Connor Cook

Donpingon

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So whats the deal with this guy. Jon Gruden loves him, and he comes well prepared for the pros (systemwise) yet he's as polarizing as they come. Considering we will likely not take a quarterback in the first round, would getting Connor Cook be such a bad option in the second given our current situation
 

Cowboysrock55

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If you are concerned about the offenses or level of competition that other QBs have played against he should be your guy. He played against top level competition and played in an NFL style offense. An NFL style offense that has proven to be good at developing NFL QBs. (Hoyer and Cousins were both starters last year in the NFL)

I think the personality stuff gets blown out of proportion with him. To me the big concern is the completion percentage. Kirk Cousins for example complete 64% of his passes at Michigan State. Brian Hoyer completed 55.8%. And Cook falls right in the middle with 57.5% completed. That's an awfully low number. I just saw Cook rely on tossing up 50/50 balls with his WR's way too often. Throw in only solid arm strength and he just isn't that exciting of a prospect. I will say he is probably the most NFL ready QB in this draft. But I'm less concerned about that and more concerned about who will be starting in Dallas 1-2 years from now.
 

VA Cowboy

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I don't see any QB other than Lynch as a good option for us in the 2nd, and Lynch will probably go in the mid-late first. I'd prefer we just waited to day three to take a chance on a developmental QB or forget it altogether until next year at this point.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I don't see any QB other than Lynch as a good option for us in the 2nd, and Lynch will probably go in the mid-late first. I'd prefer we just waited to day three to take a chance on a developmental QB or forget it altogether until next year at this point.
I think Lynch goes top 15 easily. Cook I think may as well go late first but I could also see him lasting well into the second. Cook is going to be a matter of need and taste for some time.

I think Lynch's success or failure in the NFL will all depend on where he goes. I've seen the Cardinals as a projection for him. I think they may need to trade up but there might not be a better situation for him to go into.
 
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Deuce

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If you are concerned about the offenses or level of competition that other QBs have played against he should be your guy. He played against top level competition and played in an NFL style offense. An NFL style offense that has proven to be good at developing NFL QBs. (Hoyer and Cousins were both starters last year in the NFL)

I think the personality stuff gets blown out of proportion with him. To me the big concern is the completion percentage. Kirk Cousins for example complete 64% of his passes at Michigan State. Brian Hoyer completed 55.8%. And Cook falls right in the middle with 57.5% completed. That's an awfully low number. I just saw Cook rely on tossing up 50/50 balls with his WR's way too often. Throw in only solid arm strength and he just isn't that exciting of a prospect. I will say he is probably the most NFL ready QB in this draft. But I'm less concerned about that and more concerned about who will be starting in Dallas 1-2 years from now.
I'm not concerned with his lower % because who the hell has he had to throw to? He doesn't have any elite playmakers on his team and yet he consistently put up numbers and won games.

His is downfall is his douche factor.
 

Cowboysrock55

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His is downfall is his douche factor.
The captain stuff has basically been debunked. He certainly doesn't lack confidence but I think the douche factor is getting overrated.

To me arm strength and accuracy are the worries. They aren't bad but they aren't great either.
 

Angrymesscan

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I think Lynch goes top 15 easily. Cook I think may as well go late first but I could also see him lasting well into the second. Cook is going to be a matter of need and taste for some time.

I think Lynch's success or failure in the NFL will all depend on where he goes. I've seen the Cardinals as a projection for him. I think they may need to trade up but there might not be a better situation for him to go into.
Dallas would be the best situation, especially if they hire a QB coach...
 

Cowboysrock55

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Dallas would be the best situation, especially if they hire a QB coach...
If we had a coach like Bruce Arians maybe...

Seriously though Dallas would be a pretty stellar place for him. Playing behind this offensive line and throwing to Dez Bryant would be pretty good for any QB.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I guess I missed that debunking.
The way Michigan State does it is basically that they have 12 guys on the team form a leadership counsel. Cook was a part of that and those 12 guys are basically considered the captains. And then they pick one offensive player from that group to be 1 of the 3 captains on game day. Jack Allen was a fifth year Senior elected to that spot. Other guys on that counsel have basically said that if they had been able to vote a fourth captain it would have been Cook.
 

