Hulk Smash

[jday]

I am really not trying to take a personal shot here, but your dissertation is a bit shallow and myopic. It is the classic opening to state a wrong has befallen you in order to garner sympathy and then establish an archetype antagonist that has no redeeming quality. Your analysis, as you say later, can be categorized as "wanting."

For Jason Garrett, the argument is essentially - "He is not Bellichek, but he has been around football longer than you, he'll learn." That is about as lazy as it gets for supporting stance, especially when the remainder of the section details more shortcomings than strengths.

As for botching the offseason, it is pretty self evident that the FA haul did not work. Outside of David Irving,it has not worked in many years.

Their evaluation of college and the draft is irrelevant to the VFA. Paea had known knee issues, Nolan Carroll? did anyone watch his last two seasons in Philly? Does no one remember the Detroit thanksgiving game or the times he was even torched by (apparently the worst receiver in the league) Dez? Moore, I get taking a that flyer, but what areas continue to be completely undervalued that are never addressed? 1 technique and safety to start. Was Nolan Carroll really better and more of a need than Chris Baker?

I'll collapse your "Defense still sucks" section in here because the two are the same theme. For years, when playing any quality team and the defense has to make a stop, it just doesnt. Doesnt matter the personnel, doesnt matter the DC, etc. It is the story of Romo's career, and is starting to be the story of Dak's.

They draft BPA at a position of need on defense or overdrafts in hopes that they find a diamond in the rough (injury, etc). Reuban Foster was 800x the player in college that Taco was. Reuben Foster also has those intangibles a la Ray Lewis. But he was never a possibility because we had Lee and Jaylon. When you can never stop a decent QB (Stafford, Ryan, Rogers, etc) in the last few minutes and your answer after 13-3 is Jeff heath and Nolan Carroll, you dont need much hindsight. The plan is always "wait til X gets healthy, reps, experience." When it continually does not work, there is a root cause other than "bad luck" or "circumstance." The couple that back with opponents that understand weaknesses and matchups, you get game turning plays like getting gurley on a post against Kevon Frazier and D Wilson. And, again, Jeff Heath is starting for this defense.



But, I guess that was just their luck, our bad luck, serendipity, karma or whatever. Other teams improve as well, other teams know the Cowboys weaknesses. other quarterbacks try to get us subbing out in rotation for free plays. This is where tacticians are needed and the ability to affect plays and counter opponents is needed. It also not like we dont know Green Bay Oline has a hold technique - but only the Vikings know how to beat.

So at the end of the day, you are exactly what your record says - the only beef is PI and Def holding calls, those can play a role, but not as often as many believe

Good response, but I disagree.

 

[LocimusPrime]

Hattip goes to @Idgit – our recent conversation inspired the following:


I’ve been quiet as of late. The reasons for that are numerous, but I suspect the biggest contributing factor is I have allowed my general and natural apathy regarding thoughts manufactured outside of my own head to lead me towards not even bothering with trying anymore. After all, once someone adopts an agenda, it’s hard to shake it, regardless of the logic it defies or the truth it ignores. The general discussion of late has been tired, ill-informed, and lazy in its analysis. The Cowboys lose, and the consensus immediately becomes the coaches screwed up or the front office failed the offseason without even for a moment considering the possibility that when it mattered most on a handful of fateful plays, one of the eleven players donning a blue star failed to execute their assignment, as is normally the case when any team in the league loses. It happens to every team regardless of coach or front office.


In a recent conversation I had, I outlined many of the misguided commentaries; a few of those are in no particular order as follows: Jason Garrett sucks, the front office botched the offseason, Zeke wasn't worth the fourth overall pick, the Cowboys defense sucks and the Cowboys are what their record says. The following is my (wasted on most) effort to Hulk Smash these ill-conceived narratives.


Jason Garrett Sucks



I honestly think the first problem fans have with Jason is he is nothing like Bill Belichick. He is not an elite tactician, he is by no means an innovator, and he is not a risk-taker, though he does rubberstamp the occasional few and far between calculated risk, such as the fake punt from the shade of the Cowboys own goal post dialed up against the Eagles last year when down by double-digits.


