CFZ Here's Why Those Upset and Anxious of Free Agency are Wrong

Pass2Run

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I predict the first thing many will do will come in and argue that I love Jerry Jones, or Stephen, or that I'm just too stupid to understand and wouldn't know how to build a team or know anything about football (my favorite). For that reason, I often just keep opinions like this to myself. This board is like an echo chamber, and I'm not concerned with changing that, but I think it's important to point out for those who are open-minded enough to consider.

The worst thing that you can do in free agency is be too anxious to get any player. A team should have several things in place before they are in a legitimate position to win through free agency anyway, and that is obviously best done through the draft. First, you get your quarterback. Check. Then you get your left tackle. Check. Then you solidify your skill positions. Check, check, check.

Then . . . if you want to compete for a championship in this league, you need a formidable EDGE rusher, a talented corner and a dominate linebacker. Question marks, plural, check, check,

The third phase is special teams, so you're looking for guys every year that can fit in those roles. And I'm not going to check or question mark or draw a line through anything just yet, since I cannot project with any certainty about who will play what on STs. It's just too early. But we do have the basic pieces in place to win enough as a team to get us into the regular season. If we're good enough to get into the playoffs, then it would make sense to stack this team with as many free agents and new talent acquisitions as possible.

When looking ahead at our strategy to building a championship team, we need to have a few rules in place. First, we shouldn't overpay for anyone in free agency. Free agent signings can be risky, because we may not know all the reasons a free agent isn't being resigned by their former team, etc. We may think we do, but we often find out later why they were a free agent in the first place. Dallas has overlooked this many times in the past — to their detriment. But I think they have finally learned from it.

Let's be real here for a minute. Do we really think Jerry and Stephen don't wouldn't spend the money assemble the best roster they could if all it took was money? We know they would. We have said in the past that they just don't know how to win, especially after they break the bank to sign a free agent.

Free agent signings have been some of Dallas' worst moves in the past.

Have they finally learned from it?

How does a team not overpay for a player?

They exercise patience.

The more patient we are, the less anxious we appear, the less urgent about it we act, the less likely we are to get into bidding wars with teams and agents over players.

What's the best way to get off on the right foot when you negotiate for players?

Establish a history.

If you have a history of being anxious and overpaying for your players, then that's the reputation you've built for yourself. If you don't overvalue anyone too much, as a team, then that's your reputation.

So it's important to establish a reputation. You do that by writing your own history.

On the other hand, if you can build a winning team that players want to play for, then free agency can become your friend. Did players take less to play for the Patriots for a chance to win the Super Bowl?

They sure did.

Please point out that I'm comparing the Cowboys to the Patriots, because I'm not saying that. I'm using the Patriots as an example. But it's something to strive for.

Lately, finally, Jerry and Stephen are doing the right things.

They're not letting a little success from last year get them too excited to the point they overspend.They're relaxed about signing free agents. And they're cool with laying back and letting the clock tick.

Because as time goes by, the Cowboys put themselves in a more advantageous position to do what they really want to do: fill the holes we have with as much available talent, at the lowest cost.And finally, they're doing it the right way by being patient enough to evaluate their own talent, patient enough waiting for cuts, and patient enough waiting for the market to come down.

And that's exactly what they should be doing in free agency, regardless of what the fans parrot from the talking heads. If getting the best players at the best price is the goal, the only thing for them to do is be patient about it.The trick here is balancing out their patience so that it works best for the team overall, in the end.

Not getting too anxious to overpay for one player, but being patient enough to make several key signings has proven to be the key to success in the NFL.

That, and keeping enough cap space open to sign your current core players in the future.

We've got our core players.

So right now, the name of the game is patience, evaluation, and timing with new signings.

So far, I'd say they're doing a pretty good job. It's just difficult to tell, since free agency is not yet over. And that's the part many bellyaching fans would have you forget.

(Should say About in the title, not of)
 
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Pass2Run

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The measuring stick of right and wrong, when it comes to personnel moves (or lack thereof), will be settled on the field. We shall see.

We can all agree that the make or break strategy during free agency hasn't served the Cowboys in the past, though, right?

The insanity would be repeating that same thing over and over, which is what they did. for a long time. Finally, they're changing their approach, and everyone is calling them stupid.

If they're stupid, it's only because they didn't learn to practice a little patience sooner than now.

I'll take what I'm getting right now though. Draft picks can really help, if you have the right draft personnel. And we've done good there.

