CFZ All in- When your FO is more worried about the cap than winning a championship

[Cowboys5217]

The team has made the playoffs 3 years in a row. I find it hard to attribute what has gone on with GB and SF to the cap. I don't think Bobby Wagner fixes that in any of those years.

Then you don't know football.

 

[Creeper]

“All in” to most normal people means you are willing to push your chips to the center of the table with some calculated risks in order to win a championship. Can anyone tell me that last time this organization did just that? I can’t.

Bobby Wagner publicly stated this week on the “Up and Adams” podcast that he wanted to join Dan Quinn in Dallas last year. I heard a ton of our fans say “Wagner didn’t want to sign here.” Not true. He did and he’s said it publicly now. Our front office just preferred LVE for less money.

Nothing exemplifies the frustrating philosophy and ham fisted approach this FO has with free agency than not being willing to sign future HOF LB Bobby Wagner last year. Instead, they chose to sign often injured LVE for…wait for it…..$500k less than Wagner. Why does that frustrate me? Wagner last year again placed all 17 games, and was All Pro. What was this defense‘s Achilles heel again? Stopping the run.

Imagine Bobby Wagner last year at 240 lbs stuffing RBs instead of watching 210 lb Marquese Bell getting trucked routinely because once again an often injured LVE was gone by October.

So in essence saving $500k was important enough to this FO instead of going for it. You can’t tell me that 2023 defense with Bobby Wagner would have been bulldozed by Buffalo’s running game or the packers in the playoffs.

I don't think worrying about the CAP and winning a championship are mutually exclusive. Incompetence and winning a championship are mutually exclusive.

Also, I don't think the decision had to be Bobby Wagner OR LVE. Its not like they were each asking for $20 million. Why not sign both? Put the best 11 players on the field on each side of the ball.

What happened last year at LB was gross incompetence. I wasn't a big fan of signing Bobby Wagner. But I assumed they wouldn't let all their LBs go either. The Cowboys CHOSE to go thin at LB. Remember, they saved a roster spot for Eric Scott, a player who never played a down and was never activated. What if they waived him to put him on the practice squad so they could keep a LB? Would the team have suffered if someone claimed Scott off waivers? And who is talking about Eric Scott now? They drafted Caelen Carson who will be the latest Eric Scott on the roster. The Cowboys made conscious decisions to keep certain players while exposing others to waiver - see John Ridgeway (not that Ridgeway is anything special, but he was depth for a team with a lot better starting DTs than Dallas).

The LB situation last year was a disaster. But look at the DT situation this year. To me it looks like the LB scenario all over again. The Cowboys have one of the weakest DT groups in the league. They were weak entering the off-season and where is the improvement? A 7th round draft pick, and the hope that Mazi Smith will overcome his weaknesses from last year and become Jonathan Hankins this year - and Hankins wasn't even that good really. The Cowboys lost 4 defensive linemen to free agency this year and replaced them with 1 second round pick, and 1 seventh round pick. It is blind faith to assume the defense will be the same or better than last year.

 

[slick325]

Sickens me to think that Dallas could have had Bobby Wagner on the 12 win number 2 seed last season. Stephen Jones strikes again. Smh

 

[kskboys]

“All in” to most normal people means you are willing to push your chips to the center of the table with some calculated risks in order to win a championship. Can anyone tell me that last time this organization did just that? I can’t.

Bobby Wagner publicly stated this week on the “Up and Adams” podcast that he wanted to join Dan Quinn in Dallas last year. I heard a ton of our fans say “Wagner didn’t want to sign here.” Not true. He did and he’s said it publicly now. Our front office just preferred LVE for less money.

Nothing exemplifies the frustrating philosophy and ham fisted approach this FO has with free agency than not being willing to sign future HOF LB Bobby Wagner last year. Instead, they chose to sign often injured LVE for…wait for it…..$500k less than Wagner. Why does that frustrate me? Wagner last year again placed all 17 games, and was All Pro. What was this defense‘s Achilles heel again? Stopping the run.

Imagine Bobby Wagner last year at 240 lbs stuffing RBs instead of watching 210 lb Marquese Bell getting trucked routinely because once again an often injured LVE was gone by October.

So in essence saving $500k was important enough to this FO instead of going for it. You can’t tell me that 2023 defense with Bobby Wagner would have been bulldozed by Buffalo’s running game or the packers in the playoffs.

It's even worse than worrying about the cap, Bob.

This all comes down to player evaluations. We are beyond terrible at it. Can you name even one team what would've paid Jaylon or Crawford? We are so bad at DT that when we see the slightest sign of life there, we think they are awesome. It's happening right now w/ Osa. Osa is a good player, but he just doesn't have enough sand in his pants to be a starter.

So, we put a guy in charge who doesn't understand the NFL salary cap, and then added to it a GM who is horrific at evaluating players.

It's not that we are worrying about the cap, it's that we don't understand it. Much much worse.

 

[cnuball21]

Most organizations would have replaced LVE some time ago. Belichick would have ditched him as soon as his reliability went down.

They do too little too late and their MO is reactive Instead of proactive......please either sell the team or be a TRUE executive and hire an experienced GM.

