SB Nation - David Buehler

The Valley Ranch Review: David Buehler Ready To Go; More Love for Felix Jones

Aaron Novinger — Sat, 09 May 2009 06:30:11 -0000

David Buehler is ready in case Folk can't go. The new Cowboys kicker said as much to Tim MacMahon:

"You always need to keep a fluid stroke to stay ready," said Buehler, who is back at USC to finish up his degree. "The main reason I was drafted was for the kickoffs, but I've always concentrated on my field goals as well. I'll probably have to concentrate on that a little more just in case Nick doesn't make a full recovery."

[snip]

"I don't want to overkick," said Buehler, who envisions every practice kick as a pressurized game-winner. "My workouts aren't physically that hectic, but I get a strong mental workout."

The DMN's draft review series features OLB Brandon Williams. Check out the highlights of him getting to the quarterback and stuffing the run.

Cowboys vs. the Texans, Patriots, or Bills in the Superbowl this year? I'll take it. Don Banks at SI talks about Dallas being one of the six new teams to break into the '09 postseason.

There are no two ways around it: The Cowboys underachieved mightily in 2008 and became a dysfunctional team in the locker room in the second half of last season. But only one of Dallas' losses came against a losing team, and that was at St. Louis in its first game without injured starting quarterback Tony Romo. Otherwise, the Cowboys lost to Pittsburgh, Arizona, Philly, Baltimore and the Giants -- the NFL's final four and its defending Super Bowl champion -- as well as to 8-8 Washington when the Redskins were rolling early.

Three reasons why the Cowboys will be better off in 2009 jump to mind: 1) Romo doesn't have to sweat the T.O. drama any more, and that's going to help his head and his game; 2) explosive running back/return man Felix Jones should play more than six games this time around; 3) the Cowboys improved their porous secondary both at cornerback and safety in free agency and the draft.

Cool video about Felix Jones on DC.com's multimedia center. The play-making RB relives his draft day, goes fishing, and smiles about being a Dallas Cowboy.

Somebody called Real Scouts at The Sporting News ranked the top 20 offensive tackles in the NFL. Flozell came in 12th.

12. Flozell Adams, Cowboys. Adams is aging but still has tremendous size and strength. Though the Cowboys struggled in pass protection last year, there's reason to believe a healthy Tony Romo and improved balance on offense will spark a return to form for Flozell the Hotel.

Big debate over air-supported structures vs. frame-supported structures in the wake of the indoor facility collapse at Valley Ranch. The Texas Board of Professional Engineers has opened an investigation of the accident.

The Valley Ranch Review: More Quick Hits from Yesterday’s Mini-Camp

Aaron Novinger — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:28:07 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips, left, shakes hands with team owner Jerry Jones during minicamp.

Browse more photos »

The Ranch Report has a great re-cap of yesterday's practice. A few highlights from their good coverage.

During stretching, FB Asaph Schwapp looked to be one of camp's most flexible players and made an acrobatic catch from Stephen McGee.
K David Buehler was seen participating in tackling drills and actually got to QB Rudy Carpenter. Buehler warmed up with the DBs and said he may be covering punts for the team.
Mini-camp observer, Michael Irvin, offered some pointers to Ogletree before moving on to help out WRs Manuel Johnson and Julian Hawkins.
The near-500lb. combo of T Robert Brewster and OG Travis Bright were working as the two-man wedge on kick returns, and ended up drilling Manuel Johnson.
McGee had nifty footwork and throws well on the run but Rudy Carpenter looks to have the the bigger arm. His deep passes had more power behind them than McGee's.
OC Jason Garrett was getting on the rookies yelling at them to pick up the tempo and for McGee to be more accurate after a low pass.
LBs Jason Williams and Stephen Hodge showed their speed. Both guys looked great in coverage and Hodge stripped TE Rodney Hannah of the ball after a catch and took off with it, to the delight of the rest of the players.

Although OL Robert Brewster could play guard, he is now slotted to learn RT.

Of the four Clemson players drafted last weekend, FoxSports writes that Cowboys' S Michael Hamlin will have the biggest impact.

In Dallas, he immediately steps into the backup strong safety role behind fifth-year pro Gerald Sensabaugh coincidentally, cousin to Clemson backup corner Coty Sensabaugh. Gerald, it should be noted, was signed to only a one-year deal, and Jacksonville made no effort to try to re-sign him. Hamlins greatest competition initially for the backup spot will be another 5th-round pick, Cincinnatis DeAngelo Smith, who played corner in college.

A lot of folks thought Hamlin projected as a situational player in their scheme, but Dallas employs the same ?quarters secondary coverage that Clemson used under Vic Koenning, so there should be an instant comfort there. Plus, if he simply doesnt bite on half the play-action passes, hell be beloved in comparison to the positions predecessor, Roy Williams.

