Dallas FA signings need fixing

FuzzyLumpkins

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This is all people are saying. Few, if any, have suggested they just splurge in FA and not try to continue to get better through the draft. What people are saying is that the team has gone to the ridiculous extreme where they think the draft is essentially going to fill every hole they could possibly have and because of that, they just sift through the crap bargain bin hoping they get lucky (and surprisingly, they keep failing).

No, they shouldn't have gone after Gilmore or Bouye to sure up the CB spot. But *******, they should have looked at a guy like Logan or Poe to give them a real 1 tech and not some off the street guy with an injury history that was cheap as hell and Marinelli really wanted. And maybe, spend the $6-7MM per year to bring in a legit, productive, very good SS in Hyde.

How much better does this team look drafting like they did and then having Hyde playing SS and a guy like Logan at the 1 tech? Better than they look now, that's for sure, and the deals they signed easily could have been met by the Cowboys. Logan or Poe aren't even committed to their existing team beyond this year, so there was little downside there.

Cherry picking solutions to what you think are our problems after the fact is adorable.
 

arglebargle

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Glover was not a high priced FA.... IIRC we got him later in the off season for a pretty good deal.

Carr was the poster boy for the fans ire here more often than not because his contract was so high. For a few years he was one of the highest paid DBs in the league.

Carr cost so much because some ******* front office offered Cortland Finnegan (the other top touted DB of that year) a huge contract, raising the pay bar considerably. IIRC the Cowboys were originally negotiating something around 10 mil less over the length of the deal, but got stuck having to up the ante.

Could've been worse: We could have signed Finnegan.....
 

Zman5

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You guys who correct me on a point of fact and act like it's an automatic win are amusing.

The point about McClay still stands. The draft approach changed significantly in 2014 after the Floyd debacle the previous year. And of course we changed defensive schemes and coaching staff in 2013. Marinelli was made DC in 2014 as well.

But hey if you want to insist on including the years when Jerry was still handing out top dollar contracts to CB then have fun with that.

LOL. You're full of it. Go ahead and cherry pick your facts. What does Jerry handing out top dollars to CB has to do with the draft? Also, do you think Jerry didn't have anything to do with the Gregory and Jaylon Smith pick? Are you drunk? You usually are better than this.

Even so , if you had paid attention, you would know nothing much changed after 2014 when it comes to picking defensive players. They are still using premium picks on high risk players and paying the price.

Both Gregory and Jaylon "could" turn out to be good players, but it doesn't change the fact they were the wrong type of players to use a high pick on for this talent starved team. If we already had an established defense, we could take those kind of risk. Unfortunately, this team is void of defensive talent and can't afford to take those kind of risk.

Even Byron Jones was somewhat of a risk for a first rounder considering he wasn't a full time Safety playing at a small school.
 

robbieruff

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I'll take 2 mid-tiered guys like a Poe or Logan at the 1 tech and then a guy like Hyde who would have solidified the safety position.

This team is much better with those signings instead of the cheap methods they took this offseason.

And frankly, I don't think they will change. They are married to this slow and steady approach.
Here here. Slow and steady makes sense when in total rebuild mode...not when you’re a SB contender.
 

coult44

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The same as 90% of the league

Sorry dude Wrong answer... 21 Different teams have won either a conference championship or a Super Bowl since our beloved Cowboys last did so...23 out of 32 teams have been to one of those games since we last were. Yep we are on the very short list of those horrible teams like Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Miami, and Houston that haven't played in a championship game in almost 1/4 of a century. Even teams like Jax, Arizona, Minn, Oak and SF, have been more successful than we have. That's why soooooo many of us arare so rabid about this very conversation.
 

coult44

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LOL. You're full of it. Go ahead and cherry pick your facts. What does Jerry handing out top dollars to CB has to do with the draft? Also, do you think Jerry didn't have anything to do with the Gregory and Jaylon Smith pick? Are you drunk? You usually are better than this.

Even so , if you had paid attention, you would know nothing much changed after 2014 when it comes to picking defensive players. They are still using premium picks on high risk players and paying the price.

Both Gregory and Jaylon "could" turn out to be good players, but it doesn't change the fact they were the wrong type of players to use a high pick on for this talent starved team. If we already had an established defense, we could take those kind of risk. Unfortunately, this team is void of defensive talent and can't afford to take those kind of risk.

Even Byron Jones was somewhat of a risk for a first rounder considering he wasn't a full time Safety playing at a small school.

There are far too many solid defensive players who are getting drafted while we are trying to hit the lottery with some of these "hope-filled" project players.