Reactive instead of proactive nails it.

 

[kskboys]

I don't think worrying about the CAP and winning a championship are mutually exclusive. Incompetence and winning a championship are mutually exclusive.

Also, I don't think the decision had to be Bobby Wagner OR LVE. Its not like they were each asking for $20 million. Why not sign both? Put the best 11 players on the field on each side of the ball.

What happened last year at LB was gross incompetence. I wasn't a big fan of signing Bobby Wagner. But I assumed they wouldn't let all their LBs go either. The Cowboys CHOSE to go thin at LB. Remember, they saved a roster spot for Eric Scott, a player who never played a down and was never activated. What if they waived him to put him on the practice squad so they could keep a LB? Would the team have suffered if someone claimed Scott off waivers? And who is talking about Eric Scott now? They drafted Caelen Carson who will be the latest Eric Scott on the roster. The Cowboys made conscious decisions to keep certain players while exposing others to waiver - see John Ridgeway (not that Ridgeway is anything special, but he was depth for a team with a lot better starting DTs than Dallas).

The LB situation last year was a disaster. But look at the DT situation this year. To me it looks like the LB scenario all over again. The Cowboys have one of the weakest DT groups in the league. They were weak entering the off-season and where is the improvement? A 7th round draft pick, and the hope that Mazi Smith will overcome his weaknesses from last year and become Jonathan Hankins this year - and Hankins wasn't even that good really. The Cowboys lost 4 defensive linemen to free agency this year and replaced them with 1 second round pick, and 1 seventh round pick. It is blind faith to assume the defense will be the same or better than last year.

Man, that is extremely well said.

The only thing I disagree w/ is the Carson/Scott comparison. Scott lacks the agility to play. Carson does not. He is a much better prospect than Scott, and it's not close.

BTW, I absolutely love your opening line. "Incompetence and winning a championship are mutually exclusive." That is so well put it just cannot be improved upon!!!!

 

[kskboys]

Reactive instead of proactive nails it.

And they've been that way forever.

Look at how they let the OL completely fall apart back in 09. Down the stretch, it had already become apparent that it was old and falling apart. Sooooo, to fix it we traded up for Dez and took a 6th round OT who couldn't stay on his feet. Manalive, you can't even make this tish up.

 

[Robster8989]

Can we agree Wagner would have been than LVE or Marquese Bell? Wagner would not fix all the run defense problems but he would have certainly made it better.

Wagner would have helped a lot.
Look at his career, he's a run stuffing machine.He's also a leader, who holds his teammates accountable.
And he was gettable, at a very reasonable price (no trade so no picks to give up). Plus the Quinn connection.
Another guy I wanted last year was Shelby Harris.
He was out there as a FA and available. He finally signed with the Browns late for 3.5 mil.
We had Gallimore on the roster at almost 3, and chose to renegotiate that deal, and save about a mil of that 3, instead of signing a proven commodity like Harris. Harris had a good year for the Browns. He's not a super star, just a solid rotational guy inside. He and Osa would have shored up the 3 tech for us. Wagner and Shelby would have cost less than 2 mil more combined than LVE and Gallimore. They were proven NFL contributors at positions of huge need. Instead we stayed with a guy with a huge injury risk and a guy who never panned out. It's like they didn't want to admit they made mistakes drafting them.
Why did our season end? Because once again, we could not stop the run.
An NFL GM who made those poor decisions, and saw his team eliminated in part due to those poor decisions, would likely be held accountable and fired. But our owner is our GM, so he just keeps making poor decisions and is not held accountable.

 

[kevm3]

The front office is running out of excuses when the free agents are literally telling you they wanted to come to Dallas and the FO either doesn't reach out to them or lowballs them.

 

[kskboys]

The front office is running out of excuses when the free agents are literally telling you they wanted to come to Dallas and the FO either doesn't reach out to them or lowballs them.

Yeah, just wait til we pay Micah and CD, then we really won't be able to afford anyone!!!

 

[JoeKing]

At least the OP asks some interesting questions.. gives us some points to mull over.

Which is more than you (or I for that matter) do.

You think a question with a false premise is interesting? I ask valid questions so speak for yourself.

 

[JW82]

In a bizarro world way you almost have to respect the incredible discipline to NEVER go all in OR prioritize winning a championship above keeping spending down and maxing profit. It helps that Stephen clearly doesn't have a competitive bone in his body.

 

[kskboys]

You think a question with a false premise is interesting? I ask valid questions so speak for yourself.

Is it? Seems to me as if you have a false premise.

 

[cnuball21]

And they've been that way forever.

Look at how they let the OL completely fall apart back in 09. Down the stretch, it had already become apparent that it was old and falling apart. Sooooo, to fix it we traded up for Dez and took a 6th round OT who couldn't stay on his feet. Manalive, you can't even make this tish up.

Poor planning (reactive), bad contracts and tending to draft for need over talent is quite the recipe.

Our roster management over the last 20 years is laughable. It’s amazing how Jerry has gotten bailed out by not 1, but 2 later round QBs that at least make the team watchable.

