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Cowboys Game Changing Offseason Moves: ‘What if’ Dallas Didn’t Draft Dez Bryant?

Sponsored Post: This post is presented by Sprint. Bringing you the first wireless 4G network from a national carrier. Only on the Now Network.

April 22nd was the date that the Dallas Cowboys selected Dez Bryant with the 24th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. But you have to look back at April 2nd as the date that the Cowboys draft drama started to unfold. On that day, Dallas said goodbye to a very old friend in left tackle Flozell Adams, while simultaneously releasing another starter in safety Ken Hamlin. It wasn’t like the offensive line (including tackle) wasn’t already one priority for the draft - ditto safety - but they were among a few speculative positions of need for the 2010 edition of the Dallas Cowboys. After Adams and Hamlin departed, OT and FS crashed the top of the charts and firmly entrenched themselves as the odds-on favorite for the Cowboys first round pick. Public perception, and the Cowboys fanbase to a large extent, became fixated. You dump two starters this close to the draft, surely you pick up a replacement early in the draft.

If our own reader-inspired detective work revealing the Cowboys draft board is accurate, then Dallas had four players ranked ahead of Dez Bryant on their board that were tackles or safeties. Russell Okung, Trent Williams, Eric Berry and Earl Thomas. Yeah, Dallas would have loved to see on of those four slide down to where they were in the draft, but that wasn’t going to happen, even with the draft’s unpredictable nature in play. Also ranked highly for Dallas was guard Mike Iupati. He was a possibility for the offensive line renovation project, but he was also gone when the time arrived. None of those players had been saddled with the ‘Character Issue’ red flag. But once the picks reached the 20s, the Cowboys war room had to be exploding with nervous energy. There, within range, was a guy they had rated in the top half of the first round. They knew what they had to do, leap-frog the WR-hungry Ravens and get their man.

Here’s where things get interesting for the Cowboys draft, if you play the ‘what if’ game. Imagine now that Dez Bryant had gone off the board in the early 20s, that Jerry Jones and Co. was not able to secure a draft partner in order to grab Dez? Imagine the draft unfolded as it did, except the Ravens took Bryant. Well, if we go back to the excellent detective work done by Requiem and JBell523,  we’re left with one undeniable conclusion. The next highest rated player on the Cowboys board was linebacker Sean Lee. A guy we ended up getting with pick #55. Dallas could have traded down, but for the purpose of this exercise, we’ll suppose they couldn’t find a trade partner willing to move up at the right price.

Imagine our reaction on April 22nd when the commissioner read out: “With the 27th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select linebacker Sean Lee from Penn State.” If you’re being honest, your reaction would have involved a broken TV and possibly some of the best profanity-laced tirades you ever unleashed. Quentin Tarantino would be taking notes for his next movie.

As much as I’m warming to Sean Lee, everything I’ve read and heard makes his selection at #55 seem well worth it, there is no way I would be happy with him going at #27. I don’t think many other people would be either, and the Cowboys would be getting hammered in the press for reaching and possibly blowing another draft. The vitriol released would have been equivalent to the ash spewed by that volcano in Iceland. The Dallas brain-trust could protest that they had Lee rated that high so they had to take him. The likely response would have been you had him rated too high.

One player falls, the Cowboys make a trade, and you end up with a steal in the first round and a draft that is praised by many. If one player doesn’t fall, or you can’t make the trade-up to get him…AND you stick by your board as it’s perceived to be? 

I wonder what our conversations would be like today if that had happened.

Regarding Tony Romo: Believe Your Lying Eyes

I spent a few minutes tonight with K.C. Joyner, discussing Tony Romo’s 2009.  The Football Scientist was a bit under the weather, but offered a sunny report on Dallas’ QB.  We covered many aspects of Romo’s play for the upcoming Cowboys Annual 2010 (start saving your pennies for that now, ladies and gents) but I’ll share this bit of hard data with you now, courtesy of K.C.:

“Romo’s bad decision percentage last year ranked third, ahead of Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers.  The only quarterbacks to play better in this department were Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre… Romo had a lot of near interceptions, but those were due to factors like balls batted at the line of scrimmage, plays where he was hit while releasing balls, or plays where his targets hit the ball in the air.  I saw no evidence that he was inaccurate…

There were problems with the 2009 Dallas offense, but in my opinion, Tony Romo wasn’t one of them.”

 

There are lies, damn lies and statistics, but when more and more stats are saying that Romo settled himself after the first Giants loss, we can’t accuse them of lying, can we?

I blame Jessica for everything that went before  (I kid!  I keed!)

Digging Deeper Into The 2010 NFL Schedule

When the 2010 NFL schedule was released last week, the only thing that really made any significant news for the Cowboys was the fact that Dallas has the third toughest strength of schedule in 2010. But there’s much more hidden in that schedule, and not just for the Cowboys.

Here’s a visual overview of some teams that look like they have every right to complain about a tough schedule, and others that look to have fairly soft schedules. (Click for larger image). After the jump, we break down the schedule a lot further for every single NFL team.

Volatility and Strength of Schedule (SOS)

At the start of last season, the Cowboys had the 11th toughest SOS with .516. By the end of the season the actual SOS had mellowed to .488, and Dallas ranked a comfortable 23rd. The biggest winners in the SOS lottery: The Saints, who dropped from 0.557 to 0.426. The biggest losers: The Ravens, who started with a seemingly manageable 0.437 and ended up with 0.523. The average swing in SOS per team last year was 0.042 points.

And it’s almost certain to happen again this year. The ‘real’ SOS at the end of the season will have little to do with the SOS published at the start of the season, and the reason is the volatility in team performance from year to year.

Take the playoff teams as an example. For the last couple of years, an average of six teams made it to the playoffs who did not make it in the season before. The six teams who made the playoffs in 2009 but did not qualify for the postseason in 2008 combined for a 64-32 record (.667 winning percentage) in 2009. That’s a significant jump from the 47-48-1 (.490) record that group had in 2008. Similarly, the six teams who failed to make the playoffs in 2009 after qualifying in 2008 dropped from a 71-25 (.740) record in 2008 to 49-47 (.510) in 2009.

The volatility inherent in the league makes it almost impossible to figure out which teams will have a soft schedule and which teams will have a tough schedule in 2010. On paper, the NFL schedule makers have actually delivered a fairly balanced schedule for this year. Here’s how the highs and lows in terms of SOS compare versus the last four years:

SOS by Year	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
High	0.543	0.539	0.598	0.594	0.547
Low	0.445	0.461	0.387	0.414	0.445
Cowboys	0.504	0.496	0.523	0.516	0.543

December and January: One thing that we all saw when we initially looked at the schedule was that December and January could be tough again for the Cowboys, as they’ll face the Colts, Cardinals, Redskins, and the Eagles twice in that span. In fact, when you look at the combined opponent wins for the last five games, only Philly has a tougher stretch, because not only do they have to play the Cowboys twice, their opponents for these five games combined for 51 wins last season. The Cowboys rank second with 50 opponent wins. I can already see the December headlines from here.

Remember how everybody and their uncle was swooning last season over the Chargers and how great their December record was? Prepare to hear the same stories again. The Chargers’ last five opponents combined for only 35 wins last season. Joining the Chargers in riding out the season in relative comfort: the Packers (35), Vikings (34) and Saints (32).

