News: BR: Stephen Jones on Cowboys Fans' Frustrations: You Don't Win Super Bowl in Offseason

[CoachD]

Well that's all I need to hear! Jimmy Johnson who was one hellava head coach said the exact opposite and I quote......."Championships are won in the off season" ~ Jimmy Johnson

 

[ElGatoGrande]

"Let them eat cake..."

Ha! You can bet that's exactly how they see it. It's similar to the problem of massive corruption and fraud in the government and you wonder why they don't fix it,,,, this just in, they and their bank accounts think things are just fine, no "fix" required

 

[atlantacowboy]

4) They are absolutely awful at player evaluation. I mean, bottom of the NFL bad. They fall for every bit of hoopla about every player they are interested in. Good example was Brandon Carr, who was most obviously a #2 type CB. A simple evaluation of his skillset screamed #2. However, as w/ many many fans, they do not understand what a skillset is and how it generally determines a player's success.

Exactly. They've got McLay fixated on college and the draft board. Whose evaluating other NFL rosters for talent? There are so many guys who just need a change of scenery or are stuck in the wrong system. We went into last offseason with 2 unreliable starting DE's. Someone didn't know Von Miller could be had for a 2nd and 3rd round pick? I just don't think there is anyone in the FO looking for these kinds of deals. ..... unless its a WR.

Not having good people evaluating talent around the league also has the boomerang effect of overvaluing your own players b/c you lack the confidence to go out on the free agent market or make deals. Dalton Schultz is a perfect example. Is that a TE who deserves a franchise tag? Nope

 

[Aikmaniac]

How condescending and dumbfounding of a remark that was from Stephen. He should have told his STMs and fans that he understands their frustrations and for them to know that he and everyone in that FO is doing everything they can to get back to where they belong.

Stephen has no credibility period when it comes to how to win championships. That answer comes off as someone who is tired of answering that question in different forms over and over again.

Guess what? That's what happens when fans expect the most recognized team in the NFL to be successful year in and out.

Sometimes I'm happy I don't let my life revolve around this team anymore.

 

[KJJ]

Name one big time free agent this team has landed in the last 15 years. Name one. You have to go back to TO in the mid 2000's. (Roy Williams and Amari were both mid season acquisitions not free agents. Both trades were made out of desperation b/c the team did nothing in the off season.)

The problem is NOT that we overpay "outsiders". That's a false argument b/c we haven't done it. Instead, we overpay our own, and that hasn't worked out real well. The Rams have been to 2 out of that last 3 Super Bowls and are the current champs. You wouldn't trade that for a few years of cap hell? You prefer continuing with the status quo ?


The fact is that teams DO win Super Bowls in the off season by fixing holes and upgrading the talent. THAT sets the stage for winning. What you and apparently Stephen Jones propose is what the team actually does................ How many more decades of sucking and not appearing in any Super Bowls will convince you it doesn't work? We are at 26 years now.

Brandon Carr was a big-time free agent in 2012 who we overpaid and he never lived up to his contract. He was a decent player who gave up a number of big plays and PI calls. We didn’t win anything with him. We won the Super Bowl with Deion Sanders as a free agent because he was an incredible talent and the Cowboys were still loaded. Jay Novacek was a Plan B free agent who made a huge impact on the Cowboys because we had acquired a lot of talent through the draft. The core of our great 90s teams was built through the draft. TO was a great free agent acquisition but we only made it to the playoffs once with him. The Cowboys have only signed 3 free agents that made a noticeable impact on their performance.

Outside of Charles Haley and Amari Cooper who we traded for the players that have made the biggest impact on the Cowboys have been players they’ve drafted. Other than Tom Brady I can’t really think of any free agents that were the primary reason a team won a championship. You build championship teams through the draft and use free agency to supplement your team by filling a hole with a veteran player. To plug holes and upgrade the talent especially in the salary cap era is done primarily through the draft. All the great dynasties through the decades built their teams through the draft. The best players the Cowboys have on their roster were players they drafted.

