How do we avoid another giant whiff in free agency?

[ABQCOWBOY]

What younger guys outplayed Thornton? Shoot, Paea was our starting 1 Tech and that DT spot wasn't loaded with stud youngsters. We eventually had to move Collins from the 3 Tech to the 1 Tech because we had holes there.

Thornton was not a good signing. And yes, I thought it was. I was wrong.

What exactly were your expectations of Thornton?

Lets just do some review here. I never said anybody outplayed him. I said, a similar level of production from younger guys. Don't waste my time by putting words in my mouth.

Thornton was signed in 2016 to a 4 year, 18 million dollar deal but only 6 million of it was fully guaranteed. The Cowboys had Collins and McClain. Thornton was a guy who played in that rotation for a year. I don't think he played poorly, he just wasn't head and shoulders better then those other guys in 2016. The contract was actually a good one and the Front Office did an excellent job there. I mean, I hear you talking about it being a poor signing but thats just not true. Was actually very good, very smart..

 

[unionjack8]

if you watched this team closely last year, you knew This team was not close enough defensively and certainly not one players away and it was evident by this years play and record!,

So dontari poe on a 1 year deal wouldn't have helped more than paea?
And to me that is no excuse to not make your roster better.....ANYTIME you get the chance you shoukd take it ....

 

[CATCH17]

Fire and replace Will McClay?

Fire and replace his staff?

Both?

Discuss.

Im a McClay fan.

Our team has pretty good talent and we do a good job in the draft.

We skip out in FA but I think that's more of a Stephen Jones philosophy.

Our problem is our offensive and defensive scheme.

 

[aikemirv]

Jacksonville signed 3 starters in FA who all looked really good imo. You're very rarely missing just one part in free agency, you have to be aggressive in improving the team, something we refuse to do.

What was Jax cap space before they signed them? I really don't think that is a fair comparison but I may be wrong.

 

[Sydla]

What exactly were your expectations of Thornton?

Lets just do some review here. I never said anybody outplayed him. I said, a similar level of production from younger guys. Don't waste my time by putting words in my mouth.

Thornton was signed in 2016 to a 4 year, 18 million dollar deal but only 6 million of it was fully guaranteed. The Cowboys had Collins and McClain. Thornton was a guy who played in that rotation for a year. I don't think he played poorly, he just wasn't head and shoulders better then those other guys in 2016. The contract was actually a good one and the Front Office did an excellent job there. I mean, I hear you talking about it being a poor signing but thats just not true. Was actually very good, very smart..

It's a stretch that people are acting like Maliek Collins made Thornton expendable. No he didn't. Collins was the starting 3 Tech and Thornton was to be the primary backup at both the 1 Tech and 3 Tech this season heading into camp. However, they cut Thornton and immediately brought in Brian Price to replace him. Collins only ended up at the 1 Tech because Paea retired and then Price got hurt and they were then desperate for someone to play the 1 Tech. So no, it wasn't like the Cowboys cut Thornton because what they had was cheaper and better. They actually picked a guy up off waivers to take his spot because they only had two other DTs on the 53 man roster.

It's always the simplest answer. They weren't get out of him what they wanted so they cut him and took a cap hit and then turned around and brought in a backup from GB to replace him on the roster.

So no, it wasn't a really smart and very good signing. It was a typical recent Cowboys signing....... one that doesn't really work out like they wanted.

FWIW, I have no issues with Price. He's a solid backup. But they need to get a real 1 Tech in here like a Logan or Poe or even use a higher round pick for one.

 

[Sydla]

What was Jax cap space before they signed them? I really don't think that is a fair comparison but I may be wrong.

I don't think he's saying we should have signed all those guys, maybe I am wrong. I think his larger point is that it's wrong that people float this notion that FA can't help you get better and be a contender.

 

[conner01]

Will has done a fine job over the past few years. While most will call his last FA haul a whiff, he didn't cripple us either.

It’s a huge difference in whiffing on a one year contract on a depth player and a long term contract on a projected starter
When you shop at Kmart you gonna get some crap
That’s discounted shopping

 

[lostar2009]

By leaving scrubs like Nolan Carroll a lone.

 

[SportsGuru80]

We do not overspend in free agency. I want us to keep our own smh.