Easy starts: The Rams get a break to start the season, with their first five opponents combining for only 26 wins last season. Teams that could reasonably be expected to jump to a fast start due to a soft schedule in the first five games: Packers (30 combined opponent wins in first five games), Chargers (31) and Eagles (32). The Cowboys first five opponents combined for 40 wins last year, which sounds manageable, but the fifth game is a rematch against the Vikings.

Quality opponents: Another way to understand just how tough a schedule a team may be facing is to look at the number of quality opponents (teams with nine or more wins in the 2009 regular season). The Bengals and the Browns have their work cut out for them as they both face a league high 10 quality opponents. The Cowboys are in the middle of the pack with eight quality opponents, while five teams face only five quality opponents: the Chargers, Cardinals, Rams, Chiefs and Seahawks. The Chargers? Again? I’m beginning to notice a trend here.

Points differential: Yet another way to look at the quality of your opponent is through points differential. Which teams’ 2010 opponents had the highest combined negative points differential in 2009? You guessed it, the Chargers. Their 16 opponents were outscored by 720 points in 2009. The Bengals sit atop the list and face 16 opponents who had a positive combined points differential in 2009 of 545 points. The Cowboys are 7th on this list.

Vs. 09 playoff teams: One more way to gauge the difficulties ahead is to look at match-ups with the 2009 playoff participants. Six teams have to play eight games against last year’s playoff participants. Interestingly, they hail either from the NFC North (MIN, CHI, DET) or form the AFC East (NE, BUF, MIA). In a similar twist of NFL scheduling fate, the AFC West (SD, OAK, KC) and the NFC West (ARI, SEA, STL) only face four games against 2009 playoff participants. The Eagles face five of those games, all other NFC East teams face seven.

The price of winning your division: Per NFL scheduling formula, division winners are paired up with the other division winners in their conference. As a result, you would expect that the SOS would increase for the division winners vs. 2009, and they do, but only for six of the eight division winners. Arizona and, yes, you guessed it, San Diego are the only division winners whose SOS does not increase versus the 2009 end of season SOS.

Away schedule: Last but not least, strength of the away schedule. Even a brief look at the Cowboys schedule quickly revealed that there were some pretty tough away games on there. And the numbers bear it out: The Cowboys have the toughest away schedule of any team in the league, with an opponent combined winning percentage of 0.617.

2010 Schedule under the Microscope (click column header to sort)

Team	Opp. W/L	Opp. Win %	Point Differential	Games vs. Quality Teams	Games vs. 2009 Playoff Teams	Opp. wins first 5 games	Opp. wins mid 6 games	Opp. wins last 5 games	Change vs. actual 2009 SOS	Away Opp. W/L
HOU	0.547	140-116	116	7	7	42	55	43	0.043	0.516
TEN	0.547	140-116	94	8	5	41	51	48	0.008	0.570
DAL	0.543	139-117	281	8	7	40	49	50	0.055	0.617
CIN	0.539	138-118	545	10	7	35	54	49	0.047	0.570
JAC	0.535	137-119	-34	7	5	52	45	40	0.039	0.570
NE	0.531	136-120	371	9	8	41	55	40	0.016	0.453
NYG	0.527	135-121	231	8	7	46	47	42	-0.010	0.602
WAS	0.523	134-122	7	8	7	43	54	37	0.031	0.430
PHI	0.519	133-123	187	7	5	32	50	51	0.035	0.430
CLE	0.516	132-124	370	10	7	35	56	41	0.004	0.500
IND	0.516	132-124	-78	7	5	36	57	39	0.043	0.484
DET	0.508	130-126	395	8	8	42	48	40	-0.020	0.508
BAL	0.508	130-126	127	9	5	41	43	46	-0.020	0.539
CHI	0.504	129-127	341	8	8	40	45	44	0.008	0.508
MIN	0.504	129-127	251	8	8	42	53	34	0.063	0.523
BUF	0.500	128-128	328	9	8	44	41	43	-0.020	0.563
NYJ	0.500	128-128	245	8	6	44	45	39	-0.020	0.422
MIA	0.500	128-128	242	9	8	48	48	32	-0.060	0.563
OAK	0.500	128-128	-220	6	4	41	41	46	-0.030	0.523
ATL	0.496	127-129	82	8	7	45	45	37	-0.010	0.430
PIT	0.492	126-130	12	8	7	34	51	41	0.004	0.477
GB	0.488	125-131	107	7	6	30	60	35	0.047	0.500
KC	0.488	125-131	-536	5	4	49	41	35	-0.030	0.469
DEN	0.484	124-132	-360	7	6	43	40	41	-0.040	0.477
TB	0.480	123-133	-88	8	5	45	45	33	-0.070	0.555
CAR	0.477	122-134	-185	8	5	41	39	42	-0.060	0.414
NO	0.469	120-136	-167	8	5	47	41	32	0.043	0.513
SF	0.457	117-139	-504	7	6	42	35	40	-0.020	0.477
SEA	0.453	116-140	-515	5	4	37	50	29	-0.020	0.430
SD	0.453	116-140	-710	5	4	31	50	35	0	0.438
STL	0.449	115-141	-442	5	4	26	49	40	-0.070	0.422
ARI	0.445	114-142	-493	5	4	41	37	36	0	0.469

 

The table is a useful indicator as you think about the upcoming season, and which teams you think may be early favorites for playoff spots.

Will the Chargers storm largely unchallenged to a division title, only to be one and done in the playoffs again? Given their extremely soft away schedule, are the Jets favorites for the AFC East title? Will the 49ers take the NFC West?

Is it better to be battle tested (like all NFC East teams) as you enter the playoffs, or is it better to go in rested from a soft schedule?

Based on this schedule, which six teams are unlikely to make it back to the playoffs in 2010?

Questions, questions, questions.

Cowboys Draft 2010: The Wisdom of a Crowd — This One

BTB wins the draft!  Scratch that, BTB’s readers have won the draft. 

It’s become a tired, reflexive trait of draft sites to grade teams in the immediate aftermath of the picking.  What’s always devalued these grades, in my opinion, is the lack of context;  the graders assess teams on how close or far individual teams picked according to the their boards. 

What would bring real value to post-draft debates is knowledge of what real boards looked like.  Dallas  claimed it had Sean Lee in its top 16.  Where did other teams rate him?  This knowledge would let us review how teams really fared two years down the line.  The Eagles drafted Brandon Graham in the top 15, and gave up two high picks to select him.  Dallas gave him a high 2nd round grade.  Who’s right? 

That’s where you come in.  The Blogging The Boys community showed the power of open source investigations by constructing the most impressive items of post draft journalism anywhere.  Jbell523, Theebs, Requiem and others got the ball rolling, posting photos from the war room of the big board, and the rest of site’s readers dove in.  Within hours, a nearly complete draft board had been pieced together.

Readers outside the immediate community have noticed.  In my feeds today, I saw mention of the draft board project in the Detroit News, on SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket’s Bob Sturm’s “Live From Lewisville” blog and on NFL Fanhouse’s Cowboys page, which credited Sturm first.  (Not to worry folks.  Follow the links to Bob’s page and he puts all the credit where it’s due.)

We front pagers do our best, but you guys scooped us — and everybody else, pro or amateur.  Of course, everybody is standing on the shoulders of the folks who shot the original images of the team’s board, but without such an active an interactive community of fans, this would not have been possible. 

I give all of you some loud and well-deserved blog applause.  Nothing could illustrate the draft principles I spent weeks trying to lay out than the board all of your brought forward.  Sturm’s piece confirms that your conclusions are on the money. 