In one year, it could be an all-Hamlin secondary, with Michael playing alongside free safety Ken Hamlin (no relation).

Here is the schedule for today and tomorrow's practice times:

Saturday, May 2

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Practice

12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Locker room open to media

2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Practice

3:50 p.m. Wade Phillips available

Sunday, May 3

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Practice

12:00 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. Locker room open to media

The Valley Ranch Review: Friday’s Rookie Mini-Camp Update

Aaron Novinger — Fri, 01 May 2009 23:58:09 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

7 months ago: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Stephen McGee (7) looks to pass during team rookie football minicamp at Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Browse more photos »

The DMN reports that S/CB DeAngelo Smith came up limping after covering wideout Kevin Ogletree, but the injury didn't seem serious.

Some other happenings in today's afternoon practice courtesy of the blog:

Sixth-round TE John Phillips isn't a great athlete, but he has a knack for getting open. He's very precise on his cuts and is a clever route runner. Case in point: He got behind third-round ILB Jason Williams on a seam route by lulling him to sleep with a little hesitation. The pass was incomplete after Stephen McGee threw a rope, which Williams was able to deflect, instead of putting over Phillips' shoulder.

Undrafted FB Asaph Schwapp got behind Williams on a wheel route. As LB coach Reggie Herring said this morning, Williams is raw.

[snip]

Sixth-round ILB Stephen Hodge looked much better in coverage during the afternoon practice than he did this morning. He had several deflections on passes to the flat.

TE Rodney Hannah, a two-year practice squad vet, looked good catching the ball again. He made a leaping grab over fifth-round S Mike Hamlin on a post route.

The defensive coaches congratulated fifth-round S/CB DeAngelo Smith after he broke up a pass to Manuel Johnson. But it sure looked like defensive holding. Smith made a nice break on a slant to break up Stephen McGee's pass to undrafted WR Julian Hawkins earlier in the practice.

Quarterback Stephen McGee spoke to DC.com about his first day at camp.

"Well, it's a lot of learning obviously, just trying to get a feel for the new plays, new routes and the new receivers," McGee said. "There's a lot of good coaching out there with Coach Wilson and Coach Garrett. I'm just trying to get into the rhythm. Obviously, everyone is new. There's a new system, new terminology. We're just trying to get adjusted and get the timing down."

QBs Coach Wade Wilson already likes what he sees in McGee.

"I was impressed with him, the way he handled it mentally and took everything from the classroom to the field," Wilson said. "He threw the ball real well. I was very impressed with his mechanics. I was real impressed with his presence in the huddle. He conducts himself very well on the field. He's got an aura about him. You can tell he is very confident and has some fine leadership qualities."

Nick Eatman sums up today's practice here.

Tom Orsborn takes an in-depth look into the Cowboys' crop of rookies, finding no bad character issues.

Orsborn's article on David Buehler sheds some more light on the kicker's athleticism.

The Star-Telegram profiles LB, Brandon Williams, who discusses his work with kids in the south Fort Worth area and his relationship with late Broncos' CB, Darrent Williams.

The Cowboys have even found some backups to long-snapper L.P. Ladouceur. Both linebacker Matt Stewart and rookie free agent TE Jamar Hunt have experience with deep-snapping.

Cowboys Rookie Camp: Get to Know the Players

Dave Halprin — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:00:14 -0000

Today marks another step along the path to the start of the 2009 NFL season. Sure, we're still a long way away from seeing real NFL games, but the Dallas Cowboys will get their first look at all their draft picks in this weekend's mini-camp, starting today. The 12 rookie draft picks will be on hand, plus a group of undrafted free agents and some first-year veterans.

The mothership has an article about it here. Since we drafted so many guys and added UDFA's (plus some forgotten vets that will be participating), I thought I'd produce a guide to getting to know everybody. I've included some links to bios, video highlights, and good articles for the guys who will be hitting the field this weekend.

Check it out after the jump.


#58 - ILB	#59 - OLB	#18 - K/ST
Jason Williams Bio	Brandon Williams Bio	David Buehler Bio
Video Highlights	Video Highlights	Video Highlights
Video Interview 4/30	Article	Article

#36 - S	#79 - T/G	#55 - S/LB
Michael Hamlin Bio	Robert Brewster Bio	Stephen Hodge Bio
Video Highlights	Video Highlights	Video Highlights
Article	Article	Video Interview 4/30

#31 - CB/S	#7 - QB	#89 - TE
DeAngelo Smith Bio	Stephen McGee Bio	John Phillips Bio
Video Highlights	Video Highlights	Video Highlights
Video Interview 4/30	Video Interview 4/30	Article