If we aren't going to do better in FA, we have to do better in the draft. While we are waiting for our "great story" guys to get better, our good and solid guys are getting older or leaving. You can't build this way!!!
 

Blackspider214

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Agreed. It gets frustrating seeing a team like the Eagles go out and fill their needs and now they morphed into the best record in the league after a last place finish. I don't like how some people think it's either or. Meaning building through the draft or free agency. You can do both. And many teams do. Obviously you want your cornerstone pieces to be from the draft but you only have so many picks every year and many of them are not going to be ready out of the gate. So go and fill some needs with some free agents. And no, every free agent is not a bum. With the salary cap era, you just can't afford to keep every player. Look at Leary and Ware in our case. They aren't bums at all yet we just couldn't keep them in our situation. Now I'll agree in certain instances players are free agents for a reason i.e. QBs. No team will ever let a good QB walk.

I'd rather pay a little more to a proven player that knows the NFL than to count on a wide eyed rookie who will take time to learn. For instance, DB this year. I mean I guess Carroll was that guy for us? But that was a terrible signing and we should have known better seeing we played him twice a year and he was trash then.
 

Zman5

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There are far too many solid defensive players who are getting drafted while we are trying to hit the lottery with some of these "hope-filled" project players.

If we aren't going to do better in FA, we have to do better in the draft. While we are waiting for our "great story" guys to get better, our good and solid guys are getting older or leaving. You can't build this way!!!

We haven't drafted defense well past 7 years regardless who's been in charge of the FO. We need to look for another strategy to build the defense. It hasn't happened through the draft. I'm not sure if it ever will.
 

MichaelWinicki

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Wiley was a 1 year deal. Hamlin was given a 2nd contract by us. I named Rivera myself but you’re really nitpicking. Most of those you named weren’t expensive big name free agents like you claimed. The fact is we’ve had far more success with high priced free agents than you’ll admit.

L Davis
Glover
Sanders
And I think Carr was a solid signing unlike you.

You’re really putting a kicker as a high end free agent failure ? :facepalm:

Roy Williams the WR was essentially a high-priced FA pick up and also a massive failure.

And no... The Carr signing was not a success.

And given the Cowboys had so much success with signing high-priced FA's in prior years from your perspective... We'll see if they return to it shall we?
 

MichaelWinicki

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I guarantee every team in the league has a comparable list of names. You think everyone out there is batting 1000?

No they aren't.

And that's why many of the teams have given up signing high-priced free agency.

It's a relatively poor investment.
 

Stash

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Cherry picking solutions to what you think are our problems after the fact is adorable.

How about before the fact? Because he did that too. The fact is that some fans just can't handle their team being justifiably criticized when they make stupid moves.

Before, during, or after the fact.

That's truly "adorable". And pathetic.
 

kevm3

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Sounds like the fo heard a cliche and took it literally. The core of your team is built through the draft. That doesn't mean only utilize the draft. Do is working out well for the eagles. Signing reid worked well for the patriots. One solid fa signing is much better than grabbing camp fodder that you will cut later.
 

JW82

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I realize that Stephen Jones likes to build thru the draft (which team doesn't) but that's not being totally realistic. With Moore cut - all three of Dallas FA signings are no longer on team. That won't cut-it in this era. The Giants leaned heavily on FA signing in '16 and Eagles made big upgrades with their '17 FA signings. If Dallas wants to stay competitive they need to make big improvements in their talent evaluations of FA and not be so gun shy from past failures.


They want to keep going on the cheap, because they suck at free agency, and they'd rather pay a little and miss than a lot and miss, instead of actually getting better at signing the right free agents....
 

Stash

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Sounds like the fo heard a cliche and took it literally. The core of your team is built through the draft. That doesn't mean only utilize the draft. Do is working out well for the eagles. Signing reid worked well for the patriots. One solid fa signing is much better than grabbing camp fodder that you will cut later.

How about just being able to recognize the talent that you already have? And paying a little more money to keep them rather than going out and signing players who are marginally cheaper but much, much, much worse?

That's what ended up happening here. This had less to do with dollars and more to do with sense. Common sense. And being able to identify talent.
 

Sydla

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Cherry picking solutions to what you think are our problems after the fact is adorable.

Yeah, except that's not true. I was pushing for them to sign a guy like Hyde when free agency started. I, along with many others, weren't dazzled by the idea of Heath being handed a starting SS position. People also were very much against not getting a better DT to pair with Collins than Paea.

I love these rationalizations after the fact that people are just operating with 20/20 hindsight and it justifies the mistakes the front office made. There were many people here questioning their FA plan and they were right. It was basically a dud.
 
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