SB Nation User Blog: jack dein

Head Coaching Candidates

jack dein — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:20:12 -0000

I know what your all thinking, we still have 3 games left and shouldn't be thinking about guys to replace Phillips but lets face it unless they win out and win at least 1 playoff game Phillips is gone. I'm not going to say whether I think that we can that because that's not the point of this post.

I have narrowed my coaching candidates done to 3 guys. When doing this I am hoping that Jerry Jones doesn't go after a coach who has been fired already. Philips was never a good head coach and we hoped that the talent on this team would be enough to get us to the Super Bowl. I have read here a lot that people really like Mike Shanahan. I have nothing against him and think that he's a very good coach but if he was hired he might want to completely change the system that we run and that would take a couple years and I don't want to wait.

My first choice would be Bill Cowher. We all know his history and what he can do. He's 1-1 in the Super Bowl and his teams have had a lot of success. The thing that draws me to him the most though is that he would bring great discipline to this team. I'm not sure if he would come out of retirement to coach us but it would be the best opportunity for him. He would be going to a team that isn't far away and would give him a chance to win right away.

My next choice would be Russ Grimm. I'm not sure if the former Redskin would be interested but if he was then he would be a solid candidate. He's done a great job as an offensive line coach at both the Steelers and Cardinals. He's more than ready to be a head coach and bring some toughness to our team.

My third choice would be Ron Rivera. We got to watch his defense hamper the Dallas offense all game today. Everywhere he has been a defensive coordinator his defense's have been solid. He led the Bears defense that went to the Super Bowl and after he left that defense slipped greatly. While at the Chargers his defense has been solid.

I'm sure there are other candidates but those would be my top 3 choices. I want Dallas to go with someone young who would bring some fire to this team. After watching Phillips with his head down today it made me disgusted to be a fan. It looked to me like he had given up hope with about 2 minutes left to play. Was the game over, sure but as a head coach you have to set an example that your players follow and his lack of discipline has cost us his entire tenure in Dallas. I read someone's comment earlier and he made a great point saying that there are teams playing much better then we are with less talent.

To finish up I am not against Jason Garrett remaining as the offensive coordinator. I know he has his critics but he has been getting better as the season has gone along and he can't do anything when the defense gives up 7 minute drives. As for the goal line situation in today's game we probably should have called a pass but there is no excuse for your offensive line not being able to get 1 yard in 3 plays. That falls on the players.

Winter Meetings

jack dein — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 02:33:39 -0000

The Winter Meetings start tomorrow and as everyone knows this is when the deals really start to come. I would like everyone to make a prediction of something that they think will happen during the meetings. I would like to know what everyone thinks about where some of the big free agents will sign or who might get traded during the meetings.

My predictions are:

John Lackey resigns with the Angels for 5 years $85M.

After Lackey signs the rumors for Lowe really start to pick up but nothing happens during the meetings. At least one other free agent starter will sign somewhere.

Matt Holliday signs with the Angels for 5 years $90M. He's doesn't get as much as many expected and soon after he signs Jason Bay goes back to the Red Sox and accepts their 4 year $60M offer.

Mike Gonzalez signs with the Red Sox for 2 years $14M.

I really don't think the Halladay gets dealt during the meetings but by the start of 2010 he will be somewhere else.

The Braves will be quiet during the meetings as they will have to wait until Lackey signs to get any legit offers from teams for Lowe and unless somebody makes an a big offer for Vazquez he isn't going anywhere.

You can agree or disagree with my predictions or make your own.

Rossum cut

jack dein — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:52:46 -0000

The Cowboys have decided to release punt and kick returner Allen Rossum.

Not real surprising that the Cowboys cut him. He's been hurt most of the time he was in Dallas anyway. With Crayton doing well returning punts and Jones healthy enough to return kicks he probably would have been out of a job anyway. We'll have to wait and see who takes his roster spot. Hopefully the Cowboys decide to bring another O-lineman up to take his spot.

AL Gold Gloves

jack dein — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:28:47 -0000

The AL gold gloves were announced today and as usual there is plenty of controversy.

C. Joe Mauer

1B. Mark Teixeira

2B. Placido Polanco

3B. Evan Longoria

SS. Derek Jeter

OF. Torii Hunter, Adam Jones, and Ichiro Suzuki

P. Mark Buehrle

Teixera, Longoria, and Buehrle deserved to win. Jeter, Suzuki, and Hunter won because of history. Mauer is a good catcher but I don't think he's the best. Polanco and Jones are both good defenders but others should have won it over them.

I don't know how many people actually take these things seriously anyway but we await the NL gold gloves anyway.