#57 - OLB	#87 - WR	#33 - CB
Victor Butler Bio	Manuel Johnson Bio	Mike Mickens Bio
Video Highlights	Video Highlights	Video Highlights
Article	Article	Article

Undrafted Free Agents
G Travis Bright, BYU
QB Rudy Carpenter, Arizona State
WR Julian Hawkins, Boise State
TE/LS Jamar Hunt, Texas-El Paso
G Greg Isdaner, West Virginia
WR Kevin Ogletree, Virginia
FB Asaph Schwapp, Notre Dame
T Michael Turkovich, Notre Dame

Veterans
FB Julius Crosslin, Oklahoma State
DE Marcus Dixon, Hampton
G Ryan Gibbons, Northeastern
TE Rodney Hannah, Houston
RB Keon Lattimore, Maryland
LB Steve Octavien, Nebraska
C Matt Spanos, Southern Cal
DT Casey Tyler, Portland State

The Cowboys Aim to Drain the Stupid Swamp

Rafael Vela — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:19:01 -0000

The stupid. It burns, and it grates, and it chafes, and it frustrates. It makes you snarl at your dog, messes with your sleep and takes the taste out of your coffee.

The 2008 Cowboys were a dumb and undisciplined football team, one which led the league in penalties. Of course, this was not a new problem. Look at the later Parcells years and you'll see a team that ranked among the leaders in penalty yardage.

Early this year I wrote a series of "autopsies" examining the offensive line, the defensive front seven and the special teams, and concluded that serious personnel changes were probably necessary if the team was going to improve, changes which would take a while to incorporate.

Four months into 2009, it is clear the Cowboys have prioritized intelligence. Many disciplinary risks have left. Several penalty kings have also left and others are on thin ice.

We've heard of brain drains, but let's examine the Cowboys' progress at draining the swamp of stupid which has surrounded this team:

Tank Johnson -- He tied for most penalties among defensive linemen, with five. Given that he was a backup, who seemed to show up every other game or three, his departure was a small but real example of addition by subtraction.

Adam Jones -- He made some plays, but he also blew a ton of assignments. He got himself on the suspended list at a time when Terence Newman and Anthony Henry were injured. leaving the team with no veteran cornerback options in the Bucs game. You can't rebuild your secondary with guys this unreliable.

Roy Williams -- The horsecollar penalty was created for him, yet Roy could never stop grabbing collars. His late 4th quarter breakdowns were legendary; one of the enduring images from the past four years is Williams surrending a long pass and then immediately pointing a finger at a teammate.

Pat Watkins -- He's still around, but Dallas drafted two safety prospects and a handful of special team prospects, putting Penalty Pat on notice. Watkins committed a third of the team's special teams penalties last year. Most of them were personal fouls. He took three such flags in the first Eagles game. He made just as many mental errors in the secondary. He took an unbelievable twelve-men-on-the-field flag when he subbed himself in after a time out in the Redskins loss. Watkins assumed Dallas was playing nickel. The Cowboys were in their base. Like Williams, Watkins can't stop bad behavior. For Roy it was horsecollars; for Pat it's grabbing facemasks on punts.

Terrell Owens -- He wasn't a dumb player, or penalty-prone. The team still felt he was disruptive and sent him away.

Some guys are solid starters or rotation guys, and will simply have to clean up their acts. Among them:

Greg Ellis -- He took a high number of off-sides penalties. He's not a starter anymore, so the reduction in downs will hopefully reduce his flags.

Nick Folk -- He's not in any current danger, but he knocked five kickoffs out of bounds last year. Drafting David Buehler should cut this number significantly.

Tony Romo -- His interception percentage was actually lower last year than it was in '07, but Romo's fumbles-lost almost tripled. He needs to take much better care of the football when he leaves the pocket.

Marion Barber -- He never lost a fumble his first three years in the league. Last year, he fumbled more often (seven times) than he did in his '05 through '07 seasons combined. Barber lost three of them.

The offensive line -- Their 33 total penalties was a drop from their '05-'07 penalty rate. That's still a lot of flags. Flozell Adams (13) and Marc Colombo (7) were the most frequent offenders. We're not likely to see a serious dip here until new linemen enter the lineup.

You can't turn over the roster in one spring. The Cowboys have, however, cut several of their most penalty-prone players. That should bring a drop in overall penalties and a more competitive team.

The Valley Ranch Review: More Cowboys Draft Reviews and Other News

Aaron Novinger — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:00:14 -0000

We got a "B"! Tony Moss at TSN was nice enough to take into account the Cowboys not drafting until Sunday. Here's his analysis:

The Cowboys were the last team in the league to make their first pick, and used it on Jason Williams, the first player below the FBS level to be selected. Williams is extremely athletic but will need some polish. The same goes for Brewster, who looks like a depth guy at one of the guard slots. McGee, the first selection of the fourth round, projects as the eventual backup to Tony Romo. Butler and Brandon Williams are pure edge pass rushers who could compete to play in a situational role if things go well. Hamlin was one of the top pure strong safeties available and could also contribute early. Buehler, the first kicker selected, has a huge, erratic leg and looks like a kickoff guy. The club's final four selections could all be long shots.

