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I'm a big fan of Tom so far and everything that I hear and read on the guy.
Simple toughness will be look of new Cowboys
By MAC ENGEL
[email protected]
Tom Ciskowski has a visual in mind.
When he closes his eyes, he can picture the player he wants to draft. He knows what he wants a Dallas Cowboy to look like.
The Cowboys’ second-year director of player personnel is telling Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones "I want to get tough [competitors] who are football players. They don’t care about the other stuff, and just want to play football. Guys who just play. Guys who are tough. Guys if they have a guy in front of them then I want them to help us on special teams right away."
Eschew the player who runs the 40 in a 4-point-whatever, squats 900 pounds and has the rest measurables in favor of a more grunt-ish pick. Scrap the guy who looks the part but can’t play the part; if you want to win an Academy Award you pick Kate Winslet, not Jessica Alba.
It’s no secret Cowboys general manager Jerry Jones likes the Alba types, but there are a lot of people at Valley Ranch pushing for the safer Winslet, almost Parcellsian pick.
Consistently, the most successful franchises in the NFL today — New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles etc. — all have created their own look for each player and pursue that person with a clear purpose. It’s not just the best player available but the best player available who fits their identity.
Exactly what is a Dallas Cowboy today?
It’s hard to call it an identity crisis, but two years of Wade Phillips and the look of a Cowboy appears undefined. If Ciskowski has his way, the 2009 Cowboys draft will have more than a hint of Parcells’ philosophy.
Ciskowski has devised a position-by-position set of characteristics he seeks for any player, and the consistent themes throughout every spot are willingness to work, and intelligence. It’s a value system where toughness is almost as important as talent. He is pushing in the direction of the increasingly popular, if slightly boring, tough-guy, fits our-mold football player.
"Every program that I’ve been in that has been successful, we’ve gone out and found football players," said first-year Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had served as the Patriots director of player personnel during their recent run of success.
"The best moves we made player-personnel wise, are players who can play football; not necessarily guys who tested best or had the higher test scores. It’s a mosaic of all this information that you piece together."
Through the years, the mosaic at Valley Ranch has changed.
In the near 50-year history of the Cowboys, their most successful teams were built around players who shared a common look. Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys had a certain look, which wasn’t that of Tom Landry’s Cowboys or Parcells’ Cowboys.
When a person said, "That’s a Dallas Cowboy" in 1975, 1995 or even 2005, it created a visual.
While the first draft under Ciskowski yielded positive results — Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick and Tashard Choice — the class was a clear shift away from Parcells’ lust for size over finesse. It’s doubtful tight end Martellus Bennett would have been selected by Parcells, possibly the same for Scandrick.
Ciskowski has his outline, his plan, and his vision for what he wants. According to various Valley Ranch sources, Ciskowski is allowed to set up the draft board the way he wants it; it’s almost as if it’s Jerry proof, and there will be no chance of taking a Quincy Carter in the second round.
Jones might have learned to agree with Ciskowski’s vision, but he innately likes pretty quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. Jones has been known to go Jessica Alba over the Winslet before. So whatever the Cowboys’ new look is, as long as Jerry Jones is making the final call, style could be involved.
"I don’t think style distracts," Jones said. "There is nothing in me that thinks it distracts. As a matter of fact, I think there are some plusses, but at the end of the day you have to win football games. You have to win enough of them, not only material games, but at the end of the day, and really my entire method, is about winning a Super Bowl. That’s it."
Which is the only look that really matters.
Simple toughness will be look of new Cowboys
By MAC ENGEL
[email protected]
Tom Ciskowski has a visual in mind.
When he closes his eyes, he can picture the player he wants to draft. He knows what he wants a Dallas Cowboy to look like.
The Cowboys’ second-year director of player personnel is telling Jerry Jones and Stephen Jones "I want to get tough [competitors] who are football players. They don’t care about the other stuff, and just want to play football. Guys who just play. Guys who are tough. Guys if they have a guy in front of them then I want them to help us on special teams right away."
Eschew the player who runs the 40 in a 4-point-whatever, squats 900 pounds and has the rest measurables in favor of a more grunt-ish pick. Scrap the guy who looks the part but can’t play the part; if you want to win an Academy Award you pick Kate Winslet, not Jessica Alba.
It’s no secret Cowboys general manager Jerry Jones likes the Alba types, but there are a lot of people at Valley Ranch pushing for the safer Winslet, almost Parcellsian pick.
Consistently, the most successful franchises in the NFL today — New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles etc. — all have created their own look for each player and pursue that person with a clear purpose. It’s not just the best player available but the best player available who fits their identity.
Exactly what is a Dallas Cowboy today?
It’s hard to call it an identity crisis, but two years of Wade Phillips and the look of a Cowboy appears undefined. If Ciskowski has his way, the 2009 Cowboys draft will have more than a hint of Parcells’ philosophy.
Ciskowski has devised a position-by-position set of characteristics he seeks for any player, and the consistent themes throughout every spot are willingness to work, and intelligence. It’s a value system where toughness is almost as important as talent. He is pushing in the direction of the increasingly popular, if slightly boring, tough-guy, fits our-mold football player.
"Every program that I’ve been in that has been successful, we’ve gone out and found football players," said first-year Kansas City Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, who had served as the Patriots director of player personnel during their recent run of success.
"The best moves we made player-personnel wise, are players who can play football; not necessarily guys who tested best or had the higher test scores. It’s a mosaic of all this information that you piece together."
Through the years, the mosaic at Valley Ranch has changed.
In the near 50-year history of the Cowboys, their most successful teams were built around players who shared a common look. Jimmy Johnson’s Cowboys had a certain look, which wasn’t that of Tom Landry’s Cowboys or Parcells’ Cowboys.
When a person said, "That’s a Dallas Cowboy" in 1975, 1995 or even 2005, it created a visual.
While the first draft under Ciskowski yielded positive results — Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins, Orlando Scandrick and Tashard Choice — the class was a clear shift away from Parcells’ lust for size over finesse. It’s doubtful tight end Martellus Bennett would have been selected by Parcells, possibly the same for Scandrick.
Ciskowski has his outline, his plan, and his vision for what he wants. According to various Valley Ranch sources, Ciskowski is allowed to set up the draft board the way he wants it; it’s almost as if it’s Jerry proof, and there will be no chance of taking a Quincy Carter in the second round.
Jones might have learned to agree with Ciskowski’s vision, but he innately likes pretty quarterbacks, running backs and receivers. Jones has been known to go Jessica Alba over the Winslet before. So whatever the Cowboys’ new look is, as long as Jerry Jones is making the final call, style could be involved.
"I don’t think style distracts," Jones said. "There is nothing in me that thinks it distracts. As a matter of fact, I think there are some plusses, but at the end of the day you have to win football games. You have to win enough of them, not only material games, but at the end of the day, and really my entire method, is about winning a Super Bowl. That’s it."
Which is the only look that really matters.
elmas 35William Moore 47Sean Smith 48Chung 51Sherod Martin 70Rashad Johnson 78It seems like one of Moore, Smith, or Chung would be available at 51. Delmas would require us to move up in all likelihood.
However, they may still trade that 3rd rounder along with another to move up for a second 2nd-round selection. Stay tuned...
Where is that tool? Did he finally get the boot?
