CFZ Seems like a great year to be “all in”

75boyz

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Totally agree and if they maxed out the trenches, the Dak conversations would be rendered almost moot because with great lines, he’d be at his best. The O line to give him time + down and distance, and the D line to give him more possessions.
A dominant oline led run first offense is the only recipe for success for this QB. Linehan knew this and wasn't just protecting a rookie. He knew what this QB needed in order to win games.
And that same QB still needs the exact same things he needed 8 years later.

The 2016 Zeke is out of the question now but a much stronger defense than 2016 and a fingers crossed close to 2016 level oline performance( barring injury, I know lol) and just maybe Mr. I need as much support as possible while being paid elite, can luck out for 3 straight playoff games.

Probable?
No.

But it's the absolute best chance the team has.

They may need a better option at WR2, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter with this QB.
 

btgboys41

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It's just so frickin' obvious.

However, Jerry completely does not understand what topnotch DTs do for a team.

You know that outside run that DLaw didn't contain? Why didn't he contain it? Because he was forced to collapse inside to guard the middle. THINK people, THINK.
Well said and totally endorsed.
 

kskboys

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A dominant oline led run first offense is the only recipe for success for this QB. Linehan knew this and wasn't just protecting a rookie. He knew what this QB needed in order to win games.
And that same QB still needs the exact same things he needed 8 years later.

The 2016 Zeke is out of the question now but a much stronger defense than 2016 and a fingers crossed close to 2016 level oline performance( barring injury, I know lol) and just maybe Mr. I need as much support as possible while being paid elite, can luck out for 3 straight playoff games.

Probable?
No.

But it's the absolute best chance the team has.

They may need a better option at WR2, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter with this QB.
And if you want to sniff a super bowl, add in a dominant DLine. W/o that, we will not get close.
 

SuperBowlz

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Dak has 8 years of sucking.. and is a waking pick 6.. facts are the NFC was wide open this year and Hurts beat a 49ers team with ref help and like 12th stringers at QB.
With the refs help? Silly bro. Hurtz had nothing to do with the offensive side of the ball with the Niners but the dude gets my respect. I've never seen a QB improve that much over one offseason. He put up 31 points against the #1 D in the NFL in the playoffs and was the true MVP of the SB. Dak takes so much crap and is a top 10 QB in the NFL. I don't get why people love to go around and say everyone sucks.
 

75boyz

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And if you want to sniff a super bowl, add in a dominant DLine. W/o that, we will not get close.
That's why I said the current defense is far superior than the 2016 one, albeit still maybe a 1T away but still far superior to 2016.
The 2016 oline was dominant but potentially, with lotsa injury luck, this current one could be comparable.

The central point is the decision maker under center and ALL the support on both that 2016 team and today's current one...

And HE still ain't gettin' it done.

Regardless of dominant Oline OR Dline.
OR new playcaller.

That's the point.
3 to 4 straight wins over playoff teams by Rayne ain't happening.
Regardless.

Fun to hope though I guess.
 

Vegas_Cowboy

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shabazz

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“We” should do a lot of things but we never do. Jerry still believes in building for the future, that was the right idea in the non-salary cap era and in a sense it is still true to a degree, but Jerry never adapted properly once the caps were implemented. Prior to the cap, Jerry could buy his way to the top. When he has to use his brain in the cap era, he is completely ineffective as our record in the last 25 years shows.
And that’s why a an independent GM should be here to play devils advocate to an emotional owner.

every businessman knows this is imperative to success of any company

the more I hear of Jerry’s high business acumen the more I realize that he was probably born on third base and taking credit for hitting a triple….or more plainly; his daddy’s money bought his original oil investments and they went up without much input from him.
 

Bobhaze

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I'm confident.
I’m confident that we still have a lot of work to do to make this roster better. We’ve done some good things. But have we done enough to be considered better than we were last year?

IMO, the goal of every off-season (if you intend to be a serious contender) is to look at your roster with a critical eye and say, “Where do we need to get better to compete for a championship?” We need to get better at stopping the run, providing more offensive weapons around Dak, get better at running the ball, and get more depth at several positions.

In other words, we just getting started. The last thing we need to do is to “run it back” with the same main characters. I like the Gilmore trade, the restructures, the release of Zeke. Several good moves have been made. But….Getting better means we still have a lot of work to do.
 

rambo2

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I’m confident that we still have a lot of work to do to make this roster better. We’ve done some good things. But have we done enough to be considered better than we were last year?

IMO, the goal of every off-season (if you intend to be a serious contender) is to look at your roster with a critical eye and say, “Where do we need to get better to compete for a championship?” We need to get better at stopping the run, providing more offensive weapons around Dak, get better at running the ball, and get more depth at several positions.

