Jerry drafts vs. Parcells drafts - the results are scary

This week, tight end John Phillips signed with the San Diego Chargers; that leaves none of the 12 players who were drafted by the Cowboys in 2009 still with the team. That is one of the primary reasons this team is in such mediocre shape - the guts of a team in 2013 should be comprised by a few guys from 2009.

One of the criticisms the people at Valley Ranch had towards former head coach Bill Parcells was they thought he wasn't much in the way of running a draft. Take a look at the four drafts of the Cowboys' run by Parcells, and the four immediately after he left.

2003 (Parcells)
Terence Newman, DB. Pro Bowler. Still in the league.
Al Johnson, C. Played and started for a while; 5 NFL seasons. Too small.
Jason Witten, TE. Likely Hall of Famer.
Bradie James, LB. 9 seasons with Cowboys. Solid player. Now with Texans.
B.J. Tucker, CB. Never made it.
Zuriel Smith, WR. Never made it.
Justin Bates, G. Never made it.

2004 (Parcells)
Julius Jones, RB. Four seasons in Dallas. 7 NFL seasons.
Jacob Rogers, OT. Bust.
Stephen Peterman. OG. Never made it with Cowboys. Caught in Detroit where he remains a starter.
Bruce Thornton, DB. One season with Cowboys. One with SF.
Sean Ryan, TE. 2 seasons with Cowboys and six in NFL.
Nate Jones, DB. Four seasons with Cowboys and eight overall.
Patrick Crayton, WR. Solid No. 3 WR for years.
Jacques Reeves, DB. Four seasons with Cowboys and seven in NFL.

2005 (Parcells)
DeMarcus Ware, OLB. Arguably the best player selected in the class.
Marcus Spears, DT. Solid player. Was cut this week.
Kevin Burnett, OLB. Couldn't stay healthy. 3 year starter in Miami.
Marion Barber, RB. Very good when healthy. Burned out quick. Retired.
Chris Canty. DE. Still in the league. Starter for Super Bowl Giants team.
Justin Beriault, S. Had to retire early because of injuries.
Rob Petitti, OT. Forced to start much of rookie year.
Jay Ratliff, DL. Developed into Pro Bowl NT.

2006 (Parcells)
Bobby Carpenter, OLB. Still in the league. Barely.
Anthony Fasano, TE. A starter for the last 5 years in Miami.
Jason Hatcher, DL. Regular starter for the Cowboys.
Skyler Green, WR. 3 seasons with 3 teams.
Pat Watkins, S. Played for Cowboys for 4 seasons and 5 NFL seasons.
Montavious Stanley, DT. Four seasons, four teams.
Pat McQuistan, OT. Still in the league
E.J. Whitley, OT. Injuries forced him to give up football. 

2007
Anthony Spencer, LB. Took a while but a solid player.
James Marten, T. Never made it.
Isaiah Stanback, WR. Great athlete, didn't make it.
Doug Free, T. Starter for the Cowboys.
Nick Folk, K. Solid NFL kicker had one very bad year for Cowboys.
Deon Anderson, FB. Played four seasons for Cowboys.
Courtney Brown, CB. Two years with Cowboys.
Alan Ball, DB. 5 seasons with Cowboys. Spent last season with Texans.

2008
Felix Jones, RB. Things just never quite lined up right. 
Mike Jenkins, DB. Decent player but injuries, attitude were a problem.
Martellus Bennett, TE. So much talent. Spent last season with NYG. Just signed with Bears.
Tashard Choice, RB. Four seasons with Cowboys. Spent last season with Bills.
Orlando Scandrick, DB. Decent nickel player with the Cowboys.
Erik Walken, LB. Developed into a decent producer with the Packers.

2009
Jason Williams, LB. 10 games w/Cowboys. Played 5 games last season with Panthers.
Robert Brewster, T. Never made it.
Stephen McGee, QB. Couldn't play.
Victor Butler, LB. Backup linebacker. 
Brandon Williams, LB. 6 games with Cowboys.
DeAngelo Smith, CB. Nope. Played 7 games for Lions.
Michael Hamlin, CB. 12 games with Cowboys. 4 for Jaguars.
David Buehler, K. A great athlete and a strong leg but was not accurate.
Stephen Hodge, LB. Total waste of a pick. Way too small.
John Phillips, TE. Decent blocking tight end. Just signed with Chargers.
Mike Mickens, DB. Nope
Manny Johnson, WR. Nope. 1 catch for 6 yds in his Cowboys career.

