Cowboys Fans' Reality Check

[Flamma]

There’s no reward for being the very worst. The top pick in the draft won’t turn you around if you’re that bad, even if you draft a great player.

I'm not saying anything will turn around. The reward is the great player. You see GMs actively tank to get a better pick and collect as many picks as possible.

 

[KJJ]

Drafting repeatedly in the top 5-10 picks has turned around plenty of franchises. Detroit rode several of those seasons to build their lines of scrimmage, and now looks like one of the top 4 teams in the league

There’s not many teams that have drafted in the top 10 more often than Detroit and they remained pitiful for many years. Just in the last couple of years have they finally gotten really good. There’s a lot of examples of teams repeatedly picking in the top 10 and never becoming a contender. You have to nail the picks, not just with your first pick but later in the draft.

 

[Flamma]

Not one mention of winning the Super Bowl. Wonder what Tom Brady and Vince Lombardi would say to what the point of playing in the NFL is to them if given truth serum. I would bet my entire fortune they would mention the Super Bowl as part of the point. Making the playoffs is the appetizer to the main course. Always was-always will be.

Making the playoffs is what owners want, not any player that wants to win. It shouldn't be a fan's goal either.

 

[rambo2]

Had we done that, we wouldn't have drafted Zeke. Dak would not be the QB on our team today.

I was joking.

 

[KJJ]

I'm not saying anything will turn around. The reward is the great player. You see GMs actively tank to get a better pick and collect as many picks as possible.

We’ve ended up with great players outside the top 10. Parsons and CeeDee are an example. Had we had a higher pick in 2020 we might have ended up with Ruggs or Jeudy who were drafted higher. Chase Young went number two overall in 2020. Go look at some of the higher picks that didn’t pan out in that draft.

 

[Flamma]

I was joking.

I know. I just had to throw a little dig at Dak.

 

[Flamma]

We’ve ended up with great players outside the top 10. Parsons and CeeDee are an example. Had we had a higher pick in 2020 we might have ended up with Ruggs or Jeudy who were drafted higher. Chase Young went number two overall in 2020. Go look at some of the higher picks that didn’t pan out in that draft.

Sure. Just like Tyler Smith. Two offensive linemen picked in the top ten that year can't hold his jock strap. My point is a higher pick is seen as a reward.

 

[SuspectCorner]

Those two fellas won a lot of them.

Let’s hear it for the ‘outliers’… one benefit would be you’re not paying them $60MM per year. That’s a lot of cheese for a guy who never won anything of consequence.

 

[KJJ]

Sure. Just like Tyler Smith. Two offensive linemen picked in the top ten that year can't hold his jock strap. My point is a higher pick is seen as a reward.

It’s a consolation for having a bad season but if you miss on the pick you set yourself way back. Regardless how high you’re picking in the draft it’s still a crapshoot.

 

[Blitzen]

There’s not many teams that have drafted in the top 10 more often than Detroit and they remained pitiful for many years. Just in the last couple of years have they finally gotten really good. There’s a lot of examples of teams repeatedly picking in the top 10 and never becoming a contender. You have to nail the picks, not just with your first pick but later in the draft.

Yeah there is no guarantee in the draft, but everyone knows the chance of drafting a phenomenal hall of fame type player is much higher the higher the pick it is. Troy Aikman pick 1. Michael Irvin pick 11. Micah Parsons pick 12 (and the only reason he lasted that long was because of how Penn State had used him and that it came after the 2020 Covid season in which he didn’t play). Randy White 2 overall. John Elway 1 overall. Peyton Manning 1 overall. Barry Sanders 3 overall. Deion Sanders 5 overall.

Nick Bosa for SF 2 overall that helped propel them to the SB the following season and all the success they’ve enjoyed since that draft (also got Deebo and Dre Greenlaw that same draft). Richard Seymour drafted 6 overall by New England and being their best player of those early 2000 SB’s. The Cowboys used their last top 5 pick status to transform the 2016 club. Like you said-the teams need to hit on many of the picks. Lots of the picks that do not work out are forced picks because the team forces them which can happen anywhere a team picks. Detroit was hitting the reset button too much to give them much of a chance. Dan went there with the mission of building a great offensive and defensive line and is now paying major dividends.

 

[KJJ]

Yeah there is no guarantee in the draft, but everyone knows the chance of drafting a phenomenal hall of fame type player is much higher the higher the pick it is. Troy Aikman pick 1. Michael Irvin pick 11. Micah Parsons pick 12 (and the only reason he lasted that long was because of how Penn State had used him and that it came after the 2020 Covid season in which he didn’t play). Randy White 2 overall. John Elway 1 overall. Peyton Manning 1 overall. Barry Sanders 3 overall. Deion Sanders 5 overall.

