FEATURED Future of the Cowboys

[LatinMind]

You have basically indicted your entire deification of Jerry with this paragraph. Asking anyone to "infuse their will" (I'm assuming you meant impose their will) on players while not giving that person the power to enforce that request/demand is futility in and of itself. Asking if Belichek, Harbaugh, Gruden, Lovie or Reid couldn't win with this team is disingenuous since Jerry would absolutely not come close to hiring someone who would demand the power to control the roster and coaching staff.

Could these guys win with this roster? Of course they could if they had the same power here that they have now. The power to hire and fire. Without that basic power, all these guys would simply be Opie with a different face attached. I do not believe any of those coaches (who do have that power) would come into this situation without that power being given. Which is another way of saying they would not come here at all because Jerry's ego could never stand anyone other than himself having any decision making power whatsoever.

In an environment where one man makes all the decisions (regardless of how many alcoholic "drinking buddies" influence that decision), nothing can change until there is a change in that one man.


Monte Sliger

Didnt he hire Parcells?

 

[Fansince64]

Didnt he hire Parcells?

Absolutely! But you are forgetting (or more likely conveniently ignoring) the reasons WHY Jerry hired Parcells. He has admitted (in several drunken ramblings) that he only hired Bill because he was afraid if he didn't show the voters he was serious about hiring a strong head coach and making the Cowboys winners again he would not get voter's approval (and financial support, btw) for his new palace. Then he promptly went out and undermined his head coach (see Owens, Terrell) in an ego driven need to display the fact that HE was still in charge.

And don't think I don't recognize Jerry's few (and I do mean few) good decisions. Deciding to override Bill on the drafting of Ware before Spears is one example of his good decisions. The problem is his good decisions are so overwhelmed by his bad (and mostly ego driven) decisions that they are insignificant.

The most flabbergasting thing to me is how Jerry has been able to convince many people (even some of the people who hate what he has done to this team) believe he really wants to win more than anything else in the world. Wrong!!! He wants to win doing it HIS WAY. If it comes to a choice between losing doing it HIS WAY or winning doing it another way, he will choose losing every time.


Monte Sliger

 

[kiheikiwi]

Latin, your spiel about Church playing out of position at FS - I and several other posters have said the same thing. It seams almost a natural fit for him sizewise, and his skillset, big, good tackler, plays better closer to the line. Not gret speed or range, plays LBer in the dime - it's wierd that no-one (repporters etc) comment on his apparent misuse. We all agree he should be a purfect SS. So what are we missing ? The fact that they don't trust anyone else as the last line of defence ? But Church does not seem to have the speed of a FS. Its very puzzleing that we all see it but the coach's dont. Anybody hear why they are doing this ? Cause it seems like a given he should be our SS going forward.

 

[TNCowboy]

Didnt he hire Parcells?

Yes, because, as he put it, "I hired him to get this *********** stadium built."

I'm sorry, but anyone who doesn't put the lion's share of the blame on Jerry Jones is either a fool or just plain fooling themselves.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Ill start this off by saying this isnt going to be a good post for Romonites or Jerry Jones is the devil crowd. I dont like what i see in this team, but im never going to desrespect the team ive loved all my life. Me as a fan i just love watching my team play, win or lose. Doesnt make me a bad fan or a homer because i dont think this team is a joke. Now down to business.

IMO it doesnt start with Jerry, it starts with the Coaches and PLAYERS. Jerry gives his coaches what they need. In todays watered down NFL you arent going to a complete team from top to bottom. Thats why you have coaches and training staff. Players arent ready? Coaches and Staff develop the player. Vets take them players and show them the ropes in how the nfl works. As former players have said, there is a disconnect from players and coaches in Dallas. Thats telling in that theyre both just going through the motions. Or it can all just be hearsay. I go with hearsay because I wouldve heard it on Talking Cowboys. Broaddus is very honest in what goes on in VR as he just let the cat out the bag in what players are thinking and saying about Hatcher right now.

