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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

An interview with Chris Cordova (Self-Proclaimed Expert)

Chris Cordova of Taos, New Mexico, self proclaimed Cowboys expert, claims that the Dallas Cowboys should stay away from Johnny Manziel, QB from Texas A&M in the 2014 NFL Draft.  His reasons are that Manziel is simply Tony Romo reborn.  Another reason is that with the porous defense we had in 2013 it makes no sense to go after mini-Romo when big-Romo still has at least 3 good seasons left to come.  It would make more sense to draft Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Aaron Lynch, or Dee Ford, maybe even Jim Jeffcoat's kid Jackson Jeffcoat (I think he's more of a 3rd rounder myself).  Anyway, Cordova went on to tell me that with at least 3 good years left in Romo we could wait until a draft or two from now for a new QB, being that Romo through 15 games was still better than 3/4 of the QB's in the NFL.  Per Jason Witten,  "I have caught a lot of balls over the years and it's the same zip, same as always. He looks good."

Chris makes some valid points, I personally think that if Manziel falls to #16 it's a perfect opportunity to pick up some extra picks in addition to the many we already have this year.  Future picks are a value also and with teams like Jacksonville needing a QB, you never know what will happen this year, if the Jaguars take someone like Khalil Mack with their first and Manziel is there in the middle of the 1st round, Jacksonville may try to trade back in and give up something, say their 2nd round pick and future picks, May 8th can't get here soon enough everyone!

I will have my top 100 players posted by this weekend, definitely before the prime-time event kicks off on the 8th (I have a final project and a few other things for UNM due this weekend which are cutting into my time).  

Don't be surprised if Dallas jumps at a WR in this draft after losing Miles Austin either.  Odell Beckham Jr. and Sammy Watkins have had their names thrown out by Bill Jones and Bryan Broaddus on Talkin' Cowboys.  Here's a link to Bryan's top 50 prospects for this upcoming year for your review in the meantime!

Bryan Broaddus' Top 50

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Movie Review - Draft Day

So last night we snuck away and caught the movie "Draft Day" starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, and a few other guys you'll recognize.  The trailer* is posted below.


I thought the movie overall was very good.  It showed a side of the draft that most fans don't understand is there, the wheeling and dealing or attempts at it that are there but go unseen.  There was something I think they should of included for "accuracy" purposes instead of just here's some picks for your pick.  In the NFL there's a point system, where the 1st pick overall is worth so many points, and each subsequent pick (Click here for the points chart).  Based on the points system Kevin Costner's character probably would have been fired (10,500 points given up to gain 3000, a difference of 7500 points).  That being said, the wheeling and dealing in this was similar to "Moneyball's" trading players scene. 
There was a romance angle in the movie, of course or our wives wouldn't watch it with us.  Jennifer Garner plays the salary cap expert for the Browns and the general conflict resolver to all of Kevin Costner's chaos.  It's an interesting angle as the two have kept their affair a secret that almost everyone knows about and adds to the drama building up to the draft. 
As a Dallas Cowboys fan there were several things I took as inferences about my team.  The most notable was the mockery of Denis Leary's portrayal as the new coach.  The back-story on his character is that he was in Dallas and won a Super Bowl as the head coach, but everyone knows it wasn't his coaching but the team he inherited from the previous coach who also won the Super Bowl (see Barry Switzer and Jimmy Johnson).  Reaching a bit on this next one, but once the assumed first overall pick was passed on for another player, that guy that was supposed to go first overall then starts to fall and other teams become afraid to draft him not knowing what the Browns found on him to not take him first overall.  I've seen this happen in the real draft with several big name prospects and I'm sure there's even more that I don't know about.  Some players I've seen this happen to are Brady Quinn, Tim Tebow, Geno Smith, Aaron Rodgers and even Randy Moss (which Dallas passed on for Greg Ellis (a legitimate Pro-Bowler, but come on, Moss deserves to be in the HoF one day)).  Another similarity was the conception that the GM and the coach were not on the same page, see Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett.  Garrett can give input, and I've heard how Jerry takes that input into huge consideration, but at the end of the day Garrett has no say what happens on Draft day or when it comes to trading players etc. 
Last but not least there are some things that I found weird in the movie.  They reference Peyton Manning in one segment (also referencing Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Andrew Luck, Geno Smith, and John Elway to name a few QB's referenced), but then when it's Denver's pick, they made up a fictional name for their QB, like the NFL or NFLPA didn't approve of the movie using current rosters.  In one scene, it shows the fictional QB for the Browns at his locker, and the lockers around his are real Browns players, Alex Mack to his left, etc., but then at the end of the movie when it has the Browns take the field for the 1st game of the next season, every player has a fictional name and none of them match up with those lockers.  Little things I know, but to me it kind of diminished some of the movie. 
Overall though, a great movie, worth the time to see, I wouldn't put it in the Mt. Rushmore of football movies (Varsity Blues, Remember the Titans, The Longest Yard, and Necessary Roughness - my Mt. Rushmore of FB Movies), but overall it was a very entertaining movie with a bunch of draft day plot twists.  I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

Friday, April 18, 2014

Quick update

Taking a moment to do a quick update here.  I'm working diligently on over 1000 NFL hopefuls gathering as much data as I can about them.  I will post before the draft my SB picks for this upcoming year, along with predictions for the top 32 picks, and other things leading up to the draft.  I'm gonna get back to work now but I wanted to let everyone know that I am and will be working on the draft from now until the post draft blogs.