News: Defensive Front, Not Back Up Passer, Is The Biggest Need In Dallas

[Direwolf63]

We need to worry about the present first though.

A properly run organization think about the short term AND the long term.

Short term, reactive thinking is why this team has done nothing for 20 years....and counting.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

A properly run organization think about the short term AND the long term.

Short term, reactive thinking is why this team has done nothing for 20 years....and counting.

That's what they have done. They have one of the youngest cores in the league. Have one of the youngest offensive lines in the league. They have a nice combination of vets and young players on this team. That youth was a big part of why this team won 13 games two seasons ago.

 

[Sydla]

That's what they have done. They have one of the youngest cores in the league. Have one of the youngest offensive lines in the league. They have a nice combination of vets and young players on this team. That youth was a big part of why this team won 13 games two seasons ago.

And we all saw what life is like with that young core and no franchise QB the following season after 13 wins. 2015 gave you a clear picture of what life is like without Romo.

That's the point. You are building this great, young team and giving them no future beyond the few (if lucky) years left with Romo.

But 2015 gave you a small glimmer of hope.......... a Top 5 pick that would give you a better chance of finding the long term replacement for Romo as opposed to throwing a 4th round pick at another Quincy Carter or Chad Hutchinson or Drew Henson.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

They also signed Hutchinson as a free agent after his brief run in baseball. Hutchinson was thought to be a high round draft pick if he had stuck with football. They also traded a 3rd I believe to the Texans for the rights to Drew Henson, who also was giving up baseball. So they went with three, younger guys who weren't exactly blue chip QBs (well Henson was thought to be an elite QB if he went in the NFL) but more 2nd-3rd round guys.

And they failed only to be bailed out by the luck of the football gods who allowed an UDFA to turn into arguably one of the greatest non-drafted players in the last 10-15 years.

Once again they didn't even ATTEMPT to draft the position or develop someone. They went after guys who mentally didn't even want to play football and chose baseball first. And it didn't help that they just threw them in the line of fire despite them not even being in football shape. We haven't seen this organization just go out there and draft a quarterback and develop him properly. Life after Aikman was their own fault. Not because they didn't prepare for it but because they didn't even attempt to fix it even after it was clear they had no choice. I'd like to think McClay and company have a lot better insight now than those group of guys did.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

And we all saw what life is like with that young core and no franchise QB the following season after 13 wins. 2015 gave you a clear picture of what life is like without Romo.

That's the point. You are building this great, young team and giving them no future beyond the few (if lucky) years left with Romo.

Ok so when Romo gets hurt again go out and draft his replacement. How's that a problem? Or go out and look for his replacement in rounds 2-7. I'm not against that at all.

 

[Direwolf63]

Once again they didn't even ATTEMPT to draft the position or develop someone. They went after guys who mentally didn't even want to play football and chose baseball first. And it didn't help that they just threw them in the line of fire despite them not even being in football shape. We haven't seen this organization just go out there and draft a quarterback and develop him properly. Life after Aikman was their own fault. Not because they didn't prepare for it but because they didn't even attempt to fix it even after it was clear they had no choice. I'd like to think McClay and company have a lot better insight now than those group of guys did.

Maybe it's about time to get started. And their best chance for success is at the top of the 1st round. All the studies support that fact. Your best chance of getting your future QB is at the top of the draft.

I suggest Jerry and company take advantage of that indisputable fact this coming April.

 

[Direwolf63]

Ok so when Romo gets hurt again go out and draft his replacement. How's that a problem? Or go out and look for his replacement in rounds 2-7. I'm not against that at all.

That's reactive thinking. You don't wait until Romo is hurt again before you start looking.

They need to think proactively. But I don't see them doing so. Which must please you.

 

[Sydla]

Once again they didn't even ATTEMPT to draft the position or develop someone. They went after guys who mentally didn't even want to play football and chose baseball first. And it didn't help that they just threw them in the line of fire despite them not even being in football shape. We haven't seen this organization just go out there and draft a quarterback and develop him properly. Life after Aikman was their own fault. Not because they didn't prepare for it but because they didn't even attempt to fix it even after it was clear they had no choice. I'd like to think McClay and company have a lot better insight now than those group of guys did.

They didn't DRAFT anyone after Carter because they invested in Hutchinson and Henson and thought they might be the future. For all intents and purposes, they DRAFTED Henson in that they gave the Texans a third round pick in a trade for him a year after the Texans took his rights in the 6th round.