My issue with this stance against Jason is the fact that there is only one Bill Belichick, and firing Garret certainly doesn’t change that; it’s not like we can trust the front office to find a Bill Belichick clone following Garrett’s dismissal. My second issue with this approach to Jason-hate is that as great as Bill is, he doesn’t win the Super Bowl every year which means there is more than one way to skin a cat.


I’m not saying Jason is above reproach. However, I would recommend caution in your criticisms. Jason has lived, breathed, and consumed football his entire life; name an informed fan, analyst, so-called expert not presently employed by the NFL and I feel pretty confident Garrett knows more than they do…a lot more. My own personal issue with Garrett stems from the fact that I think he can play it a little too safe at times (e.g. cutting better players to maintain the services of Kellen while grooming Cooper, seemingly taken the foot off the offensive pedal when nursing a double-digit lead, valuing experience at times over natural God-given youthful ability). But like all humans, I also think he is capable of learning from his mistakes, so patience on our part is key.


The Front Office Botched the Offseason



I have to say, of all the threads being devoted to false-premises, this one is quite possibly the most annoying given the lack of logic deployed in its wake. The Cowboys release Nolan Carroll, Stephen Paea retires, and the Cowboys shortly thereafter release Demontre Moore and the general assumption is the Cowboys do not know how to evaluate talent. They should have known Jourdan Lewis would outplay Carroll thereby negating Nolan’s necessity on the 53. They should have known Stephen would retire mid-season. They should have known Demontre Moore would get in trouble off the field again prompting his release.


With the loss of all 3 priority free agents, a narrative was born that the Cowboys don’t know how to evaluate football players. Seriously? They might not be all that great at predicting the future – I’ll concede that with ease considering that no front office is – but evaluating talent just might be one of their strong suits considering the league at large. That offensive line, which is still one of the best in the league, is for the most part homegrown, as is the majority of the team. That speaks volumes to their ability to identify and acquire talent. Every fan should be so lucky to have a front office nailing talent acquisition like the Cowboys have over the past 5 or 6 years.


The other side of this criticism is the assertion that the Cowboys are not willing to over-spend for talent. From my point of view, that’s a compliment. People look at players such as Calais Campbell, lamenting “we could have had him and, as a result, the best passrush in the league!” One, again are front office cannot be held accountable for their inability to predict what Calais would do (or not do) now at the ripe age of 31 after getting paid and two, the Cowboys may not be able to look with 20/20 at the future, but they can certainly look backwards at all the times over-paying for free agents bit them in the butt…and I suspect they wisely do so every time a scout, coach, or member of the front office pounds the table for their free agent pet cat.



Zeke was not worth the Fourth Overall Pick



I get it. This gripe I fully understand. When hidden-gem players like Kareem Hunt, for instance, arise from obscurity and take the NFL by storm, fans have a tendency to wonder why the Cowboys would waste such a high pick on a player they could potentially find later in the draft. After all, running backs simply don’t last that long playing in the NFL and generally speaking, keeping them beyond a 5 year contract is either cap restrictive or quite simply stupid due to the poor odds of them finishing that second contract at the same level of productivity they displayed at the end of their first contract. Like I said…I get it.


Having said that, Zeke is a special case. In my opinion, Zeke is a generational talent. While he may not be the best at any one thing a running back might be asked to do, there isn’t a single thing you might ask him to do that he doesn’t do better than most. Having a running back that can do everything well is a huge advantage for an offensive coordinator. It means he doesn’t have to tip his hand in regards to what he wants to do; he can keep the opposing defensive coordinator and by extension the defensive players guessing when it matters most.


