Glass Half Full at Fullback
Posted: January 31, 2006 @ 3:28 pm
I’ve taken some grief for promoting fullback as a need position this offseason. Sunday’s Super Bowl shows it’s value, as Seattle and Pittsburgh respectively feature Mack Strong and Dan Kreider,two of the better remaining fullbacks in the game.
Look at the fruits of their labors. Shaun Alexander has set touchdown records with Strong leading his way. The Steelers have maintained one of the best running attacks in football with backs less girthy than Jerome Bettis. Kreider is one big reason why.
When we talk about talent levels, consider how long it has been since Dallas had a good masher at the fullback position. Daryl Johnson retired in 2000 but 1996 was the last year we saw the vintage Moose, with the speed to make plays receiving as well as blocking. Think how his decline and the team’s paralleled one another.
It’s odd that a franchise that has lined up Don Perkins, Walt Garrison, Calvin Hill, Robert Newhouse, Scott Laidlaw, Ron Springs, Timmy Newsome and Johnston at fullback has neglected the spot for so long. It’s even more unusual when you consider that Bill Parcells has always relied on a big fullback. He had Maurice Carthon with the Giants, the aptly named Sam Gash in New England and a throwback FB in Richie Anderson when he helmed the Jets.
Parcells has long declared his desire to put a power running attack into operation. We’ve noted his inability to reshape the right side of the offensive line. We should add fullback to the list. He did import Anderson but the version we saw in 2003 and 2004 was a shell of his younger self.
I can’t say if Dallas will fill this need in free agency or in the draft, but it will be filled somehow. You can’t have a bruising attack with two backs who are not big enough to open their own holes. And Julius Jones and Marion Barber won’t get any more effective around the goal line with converted defensive linemen like Marcus Spears leading the way. If Parcells is serious about pounding the football, he needs a thumper to lead the way.
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32 Responses to “Glass Half Full at Fullback”
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Good grief
But I will say this…that Mills kid would be an awesome 3rd round pick.
Just too many other needs to reach so high and neglect the more pressing skill positions.
Polite should be better next year, but I’d agree that a FA or lower draft pick could easily be in the cards.
I still believe that the two positions that have always been most important to the Cowboys over the years are FB and TE. How many games did Billy Joe Dupree, Jackie Smith, and Robert Newhouse impact by their play? Landry relied heavily on those players. Same with Moose and Novacek in the 90’s. The offense was never the same after Novacek’s injury because Troy lost that intermediate passing threat over the middle and Bjornson was not enough of a threat. Those positions don’t get the attention and acclaim that the star WR’s and tailbacks got, but those victories were enabled from their play which opened things up more for the stars.
This draft seems deep at a lot of positions. Parcells has shown that he prefers good character players to super stars. He also has supreme confidence in his eye for talent and to some extent that is justified. I look for him to trade down and get as many picks as possible to start filling what has turned out to be a Dutch dyke full of holes for a team. A team of solid role players with a few stars will go a long way playing as a team. Look at the Pats.
raf
couldnt agree more, moose was an extremely important to the super bowls as much as anyone else. excellent blocker, and receiver. i agree FB and TE are extremely underated positions. i watch alot of chicago bears games and the one thing they dont have is a good receiving TE. if they did they might be playing sunday instead of seattle. i guy that can run 4-6 yds catch the ball and get the first down, someone who can line up against a lb and beat him consistantly. whitten, shockey, gates will all be impact players because of there ability to do so, and there teams will benfit.
Sorry guys, but that’s complete and utter B.S.
The 70’s won because of Doomesday, the Flex, Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson, Tony Dorsett and that great line by the soon to be hall of famer Rayfield Wright.
The 90’s had those fantastic D lines and speed LBs, great corners, Troy, Emmitt, and Michael, with those great offensive lines.
You and I could have led the blocking for those teams.
I’ll grant you that FB and TE have always been pretty good, but relative to the talent of other teams, it was the triplets and the lines.
i am one that feels we should upgrade the fullback position by FA. One name that stands out to me is fred beasley from the 49ers. Also i think we will also target an OLB in FA and my pick is Akin Ayodele from Jacksonville. He is big 6′2 251 and has been very productive since he’s been in the nfl. He is also fairly young 26 years old. Not to mention that he’s from Irvin, Texas.
