Archer: Insiders not high on Cowboys' work so far

[Zordon]

Archer reports what they say--I don't care what they say; we have done exactly what we needed to do. Every team takes a different test in the off-season; we can't grade them with the same answer key. We did not sign any too-expensive old guys and got rid of three, I give us an A.. Maybe we failed the course before, but this year we pass.

I think part of that answer sheet for all teams is how you improved the team for the short term (next season) and how you improved the team for the long term (contractual obligations). I don't think you can give the team an A when you consider the former. Adding Mincey and McClain is like adding Bernadeau in Livings, they will do nothing for us. Weeden is Chad Hutchinson 2.0. They are a blip on the radar in a time of transition. They're contracts maybe cheap but when we talk about tangible performance and what they bring production wise right now, it's very minimal impact. Remember Jerry said we were forced into these choices. The fact that we're forced into picking up scrubs to add to an already depleted defense might be good for the long term but terrible for the short term. The Cowboys have a C- so far.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

We drafted a safety in the 3rd rd last year....are we giving up on him already? I would like to add stud on the dl....but if one is not available when we are on the clock....you take bpa. You will never hear me oppsed to adding quality ol...I would take 1 with one of my first 3 picks. Cannot fix everything in one offseason....but i like the way we are tracking when you consider our constraints

 

[Doomsday101]

They could have resigned Ware and Hatcher, but how do you cut an aging HOF fan favorite and save face?

Pretend like you had to do it. Your exactly right they CHOSE.

HOF player who has had issues with injuries over the last 2 years and whose contract was already massive. Yes Dallas could have restructured Wares deal and had even more money added to the tail end of the contract only putting us deeper in a hole later on. I loved having Ware but given the size of the contract as it currently stood and the fact he is on the downhill side I think Dallas had to do that. I think Cowboys made a tough call but I also think it was the correct call and said this before the move to release him was made.

 

[ChooChoo73]

If judging the Cowboys against the rest of the league in terms of teams getting better on paper, then they deserve the grade given and could stand to get an "F". If I just look at the Cowboys in a vacuum and ignore the cap situation and behavior of the past, then I would give them an incomplete until I see the rest of the puzzle. I refuse to credit them for not spending since they have no real $$ to spend. They acquired players that have no history of playing well and one player that is coming off an ACL. They shredded/shaved some bad contracts of high performers and regularly contradict themselves over rebuilding and going for a ring. Pretty much business as usual but we'll see where they are by the start of the season.

As for the espn insiders in general, pure excrement.

 

[Risen Star]

I just see two sides of bias.
One side with nothing bad to say, the other with nothing good to say.

Two wrongs not making a right.

I miss Albert Breer.

I don't see those ESPN guys like that at all. This is the worst era of Cowboys football in team history. If they haven't been mostly negative then they've been wrong.

That's just the label they carry from fans who can't handle honest talk on the team.

 

[BigStar]

What we have done so far may make us a better team in the future but there is no doubt we are worse off for 2014.

I feel a little guilty belly laughing about our cap issues now.

Losing Hatcher's production does hurt (11 sacks/avg against the run) but Melton was signed as his replacement so the jury is out on that one. Ware's 6 sacks/28 tackles can be replicated by a rookie/avg vet. What exactly has the team lossed that drops them so much lower then last season's roster? Replacing 6 sacks? If that is all the hurt this team suffers while in cap hell, then it really isn't as bad as even I imagined. Cap Hell was post Aikman.

 

[kjcmeb]

I don't see those ESPN guys like that at all. This is the worst era of Cowboys football in team history. If they haven't been mostly negative then they've been wrong.

That's just the label they carry from fans who can't handle honest talk on the team.

You want to see negative things to support your point of view....So, you like it.....Seems pretty straight forward. Enjoy!

 

[Gadfly22]

I have yet to see any sports opinion piece published at any time about any team to which the exactly appropriate response is not: "meh".

The tradition continues.

 

[Bullflop]

ESPN is rarely known to speak favorably when the Cowboys are the topic in question. This is simply in keeping with their MO.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Darn that ESPN! It's going to be their fault if the Cowboys have a bad season this year.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

The proof is in the pudding. It is like giving out a grade before the test based on the amount of studying someone has done. Pointless. Every team's grade is incomplete right now. Tell me the grade after the season is over.