There is no exact science in drafting and there certainly isn’t a reliable method to determine why certain players hit the ground running in the NFL regardless of draft positions while the majority does not. In other words, Kareem Hunt’s are not in every draft…though, admittedly, it happens enough to warrant the discussion. The problem with that line of thinking is that typically when people say you can find running backs later they site the few examples out of the thousands that never amounted to anything in the NFL. In other words, for every Kareem Hunt there are 10 to 15 running backs that do a whole lot of nothing in every draft. Therein is the risk on waiting on a position of need, which running back absolutely was for the Cowboys in 2016.


So, when you identify a talent such as Zeke and you know all that he is capable of doing with the football, particularly behind a line such as Dallas, you take him and you don’t even consider thinking twice. If your logic is grounded in the fact that Zeke is having legal problems and may be one suspension away from a lifetime NFL banishment, I can only point out that this issue stems from a situation that occurred after he was drafted, and we can’t fault the front office for not knowing the future…once again.


The Cowboys Defense still Sucks



For years now, this has been a partial truth; it simply isn’t anymore. I say “partial truth” because the Cowboys at various times have had the dogs to compete on that side of the ball but due to overwhelming poor luck on the health front, from one week to the next, the defensive coordinator has had to put a squad on the field complete with duct tape and 550 cord hoping they can slow the opposition down enough for the Cowboys offense to pull out a win.


A recent stat emerged displaying the difference in point/yards allowed when Lee has been healthy versus when he has not been. Many asked “is Lee really that important to the Cowboys defense?” The answer to that question is both “yes” and “no.” Lee is a stud…no arguing that. As both a leader and a student of the game who constantly watches film, his contribution is huge. He makes the calls. He make sure players are in the correct position. And his instincts typically puts him in the frame of every tackle the Cowboys record when he is on the field. His contribution is huge and it is clearly noticeable when he is not on the field.


That said, his importance is further supported by the fact that the linebacker position, in general, is a ridiculously important position to Marinelli’s scheme. In Marinelli’s scheme, the dl is typically charged with the responsibility of attacking 1 gap, dependent on the play called. It is the linebacker’s job to quickly diagnose the play and fill the unmanned gaps…ideally for a loss, but within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage is typically acceptable, dependent on the situation.


With Hitchens and Lee on the sideline, Jaylon Smith, in particular, continuously allowed the action to come to him as opposed to reacting and meeting it at the hole and/or, took poor angles to the ball on designed outside runs. This led to an unacceptable amount of 5 and 6 yard runs allowed by the Cowboys defense in the Packers and Rams games this season, which I believe, is the predominant reason the Cowboys ended up losing those games.


To be clear, I’m not saying the Cowboys defense is great or dominant right now…they still have their warts…I’ll even name two of their warts: Heath and Youth. But I do think they are much better than what the national media and many Cowboys fans are willing to give them credit for. For starters, for the first time since Ware’s prime the Cowboys have a passrush…and it could potentially become the best passrush we’ve seen since the 90’s considering the Cowboys just might have two War Daddy’s in Tank Lawrence and David Irving. Secondly, the now infamous youth movement that was kicked off with a bang this past offseason has exhibited flashes of potential excellence.


Jourdan Lewis has been as advertised. He is even garnering consideration for one of the better defensive backs taken in the draft this year. Xavier Woods has also flashed, though his opportunities have been few and far between, the fact that as a safety they have been able to plug him in as a corner in his first year as an NFL player speaks volume to his football acumen and overall athleticism. Chidobe has been hampered by nagging injuries, but he too has demonstrated the ability to explode to the ball carrier and make sound textbook wrap-up tackles.


Albeit Taco has done a whole lot of nothing, but I’ve been saying since we drafted the guy he was going to need a year or two (like Demarcus Lawrence did) to scratch the surface of his potential; in a manner of speaking, he was a futures pick. For context, Aaron Donald only managed 5 sacks in his first season and that was rightfully considered elite. And so you understand, I’m not saying Taco is the next Donald; I’m merely pointing out that for defensive lineman, in general, the expectations should be tempered in their first year.


If the Cowboys can survive the upcoming stretch of brutal games, this defense very well could be great by season end….when it matters most. It will require luck on the health front and continued development of the youth, but a top 10 defense in the closing quarter of the season is not outside of the realms of possibility for this unit.



