The late great Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne once famously said, “
I don’t play my 11 best players- I play my best 11.”
I want to ask a serious question- What is this team built to be? Or what is this team trying to become? Honestly, I’m not at all sure.
Answering that question 4 years ago was not that difficult. In 2016, this team was built around a top OL and running game, built to impose its will on opponents by controlling the clock and wearing people out. The defense had the traditional “bend but don’t break” philosophy, taking few chances, while keeping everything in front of them.
Now? I’m not sure when I watch the 2020 version of the Dallas Cowboys what it is built to be. It seems like a bunch of players without a vision.
One way this franchise could get back to its glory days (even if we’re stuck with the Jones FO) is to have a simple and clear vision of what it is trying to be. Then draft and sign players that align with it. In other words, build a team that knows how to play together.
But unfortunately, the Jones boys have a bad habit of running this team like a fantasy football owner. Just draft some talented guys, especially flashy ones that sell jerseys and tickets, and see what happens.
Here are some steps this FO that can do to help turn this thing around:
- Make a commitment to a vision of what you want to be as a team. A team is built, it is not just thrown together. All the great Cowboys teams of the past were built with a blueprint in mind.
- Stop loading cap space with position players that are traditionally easier to find similar talent at a cheaper price. Like don’t sign Amari Cooper for big bucks. Having him right now is not the key to getting better. I know that’s not a popular opinion around here, but we could be 2-3 right now without Amari Cooper’s $20 mil a year salary.
- Stop using high draft picks on guys with health risks or off field problems. Stop drafting guys in the first two rounds who have injury problems or behavioral issues! Jaylon Smith and LVE are very talented players but both had injury risks when drafted. Randy Gregory. Nuff said. Trysten Hill may eventually work out, but what an unnecessary risk in round two. Even before his injury, he’s been meh at best. These kinds of risky draft moves are stupid and they kill your chance to get better.
- Talk less. Yes, no front office talks as much as these clowns in Jones costumes. Radio talk shows (2 per week), TV shows (1 per week) and any other time a camera or notepad appears, these guys start jabbering. Just shut up and work. This is the laziest front office in football. Work hard. Keep your mouth shut. That should be in granite on the walls at the Star.
If we are ever going to return to glory as team, it starts with a vision for the kind of team we want to be. Top to bottom. Then build it and shut up while you’re doing it. You can crow all you want while hoisting a Lombardi. There’s nothing quite like a bunch of rich guys with lifetime contracts with all the time in the world to be on radio or TV.
In other words- To the Jones FO: Stop playing fantasy football and get to work.
