Fear, laziness and risk aversion - How the Cowboys lost their way

[shabazz]

Never in my imagination following the Cowboys for as long as I have, and it's been a looooong time, did I ever think they would turn out like this.

America's Team? I really have to think hard about that now.

This is what happens when a legitimate business is run like a mom & pop shop.

If this team was had an ownership model like Green Bay has, this would never be tolerated.....the Raiders fans suffer this same crap too

 

[CyberB0b]

As Stephen has taken more and more control, the team’s fire slowly gets snuffed out. Jerry, while a buffoon, would at least take shots back in the day. Some, like TO, worked out, while others like Roy Williams, didn’t. At least you knew he was trying. Jerry was at least a part of the championships in the 90s. Stephen just inherited his role.

Stephen doesn’t try. They’re a rudderless ship. The future is grim with him in charge.

 

[5Stars]

Hate that guy

What? Why...lol

 

[5Stars]

Move on?

Like you did for months? What did you do in your time away? Tell everyone how good the cowboys were?

I also haven’t given up. I’m ranting about this team not showing any inclination to win.

Go back into hiding.

You are the definition of a hypocrite. You call everyone quitters yet you quit and don’t even have the spine to stay here and take the lumps you deserve. You run and hide.

Go back to that and let me have my opinion. It’s allowed.

Very well said. Consider the source.

 

[Sheepherder]

As Stephen has taken more and more control, the team’s fire slowly gets snuffed out. Jerry, while a buffoon, would at least take shots back in the day. Some, like TO, worked out, while others like Roy Williams, didn’t. At least you knew he was trying. Jerry was at least a part of the championships in the 90s. Stephen just inherited his role.

Stephen doesn’t try. They’re a rudderless ship. The future is grim with him in charge.

Why do the fans keep supporting this clown show. I just dont get it. All they do is keep repeating the same mistakes over and over and expect different results. It never ends.

 

[Creeper]

Proof is in the pudding.

They havent paid an outside FA since Carr.

They havent traded up since Claiborne when there was reason to.

They just spent late round picks on the deepest DT draft we have seen in a long time when we cant stop the run.

What more proof do you need?

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you on this. Although didn't they trade up for Travis Frederick?

We don't really know if Mazi is an example because he is the first 1st round draft pick at DT since 1991. There is more evidence they do not value the position.

 

[phildadon86]

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you on this. Although didn't they trade up for Travis Frederick?

We don't really know if Mazi is an example because he is the first 1st round draft pick at DT since 1991. There is more evidence they do not value the position.

They traded down for Frederick

 

[DandyDon52]

Stop saying things like this.

Jimmy came from being a champion, built championship teams in college and played a brand of football.

Schotty has none of that on his resume and has a HC position now because the Cowboys and lazy Jerry were the only people in 20 years willing to offer him the job.

People need to stop trying to find comparisons between Jimmy and new coaches. There’s none.

Hence why no HC has been successful here in 30 years.

Jimmy was the only HC under jerry who could make trades for players he wanted.
After Jimmy no other HC has been able to do that. Jimmy made over 50 trades !

Jimmy had a plan
Shotty has a plan
Those plans differ and shotty doesnt have the trade or FA power like Jimmy did.

There hasnt been a HC like Jimmy in the whole NFL , but there have been a few who were
as successful.
But shotty has a plan to build a certain type team and that team needs to be good at running the ball. That is the reason for drafting Booker.

Shottys past is irrelevant to me, it has no bearing at all on how good of a HC he can be.

Everyone thinks Ben Johnson is going to be a great HC and make chicago great in year one !
But I think while it is possible, he is overrated due to the talent he had at Detroit.
Some dc's and oc's are overrated due to the talent they have, like the SF DC who became the Jets
HC and then flopped badly.

Just because your a good OC, doesnt mean you will be a good HC, as it is 2 different type jobs.
Being a good OC doesnt make you a good HC.
Being a good HC requires different skills and abilitys than any of the other coaching positions, and that why so many guys fail at HC, is they dont have those skills.

Shotty has said he wasnt ready to be a HC earlier in is career, but now thinks he is, so I think he
understands more now, and that is more important than skins on the wall.

 

[75boyz]

I have given myself time to calm down after the draft. After constant battles on here with people who had great opinions but didn't understand why I really was so down on the draft. That is probably my fault for not being able to communicate why I am so angry with this team.

This all goes back to the Green Bay loss for me. That is when my fandom changed. I used to sit here and defend Dak, this FO, and almost every player on the team. After watching what seemed like the biggest failure by a Dallas Cowboys team in recent memory, I took a step back and evaluated what is really going on. That's when it clicked for me. This team refuses to take the necessary risks to improve.

