Bob Sturm: Four things Cowboys should NOT do this offseason

[waving monkey]

Question: What’s the worst thing the Cowboys could do this off-season?
Bob Sturm: Hmmm. I think their front office is on a roll, so I don’t want to position this as a likely scenario. I would not endorse anything long-term with DeMarco. That means 3 years is my max. I would not cut Brandon Carr as I think to get a replacement for him requires more trouble than it is worth. I would not extend Morris Claiborne by activating his option. And, I would not trade up to get that “1 final piece”. There.

Question: Jon Machota has Andrew Luck higher than Tony Romo in his NFL QB rankings. Do you agree with that assessment?

Bob Sturm: I apologize, but I am not familiar with his rankings. Are they based on the big picture moving forward or simply on who is better right now? Allow me to make some assumptions during this chat and then I will read up for future reference. I will assume it is who was better in 2014. For that, I am not sure there are many who were better than Tony Romo and personally, for me, I think Luck has a bit of development before we assign superstar status to him. Although, it appears that almost nobody shares my view. I have heard some put Luck in the lofty company of Brady and Rodgers and Brees already and I don’t agree. He throws too many picks and other dangerous throws too often. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have him, but I still list him as “up and coming” rather than “arrived”. That said, if the argument was who would you sign right now if both were free agents, than I would go with Luck and I hope everyone would, too, based on the near-decade in age difference and Romo’s health considerations. I hope that makes sense.

link//http://cowboysblog.***BANNED-URL***...gs-cowboys-should-not-do-this-offseason.html/

 

[Risen Star]

I don't know the cap ramifications with Carr but I do know he is easy replaceable. He's just a guy. He makes nobody better.

I wouldn't go any years with Murray. Too fragile in the past. Too much of a workload this past year. Too short of a shelf life at the position. Are they planning on giving him another 350 plus carries next year? It's highly unlikely that he's capable of it.

People are scared to say it. I'll say it. There was not a better QB in 2014 than Tony Romo. He played on par with Rodgers. He was better than Manning. Better than Brady. Certainly better than Luck. People are just conditioned to discredit Romo.

 

[DoctorChicken]

I don't know the cap ramifications with Carr but I do know he is easy replaceable. He's just a guy. He makes nobody better.

I wouldn't go any years with Murray. Too fragile in the past. Too much of a workload this past year. Too short of a shelf life at the position. Are they planning on giving him another 350 plus carries next year? It's highly unlikely that he's capable of it.

People are scared to say it. I'll say it. There was not a better QB in 2014 than Tony Romo. He played on par with Rodgers. He was better than Manning. Better than Brady. Certainly better than Luck. People are just conditioned to discredit Romo.

Cut Carr and don't resign Murray. There are FA CBs who will be cheaper than Carr who can easily match his production, and a good FA RB or even a rookie can run behind this line.

Use the money on DL.

edit - just glanced at the article. I really do not understand how replacing Carr would be "more trouble than it's worth." Here's a list of UFA CBs.

Javier Arenas, Atlanta Falcons
Alan Ball, Jacksonville Jaguars
E.J. Biggers, Washington Commanders
Zack Bowman, New York Giants
Tarell Brown, Oakland Raiders
Jarrett Bush, Green Bay Packers
Darius Butler, Indianapolis Colts
Antoine Cason, Baltimore Ravens
Chris Cook, San Francisco 49ers
Perrish Cox, San Francisco 49ers
Antonio Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals
Chris Culliver, San Francisco 49ers
Bradley Fletcher, Philadelphia Eagles
Brandon Flowers, San Diego Chargers
Josh Gordy, Indianapolis Colts
Danny Gorrer, Baltimore Ravens
Chris Greenwood, Baltimore Ravens
Brandon Harris, Tennessee Titans
Davon House, Green Bay Packers
Kareem Jackson, Houston Texans
Mike Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rashean Mathis, Detroit Lions
Byron Maxwell, Seattle Seahawks
Robert McClain, Atlanta Falcons
Brice McCain, Pittsburgh Steelers
Sterling Moore, Dallas Cowboys
Terence Newman, Cincinnati Bengals
Chris Owens, Kansas City Chiefs
Darrelle Revis, New England Patriots (2015 team option)
Patrick Robinson, New Orleans Saints
Carlos Rogers, Oakland Raiders
Aaron Ross, Baltimore Ravens
Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers
Walter Thurmond, New York Giants
Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears
Cassius Vaughn, Detroit Lions
Tramon Williams, Green Bay Packers
Kyle Wilson, New York Jets
Shareece Wright, San Diego Charger

Is Bob seriously saying not one of them is better than Carr?