 

[john van brocklin]

Well, that comment went over like a lead balloon!

 

[atlantacowboy]

Brandon Carr was a big-time free agent in 2012 who we overpaid and he never lived up to his contract. He was a decent player who gave up a number of big plays and PI calls. We didn’t win anything with him. We won the Super Bowl with Deion Sanders as a free agent because he was an incredible talent and the Cowboys were still loaded. Jay Novacek was a Plan B free agent who made a huge impact on the Cowboys because we had acquired a lot of talent through the draft. The core of our great 90s teams was built through the draft. TO was a great free agent acquisition but we only made it to the playoffs once with him. The Cowboys have only signed 3 free agents that made a noticeable impact on their performance.

Outside of Charles Haley and Amari Cooper who we traded for the players that have made the biggest impact on the Cowboys have been players they’ve drafted. Other than Tom Brady I can’t really think of any free agents that were the primary reason a team won a championship. You build championship teams through the draft and use free agency to supplement your team by filling a hole with a veteran player. To plug holes and upgrade the talent especially in the salary cap era is done primarily through the draft. All the great dynasties through the decades built their teams through the draft.

Well Brandon "big-time" Carr never made a pro bowl in his entire 12 year career. He was never anything more than a good player.

You are mixing up eras. You can't lump anything prior to 1996 in with the era of free agency salary caps.

 

[KJJ]

Well "big-time" never made a pro bowl in his entire 12 year career. He was never anything more than a good player.

You are mixing up eras. You can't lump anything prior to 1996 in with the era of free agency.

Brandon Carr was one of the top free agents in 2012. He was ranked third behind Peyton Manning and Mario Williams in this free agent ranking. The Cowboys signed him within the first couple of days of free agency and paid him a ton of money and he never lived up to it. I’m not mixing up eras. The NFL adopted a Plan B free agency in 1990 where every team had to make five or six players available and Jay Novacek was made available by the Cardinals. He was a free agent signing that made a huge impact on the team. The current free agent system was introduced in 1993 and only Deion and TO made a real impact for the Cowboys. We’ve been signing free agents ever since then and none made a significant impact other than those two players and Novacek.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/top-100-2012-nfl-free-agents/amp/

 

[atlantacowboy]

Brandon Carr was one of the top free agents in 2012. He was ranked third behind Peyton Manning and Mario Williams in this free agent ranking. The Cowboys signed him within the first couple of days of free agency and paid him a ton of money and he never lived up to it. I’m not mixing up eras. The NFL adopted a Plan B free agency in 1990 where every team had to make five or six players available and Jay Novacek was made available by the Cardinals. He was a free agent signing that made a huge impact on the team. The current free agent system was introduced in 1993 and only Deion and TO made a real impact for the Cowboys. We’ve been signing free agents ever since then and none made a significant impact other than those two players and Novacek.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/top-100-2012-nfl-free-agents/amp/

Well, CBS sports was wrong and basing their opinion in that moment on a very thin free agency class. The man never made a pro bowl or a "huge impact" anywhere he played. It was exciting for us b/c Dallas rarely does anything like it, but it hardly registered anywhere else.

When you throw in Dieon and Charles Haley, you are mixing up eras. The 90's cowboys were built by a man who was literally a HOF coach and genius. He built them with a huge number of draft picks that is no longer realistic. The modern era is different, particularly the last 5-10 years where have seen teams like Denver, Philly, and LA go from the dog house to the penthouse by loading up on veteran players. Its blatantly obvious it works. What we have been doing resigning and overvaluing our current roster is not working.

 

[KJJ]

Well, CBS sports was wrong and basing their opinion in that moment on a very thin free agency class. The man never made a pro bowl or a "huge impact" anywhere he played. It was exciting for us b/c Dallas rarely does anything like it, but it hardly registered anywhere else.