This started after the Brandon Carr signing. This team has not signed a FA to big money since then. At least not a notable name. Heck, Dante Fowler (who played on this team already) is the first FA to get more than 6 million from this team in how many years?

I digress.

Lets get back to the Green Bay debacle.

What most if not all teams would have done in that situation, is clean house. McCarthy had NO BUSINESS staying on another year after the team failed to show up, at home, against a 7 seed and got boat raced out of their own stadium. Instead of doing what was necessary, this team stuck with the HC. Fine. Yet they did absolutely nothing to improve the team for him. They sandbagged him just to prove a point? It is nonsensical how that transpired. Then they leave CeeDee sitting at home until the end of training camp, make the fan base think they are moving on from Dak, just to steal the headlines the day of the season starting. More of the same of "we like our guys" instead of letting Dak go find a new team and drafting a QB this year or next. (Risk aversion)

Then comes the disaster that was last season. They blame injuries, dont bring the coach back (after denying the request of the Bears to speak with him) and decide to start over. Ok good.

But wait, now the laziness creeps in. They bring in a few other guys to satisfy a certain rule, and then walk down the hallway and interview the OC who was in charge of one of the worst performing offenses in football last season.

They announce a guy with no HC experience, spin it to be a great idea, and bobs your uncle.

How does this make sense? You are the Dallas Cowboys. Was 10 years of Garrett learning on the job not enough?

So cue the new head coach coming in changing "the culture" with a smashmouth approach to running the football. Ok. Thats refreshing. Now FA starts and they sign Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams. Ok fine, I will wait until the draft and see what happens.

Now here comes the trifecta of a bad front office.

Lazy, risk averse, and fear all took place on day one of the draft. I don't care what anyone says, drafting another OL in the first round was foolish, lazy, and reeked of "we don't want to mess this up".

I am sick of hearing that players are reaches. If you drafted Hampton, or Golden, or Ebuka, or or or at 12 and it was your guy, who cares. He turns out to be a star you look like a genius, he doesnt, you look like you dont know what you are doing (no one believes you do anyways) so why not take the chance? Instead we get Booker who while he is a fantastic player, was not a need in any way shape or form. Hoffman played well and Dowdle once he was the starter and Zeke was benched was one of the top back in the game. It is pure laziness and fear.

Second round comes, again, great player and I wont even harp on this pick, but the reason he was picked is because the Cowboys thought one of the Ohio State RBs would fall to them. As soon as Henderson was picked, rumours started being floated about the Cowboys wanting to trade down. Panic at the Star apparently. More fear.

I am not mad about the draft, the picks, or the players. I am mad that this FO has shown no hunger, no will, and no risk taking to improve. They are content on staying status quo, being relevant, and blaming anyone but themselves on why this team fails year after year. Who is Dak throwing to? Who is carrying the load at RB? These questions still aren't answered and the OTAs start in 2 weeks.

I wont bother going on because its clear what I am trying to say.

Needed to vent. Thanks for listening.

An all time Zone classic.
Fantastic and accurate rant.

 

[75boyz]

As others have mentioned, great post. Agree with what you said, but I looked at this team differently sine the Garrett years . This FO holding their collective noses as they hung around the.500 mark continuously told me they weren’t interested in taking chances, calculated risks or out of the box ideas.

It all goes back to what I keep saying all these years, decisions are made based on the fact Jerry and Stephen cannot be fired. No urgency in player acquisition or player development. If it works great, if not there is always next year. And so thirty years later, they keep repeating this failed MO.

Puppet coaches and depth players come and go. The two idiots remain collecting their windfall while the team is mired in mud, wheels spinning. No end in sight.

Absolutely excellent follow up to the OP.
Totally agree.

 

[phildadon86]

Jimmy was the only HC under jerry who could make trades for players he wanted.
After Jimmy no other HC has been able to do that. Jimmy made over 50 trades !

Jimmy had a plan
Shotty has a plan
Those plans differ and shotty doesnt have the trade or FA power like Jimmy did.

There hasnt been a HC like Jimmy in the whole NFL , but there have been a few who were
as successful.
But shotty has a plan to build a certain type team and that team needs to be good at running the ball. That is the reason for drafting Booker.

Shottys past is irrelevant to me, it has no bearing at all on how good of a HC he can be.

Everyone thinks Ben Johnson is going to be a great HC and make chicago great in year one !
But I think while it is possible, he is overrated due to the talent he had at Detroit.
Some dc's and oc's are overrated due to the talent they have, like the SF DC who became the Jets
HC and then flopped badly.

Just because your a good OC, doesnt mean you will be a good HC, as it is 2 different type jobs.
Being a good OC doesnt make you a good HC.
Being a good HC requires different skills and abilitys than any of the other coaching positions, and that why so many guys fail at HC, is they dont have those skills.