Bottom Line: No sure-fire impact players when your first pick comes in the third-round, but Dallas did a good job of adding depth to a team that needed it.

Grade: B

Adam Schein said Dallas had a solid draft, giving love to the David Buehler (yeehaw!) and Mike Mickens picks. Schein even proclaimed that Roy Williams "could end up being the single best receiver in the NFL East this year."

More VRR after the jump, including some stuff on unheralded and unloved draft pick John Phillips, the TE from Virginia.

New linebacker, Victor Butler, will already have his own welcoming committee in San Antonio come training camp.

Offensive lineman, Robert Brewster, was a player the Cowboys certainly had their eye on before the draft, being both interviewed at the combine and brought into Dallas for a visit.

Brewster was a mainstay on the Cardinals' offensive line the past four years, starting all 50 games and contributing to one of the Mid-American Conference's most powerful offenses. The Cincinnati native, who allowed just two sacks in 2008, was a first-team All-MAC performer each of the past two seasons.

[snip]

He will participate in a Cowboys mini-camp beginning Friday. Brewster said the Cowboys plan to give him a look at guard and tackle in mini-camp.

Cowboys' TE coach, John Garrett, may have been the main recruiting tool for Dallas' drafting of UVA tight end John Phillips as well as the signing of UVA wide receiver Kevin Ogletree. Garrett, a former Cavalier assistant coach when both players were brought in as freshmen, provided the Cowboys' coaching staff some perspective on Phillips and Ogletree.

Garrett remembers the Cavaliers' first day in pads during training camp in August 2005. Virginia coach Al Groh challenged his players to make a positive impression in a kickoff-coverage drill.

"Well, John raced down there, knocked over a guy and tackled the kickoff returner inside the 20," Garrett recalled with a laugh. "I mean, he just smashed into the wedge, and we were like, 'Who is this guy?'

"John Phillips loves football, he loves to compete. . . . He is just sort of intangibly the consummate player that Al Groh wants in his program: a smart, tough, reliable, dependable player who loves football."

If you don't know much about Dallas' special teams coach, Joe DeCamillis, Nick Eatman has a nice write-up on him. Our own Jim Vance did a profile on Joe D. a couple of weeks ago.

Here's some guys who could've been Cowboys.

The Valley Ranch Review: Dallas Cowboys NFL Draft Grades and Other Draft Stuff

Aaron Novinger — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:45:53 -0000

Draft grades the day after the draft. Why bother? We all know it takes 2-3 years to properly evaluate a draft class. Living in a world of instant judgment and instant gratification means we'll always get the snap draft grade the day after the NFL holds its draft. I won't get into detail about what's on the web today in terms of grading the Dallas Cowboys draft, I'll just breeze by it quickly for a couple of reasons.

The national media doesn't follow the team like we do and only have a tentative grasp on what our needs/issues are - let me offer an example. Pete Prisco from CSB Sports gives us a D+. Fair enough - he didn't like our draft. Everybody is entitled to an opinion and we've seen a wide assortment on this blog already. Even Cowboys fans aren't going to agree about this draft. But, it's statements like these that really cause me to lose faith in the national media.

Why use a pick on kicker in the fifth round when Nick Folk is so good? It makes no sense.

Well, it does make sense if you know much about Nick Folk. I love the kid, he finally solved our FG woes and has been money in the clutch. But, as Rafael so eloquently pointed out in this article, he's the absolute worst in the league in terms of kickoffs/touchbacks. He got zero touchbacks last year. Zero. Many teams in the past have solved this problem by carrying two kickers, one who handles the kickoff duties, the other FGs. Enter fifth-round draft pick David Buehler who supposedly has a howitzer for a leg on kickoffs.

Now, before I become too dishonest, you can absolutely argue the logic of drafting a kickoff specialist in the fifth-round, you can question the idea of ever drafting a kicker. I've been known to entertain that thought a time or two. But, to say it makes absolutely no sense to add a kicker in the Cowboys current situation means you haven't been following the team closely. We have a real problem on special teams and the Cowboys just took a shot at solving it. I notice no one is saying that David Buehler can't do the job we've drafted him to do, which is probably the more proper evaluation of him as a draft pick.