Bill Parcells



The Tuna is responsible for this movement. Without fail, just about any time an analyst claims a team is better than what their record suggest, someone will utter the quote: “The great Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says you are!” I think it is important we place that quote in the proper context. Bill Parcells was a Head Coach. Line one of your job description as the Head Coach is to keep your players grounded regardless of wins and losses. As a Head Coach, you don’t want your players to get too low following losses and yet, alternatively, you don’t want them overly-celebrating wins unless said win is the only win that really matters: A Championship!


Everything Parcells ever said to the media, he said with the understanding that his players would either read it for themselves, see it quoted while watching sport center, or hear about it from friends and family. As a result, he tailored his responses with that in mind. That quote was for the players…not the fans. As fans we are free to project what we think a team can be all we like. As a player your best bet is to keep your focus on the next game and the next game only.


The truth is, often times, a team is what their circumstances allows them to be. There is no question in my mind that in many of the early dismissals from the playoffs the Cowboys have suffered over the past few years, the better team did not always win that day…circumstances trumped performance. Circumstance dictates the ball bounce, the weather, the injuries, the attitude of players and their subsequent performance on that day, the missed penalty calls and the mistaken penalty calls, and, of course, the infamous was it or wasn’t it a catch (it totally was a catch, okay?). Circumstances for the Cowboys of the last several years has been a vindictive Mother-in-law.


The fact that analyst and fans of late have been throwing around about our beloved Cowboys is that in 2017 they have only won against teams with losing records and have lost against the teams with winning records. That is a fact…I’m not ignoring or dismissing it. The question is how much weight should we allow that fact to carry?


Are they the 8 & 8 team their record suggest or should they be viewed as a team on the rise? Had they merely squeaked past the 49ers, I would completely understand the sentiment that this team is still on the outside looking in. But the Cowboys man-handled the 49ers to the tune of 40 to 10, the 49ers lone touchdown coming in garbage time well after the game was out of reach. The Cowboys did what good teams do to bad teams; they did not play down to the competition…they dominated their competition. Therein, in my opinion, is a huge difference.


For starters, the real Zeke finally stood up. Granted, he had good showings against both the Rams and the Packers, but clearly the Cowboys underwent some self-evaluation during the bi-week, assessing their strengths and weaknesses subsequently subtracting plays that were not working and implementing more of what has worked. The end result was an absolute thrashing of the 49ers.


Secondly, the defense got healthy. With the return of Hitchens and Lee, the difference was significant. Lee and Hitchens combined to absolutely shut down everything the 49ers wanted to do on the ground, which led to more passing on the 49ers part and more sacks on the Cowboys part.


Lastly, youth has been served. The Cowboys coaches have gradually increased the snaps of young players who have earned the reps. As the season progresses, look for this trend to continue and pay dividends (particularly when it means Heath is not on the field).


Transversely, with the return of Hitchens and Lee, the Cowboys were able to decrease Jaylon’s snaps which has improved his ability to have an impact on the game as evidenced by his sack strip against the 49ers this past weekend. With a return to the Cowboys coaches ideal scenario where they can bring players along slowly, we should see a week to week improvement in the defense overall.


Wrap it Up



The Cowboys are not out of the woods (so-to-speak) yet. I can admit that. The Commanders (despite their many injuries) still represent a huge challenge for the Boys. Like the Cowboys, the Commanders have flashed on both sides of the ball, exhibiting an ability to move the ball both on the ground and through the air and have demonstrated an ability to get after the opposing quarterback and shut down the run.


In this divisional contest, a win by even 1 point should absolutely be considered acceptable because the Commanders offensively can be a challenge for any defense in the NFL, particularly with their TE duo of Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis and the run-after-the-catch ability of WR Jamison Crowder and RB Chris Thompson. The play these Skins run that scares me the most is their screen game. Given how aggressive the Cowboys have been up front this season, I suspect getting the ball to their playmakers in space will be a big part of the Commanders gameplan going into Sunday.