Now, we have to be patient. And trust the guys we have enough to negotiate on our terms. I like how we have weak spots, but no spot too weak we can't roll with our guys rather than overpaying to upgrade it.

That's where they're doing things right, finally. That part, and being patient.

For too long the Cowboys were overly-anxious in free agency. And I'm glad they're finally taking a different approach. Regardless of how the Rams won last year.
 
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fivetwos

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We can all agree that the make or break strategy during free agency hasn't served the Cowboys in the past, though, right?

The insanity would be repeating that same thing over and over, which is what they did. for a long time. Finally, they're changing their approach, and everyone is calling them stupid.

If they're stupid, it's only because they didn't learn to practice a little patience sooner than now.

I'll take what I'm getting right now though. Draft picks can really help, if you have the right draft personnel. And we've done good there.

Now, we have to be patient. And trust the guys we have enough to negotiate on our terms. I like how we have weak spots, but no spot too weak we can't roll with our guys rather than overpaying to upgrade it.

That's where they're doing things right, finally. That part, and being patient.

For too long the Cowboys were overly-anxious in free agency. And I'm glad they're finally taking a different approach. Regardless of how the Rams won last year.
I'm curious as to what period of time it was when they were all in on free agency, and that now is different because of it?
 

Hennessy_King

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I predict the first thing many will do will come in and argue that I love Jerry Jones, or Stephen, or that I'm just too stupid to understand and wouldn't know how to build a team or know anything about football (my favorite). For that reason, I often just keep opinions like this to myself. This board is like an echo chamber, and I'm not concerned with changing that, but I think it's important to point out for those who are open-minded enough to consider.

The worst thing that you can do in free agency is be too anxious to get any player. A team should have several things in place before they are in a legitimate position to win through free agency anyway, and that is obviously best done through the draft. First, you get your quarterback. Check. Then you get your left tackle. Check. Then you solidify your skill positions. Check, check, check.

Then . . . if you want to compete for a championship in this league, you need a formidable EDGE rusher, a talented corner and a dominate linebacker. Question marks, plural, check, check,

The third phase is special teams, so you're looking for guys every year that can fit in those roles. And I'm not going to check or question mark or draw a line through anything just yet, since I cannot project with any certainty about who will play what on STs. It's just too early. But we do have the basic pieces in place to win enough as a team to get us into the regular season. If we're good enough to get into the playoffs, then it would make sense to stack this team with as many free agents and new talent acquisitions as possible.

When looking ahead at our strategy to building a championship team, we need to have a few rules in place. First, we shouldn't overpay for anyone in free agency. Free agent signings can be risky, because we may not know all the reasons a free agent isn't being resigned by their former team, etc. We may think we do, but we often find out later why they were a free agent in the first place. Dallas has overlooked this many times in the past — to their detriment. But I think they have finally learned from it.

Let's be real here for a minute. Do we really think Jerry and Stephen don't wouldn't spend the money assemble the best roster they could if all it took was money? We know they would. We have said in the past that they just don't know how to win, especially after they break the bank to sign a free agent.

Free agent signings have been some of Dallas' worst moves in the past.

Have they finally learned from it?

How does a team not overpay for a player?

They exercise patience.

The more patient we are, the less anxious we appear, the less urgent about it we act, the less likely we are to get into bidding wars with teams and agents over players.

What's the best way to get off on the right foot when you negotiate for players?

Establish a history.

If you have a history of being anxious and overpaying for your players, then that's the reputation you've built for yourself. If you don't overvalue anyone too much, as a team, then that's your reputation.

So it's important to establish a reputation. You do that by writing your own history.

On the other hand, if you can build a winning team that players want to play for, then free agency can become your friend. Did players take less to play for the Patriots for a chance to win the Super Bowl?

They sure did.

Please point out that I'm comparing the Cowboys to the Patriots, because I'm not saying that. I'm using the Patriots as an example. But it's something to strive for.

Lately, finally, Jerry and Stephen are doing the right things.

They're not letting a little success from last year get them too excited to the point they overspend.They're relaxed about signing free agents. And they're cool with laying back and letting the clock tick.

Because as time goes by, the Cowboys put themselves in a more advantageous position to do what they really want to do: fill the holes we have with as much available talent, at the lowest cost.And finally, they're doing it the right way by being patient enough to evaluate their own talent, patient enough waiting for cuts, and patient enough waiting for the market to come down.

And that's exactly what they should be doing in free agency, regardless of what the fans parrot from the talking heads. If getting the best players at the best price is the goal, the only thing for them to do is be patient about it.The trick here is balancing out their patience so that it works best for the team overall, in the end.