 

[Sydla]

We do not overspend in free agency. I want us to keep our own smh.

Who said anything about overspending?

This gets trotted out a ton when the FA debate comes up. Certainly, there are a few who scream about going out and spending a crap ton of money on the top FAs. Who's the guy who always posts here in February and March about how they can create $60MM in cap space and should spend it on the Top 3 FAs?

A majority of people who express disappointment in how they handle FA are looking for the Cowboys to address some needs by looking at these mid-tier guys and guys who can be had for very team friendly deals. So no, don't spend $13MM a year on a DT, but when a guy like Bennie Logan gets like $7MM for one year, that's a pretty smart deal the Cowboys should have looked at. It also takes some of the pressure off of having to nail every draft every season to fill all your holes.

There is a wide chasm here between blowing your cap space on the tip top free agents and waiting for chum like Nolan Carroll to surface.

 

[ABQcowboyJR]

It’s a huge difference in whiffing on a one year contract on a depth player and a long term contract on a projected starter
When you shop at Kmart you gonna get some crap
That’s discounted shopping

I believe the cowboys only discount shop in FA.

 

[Sandyf]

Fire and replace Will McClay?

Fire and replace his staff?

Both?

Discuss.

Mine as well forget any big name free agents because Stephen Jones said it again that they don't believe in paying high $$ for those guys. We can expect Dallas to sign guys in the 2nd or 3rd week of free agents where Stephen and Jerry believe they get just as good a player for less $$.

 

[conner01]

I believe the cowboys only discount shop in FA.

They prefer to pay their own and there is some logic to paying the player you know as opposed to the one they don’t
They have no issue paying the guys they draft for the most part

 

[The Natural]

I don't think he's saying we should have signed all those guys, maybe I am wrong. I think his larger point is that it's wrong that people float this notion that FA can't help you get better and be a contender.

thank you.

 

[cmoney23]

Fire and replace Will McClay?

Fire and replace his staff?

Both?

Discuss.

Is this a Joke?
Do you even know what Will McClay does here?

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

Either get a quality FA or don't. Don't shoot for budget deals.

 

[reddyuta]

We really had an awful off season and it contributed for us missing the playoffs, we will have the same results if we continue to go after jags.

 

[xwalker]

What exactly were your expectations of Thornton?

Lets just do some review here. I never said anybody outplayed him. I said, a similar level of production from younger guys. Don't waste my time by putting words in my mouth.

Thornton was signed in 2016 to a 4 year, 18 million dollar deal but only 6 million of it was fully guaranteed. The Cowboys had Collins and McClain. Thornton was a guy who played in that rotation for a year. I don't think he played poorly, he just wasn't head and shoulders better then those other guys in 2016. The contract was actually a good one and the Front Office did an excellent job there. I mean, I hear you talking about it being a poor signing but thats just not true. Was actually very good, very smart..

Thorton was worth signing based on his performance with the Eagles; although, he was a 3-4 DE not a 4-3 DT there.

He failed here. He looked like he lost weight and Stephen's comment after he was cut gave me the impression that he was a problem in some way.

It's not that big of an issue for 1-year, 6M but they should have known in March of 2017 that he was not going to be part of the team in 2017 at which point they should have signed more than just Paea with his problem knee.

 

[_sturt_]

Who said anything about overspending?

This gets trotted out a ton when the FA debate comes up. Certainly, there are a few who scream about going out and spending a crap ton of money on the top FAs. Who's the guy who always posts here in February and March about how they can create $60MM in cap space and should spend it on the Top 3 FAs?

A majority of people who express disappointment in how they handle FA are looking for the Cowboys to address some needs by looking at these mid-tier guys and guys who can be had for very team friendly deals. So no, don't spend $13MM a year on a DT, but when a guy like Bennie Logan gets like $7MM for one year, that's a pretty smart deal the Cowboys should have looked at. It also takes some of the pressure off of having to nail every draft every season to fill all your holes.

There is a wide chasm here between blowing your cap space on the tip top free agents and waiting for chum like Nolan Carroll to surface.

 

[joseephuss]

Many of the big name free agents signed in 2017 were not impressive and their teams are sitting at home for the playoffs.