If other fans do the same, the NFL community could get even better access to their team’s thoughts.  (On the other hand, not every team is as open as Dallas.  But that’s okay, at least we got to know our team’s preparations — this year anyway.)

Well done gentlemen.  You are why BTB is the best Cowboys site anywhere.

Cowboys Draft 2010: The Wisdom of a Crowd — This One

BTB wins the draft!  Scratch that, BTB’s readers have won the draft. 

It’s become a tired, reflexive trait of draft sites to grade teams in the immediate aftermath of the picking.  What’s always devalued these grades, in my opinion, is the lack of context;  the graders assess teams on how close or far individual teams picked according to the their boards. 

What would bring real value to post-draft debates is knowledge of what real boards looked like.  Dallas  claimed it had Sean Lee in its top 16.  Where did other teams rate him?  This knowledge would let us review how teams really fared two years down the line.  The Eagles drafted Brandon Graham in the top 15, and gave up two high picks to select him.  Dallas gave him a high 2nd round grade.  Who’s right? 

That’s where you come in.  The Blogging The Boys community showed the power of open source investigations by constructing the most impressive items of post draft journalism anywhere.  Jbell523, Theebs, Requiem and others got the ball rolling, posting photos from the war room of the big board, and the rest of site’s readers dove in.  Within hours, a nearly complete draft board had been pieced together.

Readers outside the immediate community have noticed.  In my feeds today, I saw mention of the draft board project in the Detroit News, on SportsRadio 1310 The Ticket’s Bob Sturm’s “Live From Lewisville” blog and on NFL Fanhouse’s Cowboys page, which credited Sturm first.  (Not to worry folks.  Follow the links to Bob’s page and he puts all the credit where it’s due.)

We front pagers do our best, but you guys scooped us — and everybody else, pro or amateur.  Of course, everybody is standing on the shoulders of the folks who shot the original images of the team’s board, but without such an active an interactive community of fans, this would not have been possible. 

I give all of you some loud and well-deserved blog applause.  Nothing could illustrate the draft principles I spent weeks trying to lay out than the board all of your brought forward.  Sturm’s piece confirms that your conclusions are on the money. 

If other fans do the same, the NFL community could get even better access to their team’s thoughts.  (On the other hand, not every team is as open as Dallas.  But that’s okay, at least we got to know our team’s preparations — this year anyway.)

Well done gentlemen.  You are why BTB is the best Cowboys site anywhere.

Cowboys Offseason Schedule: Mini-camps: April 30-May 2 (rookies), June 11-13 OTAs: May 17-19, May…

Cowboys Offseason Schedule:



Mini-camps: April 30-May 2 (rookies), June 11-13

OTAs: May 17-19, May 24-26, June 1-3, June 8-10

The VRR: Could Cowboys Address Free Safety Position Via Free Agency?

As of now, the free safety position for the Dallas Cowboys looks to be some mix of Alan Ball (who signed the dotted line today), rookie Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, and perhaps a Mike Hamlin or Patrick Watkins. Going into training camp, we can surmise that Ball has the better grasp on the starting job, for now.

But is the team finished addressing the position? There are some big name veteran free safeties out there. Adam Schefter speculates that the Cowboys “might be poised to make” an offer to safety Darren Sharper if he does not sign with the Jaguars. Interesting.

The Cowboys also did not draft a safety last weekend and they released Ken Hamlin before the draft. Dallas is known to be eyeing Sharper. The Cowboys would like to weaken the defending Super Bowl champion Saints while strengthening themselves.

No safety in the draft? What about AOA, Scheft?!?

Anyways, NFP’s Matt Bowen asks whether Sharper’s visits could be a marketing ploy on the player’s part.

However, this could still be a classic case of Sharper trying to drive up his market value and entice the Saints to offer some more cash at the table.

I’ve said before that the veteran safety is a perfect fit for Gregg Williams’ defense down in New Orleans, and I still believe that. He gets some freedom in that scheme — controlled freedom — that allows him to make those plays on the football.

More VRR after the jump.

Recently released Dallas FS Ken Hamlin will be visiting the Bengals.

Rookies Dez Bryant and AOA are both known for their return skills. This seems to be an area of the game that the team is seeking desperately to upgrade. Incumbent punt returner, Patrick Crayton, has yet to give up the job. Although Crayton managed to break some big returns in ‘09, how efficient is Dallas’ punt return game? DMN breaks down Crayton’s punt returns.

Crayton tied Cincinnati’s Quan Crosby for the most punts fielded with 59. The breakdown for Crayton was 36 returns and a league-high 23 fair catches.

Factor in the fair catches, and Crayton’s average drops to 7.4 yards. That drops him ninth among the 18 returners who had at least 40 punts fielded last season.

Add UDFA CB Bryan McCann to the Cowboys’ growing list of return men for training camp.

Former PC defensive back Bryan McCann was signed to a free-agent deal by the Dallas Cowboys following a solid career at SMU. With his versatility as a defensive back and kick returner will give him a chance to make the squad.

He finished at SMU as the active career interceptions leader in Conference USA.

So…who is this New Hampshire TE Scott Sicko we keep hearing about?

The 6-foot 4-inch, 235-pound Sicko, who reportedly turned down five free-agent deals last week in favor of continuing his education, today signed with the Dallas Cowboys.

Last season, Sicko caught 55 passes and scored nine touchdowns for the Wildcats. He was named a Football Championship Subdivision first team All-America tight end.

Hat tip to Far Rider for the FanShot.

Sicko’s agent spoke with FOXSports.

“After Scott initially decided not to play football and pursue his graduate studies, the Cowboys as well as other teams continued to pursue him,” Rickert wrote in an e-mail to FOXSports.com.

“We maintained active dialogue with the Cowboys and they also continued to speak to Scott. After considering all factors, Scott has decided to become a member of the Cowboys. We are very grateful that the Cowboys have given him this opportunity and he is 100 percent committed.”

NC State’s basketball player, Simon Harris, is the Cowboys’ current try at landing their own “Antonio Gates“.

The Cowboys will also bring in a former college basketball player to the mini-camp on a tryout basis. Simon Harris, a 6-3 guard for two seasons at North Carolina State, has not played football since the eighth grade, but he showed enough during the Wolfpack’s pro day to earn an audition at tight end.

Harris played pro basketball in Ireland last year.

Taking a quick glance at the team’s UDFA signings both from this year and last year, it looks as if they are into developing offensive linemen and looking to find a prize TE/FB to compete with Deon Anderson. Notice any other trends?

Cowboys 2009 Undrafted rookie free-agent signings:

Rudy Carpenter, QB, Arizona State
Asaph Schwapp, FB, Notre Dame
Michael Turkovich, G, Notre Dame
Greg Isdaner, G, West Virginia
Travis Bright, G, BYU
Julian Hawkins, WR, Boise State
Jamar Hunt, TE/LS, UTEP
Kevin Ogletree, WR, Virginia.

Cowboys 2010 Undrafted free agent signings:

Delbert Alvarado, P/K, South Florida
Junior Aumavae, NT, Minnesota State
Will Barker, T, Virginia
Barry Church, S, Toledo
Phil Costa, G/C, Maryland
Rashaun Greer, WR, Colorado State
Chris Gronkowski, FB, Arizona
Terrell Hudgins, WR, Elon
Bryan McCann, CB, SMU
Danny McCray, S, LSU
Lonyae Miller, RB, Fresno State
Matt Nichols, QB; Eastern Washington
Scott Sicko, TE, New Hampshire
Chet Teofilo, G/C, California
Mike Tepper, T, California
Nick Tow-Arnett, TE, Minnesota
Verran Tucker, WR, California
Lorenzo Washington, DE, Alabama.