On the defensive side of the ball, I am expecting them to attempt duplicating the coverage blueprint the Broncos made successful earlier this year. They’ll put their best on an island with Dez and attempt to take away Witten and Beasley underneath and between the hash marks on the back end, while crowding the box to discourage/shut down the Cowboys ground game. Linehan will have to be clever in his play calling and Dak will have to trust their gameplan and the ol to execute.


The last thing as a fan you want to hear from Dak on Sunday is “kill, kill, kill,” because that could potentially mean they are allowing the defense to dictate what the offense subsequently does. When you hear that, bad things have a tendency to happen. I respect Dak’s ability to diagnose defenses presnap but a part of me does wonder if at the moment the opposing defense hear’s those fateful words they don’t also “kill, kill, kill” whatever their alignment says they are about to do….something to watch for.


Thoughts?

Is this available on audio? Jk bro. Good stuff plus you incorporated Hulk smash. 1000 likes

 

[LocimusPrime]

How did you write all that without using the word "bro" once bro?

 

[TheDude]

Good response, but I disagree.

It was never in doubt that you would

 

[jday]

How did you write all that without using the word "bro" once bro?

Masterful restraint.

 

[Verdict]

I did say my response reflects the tone in return. "Taking issue" with something that ain't that serious, just seemed over the top, so I responded over the top...


This is fun for me...but I have a dark sense of humor, so I'm not for everybody.

Much like coach Parcells, and me. When I met my current girlfriend I told her, "I'm not for every woman". Lol

 

[jday]

It was never in doubt that you would

I may respond in detail later but I'm on my cellphone now and don't feel like climbing the stairs to get to my PC.

 

[TheDude]

I may respond in detail later but I'm on my cellphone now and don't feel like climbing the stairs to get to my PC.

Going to a movie, I will look for it tomorrow at some point

 

[robbieruff]

Hattip goes to @Idgit – our recent conversation inspired the following:


I’ve been quiet as of late. The reasons for that are numerous, but I suspect the biggest contributing factor is I have allowed my general and natural apathy regarding thoughts manufactured outside of my own head to lead me towards not even bothering with trying anymore. After all, once someone adopts an agenda, it’s hard to shake it, regardless of the logic it defies or the truth it ignores. The general discussion of late has been tired, ill-informed, and lazy in its analysis. The Cowboys lose, and the consensus immediately becomes the coaches screwed up or the front office failed the offseason without even for a moment considering the possibility that when it mattered most on a handful of fateful plays, one of the eleven players donning a blue star failed to execute their assignment, as is normally the case when any team in the league loses. It happens to every team regardless of coach or front office.


In a recent conversation I had, I outlined many of the misguided commentaries; a few of those are in no particular order as follows: Jason Garrett sucks, the front office botched the offseason, Zeke wasn't worth the fourth overall pick, the Cowboys defense sucks and the Cowboys are what their record says. The following is my (wasted on most) effort to Hulk Smash these ill-conceived narratives.


Jason Garrett Sucks



I honestly think the first problem fans have with Jason is he is nothing like Bill Belichick. He is not an elite tactician, he is by no means an innovator, and he is not a risk-taker, though he does rubberstamp the occasional few and far between calculated risk, such as the fake punt from the shade of the Cowboys own goal post dialed up against the Eagles last year when down by double-digits.


My issue with this stance against Jason is the fact that there is only one Bill Belichick, and firing Garret certainly doesn’t change that; it’s not like we can trust the front office to find a Bill Belichick clone following Garrett’s dismissal. My second issue with this approach to Jason-hate is that as great as Bill is, he doesn’t win the Super Bowl every year which means there is more than one way to skin a cat.