 

[TonyRomo17]

Isnt the Claiborne option not guaranteed until that season starts?

 

[jterrell]

Cut Carr and don't resign Murray. There are FA CBs who will be cheaper than Carr who can easily match his production, and a good FA RB or even a rookie can run behind this line.

Use the money on DL.

Carr: That is simply not true.
Again you have to look at the reality of what is already paid Carr, what it would cost to keep him and what it would cost to sign him.

What Sturm suggests is correct provided Carr will take a pay cut and it seems very likely he will.

But paying Carr to go away then adding a vet of any standing at all would be VERY expensive.
Much cheaper to keep Carr under a pay cut.

And signing guys is seldom a fix. Look at Thurmond moving form SEA ot NYG and lasting all of 2 games before injury.
We need to replace Carr first then release him, not the other way around.
Especially with Mo in a bubble of doubt.

The team has Moore, Patmon, Mo and Scandrick which is likely enough but you probably want to kick the Carr decision down the road another year... AND NOT replace him at all with a vet signing.

 

[jterrell]

I agree with all of Sturm's points FWIW.

Pay Murray but only short-term. --too much history of backs falling off a cliff rapidly.
Keep Carr after restructure. He knows offense, likes it here and offers physicality if limited speed.
Do not trade up in draft looking for home runs.
Wait and pass on Mo's extension. Can always keep him as a FA if he steps up.

 

[DrunkWithPower]

I don't know the cap ramifications with Carr but I do know he is easy replaceable. He's just a guy. He makes nobody better.

I wouldn't go any years with Murray. Too fragile in the past. Too much of a workload this past year. Too short of a shelf life at the position. Are they planning on giving him another 350 plus carries next year? It's highly unlikely that he's capable of it.

People are scared to say it. I'll say it. There was not a better QB in 2014 than Tony Romo. He played on par with Rodgers. He was better than Manning. Better than Brady. Certainly better than Luck. People are just conditioned to discredit Romo.

Agreed. We need a back with take it to the house speed. We mauled our way down the field this year with great success, but as the season came to a close it became apparent (to me at least) that we left a lot of running yards (and scores) on the field. I think Carr is probably better than a lot of people think, but the depressing state of our D-Line makes everybody look worse in the secondary. Is he worth the money we're going to pay him next year? I don't think so. As for Romo - best year of his career! He still does stupid things like take sacks all the time, but when he's on he's one of the best in the league, if not the best. Give us a defense next year to take even more pressure off him and we will be golden.

Go Cowboys!

 

[Oh_Canada]

Sturm on point as usual.

I'm good with Carr, rather see the team draft a corner and add a couple of dlineman in FA along with a depth player for the oline and lb.

 

[BAZ]

I agree with all of Sturm's points FWIW.

Pay Murray but only short-term. --too much history of backs falling off a cliff rapidly.
Keep Carr after restructure. He knows offense, likes it here and offers physicality if limited speed.
Do not trade up in draft looking for home runs.
Wait and pass on Mo's extension. Can always keep him as a FA if he steps up.

This is the problem.

 

[Titleist]

Force Carr to take a pay-cut similar to what Doug Free did a couple years ago. If he declines, sayonara.

We can always pick up Cromartie for a cheap 1-2 year deal if Carr hits the road.

 

[jterrell]

this time last year they had the same decision to make with Ware.
they sucked it up and paid to release him.
it was the single biggest mistake of the off-season for a team that came up aces everywhere else and the reality is it may have cost them a super bowl shot.

His 10 sacks would have been about 2 shy of all our DE's combined and significantly more than our top end Mincey had with his 6.
In fact the team had 28.

 

[locked&loaded]

Cut Carr and don't resign Murray. There are FA CBs who will be cheaper than Carr who can easily match his production, and a good FA RB or even a rookie can run behind this line.

Use the money on DL.

edit - just glanced at the article. I really do not understand how replacing Carr would be "more trouble than it's worth." Here's a list of UFA CBs.