Not getting too anxious to overpay for one player, but being patient enough to make several key signings has proven to be the key to success in the NFL.

That, and keeping enough cap space open to sign your current core players in the future.

We've got our core players.

So right now, the name of the game is patience, evaluation, and timing with new signings.

So far, I'd say they're doing a pretty good job. It's just difficult to tell, since free agency is not yet over. And that's the part many bellyaching fans would have you forget.

(Should say About in the title, not of)
TLDNR The rams proved you and the imbecile jerry wrong.
 

john van brocklin

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I predict the first thing many will do will come in and argue that I love Jerry Jones, or Stephen, or that I'm just too stupid to understand and wouldn't know how to build a team or know anything about football (my favorite). For that reason, I often just keep opinions like this to myself. This board is like an echo chamber, and I'm not concerned with changing that, but I think it's important to point out for those who are open-minded enough to consider.

The worst thing that you can do in free agency is be too anxious to get any player. A team should have several things in place before they are in a legitimate position to win through free agency anyway, and that is obviously best done through the draft. First, you get your quarterback. Check. Then you get your left tackle. Check. Then you solidify your skill positions. Check, check, check.

Then . . . if you want to compete for a championship in this league, you need a formidable EDGE rusher, a talented corner and a dominate linebacker. Question marks, plural, check, check,

The third phase is special teams, so you're looking for guys every year that can fit in those roles. And I'm not going to check or question mark or draw a line through anything just yet, since I cannot project with any certainty about who will play what on STs. It's just too early. But we do have the basic pieces in place to win enough as a team to get us into the regular season. If we're good enough to get into the playoffs, then it would make sense to stack this team with as many free agents and new talent acquisitions as possible.

When looking ahead at our strategy to building a championship team, we need to have a few rules in place. First, we shouldn't overpay for anyone in free agency. Free agent signings can be risky, because we may not know all the reasons a free agent isn't being resigned by their former team, etc. We may think we do, but we often find out later why they were a free agent in the first place. Dallas has overlooked this many times in the past — to their detriment. But I think they have finally learned from it.

Let's be real here for a minute. Do we really think Jerry and Stephen don't wouldn't spend the money assemble the best roster they could if all it took was money? We know they would. We have said in the past that they just don't know how to win, especially after they break the bank to sign a free agent.

Free agent signings have been some of Dallas' worst moves in the past.

Have they finally learned from it?

How does a team not overpay for a player?

They exercise patience.

The more patient we are, the less anxious we appear, the less urgent about it we act, the less likely we are to get into bidding wars with teams and agents over players.

What's the best way to get off on the right foot when you negotiate for players?

Establish a history.

If you have a history of being anxious and overpaying for your players, then that's the reputation you've built for yourself. If you don't overvalue anyone too much, as a team, then that's your reputation.

So it's important to establish a reputation. You do that by writing your own history.

On the other hand, if you can build a winning team that players want to play for, then free agency can become your friend. Did players take less to play for the Patriots for a chance to win the Super Bowl?

They sure did.

Please point out that I'm comparing the Cowboys to the Patriots, because I'm not saying that. I'm using the Patriots as an example. But it's something to strive for.

Lately, finally, Jerry and Stephen are doing the right things.

They're not letting a little success from last year get them too excited to the point they overspend.They're relaxed about signing free agents. And they're cool with laying back and letting the clock tick.

Because as time goes by, the Cowboys put themselves in a more advantageous position to do what they really want to do: fill the holes we have with as much available talent, at the lowest cost.And finally, they're doing it the right way by being patient enough to evaluate their own talent, patient enough waiting for cuts, and patient enough waiting for the market to come down.

And that's exactly what they should be doing in free agency, regardless of what the fans parrot from the talking heads. If getting the best players at the best price is the goal, the only thing for them to do is be patient about it.The trick here is balancing out their patience so that it works best for the team overall, in the end.

Not getting too anxious to overpay for one player, but being patient enough to make several key signings has proven to be the key to success in the NFL.

That, and keeping enough cap space open to sign your current core players in the future.

We've got our core players.

So right now, the name of the game is patience, evaluation, and timing with new signings.

So far, I'd say they're doing a pretty good job. It's just difficult to tell, since free agency is not yet over. And that's the part many bellyaching fans would have you forget.

(Should say About in the title, not of)
I don't think you are a homer.
You just try and be positive, and nothing wrong with that.
 

Proof

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We can all agree that the make or break strategy during free agency hasn't served the Cowboys in the past, though, right?

