Cowboys going old school?

[Eric_Boyer]

But the Cowboys of late seem to be taking this one step farther than even we thought they might. We resigned Williams and Butler to team friendly deals, and may by looking internally for a replacement through our practice squad.

We really seem Hell bent on not bringing in new free agents.

I think the plan is very much effected by wanting to maximize next years compensatory picks while allowing all the young injured players a chance to compete and improve.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Prior to free agency every team built their team through the draft. There were a lot more than seven rounds and no no free agency so you either built the team with draft picks or you sucked.

Now teams have become a lot more reliant on free agents to fill holes that 7 draft picks can't/won't fill. Free agency has become a high priced crap shoot with high priced/high risk lower reward players for the most part.

There is no doubt that the Cowboys have been avoiding the upper tier over priced free agents ever since the Brandon Carr signing several years ago. Whether they learned their lesson, just don't have the money or it is some other reason is somewhat irrelevant because the result is the same.

But the Cowboys of late seem to be taking this one step farther than even we thought they might. We resigned Williams and Butler to team friendly deals, and may by looking internally for a replacement through our practice squad.

We really seem Hell bent on not bringing in new free agents. We have been working on turning Showers into a safety. We have let many players walk which I know was the plan, but I really didn't see us refusing to plug any holes with free agency.

Maybe they will wait until after the draft to plug hoes with even cheaper free agents cut after the draft has been completed. Again, I knew this was the plan to let guys walk, but they seem to be taking it much farther than I thought they would in resigning free agents to replace the players lost.

The question I have internally is whether or not this signals a new way of thinking internally. Is this salary cap driven, a lack of talent in free agency, comp pick driven, or just situational due to what is on the market this year.

This is definitely different than any year in recent memory. .

In short, this is Dallas Cowboys football. Little Stevie Wonder is taking over.
I see better days ahead.
You lout. Now you've made me cry. And me mum said she'd stub her CIG out in me eye if I dost complain and act London-ish.

 

[Kaiser]

If you think that if Dak had thrown many more interceptions (and likely lost games as a result) it wouldn't have been a factor in deciding whether to give Romo his job back we are not in agreement on that issue.

So your argument has gone from "Romo was benched for throwing interceptions" to a half dozen If's and Maybe's?

 

[OldCoach]

This is just fanboyism. Romo had a fluke injury and then got Wally Pipp'ed, it laughable to say that a four time Pro Bowler lost his job because of INTs.

He lost his job because the guy that replaced him took better care of the football and played very well.

 

[Kaiser]

He lost his job because the guy that replaced him took better care of the football and played very well.

That's complete nonsense. He finished in the top ten in Interception Percentage in his last full season. There are half a dozen reasons the Cowboys stayed with Prescott as the starter but INTs aren't one of them.

 

[Verdict]

The overpayment of Dez is hindsight being 20/20. His contract was exactly the value he was on the open market and if he didn't get injured he would have likely kept performing at a similar rate as he was from 2012-2014. He was 27 years old at the time the new contract was signed and was right in the middle of his prime years.

Ratliff, Ware and Barber were all considered likely past their primes or on the downswing of their prime. Their contracts made less sense than Dez's and were more than they would get on the open market and it burned the Cowboys.

I don't think the Orton deal really bothered him. The guy almost never played because Romo didn't get injured. And when he did play, he played pretty well albeit for 1 game.

I forgot about Carr. He's an example of the problem with free agents...if you switch coaches and change scheme, that player may no longer fit in that scheme. Although that occurred the say time that Ratliff got the contract extension and I still think that the Ratliff deal left a very sour taste in Jerry's mouth. Can't really blame him...the guy took his money and faked an injury so he wouldn't have to play and did it with no recourse.




YR

Again, good post, but I disagree on Dez. Dez was paid top 5 money and had all sorts of red flags around him regarding maturity issues, poor route running, failing to protect the ball from DBS (he has been better about that over time).

When you give a guy top 5 money he can't just be a very good player. He must be dominant, consistent, intelligent, good character, high motor and a great role model for his teammates. Low maintenance comes to mind. Think Jason Witten in his prime.

Dez' contract left no margin for error and many of us could see this one coming. Let's be clear..... Dez isn't a flop, he is just underperforming his contract.

He is also weak minded but he shouldn't be lumped into the same class as Hardy. That would be unfair to Dez.

 

[Verdict]

That's complete nonsense. He finished in the top ten in Interception Percentage in his last full season. There are half a dozen reasons the Cowboys stayed with Prescott as the starter but INTs aren't one of them.

You are dreaming if you don't think protecting the football wasn't a substantial factor. It elevated his winning percentage, his QB rating and made him a hero.

 

[tcain2004]

It took us 6 years to rebuild the offense. Another 6 years to rebuild the defense? By that time, the offense will need to start being rebuilt because players from the original rebuild will be retiring.

This is not how a successful organization is ran.

Yup at this pace its going to take a miracle season. It drives me insane thinking of the wasted 2nd rd picks.