Javier Arenas, Atlanta Falcons
Alan Ball, Jacksonville Jaguars
E.J. Biggers, Washington Commanders
Zack Bowman, New York Giants
Tarell Brown, Oakland Raiders
Jarrett Bush, Green Bay Packers
Darius Butler, Indianapolis Colts
Antoine Cason, Baltimore Ravens
Chris Cook, San Francisco 49ers
Perrish Cox, San Francisco 49ers
Antonio Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals
Chris Culliver, San Francisco 49ers
Bradley Fletcher, Philadelphia Eagles
Brandon Flowers, San Diego Chargers
Josh Gordy, Indianapolis Colts
Danny Gorrer, Baltimore Ravens
Chris Greenwood, Baltimore Ravens
Brandon Harris, Tennessee Titans
Davon House, Green Bay Packers
Kareem Jackson, Houston Texans
Mike Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rashean Mathis, Detroit Lions
Byron Maxwell, Seattle Seahawks
Robert McClain, Atlanta Falcons
Brice McCain, Pittsburgh Steelers
Sterling Moore, Dallas Cowboys
Terence Newman, Cincinnati Bengals
Chris Owens, Kansas City Chiefs
Darrelle Revis, New England Patriots (2015 team option)
Patrick Robinson, New Orleans Saints
Carlos Rogers, Oakland Raiders
Aaron Ross, Baltimore Ravens
Ike Taylor, Pittsburgh Steelers
Walter Thurmond, New York Giants
Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears
Cassius Vaughn, Detroit Lions
Tramon Williams, Green Bay Packers
Kyle Wilson, New York Jets
Shareece Wright, San Diego Charger

Is Bob seriously saying not one of them is better than Carr?

Chris Culliver or Kareem Jackson FTW

cheap alternative, Davon House

 

[xwalker]

Question: What’s the worst thing the Cowboys could do this off-season?
Bob Sturm: Hmmm. I think their front office is on a roll, so I don’t want to position this as a likely scenario. I would not endorse anything long-term with DeMarco. That means 3 years is my max. I would not cut Brandon Carr as I think to get a replacement for him requires more trouble than it is worth. I would not extend Morris Claiborne by activating his option. And, I would not trade up to get that “1 final piece”. There.

Question: Jon Machota has Andrew Luck higher than Tony Romo in his NFL QB rankings. Do you agree with that assessment?

Bob Sturm: I apologize, but I am not familiar with his rankings. Are they based on the big picture moving forward or simply on who is better right now? Allow me to make some assumptions during this chat and then I will read up for future reference. I will assume it is who was better in 2014. For that, I am not sure there are many who were better than Tony Romo and personally, for me, I think Luck has a bit of development before we assign superstar status to him. Although, it appears that almost nobody shares my view. I have heard some put Luck in the lofty company of Brady and Rodgers and Brees already and I don’t agree. He throws too many picks and other dangerous throws too often. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to have him, but I still list him as “up and coming” rather than “arrived”. That said, if the argument was who would you sign right now if both were free agents, than I would go with Luck and I hope everyone would, too, based on the near-decade in age difference and Romo’s health considerations. I hope that makes sense.

link//http://cowboysblog.***BANNED-URL***...gs-cowboys-should-not-do-this-offseason.html/

He can't possibly be suggesting to keep Carr at his 8M salary.

Anybody that worries about what Carr has already been paid is off base. They gain 8M in cap space if they make him a June 1st cut so it's really just a question of his 8M base salary. Can they either get a better player for the 8M or can they get an equivalent player for significantly less than 8M?

 

[ufcrules1]

this time last year they had the same decision to make with Ware.
they sucked it up and paid to release him.
it was the single biggest mistake of the off-season for a team that came up aces everywhere else and the reality is it may have cost them a super bowl shot.

His 10 sacks would have been about 2 shy of all our DE's combined and significantly more than our top end Mincey had with his 6.
In fact the team had 28.

Please.... Letting Ware go was a terrific idea. Did Ware even show up in the playoffs in Denver? His last 2 years here he didn't do anything special.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

I don't know the cap ramifications with Carr but I do know he is easy replaceable. He's just a guy. He makes nobody better.

I wouldn't go any years with Murray. Too fragile in the past. Too much of a workload this past year. Too short of a shelf life at the position. Are they planning on giving him another 350 plus carries next year? It's highly unlikely that he's capable of it.

People are scared to say it. I'll say it. There was not a better QB in 2014 than Tony Romo. He played on par with Rodgers. He was better than Manning. Better than Brady. Certainly better than Luck. People are just conditioned to discredit Romo.