In other words, we just getting started. The last thing we need to do is to “run it back” with the same main characters. I like the Gilmore trade, the restructures, the release of Zeke. Several good moves have been made. But….Getting better means we still have a lot of work to do.
They have just started.
 

LACowboysFan1

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The DL is NOT pretty good. JAGs. Filled w/ JAGs
Guess it depends on the definitition of "pretty good". Dallas was ranked the 6th overall defense by PFF, I don't see a DL with only JAGS could be ranked that high. And since Parsons plays on the DL so much, just him and Lawrence and Armstrong provide a "pretty good" line. A good defensive rotation makes up for the lack of a top DT, imho.

But I'll concede that the DL does need improvement, no doubt about that.
 

cnuball21

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Guess it depends on the definitition of "pretty good". Dallas was ranked the 6th overall defense by PFF, I don't see a DL with only JAGS could be ranked that high. And since Parsons plays on the DL so much, just him and Lawrence and Armstrong provide a "pretty good" line. A good defensive rotation makes up for the lack of a top DT, imho.

But I'll concede that the DL does need improvement, no doubt about that.
This.

It’s the best defense we’ve had in a decade. Yes, NT is the weak link but bring back Hanks and he’s a capable dude to be our run clogger.
 

kskboys

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Guess it depends on the definitition of "pretty good". Dallas was ranked the 6th overall defense by PFF, I don't see a DL with only JAGS could be ranked that high. And since Parsons plays on the DL so much, just him and Lawrence and Armstrong provide a "pretty good" line. A good defensive rotation makes up for the lack of a top DT, imho.

But I'll concede that the DL does need improvement, no doubt about that.
Maybe against mediocre teams. But when you get to the playoffs and everything matters, the D rotation absolutely does not make up for top DTs. And this has been proven over and over and over. It's no accident that the teams in the championships games almost all invariably have good DT's.

An overall D ranking does not mean every area of the team is strong. That really doesn't make sense. However, if you really need to see stats to prove anything, our D was 22nd vs the run. Do you see how a DLine w/ JAGs could be ranked there?
 

75boyz

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Maybe against mediocre teams. But when you get to the playoffs and everything matters, the D rotation absolutely does not make up for top DTs. And this has been proven over and over and over. It's no accident that the teams in the championships games almost all invariably have good DT's.

An overall D ranking does not mean every area of the team is strong. That really doesn't make sense. However, if you really need to see stats to prove anything, our D was 22nd vs the run. Do you see how a DLine w/ JAGs could be ranked there?
Run defense had ZERO effect on the loss to the 49ers.
ZERO.
Ask Micah the reason for the loss.
 

3rdEyewarrior

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With the retirement (at least as of this moment) of Tom Brady and the move of Aaron Rodgers to the jets, going into 2023 the NFC is more wide open than any season in recent memory. In my opinion, however anyone ranks the remaining QBs in the NFC, it’s fairly clear that the Cowboys have a wider lane to at least go further than they’ve gone in the last 27 seasons. This team is closer to competing for a championship than in recent years.

Seems like a great year to go “all in”, right?

So far this off-season, the Cowboys FO has done a much better job of being active. The trade for Stephon Gilmore, the restructuring of multiple big contracts to clear space, the release of Zeke, the tag being placed on Tony Pollard are all good moves IMO. It’s been good to see some of these moves happen this off-season.

Now in the rest of the off-season, we have the opportunity to see what “going for it“ can really mean. We still need major upgrades to interior DL, probably another LB, a WR, drafted RBs, and some additional help in the OL.

This off-season is off to a better start than any in recent years. But much work remains. Time to GO FOR IT! Time to make even more bold moves to get better!
If they wanted to go in, they’d keep zeke a d upgrade left guard.
 

kiheikiwi

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With the trade today for a WR, I think we can all say that this is a template we hope the Cowboys will continue with for years. The use of F.A. to offset the draft with good players - doesn't have to be the star /expensive as all get out players. But doing what they've done so far and hopefully will continue, builds a better team.
It's a no from me to all in, and a yes to the way they are going about it so far this year.
Now, DT is still our glaring weakness for sure. Draft resources Hankins and another F.A. pickup.
I don't want to be like the Rams, I like the approach they seem to be adopting this year - who ever has their ear right now, keep chirping in it !
 

LACowboysFan1

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An overall D ranking does not mean every area of the team is strong.
Of course not. My point was that for the D to get to 6th overall means that the run defense can't be poor, if it was it would drag the entire defense down to a lower ranking than 6th, something like middle of the pack.

"Pretty good" was probably not a good way to say it, without any other rating. Let's say the rankings would be something like dominating, excellent, pretty good, average, near average, below average and poor. That puts the Dallas D overall as 3rd of 7, which I think is a fair assessment...
 

JoeKing

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@Bobhaze, I 100% agree it's the perfect time to go "all-in". I like the moves made by the front office but I expect a few more and an A++ draft.
 
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