Indifferent

Since pretty much every one that knows me, knows I am a HUGE fan of the Dallas Cowboys I have been asked at least 100 times what I thought about the Cowboys hiring Wade Phillips.

For the most part I am pretty much indifferent. My team has not won a playoff game in 10 years, and I am not sure how a coach that has never won a playoff game is supposed to change that fact. That being said I was more than ready to see the exit of the fatty fish. I do feel this team underachieved, but fans for probably every team feel that way about their team except for the Colts and maybe the Saints!

The thing that disturbed me the most about Parcells staying around for another year was the 2007 NFL Draft, and his uncanny ability to pick flops. Aside from Jason Witten, even the good draft picks could have been better. Compare Stephen Jackson to Julius Jones or Shawn Merrimam to Demarcus Ware. Not only did he grossly overestimate talent, but he was drafting talent that couldn't even make the team roster. Our 1st round pick last season did not even dress out on game day for half of the season, and this was not due to injury....

But enough on the Toxic Tuna. When asked about Wade, I stated my indifference but said I will have to look at the signs I see leading up to the season. The first of which of course would be the 2007 NFL Draft. I said at the end of the draft I was left saying huh? That would be the first strike against him.

Let's just say he has 2 strikes left. When they traded out of the 1st round and got the 3rd pick of the 2nd round, and a 1st round pick in 2008, I was very impressed (I promise not to participate in the what if we had drafted Brady Quinn talk 3 years from now). Then we traded back in to the 1st round to draft Anthony Spencer?? To quote Deion Sanders, do you even have this guy on your board??? I followed the proposed draft boards extensively and not once did I hear this guys name.

I even understand Wade's logic here. He looks at how this defense fell apart at the end of the season and the most logical explanation was the loss of Greg Ellis. So his priority was to minimize this vulnerability. This guy Spencer also appears to be quite a playmaker.

So what is my problem? To start I think we reached to get him, giving up a valuable 2nd pick in the 2nd round. The 3rd pick of the 2nd round is effectively a 1st round pick in a draft this deep with talent, and Spencer would have still been available. Secondly, this guy has the stats of being quite a playmaker, but I have to wonder that he may have piled up these stats against teams like Illinois and Northwestern as opposed to Michigan and Ohio St.

The remainder of the draft is even more disturbing. I am left wondering if Spencer may be the only draft pick that may ultimately make the team? I can't figure out the reluctance to draft on the first day and constantly trading to stockpile a bunch of late round picks. The worst of which is the spin they are trying to put on Isiah Stanback. An injured QB that we want to convert to a WR, in a draft where there were as many as 10+ WR's projected to be starters by the start of this season. I guess they are hoping to get the second coming of Patrick Crayton???

I just hope the 2008 Cowboys draft pick doesn't end up being a better pick than Cleveland's.