Dibs

Great point VA. Anybody certain about a situation should pop some viagra & take a good hard look at themselves.

Well said.

It is a bit premature to judge him now. Who knows how good or bad he will be? Whitner may not get any better than what he is(though I very much doubt that) & in his 3rd season Bunkley could take off & be all-pro....who knows what will happen. Has it always been the way that even though everyone knows rookie usually take several years to develop that fans will judge them as success/failures after 3/5/7 etc games??? BTW....I was never a Bunkley lover & was pleased when we did not draft him....I just don't believe one can say "I told you so" until the fat lady sings.

That may well be so but it does not mean that Tasker 'shouldn't' have made the HOF by now......he obviously should have made his team WOF by now as well.

OMG I assumed he was in already. How can the All-Time NFL Team Member for punter not be in the HOF? That is insane. IMO both Guy & Tasker should have been 1st year eligible HOFers.

Exception to the rule? TT simply must get in this year....it was a big enough snub last year. Allen IMO is a 1st year inductee. I'd love Reed to get in but IIRC he was always considered the 'younger brother' to his peers while playing(Irvin/Sharpe/Rison/Rice, etc)....I cannot see it changing for the HOF entry. WOW....I'm always amazed at the list each year....so many good players. Tasker should have been a 1st year eligible entry. If the best ever at his position(by far) cannot get in....regardless of the position....there is something wrong with the selection criteria. Maybe this year.

Just because we understand why some people act/react to certain things does not make it excusable or them correct. It merely makes it understandable.

For me, this sums up the debate. JP detractors are calling JP a turd & that he cannot be polished......therefore???? Dump him? JP defenders(or at least the moderate ones) are saying...."Wait a minute, let's see how the year progresses before we 'determined' that he is unpolishable....i.e. a turd." They are not saying he is good.....they are not even saying he is going to be good.....they are simply saying that just as it would be wrong to call him decent at this point it would also be wrong to call him a turd. There is a big difference between these two statements..... "I don't think JP is going to be any good....but I hope he does make it." "JP will never be any good."

I'm certainly not arguing here.....I just think the Probowl numbers are interesting. It's astounding to think that half your starters could be probowl caliber at any given time. DAL..... 1991 - 4 players 1992 - 6 1993 - 11 1994 - 11 1995 - 10 1996 - 9 MIA..... 1970 - 3 players 1971 - 7 1972 - 9 1973 - 11 1974 - 10

I saw an interview with TB for the first time the other day. I thought to myself....."Myself" I said....."What an incredibly articulate, intelligent, measured, thoughtful & peaceful man he seems". I was actually quite astounded at how cerebral he came across. If what you say is true.....& based on the brief glimpse of his personality I had.....I am not surprised at all. Irrelevant of playing talent, he seemed the type of player that I would be elated if he was a Bill(no knock on WM intended).

But that is no guarentee that TKO won't be able to recover. He was our only real legitimate star.....you don't just give up on him over-night. Look at what he achieved in one play in the 1st game this season. You can't train that sort of play-making ability.

The other thread is a much more mature way of discussing the topic.LINK TO OTHER THREAD ON THIS TOPIC My thoughts.....

If we get many more we can have a street parade.

Good post. You're right....even if Peters, Gandy & Pennington fail at their new positions, it means we will 'know' next off-season. Of course if they succeed....

I know what you mean. I simply meant that Aikman had one of the best supporting casts on both O & D that I have seen......how does it compare to the great PIT team of Bradshaw?(I was not exactly around to see it.)

Aaaah Bill.....I have no problem with your concepts of drafting.....just your dogmatic insistence that it is the only way to go & that if not followed exactly(i.e. 1 1st round pick on the lines is not good enough), the people are idiots & incompetent. Is there ever anything in life where there is only one way of achieving something?

I'm no expert but I'm certain the cover2(tampa2) excels with an exceptional athlete at SS. You sound like you are just about to give up hope that he can achieve what will be expected.....he has only played 7 games & is one of the better rookies around....he got the NFL rookie of the month last month....what is it you expect from him at this point? Probowl level play after 1/2 a season?

You might not know, but at least I know a little more now....thanks.

I was under the impression that McNally does his best work with low round rookies or UDFAs since these players have smaller egos(compared to high round picks) & therefore more willing to learn & change.....and they are not veteran FAs who have already developed. The only players to fit that description since McNally got here(not including this year) are.... 4th Preston 6th Geisinger 7th McFarland UDFA Peters Obviously they have to have the potential in the first place & maybe Geinsinger & McFarland just didn't have it. Perhaps the new regime has been better at evaluating the raw talent....Pennington starting is certainly a cause of optimism. Perhaps also, Marv & Co. listened to what McNally wanted & thought to try & get him some 'raw materials' to work with by drafting 3 suitable players in the 5th+ rounds.

A general question here...... Has the version of the Tampa2 been watered down so far this season so the players can get used to it(esp rooks)? I wouldn't have a clue myself. Does anyone know? If so, I'd personally expect to see a slightly more complex version after the break.

I would think if we focused so much on the OL there would have been an outcry about the lack of DT talent(which was a glaring need) drafted....boy, Marv would have been ripped for 'reaching' for Joseph there. If we take your list though & keep McCargo instead of Mangold.... it pretty much becomes a swap of Whitner for Joseph & Spencer. Will Whitner be worth it? Time will tell how all these guys pan out. My personal view on the draft tends towards placing a greater importance on the chance of success/ready to play aspects. Since Whitner was considered one of the most ready to play(& therefore less bust-likely) of the draft class, I can appreciate the safety in the pick(excuse the pun). Even if the upside of the player is perhaps not as high(though who can tell that either?), I'd rather a player who you are 90% sure will pan out to a player who is a 50% chance with a greater upside.....or 2 players who are 50% & 35%(just chucking figures around there ) All that said, If we had drafted as you suggested I wouldn't have been upset either.

I don't know how many Doctors we have here but we certainly seem to have plenty that know how to doctor statistics to suit an argument.

Aikman maybe?

A few thoughts on this..... Firstly TKO only played in...was is 2 plays in the first game? The first play he blitzed(?), the second he pulled a hammy. It's quite possible that he is actually not too conversant with the system just yet. He missed a lot of practice compared to the others & then basically missed some more & the first 5 games....he might just be acclimatizing. He also might still be nursing his hammy a little....afraid to go all out & re-aggravate it(which is not an uncommon thing to occur). Finally, his torn achilles put him out for a year. From what I've noticed with other LBs who have had similar injuries, they tend not to get back to full steam until the year after they return. Usually, I've noticed they play at a good level but do not regain the mobility & speed until the following season....which for TKO would be next year. I might be totally of trak with all of this......just some thoughts to contemplate.