Calvin Watkins ranks the players on the Cowboys roster. Here are his Top 10:

The top three were pretty easy with Ware, Romo and Ratliff. But is Austin (left) more valuable than Witten? Jones moved into the Top 10 on his potential to have a big season. Bryant, if used the right way, could win the rookie of the year award. We have two Pro Bowl corners in Jenkins and Newman, who might have another strong season.

1. DeMarcus Ware, OLB	6. Felix Jones, RB
2. Tony Romo, QB	7. Anthony Spencer, OLB
3. Jay Ratliff, NT	8. Mike Jenkins, CB
4. Miles Austin, WR	9. Terence Newman, CB
5. Jason Witten, TE	10. Dez Bryant, WR

It sounds as if Dez accepted Ireland’s apology, as suggested here during Ireland’s backpedal.

“I appreciate his acceptance of that apology, and I told him I wished him well as he embarks on his NFL career.”

Tim MacMahon looks at some of the free agent tackles available.

What options are already out there?

Garland native Mike Gandy, Levi Jones, Ephraim Salaam, John Tait, Tra Thomas and Damion McIntosh are unrestricted free agents with starting experience who might be willing to be cost-effective backups.

Mr.Jones, any chance of re-signing Flozell Adams?

“I haven’t ruled out anything, at all,” Jones said. “That’s not impossible, but I haven’t ruled that out. What’s wrong would be to imply for him, that seems presumptuous about that.

“No, I haven’t ruled out anything.”

Why is Miles Austin laughing at DeAngelo Hall on his FaceBook?

“Can’t breathe can’t stop laughing De Angelo Hall is a comedian!’

Evidently, Hall’s comments below inspired the chuckle.

“It’s based on the talent we feel like we’ve got. It’s based on the improvements I feel like we’ve made. It’s based on the scheme,” Hall said during an interview with Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Blog.

“The scheme alone is gonna give us four or five more wins. The games we lost by two, three points, we’ll win those games, easy.”

“We’ll dominate our division, off of bringing Donovan McNabb in here, a guy who’s dominated the division in the past,” Hall continued. “So that’s just an educated guess. That’s an educated guess, and I stand behind. I’ll stand behind that. I’ll fight and claw to try to make that happen.”

Do you tweet? Check out the True Blue Fan Club’s official list of Cowboys Twitter accounts to follow.

 

In case you haven’t heard, the Cowboys re-signed unrestricted free agent guard/center Montrae Holland.

Here’s what the trade for Holland netted the Broncos Saints.

27 (158) Saints (From Cowboys through Patriots, Broncos, Raiders, and Jaguars) Tennant, Matt C 6′5″ 300 Boston College

Sean Lee’s high school football and basketball coaches say he is a perfect fit with the Cowboys.

“(Sean) fits what (the Cowboys) needed,” said Render. “He moves extremely well. He’s a more fluid runner than when I coached him. He makes the cuts and drops a linebacker should make.

“Of all the teams that use the 3-4 defense, their linebackers are some of the oldest and they could use a guy who is well-trained and well-schooled. Sean is in a good situation.”

While his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers passed on him the pick previously, all agree the Cowboys are a good fit for Lee.

“He was picked by the right team,” Holzer said. “They needed a linebacker. A team that has a need for him.”

More from Coach Phillips on what Lee can learn from Keith Brooking:

“It goes to temperment a little bit,” Wade Phillips said. “You can tell he’s a feisty player. I don’t know that he’s going to be that kind of leadership. But his agility - he can play first, second or third down, he can play Mike, he can play Mo - and that’s where Brooking was unique.”

[snip]

“The first thing he’s going to learn from him is to try to out-do everybody every practice, every drill, everything he does,” Phillips said. “And if he learns that from him I think it’ll really be a great start for him. (Brooking) competes all the time and he tries to be the best every play, in practice, in walkthroughs, whatever.”

Lee on Galloway & Co. (audio).

Click below to donate to BTB’s Dallas Cowboys 2010 Training Camp Fund!

The Cowboys and the 3-4 Defense: A Winning Proposition

via nfl.com

Raf’s story on Wade Phillips’ 3-4 prompted me to hunt down some numbers on the 3-4 defenses.

By my count there are currently 13 teams running the 3-4: Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins, 49ers, Jets, Packers, Patriots, Ravens and Steelers.

In 2004 five teams were running a 3-4 defense (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, HOU). By 2008 that number had grown to 10 (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, CLE, ARI, DAL, MIA, SF, NYJ). The Broncos, Chiefs and Packers joined the growing crowd of 3-4 defenses in 2009, and the Redskins and the Bills are reported to be moving to a 3-4 next season.

You’ll recognize some of the better defenses in the league in the line-up above. After the jump we break down how the 3-4 defenses ranked in the 2009 season.

Last year, the 3-4 teams dominated the NFL top seven lists in most defensive categories. The top five scoring defenses in the league were 3-4 teams, as were the top three in yards allowed. 3-4 teams highlighted in bold.

Scoring Defense				Total Defense
Rank	Team	Points Allowed/Game		Rank	Team	Yards Allowed/Game
1	Jets	14.8		1	Jets	252
2	Cowboys	15.6		2	Packers	284
3	Ravens	16.3		3	Ravens	301
4	49ers	17.6		4	Bengals	301
5	Patriots	17.8		5	Steelers	305
6	Bengals	18.2		6	Vikings	306
7	Packers	18.6		7	Broncos	315

A similar picture emerges when looking at some of the defensive efficiency metrics, in this case yards allowed per play and yards allowed per point allowed (a ‘bend but don’t break’ metric). In both cases, 3-4 defenses took five of the seven top spots last season.

Yards Allowed Per Play				Yards Per Point Allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Jets	4.2		1	Cowboys	20.3
2	Packers	4.8		2	49ers	18.6
3	Ravens	4.9		3	Ravens	18.4
4	Bengals	4.9		4	Patriots	18.0
5	Broncos	5.0		5	Colts	17.7
6	Eagles	5.0		6	Falcons	17.2
7	49ers	5.0		7	Jets	17.1

And finally, in terms of sacks and 3rd down conversions allowed, the usual 3-4 suspects again dominate the top seven teams in the league.

Sacks				% 3rd down conversions allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Vikings	48		1	Jets	20.3
2	Steelers	47		2	Eagles	18.6
3	Dolphins	44		3	Vikings	18.4
4	49ers	44		4	Dolphins	18.0
5	Eagles	44		5	Cowboys	17.7
6	Cardinals	43		6	Cardinals	17.2
7	Cowboys	42		7	Panthers	17.1

The stats speak a clear language: The majority of top defenses in the NFL run a 3-4 defense. Perhaps that’s because of the flexibility and unpredictability that arguably comes with the scheme. Perhaps the 3-4 is the better option against today’s passing offenses. Perhaps it’s because the scheme allows you to get better athletes onto the field. Perhaps it’s as simple as the more successful defenses among the NFL teams jumping onto the bandwagon first.

