Cowboys approach to off-season remains consistent

[Carter]

The Cowboys have their biggest Weakness on the Sideline. As Long as that doesnt Change nothing will happen besides a 1st-2nd Round Exit in the Playoffs at best.

 

[Teague31]

Consistently cheap. Awesome

 

[Cowboys22]

You need a QB before going all in.

And a real coach. If Dallas extends both for another 5-6 years, nothing will change and it won’t matter who they draft or what free agents they sign.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Positions the Cowboys will likely be targeting in the draft:

• TE - Jason Witten and Cody McElroy signed to 1 year deals.
• WR-slot - Tavon Austin signed to a 1-year deal, plus the Cowboys picked up the 2nd year option for Allen Hurns.
• DT - Christian Covington and Daniel Ross signed to 1 year deals
• S - Darian Thompson signed to 1 year contract
• OLB - Justin March-Lillard signed to 1 year contract & Sean Lee negotiates pay-cut for final year on his contract.
• DE - DeMarcus Lawrence given franchise tag - if the Cowboys are unable to come to terms with Lawrence before the draft, this might also be a position they target.

Yes they signed two DTs to 1 year deals, which by the post would indicate the Cowboys would be looking to draft DTs.

But they've drafted ONE defensive tackle (Collins) above the 6th round in the last 10 years. So technically if they take a DT in the 6th or 7th round you could say they "targeted" DT in the draft, but to me your "target" players are ones taken in the first 3 or 4 rounds, once you get to the later rounds your player rankings are just about the same, do taking a DT instead of say, an OT, wouldn't mean they "targeted" one...

 

[OmerV]

The Cowboys have their biggest Weakness on the Sideline. As Long as that doesnt Change nothing will happen besides a 1st-2nd Round Exit in the Playoffs at best.

I agree the Cowboys coaching limits them, but if you can take teams down to the wire in the playoffs, as they did with GB twice, and as they did with the Rams last year despite an abnormally poor defensive showing, there is a reasonable chance to go at least a round deeper, if not more. In those kinds of games, one play, or one break, can make the difference.

 

[Sydla]

That is what most of the league does year after year.

With this formula the cowboys have improved their odds substantially. It could fail, but then it would be like every other teams strategy. Why quit this plan as it is starting to come to fruition. This is when we start making legitimate runs. We won the division last year, and will be back in contention this year.

This same post was made 5 years ago when we made the playoffs, beat the Lions and lost a heartbreaker in GB. That was the start, that was launch point for legitimate runs. People said the same thing in 2016 too.

And then here we sit years later and no closer to the prize than we were then.

Until this franchise makes some hard choices - the coaching staff, being more proactive in FA - the results are likely going to be the same going forward the next few years as well.

 

[Sydla]

What you call “panic” someone else might call recognizing a flaw and making a move to correct it. The most dramatic answer isn’t necessarily the most accurate.

A "flaw" of their own making. It would be one thing if injuries and the like sapped us of players where we were forced to make a move.

But that wasn't the case. This franchise made a willful and very vocal decision to go with a WR committee consisting of mostly JAGs and reclamation projects. Some view this as a positive for the franchise - that they realized their mistake and tried to fix it.

But more importantly, it shows just how bad they can be at assessing what they really have. There take on the WR position gives me pause that they know what they are doing at S, for example. They seem content to just go with Woods and Heath again and throw a mid round pick at it and everything will be fine. Smells eerily like their stance at WR.

 

[OmerV]

This same post was made 5 years ago when we made the playoffs, beat the Lions and lost a heartbreaker in GB. That was the start, that was launch point for legitimate runs. People said the same thing in 2016 too.

And then here we sit years later and no closer to the prize than we were then.

Until this franchise makes some hard choices - the coaching staff, being more proactive in FA - the results are likely going to be the same going forward the next few years as well.

Not really the same thing. 5 years ago when we made the playoffs it was the first time in 5 years after a 6-10 season and 3 straight 8-8 seasons, so at that point it was just a one year look at some level of success. There was no pattern - no sustained success. Today we are looking at having won the division and been to the division round of the playoffs 3 of the last 5 years.

 

[OmerV]

A "flaw" of their own making. It would be one thing if injuries and the like sapped us of players where we were forced to make a move.

But that wasn't the case. This franchise made a willful and very vocal decision to go with a WR committee consisting of mostly JAGs and reclamation projects.

Absolutely a flaw of their own making. I wasn't suggesting otherwise.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

This same post was made 5 years ago when we made the playoffs, beat the Lions and lost a heartbreaker in GB. That was the start, that was launch point for legitimate runs. People said the same thing in 2016 too.

And then here we sit years later and no closer to the prize than we were then.

Until this franchise makes some hard choices - the coaching staff, being more proactive in FA - the results are likely going to be the same going forward the next few years as well.

You don't see the difference between this roster and 2016...?

We weren't using this roster building method in 2014, we weren't told this in 2014.

 

[Sydla]

Not really the same thing. 5 years ago when we made the playoffs it was the first time in 5 years after a 6-10 season and 3 straight 8-8 seasons, so at that point it was just a one year look at some level of success. There was no pattern - no sustained success. Today we are looking at having won the division and been to the division round of the playoffs 3 of the last 5 years.

But yet people at that time were stating we had built up for that and now were ready to go on a run. And then said the same thing in 2016.

And yet here we sit, another season where we failed to get beyond the divisional round again and, frankly, are no closer to winning a SB than some of those teams under Phillips, including the one that went 13-3.

This team is as likely to miss the playoffs in 2019 as they are to make a playoff run.

 

[Sydla]

You don't see the difference between this roster and 2016...?

We weren't using this roster building method in 2014, we weren't told this in 2014.

Revisionist history.

