Mosley: Time for Cowboys to draft Tony Romo's successor

L.T. Fan

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Even if he stays healthy I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Romo says fuck it and retires in two years, he hasn't looked like he gives a damn if we win or lose for awhile now.
I disagree. Romo has played harder this year than ever. Be your own judge as to his results or health status but his desire to play has never been higher.
 

jsmith6919

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I disagree. Romo has played harder this year than ever. Be your own judge as to his results or health status but his desire to play has never been higher.
Your disagreement is noted, but if my questioning his desire is the worst thing that happens...
 

Cotton

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Your disagreement is noted, but if my questioning his desire is the worst thing that happens...
:lol

Romo played like a scared girl for more than half of the season. Let's not go forgetting that now.
 

Genghis Khan

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Replacing Romo should absolutely be on the radar, but having Orton on the roster allows us to be patient and not force a pick. Orton is a solid QB, and is younger and healthier than Romo.
 

boozeman

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The Cowboys and QBs -- High Number and Low Number Models

Posted by Rafael at Monday, January 06, 2014

Always keep the quarterback position stocked. That was a philosophy held by the first Cowboys regime. In the 28 drafts he ran for the team, Gil Brandt drafted 15 quarterbacks, a rough average of one every other draft. In the famous '64 draft which produced three Hall of Famers (Mel Renfro, Bob Hayes and Roger Staubach) Staubach was one of three quarterbacks selected, even though Don Meredith was in his prime years.



Roger Staubach - the
prize of a QB numbers game.

The following year, Dallas spent the 5th overall pick on California's big armed QB Craig Morton, Brandt's QB splurges meant the team was in no danger when the 30 year old Meredith announced his surprise retirement after the '68 season. That depth provided a second dividend six years later, when Staubach was established as the starter. Dallas traded Morton mid-season to the Giants for a 1st round pick. That proved to be the second overall selection in 1975, a pick Dallas used on Randy White.

Stockpiling quarterbacks provided a similar dividend for Jimmy Johnson, as yesterday's story showed. Johnson picked three in his five years running the Cowboys war room.

Of course, both of those regimes operated without a salary cap, meaning quarterbacks were inexpensive to draft. Furthermore, Landry didn't face free agency, meaning he could develop his signal callers slowly. Most quarterbacks in those days were asked to "carry the clipboard" for a couple of years before they got their first starts.

The modern CBAs, which limit first contracts to four or five years, and the salary cap, create pressure to play quarterbacks sooner and to make cut-or-keep calls on them earlier than in the past. What's more, the cost of high-round quarterbacks can be dangerous to a franchise's health. In the previous collective bargaining agreement, quarterbacks taken at the top of the draft received increasingly excessive signing bonuses. Jamarcus Russell pocketed over $31 million in guaranteed money from the Raiders in 2007. Sam Bradford, the last QB taken first in the old system, got $50 million in guarantees from the Rams in 2010.

Despite these financial disincentives, most NFL teams continued the practice of drafting quarterbacks on a regular basis. As this chart shows, in the years since Dallas double dipped on Troy Aikman and Steve Walsh, teams have drafted signal callers at the rate of one every three years.

That old school method still works. Consider the Patriots, who took Tom Brady in the 6th round of the 2000 draft and saw him replace Drew Bledsoe, the 1st overall pick of '93, in the Pats 2001 Super Bowl run. Brady's instant evolution let New England trade Bledsoe for a 1st rounder the following year. The Pats have drafted five QBs since taking Brady and had Matt Cassel, their 2005 7th round selection, ready when Brady blew out a knee in the 2008 opener. Cassel led the team to an 11-5 finish and the Pats dealt him for a high 2nd rounder two years later, realizing an impressive return on investment.

Quarterbacks Drafted by Team 1990- 2013
13 -- Redskins
12 -- Broncos, Jets, Packers
11 -- Eagles
10 -- Bears, Buccaneers, Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, 49ers
9 -- Bengals, Cardinals, Chargers, Giants, Seahawks, Vikings
8 -- Falcons
7 -- Browns, Colts, Lions, Panthers, Rams, Saints, Titans
6 -- Raiders, Texans
5 -- Bills, Chiefs, Dolphins, Jaguars
4 -- None
3 -- Cowboys

Average 8.3 per team

Most teams does not include the Cowboys, who have taken one every ten years on average, since Jimmy Johnson picked Bill Musgrave in '91.

The Cowboys clearly operate on a different business model when it comes to quarterbacks. Yet, they've had a quality quarterback starting for them in most years since Jerry Jones bought the team. Does a different model mean a lesser model? We'll consider that question tomorrow.

