News: Canfora: Cowboys top 5 worst off season plan

The d was very dysfunctional under Marinelli and an ounce of more creativity and disguising will make this a better defense.

The losses are over exaggerated. The interior of the dline will be better if they get Poe and would argue Haha is an upgrade over Heath. Getting hopefully a healthy LVE back should help as well.

Quinn was great at rushing the passer, but a run liability. Lawrence has to pick up his sack production and think they can get good snaps out of Gregory, Armstrong, and maybe a rookie as part of the rotation. It's a loss, but if Gregory can contribute like he did in 18 the 2nd half of the season we'll be fine there.

I don't know why I'm not too concerned about losing Jones, maybe it's the lack of turnovers or fact he only covered the opposing teams #1 receiver 1/3 of the time. I suspect we'll draft someone to fill that void early but in the interim we could be in worse position than with Brown, Lewis, and Awuzie.

Find a pass rusher and CB in the draft that can contribute right away and think we'll be ok.

Eh, at least they're making changes of some kind. It's kind of all we could do.

The defense was awful in 2019, as you say, so if our plan instead had been to bend over backwards and cripple the offense just to pay insane money to keep the base of that awful defense intact, that would have been a harmful approach too.

I appreciate the extent to which we've tossed our hat over the wall so we then had no choice but to climb and follow after it. If we kept talking a big game about wanting to stress turnovers while also making Byron Jones the highest paid corner, that wouldn't have sat well with me. If we kept talking about wanting to upgrade safety while no upgrading over Heath like we have, that wouldn't have sat well with me.

I like that we're at least picking a new direction and going in that direction.

Kingofholland said:

The d was very dysfunctional under Marinelli and an ounce of more creativity and disguising will make this a better defense.

The losses are over exaggerated. The interior of the dline will be better if they get Poe and would argue Haha is an upgrade over Heath. Getting hopefully a healthy LVE back should help as well.

Quinn was great at rushing the passer, but a run liability. Lawrence has to pick up his sack production and think they can get good snaps out of Gregory, Armstrong, and maybe a rookie as part of the rotation. It's a loss, but if Gregory can contribute like he did in 18 the 2nd half of the season we'll be fine there.

I don't know why I'm not too concerned about losing Jones, maybe it's the lack of turnovers or fact he only covered the opposing teams #1 receiver 1/3 of the time. I suspect we'll draft someone to fill that void early but in the interim we could be in worse position than with Brown, Lewis, and Awuzie.

Find a pass rusher and CB in the draft that can contribute right away and think we'll be ok.

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And there is the problem. How many rookie DEs, for example, come in and contribute right away?

This has always been one of the flaws of some fans when they say, it's OK we aren't active in FA that much because the draft is where we will fill our holes. The problem is the draft is often a crap shoot and teams rarely hit on many picks. And for some positions, like DE, while some can come in and play minutes, few can come in and be a big contributor and factor on the DL immediately. So if people are thinking our pass rush is fine because we'll just draft a DE that will come in and provide immediate pressure, that's probably being a bit too optimistic.

I'd rather have Griffen than Poe. It's probably easier to find a run plugger in the draft than a DE who can contribute immediately. Ideally, both Poe and Griffen would be great.

Teague31 said:

Wrong. Getting rid of the clapper immediately makes this a top 5 offseason.

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Poor Jason, I wonder who the next victim is for our inept offense woes???

P.S. The only time this offense is Top 5 is either against dog teams or in Garbage time when the war has been lost!

TwentyOne said:

Writer has no clue. We need no defense.

We have Prescott who will light up the Scoreboard! Regardless of talent he is surrounded with.

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Lol

Sydla said:

It's not about pacing or worrying. It's about having a football discussion on a football discussion board (egads, who woulda thunk that?), a little common sense, and not being hardwired to expect everything the Cowboys do is great and will work because, hey, COWBOYZ!!

Right now, we are weaker in areas on defense from a defense that was average last year. I don't see the harm or why some of you freak out at that reality. Sure, things can change in a week or two but right now, we have lost talent. Now bring in Griffen at DE? Suddenly the pass rush and DL look better (IMO Griffen would be an upgrade on Quinn given he can rush the passer AND stop the run better).

CB is what it is. There aren't any FAs out there that can help mitigate some of Jones' loss. We absolutely are going to have to hope the draft reaps some reward at that position and Awuzie steps up his play.

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Who’s freaking? I’m discussing, same as you. I agree with several things you said—we ARE currently weaker at CB, but I think it’ll get better. We changed coaches, we are improving inside on the DL, the special teams have nowhere to go but up, I’m fairly confident they have another move or two in FA, and we still have the draft coming. I’m intrigued, and I see us improving, so this temporary “downturn” (for lack of a better word) doesn’t concern me too much, that’s all.

Teague31 said:

Wrong. Getting rid of the clapper immediately makes this a top 5 offseason.

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and don’t forget Loserelli
Huge additions by subtraction!

Sydla said:

And there is the problem. How many rookie DEs, for example, come in and contribute right away?

This has always been one of the flaws of some fans when they say, it's OK we aren't active in FA that much because the draft is where we will fill our holes. The problem is the draft is often a crap shoot and teams rarely hit on many picks. And for some positions, like DE, while some can come in and play minutes, few can come in and be a big contributor and factor on the DL immediately. So if people are thinking our pass rush is fine because we'll just draft a DE that will come in and provide immediate pressure, that's probably being a bit too optimistic.

I'd rather have Griffen than Poe. It's probably easier to find a run plugger in the draft than a DE who can contribute immediately. Ideally, both Poe and Griffen would be great.