If you don't believe that at those times the homers were running around screaming at the naysayers that this was the start of something, then you just aren't being honest.

And no, I don't see much of a difference between this roster and the one in 2014, for example. The defense is better but the offense is worse. As I have said many times, this team is really not much better than the ones that Phillips took to the playoffs. In a decade, this franchise hasn't advanced much if one is truly honest with themselves.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Revisionist history.

If you don't believe that at those times the homers were running around screaming at the naysayers that this was the start of something, then you just aren't being honest.

And no, I don't see much of a difference between this roster and the one in 2014, for example. The defense is better but the offense is worse. As I have said many times, this team is really not much better than the ones that Phillips took to the playoffs. In a decade, this franchise hasn't advanced much if one is truly honest with themselves.

You're confusing the point of this thread.

Homers will always think we are going to take the next step. This is about the new roster construction method we've implemented, which wasnt around in 2014, so 2014 is negligable and we can throw that out.

 

[OmerV]

But yet people at that time were stating we had built up for that and now were ready to go on a run. And then said the same thing in 2016.

And yet here we sit, another season where we failed to get beyond the divisional round again and, frankly, are no closer to winning a SB than some of those teams under Phillips, including the one that went 13-3.

This team is as likely to miss the playoffs in 2019 as they are to make a playoff run.

Sure some were, and in fairness it did seem like there was a great formula for the offense, although clearly the defense needed to improve. But the point is there was no history at that time to tell us 2014 was anything but a one year anomaly. We know now that isn't the case.

Obviously something has to give to get over the hump, but we at least have history now to know we are near that point.

You can't really argue that Wade's team's prove the current team philosophy doesn't work, because the team philosophy under Wade was different. We were relying much more on free agents and older players at that time.

 

[Sydla]

Sure some were, and in fairness it did seem like there was a great formula for the offense, although clearly the defense needed to improve. But the point is there was no history at that time to tell us 2014 was anything but a one year anomaly. We know now that isn't the case.

Obviously something has to give to get over the hump, but we at least have history now to know we are near that point.

You can't really argue that Wade's team's prove the current team philosophy doesn't work, because the team philosophy under Wade was different. We were relying much more on free agents and older players at that time.

The proof is in the results. This team is no better than one from a decade ago. They are no closer to a SB than one from a decade ago. That doesn't mean what they are doing is totally wrong, it just shows that it might also not be totally right. Where are the tangible improvements, results from this "shift" in thinking? Seems to me, at least at this point, the results are still the same - a team with some talent that continually has flaws.

Fans can continue to delude themselves into thinking they have this all figured out now but at this point, after years of having the rug pulled out, I think the prudent course is to make them prove to you it's working before we start talking about how right and brilliant and on point this front office is.

 

[OmerV]

The proof is in the results. This team is no better than one from a decade ago. They are no closer to a SB than one from a decade ago. That doesn't mean what they are doing is totally wrong, it just shows that it might also not be totally right. Where are the tangible improvements, results from this "shift" in thinking? Seems to me, at least at this point, the results are still the same - a team with some talent that continually has flaws.

Fans can continue to delude themselves into thinking they have this all figured out now but at this point, after years of having the rug pulled out, I think the prudent course is to make them prove to you it's working before we start talking about how right and brilliant and on point this front office is.

I said something has to give to get over the hump, right?

But my point was the current team philosophy is at least consistently putting us in the hunt, which is different than under the team philosophy when Wade was the coach, and different than what we knew in 2014. The current philosophy is more sustainable. Under Wade 1/3 of the starters or more were 30+ years old, and it took having to relying heavily on expensive free agent signings. Today none of the starters are 30 years old, and all but a few players were homegrown. Bottom line is the philosophy doesn't need to be scrapped, it just needs to be slightly tweaked - given a nudge. I'll admit the Cowboys are falling short of giving it that nudge.

 

[Sydla]

I said something has to give to get over the hump, right?

But my point was the current team philosophy is at least consistently putting us in the hunt, which is different than under the team philosophy when Wade was the coach, and different than what we knew in 2014. The current philosophy is more sustainable. Under Wade 1/3 of the starters or more were 30+ years old, and it took having to relying heavily on expensive free agent signings. Today none of the starters are 30 years old, and all but a few players were homegrown. Bottom line is the philosophy doesn't need to be scrapped, it just needs to be slightly tweaked - given a nudge. I'll admit the Cowboys are falling short of giving it that nudge.

The hunt for what? They are a fringe playoff team mostly, as likely to whiff on the playoffs as they are to make it.

They need more than a nudge. They need to stop taking extreme positions in what they do - they swung from older teams and high profile FAs to being scared of older players and any decent FAs. They got weary of changing coaches every 3-4 years, to now keeping one employed likely long after his expiration.

They need a culture shift again.

 

[TexasHillbilly]

The not going deep in the playoss is consistent too.

Now I gotta figure out what a playoss is. jk ron

 

[cowboy_ron]

Now I gotta figure out what a playoss is. jk ron

lol, it's a new code I invented.

 

[dsturgeon]

The hunt for what? They are a fringe playoff team mostly, as likely to whiff on the playoffs as they are to make it.

They need more than a nudge. They need to stop taking extreme positions in what they do - they swung from older teams and high profile FAs to being scared of older players and any decent FAs. They got weary of changing coaches every 3-4 years, to now keeping one employed likely long after his expiration.

They need a culture shift again.

Why does drew breeze only have one super bowl win? He has consistently produced an insane amount on offense and td's. More importantly, with that amount of offense, how many NFC championships has he won? Have the saints not given the team that extra nudge? They have pretty much done everything to give them the nudge, and yet they can't get back to the NFC championship, and that even eliminates Brady and peyton as an excuse.

"It is a process," and it is very hard to buy your way in with a free agent or two