The insanity would be repeating that same thing over and over, which is what they did. for a long time. Finally, they're changing their approach, and everyone is calling them stupid.

If they're stupid, it's only because they didn't learn to practice a little patience sooner than now.

I'll take what I'm getting right now though. Draft picks can really help, if you have the right draft personnel. And we've done good there.

Now, we have to be patient. And trust the guys we have enough to negotiate on our terms. I like how we have weak spots, but no spot too weak we can't roll with our guys rather than overpaying to upgrade it.

That's where they're doing things right, finally. That part, and being patient.

For too long the Cowboys were overly-anxious in free agency. And I'm glad they're finally taking a different approach. Regardless of how the Rams won last year.

the last time i remember them truly signing a significant free agent is brandon carr. he wasn’t what we hoped coupled with mo being a bust, and since then they’ve been overly cautious bordering on incompetency. that’s the insanity, ignoring FA and going dumpster diving. not only does it lead to a worse product on the field, but it leads to them relying far too heavily on the draft and often times painting themselves into a corner. and for what, to just sit on the money? what about their track record suggests to you that they’re being smart or that things are paying off?
 

zrinkill

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We can all agree that the make or break strategy during free agency hasn't served the Cowboys in the past, though, right?

But see ....... they have never did that ....... they always try to get by with mediocre coaches, bad GM's, project players, ect

The two best QB's we have had in the last 20 years plus, are a undrafted guy and a 4th round pick.

That is not going for broke ......... that is not Superbowl or Bust.

That is the Jerry way ....... his EGO is more important than wins and losses
 

Pass2Run

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But see ....... they have never did that ....... they always try to get by with mediocre coaches, bad GM's, project players, ect

The two best QB's we have had in the last 20 years plus, are a undrafted guy and a 4th round pick.

That is not going for broke ......... that is not Superbowl or Bust.

That is the Jerry way ....... his EGO is more important than wins and losses

Make or break is what Jerry has done in the past with trades for players like Galloway, which is the first that comes to mind. That was a long time ago, but I wouldn't say never.

There have been several other signings since then, like Greg Hardy, who undoubtedly had talent. But the Cowboys would later regret signing him due to his locker room antics.

Jerry has had some successful FA singings if we're talking Deion, during the cap era. Haley was not during the cap era, so people often mistake that as a success for Jerry when in reality the cap wasn't an issue, so it was a no-brainer.

Also, remember Ryan Leaf? Eddie George, Brandon Carr, etc.

I like that they're exercising patience.
 

AsthmaField

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I predict the first thing many will do will come in and argue that I love Jerry Jones, or Stephen, or that I'm just too stupid to understand and wouldn't know how to build a team or know anything about football (my favorite). For that reason, I often just keep opinions like this to myself. This board is like an echo chamber, and I'm not concerned with changing that, but I think it's important to point out for those who are open-minded enough to consider.

The worst thing that you can do in free agency is be too anxious to get any player. A team should have several things in place before they are in a legitimate position to win through free agency anyway, and that is obviously best done through the draft. First, you get your quarterback. Check. Then you get your left tackle. Check. Then you solidify your skill positions. Check, check, check.

Then . . . if you want to compete for a championship in this league, you need a formidable EDGE rusher, a talented corner and a dominate linebacker. Question marks, plural, check, check,

The third phase is special teams, so you're looking for guys every year that can fit in those roles. And I'm not going to check or question mark or draw a line through anything just yet, since I cannot project with any certainty about who will play what on STs. It's just too early. But we do have the basic pieces in place to win enough as a team to get us into the regular season. If we're good enough to get into the playoffs, then it would make sense to stack this team with as many free agents and new talent acquisitions as possible.

When looking ahead at our strategy to building a championship team, we need to have a few rules in place. First, we shouldn't overpay for anyone in free agency. Free agent signings can be risky, because we may not know all the reasons a free agent isn't being resigned by their former team, etc. We may think we do, but we often find out later why they were a free agent in the first place. Dallas has overlooked this many times in the past — to their detriment. But I think they have finally learned from it.

Let's be real here for a minute. Do we really think Jerry and Stephen don't wouldn't spend the money assemble the best roster they could if all it took was money? We know they would. We have said in the past that they just don't know how to win, especially after they break the bank to sign a free agent.

Free agent signings have been some of Dallas' worst moves in the past.

Have they finally learned from it?

How does a team not overpay for a player?

They exercise patience.