2010 
Dez Byrant, WR. Developing into one of the league's best.
Sean Lee, LB. Great when healthy.
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, S.  Cut. Played a little bit in Jacksonville in 2011.
Sam Young, T. 2 games with Cowboys. Played 12 games in Buffalo last season.
Jamar Wall, CB. Never made it with Cowboys. Played 2 NFL games.
Sean Lissemore, DL. Started some last season for Cowboys. 

 

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Morris Claiborne needs to be a Day 1 starter for the Dallas Cowboys

IRVING, Texas - With all due respect to Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett, the man is full of it. A couple of days before the NFL draft, Garrett said no one can be expected to be a starting player in the NFL from Day 1. Bull blank.

If the Dallas Cowboys dealt a second round pick to move up to draft LSU defensive back Morris Claiborne and don't expect him to be a Day 1 starter something is terribly wrong. The way the NFL is today with such rapid turnover a player like this needs to be on the field immediately.

Despite an injured wrist that still requires a cast, Claiborne did practice a little with his rookie teammates on the first day of Cowboys rookie camp. Claiborne said the pins will come out next week.

"I was holding myself back. The whole time I wanted to get out there," Claiborne said. "I see this is all about business and all about work, as it should be."

Brandon Carr and Claiborne should be the opening day starters at corner with Mike Jenkins as a nickel. As much as I personally like Jenkins and believe in his ability, the man has a hard time staying healthy and Carr and Claiborne should be upgrades.

"I'm going go out and work hard and try to earn a spot on this team," Claiborne said. "It's a goal to start. Who wouldn't want to start?"

As Bill Parcells said, "Don't get in the way of progress."

Unless Claiborne is injured, to put either Carr or Jenkins in front of him is impeding development that is crucial to this team's success.

 

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The Dallas Cowboys & the hypocrisy of a press conference for Marc Colombo

IRVING, Texas - Before Jerry Jones and crew addressed a large media gathering this afternoon at the team headquarters in Valley Ranch, they took about 10 minutes to formally announce the retirement of former tackle Marc Colombo.

The former first round pick of the Bears in 2002 is a nice story; he ruined his knee, was dumped by the Bears in 2005 and picked up for nothing by Bill Parcells and the Cowboys. Colombo rebuilt the knee, and developed into a very nice reliable starter for five years. This guy was a tremendous competitor and fighter.

So why the rub? 

In his tenure with the team Colombo demonstrated mostly disdain towards those who covered the team. (Yes, this is just a sports media problem, not a real life one.) This dude never talked, and I say this as a reporter who had a pretty decent relationship with him. 

I clearly recall one game in October of 2008 where the Cowboys lost in OT in Arizona and talking to guard Leonard Davis. Very few people were eager to talk to the media after that game, so when guys like Big Leonard agreed to an interview we grabbed it; then there is Colombo bemoaning, "That's a lot of questions."

Sir, we wouldn't have to sit here and bother Big Leonard if you and 90 percent of your teammates just faked your way through three or four of our stupid questions. It's part of the gig.

Now you retire and you want a press conference? 

This is one of my great sports rubs: Hate the media? It may be a part of your job to sit there and suffer this collection of insufferable fools, but if you don't want to play nice, fine. Obviously no one is going to make you.

But when your career is done please don't look for a job among the crowd you so loathed for so long, and please don't ask us to sit through a press conference commemorating a career when during it you specifically asked us to not bother you.

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Video: Big Mac teaches Galloway about the NFL draft

Once again, Mr. Galloway attends The Big Mac School to learn a few things about the National Football League.

 

The one thing former Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells loves as much as football

Let's see here, Bill Parcells was done after he coached the Jets. Then he was finished after he was done with the Dolphins. Now ... well ... let's see ... the Saints or the Vikings?

The former head coach of the Dallas Cowboys has been flirting with returning to the game for the umpteenth time as either the head guy with the Minnesota Vikings or an interim head coach for Sean Payton with the New Orleans Saints.

This New York Post report says the Vikings have told Parcells he can run the show and to just "name his price".

And in no great shock, the Vikings denied it.

The Saints thing still sounds viable, but their need for a head coach won't be known until Payton appeals his one-year NFL suspension to Police Commissioner Goodell this week. 

