ThoughtExperiment
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Some fail in this from Eatman I think.
Eatman: Claiborne Deserves To Keep His Spot, For Now
Posted 4 hours ago
Nick Eatman
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
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IRVING, Texas – Colin Kaepernick, Jake Locker and Austin Davis.
All good, young quarterbacks on the rise. Kaepernick is obviously one of the NFL’s superstars, but I don’t think you’d call him one of the best passers in the league.
Those three all have their moments but none of them scare you with their arm.
Drew Brees, on the other hand, scares you with his arm as well as with the tight end he has the luxury of throwing to. Needless to say, the Cowboys will be tested in their secondary more than they have so far in the first three games.
All that being said, I’m not benching cornerback Morris Claiborne. Now, I don’t know if the Cowboys agree with that notion. Jason Garrett didn’t exactly come to Claiborne’s defense when asked directly if he would be replaced. All Garrett would say is the team is evaluating that position and all positions.
But for this game, I’m not taking him off the field. To me, that wouldn’t make sense because you left him out there Sunday against the Rams. That’s the game he struggled in and you had the opportunity to bench him then in favor of Sterling Moore. But by not doing that, the door was left open for Claiborne to redeem himself, which he did in a major way with that game-clinching interception.
His confidence was already down, yet he found a way to come through when the defense and team needed him the most.
Now you bench him? I don’t know what message that sends. What would be the reason of leaving him out there if you didn’t think he could eventually get it together?
Now, all that being said, I might have a quick hook here. My patience would be very thin on this subject, and if you think there’s a better option in the middle of the game, then I wouldn’t be afraid to make a move.
This is a tricky dilemma for all coaches. At what point do you try and give a player confidence, but then when it’s hurting the team too much you have to change it up.
The Cowboys are right here on the edge of that, and yes, if Claiborne doesn’t pick off that pass late in Sunday’s game, then I’m making a switch – starting Brandon Carr and Orlando Scandrick on the outside and then playing Sterling Moore as my third corner. Who knows, that might end up happening by the end of Sunday night’s game.
But I’m a believer in a player buying himself some time and that’s what Claiborne did. No position on the field needs a confident player more than at cornerback. Maybe, just maybe, we saw some of that on Sunday.
For that reason alone I’m letting Claiborne remain in the three-corner set on the nickel. But I’d give Moore a few more reps this week in preparation of a possible change.
And with this specific matchup, the Cowboys will likely need all of them. With Jimmy Graham coming to town with his unique skill set, this defense might use all four of its cornerbacks to cover them.
Yes, this will be the toughest challenge the secondary has faced all year. And yes, it’ll get much better than Austin Davis to Brian Quick.
But Claiborne rose to the challenge when his back was against the wall then. Even with the pick, his back will remain there again with the Saints marching into town.
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Seriously, was he really all that surprised he got demoted?
He was demoted last year. He "won" the starting CB job this yr because the guy that replaced him got suspended.
Then my his own admission, he played awful last week. He had played bad to mediocre the first two games, and was pretty much dreadful Sunday till the pick at the end of the game.
I know everyone thinks he is dumb, but he cant be this dumb.
I'm wondering if they told him he's being demoted further than just nickel CB. Like maybe to 4th CB or maybe even inactive and moved below Patmon (who deserves playing time after what he showed in preseason IMO)
He was demoted last year. He "won" the starting CB job this yr because the guy that replaced him got suspended.
Then my his own admission, he played awful last week. He had played bad to mediocre the first two games, and was pretty much dreadful Sunday till the pick at the end of the game.
I know everyone thinks he is dumb, but he cant be this dumb.
I'm wondering if they told him he's being demoted further than just nickel CB. Like maybe to 4th CB or maybe even inactive and moved below Patmon (who deserves playing time after what he showed in preseason IMO)
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CUT the mother fucker right now, send a message to the rest of the locker room, and in the process cut your losses on this loser.
boozeman
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Yeah, cut him NOW.
Just like Ratliff and Orton.
Who got paid and then went to get paid elsewhere while still getting a Jerry check.
That'll show 'em!
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Alternative is what? Let him ride the bench while getting the checks?
You CUT this slimeball now, it hurts him. Because he won't be getting any game checks - and that's what they live for.
jnday
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From my understanding. He is gonna get payed anyway it goes due to his contract. I hated this pick from day one, but I hoped that he would be a decent player.
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Game checks are separate from the deal money. He'll still get the deal money.
jnday
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You have lost your damn mind if you think that Dallas will get a 4th or 5th for him, but a homer at CZ was saying a 2nd or 3rd , so you are not a lost cause.
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Like I said, "desperate"
I'm sure its a pipe dream, but I would hope we could get something for him.
if I were them I'd call the Jets and see if they'd take Claiborne for Quinton Coples. He hasn't really lived up to his 1st rd status there and doesn't really fit as a OLB in that scheme. I'm not even sure if he starts for them. I remember a lot of people being surprised they took him for that very reason, because almost everyone had him pegged as a 4-3 DE
Sheik
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He doesn't have a redeeming quality to him, IMO. He doesn't do anything well. Man/zone, he sucks. He doesn't play the ball well. He's not fast.
He's just a guy out there. Sterling Moore with a real estate agent that acts as his PR manager on message boards.
He's just a guy out there. Sterling Moore with a real estate agent that acts as his PR manager on message boards.
boozeman
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That still doesn't mean they did their homework.
They did not have him visit the facility. Nor did they send much to his pro day.
They did not go to the level of having him fully vetted as they have done other first rounders.
That is retarded when you mortgage the upper end of a draft for the player.