Quarterbacks Drafted by Regime
Landry/Brandt ('61-'88) -- 15 in 28 drafts.
Johnson ('89-'93) - 3 in 5 drafts.
Jones/Switzer/Gailey/Campo/Parcells/Phillips/Garrett ('94-'13) - 2 in 20 drafts.
 

Rev

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I'm all for doing whatever it takes to get on of the top qbs this year. I don't think it will happen so it will naturally be 3 or 4 years late.
 

boozeman

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I'm all for doing whatever it takes to get on of the top qbs this year. I don't think it will happen so it will naturally be 3 or 4 years late.
I don't care what Jones or anybody else says about him coming back "better than ever". They don't know, they are hoping.

And judging how they viewed the Ratliff and Spencer cases, chances are they will be wrong, dead wrong.
 

Cotton

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boozeman said:
Quarterbacks Drafted by Regime
Landry/Brandt ('61-'88) -- 15 in 28 drafts.
Johnson ('89-'93) - 3 in 5 drafts.
Jones/Switzer/Gailey/Campo/Parcells/Phillips/Garrett ('94-'13) - 2 in 20 drafts.
Jerry really is doing it his way.
 

data

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In all fairness, Gil Brandt's numbers are probably skewed since he had 7+ rounds to draft.

Also, although we'd still rank at the league bottom with 4 QBs, I somewhat consider Drew Henson a draft pick.
 

boozeman

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Cowboys Nation Draft Chat Part 2: Manziel the Wild Card

Posted by Rafael at Tuesday, January 07, 2014



Part two of Cowboys Nation's draft chat with draft expert TD puts Johnny Manziel's game under the microscope.

Cowboys Nation: Let's go to Johnny Manziel. If you're looking for a playmaker, you start with that trait. Anybody who has seen him just once or twice knows he can make plays. As an NFL prospect, how does he stack up? There may be questions about his height. What about that? What about his arm? What about his decision making?

I saw him in the Alabama game and he made some amazing scrambles. At the same time, he has a blue chip receiver in Mike Evans and I saw plays where Manziel would hurl the ball high in Evans' direction and count on him to catch it. I wonder if he can get away with that regularly on the pro level, even if he has a big target like Dez Bryant or Alshon Jeffrey?

TD: Based on just the tape that I've seen, Manziel is the best in the bunch. Now, there are questions about his head, and they are what they are, but if I had to base my decision on a quarterback from this year's group based solely off the tape, I'd take Manziel, and I didn't think it was that close. I think Manziel is better than Teddy Bridgewater and all these other guys.

Now, mentally, Bridgewater is safer, but that's not a big deal in my opinion.

[Manziell] creates a lot of torque on his throws for a younger guy and he does it in a lot of different ways. From the pocket, when he steps into throws, he creates torque from his lower half. When he's falling off throws and trying to buy time he can do it from his waist and when he's on the move he can do it from his waist and his shoulder.

If you think of throwing a ball like throwing a punch, you want that quick jab and recoil. He can do that on the move. I thought he was very effective in generating power in his throws, and I think he's got more than enough arm to make all the throws. He's got great touch. He reads the game extremely well. When the game speeds up, it slows down for him, which is a phenomenal attribute to have.

When he's in the pocket I'd like to see him do a better job finding throwing windows. When he moves around his eye level can come down, then it comes back up. You hit the nail on the head. Decision making is a bit of a issue. He's got some Brett Favre in him. There's no doubt. You do see that, "I can make this throw and I don't care if it's the right read or not, I'm good enough to make it," attitude.

He threw a real bad pick against Alabama in the red zone that never should have happened, and there were a couple of plays where he just threw it up and you're thinking, "you're better than that," but the skills are there. He reads the game well. He's got the ability to find secondary receivers. He anticipates routes extremely well, both in the pocket and on the move. He can buy time with his legs and make first downs with his legs. I thought he was the best quarterback in the class.

Now, can he put it together mentally? We'll see, but I really like him.

CN: It's very early, but based on what you hear from your sources, but where is Manziel slotted? You said he was a top ten pick to your eyes, but is he in the 8-to-10 range? Is he a top five guy? Where does he project?

TD: I've heard a lot of what I've seen. Manziel is viewed as being better than the rest of these quarterbacks, but Bridgewater is safer. He's cleaner, with no off-the-field questions, so we'll keep him at one for now. I think a lot will depend on interviews at the Combine, when teams get to meet these guys. If Manziel comes off as a punk? Teams don't like punks, and they'll trust Bridgewater more. It's a wait and see with Manziel. Does he come off as brash and confident? A lot of teams like that. Is he like Brett Favre, or is he Ryan Leaf? There's a big difference between those guys. I think that will be the deciding factor. If Manziel comes off well in his interviews, I think he could be the first quarterback off the board.