Even though Parcells is going to turn 71 this year, never rule out the possibility that he is playing the leverage card.

Parcells can talk out of 14 sides of his mouth, and sound very convincing every time he does it. In recent reports Parcells told people he thought maybe the game passed him by, which it may have. But this guy has the itch as bad as any to have coached in the NFL.

The itch is two-fold.

Itch No. 1) Parcells genuinely cares and loves professional football as much as anyone.
Itch No. 2) Parcells genuinely cares and loves cold, hard currency as much as anyone in this game.

At this point in his life, Parcells has very likely made more than enough money not only for himself but for generations of his family to enjoy. Can't fault him for that.

Throw former Dallas Mavericks head coach Don Nelson into this category as well - guys who can't quit because they love the money.

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The Dallas Cowboys always seem to win the NFL's schedule championship

The NFL is moving its preferred season-opening time on Thursday to Wednesday to accomodate the President, but the league obviously has zero intention of giving in to the idea that the Dallas Cowboys do not merit anything other than a prime time slot.

The defending Super Bowl champion New York Football Giants will host the defending 8-8 playoff-less champion Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, Sept. 5 in New Jersey to be televised on NBC.

How cute. The Cowboys 2011 season begin with a loss in New Jersey against the Jets on NBC, and ended with a loss to the Giants in the same stadium, on the same network.

The league normally begins the season on Thursday, but it does not want to interfere with President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention scheduled for that evening.

The NFL could have put the Giants against any of the following:
- Washington Redskins, and QB RGIII
- Philadelphia Eagles, and that train wreck
- SF 49ers, whom they beat in the NFC title game
- Baltimore Ravens, a team that nearly went to the Super Bowl
- Carolina Panthers, and QB Cam Newton
- Atlanta Falcons, which made the playoffs last season and lost to the Giants in the first round
- Green Bay Packers, whom the Giants beat in NFC divisional round
- New Orleans Saints, who potentially may be coached by former Giants coach Bill Parcells and this season will be one of the most interesting teams to watch as a result of the Bounty Gate fallout.

Instead the NFL went with the .500 Dallas Cowboys. 

The Cowboys may never again do well in January and early February, but no team rocks an offseason schedule like this team.

 

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Bad Idea Jeans: former Dallas Cowboys coach may take New Orleans Saints job

The man who loves to retire may find a new way to un-retire yet again. Bill Parcells makes boxers look more committed to quitting.

The four-lettered is reporting that former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells is talking to the Saints about their temporary head coaching job.

The Saints are going to be without the services of Sean Payton, who has been suspended by the NFL for one season for his role in BountyGate. If you remember, Payton was on Parcells' staff as an offensive coordinator/QB coach/passing game coordinator blah blah blah. Payton worked with Parcells from 2003 to '05 before he accepted the Saints' gig.

According to this story, the scenario sounds like a long shot.

Parcells is 71, and said after he left the Cowboys following the 2006 season that he was done coaching. Of course, he said that after he left the Jets. He took a VP of football operations job with the Dolphins in 2007. He left that team in 2010 and has since returned to working for ESPN as an NFL analyst. 

As many obstacles that exist for Parcells to return to coaching for just one season, primarily being it's a bad idea, I could easily see him contemplating this. Even though it may not be good for his health, and as much as he fights himself and his own temparment, the NFL is a part of him that he simply can't quit.

The irony is that for a brief period the relationship between Parcells and Payton was decidedly not good.  The fissure? Former Dallas Cowboys safety Keith Davis.

Not long after Payton accepted the Saints job in 2006 the team made a play for Davis, who at the time was a reserve nickel defender but primarily was a special teams beast. Parcells was irked that his former assistant made a play on Davis without contacting him first. The Cowboys had to match the offer made by the Saints to keep Davis.

Parcells pulled a classic passive-aggressive sorority house stunt and simply would not talk to Payton. As are a lot of men who have worked for either Parcells, or his close friend Bobby Knight, they don't much care to get shut out. So they have to beg.

Later in 2006, Payton called Parcells to apologize. As Parcells noted in the press conference that season, "He was a man about it."

Basically, Parcells didn't want to get into a bidding war when one wasn't necessary.

Now the relationship is obviously pleasant. 

Regardless, Parcells doesn't need to be walking into this situation. The Saints need to give this head coaching gig to a coordinator and let Payton use one of those untraceable phones from The Wire and text in plays during a game.

 

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