Does this front office have a plan?

[Bobhaze]

I'm starting to think maybe the smartest thing to at this point is shut down Nolan scheme ( for now ) and use the same scheme/system players played the last 3-4 years under Marinelli. You have a better chance of getting ALL 11 guys on the same page. Remember Woods saying if one player screws up, they all screw up and he's right coz another player or players are going have to cover the mistake(s).

Just me but we all know the offense is fine and if we get the D to start playing top 15 ball, this team becomes who we thought it would be.

I guess I'm a little confused what OP is asking/looking for from Jerry and/or Stephen since the season has started. We have a new coach and a pretty good draft. You get the impression ( I do at least) they've given MM everything he's asked for. They added McCoy, Smith, and even Griffen to the DLine. So I'm not sure there's a lot more they could have done. If anything, you can argue MM underestimated the challenge of installing a new defensive scheme with CV19, a new coach, new players, no practice. Frankly, that's on him, not Jerry and Stephen.

OP centers around these questions:

• What is this team built to be? What’s its identity?
• What is the front office’s plan when things don’t work as originally planned?

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

They have a 30-year plan.

We’re in year 26.

Stop being impatient and sit tight.

 

[jazzcat22]

"I love it when a plan comes together"

 

[Haimerej]

I was looking through some offseason threads. Found this-



Was Mike trying to tell everyone the defense was going to suck?

 

[75boyz]

1) make money
2) continue to market/sell the brand
3) place the brand in the news/ sports cycle no matter what that news is - remember any mention of the brand is good whether it be positive or negative.
4) repeat 1-3

the football plan falls way down the list, if at all

Yep. Exactly. Your post and mine are the same but you explained it in much better terms. Sraight to the point.

Go Cowboys

 

[Bobhaze]

One thing I don't get is we drafted Zeke with the 4th pick. Invested heavily (too heavily for my tastes) in the OL and extended Zeke to a big contract when he held out. But seemingly right after that, we became a heavy pass team. Even with Dak dealing with a hurt shoulder in basically the NFC East championship game, our pass to run ratio was something to the tune of 40/16. Zeke hardly carried the ball in the 2nd half and this game was never out of hand.

What was the point in extending Zeke to use him like this? You could have signed a much cheaper RB to do what he is doing now

Totally agree. Signing Zeke as the highest paid RB in the league....I will never be convinced this was a good long term move. IMO, we are already seeing his decline. And the argument “We had to keep him” falls flat when you realize in 5 years, having Zeke has translated into 2 playoff appearances and one WC game playoff win. The Jones boys have always overvalued offense and see roster building as a fantasy football exercise.

 

[Bobhaze]

They have a 30-year plan.

We’re in year 26.

Stop being impatient and sit tight.

Jerry is like the drunk billionaire at the craps table in Vegas. He’s going to keep rolling believing eventually he’s going to get lucky. Pathetic.

 

[Wolfpack]

There is not plan, only hope as the official strategy of the Dallas Cowboys (brought to you by Papa Johns). The only real pattern you can see is 1)a knee jerk reaction to what ever when wrong the prior year, and 2) playing money ball with the defense.

That said, I'm typically critical of the FO office and think the Jones family is incompetent. But, the general moves they made this off season aren't all that bad once you look at the individual decisions. However, they miss the big picture of putting it all together. For example, letting B. Jones go at corner. Thats a reasonable call and assumes you aren't going to loose your two next corners to injury. I personally would have kept Jones and cut Crawford but that's me.

 

[Aven8]

If you look at the All 22 Poe is doing his job. He’s taking up blockers and actually gets double teamed a lot. The 4 teams we’ve played have not run at him at all. He’s a NT. NT’s don’t shoot gaps and sack QB’s.

The DE’s are not setting the edge and the containment is awful. Everyone we have played are using the edges, and running off the guards outside, or outside the tackle box.

Than we have free lancers like Dlaw who is playing like Marinelli is here and he is picking a gap and shooting it. (Guessing). Sometimes he’s right, but most of the time he’s wrong. This is what people must be saying about going back to what they know.

And finally Jaylon......oh boy Jaylon.......remember how many tackles Lee has made in the past in the backfield when he’s shot the gap and made the TFL? Jaylon is hesitant to do that when it’s clearly there. He also guesses wrong a lot. He ends up getting caught up in the scrum and dudes run right past him. It’s awful.

So the plan is simple, set the edges, replace Jaylon when the LB’s return, and trust the defense.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

OP centers around these questions:

• What is this team built to be? What’s its identity?
• What is the front office’s plan when things don’t work as originally planned?