If he comes off as a sloppy prospect? Blake Bortles is a more physically talented. Manziel could be one on some teams boards or six. It's all between the ears with him. The tape speaks for him. Teams will not make the mistake of passing on a quarterback who can do it because he happens to be shorter than you would like, because of Russell Wilson. Manziel could be like him, like Drew Brees.
 

boozeman

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Cowboys Draft 14, Part 3: 2nd Round QB Talents

Posted by Rafael at Tuesday, January 07, 2014



Clemson's Tajh Boyd




Part three of Cowboys Nation's draft expert TD's review of the quarterback position focuses on two possible second round talents, one whose stock as dipped since the summer and another who appears to be on the rise.

Cowboys Nation: Let's move to the second round, You said at the top of the interview that you felt this was where the best value might lie at the quarterback spot and gave us a brief review of David Fales. I'd like to go back to him in a bit but first I'd like you to flesh out a report on Clemson's Tajh Boyd. He started the season among the top rated quarterbacks and he's slipped. Lately I've seen him in the 2nd round.

Why such a fall?

TD: He didn't look real comfortable in the pocket. When he's flushed to his left -- and he's right handed -- he was really inaccurate. I thought his eye level dropped way too quickly. Boyd didn't make a lot of plays when he was asked to drop back from center and read the game. He felt pressure many times when there was no pressure.

Now, he was really good moving to his right. He made some acrobatic throws and generated a ton of torque on the move.

But I go back to his inconsistency as a drop-back passer. His feet would get too narrow in the pocket, or he would get bouncy in the pocket sometimes. His is athletic, but he's 6'1" and I think he's going to need a lot of time to develop as an NFL passer. He's not there yet. He's a guy who's looking to flush himself out of the pocket.

When he does see a throw vertically and he's going to Sammy Watkins, he can let it rip and the ball will fly off his hand. He can make those throws. Underneath he can make the throws. They throw a lot of crossers at Clemson. It's just in that intermediate area where he had a lot of trouble, especially over the middle. He could make the comebacks to the outside but it seemed at times that you didn't have to cover the middle of the field against him. He just didn't look confident throwing to that area of the field.

CN: Where does he sit now? He's not in the 1st round mocks any more, at least not the ones I've seen. Is he a solid 2nd rounder?

TD: Maybe lower, based on what I've heard recently.

CN: Let's circle back to David Fales. Boyd's stock has dropped, but Fales seems to be exchanging places with him, based on what you've told me. How high can this guy rise?

TD: Fales was awesome. I watched him against Stanford, and he started the game 5-8 and all his incompletions were drops. He'll drop down a little at times, like Aaron Rodgers. It's not side-arm, but its a quick three quarters type of throw. He's got good torque from his lower half.

He throws a real clean football. It's not as clean when he's making those bucket throws down the field, but
but from what I've seen his receivers don't a great job of creating separation for him, and he did a great job of putting the ball in spots where only his receivers could get them. I saw back-shoulder fades down the field. When his targets got vertical he put the ball right on their numbers.

In contrast to some of these other guys I saw Fales make a lot of NFL-level throws in a short amount of tape. He worked from the pistol, he worked from the gun, he worked from under center. He has good footwork. He has decent mobility. He was able to go through progressions and make secondary reads. Did he do it consistently? No, but I just saw him make quality throws. He made a bunch of them right out of the gate against a good Stanford defense and he moved the chains.

I watched Derek Carr and [Brett] Hundley from UCLA at the same time as Fales and Fales was the best of those guys.
 

p1_

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As big a hard-on as Jerry has for corners, he should see trading up to get a talented qb.
He's too loyal to players.
 

boozeman

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As big a hard-on as Jerry has for corners, he should see trading up to get a talented qb.
He's too loyal to players.
The problem is here is that he is too myopic. Year to year is how he drafts. He drafts to fill immediate holes and bypasses taking better players for the future.

Except for tight ends. Can never have enough of those. And you gotta get them in the second round.

I would be supremely shocked if we drafted a QB high. That kind of foresight is unheard of in Dallas.
 

Rev

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The problem is here is that he is too myopic. Year to year is how he drafts. He drafts to fill immediate holes and bypasses taking better players for the future.

Except for tight ends. Can never have enough of those. And you gotta get them in the second round.

I would be supremely shocked if we drafted a QB high. That kind of foresight is unheard of in Dallas.
:Nailontheheadsmilie
 
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