 

[Western]

The reality -- QB performance is the difference maker.

A team will not be successful in the 'tournament' unless they have a solid playoff proven QB at the helm.

For instance, the Texans in 2015 had a stellar top-notch top-ranked defense.
But, in the playoffs the Texans with Brian Hoyer got smoked because they lacked quality playoff-caliber QB play.
Even the Jets in 2015 had an exceptional defense but their QB play destroyed any shot of them getting into the playoffs and winning playoff games.
(Also in 2014, Arizona Cardinals had a quality defense but in the playoffs they had Ryan Lindley starting as the QB and, they lost to Carolina).

In the playoffs, teams are for the most part evenly-match, and the coaching staff that prepares and makes quality in-game adjustments usually win.
In the playoffs, winning teams know out to take advantage of one-on-one match-ups and winning teams have QB's that commit the least/dumb mistakes and conversely convert crucial pass completions.
In last years super bowl, if Pete Carroll and by extension Russell Wilson decided to run the ball with Lynch at the goal line and in this year's super bowl, if Ron Rivera and by extension Cam Newton decided to max-protect at the line of scrimmage and double-team Miller and/or Ware, maybe the outcome for each Super Bowl would have been different.

At the end of the day, unless the team performs with quality QB play and very smart coaching, emphasizing simply defensive pressure is simply NOT seeing 'the forest for the trees' when determining playoff & Super Bowl success.

Dallas make the smart overall team decision and rebuild.
Begin with drafting Wentz or Goff.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

They didn't DRAFT anyone after Carter because they invested in Hutchinson and Henson and thought they might be the future. For all intents and purposes, they DRAFTED Henson in that they gave the Texans a third round pick in a trade for him a year after the Texans took his rights in the 6th round.

I know WHY they didn't i'm saying that's why they didn't have any success. People keep bringing up life after Troy as if were the Browns year after year using our 1st rounders on quarterbacks. That wasn't the case. They failed at quarterback because they didn't properly address it in the draft. They went after free agent guys and traded for former baseball players. That's not what I would call addressing the qb position.

 

[Sydla]

Ok so when Romo gets hurt again go out and draft his replacement. How's that a problem? Or go out and look for his replacement in rounds 2-7. I'm not against that at all.

That's the opposite of being proactive.

But let's go with your theory. Let's say Romo plays two more years before getting hurt. So the earliest you would draft a QB is in 2018. Here are the problems.

1) You dont know where you are picking in that draft. If you have a pick in the 20s, the odds are less that you can find your franchise QB as opposed to you having a Top 5 pick.
2) Throwing a rookie right into the mix in 2018 is a recipe for disaster and probably will take at least one full season, if not two, to get his feet wet. So now you are talking about finally maybe winning in 2020.
3) The odds of a 2nd through 6th round QB being that franchise guy is even slimmer than the bust factor you see from first round picks.

The ideal time to take a QB is now. You have a Top 5 pick, which is rare for you. You also have a franchise QB who can help bring the kid along and when it's time for him to take over for Romo, he'll be far more equipped to step in than a kid you took in that year's draft and just threw him into the starting role.

 

[Sydla]

I know WHY they didn't i'm saying that's why they didn't have any success. People keep bringing up life after Troy as if were the Browns year after year using our 1st rounders on quarterbacks. That wasn't the case. They failed at quarterback because they didn't properly address it in the draft. They went after free agent guys and traded for former baseball players. That's not what I would call addressing the qb position.

You are missing the point. You seemingly want the Cowboys to address the QB spot by taking project guys in later rounds and developing them. But that's essentially what we did with Carter, Hutchinson and Henson.

You want to give yourself the best chance to find that next franchise QB? You take one with the 4th pick.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Maybe it's about time to get started. And their best chance for success is at the top of the 1st round. All the studies support that fact. Your best chance of getting your future QB is at the top of the draft.

I suggest Jerry and company take advantage of that indisputable fact this coming April.

The studies support that which is why in 2011 all of the quarterbacks taken after Cam in that 1st round are either backups or out of the league completely. Its a prime example of "Don't settle for a quarterback just because you need one". There are proof of guys all over the draft and this organization has been tied to a few of them like Kapernick and Andy Dalton. If you truly like these quarterbacks then address but I personally no I don't and this organization doesn't seem to but that could be smoke screen.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

That's the opposite of being proactive.