I disagree with everything you say except the Romo comment.

Carr, though, overvalued, is productive. Unless there is someone else ready to step up and take his spot I would not get rid of him. Yes, I would gamble on giving him the option of taking the pay cut or getting released, but I would not cut him.

As for Murray, he has something left in the tank at his age but I would not re-sign him for more than 4 years and I would not give him more than $6-mil per year.

 

[jterrell]

Chris Culliver or Kareem Jackson FTW

cheap alternative, Davon House

again .. this isn't hard.
in the NFL it is about cap math.

Carr costs over 12 million to release. Add 3m cap hit year 1 for one of the other guys and congrats you have paid 15m to swap out Carr.

So you have to balance what Carr costs in BASE salary this year. He sits at 8 mil but no one expects him to get paid that plus what he SAVES you by spreading his already paid money out, which is 12m

4.7m is the absolute minimum we can pay Carr and that if if we cut him June 1st. So we'd eat another 8m the following year AND pay for TWO years of another CBs service to make that happen.You are really talking about 20m over tow years to lose Carr and replace him with a mid level starter.

OR you can have him restructure and take a Doug Free style pay cut
His total cap his this year drops to 7 or 8 MIL.

Then you replace him with a rookie making about the minimum.

 

[jterrell]

Please.... Letting Ware go was a terrific idea. Did Ware even show up in the playoffs in Denver? His last 2 years here he didn't do anything special.

post dont post dumb things.
Ware would have accounted for 36% of the TEAMs sack total. And it would have SAVED us cap space under the restructure.

As Ware wore down you had Lawrence and Mincey ramping up.

In the playoffs Ware started and had 4 tackles. They allowed only 24 points.
It was the Broncos offense that fell apart.
The Colts didn't have a 75 yard rusher or receiver and Luck threw 2 picks but the Broncos offense was abysmal with Manning passing 46 times for just 211 yards.

 

[locked&loaded]

again .. this isn't hard.
in the NFL it is about cap math.

Carr costs over 12 million to release. Add 3m cap hit year 1 for one of the other guys and congrats you have paid 15m to swap out Carr.

So you have to balance what Carr costs in BASE salary this year. He sits at 8 mil but no one expects him to get paid that plus what he SAVES you by spreading his already paid money out, which is 12m

4.7m is the absolute minimum we can pay Carr and that if if we cut him June 1st. So we'd eat another 8m the following year AND pay for TWO years of another CBs service to make that happen.You are really talking about 20m over tow years to lose Carr and replace him with a mid level starter.

OR you can have him restructure and take a Doug Free style pay cut
His total cap his this year drops to 7 or 8 MIL.

Then you replace him with a rookie making about the minimum.

I didn't say anything about releasing him. I believe he will take a pay cut and play for us...

We still need secondary help moving forward... I assume that you are in agreement? Or are you under the impression that Mo Claiborne got bit by a spider and is going to be slinging webs out there?

 

[jterrell]

I didn't say anything about releasing him. I believe he will take a pay cut and play for us...

We still need secondary help moving forward... I assume that you are in agreement? Or are you under the impression that Mo Claiborne got bit by a spider and is going to be slinging webs out there?

I think Dallas has clearly shown the way to improve is via the draft and keeping young, hungry players not paying free agents.

A CB in the draft makes sense.
A signed CB, not so much.
Scandrick is a tremendous value.
Mo is here and paid for this year. Carr is cheaper really to keep. Moore/Patmon look like legit back ups.
Why would we need 6 or 7 legit CBs?

I'd draft a guy if value was right and let him compete with Moore/Patmon then you decide on Carr/Mo again next year.

With Melton/Spencer/Selvie all free you probably do have to sign a DE. That'd be my only real signing.
Anything else would be just bargain filler and the draft class.

Dallas is up against it cap wise. They have to realize what it will cost to sign Dez, sign the LBs, sign the stud OL over the next couple seasons....
We do not have joy riding money.

 

[erod]

I agree with Sturm on both Luck and Carr.

Luck is a good young QB, but he is far from the top 4-5 right now.

Carr needs to be restructured, yes, but not released. He is better than people give him credit for because he always gets the tough one-on-one assignments. And with no pass rush, he often looks worse than he is. Fix the pass rush, and you largely fix Carr.