 

[haleyrules]

They are at a little different of a spot also. They are at the very end of a great QB's career, so I can see the idea of keeping on loading up while you have Brady because it might go lean after he goes. Get actualized talent as opposed to potential to try and make that last run or two. Personally, I think we would be thinking the same if Romo was still the QB and I'm not sure we'd be wrong in that situation.

Yes, agreed. They are certainly taking another run at a SB while Brady has something left in the tank. Good stradegy. On another level trading the 32 pick etc for young talented players on the upswing of their careers was very smart and would be a very good plan for any club. I was very surprised what Belichick received for what he had to offer. Great football guy.

 

[Pants]

In regards to drafting defense and having a philosophy regarding defense, last year, one the BEST drafts in the team's history, it is easy to see that they Zeke and Dak propelled the offense...but, the defense had more of the focus last draft ,IMO....a LB (that if healthy, might be the best pick in our draft), a DE (that if healthy, could help A LOT this season), a DT (starter), a CB (now a starter)...I look at our two injured rooks as extra 1st and 2nd round picks this year...so, in 2017, if they draft more defense and hit on them like in 2016, they will be looking at a nice, young defensive core....build, build, build....I am not as upset at the defensive departures as some...I am reserving judgment on the defense until July or so (after the draft, the news on the health of Smith and Tapper, and any potential FA's plug-ins)

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Again, good post, but I disagree on Dez. Dez was paid top 5 money and had all sorts of red flags around him regarding maturity issues, poor route running, failing to protect the ball from DBS (he has been better about that over time).

When you give a guy top 5 money he can't just be a very good player. He must be dominant, consistent, intelligent, good character, high motor and a great role model for his teammates. Low maintenance comes to mind. Think Jason Witten in his prime.

Dez' contract left no margin for error and many of us could see this one coming. Let's be clear..... Dez isn't a flop, he is just underperforming his contract.

He is also weak minded but he shouldn't be lumped into the same class as Hardy. That would be unfair to Dez.

Dez was a dominant player from 2012-2014. He was averaging 90 catches, 1,300 yards and 14 TD's during those years.

That's top-5 WR performance.

As far as the rest most top-5 players don't have those traits outside of the QB position. And I personally think much of what has gone on with Dez has been completely overblown. Like his 'screaming' at his teammates in the Detroit game...only to find out that wasn't what he was doing. Or the 'tape' that was supposed to be '10 times worse than the Ray Rice' tape.

As far as his influence on teammates, Jason Witten thinks very highly of him:





YR

 

[kazzd58]

ill say it again i Love the fact we are rebuilding this defense

 

[Verdict]

Dez was a dominant player from 2012-2014. He was averaging 90 catches, 1,300 yards and 14 TD's during those years.

That's top-5 WR performance.

As far as the rest most top-5 players don't have those traits outside of the QB position. And I personally think much of what has gone on with Dez has been completely overblown. Like his 'screaming' at his teammates in the Detroit game...only to find out that wasn't what he was doing. Or the 'tape' that was supposed to be '10 times worse than the Ray Rice' tape.

As far as his influence on teammates, Jason Witten thinks very highly of him:





YR

Did you expect him to say something bad about Dez in the press? Did you expect him to say, hey, I'm down on him for buying a money or failing to show up for medical treatment after injury? Come on man get real.

 

[waldoputty]

there is a reason they are not willing to restructure Dez and Crawford for extra cap space

dez's contract expires at the end of 2019.
i dont think anyone doubts dez would finish the contract without a serious injury.

 

[waldoputty]

Just ordered my cryogenic chamber. @haleyrules, can you unfreeze bro when we head to the Super Bowl. I'm losing precious years waiting for the return of the Cowboys!

Thanks

yes
old school in the new era = dinosaurs that went extinct.

 

[waldoputty]

They did it last year and ended up with 13 wins. That's a big incentive to do it again.

great. they had half a team.
by the time the defense is built, it is time to reload on offense having wasted dez's prime and 3-4 years of the best of zeke's prime.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Did you expect him to say something bad about Dez in the press? Did you expect him to say, hey, I'm down on him for buying a money or failing to show up for medical treatment after injury? Come on man get real.

He didn't have to say anything and he gave GLOWING comments that were so over the top that he would only say them if he really felt that way.

If he didn't care for Dez and was saying something that wasn't negative to prevent hysteria from the press, he would say something like 'he's a good teammate.'

And I'm guessing Witten doesn't care if Dez bought a monkey. Why anybody would think of that as a negative or really care about it is insane.

Just face it, you don't like Dez and you're grasping at straws because you can't deny a WR that averages 90 catches for 1,300 yards and 15 TD's for 3 years is worthy of a top-5 WR contract. And the player you praise went out of his way to sing Dez's praises as a player and as a teammate.




YR

 

[zekecowboy]

there is a reason they are not willing to restructure Dez and Crawford for extra cap space

I agree with Dez not getting a restructure. A speedy WR would alleviate some of the double coverage on Dez.

 

[windward]

It can be argued the Cowboys have just as much cap mismanagement by restructuring players as they have when they mismanaged the cap by splurging on guys

And they'd be wrong.

 

[big dog cowboy]

It seems to me that the Cowboys are waiting until after the draft to add free agents, if any are added.