Jerry has blame in the enviroment around VR. Theres no doubt he pampers players too much. But thats just the way he's always been with his team. He treats it like a family, from HC all the way to his practice team players. Is that wrong? IDK thats subjective to the person you are i guess. I have no problem with that except in a few instances. Ratliff one is big problem i have with Jerry. There was plenty of red flags that Jerry should have been listening to his team reguarding Rat before he gave him that new contract. Even Ware came out and said Rat was disconnected from the team, being a hot head. Jerry needs to allow his coaches to their will and their direction on players. He could step back some but he wont so im not going to complain about it every day. I just hope Dallas can get a coach who is man enough to tell his players you can go to Jerry but Im the coach and what i say goes. Grow the fortitude to stand up to these players and demand the work to be put in to the way he wants it done, and not the way Jerry allows. And its clear JG doesnt have the fortitude to step up to his team like that.

Now to the Team, 2014 im guessing will be much like 2013 in terms of team. They probably wont have the cap to make any significant moves but moves that will be minor but can upgrade some spots that need to be upgraded along the depth.

I dont see how this team can restructure Romo again. Theres no doubt he will be in Dallas on the 3rd day of 2014 league season so 7.5 mil will go guaranteed to 2015 right off the bat. Not to mention his 13.5 mil base salary is already guaranteed for 2014. so basically almost 22mil of Romos 40 mil guaranteed money is paid next yr. But already are on the hook for 7.5 mil in 2015 because he will be on the team in 2014. So Romo's guaranteed money is now 47.5 mil. So you cant restructure Romo. So 2015 comes and you are now on the hook for 7.5 mil of Romos 17mil base salary along with 5 mil signing bones and 3.273 for a misc bonus im guessing work out bonus. thats almost 16 mil guaranteed money for 2015, so the homer might say just restructure right? Wait, it doesnt stop. If romo is on the team on the 3rd league day of 2015 another 7.5mil of his base salary is guaranteed. so that makes 23.273 mil of Romos 25.273 mil cap charge in 2015 guaranteed. Noway can this team handle that with contracts to Dez, Tyron and Carter coming up. So 2015 might be the yr we see Romo released. Or traded. But this is the perfect yr to draft a QB. Let him sit a yr and hand over the reins.

Veteran core of the team:
Demarcus Ware
Jason Hatcher
Jason Witten
Brandon Carr
Doug Free

Demarcus Ware, heres a guy who has been great his entire career for Dallas. But it just seems that his body has taken a dive for the worst. He no longer has that explosion or strength we saw when he was healthy. I dont want to hear about he is not right for the scheme. Type of players like Ware can play any scheme. Thats why he is great. Well was anyways. I think it would be best to send him along but I think he has one more yr in Dallas. His guaranteed money is basically split in half after 2014. So a restrucutre might be more ideal for the cap but not for the future but This is spot the Jones' have put themselves in. So it is what it is.

Jason Hatcher, now this is a guy i love. But i love the Cowboys more, hearing that teammates are growing tired of the guy going on and on about his contract is turned my opinion to whats best for the team. And selfishness is not. But i do think he deserves to be paid bigtime. It just wont happen in Dallas.

Jason Witten will be a Cowboy for life. He will get restructured and will get his money upfront. Witten personifies what being a Dallas Cowboy should be like.

Brandon Carr, Heres a guy who you just have to keep restructuring in because its just a bad contract for the cap. But he got a contract that was the going rate for a CB of his caliber in FA. Thats just something you cant control. I just think Kiffin needs to adjust his scheme and keep Carr in situations that have him posistions where he can play to his strengths. Not hang him out to dry and expose his weaknesses. Getting Claiborne back will help both Carr and Scandrick too.

Brian Waters, he was great for Mack but he will not be back.

WR core is not as fluid as we all thought they would be. But i think that has alot to do with the coaches not knowing kind of offense they want to be.