The more patient we are, the less anxious we appear, the less urgent about it we act, the less likely we are to get into bidding wars with teams and agents over players.

What's the best way to get off on the right foot when you negotiate for players?

Establish a history.

If you have a history of being anxious and overpaying for your players, then that's the reputation you've built for yourself. If you don't overvalue anyone too much, as a team, then that's your reputation.

So it's important to establish a reputation. You do that by writing your own history.

On the other hand, if you can build a winning team that players want to play for, then free agency can become your friend. Did players take less to play for the Patriots for a chance to win the Super Bowl?

They sure did.

Please point out that I'm comparing the Cowboys to the Patriots, because I'm not saying that. I'm using the Patriots as an example. But it's something to strive for.

Lately, finally, Jerry and Stephen are doing the right things.

They're not letting a little success from last year get them too excited to the point they overspend.They're relaxed about signing free agents. And they're cool with laying back and letting the clock tick.

Because as time goes by, the Cowboys put themselves in a more advantageous position to do what they really want to do: fill the holes we have with as much available talent, at the lowest cost.And finally, they're doing it the right way by being patient enough to evaluate their own talent, patient enough waiting for cuts, and patient enough waiting for the market to come down.

And that's exactly what they should be doing in free agency, regardless of what the fans parrot from the talking heads. If getting the best players at the best price is the goal, the only thing for them to do is be patient about it.The trick here is balancing out their patience so that it works best for the team overall, in the end.

Not getting too anxious to overpay for one player, but being patient enough to make several key signings has proven to be the key to success in the NFL.

That, and keeping enough cap space open to sign your current core players in the future.

We've got our core players.

So right now, the name of the game is patience, evaluation, and timing with new signings.

So far, I'd say they're doing a pretty good job. It's just difficult to tell, since free agency is not yet over. And that's the part many bellyaching fans would have you forget.

(Should say About in the title, not of)
I read it man, and I too don't really disagree with how they're doing it right now, though I would have probably found a way to bring in Wagner, it it were me.

Don't worry about the few who won't read a long post. Some have dyslexia or ADHD or something, I don't know. What's funny is they spend hours reading threads that have hundreds of posts yet they can't read a few paragraphs. I'm not sure why they can't.
 

zrinkill

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Make or break is what Jerry has done in the past with trades for players like Galloway, which is the first that comes to mind. That was a long time ago, but I wouldn't say never.

There have been several other signings since then, like Greg Hardy, who undoubtedly had talent. But the Cowboys would later regret signing him due to his locker room antics.

Jerry has had some successful FA singings if we're talking Deion, during the cap era. Haley was not during the cap era, so people often mistake that as a success for Jerry when in reality the cap wasn't an issue, so it was a no-brainer.

Also, remember Ryan Leaf? Eddie George, Brandon Carr, etc.

I like that they're exercising patience.

None of these things were going all in ........ none ........ not since the Troy Aikman era 25 years ago.

Greg Hardy? really? who was the QB at the time? a undrafted free agent ....... who was the coach? A guy who lasted 1 year after spending over a decade here. And most importantly who was the GM ...... cause that guy has sucked at his Job for 27 plus years.
 

Pass2Run

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I'm curious as to what period of time it was when they were all in on free agency, and that now is different because of it?

The better question is when was the last time the Cowboys had a base of key players to build around by adding a few key free agents?

We haven't been in a position as a team to have already had key players you need to win a championship, like we have now.

I'm not saying we have all the players right now. And I think we'll sign at least 2-3 more free agents before it's all said and done for 2022.

I can't say for certain that they will. But from what I see, they are trying to leverage patience to their advantage, because it gives them an edge to negotiate with players if they wait and behave like they're not overly anxious to sign them.. If they act like they need a player right now, the agent will sense that the players' demand has gone up, and will advise the player to play hardball. And that's what we should avoid.
 

Pass2Run

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I read it man, and I too don't really disagree with how they're doing it right now, though I would have probably found a way to bring in Wagner, it it were me.

Don't worry about the few who won't read a long post. Some have dyslexia or ADHD or something, I don't know. What's funny is they spend hours reading threads that have hundreds of posts yet they can't read a few paragraphs. I'm not sure why they can't.

Took me less than a minute and a half to read, maybe 5 to write..

I'm not worried about it. I wrote it long enough to say what I was trying to say.

I had to look it up. Wagner signed with the Rams (probably wants to win a SB). But the deal is 5 years $50 million with 15 million in incentives.

I agree Wagner is a great player. But wouldn't it make sense to keep that future money for Parsons?
 

