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Cowboys' first priority should be fixing broken secondary
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
Published 27 February 2011 10:36 PM
INDIANAPOLIS — The list of what the Cowboys must accomplish in the draft is as long as the team’s fall this past season.
As the Cowboys put on their reading glasses and pick themselves up, one need rises near the top.
The secondary.
Maybe the Cowboys decide to use their first round pick on Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara, a popular selection in mock drafts these days. Maybe they wait until the second round to choose from a cluster of talented corners or go with UCLA safety Rahim Moore, allowing the club to move the beleaguered Alan Ball back to his natural cornerback position.
Whatever approach is taken, the club can’t afford to go into the season with only three cornerbacks on its opening day roster as it did in 2010.
“We were bare bones at the corner position, no question about it,” said secondary coach Dave Campo, who has been with the Cowboys for the better part of two decades. “I’ve never gone into the season with three corners.
“I think that is something that will have to be addressed for sure.”
It will. The club went with three cornerbacks for the majority of the season. Ball, the starting free safety, was the emergency fourth cornerback.
Jason Garrett had no voice in that decision because he was the offensive coordinator. Now that he’s head coach, he will determine the roster’s makeup. He knows a team without quality and depth at corner is asking for trouble in today’s barrage of four and five wide receiver sets.
“Absolutely,” Garrett said. “You need a lot of cover guys, there’s no question about that.”
The Cowboys could use the No. 9 pick on a defensive or offensive lineman. There will be quality players at both positions. LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson will be gone before the Cowboys are on the clock.
It’s premature to suggest the club has set its sights on Amukamara although he’s the darling of mock drafts at the moment.
“I’m not someone who Google’s themselves,” Amukamara said. “I know those are like preseason polls. Nothing is set in stone yet.”
Amukamara is one of the players the Cowboys will interview at this NFL Combine. The 6-foot, 206-pound cornerback is outstanding in coverage and a strong tackler. He’s made a conscious effort to improve his technique, believing he stands too high in his backpedal.
Some question his speed, but Amukamara is confident he will post a solid time here. And what are his thoughts on the possibility that he will be drafted by Dallas?
“That would be a very good opportunity,” said Amukamara, who played in back-to-back Big 12 title games at Cowboys Stadium. “I’m not foreign to that stadium. It’s a real nice stadium.”
Amukamara intends to make an immediate impact with any team that selects him.
“That is my plan,” he said. “I’m definitely not trying to redshirt in the NFL.
“Whatever team I play on, I’m looking forward to compete for a starting spot.”
Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh’s director of football operations, said this draft is deeper than most at corner. Seattle general manager John Schneider calls the position one of the draft’s strengths. Colorado’s Jimmy Smith, Miami’s Brandon Harris and Texas’ Aaron Williams could all go late first or early second.
Or the Cowboys could take a slightly different approach.
“I think the Cowboys need some safeties,” Moore said.
Moore is arguably the top safety in this draft. He will not go in the top 10, but he should come off the board in the late first or early second. The Cowboys could address two positions by taking him with their second pick.
The UCLA star is a free safety. The club could plug him in there and move Ball back to the corner.
“If a team drafts me, they won’t have to worry about the safety position for the next 10 or 12 years,” Moore declared. “I believe that I’m special, and I mean that in the most humble way. I want to be a guy where I’m going to get in early, I’m going to leave late, I’m going to put in the same amount of hours, maybe more, than the coaching staff.
“That’s what I bring to the table.”
There are plenty of seats available at the Cowboys table for quality players in the secondary.
By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
Published 27 February 2011 10:36 PM
INDIANAPOLIS — The list of what the Cowboys must accomplish in the draft is as long as the team’s fall this past season.
As the Cowboys put on their reading glasses and pick themselves up, one need rises near the top.
The secondary.
Maybe the Cowboys decide to use their first round pick on Nebraska’s Prince Amukamara, a popular selection in mock drafts these days. Maybe they wait until the second round to choose from a cluster of talented corners or go with UCLA safety Rahim Moore, allowing the club to move the beleaguered Alan Ball back to his natural cornerback position.
Whatever approach is taken, the club can’t afford to go into the season with only three cornerbacks on its opening day roster as it did in 2010.
“We were bare bones at the corner position, no question about it,” said secondary coach Dave Campo, who has been with the Cowboys for the better part of two decades. “I’ve never gone into the season with three corners.
“I think that is something that will have to be addressed for sure.”
It will. The club went with three cornerbacks for the majority of the season. Ball, the starting free safety, was the emergency fourth cornerback.
Jason Garrett had no voice in that decision because he was the offensive coordinator. Now that he’s head coach, he will determine the roster’s makeup. He knows a team without quality and depth at corner is asking for trouble in today’s barrage of four and five wide receiver sets.
“Absolutely,” Garrett said. “You need a lot of cover guys, there’s no question about that.”
The Cowboys could use the No. 9 pick on a defensive or offensive lineman. There will be quality players at both positions. LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson will be gone before the Cowboys are on the clock.
It’s premature to suggest the club has set its sights on Amukamara although he’s the darling of mock drafts at the moment.
“I’m not someone who Google’s themselves,” Amukamara said. “I know those are like preseason polls. Nothing is set in stone yet.”
Amukamara is one of the players the Cowboys will interview at this NFL Combine. The 6-foot, 206-pound cornerback is outstanding in coverage and a strong tackler. He’s made a conscious effort to improve his technique, believing he stands too high in his backpedal.
Some question his speed, but Amukamara is confident he will post a solid time here. And what are his thoughts on the possibility that he will be drafted by Dallas?
“That would be a very good opportunity,” said Amukamara, who played in back-to-back Big 12 title games at Cowboys Stadium. “I’m not foreign to that stadium. It’s a real nice stadium.”
Amukamara intends to make an immediate impact with any team that selects him.
“That is my plan,” he said. “I’m definitely not trying to redshirt in the NFL.
“Whatever team I play on, I’m looking forward to compete for a starting spot.”
Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh’s director of football operations, said this draft is deeper than most at corner. Seattle general manager John Schneider calls the position one of the draft’s strengths. Colorado’s Jimmy Smith, Miami’s Brandon Harris and Texas’ Aaron Williams could all go late first or early second.
Or the Cowboys could take a slightly different approach.
“I think the Cowboys need some safeties,” Moore said.
Moore is arguably the top safety in this draft. He will not go in the top 10, but he should come off the board in the late first or early second. The Cowboys could address two positions by taking him with their second pick.
The UCLA star is a free safety. The club could plug him in there and move Ball back to the corner.
“If a team drafts me, they won’t have to worry about the safety position for the next 10 or 12 years,” Moore declared. “I believe that I’m special, and I mean that in the most humble way. I want to be a guy where I’m going to get in early, I’m going to leave late, I’m going to put in the same amount of hours, maybe more, than the coaching staff.
“That’s what I bring to the table.”
There are plenty of seats available at the Cowboys table for quality players in the secondary.