I’m not saying Jason is above reproach. However, I would recommend caution in your criticisms. Jason has lived, breathed, and consumed football his entire life; name an informed fan, analyst, so-called expert not presently employed by the NFL and I feel pretty confident Garrett knows more than they do…a lot more. My own personal issue with Garrett stems from the fact that I think he can play it a little too safe at times (e.g. cutting better players to maintain the services of Kellen while grooming Cooper, seemingly taken the foot off the offensive pedal when nursing a double-digit lead, valuing experience at times over natural God-given youthful ability). But like all humans, I also think he is capable of learning from his mistakes, so patience on our part is key.


The Front Office Botched the Offseason



I have to say, of all the threads being devoted to false-premises, this one is quite possibly the most annoying given the lack of logic deployed in its wake. The Cowboys release Nolan Carroll, Stephen Paea retires, and the Cowboys shortly thereafter release Demontre Moore and the general assumption is the Cowboys do not know how to evaluate talent. They should have known Jourdan Lewis would outplay Carroll thereby negating Nolan’s necessity on the 53. They should have known Stephen would retire mid-season. They should have known Demontre Moore would get in trouble off the field again prompting his release.


With the loss of all 3 priority free agents, a narrative was born that the Cowboys don’t know how to evaluate football players. Seriously? They might not be all that great at predicting the future – I’ll concede that with ease considering that no front office is – but evaluating talent just might be one of their strong suits considering the league at large. That offensive line, which is still one of the best in the league, is for the most part homegrown, as is the majority of the team. That speaks volumes to their ability to identify and acquire talent. Every fan should be so lucky to have a front office nailing talent acquisition like the Cowboys have over the past 5 or 6 years.


The other side of this criticism is the assertion that the Cowboys are not willing to over-spend for talent. From my point of view, that’s a compliment. People look at players such as Calais Campbell, lamenting “we could have had him and, as a result, the best passrush in the league!” One, again are front office cannot be held accountable for their inability to predict what Calais would do (or not do) now at the ripe age of 31 after getting paid and two, the Cowboys may not be able to look with 20/20 at the future, but they can certainly look backwards at all the times over-paying for free agents bit them in the butt…and I suspect they wisely do so every time a scout, coach, or member of the front office pounds the table for their free agent pet cat.



Zeke was not worth the Fourth Overall Pick



I get it. This gripe I fully understand. When hidden-gem players like Kareem Hunt, for instance, arise from obscurity and take the NFL by storm, fans have a tendency to wonder why the Cowboys would waste such a high pick on a player they could potentially find later in the draft. After all, running backs simply don’t last that long playing in the NFL and generally speaking, keeping them beyond a 5 year contract is either cap restrictive or quite simply stupid due to the poor odds of them finishing that second contract at the same level of productivity they displayed at the end of their first contract. Like I said…I get it.


Having said that, Zeke is a special case. In my opinion, Zeke is a generational talent. While he may not be the best at any one thing a running back might be asked to do, there isn’t a single thing you might ask him to do that he doesn’t do better than most. Having a running back that can do everything well is a huge advantage for an offensive coordinator. It means he doesn’t have to tip his hand in regards to what he wants to do; he can keep the opposing defensive coordinator and by extension the defensive players guessing when it matters most.


There is no exact science in drafting and there certainly isn’t a reliable method to determine why certain players hit the ground running in the NFL regardless of draft positions while the majority does not. In other words, Kareem Hunt’s are not in every draft…though, admittedly, it happens enough to warrant the discussion. The problem with that line of thinking is that typically when people say you can find running backs later they site the few examples out of the thousands that never amounted to anything in the NFL. In other words, for every Kareem Hunt there are 10 to 15 running backs that do a whole lot of nothing in every draft. Therein is the risk on waiting on a position of need, which running back absolutely was for the Cowboys in 2016.


So, when you identify a talent such as Zeke and you know all that he is capable of doing with the football, particularly behind a line such as Dallas, you take him and you don’t even consider thinking twice. If your logic is grounded in the fact that Zeke is having legal problems and may be one suspension away from a lifetime NFL banishment, I can only point out that this issue stems from a situation that occurred after he was drafted, and we can’t fault the front office for not knowing the future…once again.


