Fish: Byron Jones likely gets squeezed out

[erod]

They all have bad games at that position.

The NFL puts them at a huge disadvantage with all of the rules. A top 5 corner in todays NFL is going to have some bad days. That's just how it is.

But usually a top corner can manage at least one interception.

He was a product of Richard. They'll build another.

 

[stiletto]

If Byron Jones were a ballhawk, I'd be upset to see him go but he has NEVER been. 1 decent year at CB too..I don't think you give him near top CB money. No way. I would rather see that kind of money go to someone like Earl Thomas, a guy I KNOW is going to be around the football and picking them off pretty frequently. He's proven in that regard. I don't like paying guys big money in the secondary who don't create turnovers.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

He wasn't "terrible" at safety. Not top of the league, but to say he was terrible is just wrong. In early fall 2018 no other than Darren Woodson said Jones was "a very good safety for the Dallas Cowboys"

Plainly no matter what Jones did, or does, your view is that he's a terrible DB.

That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion, but that's all it is - your opinion, same as everybody else here...

Yep, in 2017 Jones was #1 in the entire league in yards per snap allowed in the slot. People that don't know that Byron has consistently been good in man coverage either aren't paying attention or football just isnt their thing.

 

[erod]

I didnt ask if he was better for the last two games of the regular season, I said for the year.

Byron can flat out cover, so what's your point?

And it's funny you bring up the Rams and Seahawks games for Byron every chance you get, yet Chido allowed more receptions and yards than Byron in the Rams game. Kinda weird.

The Seattle game was over until Byron damn near gave it away.

 

[erod]

Pro Football Focus ranked Jones the no. 5 cornerback. Awuzie wasn't rated in the top 25.

But the NFL website didn't list Jones in the top 10.

Teamrankings. com put Jones tied for 7th for passes defended, by their computation.

It depends on who you ask, but to me Jones is no worse than a top 10 cornerback. Considering his age, position versatility and stats, I'd not want to let him go unless he prices himself out of reach...

Stats are virtually meaningless. Watch the games.

There's good reason why the Cowboys don't care about Jones much. Because Richard doesn't.

 

[Stash]

If Byron Jones were a ballhawk, I'd be upset to see him go but he has NEVER been. 1 decent year at CB too..I don't think you give him near top CB money. No way. I would rather see that kind of money go to someone like Earl Thomas, a guy I KNOW is going to be around the football and picking them off pretty frequently. He's proven in that regard. I don't like paying guys big money in the secondary who don't create turnovers.

I'd give the money to Thomas before Jones as well. Thomas can cover for lesser corners, Jones can't cover for lesser safeties.

 

[mattjames2010]

Not ones that are readily available but I'll try to dig something up.

I'm just going to guess it wasn't as much of a dramatic decline as some here are suggesting, it's just that he was playing at such a high level early on that it looked worse later on when he actually gave up some plays.

 

[foofighters]

Lol I'll bite, you're saying you think Awuzie was better than Byron last year?

Teams stayed away from Byron's side most of the year. Then, if I am not mistaken, he got more looks at the season and he wasn't that great.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Teams stayed away from Byron's side most of the year. Then, if I am not mistaken, he got more looks at the season and he wasn't that great.

Yes, teams stayed away from him because of his tight coverage. Idk how this answers my question on who the best cornerback was last year though.

 

[foofighters]

Yes, teams stayed away from him because of his tight coverage. Idk how this answers my question on who the best cornerback was last year though.

Exactly the point, did he do enough to distinguish himself as the best? Awuzie made some very good strides at the end of the season after being targeted all season long.

 

[Stash]

I'm just going to guess it wasn't as much of a dramatic decline as some here are suggesting, it's just that he was playing at such a high level early on that it looked worse later on when he actually gave up some plays.

That was definitely part of it, but needless to say, he did not finish strong. I believe he gave up not one, but two touchdowns to former Broncos bust Cody Lattimer. Not Pro Bowl level stuff, to go along with zero interceptions for the year.