Moving forward i think the WR will not change except for Austin being shipped out at some point. DEz, TW, Beasley and Harris are going to be the core for a long time. I just cannot understand why This team refuses to put Beasley in the game. People seem to spew the same bull about Dallas needing a deep threat. Throw the ball up and let Dez come down with it....Theres your deep threat. Run slants in front of them deep safeties that teams play dallas with, and there are your 3rd down conversions.

OL im loving right now. But it has some questions moving on. Tyron is going to need to be resigned and he will be a big cap hitter trust that. One of the best LTs in football. Leary is going to improve but his knee at some point is going to start becoming a problem. Thats just reality so Dallas is not going to have the luxury to sit pat on drafting OL. Then Doug Free he's not going to be a pro bowler but he can give you a guy who can get the job done. Next yr is his last yr, he probably wont be resigned in 2015, so his replacement will be? While the OL is not a issue anymore its not a finished job, some work still needs to be done.

DL is a mess right now. But thats not jerrys fault. Nobody knew they were only going to have 1 productive player of their starting 4 that was projected. Ill start with spencer. I think he could be resigned cheap but i think he will be somewhere else just to get out of Dallas. He could end up going to a 3-4 team. Dallas has some very good backups on its roster right now bu need starters. Selvie, Wynn, Nevis, Hayden can all be good backups. I think Dallas could have its 3tech DT on the roster already in Crawford. The team was really high on his before he got hurt. Dont count him out. But i dont think they should stand pat expecting he will be up for the job. But preperation shouldnt be a problem since he was hurt early and should be ready. Dallas does need a 1 tech. Dallas needs a LE and im hoping that DE is Troy Murphy. Dallas needs to dedicate a Draft to def. Specifically DL. Dallas doesnt have a horrible group of defensive backs. Its average, but they have a group of DL who were off the streets. This wont be fixed in 1 offseason but it can be helped because theres only 1 way to go with this group and thats up. Theres no way it can get worse.

LB core is i think the group thats mismanaged the most on this team. I think even worse then WR. Kiffin has left this group out to dry from the word go. His stubborness to use the dime when most teams would most certainly do it. Leaving Carter out on a island in open space. Carter is very athletic but remember he is still a LBer and not a safety. Broddaus talked about Kiffin and Lee having a meeting and said he wouldnt be suprised if Lee was in there telling Kiffin what he sees and a change in situations for the lbers coming. Its obvious Carter isnt this bad as his play has shown he is very good player when you play him and put him in situations that are to his strengths. Hollomon has a degenerative issue with his knee so i dont think he will be in Dallas' long term future. Wilber could be a good find there but he needs to come off the field in them obvious passing situations. And thats not happening with Kiffin. He's keeping his best players on the field no matter what formation the opposing team is going with. While Wilber and Carter might be better players then the DBs Dallas has, they arent DBs. They arent designed to cover WRs as we seen too many times with Kiffins defense.

Barry Church needs to be playing SS, up on the line up scrimmage. Plain and simple. Kiffin has him in coverage and he does a decent job but he cant cover wrs either. Church when Lee was out was shifted down to play the Weak side close to the LOS and he flourished there. Lee comes back and you move Church back and there is a wreck in that def. having Church in that same posistion would be that much better having Lee next to home. The problem is you have Heath and Wilcox and neither are very good. Wilcox might be better later but he should be Church's backup. And Dallas should have a real FS back there. Behind DT and DE FS should be at the top of the list for the Cowboys.

If youre miserable because of this team this yr, i suggest you take next yr off because you are going to see much of the same in terms of players in Dallas. This is what it is, but I will say this. If Jerry pulls the plug on JG and brings in a coach like a Gruden, Lovie, Shannahan that arent affraid of management this team will be alot better.

Funny how your lecture at the beginning of the season was hope. When some suggested this was the coming results, you went to any length to correct that point of view.

But don't feel bad about it now. There are a great number of people on this site that ignore truth.

My position is you still hang on to hope that Jerry isn't calling all the shots.

And next season you will be right back to what you were espousing at the beginning of this season,.