The Cowboys Defense still Sucks



For years now, this has been a partial truth; it simply isn’t anymore. I say “partial truth” because the Cowboys at various times have had the dogs to compete on that side of the ball but due to overwhelming poor luck on the health front, from one week to the next, the defensive coordinator has had to put a squad on the field complete with duct tape and 550 cord hoping they can slow the opposition down enough for the Cowboys offense to pull out a win.


A recent stat emerged displaying the difference in point/yards allowed when Lee has been healthy versus when he has not been. Many asked “is Lee really that important to the Cowboys defense?” The answer to that question is both “yes” and “no.” Lee is a stud…no arguing that. As both a leader and a student of the game who constantly watches film, his contribution is huge. He makes the calls. He make sure players are in the correct position. And his instincts typically puts him in the frame of every tackle the Cowboys record when he is on the field. His contribution is huge and it is clearly noticeable when he is not on the field.


That said, his importance is further supported by the fact that the linebacker position, in general, is a ridiculously important position to Marinelli’s scheme. In Marinelli’s scheme, the dl is typically charged with the responsibility of attacking 1 gap, dependent on the play called. It is the linebacker’s job to quickly diagnose the play and fill the unmanned gaps…ideally for a loss, but within 2 yards of the line of scrimmage is typically acceptable, dependent on the situation.


With Hitchens and Lee on the sideline, Jaylon Smith, in particular, continuously allowed the action to come to him as opposed to reacting and meeting it at the hole and/or, took poor angles to the ball on designed outside runs. This led to an unacceptable amount of 5 and 6 yard runs allowed by the Cowboys defense in the Packers and Rams games this season, which I believe, is the predominant reason the Cowboys ended up losing those games.


To be clear, I’m not saying the Cowboys defense is great or dominant right now…they still have their warts…I’ll even name two of their warts: Heath and Youth. But I do think they are much better than what the national media and many Cowboys fans are willing to give them credit for. For starters, for the first time since Ware’s prime the Cowboys have a passrush…and it could potentially become the best passrush we’ve seen since the 90’s considering the Cowboys just might have two War Daddy’s in Tank Lawrence and David Irving. Secondly, the now infamous youth movement that was kicked off with a bang this past offseason has exhibited flashes of potential excellence.


Jourdan Lewis has been as advertised. He is even garnering consideration for one of the better defensive backs taken in the draft this year. Xavier Woods has also flashed, though his opportunities have been few and far between, the fact that as a safety they have been able to plug him in as a corner in his first year as an NFL player speaks volume to his football acumen and overall athleticism. Chidobe has been hampered by nagging injuries, but he too has demonstrated the ability to explode to the ball carrier and make sound textbook wrap-up tackles.


Albeit Taco has done a whole lot of nothing, but I’ve been saying since we drafted the guy he was going to need a year or two (like Demarcus Lawrence did) to scratch the surface of his potential; in a manner of speaking, he was a futures pick. For context, Aaron Donald only managed 5 sacks in his first season and that was rightfully considered elite. And so you understand, I’m not saying Taco is the next Donald; I’m merely pointing out that for defensive lineman, in general, the expectations should be tempered in their first year.


If the Cowboys can survive the upcoming stretch of brutal games, this defense very well could be great by season end….when it matters most. It will require luck on the health front and continued development of the youth, but a top 10 defense in the closing quarter of the season is not outside of the realms of possibility for this unit.



Bill Parcells



The Tuna is responsible for this movement. Without fail, just about any time an analyst claims a team is better than what their record suggest, someone will utter the quote: “The great Bill Parcells once said you are what your record says you are!” I think it is important we place that quote in the proper context. Bill Parcells was a Head Coach. Line one of your job description as the Head Coach is to keep your players grounded regardless of wins and losses. As a Head Coach, you don’t want your players to get too low following losses and yet, alternatively, you don’t want them overly-celebrating wins unless said win is the only win that really matters: A Championship!