Nick Bosa for SF 2 overall that helped propel them to the SB the following season and all the success they’ve enjoyed since that draft (also got Deebo and Dre Greenlaw that same draft). Richard Seymour drafted 6 overall by New England and being their best player of those early 2000 SB’s. The Cowboys used their last top 5 pick status to transform the 2016 club. Like you said-the teams need to hit on many of the picks. Lots of the picks that do not work out are forced picks because the team forces them which can happen anywhere a team picks. Detroit was hitting the reset button too much to give them much of a chance. Dan went there with the mission of building a great offensive and defensive line and is now paying major dividends.

That wasn’t happening often with Detroit. They hit big on Barry Sanders but they had very few good teams with him because they kept missing on other draft picks. They whiffed on Andre Ware with a top 5 pick. They hit big with Calvin Johnson in the top 5 but never had many good teams with him or Stafford who was the number one overall pick. Not sure any team has picked in the top 10 more than Detroit and they have one of the worst histories of any team. The Pats were picking low every year and still kept building great teams.

 

[gimmesix]

I see various debates over winning vs optimizing draft position. Here’s a little nugget for the win and worry about draft position later crowd.

Do you think it’s merely coincidence that our three time SB winning QB was drafted #1 overall and we drafted at the very top of the draft for multiple years in a row? 92, 93 and 95 SBs were a direct result of drafting at the top of the draft.

Almost 30 years later Jerry insists on drafting in the middle since then to “remain relevant” and we have zilch to show for it. Do you think that is merely coincidence too?

I enjoy winning and am not going to apologize for that. However, if we had lost the past two games, I could have lived with that because of the improved draft position.

I do agree with those who have pointed out the number of draft picks Jimmy piled up in the early 1990s helping us to build those teams. Jimmy/Jerry did a great job of gathering picks, and we're never likely to see that again.

 

[Blitzen]

That wasn’t happening often with Detroit. They hit big on Barry Sanders but they had very few good teams with him because they kept missing on other draft picks. They whiffed on Andre Ware with a top 5 pick. They hit big with Calvin Johnson in the top 5 but never had many good teams with him or Stafford who was the number one overall pick. Not sure any team has picked in the top 10 more than Detroit and they have one of the worst histories of any team. The Pats were picking low every year and still kept building great teams.

My point wasn’t about the teams that Detroit had with those players. My point was the best players are statistically skewed towards the top of the draft. Higher picks typically yield better personal results than lower picks. Who knows if New England has anywhere close to the success they enjoyed in the early 2000’s without Richard Seymour and Matt Light (their early second round pick). It transformed a pretty good team (from earlier mid/late 90’s teams) into a SB team. Then Tom and Bill kept changing out parts to continue to compete and win SB’s once Tom graduated to the top player in the league. Much like the formula Andy Reid and Pat Mahomes are currently using. And though KC was mostly picking in the 20’s with Alex Smith, they needed to move to 10 overall to draft their star QB.

 

[KJJ]

My point wasn’t about the teams that Detroit had with those players. My point was the best players are statistically skewed towards the top of the draft. Higher picks typically yield better personal results than lower picks. Who knows if New England has anywhere close to the success they enjoyed in the early 2000’s without Richard Seymour and Matt Light (their early second round pick). It transformed a pretty good team (from earlier mid/late 90’s teams) into a SB team. Then Tom and Bill kept changing out parts to continue to compete and win SB’s once Tom graduated to the top player in the league. Much like the formula Andy Reid and Pat Mahomes are currently using. And though KC was mostly picking in the 20’s with Alex Smith, they needed to move to 10 overall to draft their star QB.

We’ve made our points. It’s not worth anymore time.

 

[KingCorcoran]

Lance was a top 3 pick....whatndidnhe deliver....would an attorney sacrifice a clients freedom to, maybe, win a verdict in the future? Losers wanna lose...

Fans follow the Cowboys. They aren’t the Cowboys. Wanting the Cowboys to be losers of games now so they may be winners of more games later does not make the fan a loser.

 

[Ranching]

Fans follow the Cowboys. They aren’t the Cowboys. Wanting the Cowboys to be losers of games now so they may be winners of more games later does not make the fan a loser.

Any one that wants to lose is a loser....I guess I can say they are the winners of losing....is that better?

 

[DB_Cooper]

Football is dangerous when you step on the field and you don’t give your best. It is a game that is difficult to tank because there are 22 different players on the field most of which are looking to make more money next year.

 

[KingCorcoran]

Any one that wants to lose is a loser....I guess I can say they are the winners of losing....is that better?

The Cowboys winning games does not make fans winners. If a person measures themself by the efforts of their favorite football team they are misguided. Fans may be fine with the Cowboys losing, it does not make them a loser. The results of NFL games don’t matter.

 

[jazzcat22]

Not the same.

How is that different? As long as a team is mathematically alive, it is possible. Not likely, but possible.
1990 they were 3-7, won 4 straight. In the playoff hunt.

 

[jazzcat22]

keep up the stupid posts, you deserve the ridicule

Keep up the stupid insults. It is all you do when you are wrong.