Continuity Is the Word for Offseason ‘06
Posted: January 30, 2006 @ 10:39 pm
J.J. Taylor clarifies the Greg Ellis situation and throws buckets of cold water on any trade speculation Ellis and we may be harboring. Writing in The Sporting News, Taylor claims HC Bill Parcells contacted Ellis’ agent and told him the team had no interest in either releasing or trading the veteran DE because he’s too valuable. This echoes comments Jerry Jones made in Mobile.
Ellis has asked for some restructuring of his contract as a hedge against losing playing time. Keeping Ellis makes the most sense. He tied for the team league in sacks and while he may not feel happy in the 3-4, he found a real niche as a rusher in the 4-2-5 package.
Taylor mentions Texas OT Jonathan Scott as a possible first round selection. Scott would fill a need, but he would be a reach at 18, even with his strong Senior Bowl showing.
Taylor also suggests that Dallas may draft more 255 lb. college DEs to convert to 3-4 OLBs, a la Demarcus Ware. Hey, J.J., there’s this kid named Bobby Carpenter, who plays for your alma mater Ohio State. He’s 255 lbs. and he’s already an outside linebacker…
I sense someone either playing dumb or speaking in code here. Taylor never misses up a chance to plug Ohio St., yet he’s passing up a chance to push one of his guys?
Interesting.
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I’d be happy if Ellis sticks with the Cowboys. I think he’s a very good player and makes big plays when we need them most. Trade Glover for a draft pick or two.
Never was a big Ellis fan….if they can redo his contract as part time DE
which is what he has become then fine.
But maybe JJ and BP are trying to improve their trading position by “planting” that taylor story….no then it would have come thru Mort….
I have to give some deference to JJT because, unlike Fisher, he actually does know his stuff and doesn’t write fantasies with unknown sources that could very well be the Fed Ex delivery man. I believe what I read in this story, although it is pretty much the opposite of what a lot of us on here have been speculating about on nearly every point.
If JJT does have insight on this, and Jon Scott turns out to be the 1st round pick, then I think I can see their thinking. They likely believe OT is the highest draft priority, Scott won’t last until #50, and that they can pick up a DE/OLB hybrid at #50. I doubt if Lawson will be there, but maybe Wimbley or Parys Harelson will still be on the board.
I would rather see them get a guy like Carpenter who knows the position better, but maybe they feel that OT is better fixed through the draft then FA. Funny that JJT mentions that the reason Merriman had more sacks than Ware is because all he had to do is rush the passer whereas Ware had to cover TE’s. I can’t see one of the tweeners being any different, but I could see Carpenter lining up strong side and doing well covering TE’s and letting Ware rush fulltime.
Ellis staying is probably all around a good thing as long as he doesn’t complain. Of course, if they don’t trade him this offseason they probably won’t be able to next time at his age.
Just for kicks, I went back and looked at Parcells’ drafts since he has been a head coach. Here are the players that he has taken in the first and second rounds….