To be clear, I'm not that over-hyped about drafting David Buehler although I complained bitterly on the DC Fanatic Show last year that we could use a kickoff specialist. But it's just an example of how the national guys don't really understand the Cowboys the way we do. And they don't take the time to look it up afterward. Look, most of us were stunned when we took a kicker, but moments later after I read about the kid I instantly saw "kickoff specialist" written all over him. Then Jerry and Co. came out and told us they were prepared to go with two kickers. Still, we get statements like it makes no snese to solve a big problem on our special teams. Even when we have 12 picks in our hands.

[UPDATE] BTB-reader tasan chimes in with and even more egregious example of misinformation in the comments section:

The idiot over at USAToday actually said this:

"Grabbed a couple of DEs in fourth round to offset loss of Chris Canty."

Yikes, guess he couldn't be bothered to note that we run a 3-4 defense and those "DEs" will actually be LB's in our scheme and have nothing to do with Chris Canty. [END UPDATE]

One other detail, the acquisition of WR Roy Williams gets scant attention among these grades. He really belongs to the Cowboys 2009 draft class since he's why we don't have a flashy, shiny, named-talent player in the first round to show off today - that guy was already here. But since that didn't actually happen over the weekend, it's like it didn't really happen.

For better or worse, some of our draft grades, which are pretty representative of what I saw this morning. Tread carefully and don't lose your mind if you like our draft, and don't think that these grades justify your view if you hate this draft. For example, check out how wrong these guys can be with this PFT.com article.

USA Today D+
Mel Kiper D
Yahoo Sports C+
Fox Sports C
NBC Sports D

- Dave Halprin

There's more VRR after the jump including talk of our new Cincinnati Bearcat secondary, new QB Stephen McGee and a look at our NFC East brethren.

Hopefully with this draft, the Cowboys will be a better team come training camp. Dallas simply can't risk falling behind in the NFC East race.

Here's who the Giants, Eagles, and Redskins selected in this weekend's draft.

The New York Giants picked:

RD 1 Hakeem Nicks WR, N.Carolina
RD 2 Clint Sintim OLB, Virginia
RD 2 William Beatty OT, UConn
RD 3 Ramses Barden WR, Cal Poly
RD 3 Travis Beckum TE, Wisconsin
RD 4 Andre Brown RB, NC State
RD 5 Rhett Bomar QB, Sam Houston St.
RD 6 DeAndre Wright DB, New Mexico
RD 7 Stoney Woodson DB, S. Carolina

The Philadelphia Eagles picked:

RD 1 Jeremy Maclin WR, Missouri
RD 2 LeSean McCoy RB, Pitt
RD 5 Cornelius Ingram TE, Florida
RD 5 Victor "Macho" Harris, CB, Virginia Tech
RD 5 Fenuki Tupuo OT, Oregon
RD 6 Brandon Gibson WR, Wash. St.
RD 7 Paul Fanaika OG, Arizona St.
RD 7 Moise Fokou OLB, Maryland

The Washington Redskins picked:

RD 1 Brian Orakpo DE, Texas
RD 3 Kevin Barnes CB, Maryland
RD 5 Cody Glenn OLB, Nebraska
RD 6 Robert Henson OLB, TCU
RD 7 Eddie Williams TE, Idaho
RD 7 Marko Mitchell WR, Nevada

- Aaron Novinger

Dave Campo and Brett Maxie must have been impressed by the defensive backfield at the University of Cincinnati. The Cowboys drafted both Bearcat CBs; although, Mike Mickens may be the only who stays at that position. Deangelo Smith, taken by Dallas in the fifth-round, may swing inside to safety. Smith is excited to be a Cowboy.

"This is where I wanted to go and this is where I thought I would go," Smith said. "I was a Cowboys fan growing up and I dreamed of playing there. That was the only visit I took. I felt comfortable down there and they felt comfortable with me."

Speculation in Dallas was that Smith, who played mostly cornerback at UC, would be a safety in the NFL.

Smith's joy over being taken by the Cowboys was further enhanced later in the afternoon when Mickens, his UC teammate, also was taken by Dallas.

- Aaron Novinger

Drafting QB, Stephen McGee, at the top of the fourth-round has broken Dallas' dry spell. Not since 2001 (Quincy Carter) had the Cowboys selected a player at that position. The team felt some pressure to do so on Sunday.

With the threat of either the Denver Broncos or New England Patriots drafting McGee looming, the Cowboys picked the player that for the past few years they have been so reluctant to select.

Pre-draft, sounds like McGee couldn't imagine going anywhere else.

"[T]hat Dallas visit will be huge for me because growing up here in Texas I had Troy Aikman and so forth on my wall for a long time now," McGee told Monty. "I'm so excited to be one of the guys to go on the visit and if I have the opportunity to play in Dallas I know that I would be thrilled and honored."

- Aaron Novinger

Cowboys Draft 2009: Quick Snapshot of the 12 Picks

Dave Halprin — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:01:31 -0000

Quick wrap-up of the Dallas Cowboys 2009 Draft.