When you throw in Dieon and Charles Haley, you are mixing up eras. The 90's cowboys were built by a man who was literally a HOF coach and genius. He built them with a huge number of draft picks that is no longer realistic. The modern era is different, particularly the last 5-10 years where have seen teams like Denver, Philly, and LA go from the dog house to the penthouse by loading up on veteran players. Its blatantly obvious it works. What we have been doing resigning and overvaluing our current roster is not working.

CBS Sports was wrong and you’re right? LOL All the rankings had Brandon Carr as one of the top free agents in 2012. The 90s Cowboys were built primarily through the draft. I’m not mixing up eras you’re the one who’s mixed up. Deion Sanders and Charles Haley were from the same era. Haley was drafted only two years before Deion. From 1988 to 1994 we drafted 4 Hall of Fame players and a number of key role players. What’s different about the modern era is that teams are getting fleeced by over priced free agents that don’t live up to their contracts.

There’s more unsigned free agents at this time than we’ve seen in years because teams are tired of overpaying for players they end up looking to move on from two or three years later. Denver built a championship team by adding a Hall of Fame QB and adding DWare who we were stupid enough to cut. Our lack of a pass rush got us knocked off in the playoffs the following year. Denver’s primary defensive player during their championship season was a player they drafted. The bulk of their team and every championship team is built through the draft. It’s far too costly to build a team through free agency with top tier free agents.

 

[dacoming]

Obviously not in the post season either...

 

[CouchCoach]

How would that lucky sperm know how to win a SB? He's a bigger clown than his old man.

The good teams fix problems in the off season, not create more.

 

[atlantacowboy]

CBS Sports was wrong and you’re right? LOL All the rankings had Brandon Carr as one of the top free agents in 2012. The 90s Cowboys were built primarily through the draft. I’m not mixing up eras you’re the one who’s mixed up. Deion Sanders and Charles Haley were from the same era. Haley was drafted only two years before Deion. From 1988 to 1994 we drafted 4 Hall of Fame players and a number of key role players. What’s different about the modern era is that teams are getting fleeced by over priced free agents that don’t live up to their contracts.

There’s more unsigned free agents at this time than we’ve seen in years because teams are tired of overpaying for players they end up looking to move on from two or three years later. Denver built a championship team by adding a Hall of Fame QB and adding DWare who we were stupid enough to cut. Our lack of a pass rush got us knocked off in the playoffs the following year. Denver’s primary defensive player during their championship season was a player they drafted. The bulk of their team and every championship team is built through the draft. It’s far too costly to build a team through free agency with top tier free agents.

I'm right b/c I have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Will Brinson was wrong calling him a "pro bowl caliber CB". He obviously was not. Will misevaluated him and so did the Dallas Cowboys. The notion that Brandon Carr was an impactful free agent was proven untrue. We paid him based on the player we thought he could be not based on who he really was. ZERO pro bowls in his career......not even as an alternate. That wasn't a Dieon Sanders or Charles Haley or even a John Randle level signing.

Denver won a super bowl b/c they brought in Peyton Manning and a slew of WRs and DBs. OBVIOUSLY, the bulk of any team are home grown drafted players. No where am I advocating building a team entirely on free agents. So, I'm not sure who you are arguing against on that point. The issue is completely ignoring free agency most every year, not making enough impactful trades, and changing a style of management that is obviously not working.

 

[KJJ]

I'm right b/c I have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Will Brinson was wrong calling him a "pro bowl caliber CB". He obviously was not. Will misevaluated him and so did the Dallas Cowboys. The notion that Brandon Carr was an impactful free agent was proven untrue. We paid him based on the player we thought he could be not based on who he really was. ZERO pro bowls in his career......not even as an alternate. That wasn't a Dieon Sanders or Charles Haley or even a John Randle level signing.