Pass2Run

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None of these things were going all in ........ none ........ not since the Troy Aikman era 25 years ago.

Greg Hardy? really? who was the QB at the time? a undrafted free agent ....... who was the coach? A guy who lasted 1 year after spending over a decade here. And most importantly who was the GM ...... cause that guy has sucked at his Job for 27 plus years.

I hear you. Overall, my point about patience has to do with right now, so I probably misspoke with the make or break part. But I'm really talking about how the Cowboys tend to be anxious sometimes and get in over their heads with signing players for too much. And that right now, Cowboys are using patience to their advantage.

One, there are plenty of options for a #3 WR for instance. But it would be wise to see what we have first. Plus, there's an advantage to waiting for cuts.

And second, waiting to approach those players, and how we approach them, could impact negotiations favorably for us.

Same is true for other positions we want to upgrade.
 

John813

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I mean, they don't overpay outsiders but it's not like they get great value retaining their own

QB aside with that market bat **** crazy, they have made an emphasis to keep their own and mentioned that they only had some much pie to go around.

I won't knock them for the Lawrence deal, as he had 2 great back to back years to get that contract- and regressed a bit on the sacks.
But they blew their load on Jaylon Smith after 1 year, and still had RFA rights the following year. They re-signed Zeke to a big deal after letting their last very good RB walk and while Zeke isn't a bum he certainly hasn't been considered to live up to that deal.
Then you got Cooper which they couldn't re-sign till he flirted with Washington and was paid at the time top dollar, only to trade him for day 3 picks after something pissed them off.

QB comment aside, they blew not re-signing Dak going into his 4th year and in their amazing tactics had to pay him way more per year waiting 2 years to get the contract saga over.

So, sure, it's great they don't go stupid in FA after other teams free agents. But they easily make some bad deals over rating their own. I'm not quite set on that they know what they are doing and finally have the answer to how to build a team properly.

PS, I'm not one that wants this team to be like the Browns, Jets, Dolphins etc that throw big money to outside FAs and think that's enough to make a winner. My comment is Moreso on how this FO operates. Something tells me they would of never let Zeke or Smith leave cause they grew attached to those players and when those players showed a spark of ability they were willing to pay them top dollar.
I think signings like Barr now are good deals. The craziness has died down and you get him on a short term commitment that has no impact moving forward outside of a few mill to roll over.
 

Pass2Run

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I mean, they don't overpay outsiders but it's not like they get great value retaining their own

QB aside with that market bat **** crazy, they have made an emphasis to keep their own and mentioned that they only had some much pie to go around.

I won't knock them for the Lawrence deal, as he had 2 great back to back years to get that contract- and regressed a bit on the sacks.
But they blew their load on Jaylon Smith after 1 year, and still had RFA rights the following year. They re-signed Zeke to a big deal after letting their last very good RB walk and while Zeke isn't a bum he certainly hasn't been considered to live up to that deal.
Then you got Cooper which they couldn't re-sign till he flirted with Washington and was paid at the time top dollar, only to trade him for day 3 picks after something pissed them off.

QB comment aside, they blew not re-signing Dak going into his 4th year and in their amazing tactics had to pay him way more per year waiting 2 years to get the contract saga over.

So, sure, it's great they don't go stupid in FA after other teams free agents. But they easily make some bad deals over rating their own. I'm not quite set on that they know what they are doing and finally have the answer to how to build a team properly.

PS, I'm not one that wants this team to be like the Browns, Jets, Dolphins etc that throw big money to outside FAs and think that's enough to make a winner. My comment is Moreso on how this FO operates. Something tells me they would of never let Zeke or Smith leave cause they grew attached to those players and when those players showed a spark of ability they were willing to pay them top dollar.
I think signings like Barr now are good deals. The craziness has died down and you get him on a short term commitment that has no impact moving forward outside of a few mill to roll over.

I'm not saying I believe they finally have the answer. Just that they're finally being patient given the roster that they have now. The current roster is part of why I'm saying what I'm saying.

We have weak spots, for sure. But they're not so weak we have to kill the team's future to upgrade at any one in particular.

I also like how they're really trying to focus on the defense. We haven't had that in a long time.

I know you weren't, but if we're talking about signing free agents now, at least give us a reply like AsthmaField, and state who for how much.. Otherwise, just wanting to sign a free agent now, any free agent, at any price, just seems short-sighted.

Free agency isn't over yet, but the Barr deal and the other contracts we've had with players like Washington make a lot of sense cap-wise. And I can't complain about that.
 
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