COWBOYS DRAFT ANALYSIS
The NFL draft was this past weekend and I just wanted to give a couple thoughts on the Cowboys' picks. First, I like their first-round pick. For the first time in Jerry Jones' tenure as owner, Dallas selected an offensive lineman in the first round and picked Tyron Smith out of USC. One of the contants the past few years in Dallas, even with the good teams, has been the lack of protection for Tony Romo. Luckily, he is able to manuever quite well and can still find receivers but it's time to start getting him better protection. So I was happy the Cowboys went and got what they needed most.
What Dallas also needs more of, though, is help on defense after last year's performance. What I don't get is that only two of Dallas' eight picks were on the defensive side of the ball. In the second round, the Cowboys chose inside linebacker Bruce Carter out of UNC. And in the fifth round, Dallas took Buffalo cornerback Josh Thomas. Dallas was quite dreadful on defense last season, so I think we could've used four to five picks for defense. I think another cornerback would have been a good idea and we definitely should have gotten a safety. It seems game after game the past few years, whoever we have back at safety is getting beat deep, whether it's been Roy Williams, Ken Hamlin, or Alan Ball. So I'm not sure why we didn't take some more players on that side of the ball. We did a great fresh defensive coordinator as we went from Wade Phillips to now Rob Ryan, who was Cleveland's DC last season and is the brother of Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Perhaps he is thinking the Cowboys' defensive issues last year were not because of talent or personnel, but rather scheme and motivation. Before last year, Phillips' defense performed admirably so this defense has shown talent before, and maybe that is what Ryan is seeing. Maybe he thinks he can turn it around mostly with what's already available in Dallas. And there will be--hopefully--free agency so Dallas could also pick up some defensive help that way.
I do like the pick in third round--DeMarco Murray, a RB from Oklahoma, has what it takes I think to be a really successful running back in the NFL. Dallas has three guys in the backfield right now who are all shaky at times and/or prone to injury, so I think Murray can be a contributor right away. Marion Barber takes a beating and seems to be slowing down, Felix Jones is fleet afoot but often injured, and Tashard Choice has shown flashes at times but hasn't been given a decent chance for whatever reason so I think Murray has the opportunity to get a lot of snaps.
Now that the NFL draft is in the books, hopefully we can turn our sights to the season--but the lockout is back on now so we just have to hope there is football next season.
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WASHINGTON CAPITALS
After another successful regular season, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are on the brink of elimination from the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning hold a 3-0 series lead on the Caps and Game 4 is Wednesday in Tampa, so the Lightning could close out the series in a matter of hours. I am not a huge hockey fan or a Caps fan by any means, but the Caps have lots of fans in the area and another relatively quick exit from the playoffs for Washington would be devesating for the fanbase. The Capitals are quickly gaining the reputation as one of those teams that can pile up the wins in the regular season, but continually fall short in the playoffs when it matters most, like the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Cavaliers (when they had LeBron), and, to an extent, the Cowboys ever since the Super Bowls years in the early 1990s. Last season, the Caps were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, like this year, and were up 3-1 in their first-round series against Montreal, and but dropped three straight games to lose the series.
The NFL draft was this past weekend and I just wanted to give a couple thoughts on the Cowboys' picks. First, I like their first-round pick. For the first time in Jerry Jones' tenure as owner, Dallas selected an offensive lineman in the first round and picked Tyron Smith out of USC. One of the contants the past few years in Dallas, even with the good teams, has been the lack of protection for Tony Romo. Luckily, he is able to manuever quite well and can still find receivers but it's time to start getting him better protection. So I was happy the Cowboys went and got what they needed most.
What Dallas also needs more of, though, is help on defense after last year's performance. What I don't get is that only two of Dallas' eight picks were on the defensive side of the ball. In the second round, the Cowboys chose inside linebacker Bruce Carter out of UNC. And in the fifth round, Dallas took Buffalo cornerback Josh Thomas. Dallas was quite dreadful on defense last season, so I think we could've used four to five picks for defense. I think another cornerback would have been a good idea and we definitely should have gotten a safety. It seems game after game the past few years, whoever we have back at safety is getting beat deep, whether it's been Roy Williams, Ken Hamlin, or Alan Ball. So I'm not sure why we didn't take some more players on that side of the ball. We did a great fresh defensive coordinator as we went from Wade Phillips to now Rob Ryan, who was Cleveland's DC last season and is the brother of Jets head coach Rex Ryan. Perhaps he is thinking the Cowboys' defensive issues last year were not because of talent or personnel, but rather scheme and motivation. Before last year, Phillips' defense performed admirably so this defense has shown talent before, and maybe that is what Ryan is seeing. Maybe he thinks he can turn it around mostly with what's already available in Dallas. And there will be--hopefully--free agency so Dallas could also pick up some defensive help that way.
I do like the pick in third round--DeMarco Murray, a RB from Oklahoma, has what it takes I think to be a really successful running back in the NFL. Dallas has three guys in the backfield right now who are all shaky at times and/or prone to injury, so I think Murray can be a contributor right away. Marion Barber takes a beating and seems to be slowing down, Felix Jones is fleet afoot but often injured, and Tashard Choice has shown flashes at times but hasn't been given a decent chance for whatever reason so I think Murray has the opportunity to get a lot of snaps.
Now that the NFL draft is in the books, hopefully we can turn our sights to the season--but the lockout is back on now so we just have to hope there is football next season.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
After another successful regular season, Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are on the brink of elimination from the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Tampa Bay Lightning hold a 3-0 series lead on the Caps and Game 4 is Wednesday in Tampa, so the Lightning could close out the series in a matter of hours. I am not a huge hockey fan or a Caps fan by any means, but the Caps have lots of fans in the area and another relatively quick exit from the playoffs for Washington would be devesating for the fanbase. The Capitals are quickly gaining the reputation as one of those teams that can pile up the wins in the regular season, but continually fall short in the playoffs when it matters most, like the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Chargers, Cleveland Cavaliers (when they had LeBron), and, to an extent, the Cowboys ever since the Super Bowls years in the early 1990s. Last season, the Caps were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, like this year, and were up 3-1 in their first-round series against Montreal, and but dropped three straight games to lose the series.
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