Silver and BlueBlood

Stephen Jones has suggested that Cowboys’ management may need to do what Cowboys’ fans have often dreamed of doing: put his daddy, Jerry Jones, in a straitjacket. Stephen, of course, was joking about how hard it would be for Jones the Elder to sit still and stay put until the number fifty-one pick in today’s draft.

Shake It, Jerry!

Since his awkward leap onto the NFL’s center stage in 1989, no owner or General Manager has done more wheeling and dealing, or made more draft day splashes than Jerry Jones. He has made 51 draft day trades in those twenty years. People who know Jones best know that it will be torture for him to bide his time and bite his tongue and…wait his turn.

Todd Archer of the Dallas Morning News allows that Jerry has extra incentive to do just that this year. He writes:

If there was one thing that seemed certain at Thursday’s news conference at the team’s new stadium in Arlington, it was the Cowboys’ preference to stay out of the first round.

Salary-cap restraints will make it difficult for teams to work out contracts for top picks because of the uncertainty surrounding the collective bargaining agreement. Jones said that was one of the reasons he made the deal with Detroit last season, when the Cowboys traded their first-, third- and sixth-round picks this year for wide receiver Roy Williams and a seventh-round pick in 2010.

Perhaps it will be enough for the wildcatter to shake things up beginning in round two, using the eleven picks he has in his pocket. He may well stay out of the first round, but smart money says he won’t just wait his turn every time thereafter.

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There has been a good deal of talk about Jerry and Co. looking for a player in this draft who can run some version of the “wildcat” offense. I had been thinking all along that they drafted a guy a couple years ago and converted him to a receiver, a guy who seems to fit the bill.

That guy, of course, is Isaiah Stanback. He played quarterback at at the highest level of college ball. He has the quickness, the speed, and he knows the position. So, why spend a draft pick to find a guy you already have in the fold?

Now, there is word that Jerry is talking about Stanback for just that role…and we learn from Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that they had plays in the playbook for Stanback last year, but never used them.

Maybe, if that little issue is settled, the Cowboys can focus on finding a legitimate quarterback to groom behind Tony Romo. If a Rhett Bomar or a Graham Harrell is NFL worthy and can be taught to run the team’s offense, that seems a much greater value than a guy who might run a play or two every other week or so.

At any rate, as draft day approaches, the bluebloods are getting anxious to see whether the Cowboys braintrust can be trusted to make sound decisions. They posted a good draft a year ago. String a couple together in a row and you might be building your way back to respectability.

But I digress. Back to the Wildcat formation and its usefulness. Hill Also points out that Felix Jones would be an important part of any Wildcat operations…and that makes perfect sense, with his pure speed and ability to hit the corner of the defense.

Concerning the newest rage in NFL offense, Hill writes:

In 2008, the Dolphins used the Wildcat formation 91 times, netting 580 yards (6.7 yards per play) and eight touchdowns.

However, the Wildcat didn’t always work.

The Patriots stopped it cold in the rematch, and the Baltimore Ravens were not fooled in a 27-9 wild-card playoff victory against the Dolphins.

Yeah. A tricked-up play here and there may bag you a big gainer, or even a win. But Cowboys fans are looking for more than regular season wins. It’s that elusive playoff victory that matters.

Let’s keep that in mind on draft day, boys.

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The Dallas Cowboys brought in Ohio State wideout Brian Robiskie for a workout. According to Matt Mosely of ESPN.com, the Cowboys have been enamored with Robiskie for a long time.

Robiskie, from Cleveland, Ohio, is listed by the Buckeyes as 6′3″, 199 pounds. In his senior season, he recorded 42 receptions for 535 yards and 8 touchdowns. He seems to have a flair for the spectacular catch. He runs sharp routes and sports a great pair of hands.

In the OSU player highlight video (below), one thing that jumps out at me is the absence of YAC (yards after catch). He appears to go down pretty easily, even with a flailing arm tackle. Scouts, Inc gives him a grade of 76. They rank him 75th overall and number 11 at his position.

That number 11 ranking is just another sign of the depth of the 2009 wide receiver crop. Surely, the Cowboys will find some help at that position in the draft this year.

