Parker's history tells me that he will have at least one high-profile holdout this year, perhaps two if he can manage it. I didn't even know their numbers until I looked them up for the purposes of that post. I realize they're two different players, and that Bryant is superior to LaFell as a wide receiver; I'm saying the gap in their production is not significant enough to overcome the appeal of LaFell's intangibles to this front office. I'm not arguing skill--Bryant wins that hands down--I'm arguing realistic appeal to our front office. LaFell wins that battle, at least in my view. Things can change at any time, but I have a really, really tough time believing that this front office ranks Dez Bryant anywhere near we do.
I will say this, IF they dont take a WR in the first round, I doubt they take one at all. Saying LaFell and Bryant are even close to being the same isnt accurate. Bryant, is a very quiet, very reserved and respecting young man, Crabtree wasnt. I honestly believe it had much more to do with He than his agent in San Fransico. He was pissed he didnt go first, however, history suggests that maybe, just maybe Alice Davis was correct. Dez Bryant IS going to be the next Brandon Marshall or Fitz...with the attitude more like Fitz Like I said, if they dont draft Bryant first round, I think they stick with the WR's they have and go completely different directions the rest of the draft....
Their career numbers are comparable. Bryant does more with less. He's a better WR. LaFell has the intangibles this front office likes, and Ireland places a high value on that. I'm just saying that what we the fans want and think isn't necessarily what's being discussed in scout meetings and war room planning.
With lefell I have to question his hands and concentration though. I don't think you have that concern with bryant. One of the reasons I like Golden Tate is because he combines productivity with what should be solid measureables at his combine/pro day.
I would laugh if they took lefell that way they could have two lsu wr that can't consistently catch passes.
But Charlie Weis is such a schematic genius that he can overcome those shortcomings just by his presence. In all seriousness, I think KC is going to be a major player for Weis' former ND players.
I would be happy with either player. I think they're both going to be great players. Either one fills a need for this team.
Doesn't mean it will be a rookie. LaFell's has work ethic issues, which is always a red flag. I believe he had some high school issues too, I can't remember for sure however. Ireland's going to have LaFell on his board, IMO. It will be higher than others because of his love for the LSU program but I wouldn't say that if they have a shot at taking McClain or Bryant, they will pass up Bryant to get LaFell later. If Bryant's there, you don't pass him up. I don't. I don't think so. From everything I've seen of him, he's not much like Fitzgerald character-wise. He's not Terrell Owens either but he has potential to be IMO.
True, but given the nature of free agency this year, it's tough to imagine a veteran holdout. What will they be holding out for? In contrast, with each passing year there's a greater likelihood of a slotted payment system for rookies, which means the agent will be telling the client that he needs to get every last penny ASAP. Whether or not that's an accurate description is unrelated to whether or not the agent will be telling it to the client. If McClain, Bryant, and LaFell are all there, the question becomes moot because McClain is the most likely of the three. Agree to disagree, I suppose. But as unlikely as this front office is to take a WR high, they're even more unlikely to take a WR whose agent has a long history of holding his clients out.
Why is LaFell even brought up in regards to the #12 pick? Of course he will be there at 12. He's not even a top 20 player.
If the front office favors LaFell, and believes he can be had later, it might mean they pass on a WR at 12, even if Bryant is sitting right there and McClain is long gone.
Well if the FO favors LaFell of course they would pass on Bryant, there wouldn't be a WR worth #12 if the FO liked LaFell more.
i think we would still be better off grabbing mclain.theres better recievers to be had in fa than there are lbs(could be wrong as im not sure of all the lb's yet)and theres no garuntee that spykes will be there.we really need help at lb. also i'd probly go t.e over running back right now because we really need help there too evn if it's not to replace fasano.sperry is just not cutting it in the recieving department and we really miss that with the martin release.we did pick nalbone back up so i see kory gone and we still need a upgrade.
It depends on how much more they favor LaFell. I could be totally wrong. Outside of the Games forum, it has happened.
Actually, there are really no FA options at WR unless Antonio Bryant lights your fire. He certainly doesn't mine. There are actually quite a few very very nice Linebackers coming available, my two favorites are Demaco Ryans and Carlos Dansby. Also a rumor on the street that Urlacher might become available. although Spikes probably won't be there when we pick in the second round, this draft is very very ripe at linebacker at least through four rounds. I will say we need much more than just a MLB , actually, I think we need two and an OLB along with perhaps a FS.
I'm telling you guys, if the FO doesn't go WR in the first, they won't go at all. Why should they? We already have a roster full of 2nd tier WR's
ryans is a beast but not leaving texans arent that dumb urlacher huh why would we want go old injured and done we need young linebackers inside and outside
Me, I take Dez Bryant. Ireland and Sparano speak of needing to get chunk yards frequently, and Dez could do just that. Quick strike offense? Our offense scored points, but they always needed 7 minute 15 play drives to do it. I loved Henne's rollouts to the right, and all of the comeback routes our receivers ran, but that was really all we had/could do. None of our receivers, who actually tallied a lot of snaps towards the end of the season(can't count ginn), could burn anyone deep and get past them. Even when the wildcat was in full force and with Ginn getting full wr reps, teams still dared us to pass. Defenses pulled in defenders to shut down the wildcat/run. Our wr's just didn't scare anyone. Honestly, I would do the same as last year, and bring Henne along to throw to Dez Bryant during his workout(and all other wr's for that matter). If there seems to be a connection there whatsoever, sign me up. If not, no biggie. I would love to have RoM as well! This team needs lb'ers. And as much as I despise Saban, he knows defense. I like our 12 spot! And man, if chitown still had that 11th pick, and didn't have to give it to Denver for Cutler, Dez would be a Bear without a doubt.