As more and more defenses adopt the 3-4, offenses will develop new schemes and strategies (2 TE set, anyone?) to counter them and so continues the constant evolution of the game. As long as the Cowboys continue to stay ahead of the curve on these developments, I look forward optimistically.

The Cowboys and the 3-4 Defense: A Winning Proposition

via nfl.com

Raf’s story on Wade Phillips’ 3-4 prompted me to hunt down some numbers on the 3-4 defenses.

By my count there are currently 13 teams running the 3-4: Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins, 49ers, Jets, Packers, Patriots, Ravens and Steelers.

In 2004 five teams were running a 3-4 defense (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, HOU). By 2008 that number had grown to 10 (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, CLE, ARI, DAL, MIA, SF, NYJ). The Broncos, Chiefs and Packers joined the growing crowd of 3-4 defenses in 2009, and the Redskins and the Bills are reported to be moving to a 3-4 next season.

You’ll recognize some of the better defenses in the league in the line-up above. After the jump we break down how the 3-4 defenses ranked in the 2009 season.

Last year, the 3-4 teams dominated the NFL top seven lists in most defensive categories. The top five scoring defenses in the league were 3-4 teams, as were the top three in yards allowed. 3-4 teams highlighted in bold.

Scoring Defense				Total Defense
Rank	Team	Points Allowed/Game		Rank	Team	Yards Allowed/Game
1	Jets	14.8		1	Jets	252
2	Cowboys	15.6		2	Packers	284
3	Ravens	16.3		3	Ravens	301
4	49ers	17.6		4	Bengals	301
5	Patriots	17.8		5	Steelers	305
6	Bengals	18.2		6	Vikings	306
7	Packers	18.6		7	Broncos	315

A similar picture emerges when looking at some of the defensive efficiency metrics, in this case yards allowed per play and yards allowed per point allowed (a ‘bend but don’t break’ metric). In both cases, 3-4 defenses took five of the seven top spots last season.

Yards Allowed Per Play				Yards Per Point Allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Jets	4.2		1	Cowboys	20.3
2	Packers	4.8		2	49ers	18.6
3	Ravens	4.9		3	Ravens	18.4
4	Bengals	4.9		4	Patriots	18.0
5	Broncos	5.0		5	Colts	17.7
6	Eagles	5.0		6	Falcons	17.2
7	49ers	5.0		7	Jets	17.1

And finally, in terms of sacks and 3rd down conversions allowed, the usual 3-4 suspects again dominate the top seven teams in the league.

Sacks				% 3rd down conversions allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Vikings	48		1	Jets	20.3
2	Steelers	47		2	Eagles	18.6
3	Dolphins	44		3	Vikings	18.4
4	49ers	44		4	Dolphins	18.0
5	Eagles	44		5	Cowboys	17.7
6	Cardinals	43		6	Cardinals	17.2
7	Cowboys	42		7	Panthers	17.1

The stats speak a clear language: The majority of top defenses in the NFL run a 3-4 defense. Perhaps that’s because of the flexibility and unpredictability that arguably comes with the scheme. Perhaps the 3-4 is the better option against today’s passing offenses. Perhaps it’s because the scheme allows you to get better athletes onto the field. Perhaps it’s as simple as the more successful defenses among the NFL teams jumping onto the bandwagon first.

As more and more defenses adopt the 3-4, offenses will develop new schemes and strategies (2 TE set, anyone?) to counter them and so continues the constant evolution of the game. As long as the Cowboys continue to stay ahead of the curve on these developments, I look forward optimistically.

The Cowboys and the 3-4 Defense: A Winning Proposition

via nfl.com

Raf’s story on Wade Phillips’ 3-4 prompted me to hunt down some numbers on the 3-4 defenses.

By my count there are currently 13 teams running the 3-4: Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins, 49ers, Jets, Packers, Patriots, Ravens and Steelers.

In 2004 five teams were running a 3-4 defense (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, HOU). By 2008 that number had grown to 10 (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, CLE, ARI, DAL, MIA, SF, NYJ). The Broncos, Chiefs and Packers joined the growing crowd of 3-4 defenses in 2009, and the Redskins and the Bills are reported to be moving to a 3-4 next season.

You’ll recognize some of the better defenses in the league in the line-up above. After the jump we break down how the 3-4 defenses ranked in the 2009 season.

Last year, the 3-4 teams dominated the NFL top seven lists in most defensive categories. The top five scoring defenses in the league were 3-4 teams, as were the top three in yards allowed. 3-4 teams highlighted in bold.

Scoring Defense				Total Defense
Rank	Team	Points Allowed/Game		Rank	Team	Yards Allowed/Game
1	Jets	14.8		1	Jets	252
2	Cowboys	15.6		2	Packers	284
3	Ravens	16.3		3	Ravens	301
4	49ers	17.6		4	Bengals	301
5	Patriots	17.8		5	Steelers	305
6	Bengals	18.2		6	Vikings	306
7	Packers	18.6		7	Broncos	315

A similar picture emerges when looking at some of the defensive efficiency metrics, in this case yards allowed per play and yards allowed per point allowed (a ‘bend but don’t break’ metric). In both cases, 3-4 defenses took five of the seven top spots last season.

Yards Allowed Per Play				Yards Per Point Allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Jets	4.2		1	Cowboys	20.3
2	Packers	4.8		2	49ers	18.6
3	Ravens	4.9		3	Ravens	18.4
4	Bengals	4.9		4	Patriots	18.0
5	Broncos	5.0		5	Colts	17.7
6	Eagles	5.0		6	Falcons	17.2
7	49ers	5.0		7	Jets	17.1

And finally, in terms of sacks and 3rd down conversions allowed, the usual 3-4 suspects again dominate the top seven teams in the league.

Sacks				% 3rd down conversions allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Vikings	48		1	Jets	20.3
2	Steelers	47		2	Eagles	18.6
3	Dolphins	44		3	Vikings	18.4
4	49ers	44		4	Dolphins	18.0
5	Eagles	44		5	Cowboys	17.7
6	Cardinals	43		6	Cardinals	17.2
7	Cowboys	42		7	Panthers	17.1

The stats speak a clear language: The majority of top defenses in the NFL run a 3-4 defense. Perhaps that’s because of the flexibility and unpredictability that arguably comes with the scheme. Perhaps the 3-4 is the better option against today’s passing offenses. Perhaps it’s because the scheme allows you to get better athletes onto the field. Perhaps it’s as simple as the more successful defenses among the NFL teams jumping onto the bandwagon first.

As more and more defenses adopt the 3-4, offenses will develop new schemes and strategies (2 TE set, anyone?) to counter them and so continues the constant evolution of the game. As long as the Cowboys continue to stay ahead of the curve on these developments, I look forward optimistically.

The Cowboys and the 3-4 Defense: A Winning Proposition

via nfl.com

Raf’s story on Wade Phillips’ 3-4 prompted me to hunt down some numbers on the 3-4 defenses.

By my count there are currently 13 teams running the 3-4: Broncos, Browns, Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins, 49ers, Jets, Packers, Patriots, Ravens and Steelers.

In 2004 five teams were running a 3-4 defense (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, HOU). By 2008 that number had grown to 10 (NE, PIT, BAL, SD, CLE, ARI, DAL, MIA, SF, NYJ). The Broncos, Chiefs and Packers joined the growing crowd of 3-4 defenses in 2009, and the Redskins and the Bills are reported to be moving to a 3-4 next season.

