Verdict
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I have been giving this subject quite a bit of thoughtful consideration. We haven’t sniffed a SB since 1995. What are the causes of that?
Many will immediately point at Jerry and say a fish rots from the head down, etc. But let’s look at this a bit deeper than that.
The Chan Gailey years sucked mainly because the team was in salary cap hell and the roster was void of talent. We had also given away 2FRPs just prior to that time period (which I guess you could put on Jerry) but he was trying to extend the SB window so it’s a bit hard to fault Jerry for that one.
The not enough talent/we need to replace Jerry with football people argument. This argument gets thrown out there repeatedly but the Cowboys have put together some pretty solid teams over the years. I would argue that Jerry has assembled some really good teams that didn’t make the SB. Some of those teams HAD the talent. I think some of those teams were derailed by officiating. Dez caught it (twice).
The Garret years. You can blame Jerry for hiring Carrot Top. But Garrett held this team back for many years. Some of Garrett’s teams had the talent, they just didn’t have the coaching to get over the hump.
The Non Romo/Non Dak years. Absent the Romo and Dak years this team did not have a QB capable of winning a SB.
The Romo Years. The Romo led teams often had a sub par defense, or a sub par OL, or lack of Coaching (Garrett years). Romo was tasked with doing too much and his health suffered for it and Romo became a gunslinger as a result. Gunslinging results in INTs. Romo had some season ending games due to INTS.
The Dak years. The Dak years have the same deficiencies as the Romo years with two notable exceptions. 1. Dak has had consistently better OL play and 2. Romo could read the field in a way that Dak never could. Dak also wilts in the biggest games. I think we could have won a SB with risk averse Dak. I am very doubtful that we can win a SB with Dak at this point, absent Dak getting really dialed in for a short period of time in the playoffs which is a real long shot.
The Culture. This may be the single largest cancer that needs to be exorcised from this franchise. Sure, keep the first class way that this team does things, but every team seems to have entitlement issues. And it often extends to the biggest stars.
Jersey sales: Jerry seems to play players (Jason Witten—cough cough) far past his prime for the mere purpose of selling jerseys. No one will ever be able to convince me any differently. Some guys have just been Jerry’s pets and he has a blind spot when it comes to them.
Where do we go from here:
1. Coaching has to be elevated over what we have had for the past 30 years. (Parcells was past his prime).
I’m not out on Shotty yet, but Eberflus should get sent packing. He may not be able to create miracles with the guys we have but they should be playing better than THIS.
2. Stop reaching for need in the draft. We seem to piss off every reach pick. Picks need to be very solid FOOTBALL players.
3. Actually utilize free agency and make trades for players with late round picks.
4. Stop overvaluing and over paying our own or paying players for past production. (This might we the worst thing we do)
5. Build a defense. Ravens compete year in and year out because of that defense. Build it. It will always keep you around the rim. Pay defensive free agents. They tend to be cheaper.
6. Start looking for a QB. Now.
7. Stop trying to maximize wins when you are out of the playoffs. Maximize draft position and draft capital.
8. Coach Jerry needs to stop “coaching”. Being part of the draft acquisition process is one thing but making coaching type decisions is not a part of the solution.
9. Ruthless/dispassionate contract negotiations and player evaluations. The team fails miserably in this category.
I am sure that I am missing some. What say you on this topic?
Many will immediately point at Jerry and say a fish rots from the head down, etc. But let’s look at this a bit deeper than that.
The Chan Gailey years sucked mainly because the team was in salary cap hell and the roster was void of talent. We had also given away 2FRPs just prior to that time period (which I guess you could put on Jerry) but he was trying to extend the SB window so it’s a bit hard to fault Jerry for that one.
The not enough talent/we need to replace Jerry with football people argument. This argument gets thrown out there repeatedly but the Cowboys have put together some pretty solid teams over the years. I would argue that Jerry has assembled some really good teams that didn’t make the SB. Some of those teams HAD the talent. I think some of those teams were derailed by officiating. Dez caught it (twice).
The Garret years. You can blame Jerry for hiring Carrot Top. But Garrett held this team back for many years. Some of Garrett’s teams had the talent, they just didn’t have the coaching to get over the hump.
The Non Romo/Non Dak years. Absent the Romo and Dak years this team did not have a QB capable of winning a SB.
The Romo Years. The Romo led teams often had a sub par defense, or a sub par OL, or lack of Coaching (Garrett years). Romo was tasked with doing too much and his health suffered for it and Romo became a gunslinger as a result. Gunslinging results in INTs. Romo had some season ending games due to INTS.
The Dak years. The Dak years have the same deficiencies as the Romo years with two notable exceptions. 1. Dak has had consistently better OL play and 2. Romo could read the field in a way that Dak never could. Dak also wilts in the biggest games. I think we could have won a SB with risk averse Dak. I am very doubtful that we can win a SB with Dak at this point, absent Dak getting really dialed in for a short period of time in the playoffs which is a real long shot.
The Culture. This may be the single largest cancer that needs to be exorcised from this franchise. Sure, keep the first class way that this team does things, but every team seems to have entitlement issues. And it often extends to the biggest stars.
Jersey sales: Jerry seems to play players (Jason Witten—cough cough) far past his prime for the mere purpose of selling jerseys. No one will ever be able to convince me any differently. Some guys have just been Jerry’s pets and he has a blind spot when it comes to them.
Where do we go from here:
1. Coaching has to be elevated over what we have had for the past 30 years. (Parcells was past his prime).
I’m not out on Shotty yet, but Eberflus should get sent packing. He may not be able to create miracles with the guys we have but they should be playing better than THIS.
2. Stop reaching for need in the draft. We seem to piss off every reach pick. Picks need to be very solid FOOTBALL players.
3. Actually utilize free agency and make trades for players with late round picks.
4. Stop overvaluing and over paying our own or paying players for past production. (This might we the worst thing we do)
5. Build a defense. Ravens compete year in and year out because of that defense. Build it. It will always keep you around the rim. Pay defensive free agents. They tend to be cheaper.
6. Start looking for a QB. Now.
7. Stop trying to maximize wins when you are out of the playoffs. Maximize draft position and draft capital.
8. Coach Jerry needs to stop “coaching”. Being part of the draft acquisition process is one thing but making coaching type decisions is not a part of the solution.
9. Ruthless/dispassionate contract negotiations and player evaluations. The team fails miserably in this category.
I am sure that I am missing some. What say you on this topic?
