/prince puts this team back in the NFC Championship picture.

All of which are easily do-able.

I'm thinking along the same lines. OL, DB help is needed BADLY.

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Not even being a homer here.

I honestly just think our defense needs a new scheme. All wade does is line us up and expect our "talent" to win. And like I've posted before, it doesn't. Get a defensive mind who will USE this talent instead of letting it sit like stagnant water, get some o-lineman in FA, and take the BPA at the top of each round, and we're right back up there.

[romo4prez415]

Maybe we're overrating our talent. I keep hearing scheme yet Wade is one of the best 3-4 minds. We've tried 2 gap and now 1 gap maybe its not the scheme and maybe its the players. Crazy concept. I just dont see this overwhelming talent. We dont have a true NT, our ILBer play is horrendous in pass coverage, our safeties our terrible, and Ware is the only player consistently bringing a pass rush. I blame Wade for alot of things but scheme isnt one of them. If the players are too stupid to time there blitzes or disguise them, its on them.

[D-Unit]

Originally Posted by romo4prez415

Maybe we're overrating our talent. I keep hearing scheme yet Wade is one of the best 3-4 minds. We've tried 2 gap and now 1 gap maybe its not the scheme and maybe its the players. Crazy concept. I just dont see this overwhelming talent. We dont have a true NT, our ILBer play is horrendous in pass coverage, our safeties our terrible, and Ware is the only player consistently bringing a pass rush. I blame Wade for alot of things but scheme isnt one of them. If the players are too stupid to time there blitzes or disguise them, its on them.

Right now, the players are also playing with a losing attitude. They've lost the fight in them, so if you wanna judge them right now, I wouldn't make rash personnel decisions.

I agree though. It's not the scheme. The scheme works. You can only mask your weaknesses up to a point. We've been exposed at Safety, and there's no one on the team that can help. Wade's scheme is fine, Wade's leadership and HC skills suck ass. Jerry's trust in our personnel and his failure to bring in quality FAs this past offseason are proving to be monumental mistakes. We didn't draft OL, we didn't sign OL... pa-thetic.

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I don't agree with you guys on the scheme. Why does pretty much every team say how predictable we are. The Jags offense said our defense is basic as hell. Garrard looked like Montana in his prime. It may be partly the players giving up, but the defense is just such a vanilla joke now. We need a spark.

[D-Unit]

Originally Posted by CDCB14

I don't agree with you guys on the scheme. Why does pretty much every team say how predictable we are. The Jags offense said our defense is basic as hell. Garrard looked like Montana in his prime. It may be partly the players giving up, but the defense is just such a vanilla joke now. We need a spark.

Sounds more like play calling and toning down the defense to adjust to the weaknesses on defense. Not necessarily the scheme.

That said, I don't know enough of what's going on behind the scenes to make that assumption.

If the scheme was problematic, we would've never ever had success in it.... but we have had success in the past, so I'm not buying what you're preachin'.

[xxxxxxxx]

We'll agree to disagree. When the Jaguars say that we are predictable....

Anyway, I am anxious for this game for some reason.. and i don't know why.

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According to the draft blog on here, our scouts were at the clemson game.

They said DeAndre has coverage deficiencies, im not looking for a younger future roy williams/ ken hamlin.

[romo4prez415]

Originally Posted by CDCB14

According to the draft blog on here, our scouts were at the clemson game.

They said DeAndre has coverage deficiencies, im not looking for a younger future roy williams/ ken hamlin.

I think DeAndre is a strong safety. The safety I like is Deaunta Williams reminds me alot of Kenny Phillips when he came out. I think he could play both FS and SS.

[D-Unit]

I'm starting to think the safety I like most is Patrick Peterson. lol.

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Lions baby! Patrick Peterson is inching close to our grasp!

[pocketaces]

I watched the LSU game yesterday just to watch Peterson. I really didn't see anything that made me say WOW we have to have this guy! Who do you guys compare him to? He's obviously no Deion or Champ Bailey, so best case, who would you compare him to?

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Wow **** the lions come on.

[D-Unit]

Originally Posted by pocketaces

I watched the LSU game yesterday just to watch Peterson. I really didn't see anything that made me say WOW we have to have this guy! Who do you guys compare him to? He's obviously no Deion or Champ Bailey, so best case, who would you compare him to?

I usually make judgments on a prospect based on more than 1 game. Trust me, the guy is legit.

I'm starting to really convince myself that he may in fact project better for us at Safety though. I think we try him at CB first if we draft him though.

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Anyone worried that we play well tonight? lol

[thule]

Tidbits I've pulled in that caught my eye.

• Wisconsin senior OLG John Moffitt does not look the part with a bad body that looks like it has not seen the weight room, but he has natural girth and scouts say he plays better than he looks, competing hard on Saturdays and having the versatility to play either guard or center. He has warranted some fourth-round grades from evaluators in a typically weak guard class. He has been very durable throughout his career and has been a rock on an offensive line that has keyed the Badgers' success this season. When the Badgers have needed yardage on the ground, they have consistently run left this season.

Defensive tackle Jared Crick: With eight tackles, a hurry and a sack, he flashed some real potential as a 3-4 defensive end Saturday, if you ask me. Crick is a better outside rusher because he can set up a tackle with that quick first step, then blast back inside with a strong bull rush when the tackle overcompensates. NU may not use that 3-2-6 defense again this year – or ever – but Crick gave NFL scouts something to chew on. He could still use one more year in college.
Cornerback Ciante Evans: He needs to fight off blocks a little better when a quarterback is loose and scrambling, but Evans is a cold-blooded baller as a cover corner. He rarely allowed his man to fight back across his face on deep routes, and his positioning took away that back-shoulder throw, too. Evans has learned Marvin Sanders' lessons quickly, using the sideline as an extra defender.

prince - "His height, long arms, good speed, agility and physicality make him an ideal press corner prospect," said Rob Rang, senior analyst for NFLDraftScout.com. "He appears to have the speed, open-field tackling ability and ball skills to potentially project as a free safety, as well. The teams I've spoken to about him believe he can remain at corner in the NFL and do quite well."