If Ware can't practice and gets hurt again, and Talib goes on another shooting spree this time against Wes Welker for last year's injury, and Ward brings his Clev losing jinx to the Denver secondary, then the Broncos will go from A to F.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Losing Hatcher's production does hurt (11 sacks/avg against the run) but Melton was signed as his replacement so the jury is out on that one. Ware's 6 sacks/28 tackles can be replicated by a rookie/avg vet. What exactly has the team lossed that drops them so much lower then last season's roster? Replacing 6 sacks? If that is all the hurt this team suffers while in cap hell, then it really isn't as bad as even I imagined. Cap Hell was post Aikman.

Exactamundo and a great question. It's clear ESPN is overvaluing Ware big time and they think we really lost an All-Pro and impact player when we really divorced ourselves from his contract and create cap space.

 

[Idgit]

Rable rousers rouse some rabble. News at 11.

The ESPN guys are hacks because they are hacks. It doesn't matter if they also happen to be sensationalist negativity hounds, though that does them no favors in my book. They're simply bad at their jobs.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

What we have done so far may make us a better team in the future but there is no doubt we are worse off for 2014.

I feel a little guilty belly laughing about our cap issues now.

This is exactly it. They're doing the right thing by avoiding the large contracts, especially to older guys, but it's at once both a forced move and a lesson learned shockingly late. And, as you say, we're left essentially sacrificing the season.

 

[MRV52]

Does ESPN know that we are a coupon team at the moment?

 

[Seven]

Of course not. Jerry must have impregnated all of their wives the way they all hate him.

He ain't got it in him......

On topic, let's at least play ball first.

 

[BigStar]

Rable rousers rouse some rabble. News at 11.

The ESPN guys are hacks because they are hacks. It doesn't matter if they also happen to be sensationalist negativity hounds, though that does them no favors in my book. They're simply bad at their jobs.

Exactly. Zero depth or research gone into any comments/conclusions. Amateurs reading talking points given to them by producers. Nothing more.

 

[CrownCowboy]

Want a good grade? Spend a lot. You see it every year. The Eagles were a dream team. The Commanders win the off season Championship almost every year.

Save cap room and not sign big contracts? No soup for you.

The funny thing is, a lot of posters here applauded not paying the prices for Peppers and Allen, or for Ware. They laughed and said the Commanders paid too much for Hatcher. The exact same posters will be in this thread saying we goofed and this article is a foundation.

Everything we do is wrong. Every single time.

Yep.

If we had continued to do what we have done for years now and way overpaid for over the hill, injury prone, 30 something year olds that continued to keep us on the path of salary cap hell then we would have seen an article expressing how the ESPN insiders hate how we have conducted our offseason.

I remember a couple years ago how the same people in the media wrote gushing articles about the Eagle's offseason when they pretty much acquired seemingly every free agent that was available. How did that turn out?

It also sure is funny how the Eagles still have money to spend now considering the coin they dished out for all of those over-hyped free agents they brought in all at once.

 

[Deep_South]

Rable rousers rouse some rabble. News at 11.

The ESPN guys are hacks because they are hacks. It doesn't matter if they also happen to be sensationalist negativity hounds, though that does them no favors in my book. They're simply bad at their jobs.

I never watch ESPN talk shows, but there was so much talk about Skip Bayless a couple of years ago I watched him for a while just to see who this guy was. After doing that, I have no idea why anyone watches Skip Bayless. Seriously, I just don't get it. There are probably 50 people in this forum who know more about the Cowboys than he does. Maybe more.

 

[cowboyvic]

Insiders not high on Cowboys' work so far
March, 27, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- The guys over on ESPN Insiders are not fans

of what the Dallas Cowboys have -- or have not -- done in free agency so far this offseason, giving them a D grade.

The only team with a worse grade is the Oakland Raiders, who earned an F.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4726164/insiders-not-high-on-cowboys-work-so-far

The only people who are happy with what Jerry is doing is the pitiful Lap Dog Dallas/FT. wort media. and the fans that keep buying his Dog food every year. on paper this team is worst than it was last year.