I look forward to game day, just as you do. I just don't delude myself that roses grow out of bull manure.

 

[Risen Star]

Absolutely! But you are forgetting (or more likely conveniently ignoring) the reasons WHY Jerry hired Parcells. He has admitted (in several drunken ramblings) that he only hired Bill because he was afraid if he didn't show the voters he was serious about hiring a strong head coach and making the Cowboys winners again he would not get voter's approval (and financial support, btw) for his new palace. Then he promptly went out and undermined his head coach (see Owens, Terrell) in an ego driven need to display the fact that HE was still in charge.

And don't think I don't recognize Jerry's few (and I do mean few) good decisions. Deciding to override Bill on the drafting of Ware before Spears is one example of his good decisions. The problem is his good decisions are so overwhelmed by his bad (and mostly ego driven) decisions that they are insignificant.

The most flabbergasting thing to me is how Jerry has been able to convince many people (even some of the people who hate what he has done to this team) believe he really wants to win more than anything else in the world. Wrong!!! He wants to win doing it HIS WAY. If it comes to a choice between losing doing it HIS WAY or winning doing it another way, he will choose losing every time.


Monte Sliger

This is a tremendous post.

Jerry before the Cowboys. It's always been that way. This is why he was "miserable" during the dynasty. His description. What win at all costs owner would feel that way?

 

[LatinMind]

LatinMind

Pretty good write up. While I don't agree with all of it I do agree strongly with your section on LB's and the safeties.

Funny how your lecture at the beginning of the season was hope. When some suggested this was the coming results, you went to any length to correct that point of view.

But don't feel bad about it now. There are a great number of people on this site that ignore truth.

My position is you still hang on to hope that Jerry isn't calling all the shots.

And next season you will be right back to what you were espousing at the beginning of this season,.

I look forward to game day, just as you do. I just don't delude myself that roses grow out of bull manure.

I know what they are but i knew what the ravens were before something just clicked for them at the end of the season. And what the giants were the season before. In todays NFL you dont have to be the best team in the nfl to win the superbowl. Im not saying that the Cowboys will win the superbowl or even that they will even make the playoffs. But i wont ever give up on them until theyre out of it.

The main point of the post wasnt even to focus on Jones or Romo but i know like every thread in this forum there are certain people who will take every thread to Jerry and Romo. Thats their sole purpose to being here.

I dont think jerry calls all the shots. The guy has people he pays giving him info. Jerry and the Cowboys have put together teams that shouldve been the superbowl, as ive pointed out in 2007 and 2009. But the players failed in the playoffs. Not Jerry.

IMO there are 5 points this team needs to focus on the next couple yrs.

Reduce your cap, which does actully mean sending Romo, Ware and probably Carr on their way at some point.
Fix the DL a DT and DE should be the minimum they should add this offseason
Add a FS
Change coaches or make an adjustment to the system that take advantage of what the players they have can do.
Build your depth, with new faces and the back end of the draft. And in Dallas case UDFA because theyve had alot of success there

Its obvious this isnt going to be a easy couple yr but it is what it is.

 

[TwoDeep3]

The main point of the post wasnt even to focus on Jones or Romo but i know like every thread in this forum there are certain people who will take every thread to Jerry and Romo. Thats their sole purpose to being here.

This is part and parcel of the usual reply. Let's throw up a strawman and knock it down.

There have been no telling how many articles quoting people from Jimmy to Brandt to Switzer, to Lacewell and others that state emphatically Jerry listens to all voices, then makes the decision.

Jerry has said that himself more than I can count.

However, there are so many that read those words and somehow come away with the idea they mean something else.

Jerry is at the center of the plan making and for over a decade the results have been mediocre.

Some here say it loudly, then they are categorized and their analysis is ignored, even when it comes to fruition.

This plays out every year on this board, and still the labeling flies.

 

[65fastback2plus2]

tried to read....but op doesnt understand caps and how to maneuver with it, so i tl;dr'd