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Definitely would love to have both of those guys and would erase any concerns. I recognize a rookie isn't likely to make a big immediate impact, but as part of the rotation could make some contributions. At some point you need lower cost players to step up and DLAW must generate more sacks. 5 is laughable for a 20 million dollar guy.

If the cowboys add Poe
And either Griffen or Golden. I would feel really good about their off-season. At least until
We see how the draft goes.

So, the ball is still in the front offices court. There are still free agents out there that can undoubtedly help the team improve.

Well. Jason La Canfora tops my list of 5 Worst Googly Eyes. So there.

Dont know if you guys in the Dallas area hear alot more about anything going on, for those of us far away (Hawaii). Its crickets out here, lockdowns and dodging Tsunami's - never a dull moment !
But. No word on Dak, is he pissed he's been Tagged ? Likely to stay away, if he even signs. Are the Jones' even working on his contract - that should have been done a year ago.
Every name we hear associated with Dallas signs elsewhere, Snacks says he never even talked to Dallas, Sanders, Dorsett, Griffen, still no Poe. I can honestly say, with the lackluster effort so far first and foremost Dak, I am definitely underwhelmed. Losing Frederick and his cap hit only hurt that effort.
Now, can they turn this bad looking offseason around ? Sure they can, there are still players available who can help, will they ?
Not so positive - we will see...

Teague31 said:

Wrong. Getting rid of the clapper immediately makes this a top 5 offseason.

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Clap off.

UpNorth said:

Dallas

The Cowboys defense was awful before the offseason began, and they seem intent on making it even worse in 2020! How about that? Two of their biggest contributors from a year ago -- pass rusher Robert Quinn and corner Byron Jones -- are gone. Sean Lee is back, despite his age and years of injury woes. They'd better hope Gerald McCoy makes a far more significant impact than he did in Carolina last year, or this thing might really crumble. Keeping Amari Cooper is nice, but wait until Dak Prescott is making $38M a year. It's going to limit the ability to do a few other things, and Jerry Jones has been paltry spending on payroll the last four years, anyway. They'd better have one helluva of a draft, and it had better lean decidedly to the defensive side of the ball. Their ability to stop anyone remains very much in question, and even all of the yards they rolled up a year ago were not enough to make them anything close to a contending team.


https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...season-plans-through-free-agencys-first-wave/

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Meh.

S - Better with Dix.
DT - Woods, McCoy, Poe, Hillyr2? vs. Woods, Collins, Bennett - at least a wash
LBs - At least the same
DE - Gregory for Quinn. I'll take the trade.
CB - Worse w/o Byron.

About a wash, all before a draft which I expect to be most all D.

*Maybe* a C now? I bet not, and they treat McGovern as the pick to replace Fredbeard.

SeanLee50 said:

Slot receiver

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I don't think the hole is that big. I'm hoping Pollard becomes the 5th man on the base offense instead of a slot WR.

That leaves our needs for WR#3 as a competent veteran possession WR who can also play true wideout to backup the starters. Not a hard guy to find. There are always guys like that tossed aside by teams looking to get younger every year.

SeanLee50 said:

I'm not as down on them as most here are. Big losses : Byron Jones (Solid CB, No ball skills), Robert Quinn (Great pass rusher, terrible run defender), Travis Frederick (Legend. But not the same player he once was). The rest are just very meh fringe players. Heath? Collins? Witten? Come on.

Big signings : HaHa Clinton-Dix, Gerald McCoy, Poe. Both will start at FS and 3 Tech. Both are upgrades over last years players. If Poe comes in and plays the 1, that is massive for the line.

So essentially your biggest glaring holes are RDE, #1 Corner, Slot receiver, Center. Ok cool. Rumor has it Gregory will likely be back. Awesome. So Gregory / Crawford can man RDE.

That leaves you with #1 Corner, Slot, Center. Spend your first two picks on (CJ Henderson and Tyler Biadasz or Matt Hennessy). Corner and Center are covered. Slot receiver can be found cheap in FA (Taylor Gabriel) or easily in this loaded draft.

Step back. Breathe. It's only March. This team will be fine after the draft with all needs filled.

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I also think players that are average will play better with a positive culture provided by MM. Last year the culture was so bad our great players played average. Our average players played poorly and it was just a emotionally malnourished football team.

SeanLee50 said:

I'm not as down on them as most here are. Big losses : Byron Jones (Solid CB, No ball skills), Robert Quinn (Great pass rusher, terrible run defender), Travis Frederick (Legend. But not the same player he once was). The rest are just very meh fringe players. Heath? Collins? Witten? Come on.

Big signings : HaHa Clinton-Dix, Gerald McCoy, Poe. Both will start at FS and 3 Tech. Both are upgrades over last years players. If Poe comes in and plays the 1, that is massive for the line.

So essentially your biggest glaring holes are RDE, #1 Corner, Slot receiver, Center. Ok cool. Rumor has it Gregory will likely be back. Awesome. So Gregory / Crawford can man RDE.

That leaves you with #1 Corner, Slot, Center. Spend your first two picks on (CJ Henderson and Tyler Biadasz or Matt Hennessy). Corner and Center are covered. Slot receiver can be found cheap in FA (Taylor Gabriel) or easily in this loaded draft.

Step back. Breathe. It's only March. This team will be fine after the draft with all needs filled.

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Dead on Lee, only exception I have is to go sign a RDE. Griffen is my guy right now solid against run and pass, probably get a 2 year deal. Imagine rotating RDE Griffen, Gregory, DT Poe, McCoy, Crawford,Woods? LDE Lawrence, Armstrong. We make our secondary a lot better just from the pressure we would bring. Draft CJ henderson, 2nd Rd Center, 3rd S, 4th my pet cat WR slot Proche. Only weak spots TE depth behind Jarwin.