The fact is that when teams did start to test him later in the year, they had some success. And that's now on film and teams will be much quicker to test him in 2019. Not a lot of fear testing a guy you know won't get his hands on the ball. Worst case? Pass incomplete.

 

[mattjames2010]

That was definitely part of it, but needless to say, he did not finish strong. I believe he gave up not one, but two touchdowns to former Broncos bust Cody Lattimer. Not Pro Bowl level stuff, to go along with zero interceptions for the year.

The fact is that when teams did start to test him later in the year, they had some success. And that's now on film and teams will be much quicker to test him in 2019. Not a lot of fear testing a guy you know won't get his hands on the ball. Worst case? Pass incomplete.

Lattimer only had 1 TD last season, so it would have had to be another Giants player. I believe Brown gave up a TD against the Giants, so you might be confusing the two.

 

[ESisback]

We actually can pay all our own dudes. I know, it's hard to imagine. First time in a while we can say that, but we can do it and we don't need any fancing cap accounting structures either.

We could pay Dak, Amari, DLaw, and Byron $30million/year and still be under the cap in 2020. Haha.

Because, Byron's deal wouldn't hit the cap until next year.

Just for example, if we paid (in 2020)

Dak: 30mill
DLaw: 25mill
Amari: 20mill
Byron: 20 mill

We'd still be about $30mill under in 2020 with no other cuts, releases, etc.

Byron won't get more than $15mill a year, so it's a no brainer really. I'm not sure what this "squeezing" is all about.

We could still trim 10 mill off this list and be left with 40.

 

[Cowboysheelsreds053]

Are the cowboys poor?

Compared too the rams and egirls. YES! Thought Stephen was a cap guru, old jerrah needs to fire him and get one of there guys in here quick. It's like we are pinching pennies here.

 

[QuincyCarterEra]

Exactly the point, did he do enough to distinguish himself as the best? Awuzie made some very good strides at the end of the season after being targeted all season long.

I think less yards allowed, less receptions allowed, less yards per reception allowed, less yards per target allowed, less than half as many TDs allowed, lower catch rate allowed, lower passing rating allowed, and less separation allowed at the target would say that he easily distinguished himself as the best.

And mind you he allowed less yards, receptions, TDs all while playing the highest % of snaps of any CB in the league, and much more than Awuzie. When you play the most snaps in the league you're going to wear down eventually. If Byron were rotated like a typical elite CB he wouldn't have been as tired to end the season.

Awuzie got better towards the end of the season, I dont think anyone is arguing that, but he just had so much making up to do to catch Byron.

 

[Stash]

Lattimer only had 1 TD last season, so it would have had to be another Giants player. I believe Brown gave up a TD against the Giants, so you might be confusing the two.

I must be.

 

[eastsideboy]

Are the cowboys poor?

Salary Cap

 

[CATCH17]

But usually a top corner can manage at least one interception.

He was a product of Richard. They'll build another.

Maybe, but he was a really solid corner as a rookie too.

 

[CowboyRoy]

He wasn't "terrible" at safety. Not top of the league, but to say he was terrible is just wrong. In early fall 2018 no other than Darren Woodson said Jones was "a very good safety for the Dallas Cowboys"

Plainly no matter what Jones did, or does, your view is that he's a terrible DB.

That's fine, you're entitled to your opinion, but that's all it is - your opinion, same as everybody else here...

He wasn't a good safety. That's a fact, whether Woodson was promoting it or not.

For a first round pick, relatively, he was a complete bust until he moved to corner last year. He was an AVERAGE safety with zero ball hawking skills and below average anticipation or 6th sense.

His lack of ball hawking has followed him to the corner position. But it appears that if he is simply tasked with press coverage and focusing on one player, he covers very very well.

 

[erod]

Maybe, but he was a really solid corner as a rookie too.

He's good, but he's not worth an elite contract.

Why are we spending so much time on this though? Jones has another year before this is a decision that has to be made.