Poor drafting kills

jack dein — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:51:38 -0000

Since Parcells came here in 2003 our drafting has been better but still not great. To often we get only 1 or 2 good players out of a draft class. If you look at the draft classes since 2000 you'll see that we blow some whole classes. The players drafted in the last 10 years should make up the core of your team.

The 2000 draft was a complete bust. None of the players are even in the league anymore so they are not contributing anything to our team. Jerry tried fixing the secondary and drafted Dwayne Goodrich, Kareem Larimore, and Mario Edwards. Sadly Edwards a 6th round pick was probably the best. The other 2 picks were RB Michael Wiley and OLB Orantes Grant.

2001 was another completely lost draft. QB Quincy Carter was decent for a few years then got released. S Tony Dixon was never any good, and the rest of the players were never any good either.

2002 landed us 1 starter C Andre Gurode who taken in the 2nd round. Antonio Bryant is a quality player but not in Dallas. S Roy Williams made a few Pro Bowls but couldn't cover anyone. Derek Ross was a decent starter for a year but I think he's in prison now. The rest of the players made no impact.

2003 landed us 3 starters. CB Terrence Newman, TE Jason Witten, and ILB Bradie James. C Al Johnson was decent starter but isn't in Dallas anymore.

2004 is pretty much a lost draft with only WR Patrick Crayton still on the team. RB Julius Jones was a decent starter but isn't in Dallas anymore.

The 2005 draft looked good a few years ago but is losing its luster. It did produce 4 very good starters in OLB DeMarcus Ware, DE Marcus Spears, RB Marion Barber, and NT Jay Ratliff, but it could have been much better. Kevin Burnett and Chris Canty aren't here anymore. Spears while he is a starter really doesn't make much of an impact.

2006 finds us with another bad class. Carpenter is still on the team but isn't good. Fasano is in Miami. S Pat Watkins is the only player who has briefly started from this class. DE Jason Hatcher is a decent role player but not much more. The rest of the class hasn't done anything.

2007 gave us 1 starter in OLB Anthony Spencer who seems to be improving. Kicker Nick Folk was a find and FB Deon Anderson is solid. The rest of the class hasn't shown anything.

It's to early to truly rate the 2008 class but it looks good. Jenkins is a solid starter and is getting better. Jones if he can stay healthy is a explosive player. Bennett isn't developing quickly but does give us something almost every game. Choice was a great late round find. Scandrick is a solid 3rd corner.

I have little confidence in the 2009 class. You see very few late round players make a solid impact over 5-10 years and our highest pick was in the 3rd round. We had a lot of late picks that may or may not ever contribute. Of course this class will be tied to how well Roy Williams plays and so far I see nothing to justify the picks we gave up for him.

I guess my point is that while we have added some very good players in recent draft classes we have also had to many classes that have added nothing (2000 and 2001), classes that have added little (2002, 2004, 2006, and 2007) Only the the 2003, 2005 and 2008 classes look good for the future. To often Jerry Jones trades down and more often then not it ends with us not getting a player that is any good. I hope in 2010 that Jones either trades up or stays pat and takes a player that will give Romo a better chance to succeed. No matter what you think of him he is our franchise QB and unless he gets hurt or completely goes down the tube he isn't going anywhere. So we need to give him better weapons to succeed.

P.S. I wrote a comment earlier that had a profanity in it. I personally didn't think it would offend anyone but if it did I apologize.

Fresh Idea

jack dein — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:42:09 -0000

Three times now I haven gotten a feeling about a player that the Braves would go out and get. The time it was Mike Hampton while he was still in Colorado and a few months later he was a Brave. The second was Derek Lowe. He signed a contract a few weeks later. Tonight I had my third and it was Derrek Lee. Then I got to thinking about how good of a fit he would be with Atlanta. He is a solid overall hitter and a good defender. He is also a free agent after the 2010 season. If we are able to retain Tim Hudson's services for next season would a swap of Javier Vazquez for Derrek Lee be worth it. They are both free agents after 2010 and then we could let Lee walk and Freeman should be ready to start the 2011 season. I would hate to lose Vazquez but getting rid of his contract would make up for taking on Lee's salary. Lee would give us a solid everyday 4th bat in the lineup.

He is also right handed so it would keep our lineup from getting to lefty heavy. For the season Lee is hitting .303/.387/.572 with 33 home runs and 103 RBI, 69 BB and 104 K's in 581 at bats.

Hanson

jack dein — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:54:26 -0000

I'm not one to read much of what ESPN puts out but Jerry Crasnick has a nice article about Tommy Hanson up.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=4434913

It's a good read and also talks about some other rookies this year but mostly Hanson. It talks some about how well he handled himself with all the hype surrounding him and what some of the other veterans have thought about him.