Denver won a super bowl b/c they brought in Peyton Manning and a slew of WRs and DBs. OBVIOUSLY, the bulk of any team are home grown drafted players. No where am I advocating building a team entirely on free agents. So, I'm not sure who you are arguing against on that point. The issue is completely ignoring free agency most every year, not making enough impactful trades, and changing a style of management that is obviously not working.

You sound like a typical casual armchair fan. By the way Denver won the Super Bowl because of their defense. Not wasting anymore time with this.

 

[Creeper]

I don't know. I don't feel any more hopeful. Should these words make us more hopeful?

Our next owner and GM is a moron.

 

[zekecowboy]

Either Stephen Jones is an idiot (game planning, new plays are made during the offseason, draft, free agency, etc.)
or he is saying just believe me and keep buying Cowboys apparel and go to the season football games.

 

[kskboys]

CBS Sports was wrong and you’re right? LOL All the rankings had Brandon Carr as one of the top free agents in 2012. The 90s Cowboys were built primarily through the draft. I’m not mixing up eras you’re the one who’s mixed up. Deion Sanders and Charles Haley were from the same era. Haley was drafted only two years before Deion. From 1988 to 1994 we drafted 4 Hall of Fame players and a number of key role players. What’s different about the modern era is that teams are getting fleeced by over priced free agents that don’t live up to their contracts.

There’s more unsigned free agents at this time than we’ve seen in years because teams are tired of overpaying for players they end up looking to move on from two or three years later. Denver built a championship team by adding a Hall of Fame QB and adding DWare who we were stupid enough to cut. Our lack of a pass rush got us knocked off in the playoffs the following year. Denver’s primary defensive player during their championship season was a player they drafted. The bulk of their team and every championship team is built through the draft. It’s far too costly to build a team through free agency with top tier free agents.

Apparently I know better than CBS sports. I knew he was a #2.

A better question would be how an armchair QB like myself knew better than the Cowboys and CBS sports.

 

[kskboys]

I'm right b/c I have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Will Brinson was wrong calling him a "pro bowl caliber CB". He obviously was not. Will misevaluated him and so did the Dallas Cowboys. The notion that Brandon Carr was an impactful free agent was proven untrue. We paid him based on the player we thought he could be not based on who he really was. ZERO pro bowls in his career......not even as an alternate. That wasn't a Dieon Sanders or Charles Haley or even a John Randle level signing.

Denver won a super bowl b/c they brought in Peyton Manning and a slew of WRs and DBs. OBVIOUSLY, the bulk of any team are home grown drafted players. No where am I advocating building a team entirely on free agents. So, I'm not sure who you are arguing against on that point. The issue is completely ignoring free agency most every year, not making enough impactful trades, and changing a style of management that is obviously not working.

No hindsight here. It was obvious at the time. I was majorly POed when we signed him.

 

[kskboys]

Brandon Carr was a big-time free agent in 2012 who we overpaid and he never lived up to his contract. He was a decent player who gave up a number of big plays and PI calls. We didn’t win anything with him. We won the Super Bowl with Deion Sanders as a free agent because he was an incredible talent and the Cowboys were still loaded. Jay Novacek was a Plan B free agent who made a huge impact on the Cowboys because we had acquired a lot of talent through the draft. The core of our great 90s teams was built through the draft. TO was a great free agent acquisition but we only made it to the playoffs once with him. The Cowboys have only signed 3 free agents that made a noticeable impact on their performance.

Outside of Charles Haley and Amari Cooper who we traded for the players that have made the biggest impact on the Cowboys have been players they’ve drafted. Other than Tom Brady I can’t really think of any free agents that were the primary reason a team won a championship. You build championship teams through the draft and use free agency to supplement your team by filling a hole with a veteran player. To plug holes and upgrade the talent especially in the salary cap era is done primarily through the draft. All the great dynasties through the decades built their teams through the draft. The best players the Cowboys have on their roster were players they drafted.

Stafford

 

[KJJ]

Stafford

Stafford wasn’t a FA he was traded.