That doesn't mean it will be a rookie that will holdout. LaFell will be there but won't be an option at twelve IMO. I don't think the question is moot. Outside of Dez Bryant, you don't really have a game breaking wide receiver that has number one potential in this Draft IMO. You want chunk yardage, Tony Sparano wants chunk yardage, Jeff Ireland wants chunk yardage, Dez Bryant gives you chunk yardage offensively. They are not going to get by with the current crop of wide receivers in my opinion. That doesn't necessarily mean that they will force the Dez Bryant pick this April if it is an option for them but it would not surprise me to see them take him, regardless of what Parcells philosophy of drafting wide receivers is IMO. Jeff Ireland calls the shots IMO and there's a difference between him and Parcells philosophy. It's not a significant difference but it's a slight one. I still don't think Eugene Parker has an impact on them drafting a prospect or not.
i think we have to go mcclain if he's available. ILB has far fewer good prospects than WR. If we miss out on mcclain we might have to draft someone like Sean Lee. He's solid but hardly the impact type of player we need at that position. Meanwhile with WR you can draft several boom or bust types for at least the first four rounds (Demaryius Thomas, Danario Alexander, Mardy Gilyard, etc
i disagree 10000% alot of WRs in the this league that are successful or number 1's werent selected in the first round.......look at irelands own product miles austin in dallas......desean jackson etc etc then look at first round "baller Wrs" heyward-bey being outperformed on his own team from another non-1st round WR in louis murphy...... never heard from crabtree (for obvious reasons) yet guys like mario manningham are making plays (not 1st round wr) i think its a absolute need. and we will draft a need regardless of round.
Look at what taking "can't miss" high first round WRs did for Detroit.. Im not against taking Dez but I cartainly think McClain is a whole lot safer investment...like Long was 2years ago.
I'll be more than happy to play the odds on this one. Of course not, but I don't think Bryant is an option at 12 either. I'd love to have him on the team, but I don't think the front office likes him. The point of a philosophy is to stick to it. We're going to have to agree to disagree on this one, because I don't see Parcells or Ireland breaking their own rules. If we draft Dez Bryant in April I will gladly revisit this thread, possibly with pictures of crows and half-eaten hats. I'd love to be able to do that. It's just not likely in my view.
This is mostly all just my opinion, but high picked ILBs are not "safe" picks, and rarely turn out to be worth it - see Hawk, AJ or Johnson, Derrick. This is why I say that unless we feel McClain is the next coming of a Pat Willis type player, we dont take him at 12, and Im pretty sure Willis he is not. For every DeSean Jackson you have a falling Rey Malagua, or a guy like Curtis Lofton. And what do you mean "never heard from Crabtree?" Once he did finally got on the field he unequivocally showed Al Davis was an idiot for passing on him. Kids gonna be an all pro. Are there busts? Yeah. At every position. But when you look at the best of the best, they are mostly first rounders. Personally, I think most of the true busts of the position are guys that tended to be the "workout warrior" types or who had a specific trait (Speed usually) that blinded GMs. Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Larry Fitz, Calvin Johnson, Reggie Wayne etc. Miles Austin is a diamond in the rough, the exception to the rule, the Brady to the Mannings. You dont bet the farm on a player like that, you just develop and hope he turns out OK.
It goes both ways on the "safe" thing and the list of bust recievers would take a whole lot more typing to list than the busts at LB...at least Hawk and DJ have been "ok" cant say the same for a boatload of WRs some drafted in the last 5 years that arent even in the league.
Really, he put up 48 catches and 625 yards in only 11 games. Many people think Dez Bryant was the better WR between the two too. I'd love to have Bryant on this team.
Less ILBs overall were drafted overall as well. IMO, the only busts that surprised me at WR were Charles Johnson and Mike Williams, though in hindsight they both had some major character flaws. Others, such as Troy Williamson, Ted Ginn, Heyward-Bey I never felt high on (though I really did have high hopes once we drafted Ginn). These are guys whos physical ability overshadowed what they actually were - mediocre WRs. Then you have the guys who you could pretty safely bet the farm on. Andre Johnson, Larry Fitz, Calvin Johnson, Michael Crabtree and imo this year its Dez Bryant. Could a guy like Benn/Tate/Gilyard etc turn into the next Desean Jackson? Yeah maybe. But Bryant is the real deal, and if you pass a talent like that at 12 you better have a better reason than McClain IMO. Im not a McClain hater, I just dont think hes a special talent, solid, good, saf - but not special, and when you draft at 12 you need a special player. Dez Bryant could be special, CJ Spiller could be, Eric Berry or Earl Thomas could be special.
I think the point is that McClain is not only safe because he's an ILB but because he's the unquestioned leader of a Nick Saban defense. Ro is not a guy you're going to have to worry about when it comes to picking things up at the next level. He makes all the pre-snap adjustments on Bama's defense. Outside of Suh and Berry, I would say Ro is the safest pick in the draft.