You’ll recognize some of the better defenses in the league in the line-up above. After the jump we break down how the 3-4 defenses ranked in the 2009 season.

Last year, the 3-4 teams dominated the NFL top seven lists in most defensive categories. The top five scoring defenses in the league were 3-4 teams, as were the top three in yards allowed. 3-4 teams highlighted in bold.

Scoring Defense				Total Defense
Rank	Team	Points Allowed/Game		Rank	Team	Yards Allowed/Game
1	Jets	14.8		1	Jets	252
2	Cowboys	15.6		2	Packers	284
3	Ravens	16.3		3	Ravens	301
4	49ers	17.6		4	Bengals	301
5	Patriots	17.8		5	Steelers	305
6	Bengals	18.2		6	Vikings	306
7	Packers	18.6		7	Broncos	315

A similar picture emerges when looking at some of the defensive efficiency metrics, in this case yards allowed per play and yards allowed per point allowed (a ‘bend but don’t break’ metric). In both cases, 3-4 defenses took five of the seven top spots last season.

Yards Allowed Per Play				Yards Per Point Allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Jets	4.2		1	Cowboys	20.3
2	Packers	4.8		2	49ers	18.6
3	Ravens	4.9		3	Ravens	18.4
4	Bengals	4.9		4	Patriots	18.0
5	Broncos	5.0		5	Colts	17.7
6	Eagles	5.0		6	Falcons	17.2
7	49ers	5.0		7	Jets	17.1

And finally, in terms of sacks and 3rd down conversions allowed, the usual 3-4 suspects again dominate the top seven teams in the league.

Sacks				% 3rd down conversions allowed
Rank	Team	Y/P		Rank	Team	YPPA
1	Vikings	48		1	Jets	20.3
2	Steelers	47		2	Eagles	18.6
3	Dolphins	44		3	Vikings	18.4
4	49ers	44		4	Dolphins	18.0
5	Eagles	44		5	Cowboys	17.7
6	Cardinals	43		6	Cardinals	17.2
7	Cowboys	42		7	Panthers	17.1

The stats speak a clear language: The majority of top defenses in the NFL run a 3-4 defense. Perhaps that’s because of the flexibility and unpredictability that arguably comes with the scheme. Perhaps the 3-4 is the better option against today’s passing offenses. Perhaps it’s because the scheme allows you to get better athletes onto the field. Perhaps it’s as simple as the more successful defenses among the NFL teams jumping onto the bandwagon first.

As more and more defenses adopt the 3-4, offenses will develop new schemes and strategies (2 TE set, anyone?) to counter them and so continues the constant evolution of the game. As long as the Cowboys continue to stay ahead of the curve on these developments, I look forward optimistically.

Cowboys Flashback: What’s a Phillips’ 34?

With the draft in the books, I think we’ve reached a good time to re-assess the type of defense Wade Phillips runs.  His 3-4 scheme differs from the “purer” version BIll Parcells ran in ‘05 and ‘06, and is better suited for the speedier linebackers he’s drafted.  Some people have questioned 2nd round pick Sean Lee’s potential effectiveness, commenting that he appears “small” in clips they have seen on YouTube. 

Read this analysis of Wade’s D, first published in February ‘07 and updated here to accommodate current Cowboys‘ personnel,  and see how Phillips’ scheme, which protected and enabled 227 lb. Donnie Edwards, perfectly fits the skill sets of inside backers in waiting Lee and Jason Williams:

Perhaps the most intriguing comment in Wade Phillips’ inaugural presser was his declaration that he would call the defensive plays for his “Phillips’ 3-4″ next season. The players, as blogger Emmitt>>Barry noted in his morning thread, are excited by the change.

What exactly is a Phillips’ 3-4 and how does it differ from Bill Parcells’ scheme?

I went to the tape and saw that Phillips in San Diego used almost identical personnel to Dallas, but ran a very different attack.

Parcells’ defense has been referred to as vanilla this week, and in some respects it is. He drafted big front seven people, linemen and linebackers and set them up in a straight-forward, one-on-one defense. Look at Dallas in most 3-4 first and second down situations last year and you saw:

a.) three linemen always, and I mean always, lined head up over the opponent’s center and tackles. That’s because Parcells is one of the few coordinators who runs a true two-gap defense.

This means that on run plays, the three linemen are given responsibility for the two gaps to either side of them. They are to control the lineman directly in front of them, read which way the play is going, shed the blocker and fill the appropriate lane. It’s a read-and-react scheme and it depends on big, strong, smart line play.

b.) It also puts a premium on big linebackers, since they are not protected in the ways that middle and weakside linebackers are in the speedier 4-3 schemes that Dallas used to run or that the many Tampa-2 team use. The inside linebackers have to take guards head on and the outside linebackers need the bulk to control tight ends and take away the outside run.

San Diego takes a very different approach. I watched tape of their 2005 game against the Cowboys and saw a decidedly one-gap approach.

The first dramatic difference comes in the placement of the linemen. Rather than lining head up like the Dallas three, the Chargers guys lined up in gaps or did a lot of shading, lining up on a lineman or tight end’s inside or outside shoulder. In fact, I rarely saw a Chargers lineman or linebacker taking an opponent head on.

Here’s one typical front that gave the Dallas running game trouble. With Dallas lined up in a strong left formation (meaning TE Jason Witten was lined up next to LT Flozell Adams) the Chargers deployed this way: RE Igor Olshansky lined up on Adams’ inside shoulder. NT Jamal Williams shaded C Andre Gurode’s left shoulder. LE Jacques Cesare lined up wide of RT Rob Petitti.

ROLB Steve Foley lined up wide of TE Witten. ILB Randall Godfrey lined four yards off the ball and over Adams’ left shoulder, in a stacked position behind Olshansky, who was lined up immediately over Adams’ right shouder.

The other ILB Donnie Edwards was also four yards deep and lined up over the C/RG gap. LOLB Ben Leber was, like Godfrey, lined up over the RT Petitti, but off the ball.

Draw this up on a piece of paper and then look at the lane assignments. There are seven gaps around and between the Cowboys’ line and Phillips has assigned a front seven defender to each one: Foley has the gap to Witten’s left; Godfrey the gap between Witten and Adams; Olshansky the LT/LG gap; Williams the LG/C gap; Edwards the C/RG gap; Leber the RG/RT gap and Cesare the gap outside RT.

And that’s if the linemen stay in their positions. The Chargers would sometimes give this look and then make a lot of last second shifts. Williams at NT would flop from being on the Center’s left shoulder to his right. The other linemen and linebackers would also change their alignments late.

Update: I want people to note that Phillips was already playing his nose tackle, in this case the 348 lb. Jamaal Williams on the shade.  I continue to see discussion of moving Jay Ratliff outside, and mention that he plays on the shade because he’s too light to two gap and clog the middle.  Phillips wanted Williams to use quickness and power at the Chargers and he counts on Ratliff to do the same.  Jay is about 40 lbs. lighter, but every bit as strong and even faster. 

Rat is up to 303 lbs. these days, and uses his long arms and incredible punchout to gain an advantage off the snap.   Given his power and speed, I wonder if the 298 lb. Sean Lissemore will get an early shot at the backup nose tackle role.  He’s at the same weight Ratliff carried when he entered the NFL.  He’s a priority viewing target at camp this summer.

One aspect of the linemen shading is that it allows the Chargers to stack their inside linebackers. This was especially beneficial to the 227 lb. Edwards, who is too small to handle the pounding he would take in Parcells’ system.