In fact, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound Amukamara is the top-ranked senior cornerback prospect and a potential top 10 selection, according to NFLDraftScout.com.

Prior to the beginning of the season, Amukamara was ranked the No. 1 senior prospect (regardless of position) by National Scouting, the organization that puts on the annual combine and is the preseason scouting service relied upon by over half of the league's teams.

Nebraska secondary coach Marvin Sanders, a former Husker defensive back, said Amukamara could play safety in the NFL because of his physicality.

"But I think where Prince will play is corner, because he's such an intelligent player," Sanders said. "He studies film, he studies receivers, so he has an idea of what guys are going to run against him, or what he's going to try to take away or give to him. That's a valuable thing to have at cornerback."

peterson - "There is no better cornerback in college football, and to be honest, it's not even close," draft analyst Mike Detillier said. "I see him as a top five or six pick at best and definitely a top 10 pick. He is the best cover corner out of the Southeastern Conference since Champ Bailey."

Bailey, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who plays for Denver, was the seventh overall pick out of Georgia in 1999 by Washington.

"And Patrick is bigger and faster than Champ," Detillier said. "He has great ball skills you can't coach. No one can find the ball in flight the way he does. He thinks the ball's for him. In this day of big NFL receivers, Patrick's height and size are what make him unique."

Peterson has two interceptions on the season and five in his career with one touchdown, which are not bad numbers considering he is rarely thrown against. For example, LSU's other cornerback, Morris Claiborne, is No. 3 in the SEC this season with nine passes defended. Peterson has just two of those and zero pass breakups.

"I wouldn't throw to his side either," Detillier said.

Opponents have also stopped kicking to Peterson. He leads the SEC and is No. 5 nationally in punt returns with a 19.7-yard average on 17 returns, with touchdowns of 87 and 60 yards. He is also third in the SEC and 22nd nationally in kickoff returns with a 27.5-yard average on 19 returns.

"That's what really puts him in the top five or six in the draft," Detillier said. "It's amazing he has not been used as a kick returner before this season. He will definitely return kicks in the NFL. He's going to blow the socks off of those NFL scouts when he works out. Athletically, he's a cut above. In 27 years of studying the draft, he's the best defensive player I've ever seen at LSU."

DT/DE J.J. Watt (Wisconsin) 6-6/290/4.87
Watt's big plays at the end of Wisconsin's upset of Ohio State only accentuated what scouts already knew: The former Western Michigan tight end is growing into a potential star as a 3-4 five-technique.

Orlando Franklin, OT, Miami (Fla.)
Franklin is a top-line athlete but a bit of a raw prospect, but he has consistently improved every year and now projects as a high second-round pick who could sneak into the first round. He still must get stronger, but he is much better about maintaining his balance and playing under control to easily handle speed rushers and adjust quickly secondary pass-rush moves. He shows the ability to block effectively in the open field, especially adept at pulling to lead perimeter runs.
Franklin has improved a ton in '10 and with a great week of work at the Senior Bowl will continue his ascent up draft boards and perhaps become one of, if not the, first offensive tackle selected.

Da'Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson (junior)
We always thought of Bowers as a top-flight prospect, but until this year few talent evaluators agreed. The naysayers said he didn't dominate enough and lacked consistency as a pass rusher and thus pegged him as a third-round prospect.
This season, Bowers has eliminated all doubt. He has been a dominant player in '10, and there now is near-universal belief that he is the top defensive lineman in the '11 draft and a likely top-10 pick. Few ends can match Bowers' size, explosive power, quick hands and footwork, athleticism and pass-rush skills.

OG Keith Williams, Nebraska
This year, there doesn't seem to be any elite offensive guard prospects like Ben Grubbs, Brandon Albert or Mike Iupati, who were all guards chosen in the first round of recent drafts. There are a few interior prospects, however, who look like they could be solid starters at the NFL level.

One such player who doesn’t receive much attention is Nebraska’s Keith Williams, who has been one of the main big men up front paving the way for Nebraska’s ferocious rushing attack this year.

The 6'5" 315-pound Williams has been a three-year starter for the Cornhuskers. He looks like he has the strength and toughness to handle the trenches of the NFL.

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That just made me sold on Peterson. And forget the talk of him at safety. I just hope we have the chance to get him. I was counting on the lions to easily have more wins than us, but now with stafford all but done I don't see that.

[thule]

Originally Posted by CDCB14

That just made me sold on Peterson. And forget the talk of him at safety. I just hope we have the chance to get him. I was counting on the lions to easily have more wins than us, but now with stafford all but done I don't see that.

Right now if we have a top 5 pick my board breaks down like this.

1. Andrew Luck
2. Patrick Peterson, S
3. Prince Amukamara, S
4. Marcel Dareus, DL
5. Cameron Jordan / Nick Fairley / Da'Quan Bowers*

[dsc1600]

We need some guys who can rush the passer. That would help the secondary out a bunch (not to say we don't need help there). We need a serious upgrade in the interior o-line. If we get a Mankins (maybe a dream, but who knows) in FA, a Bowers/Dareus type in the draft, and an NFL-caliber free safety, I think we're a playoff team in 2011 as long as Romo comes back healthy.