How many of you were fans of Moose in ‘89, 90 and 91? I’ll bet most of you didn’t know who he was or cared whether we had him on our team or not. FB, like Oline, takes time to develop at the pro level. This was Polite’s first year. I’m for letting him develop another year. He may never be the recieving threat that Moose was but not many are. If I remember correctly, BP was talking about how he was one of the strongest guys on the team. That says something when you’ve got LA to compete with.All that being said, If BP sees a need to upgrade and an opportunity I’m certain he will.
OK since Raf brouhgt it up theres a chance Vernon Davis could slide down to 18, He’s wide receiver fast, good hands, weighs 255 lbs, blocks ok and played H back for Maryland. Versitility is important with the 52 man roster and I have heard he will have as much impact on offense as merriman has on defense. I think everyone agrees Cambell has lost a step and our offense needs two good tight ends. The other possibility at H back is David Thomas UT and the same source said he reminded him of Darell Johnson a weapon not many teams have.
does anyone have any info on the cowboys record when moose joined the team, while he was active and injured and see if theres a huge difference.
F15,
I agree that the great defenses we’ve fielded in the past have been the key to our success, and the 40-man SB panel agreed by selecting 5 Cowboys defenders on that team.
However, when we had a a great o-line like we had in ‘92-’95 to go with that great defense, we get 3 in 4 years and would have been 4 in a row if Jimmy had stuck around. He’d be in the HOF if he didn’t let his ego get in the way of a good thing. My, what could have been!
Sterling’s take on the importance of a good TE and FB is right on the money. Jay Novacek, being the only Cowboy chosen on that 40-man SB team is a travesty, but it just emphasizes the greatness that was Jay Novacek.
I wonder how his selection as “THE” Tight End, will help his cause for induction into Canton. I wouldn’t hold my breath with these mediots, especially because they didn’t include Rayfield Wright on that team. I wonder if that’s a message? We’ll find out in a few days, but I wouldn’t be surprised if no Cowboy makes it into the HOF this year….. Again.
Bottom line, we need a good FB along with all our other needs!
“Sterling’s take on the importance of a good TE and FB is right on the money. Jay Novacek, being the only Cowboy chosen on that 40-man SB team is a travesty, but it just emphasizes the greatness that was Jay Novacek.”
It should have said, “The only Cowboy chosen on the o-line for that 40-man SB roster….”
you have to remember though that lousaka polite was rarely used this season. He’s only got a couple of pass attempts, one touchdown and in most coverages they have keyshawn or jason witten in motion out of his position. True, having a bruiser fullback can help, but what’s the sense when our running back can’t break a tackle? we should use our pick on a guard or tackle. Free safety might be a concern but we can probably get troy vincent for a fair deal.
Mike-We were 1-15 his 1st year and and I would argue that he was injury prone due to his missing that one game due to spraining his ankle getting out of bed. That was the most hilarious thing I ever heard. I thought it was a joke.
Sean:
I have to admit that 1989 and 1990 was kind of a black hole for me as a Cowboys fan because I lived in a media market far from Dallas where they never talked about them and CBS wasn’t airing hardly any Cowboys games at that time where I lived. Of course that was long before the internet, so the only way I could get info about the Cowboys was from Sports Ilustrated and the very small sports page columns that mostly highlighted the teams failures and the QB controversies, etc. So I didn’t know much about Johnston until 1991 when the Cowboys starting getting better and I could see them play more. I do recall playing Nintendo Tecmo football in 89 & 90 and the Cowboys on there had 2 RB’s: Herschel Walker and some guy named Agee, but no Daryl Johnston. So you are right I didn’t no who he was, but only because it was hard to get team info or see the games back then. All I mostly heard about was bad news then.
I guess your point is that we should give Polite more time to develop into a good FB. I agree, but until he shows more signs of doing that would it be such a bad idea to bring in a FA to help get the power running game going? I used to play tailback and I can promise you that a good fullback makes a huge difference to a tailback’s success.
Fighter15:
I agree completely 100% about the defenses and QB’s being so important to the success of those teams. I thought we were talking about offensive weapons other than QB though. In the 70’s and early 80’s our TE’s, FB’s, and our all purpose back Preston Pearson scored just as much as or more than our WR’s. It seems like the times when the Cowboys really fell off on offense were not long after Newhouse, Springs, and Dupree left and after Novacek and Moose were broken up. I know our redzone and short yardage efficiency suffered for sure. Defense is always what won though.