Wildcard and Division Standings update

jack dein — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:09:46 -0000

We'll start in the NL East. Only 3 teams still have a shot at winning the division with the Mets and Nationals out of it.

The Phillies are currently 72-50 with a 7 game lead of the Braves and a 8 game lead of the Marlins. Their remaining schedule is 3 at Pittsburgh (51-71), 3 vs. Atlanta (66-58), 3 vs. San Francisco (67-57), 4 at Houston (61-63), 3 at Washington (44-80), 3 vs. New York (57-68), 3 vs. Washington (44-80), 3 at Atlanta (66-58), 3 at Florida (65-59), 4 at Milwaukee (60-63), 4 vs. Houston (61-63), and 3 vs. Florida (65-59).

The Braves currently 66-58 7 games back in the division race and 4 games back of Colorado and 3 back of San Francisco in the Wild Card standings. Their remaining schedule is 3 vs. San Diego (52-74), 3 at Philidelphia (72-50), 4 at Florida (65-59), 3 vs. Cincinnati (52-71), 3 at Houston (61-63), 3 at St. Louis (72-54), 3 vs. New York (57-68), 3 vs. Phillidelphia (72-50), 3 at New York (57-68), 3 at Washington (44-80), 3 vs. Florida (65-59), and 4 vs. Washington (44-80).

The Marlins are currently 65-59, 8 games back in the division race and 5 games back in the Wild Card. Their remaining schedule is 3 vs. New York (57-68), 3 vs. San Diego (52-74), 4 vs. Atlanta (66-58), 3 at Washington (44-80), 3 at New York (57-68), 3 vs. Washington (44-80), 3 at St. Louis (72-54), 4 at Cincinnati (52-71), 3 vs. Philidelphia (72-50), 3 vs. New York (57-68), 3 at Atlanta (66-58), and 3 at Philidelphia (72-50).

The Rockies have 23 home games against the Giants, Dodgers, Mets, Diamondbacks, Reds, Padres, Cardinals, and Brewers. They 15 road games left against the Giants, Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks and Dodgers.

The Giants have 22 home games against the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Padres, Dodgers, Rockies, Cubs, and Diamondbacks. The have 16 road games against the Rockies, Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Padres.

You can make your own prediction of who you think will win the Wild Card and NL East. I think the NL East is wrapped up. The Phillies and playing good and have a big lead with only 40 games left. The Wild Card I think will come down to the Braves and Rockies. The Braves have been playing very good lately but have 4 games to make up on the Rockies and have a much tougher schedule. I think it will be close but the Rockies will win it just because their remaining games aren't that bad.

Early grade on players aquired

jack dein — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:30:05 -0000

Even though we are only 24 games into the season I thought that it would be a good time to take a look at how the players that we aquired this offseason are doing.

The first guy that we brought in was Eric O' Flaherty. He was claimed off waivers from Seattle on November 20. So far this season he has appeared in 10 games throwing 7.2 innings. He has a solid 3.52 ERA and a great 0.913 WHIP. It's a very brief sample but so far he has proved to be a solid pickup.

On December 4 we traded for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan. So far this season Vazquez has a 2-2 record in 5 starts. He has thrown 32 innings striking out 42 and walking just 8. His ERA stands at 3.38 and his WHIP is at 1.219. Boone Logan is at AAA having not made the team as the lefty in the bullpen out of spring training. Of the players we sent to Chicago only Brent Lillibridge has played in the majors. He has played in 16 games with a .143 avg. They have used him in CF and at 2B mostly.

Our first free agent signing was catcher David Ross. We signed him to a 2 year $3 million on contract on December 5. This season he has been great for us stepping in in place of the injured Brian McCann. He has played in 10 games so far with a .281 avg. 2 home runs and 6 RBI along with a .410 OBP. A great pickup this offseason all in all.

We then starting working on the pitching staff by signing Kenshin Kawakami to a 3 year $23 million contract. So far this season Kawakami has struggled adjusting to the majors. He has started 4 games and has a 1-3 record. He has pitched 21.2 innings striking out 18 and walking 11. He ERA stands at 7.06 and his WHIP at 1.615. I have not yet begun to worry about him yet. Most pitchers who come here from Japan struggle at first. I think that if he can cut down on the walks he should be fine as the season goes along.

A few days after signing Kawakami we signed Derek Lowe to a 4 year $60 million contract. Some people thought that it was high at the time and others questioned giving him 4 years but this deal has been great so far. Lowe has came in and been a legitimate ace for our team. Lowe has made 6 starts and has a 3-1 record. He has thrown 35.2 innings striking out 28 and walking 14. His ERA stands at 3.03 and his WHIP at 1.290. The scary thing is that if the Mets would have went to 4 years he would probably be in New York now. I would hate to think where we would be without him.