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The Dallas Morning News is reporting that the Cowboys are bringing in Sam Houston State quarterback Rhett Bomar for a workout. This could be an interesting kid to have a look at. I taught in the Grand Prairie (TX) School District when Bomar was in high school there. Rhett has mad skills, a big arm, mobile, smart…

The only question is the one between his ears. I do not mean his IQ, but rather his decision-making process, on and off the field. His highly-publicized demise at the University of Oklahoma did nothing to ease the fears that the kid might not make the best choices. The boy got caught up in a pay-for-not-showing-up job thing with a car dealer (and OU booster).

Of course, like a good coach, Bob Stoops first distanced from the incident, then lowered the boom on Bomar. Maybe he didn’t know a thing about it. Maybe ignorance is bliss. Maybe OU is as pure as the driven snow. Maybe angels will fly out of my arse.

At any rate, the kid was culpable. He paid the price. He left the promise of big-time, Division One football behind for the anonymity of Huntsville, Texas and Sam Houston State. He did not, however, leave his big arm, his athleticism, or his potential as a draft day steal behind, as the stats and notes found at gobearkats.com attest (to whom we owe thanks for these particular facts):

• All-time passing leader in Sam Houston history — 5,564 yards in 19 games

• All-time total offense leader in Sam Houston history — 6,159 yards in 19 games
• College Sporting News All-America honorable mention quarterback — 2008
• Two-time All-Southland Conference quarterback (honorable mention in 2007, second team in 2008)
• Nationally ranked in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision national statistics
  • No. 2 in total offense, 2008 (354.2 yards per game)
  • No. 4 in passing offense, 2008 (335.5 yards per game)
  • No. 8 in total offense, 2007 (290.6 yards per game)
• Passed for more than 300 yards in nine games during his Bearkat career
• Threw for passes of more than 50 yards 10 times including long of 80 yards

• His 507 yards passing vs. Southeastern Louisiana in 2008 is the second highest total in SHSU history
• One of only 11 players in NCAA FCS history to throw for more than 300 yards and rush for more than 100 yards in a single game (vs. North Dakota State, 2007)
• Selected to play in East-West Shrine Game
• Transfer from the University of Oklahoma
• Passed for 2,018 yards and 10 TDs for the Sooners in 2005
• Led Oklahoma to victories over Kansas State, Kansas, Baylor, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State
• Most Valuable Player in the Holiday Bowl, passing for 229 yards in 17-14 victory over Oregon
• Threw for more than 200 yards in six games
• Best performance was 20 of 28 for 298 yards in 36-30 victory over Texas A&M
• Passed for 6,097 yards and 58 touchdowns during his career at Grand Prairie for coach Jerry Bomar, his father
• Rushed for 1,623 yards and 33 TDs in high school

Like I said: Interesting kid.

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Miles To Go?

Jerry Jones has insisted that the primary reason he gave T.O. the boot was to make room for the Cowboys’ young receivers to flourish. The one name he has mentioned as a plausible replacement for Owens, especially as a deep threat, is Miles Austin.

Today, the Dallas Morning News is reporting that the New York Jets are showing interest in Austin, who is a restricted free agent…

According to sources, the Jets have scheduled to meet with Austin, a restricted free agent, Thursday and Friday.

The Cowboys gave Austin a $1.545 million tender offer that would require a team to give up a second-round pick as compensation if the Cowboys did not match. The restricted free-agent signing period ends on April 17. Four restricted free agents have signed offer sheets this off-season, but their teams matched the offers.

The Jets may well force Jerry to put his money where his mouth is. Is the undrafted, untested speedster really more valuable than what you may find with a second round pick…or the leverage having those consecutive picks might give you? Expect Jones to pay whatever the fiddler requires. He has made a commitment to finding out just what Austin can be and do.

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Since their first draft in 1961, the Dallas Cowboys have drafted 46 players in the first round. Five of these players have their busts in the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Way more than five of them were just busts. That is, of course, to be expected. The NFL Draft is an inexact science. All teams have more strikeouts than home runs.

In this post, we will take a look at the Cowboys’ first round draft history, and offer the following (mostly-subjective) observations:

• Identify the top five (best of the best) first rounders
• Identify the bottom five (worst of the best) first rounders
• Grade each player
• Grade the Cowboys’ overall first round drafting success by averaging the players’ grades
• Grade each of the Cowboys’ regimes, broken down as follows:
  • The Schramm/Landry Era
  • The Jones/Johnson Era
  • The post-Johnson/Jones Era

Read the rest of this entry »

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