 

[ConstantReboot]

“All in” to most normal people means you are willing to push your chips to the center of the table with some calculated risks in order to win a championship. Can anyone tell me that last time this organization did just that? I can’t.

Bobby Wagner publicly stated this week on the “Up and Adams” podcast that he wanted to join Dan Quinn in Dallas last year. I heard a ton of our fans say “Wagner didn’t want to sign here.” Not true. He did and he’s said it publicly now. Our front office just preferred LVE for less money.

Nothing exemplifies the frustrating philosophy and ham fisted approach this FO has with free agency than not being willing to sign future HOF LB Bobby Wagner last year. Instead, they chose to sign often injured LVE for…wait for it…..$500k less than Wagner. Why does that frustrate me? Wagner last year again placed all 17 games, and was All Pro. What was this defense‘s Achilles heel again? Stopping the run.

Imagine Bobby Wagner last year at 240 lbs stuffing RBs instead of watching 210 lb Marquese Bell getting trucked routinely because once again an often injured LVE was gone by October.

So in essence saving $500k was important enough to this FO instead of going for it. You can’t tell me that 2023 defense with Bobby Wagner would have been bulldozed by Buffalo’s running game or the packers in the playoffs.

The FO just has no clue what the team really needs. They aren't interested in football or the Dallas Cowboys; they are interested in their bank accounts. They don't care about the fans or winning. They have all the money in the world, so why should they?

Last year, if we had Bobby Wagner and Derrick Henry, it might have been enough to at least get us to the Championship game. But no, the Cowboys don't see it that way. They have no clue what to do. Instead, they blame the cap for their mental incapacity regarding professional football.

 

[fivetwos]

In a bizarro world way you almost have to respect the incredible discipline to NEVER go all in OR prioritize winning a championship above keeping spending down and maxing profit. It helps that Stephen clearly doesn't have a competitive bone in his body.

What has he ever had to fight for in his entire life?

 

[john van brocklin]

“All in” to most normal people means you are willing to push your chips to the center of the table with some calculated risks in order to win a championship. Can anyone tell me that last time this organization did just that? I can’t.

Bobby Wagner publicly stated this week on the “Up and Adams” podcast that he wanted to join Dan Quinn in Dallas last year. I heard a ton of our fans say “Wagner didn’t want to sign here.” Not true. He did and he’s said it publicly now. Our front office just preferred LVE for less money.

Nothing exemplifies the frustrating philosophy and ham fisted approach this FO has with free agency than not being willing to sign future HOF LB Bobby Wagner last year. Instead, they chose to sign often injured LVE for…wait for it…..$500k less than Wagner. Why does that frustrate me? Wagner last year again placed all 17 games, and was All Pro. What was this defense‘s Achilles heel again? Stopping the run.

Imagine Bobby Wagner last year at 240 lbs stuffing RBs instead of watching 210 lb Marquese Bell getting trucked routinely because once again an often injured LVE was gone by October.

So in essence saving $500k was important enough to this FO instead of going for it. You can’t tell me that 2023 defense with Bobby Wagner would have been bulldozed by Buffalo’s running game or the packers in the playoffs.

This front office are boys playing against men.
They just don't have what it takes to be skilled GMs.
0 for 28 going to NFCCGs tells you all you need to know.

Failure...

 

[gtb1943]

And they've been that way forever.

Look at how they let the OL completely fall apart back in 09. Down the stretch, it had already become apparent that it was old and falling apart. Sooooo, to fix it we traded up for Dez and took a 6th round OT who couldn't stay on his feet. Manalive, you can't even make this tish up.

Then they tried to fix it with Phil Costa and a bunch of zeroes. Managed to draft Tyron Smith but as regards the other spots...

 

[xwalker]

“All in” to most normal people means you are willing to push your chips to the center of the table with some calculated risks in order to win a championship. Can anyone tell me that last time this organization did just that? I can’t.

Bobby Wagner publicly stated this week on the “Up and Adams” podcast that he wanted to join Dan Quinn in Dallas last year. I heard a ton of our fans say “Wagner didn’t want to sign here.” Not true. He did and he’s said it publicly now. Our front office just preferred LVE for less money.

Nothing exemplifies the frustrating philosophy and ham fisted approach this FO has with free agency than not being willing to sign future HOF LB Bobby Wagner last year. Instead, they chose to sign often injured LVE for…wait for it…..$500k less than Wagner. Why does that frustrate me? Wagner last year again placed all 17 games, and was All Pro. What was this defense‘s Achilles heel again? Stopping the run.

Imagine Bobby Wagner last year at 240 lbs stuffing RBs instead of watching 210 lb Marquese Bell getting trucked routinely because once again an often injured LVE was gone by October.

So in essence saving $500k was important enough to this FO instead of going for it. You can’t tell me that 2023 defense with Bobby Wagner would have been bulldozed by Buffalo’s running game or the packers in the playoffs.

Silly.

LVE vs Wagner was not about cap space.

 

[Walker]

Cap boy only cares about revenue not winning. The GM does not have to product W's because he will still be able to keep his job. While other GMs have to produce.