TM:
If Vernon Davis is still around at #18 he would be a great pickup IMO. Maybe he and Witten could be used kind of like how Dupree and Cosby were used to complement each other.
Sean,
I knew who he was. I remember telling friends, “watch for this FB from Syracuse, he might be around in round two.” It was my first year playing with draft books, so it was a lucky shot, but I did feel like I knew something when Dallas swapped picks with Oakland, picking Steve Wisniewski and then trading him for Johnston.
Fullback is not a developmental position. Johnston was probably the Cowboys’ best offensive player in ‘89, as Aikman was trying to get his brain around playing pro QB. Mike Alstott, William Floyd, William Henderson, all these guys were good right out of the box. Polite is what he is. You can’t teach hands and his are plenty hard.
Rafael:
The way I understood your original point is that FB, like TE or H-Back, is a position that can help the team by having a big body to block for the star skill players and give the offense another option to dump the ball off to in short yardage situations. That is where I think the current offense (other than RT and center) is suffering from the most compared to those other great Cowboys teams.
TM, Vernon Davis sliding to 18 is doubtful but, if so, the Cowboys should draft him.
Sterling,
Yes. Look, the comparison I’m making is simple. Take those ’90s teams that had an excellent FB and TE to this team. Witten compares favorably to Novacek. He’s better, IMO. But do either Polite or Campbell stack up against Johnston?
They’re not even close, as either receivers or blockers. Polite’s blocking is pedestrian; they pull him in goalline situations, which should never happen for a FB. He also has occasional fits of the dropsies. Campbell is slower and has mediocre hands.
I don’t care if they find another TE or a FB, but they need somebody with Johnston-like game. When you have two guys who *combined* don’t add up to Daryl Johnston, you’re got a problem.
Lee,
If Vernon Davis gets past the Rams at 11, he could very well be on the board at 18. Look at the teams from 12 through 17. Cleveland has big money invested in Winslow Jr., Baltimore has Todd Heap, Philly has L.J. Smith, Atlanta has Alge Crumpler and Minnesota has Jim Kleinsasser signed to a big deal. Miami at 16 is the only team that could snag him in that space.
Davis is not a top priority, but if you’re picking by your board, can you pass him up if he’s there?
I think Vernon Davis will be there at 18, if the Rams dont take him, but would BP really take him or let somebody else call up and make him an offer? I would love to see him, I like Bobby Carpenter alot too tho, and would love to see the Boys take him.
About 1/2 the projections have Davis going at 11 to the Rams the other half have him going 22 to Denver.
There are allot of good tight ends in this draft. If he does fall and the Cowboys do draft him, barring a trade we will not be able to get an impact OLB, or OT with the 2nd. I hope the Rams do take him he’s got to much talent to waste helping out our center as a fullback.
TM
I doubt he would be taken, but if he were he would make for a nasty offense. He can block. He’s a very, very strong man and has the speed to rip apart the middle of defenses.
That would be his value — you could have him lead block but also scare linebackers and safeties to death because you could never double him and/or Witten. One would be guaranteed single coverage and could kill you.
But yes, I put him as a lower priority than OLB or OT. I’m just saying, if he’s on the board, there will be a long discussion in the Dallas war room.
TM:
There will still be impact OLB/DE’s in the 2nd round. After reading Jean Jacque Taylor lately, it sounds like that may be where they look to fill the OLB position anyway.
Would Davis be lining up only at FB? My guess would be all over the place: TE, WR, FB. I honestly don’t know who could cover him no matter where he lines up. He’d torch a LB and overpower a DB. He’s as fast as a WR, big like a TE, and as strong as a FB or even an OL. I read somewhere a while back that he can bench press over 450 pounds. I would love to see the Rams skip over him, but after the teams see what he can do at the combine he’s gotta go before #18. If not, he would be the biggest steal the Cowboys have had in ages. No way would I pass him up. If JJ and BP did I’d be very disappointed. There’s the playmaker everyone’s been wanting.
I know, I have spent the last two days trying to rationalize a way not to take him. I got to the point where I would not trade up but never resolved what to do if he did fall to 18. I ignored it untill Raf brought it up again. He runs a 4.41, has a 40″ verticle and owns all the weight lifting records for TE’s at Maryland..heres the link to extensive profile
http://www.nflfans.com/draft Martz never believed in tight ends so he’s gone and I think they will think they can still get Fassano, or Byrd, in the second and go defense with their first. So it’s possible, maybe as JJ puts it we can do some business at 18.