Later tonight, Raf will post his breakdown on the players we drafted so be sure to come back to read that.

The Cowboys went with the "Death Match" strategy proposed in this earlier post. After drafting 12 players on the second day, training camp is going to turn into a death match between all these rookies and some veterans who have been on the edges of the roster, and possibly a couple of semi-regulars.

I won't even try to offer analysis of the skills and value of most of these picks. Many of them I haven't seen play a down of football, so I can't give them a true evaluation. I'll leave that to the draftniks. But you can get an idea of what their roles may be should they make the team and who they'll be battling in camp for roster spots.

Jason Williams, ILB, Western Illinois - This guy looks like a replacement for Kevin Burnett. Small but very active and athletic, he should battle for the nickel ILB spot. Bobby Carpenter could be in trouble.

Robert Brewster, T/G, Ball State - Played tackle but the talk is he might be better sliding inside to guard at the NFL level. He'll battle for a backup spot along the line and could replace a player like Pat McQuistan.

Stephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M - If you draft a QB when you have a confirmed starter and a competent backup, you must see something special in him. Otherwise, you can find a third QB in a lot of places and not in the fourth round. We'll see.

Victor Butler, OLB, Oregon State - With this pick and the following one, Greg Ellis is sure to be whining soon. The Cowboys had Ware, Spencer and Ellis as the options at OLB, which was dangerously thin. Now they have Butler to compete.

Brandon Williams, OLB, Texas Tech - See above.

DeAngelo Smith, CB, Cincinnati - We needed some more bodies in the secondary behind the starters. There's talk Smith could be better suited to safety. He could also end up being a punt returner on special teams.

Michael Hamlin, S, Clemson - It was no secret the Cowboys needed depth at safety, behind Ken Hamlin and Gerald Sensabaugh we had very little. Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown now have competition.

David Buehler, K, USC - Kind of a surprise, but I guess with 12 picks you can take a chance like this. Nick Folk is a money kicker on FG's, but is far below average on kickoffs. Buehler could battle Folk but more likely would have to stick as a kickoff specialists. Yes, teams do use kickoff specialists sometimes; it's not a totally nutty idea. Buehler is also a good athlete and might be able to do some other things, so that might help his cause.

Stephen Hodge, S, TCU - A big safety, he could add depth and could possibly play a hybrid S/LB position in the dime defenses. Similar to what we tried with Roy Williams.

John Phillips, TE, Virginia - It's a rule that Dallas has to draft a TE every year.

Mike Mickens, CB, Cincinnati - Huge value at corner. I have no idea why he dropped, but he was expected to go much sooner. Did the knee scare teams off? Alan Ball doesn't like this draft at all.

Manuel Johnson, WR, Oklahoma - Well, they had to draft a receiver at some point.

This draft isn't flashy and I don't see anybody here who could immediately challenge the starters for time, but two or three may be playing significant roles in rotations as nickel and dime defenders. The Cowboys also concentrated on special teams and decided they needed an infusion of new blood, especially with the departure of Keith Davis and Kevin Burnett. Some of these guys are special teams aces. Another binding characteristic - good guys, character guys.

What are your thoughts? Stick around, later Raf will have his breakdown up.

David Buehler to the Dallas Cowboys

Paragon SC — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:56:29 -0000

Congrats to David, he will have some fun in Big D

FIGHT ON David!

East-West Shrine Game Live Blog

Fooch — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:48:52 -0000

Today represents the kickoff to the draft season. The East-West Shrine Game kicks off at 1pm with some quality senior talent. The primary purpose of the game is to raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Of course, over the past few days that doesn't stop the scouts from checking out the week long practices.

These All-Star Games can be considered good and bad for scouting talent. On the one hand, you get to see these guys in pro-style offenses and working with an assortment of talented players. Of course, then you get the inevitable "Player X raises his draft stock" storyline (Rice WR Jarett Dillard in thie case). However, the chance to see this talent on one field makes it hard to resist checking it out.

On 49ers game days I'll open up a game thread and the discussion in the thread is usually good enough for keeping track of plays for the most part. For today's Shrine Game I'm going to do a bit of live-blogging. It won't be play by play, but I'll definitely do what I can to get in the high and low points of the game in terms of player scouting.

Due to the length of the game, I'll be doing the first quarter or so on this front page, and then the remaining three quarters of the game will be after the jump. If you're not watching the game but want me to keep an eye out for somebody in particular, drop a note in the comments. For now, here are the rosters in pdf form:

East Roster (pdf)

West Roster (pdf)

And so begins the hype....

1:02pm - ESPN Draft mini guru Todd McShay in the house. That should make for some very interesting information.