So far our one bad free agent signing has been Garrett Anderson who signed a 1 year $2.5 million contract. He was signed to be a veteran who could hold LF and be a solid hitter for a year. In reality he has been terrible this year. He is currently on the DL. So far this season he has played in 10 games managing a .200 avg and a .231 OBP. He has 0 home runs and 0 RBI. The .200 avg. is even a little misleading because its only 5 hits. That .200 avg. is higher then it should be because most of those hits came in one game. It is looking more and more like he won't be here all season. The most disheartening thing is that he doesn't look like he even wants to play anymore.

Our last move was the in-season trade of RP Blaine Boyer to the Cardinals for LF Brain Barton. Boyer was terrible with Atlanta having a 40.50 ERA in 1.1 innings and has been somewhat better in St. Louis. He has pitched in 4 games tossing 3.2 innings with 3 strikeouts and o walks. His ERA stands at 4.91 and his WHIP at 1.091. Brain Barton has played in 9 games at AAA. He has a .256 avg. with 0 home runs and 2 RBI. He has struck out 12 times and walked just 3 times in 39 at-bats.

All in all it was a good offseason for Atlanta. Only Kawakami and Anderson have struggled so far and I think that Kawakami will get it turned around and be fine as the season goes along. Like I said above I don't think that Anderson will finish the season in Atlanta unless he comes back from the DL and turns into a hitting machine which I think is unlikely.

Looking back 10 years

jack dein — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:26:17 -0000

With the draft less than a week away I decided to look back at the Cowboys 1999 draft. With most of these guys either on different teams or out of the NFL it makes it easy to grade.

1st round (20) Ebenezer Ekuban, DE, North Carolina.

He is still in football although not in Dallas. He was a Cowboy from 1999-2003. He played one season in Cleveland before being traded to Denver. He is still with the Broncos signed for this season.

Stats with Dallas: 60 games 34 starts. 12.5 sacks.

Our next pick was at 55 in the 2nd round. Notatable players picked between 20-55. Antoine Winfield pick 23, Patrick Kearney pick 30, Al Wilson pick 31, Mike Rucker pick 38, and Dre Bly pick 41.

2nd round (55) Soloman Page, G, West Virginia.

Page played with us through the 2002 season before being let go and playing one season with San Diego.

Stats with Dallas: 59 games 51 starts.

Our next pick came in the 3rd round at pick 85. Notable players picked in between. Joey Porter pick 73, Gary Stills pick 75, Marty Booker pick 78, and Martin Gramatica pick 80.

3rd round (85) Dat Nguyen, ILB, Texas A&M.

Our first real big hit in the draft. Played with us his entire career from 1999-2005. Was forced to retire in 2006 because a neck injury failed to improve. Was hired in 2007 to be the assistant linebackers and defensive quality control coach.

Stats with Dallas: 90 games, 516 tackles, 6 sacks, 7 INT.

Our next pick came in the 4th round at pick 118. Only one player of note was picked in between and that is Aaron Smith at pick 108.

4th round (118) Wane McGarity, WR, Texas

This was mostly a wasted pick on a 5-8' WR. He played with Dallas through about half the 2001 season before being picked up by New Orleans. Didn't find another team after that.

Stats with Dallas: 39 punt returns for 407 yards and 2 TD, 38 receptions for 365 yards and 1 TD.

4th round (132) Peppi Zellner, DE, Fort Valley St.

Hung around in Dallas through the 2002 season then played 2003 in Washington and 2004 in Arizona, out of football after that.

Stats with Dallas: 57 games 17 starts, 6 sacks and 102 tackles.

6th round (193) MarTay Jenkins, WR, Nebraska-Omaha.

Never played with Dallas but did alright as a returner in Arizona through 2002.

7th round (229) Mike Lucky, TE, Arizona.

Had a unimpressive career. Played with Dallas through the 2002 season. Didn't play after that.

Stats with Dallas: 46 games 9 starts, 19 receptions for 143 yards and 1 TD.

7th round (243) Kelvin Garmon, G, Baylor.

Spent his first 2 seasons on the injured reserve but did start all 16 games in 2001. Had started the first 5 games of 2002 and then was traded to San Diego. Started 21 games in San Diego before signing with Cleveland where he started 8 games before being injured and retiring.

Looking back 10 years that is pretty bad. Really only two players amounted to much. Dat Nguyen was having a good career that got derailed by injuries and Garmon was a good enough guard.