Year,Round, Pick#, Name, Position
1983 1/10 Terry Kinard, S
1983 2/37 Leonard Marshall, DT
1984 1/3 Carl Banks, OLB
1984 1/27 William Roberts, G
1985 1/19 George Adams, RB
1985 2/46 Stacey Robinson, WR
1986 1/19 Eric Dorsey, DE
1986 2/44 Mark Collins, CB
1986 2/46 Erik Howard, NT
1986 2/51 Pepper Johnson, ILB
1986 2/53 Greg Lasker, DB
1987 1/28 Mark Ingram, WR
1987 2/55 Adrian White, S
1988 1/10 Eric Moore, G
1988 2/36 Jumbo Elliot, T
1989 1/18 Brian Williams, C
1990 1/24 Rodney Hampton, RB
1990 2/51 Mike Fox, DE
1993 1/1 Drew Bledsoe, QB
1993 2/31 Chris Slade, DE
1993 2/51 Todd Rucci, G
1993 2/56 Vincent Brisby, WR
1994 1/4 Willie McGinest, OLB
1994 2/35 Kevin Lee, WR
1995 1/23 Ty Law, CB
1995 2/57 Ted Johnson, ILB
1996 1/7 Terry Glenn, WR
1996 2/36 Lawyer Milloy, SS
1997 1/8 James Farrior, ILB
1997 2/31 Rick Terry, DT
1998 2/56 Dorian Boose, DE
1999 2/57 Randy Thomas, G
2000 1/12 Shaun Ellis, DE
2000 1/13 John Abraham, DE
2000 1/18 Chad Pennington, QB
2000 1/27 Anthony Becht, TE
2003 1/5 Terrence Newman, CB
2003 2/38 Al Johnson, C
2004 2/43 Julius Jones, RB
2004 2/52 Jacob Rogers, OT
2005 1/11 Demarcus Ware, OLB
2005 1/20 Marcus Spears, DE
2005 2/42 Kevin Burnett, LB
So going through these 19 drafts, we have the following statistics:
First Rounders:
QBs: 2
WRs: 2
RBs: 2
OTs: 0
G: 2
C: 1
TEs: 1
DL: 4
LB: 4
CB: 2
S: 1
Total of 21 first rounders. 9 offense, 12 defense.
Second rounders:
QBs: 0
WRs: 3
RBs: 1
OTs: 2
G: 2
C: 1
TEs:0
DL: 6
LB: 3
CB: 1
S: 3
22 total second rounders, 9 on offense, 13 on defense.
In 19 drafts, Parcells has never drafted a first round OT. With 43 total picks in the first 2 rounds, he has selected 10 defensive linemen and 7 linebackers. No other position has more than 4 selections (guard and safety).
If Big Bill does draft Scott at 18 it’s because he is the most versitle able to back up at LT, play Rt and he also deep snaps possibly saving a roster spot plus JJ gets the homer advantage. If they think he’s better than justice then I hope they trade down to get him.
The draft is looking more and more like one of two possiblities in the draft:
1. Trade-up - To select a sure thing impact player
2. Trade-down - Pooling extra picks and still selecting a targeted person of need
In order to make Option 1 a reality, the ‘Boys must decide that they are a single playmaker away from SB contention.
Option 2 would come about if the evaluation is that this is a deep draft and several holes could be filled with whatever the draft leaves us.
Given the depth and relative equality of the OL & LB candidates, the numerous spots that the Cowboys need to upgrade, and the lack of a true playmaker outside the top 10…Trading down seems like the logical choice.
Either way, I don’t see us standing pat.
I agree with Taylor. ellis will be back and I see him having a career season in ‘06. With another rush DE/LB ala Ware, there will be less opportunity for opponents to double Greg. He can be used specifically in passing situations.
I actually don’t see Tuna drafting an OT on the first day. I just don’t think there’s anyone out there past Ferguson that will have an instant impact. I think he’ll go the FA route and draft another project (ala Rogers and Pettiti) on the second day.
Poke
Fighter:
As you said, this is a talented deep crop, that works against trades, especially in the 1st Round, every team has holes or has soon to become holes with FA and they need the infusion of talent. Trades in the 1st day of the Draft will be counted with the fingers of just one hand.
Chandus,
That has definitely been the case over the past few years, with one notable exception, QB
Because this seems to be the best crop of QBs, I can see Tennessee, NO, SF and others getting a lot of picks from teams desperate for a shot at the big 3. That will free up some excess picks that would be available for a last minute trade that the Cowboys would go for when one of those teams sees a need pick available at 18.
Remember, Buffalo had to have their QB Losman and gave us a nice package to trade out of Round 1 two years ago.
Fighter15:
I know Cutler is getting a lot of attention now, and he is a good QB, but he is not even close to being in the same category as Young or Leinart. I watched him a lot last week in Senior Bowl practices and in the game, he was ok but hardly sensational in either. I admit I didn’t see any Vandy games. I really believe once the media hype subsides he will fall, especially because so many teams after the Jets have picked up new QB’s recently. I am pretty sure the Raiders haven’t drafted a 1st round QB since Pete Marinovich bombed, so I think Al Davis is happier with FA’s there.