1:05pm - Penn State's career reception leader Deon Butler will be in action. He's not getting love in the wide receiver projections right now. Also, they're talking about Bobby Ross. I forgot he coached the Georgia Tech national title team from 1990 before taking the Chargers to the Super Bowl. One of the few college to pro success stories (we'll forget his time with the Lions).

Game Rules
Offense: No motion or shifting, 2 feet in for wide receivers, only 2 running backs
Defense: Only 4-3, no blitz, only man-to-man

1:11 - Tom Brandstater threw a nice little slant for the first down. ESPN projects him as the #17 QB. That throw and his next throw show some quality arm strength. We'll see what kind of accuracy he has.

1:13 - Gartrell Johnson, CSU running back, with a big rush into East territory. He rushed for 285 yards in the New Mexico Bowl. McShay says he's one of the fastest rising performers. He's 5'10, 227. Definitely a baby bull type of player it looks like.

1:17 - How's about a 285 pound fullback (5'11). Yes I'm talking about Jorvorskie Lane of Texas A&M. The announcers (McShay and Andre Ware) are ripping into him for being overweight. On that drive he got the ball on 3rd and goal form the 2 and 4th and goal from the 1 and couldn't get it in.

1:22 - Wow. HORRIBLE call on a pass interference. The defender hit the receiver square just before the ball got to him. I really don't see how that wasn't pass interference. Anybody??? Hopefully Bobby Ross (the East coach) is unhappy with that call

1:30 - Well, the Brandstater question above has been answered. He can hit the short slants, but anything beyond 10 yards has been overthrown.

1:33 - Chase Daniel is 0/3 so far with some under throws and over throws. One downside to All-Star games is the lack of chemistry between quarterbacks and receivers.

1:35 - Gartrell Johnson is really impressive so far. They've said over and over that he lacks speed (4.7 40 they actually said), but he just seems to break through for the solid runs. McShay: "I think elite speed is the most overrated aspect of evaluating running backs. As long as you're quick enough to get through the line of scrimmage you can play at the next level."

1:40 - Apparently Brian Hoyer, Michigan State QB, looked awesome in practice this week. For the season he had a 51% completion percentage. Apparently the MSU receivers had a lot of drops and scouts might use that as a discount on his completion percentage. Making excuses or will he be solid? McShay says he's a great fit for a West Coast offense as a 4th or 5th round pick. Might be worth doing some more research.

1:43 - Penn State receiver Deon Butler (mentioned above) finished his PSU career #1 in receptions, #3 in receiving yards and #3 in receiving touchdowns. McShay sees him as a potentially solid slot receiver and a mid to late round pick.

We've reached the end of the first quarter, so i'm going to pick this up after the jump. No scoring so far, but some solid performances thus far.

1:47 - McShay says the 5 players who improved their stock the most are: Gartrell Johnson (RB), Sebastian Vollmer (OT), Brian Hoyer (QB), Stephen McGee (QB) and Jarron Gilbert (DT). Apparently Gilbert is turning into a YouTube sensation in part because of this video.

1:50 - Marlon Lucky with the 7-yard rushing touchdown and the East goes up 7-0. Lucky is a Nebraska running back and is ranked 23rd among running backs. I'm curious how often they adjust the Scouts Inc rankings.

1:55 - McShay says the All-Star games are a bigger bonus for players than the Combine. I definitely think the games are important, but it seems like a lot of players get big bumps from Combine performances. Maybe really they're equal?

1:58 - The East defensive line has impressed at times. They stopped the West on a goal line stand and have done well against Ian Johnson and Aaron Brown. Of course, Gartrell Johnson chewed them up with ease.

1:58 - David Buehler, USC's kicker, just drilled a 49 yarder with ease. 7-3 East.

2:04 - Hunter Cantwell, Louisville QB, just completed a pass to a wide open Deon Butler. Butler solid so far.

2:04 - Marlon Lucky with a 47 yard rush to the West 3, followed by Javarris Williams running it in for the TD. 14-3 East.

2:08 - Michigan DB Morgan Trent just picked Central Washington QB Mike Reilly. NFL contact rules are in play so after falling to the ground with the pick, he hopped up and returned it to the West 17. The East looking to blow this open.

2:12 - Marlon Lucky with a big 11-yard gain on a draw to the West 6. Lucky isn't huge but is showing some solid burst, leading both teams in rushing yards.

2:15 - The West stiffens up and holds the East to a field goal. 17-3 East.

2:17 - 2 minute warning. I do like the idea of using more NFL rules for these games....Any idea why they don't use more NFL rules in other college games (2 minute warning, no stopping the clock on first downs, 2 feet in bounds for receptions)?

2:22 - Gartrell Johnson apparently came out of nowhere this season, as he wasn't expected to be the starter. His yards per carry is exactly the same as last season with 97 more carries. It's hard to make an exact assessment yet, but that has to be a good sign.