But let's go with your theory. Let's say Romo plays two more years before getting hurt. So the earliest you would draft a QB is in 2018. Here are the problems.

1) You dont know where you are picking in that draft. If you have a pick in the 20s, the odds are less that you can find your franchise QB as opposed to you having a Top 5 pick.
2) Throwing a rookie right into the mix in 2018 is a recipe for disaster and probably will take at least one full season, if not two, to get his feet wet. So now you are talking about finally maybe winning in 2020.
3) The odds of a 2nd through 6th round QB being that franchise guy is even slimmer than the bust factor you see from first round picks.

The ideal time to take a QB is now. You have a Top 5 pick, which is rare for you. You also have a franchise QB who can help bring the kid along and when it's time for him to take over for Romo, he'll be far more equipped to step in than a kid you took in that year's draft and just threw him into the starting role.

I have no problem getting a quarterback. I have a problem drafting any of these guys with our #4 pick. If we go into he 2nd round and Lynch or any of these other guys have dropped? I'm for it. They should def. look at them.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

You are missing the point. You seemingly want the Cowboys to address the QB spot by taking project guys in later rounds and developing them. But that's essentially what we did with Carter, Hutchinson and Henson.

You want to give yourself the best chance to find that next franchise QB? You take one with the 4th pick.

No that's not at all what we did. With Carter yes. I had no problem with Carter the player his demons is what took over him and we drafted him 2 rounds too early. Insane. I agree.

Hutchinson and Henson were losers at one sport and went to collect a check from another sport because the previous sport they wanted to play didn't work out. That's a RED FLAG for me. Especially with this organization at the time which was a 5 win team.

And if you consider Goff or Lynch franchise qb's than they are other Qb's that will be of their caliber right there in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

That's reactive thinking. You don't wait until Romo is hurt again before you start looking.

They need to think proactively. But I don't see them doing so. Which must please you.

But if Romo gets hurt again we will have a top 4 pick and can draft a quarterback? A much better prospect too. I think you draft QB this year I just don't think you do it with your 1st round pick.

 

[Direwolf63]

The studies support that which is why in 2011 all of the quarterbacks taken after Cam in that 1st round are either backups or out of the league completely. Its a prime example of "Don't settle for a quarterback just because you need one". There are proof of guys all over the draft and this organization has been tied to a few of them like Kapernick and Andy Dalton. If you truly like these quarterbacks then address but I personally no I don't and this organization doesn't seem to but that could be smoke screen.

You don't pick one year to support your case. Stash posted a link with a detailed study on QB selections since 1994, the year when the draft went to 7 rounds.

It's conclusions were clear and obvious where the most successful QB come from. And it doesn't support your views.

But that's ok, because it looks like Jerry is thinking along your lines.

 

[Direwolf63]

But if Romo gets hurt again we will have a top 4 pick and can draft a quarterback? A much better prospect too. I think you draft QB this year I just don't think you do it with your 1st round pick.

That's fine. If the goal is to find a career backup, look later in the draft. That's what that same study concluded. If you want to find Romo's replacement, finding him in the middle rounds is like winning a lottery. It can happen, but I wouldn't count on it.

Jerry already won the lottery once finding Tony Romo. I guess he thinks he can do it again.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

You don't pick one year to support your case. Stash posted a link with a detailed study on QB selections since 1994, the year when the draft went to 7 rounds.

It's conclusions were clear and obvious where the most successful QB come from. And it doesn't support your views.

But that's ok, because it looks like Jerry is thinking along your lines.

But see to me that's insane thinking. You don't draft a quarterback in the 1st round because the odds show you will have better success at it by doing it then. Like how about since 2011? How many quarterbacks have been taken since 2011 in the 1st round that have lived up to their draft status. I guarantee if you just go back to 2011 until last year you will find more success stories of QB's outside of the 1st round than you would in the 1st.

 

[Doomsday101]

Give a second rate receiver/quarterback group too much time, and they can manhandle a quality defensive secondary. As the OP states.

I agree but then if a QB on a 3 step drop can throw a quick pass and the safety is taking poor angles the receiver or back can take a short pass the distance. Heck we had 2 games lost in OT on nothing more than short throws that a pass rush is not going to disrupt and those short passes resulted in 80 yard catch and run and another around 60 yards. Having said that I agree Dallas needs to address DT and with Gregory suspended and doubt about Hardy the DE very well could become a priority but poor safety plays has also cost the Cowboys dearly on defense but safety right now is still an area that should also be addressed.