Ridgelake:
I went back and did that same Parcells draft research a few weeks ago, but never shared it on here because I realized that the results are not entirely indicative of what the Cowboys will do. The reason is that the only drafts we know Parcells had control over was with the Jets, you may recall his famous grocery shopping/cooking the dinner comment from the Patriots. The second reason is the Jerry and his son have the final say over the draft, not Parcells. I am sure they listen to him and sonfer with him, but they ultimately make the choice. I am also thinking that JJ might be a little gun-shy about FA OL’s after shelling out so much money for Rivera’s subpar performance. I get the feeling from JJT’s article, and from reading his blog all last week that the team is very serious about getting Jon Scott.
I have been mulling over this Jon Scott thing. I have mixed feelings, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that if he does well with the benching 225 pounds 30 times in a row at the combine, which is the mark his father and agent seem to believe will get him drafted in the 1st round then I think he is likely to be the #18 pick. There is no question OT is the Cowboys’ biggest off-season priority, and Scott is widely considered to be the third best OT in this draft. The two who are rated above him are almost certainly not going to be around by the 18th pick, and Scott will probably not be around by #50. There are a lot of teams around the NFL who need a good OT, and it is not going to be as easy as a lot of us were thinking to bid away a FA from many of these teams without grossly overpaying as was done with Rivera last year. I think it is very unlikely to lure a guy like Ashworth away from the Patriots without overpaying, simply because he is set up on a good team there already, with a good QB, and he even gets paid to do Visa commercials, etc. Why would he mess all that up unless he was offered above market value by another team? I don’t think JJ wants to take the chance this year that he did last year with Rivera. I also recall reading on JJT’s blog that Scott had been working out with and mentored by Flozell, which makes you think the Cowboys have much more than a passing interest in him. I was thinking all along that OLB would be the 1st round pick, but I am changing my mind now.
Sterling,
I think it is still important to note that BParcells has Never drafted a Olineman in the first round. Either he had some control over the draft or he had total control, never drafting an OLineman is past coincidence
alanTdot:
I have been saying that for the past month, but there is evidence that points to this being a different draft. When he was with the Giants they actually did draft an OG from Indiana in the 1st round before drafting OT Jumbo Elliott in the 2nd round. I don’t know whether that was Parcells’ choice or not because he wasn’t the GM with the Giants. In any event, Jerry and Stephen Jones will be doing the drafting in April, not Parcells.
You guys are digging up some great info on Jon Scott. Like Sterling, I too thought that OLB will be our first pick, but I’m also not sure now.
I think that we may still pick up a free agent if Larry Allen is released for cap reasons. I’d hate to see that happen, especially because he has been the rock on a shaky o-line, but if there isn’t a new CBA, then it may happen.
I certainly hope not. LA should end his “First Ballot HOF” career in Dallas. Then again, “First Ballot” and “Dallas Cowboy” don’t seem to go together well with these HOF voting mediots!
Ellis’ status, though uncertain, probably points to him sticking around, because his salary is not too high, and depth is something we’ll need late in the season. Keeping him happy in a reduced role, is the hard part.
Larry Allen will get in first ballot absolutely! You can saw what you want about other positions, but when it comes to outright dominance you can’t forget larry allen.With wright, irvin, even aikman at times you could argue their counterparts and say”well their team was good”and blah blah blah, but with Larry allen, he made holes big enough for anybody with the ball to go through, plain and simple.
I say stick with ellis, but clearly this whole rookie symposium with did the second half of the season must have stung pretty bad with him and the vets, especially when the rookies didn’t do better buy horribly worse! Look at the redskins, eagles, giants, even the chief game and you’ll see the same rookies get beat play after play, I say stick him in their with la’roi and say have at it!