**** It's identity is an MM question IMO. In fact, I think he's said he wants a fast scoring offense that turns games over to his DLine. Just me but I think this offense is exactly what he envisions with the exception of Zeke. He won't need a RB costing as much as we have invested in Zeke.

*****FO has NEVER been guilty of planning ahead. lol

 

[Bobhaze]

There is not plan, only hope as the official strategy of the Dallas Cowboys (brought to you by Papa Johns). The only real pattern you can see is 1)a knee jerk reaction to what ever when wrong the prior year, and 2) playing money ball with the defense.

That said, I'm typically critical of the FO office and think the Jones family is incompetent. But, the general moves they made this off season aren't all that bad once you look at the individual decisions. However, they miss the big picture of putting it all together. For example, letting B. Jones go at corner. Thats a reasonable call and assumes you aren't going to loose your two next corners to injury. I personally would have kept Jones and cut Crawford but that's me.

Well said. I’ve never felt like Jerry has ever had a real big picture proactive plan. As you said, they react every year by plugging holes with short term band aids.

 

[fivetwos]

It's a whackamole style reactionary plan.

Ok....so this was a weakness last year so let's fix it (usually with a third contract type).

Never ahead of the game with a plan.

Square pegs all over the place.

The "well this player would have been graded higher if not for X" drafting strategy doesnt help. Not sure how many times X has to be a problem before they learn.

While we are at it....scouts need to scout, and coaches need to coach.

Jerry's master plan includes everyone's opinion thrown into a stew.

So, no. No real plan.

 

[fivetwos]

There is not plan, only hope as the official strategy of the Dallas Cowboys (brought to you by Papa Johns). The only real pattern you can see is 1)a knee jerk reaction to what ever when wrong the prior year, and 2) playing money ball with the defense.

That said, I'm typically critical of the FO office and think the Jones family is incompetent. But, the general moves they made this off season aren't all that bad once you look at the individual decisions. However, they miss the big picture of putting it all together. For example, letting B. Jones go at corner. Thats a reasonable call and assumes you aren't going to loose your two next corners to injury. I personally would have kept Jones and cut Crawford but that's me.

Yes on knee jerk.

Didnt see your post before I said basically the same thing.

 

[Diehardblues]

 

[Bobhaze]

“Livin’ on a prayer”....

 

[GMO415]

Ok. But what is this team’s philosophy? What is it built around? I don’t see a design here.

Once they drafted EzE and the OL they had, this is a "running / ground-&-pound" team.

 

[RS12]

Same as every year. Maximize marketing opportunities and revenue streams. This is a marketing organization mainly now hawking a brand.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

There are some old sayings about planning and leadership that apply to the Cowboys these days- “When things don’t go as planned, you find out the quality of your leaders”, and “The best leaders are the ones prepared for both good times and bad.”

It’s always easier when the plans you’ve made work. But what do your leaders do when the plan doesn’t work? Or even worse- What if your leaders never had a plan to begin with?

After watching 4 games with this 2020 Cowboys team, it’s obvious things haven’t gone as planned. But I have some questions:

• What is this team built to be?
• What is the plan now?

Thoughts/questions about what this team is built to be NOW:

• The 2016-2019 teams were seemingly built around the offensive line and the running game’s ability to control the tempo of the game with Zeke and the defense’s ability to bend but not break.
• In those days, Dak’s role was to be an efficient passer who doesn’t turn the ball over. But we don’t have a dominant offensive line anymore. Zeke is a very good RB, but he doesn’t look as explosive as his early days.
  
• Travis Frederick’s retirement has had a big impact on the OL.
• Is this year’s team supposed to be a pass dominant team now?
  
• Did the FO drop the ball in the offseason planning for this defense? Haha Clinton-Dix was signed in the offseason and couldn’t even make the roster. Dontari Poe seems like a shadow of what he used to be. Gerald McCoy was injured before pads were put on.
• Now what?

So what is this FO’s plan to right this sinking ship? Here’s another old saying that applies- “Hope is not a strategy”, although with Jerry and Stephen Jones, that always seems to be the plan- hope things work out. And if they don’t, find someone else to blame for their own failings.

What do you think is the plan this year? Is there a plan?

The only plan is to stroke Jerry's ego beyond that there is no plan....

 

[75boyz]

Same as every year. Maximize marketing opportunities and revenue streams. This is a marketing organization mainly now hawking a brand.

If ever an accurate description, THIS. No more, no less.

 

[charron]

Hard to tell what their plan is defensively. Doesn't seem as if the players are adhering to any scheme anyway, just half-heartily running through the motions.