Finally, I hear some analysts say “Can the Steelers stop Shaun Alexander like the Cowboys?”
If the Steelers want a blueprint on beating the Seahwaks, they should go to the Cowboy game and study it. We beat them up for like 58 minutes.
another opinion on Vernon Davis
Strengths
Vernon has excellent athletic ability in all phases of the TE position. He is excellent in the passing game and is a very good blocker. He has very good speed and is super quick. Vernon is a complete TE with a burning desire to be the best at his position. He is ready to hit the field for the team that drafts him and impact.
Needs to Improve
To nit pick would be foolish. Vernon compensates for any minor negatives that he my have with a burning desire to be the best. Don’t be fooled by anyone trying to tell you different.
Bottom Line
As much potential as Leonard Pope has to be the best, Vernon is the best right now. Leonard might be able to re-define the position of TE, but Vernon can, and will, define it just like Gonzales and Gates have. Vernon will be a plug-in player that will impact the minute he hits the field. He will have the same impact for the team that drafts him as his former college teammate (Shawne Merriman) did last year for the Chargers, only it will be on the offensive side of the ball. Vernon is the real deal and I would draft him even if I thought I didn’t need a TE. He is a match-up nightmare and if you have a young QB, this kid will make him better the minute he hits the field. Vernon is smart, shows good leadership qualities and will be an asset to your franchise.
profile by Drew Boylhart.
TM:
I was thinking that he is the #1 rated TE, unless Pope or Fassano or Byrd went up over him. There is so much depth at TE in this draft that I really would like to see the Cowboys get at least one of these guys. There is absolutely no reason to put a contract offer on the table to Dan Campbell until another team does so first IMHO. None of us, including JJ and Parcells, know what the current NFL fair market value is for an aging blocking TE that can’t catch well. So why bid against yourself? Let another team move first, and then make a counteroffer. If no one does, then wait until after the draft and lowball him. With all the depth and quality in this draft, and BP’s well known affinity for 2 TE sets, I am not sure Campbell would be worth re-signing before the draft, especially if they could possibly somehow get a guy like Davis.
Sterling glad your still up.
Dont forget about Mercedes Lewis another first rounder. I think there is a 70% chance Davis is there at 18 and I am dealing with that senerio and if it out weighs our OLB or RT need compared to whos there in the 2nd or FA.
I don’t think we should trade up to get him, don’t think we can trade down and still get him. I figure we are going to spend 3 draft picks on another TE (because Campbell is not a 2 anymore maybe a three), a FB and a WR. Davis saves us three later round picks and counts as 1 roster spot. The soloution is easy if Justice, Carpenter, Greenway,and Lawson are off the board. If we can get a veteran FA OLB or RT it would take allot of pressure off the first round pick.
Did Taylor mention any names of OLBs projected to be available in the second round who can start. The best I see would be Spencer Havner UCLA and then you have to start converting DE’s like Tapp from VTech.
Re O-Line I know we can get a top guard or center but the best ROT would be Whitworth from LSU maybe he would inspire peterman however he is not athletic enough to play LT. I bet Scott falls into the top of round 2 maybe we trade up.
FS is another issue but there are a ton of them to be had in the third round.
sean,
i dont mean he was injury prone, i was looking for our record when he was healthy compared to when he was injured. probably worded it wrong.
Rafael, I think the Raiders will draft Davis with their 1st round choice at 7, if the 49ers, Packers, and Jets haven’t already taken him.
If Davis lasts until 18, the Cowboys should spend less than 10 seconds debating, and then take him.
Mike-I don’t think he was injury prone either, I just wanted to throw out my memory of him spraining his ankle getting out of bed and missing a game because of it. Moose was very durable considering the crushing blocking he did.
I’d like to see those comparisons as well.
Sterling-I don’t think it would be wise to “lowball” the player that was elected team captain. I definately wouldn’t want to over pay for him but he does still bring a lot to the table with his work ethic and leadership. You use the term “lowball” which sounds like your trying to screw him, I would prefer that we offer him a “competative” offer(the comparison to other offers he recieves).
Sean:
True, I shouldn’t have used a word that implies a negative connotation. My point was, captain, leader, or not, no one knows what his value is until another team makes an offer. I don’t want to see him get screwed on his deal, but I don’t want to see him get overpaid either. Especially when there are so many possible rookie replacements that can catch the ball.