Cotton

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The way Michigan State does it is basically that they have 12 guys on the team form a leadership counsel. Cook was a part of that and those 12 guys are basically considered the captains. And then they pick one offensive player from that group to be 1 of the 3 captains on game day. Jack Allen was a fifth year Senior elected to that spot. Other guys on that counsel have basically said that if they had been able to vote a fourth captain it would have been Cook.
Still not seeing this as debunking anything.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Still not seeing this as debunking anything.
If the team viewed him as a leader and captain, what more do you want? I don't think most college teams do it that way. With only 1 offensive player being allowed to be captain. Iowa for example selected 5 players in past years, 2 of which are on offense. Under that format Cook would have been a captain.
 
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Cotton

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If the team viewed him as a leader and captain, what more do you want? I don't think most college teams do it that way. With only 1 offensive player being allowed to be captain. Iowa for example selected 5 players in past years, 2 of which are on offense. Under that format Cook would have been a captain.
Might have been a captain.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Might have been a captain.
According to the players who were captains and made that decision he would have been.

Not saying his personality doesn't suck. I just don't think the captain thing is proof of it at all. Maybe behind closed doors all his former teammates are telling NFL brass he was a total ass, I have no idea.
 

Genghis Khan

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I like Cook and I'd be happy to see us draft him.

I think out of Cook/Lynch/Hackenberg, all 3 have a chance to be pretty good pro starters. I think I like Cook the most of those 3.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I like Cook and I'd be happy to see us draft him.

I think out of Cook/Lynch/Hackenberg, all 3 have a chance to be pretty good pro starters. I think I like Cook the most of those 3.
I don't hate Cook as much as most. I just worry that his ceiling isn't particularly high. I honestly think he has fairly low bust potential compared to most of the QBs in this class.

Hackenberg I want nothing to do with. Seems like a great smart kid but he just looks so awkward and uncomfortable. I don't think he can be fixed. It would have been interesting though if he had his freshman year coach throughout his career. Maybe he would have developed some nice accuracy. But that guy can't hit the broad side of a barn and he can't do it with any touch either.
 

Simpleton

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I'd be fine with Cook in the 3rd, not in the 2nd.

Like C-rock I'm not as concerned with his "leadership" or whatever as I am with the fact that he never broke 60% completion %, or even got close really. His pocket presence is poor too.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I'd be fine with Cook in the 3rd, not in the 2nd.

Like C-rock I'm not as concerned with his "leadership" or whatever as I am with the fact that he never broke 60% completion %, or even got close really. His pocket presence is poor too.
I know exactly why Cooks completion percentage was so low. It's because it looked like he was predetermining his throws before the play even started. He was basically reading the safety and if his WR was one on one he was throwing balls up for grabs to them. Maybe that works with Dez Bryant. But it's difficult to complete a high percentage of those types of throws to most college WRs. I don't know if that was by design or not but I think it was a big reason why his percentages were so low. He very rarely would go to a checkdown. It was like if there was a blitz he was immediately throwing it up for grabs to his WR on the outside.
 

Chocolate Lab

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He's a doosh and scouts question how much he truly loves football. Pretty basic stuff.

Personally, I just don't think he's that talented. Looks like a career backup type to me -- if he wants to work at that, which he may not.
 

Simpleton

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I know exactly why Cooks completion percentage was so low. It's because it looked like he was predetermining his throws before the play even started. He was basically reading the safety and if his WR was one on one he was throwing balls up for grabs to them. Maybe that works with Dez Bryant. But it's difficult to complete a high percentage of those types of throws to most college WRs. I don't know if that was by design or not but I think it was a big reason why his percentages were so low. He very rarely would go to a checkdown. It was like if there was a blitz he was immediately throwing it up for grabs to his WR on the outside.
Yea, I also worry that Cook was playing under very ideal circumstances and he still wasn't amazing. Michigan St. is very well coached, they have had amazing defenses and running games the past two years, meaning Cook wasn't asked to win games on his own, like Goff was for example, and he was often playing from ahead and/or with a running game that made things much easier for him in terms of play-action, bootlegs and such. These aren't necessarily things to hold against him but it makes me wonder how he would look in less than ideal circumstances. He was very much an AJ McCarron like QB throughout his career at Michigan St.

I think the same can be said for Wentz actually. He played with a fantastic running game/defense, he wasn't asked to throw the ball more than about 25 times a game and alot of those throws were designed bootlegs/roll outs or off play-action out of formations that kept defenses off balance. Like I said, this isn't something to hold against a prospect but it does make you wonder how these guys will look when their defense isn't getting turnovers or holding teams to 17 points or how they will look when their running game is averaging under 3 YPC and they have to win games with just their arm against a defense expecting the pass.
 
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