2:26 - Fresno St QB Tom Brandstater brought back in for the final minute to run the quick drill for the West. He just made a nice throw across the middle to get a first down. Due to NFL rules, they had to use a timeout with 34 seconds left. Brandstater follows the timeout with a beautiful toss to Boise St RB Ian Johnson on a corner route and out of bounds. First and goal.

2:30 - The West ran the ball and then threw a quick incomplete fade leaving 6 seconds left. The 3rd down play was a slant that bounced off the defender. The West finished off the first half with a David Buehler field goal.

After one half, the running backs have looked the best, which isn't surprising given the short week of practice and the fact that everybody is playing with people they've never played with. Thus, QB-WR combos haven't looked all that great. That also makes it hard to assess cornerbacks and safeties since a lot of passes have been bad overthrows and underthrows. We'll be back soon for the second half...

2:53 - McShay and Ware have been pointing to the East's defensive pressure on the QBs. They've gotten in the QBs' faces, but they have had problems at times stopping the run. Of course they've held the West to two field goals, so I suppose they're doing just fine.

2:55 - McShay ranks Sanchez the #1 QB, followed by Matthew Stafford, Nate Davis (Ball State), Josh Freeman (Kansas State) and Graham Harrell.

2:57 - Andre Ware thinks Mark Sanchez is #1 and it's not even close to Stafford as #2. He thinks he's the "complete package." Interesting.

3:00 - Brandstater hit his fellow Bulldog, TE Bear Tascoe, who made a phenomenal catch in traffic. The 49ers don't need a TE but Tascoe brings some solid size to the position.

3:05 - I have to say, I really like Tom Brandstater. He's 6'4, 215 pounds and has a real live arm. His biggest problem seems to be accuracy. He completed 59.6% of passes, down from 62.6% last season. And just like that Brandstater completes a 22 yard touchdown pass to Mike Thomas. On that drive he was 5/7 for 74 yards and the touchdown. 17-13 East.

3:15 - A&M QB Stephen McGee apparently had a solid week of practice, but hasn't had much of anything happening so far. He's 3/6 but his drives have involved big runs from Marlon Lucky, so not much to show so far.

3:17 - They're discussing how McGee looks solid as an under the center QB. Apparently Mike Sherman brought some of that in when he took over at A&M. Contrast that with Chase Daniels. Daniels played a lot of shot gun and McShay pointed out that he's struggled under the center this week. Sounds a little like Colt Brennan's All-Star game issues last season.

3:25 - MSU QB Brian Hoyer scrambles 13 yards for a first down. McShay said he thought he was the worst of the 6 QBs in today's game coming into the week's practice. He quickly changed his tune.

3:30 - Deon Butler just made a really nice 20-yard catch inside the West 10 yard line. He's not a big guy (5'9, 173 - not a whole lot bigger than me), but he's shown some really solid hands. That was followed by Northwestern RB Tyrell Sutton rushing in for a 2-yard touchdown. Sutton is 5'7 206 pounds. Now, THAT is a bowling ball with legs.

3:34 - Best line so far: Nothing says the 84th East-West Shrine Game like a giant dancing fez.

3:37 - Stephen McGee with a beautiful toss to Jarett Dillard to cut the lead to 24-19 (failed 2-pt conversion). Dillard ran a go route and McGee dropped it right in there.

3:48 - West gets the ball back after a punt and can take their first lead of the game. They opened with a nice 10+ yard run to get things rolling. Central Washington QB Mike Reilly is in for the West. He has struggled so far today (and that's why you come here for amazing insight!).

3:53 - West got a roughing the passer penalty that has really helped the drive. They're inside the East 40.

3:54 - And the West benefits frm NFL pass interference rules as Dillard gets knocked around on an incompletion. West down inside the 10.

3:56 - Dillard went up on a fade route and almost had the ball but the defender did a great job knocking the ball away. We're down to the 2-minute warning and this is coming down to the wire.

4:00 - And the West turns the ball over on downs after a jump ball in the end zone. The receiver jumped just a second too early I think. East gets the ball back and is looking to run out the clock.

4:02 - Javarris Williams with a 16 yard rush for the first down. The West is out of timeouts and the East can run things out. The East just called a timeout for some reason with 46 seconds left. Maybe make sure they get the victory formation right?

4:05 - And that'll do it. Bobby Ross's East squad pulls out the victory 24-19.

All in all a pretty solid game. The running backs dominated early, but the quarterbacks stepped up late. I suppose the in-game QB/WR chemistry took a little time to develop. Once it did, there were some solid plays on both sides.

There will be plenty to assess about the draft possibilities in the coming months, but this game at least gave me a few more guys to look at at a variety of positions.