Furthermore, the Chargers do not play a passive front. The Chargers guys do a lot of slanting and looping, trying to shoot the gaps and get in the backfield.

Update: Phillips uses inside backer twists on occasion and they helped James get eight sacks in ‘08.   Wade played it more straight up last year and the rush defense gave up almost 20 fewer yards per game, rising from 12th to 4th. 

What we will see, at some point this coming season and certainly by 2011, is more running and stunting from the inside guys.  Williams lists today at 246, just one pound less than James, but there’s no comparison in speed.  Williams ran a 4.49 at his pro day and explodes to the football.  Lee, however slight he may be, is only six pounds lighter than Keith Brooking and a good ten heavier than Edwards, who used his quickness and instincts to post three straight 100-plus tackle seasons in the middle of the Phillips’ 34. 

The scheme offers some protection to the both inside backerers, and if they are good at engaging and shedding blocks, they will get plenty of action.

We’re watching the final phases of the switch from the Tuna-gap 34 to the true Phillips 34, from the power 34 to the speed 34. 

Meep-meep!

Cowboys Draft 2010: What They’re Saying About Akwasi Owusu-Ansah

For a football player, being named “Boy Born on Sunday” seems fitting for Ghana native, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah. ‘Kwasi, as he prefers to be called, was the Cowboys‘ 4th-round pick (126 overall) and will be a potential candidate for the starting free safety position.

Coming from Division II Indiana-Pennsylvania, Owusu-Ansah (shall we refer to him as AOA?) is considered a bit of a project. Nevertheless, he dominated in college.

While other players at that level have had success that has not translated well to the pro game, many think that AOA has both the talent and the intangibles to give him all the tools he needs to progress at the next level.

Let’s begin this installment of “What They’re Saying About…” with a quote from AOA’s college coach Lou Tepper.

“Akwasi would have started and been outstanding whether he was at LSU, Virginia Tech, Colorado or Illinois — all the places I’ve been,” Tepper said.

“He has irrefutable size, speed and strength at his position. And when you measure him against other safeties in the draft, he’s in the upper echelon in those categories. There are not a lot of safeties who run under 4.4.

“His specialty play alone will give a strong foothold in the NFL.”

Tepper also pointed to Owusu-Ansah’s drive. “A lot of top Division II players could be on cruise control and not press to get better, but that wasn’t the case with him,” Tepper said. “He’s got great character.”

NFL analyst, Gil Brandt, on how AOA’s game will translate from Division II IUP to the pros:

“It’s a big jump,” Brandt said. “He’ll be in for a culture shock because he’s not used to playing against kids that are so big, strong and fast. But he’s well grounded and that goes a long way to having success.”

Check out Peter King’s article on Owusu-Ansah.
Hat tip to DannyWhite for the FanPost.

Because he is recovering from shoulder surgery, Owusu-Ansah will miss the OTAs but will be available by training camp. Secondary coaches Dave Campo and Brett Maxie already have plans set for AOA during OTAs. Campo describes their plans:

“All mental. We’re going to put in coverages. What we normally do is that we’ve been doing teaching sessions two days a week. We start with week one where we put in one coverage, then we work on it the next week, then we go on to another coverage and then we go right on through. The first five practices of mini-camp we’ll put five coverages in. So he’s actually getting the mental part of it and watching it on tape and all of that stuff. Then we go to the OTAs and then we go to the same five, and then we just keep on going.

So by the time he gets to training camp he’s going to be mentally prepared. But being mentally prepared in the classroom and being prepared on the field are two different things. The guys that make it are the guys that can take it from the classroom to the field. We think he can do that, but he’s got to want to go out there and get involved. It’s not going to be an automatic, ‘I know Cover Eight.’ Then walk out there, call everything out and start moving. I don’t think it’s going to be that. I hope it’s that, it’d be great, but that’s where we’re at.”

Campo on AOA’s transition from CB to FS:

“If he didn’t have to do any [pre-snap calls] and we were talking about just go to center field and play football, he’d fit right now,” Campo said.

“But it’s going to take a little bit of time.”

Dave Campo on AOA (audio).

Jerry Jones:

“This 126th pick (fourth round) that we drafted, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, the safety. I’m going to let Wade (Phillips) talk to you about the things we saw in him, but I’ll tell you about the things that I know from my own experience firsthand after interviewing and meeting him and having a firsthand report on how well he did when he got here.

He was outstanding. He really distinguished himself relative to his insight and concepts as well as basically being able to not only understand what our coaches were doing on the board with him, but to retain it and project it back.”

More from Jerry Jones:

“We like his size, we like his speed and more importantly we like what we saw of his instincts,” owner Jerry Jones said.

“This guy can really change directions on the run and he really plays the ball.”

Jerry Jones’ call to AOA during the draft.

Wade Phillips:

“He’s really an impressive guy,” coach Wade Phillips said.

“He’s awfully impressive for a guy coming from Division II. You don’t expect him to know a lot, but he knew a lot more than some of the other guys we interviewed.”

More from Coach Phillips:

“He’s such a good athlete, and he can really play corner (too),” head coach Wade Phillips said.

“I think he could play either one. He was a big fish in a small pond. He was a lot better than the guys on his college team, but that’s what you want him to do. Those kinds of players have to be dominant and he showed it on his kick returns and things like that.”

AOA is cool with making the switch to safety.

“I feel real comfortable. Most of the plays I made as college were at safety,” Owusu-Ansah said.

“They told me to get ready to compete and it is going to be a grind.”

A sit-down with AOA during the NFL Scouting Combine.

Highlights from Scout.com’s Q&A with AOA:

ON VALLEY RANCH VISIT: “They definitely noticed my versatility. They knew I had potential at both (safety and corner) spots. I think it will be more at the safety position. I think my special teams ability definitely helped with the decision as well. I take special teams very seriously and it is a very important part of the game. I think that helped my draft status.

“I got to meet with all of the coaches and sit down with Jerry Jones one-on-one and talk to him. As far as the plays, each player sat down with the position coach and we would just talk football. They drew up the plays for me, I took notes and then they asked me to recite them. They asked me what I would do in certain situations.”

ON HIS RETURN SKILLS: “Teams talked about it a lot. That is one of the things that helped my draft stock so much is my return ability. They tell me that I have ability and that I am talented. “I have been on the kick-off team, gunner on punt, punt return, kick return and rusher on punt earlier on in my career. I have done all aspects of special teams.”

ON SHOULDER INJURY: “I dislocated my (left) shoulder in college, probably the fourth game of the season, and I played through it. I had surgery this past March. I will not be ready physically for rookie minicamp. I will probably be out there but there will be no contact. It will be more of a mental minicamp for me to learn. I think that is just as good.”

Some highlights from his ‘09 team MVP season.

Ed. Note - Next in this series: What They’re Saying About Sam Young

Cowboys Draft 2010: Jamar Wall Scouting Report

Just like with Sean Lee, when BTB wanted a scouting report on new Cowboys cornerback Jamar Wall, we went to a trusted source - SB Nation’s Texas Tech site, Double T Nation. Their report on him reads a lot like the one we got for Sean Lee. A high character guy, a leader, a hard worker. Oh yeah, he does have some football skills, too. Including returning kicks. Joe DeCamillis is smiling from ear to ear this week, he has a bunch of options for punt and kick returns now.

