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Taylor: Patrick Crayton's experience and versatility should trump younger wide receivers for Cowboys
11:14 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
SportsDayDFW.com
Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor responded to questions from fans about the Dallas Cowboys in his weekly newsletter on Tuesday. Here are some highlights:
Gary Dawson from Midland asks, “Wouldn't it be a good idea to go with youth and upside with a guy like Jesse Holley over Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton?”
TAYLOR: Nope. You go with youth and upside when the competition between two players is close. In this case, Crayton is significantly better and considerably more versatile than Hurd or Holley. Now, if the Cowboys keep six receivers and you want to keep Holley over Hurd, then go for it, and I wouldn't argue too loudly if you want to keep Holley over Ogletree.
Dudley Morris from Wichita, Kan. writes, “Call me crazy, but it seems the scouting department is doing a very nice job in identifying players for the draft as well as undrafted free agents.”
TAYLOR : I'd say you're right. For the most part, the Cowboys have done a pretty good job drafting during the last decade. They haven't really had a No. 1 bust except Bobby Carpenter – and at least he was a starter in the nickel defense last year. That said, they've done a poor job over the last five years drafting offensive linemen and quarterbacks. The reason they keep trotting out guys like Brad Johnson and Jon Kitna is because they don't have a young guy they're ready to play with any confidence. Stephen McGee doesn't look like he's the answer either.
Kevin Oliver from Texarkana writes, “ You cannot praise Jerry Jones for scoring on recent skill-position guys and then tear him down for not drafting enough offensive linemen. Let's be honest, you don't need stars at all five spots on your line to win a title. The key is to draft them from the right schools . Jerry needs to quit looking at Sonoma State for another Larry Allen and just stick with SEC or Big 12 guys.”
TAYLOR: Dude, what are you talking about? You can't do anything if your offensive line isn't any good. Your guards don't have to be great, but your center and tackles need to be good. I never said Jerry needed to take an offensive lineman in the first round, but they need to spend some second-round picks on offensive linemen, so they can get some guys with a certain talent level. You're fooling yourself, if you think any team can do well with a bunch of average linemen.
Robert Powell from Midland writes, “I would have liked you to add that the Cowboys passed on Marcus McNeill to take Anthony Fasano, a backup tight end. I'm pretty sure they could have drafted a backup tight end much later in the draft. However, poor drafting is poor drafting.”
TAYLOR: I don't like getting caught up in the Cowboys passed on this guy, or they should've picked that guy because you never really know how a player is going to work out. It's easy 3-4 years later to say, they should've drafted this guy or that guy. Well, they didn't. There's never a guarantee a certain player will work in a certain scheme. The Cowboys had a pair of tackles the year McNeill was available. They wanted to use an offense with two tight ends, so they drafted Fasano to team with Witten. Fasano didn't work out, which is why they got Martellus Bennett.
To read the rest of the newsletter, click here.
• • •
11:14 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 24, 2010
SportsDayDFW.com
Dallas Morning News columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor responded to questions from fans about the Dallas Cowboys in his weekly newsletter on Tuesday. Here are some highlights:
Gary Dawson from Midland asks, “Wouldn't it be a good idea to go with youth and upside with a guy like Jesse Holley over Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton?”
TAYLOR: Nope. You go with youth and upside when the competition between two players is close. In this case, Crayton is significantly better and considerably more versatile than Hurd or Holley. Now, if the Cowboys keep six receivers and you want to keep Holley over Hurd, then go for it, and I wouldn't argue too loudly if you want to keep Holley over Ogletree.
Dudley Morris from Wichita, Kan. writes, “Call me crazy, but it seems the scouting department is doing a very nice job in identifying players for the draft as well as undrafted free agents.”
TAYLOR : I'd say you're right. For the most part, the Cowboys have done a pretty good job drafting during the last decade. They haven't really had a No. 1 bust except Bobby Carpenter – and at least he was a starter in the nickel defense last year. That said, they've done a poor job over the last five years drafting offensive linemen and quarterbacks. The reason they keep trotting out guys like Brad Johnson and Jon Kitna is because they don't have a young guy they're ready to play with any confidence. Stephen McGee doesn't look like he's the answer either.
Kevin Oliver from Texarkana writes, “ You cannot praise Jerry Jones for scoring on recent skill-position guys and then tear him down for not drafting enough offensive linemen. Let's be honest, you don't need stars at all five spots on your line to win a title. The key is to draft them from the right schools . Jerry needs to quit looking at Sonoma State for another Larry Allen and just stick with SEC or Big 12 guys.”
TAYLOR: Dude, what are you talking about? You can't do anything if your offensive line isn't any good. Your guards don't have to be great, but your center and tackles need to be good. I never said Jerry needed to take an offensive lineman in the first round, but they need to spend some second-round picks on offensive linemen, so they can get some guys with a certain talent level. You're fooling yourself, if you think any team can do well with a bunch of average linemen.
Robert Powell from Midland writes, “I would have liked you to add that the Cowboys passed on Marcus McNeill to take Anthony Fasano, a backup tight end. I'm pretty sure they could have drafted a backup tight end much later in the draft. However, poor drafting is poor drafting.”
TAYLOR: I don't like getting caught up in the Cowboys passed on this guy, or they should've picked that guy because you never really know how a player is going to work out. It's easy 3-4 years later to say, they should've drafted this guy or that guy. Well, they didn't. There's never a guarantee a certain player will work in a certain scheme. The Cowboys had a pair of tackles the year McNeill was available. They wanted to use an offense with two tight ends, so they drafted Fasano to team with Witten. Fasano didn't work out, which is why they got Martellus Bennett.
To read the rest of the newsletter, click here.
• • •