Shotty has said he wasnt ready to be a HC earlier in is career, but now thinks he is, so I think he
understands more now, and that is more important than skins on the wall.

So you think he has a plan. He has said he does.

Yet. The RB room is trash, and if the focus is running the ball there has to be a threat to pass, which other than lamb. There isn’t.

You bring up that just because you’re a good OC or DC doesn’t mean you’ll be a good HC. I agree.

But what happens when you’re not a good OC either? Do you realize this guy hasn’t even had a top ten offense in his career?

I’m all for saying let’s wait and see, but he’s got over a decade of failure at the OC position. He fell upwards due to a lack of willingness to get uncomfortable from the FO. Which is what this entire thread was about. This HC search reminded me of moneyball when Brad Pitt fires the head scout, goes down the hall and asks some random kid if he has experience in baseball and he replies “I played a little tee ball as a kid” and Pitt says “you’re the new head scout”.

 

[stiletto]

I have given myself time to calm down after the draft. After constant battles on here with people who had great opinions but didn't understand why I really was so down on the draft. That is probably my fault for not being able to communicate why I am so angry with this team.

This all goes back to the Green Bay loss for me. That is when my fandom changed. I used to sit here and defend Dak, this FO, and almost every player on the team. After watching what seemed like the biggest failure by a Dallas Cowboys team in recent memory, I took a step back and evaluated what is really going on. That's when it clicked for me. This team refuses to take the necessary risks to improve.

This started after the Brandon Carr signing. This team has not signed a FA to big money since then. At least not a notable name. Heck, Dante Fowler (who played on this team already) is the first FA to get more than 6 million from this team in how many years?

I digress.

Lets get back to the Green Bay debacle.

What most if not all teams would have done in that situation, is clean house. McCarthy had NO BUSINESS staying on another year after the team failed to show up, at home, against a 7 seed and got boat raced out of their own stadium. Instead of doing what was necessary, this team stuck with the HC. Fine. Yet they did absolutely nothing to improve the team for him. They sandbagged him just to prove a point? It is nonsensical how that transpired. Then they leave CeeDee sitting at home until the end of training camp, make the fan base think they are moving on from Dak, just to steal the headlines the day of the season starting. More of the same of "we like our guys" instead of letting Dak go find a new team and drafting a QB this year or next. (Risk aversion)

Then comes the disaster that was last season. They blame injuries, dont bring the coach back (after denying the request of the Bears to speak with him) and decide to start over. Ok good.

But wait, now the laziness creeps in. They bring in a few other guys to satisfy a certain rule, and then walk down the hallway and interview the OC who was in charge of one of the worst performing offenses in football last season.

They announce a guy with no HC experience, spin it to be a great idea, and bobs your uncle.

How does this make sense? You are the Dallas Cowboys. Was 10 years of Garrett learning on the job not enough?

So cue the new head coach coming in changing "the culture" with a smashmouth approach to running the football. Ok. Thats refreshing. Now FA starts and they sign Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams. Ok fine, I will wait until the draft and see what happens.

Now here comes the trifecta of a bad front office.

Lazy, risk averse, and fear all took place on day one of the draft. I don't care what anyone says, drafting another OL in the first round was foolish, lazy, and reeked of "we don't want to mess this up".

I am sick of hearing that players are reaches. If you drafted Hampton, or Golden, or Ebuka, or or or at 12 and it was your guy, who cares. He turns out to be a star you look like a genius, he doesnt, you look like you dont know what you are doing (no one believes you do anyways) so why not take the chance? Instead we get Booker who while he is a fantastic player, was not a need in any way shape or form. Hoffman played well and Dowdle once he was the starter and Zeke was benched was one of the top back in the game. It is pure laziness and fear.

Second round comes, again, great player and I wont even harp on this pick, but the reason he was picked is because the Cowboys thought one of the Ohio State RBs would fall to them. As soon as Henderson was picked, rumours started being floated about the Cowboys wanting to trade down. Panic at the Star apparently. More fear.

I am not mad about the draft, the picks, or the players. I am mad that this FO has shown no hunger, no will, and no risk taking to improve. They are content on staying status quo, being relevant, and blaming anyone but themselves on why this team fails year after year. Who is Dak throwing to? Who is carrying the load at RB? These questions still aren't answered and the OTAs start in 2 weeks.

I wont bother going on because its clear what I am trying to say.

Needed to vent. Thanks for listening.

Agree with nearly all of your rant. Polly-Anna's will call it "negative" but generally it is just REALITY. A new season and draft always allows the pom pom's to get dusted off even after 30 years of futility and doing the same thing over and over. I don't see how our free agency or draft got us any closer to the other teams in the division. Maybe we kept up with the divide that's about it.