Jamar Wall scouting report after the jump…

Jamar Wall is another one of those high character players that performed admirably for Texas Tech.  A couple of weekends ago, I was at Texas Tech’s spring game and Jamar’s name came up in conversation and one of the fellow tailgaters stated that his wife taught Jamar in high school and the opinion of Jamar was that he was just a good human being.  A respectful person who apparently could have done just about anything with his life, whether it be football or academics.

I’ll also add that this entire year, Wall was one of the main spokesmen for the Red Raiders.  And when Leach was fired, of all of the players to say the “right thing”, it was Wall who did this.

Coming out of high school, Wall was a highly rated running back from Plainview and was moved to the defensive side of the ball.  Wall wasn’t perfect, there’s no denying that, but he was pretty darn good for three years for Texas Tech.  Wall not only started at cornerback for three years, but he also returned kickoffs for the Red Raiders in 2008, averaging 23.85 yards a return.  He’s not game-breaker, but he’s incredibly solid.  Wall was asked to play off the receiver, about 10 yards, the entire time he was at Texas Tech.  He’s  did a pretty good job of keeping his man in front of him, which was a big part of the philosophy of the defense.  That’s not to say that he didn’t get beat deep, he certainly did, but for the most part, he was a solid Big 12 performer.  Prior to his senior year, he wasn’t known as a ferocious hitter, but Wall had some devastating hits during his senior year.  I could watch this GIF all day long:

via i33.tinypic.com

And Wall’s hit against Oklahoma St.’s Zac Robinson, was not only legal and vicious all at the same time, but Wall’s hit forced Robinson to fumble and gave Texas Tech an opportunity, with 1:38 left, to win or tie the game.  It’s a cliche, but Wall won’t leave anything on the field and he gave up his body to make plays for his team.  I keep thinking that Wall may work out better as a safety than at cornerback and could envision Wall transitioning into a safety considering his propensity to make big plays.

Cowboys Draft 2010: The Final List Of Undrafted Free Agents

After the jump is the list of the undrafted free agents signed by Dallas. Check out Aaron’s earlier article, with more detailed bios and links for the guys at the bottom of the list. I’ve added some blurbs and links for the newer guys that were not in that post. We signed 17 overall.

Junior Aumavae, NT, Minnesota State

Article about his signing:

Aumavae is a 6-foot-2, 330-pound defensive tackle who garnered first-team all-conference honors for a pair of Division II programs during a stellar college football career. He was seen as an “under the radar” prospect by NFL scouts and a potential pick during the 2010 NFL Draft.

Aumavae was not selected during the NFL’s three-day, seven-round selection ceremony. But just minutes after the final player was selected on Saturday, Aumavae’s phone started to ring.

The Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys were all interested in signing Aumavae. Then Aumavae’s agent called with news that Dallas was ready to make an offer.

Article from his school website:

Aumavae played just one season with the Mavericks and made an immediate impact with the program. The 6-2, 328 pound defensive tackle was a First-Team All-NSIC pick and was also named the NSIC Defensive Newcomer of the Year.He finished the season with 25 tackles, including a half a sack and a forced fumble.Eleven of Aumavae’s 25 tackles were solo.Aumavae played in 11 games last year earned nine starts and recorded a season-high four tackles against Wayne State, all of which were solo.

Aumavae transferred to Minnesota State from Western Washington, which discontinued its football program following the 2008 season.

Will Barker, OT, Virginia

National Football Post:

It’s not surprising that Barker has gone under the radar until this point. He’s a right tackle-only prospect who played on one of the poorer offenses this past season. However, coming from a university that has turned out its share of NFL-caliber starting tackles, Barker could be the next in line. As I said, he’s limited to the right side only at the next level, but he did showcase the ability at this year’s Texas vs. the Nation game to hold his own inside at guard. He’s a tough, nasty run blocker who can win at the point of attack while also showing the balance and length to hold his own in the pass game. Barker isn’t a guy who will get much love on draft day and isn’t an early round type of prospect, but I think he has a lot more value than prospects like Sam Young, Selvish Capers and Chris Marinelli. He’s someone who can not only make an NFL roster but eventually could be asked to start somewhere along a team’s offensive line.

Danny McCray, FS, LSU

LSU bio:

The Tigers’ versatile starter at nickel back who also served as a backup to Chad Jones at free safety … Played in 13 games with two starts … Starts came at strong safety against Washington in the season-opener and Ole Miss  …  Finished with 49 tackles … Had two fumble recoveries, both coming against Auburn … Recorded a season-high seven tackles versus Arkansas … Finished with four tackles to go with his two fumble recoveries against Auburn … Tallied five tackles and one pass breakup at Georgia … Recorded six tackles against Louisiana-Lafayette … Had five tackles and two pass breakups vs. Penn State in Capital One Bowl.

Chet Teofilo, G/C, California

Report prior to his 2009 season:

Another sixth year senior, Teofilo enters the 2009 season with plenty of experience. Recruited as a defensive linemen, the transition took three years from 2004-2006 (he saw no action in 2006 while making the adjustment). In 2007 he played in five games and made one start at left tackle, and in 2008 he was used at both left and right tackle before being lost for the season with an ankle injury. Coaches believe that a move to the inside of the line will give Teofilo a better chance to show of his explosiveness.

Nick Tow-Arnett, TE, Minnesota

School bio:

Former walk-on has emerged as a potent weapon from the tight end position • solid combo tight end who posesses some of the best hands on the team • has seen action in 26 games with two starts • has caught 20 passes for 360 yards and a touchdown during his Gopher career for an 18-yard per catch average • one of three Tow-Arnett brothers on the team.

2008 • JUNIOR SEASON:
Appeared in all 13 games as both a tight end and on special teams • had 10 receptions for 211 yards and a touchdown • led the team in yards per catch (21.1) among players with two or more receptions • scholar-athlete award winner

Random article about him:

“A lot of tight ends are either finesse, pass-receiver types of tight ends or they’re blockers,” said Gophers coach Tim Brewster, who knows a bit about the position. He played it in college at Illinois and coached the position in the NFL. “Nick, he does both pretty well.”

Verran Tucker, WR, California

School bio:

CAL CAREER: Had 50 catches for 815 yards and four TD, averaging 16.3 yards per catch and 35.4 receiving yards per game in 23 contests … started 14 of the team’s last 20 games.

2009: (Game-by-Game Stats) Had 453 receiving yards and a 15.6 yard-per-catch average (best on team) on 29 receptions … had at least 50 yards receiving in five of the team’s games … caught a 59-yarder from Kevin Riley at Minnesota before the two hooked up again for a 50-yarder at Oregon … selected fourth-team preseason All-Pac-10

From East-West Shrine Game reports:

Verran Tucker (California) needs to gain more strength in his lower body.  He’s a good sized target at 6’2″ but has very thin legs.  He looked very comfortable tracking the ball through the air when the pass was deep and hauled in deep passes on the sidelines

Guys covered in Aaron’s post.

Delbert Alvarado, P/K, South Florida
Mike Tepper, OT, California
Lorenzo Washington, DE, Alabama
Barry Church, SS, Toledo
Phil Costa, G/C, Maryland
Rashaun Greer, WR, Colorado State
Chris Gronkowski, FB, Arizona
Terrell Hudgins, WR, Elon
Bryan McCann, DB, SMU
Lonyae Miller, RB, Fresno State
Matt Nichols, QB, Eastern Washington

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