Everything Parcells ever said to the media, he said with the understanding that his players would either read it for themselves, see it quoted while watching sport center, or hear about it from friends and family. As a result, he tailored his responses with that in mind. That quote was for the players…not the fans. As fans we are free to project what we think a team can be all we like. As a player your best bet is to keep your focus on the next game and the next game only.


The truth is, often times, a team is what their circumstances allows them to be. There is no question in my mind that in many of the early dismissals from the playoffs the Cowboys have suffered over the past few years, the better team did not always win that day…circumstances trumped performance. Circumstance dictates the ball bounce, the weather, the injuries, the attitude of players and their subsequent performance on that day, the missed penalty calls and the mistaken penalty calls, and, of course, the infamous was it or wasn’t it a catch (it totally was a catch, okay?). Circumstances for the Cowboys of the last several years has been a vindictive Mother-in-law.


The fact that analyst and fans of late have been throwing around about our beloved Cowboys is that in 2017 they have only won against teams with losing records and have lost against the teams with winning records. That is a fact…I’m not ignoring or dismissing it. The question is how much weight should we allow that fact to carry?


Are they the 8 & 8 team their record suggest or should they be viewed as a team on the rise? Had they merely squeaked past the 49ers, I would completely understand the sentiment that this team is still on the outside looking in. But the Cowboys man-handled the 49ers to the tune of 40 to 10, the 49ers lone touchdown coming in garbage time well after the game was out of reach. The Cowboys did what good teams do to bad teams; they did not play down to the competition…they dominated their competition. Therein, in my opinion, is a huge difference.


For starters, the real Zeke finally stood up. Granted, he had good showings against both the Rams and the Packers, but clearly the Cowboys underwent some self-evaluation during the bi-week, assessing their strengths and weaknesses subsequently subtracting plays that were not working and implementing more of what has worked. The end result was an absolute thrashing of the 49ers.


Secondly, the defense got healthy. With the return of Hitchens and Lee, the difference was significant. Lee and Hitchens combined to absolutely shut down everything the 49ers wanted to do on the ground, which led to more passing on the 49ers part and more sacks on the Cowboys part.


Lastly, youth has been served. The Cowboys coaches have gradually increased the snaps of young players who have earned the reps. As the season progresses, look for this trend to continue and pay dividends (particularly when it means Heath is not on the field).

Thoughts?

Always enjoy getting your thots my man. I won’t respond to all, but here’s my issue with the off-season approach. I don’t think anyone would say that the deliberate “bargain” or value approach has been a bad thing in rebuilding the roster over the past several years. Drafting and retaining our best players and sprinkling in some solid FA additions at reasonable rates. Much of that was out of necessity and some of it was smart football. We got good value and solid efforts out of several players that way - albeit often resulting in unspectacular play. You know the usual suspects so I won’t drop a list but I’m sure u follow my point. However, when you start to move from build mode to win now mode, which I would argue is where we were coming out of last season and perhaps even 2014, then the off season posture needs to make a big shift. Granted, 2014’s cap situation was such that our options were quite limited - tho we did do the Hardy gamble which blew up in our faces, exacerbated by the 2015 Injuries. I think we overreacted from the Greg Hardy debacle, causing us to be way too passive this past off season. It was tantamount to passing on Moss way back when because Michael went off the reservation...we let one set of less than ideal circumstances dictate another poor decision, compounding our problems. We seem to let the Hangover of the Hardy decision unnecessarily limit our need to get aggressive after going 13-3. In my mind that’s the time u spring into action and go all in. You push when the card count is in your favor. You don’t go into a conservative shell playin with scared money - which is what we did IMO. I’d have respected some balls with perhaps some flame outs then to go meekly out as it appears we’ve done. Circumstances dictated a bold approach...not a stay the course mentality. 13-3 with the conference up for grabs (and a low cost starting QB situation) is an opportunity not to be missed!!!

 

[jday]

Actually I think you are a bit modest. I thought it was a solid analysis. Keep up the good work.

I appreciate it, but this was a bit of a rush job and after rereading it a handful of times I realize I didn't necessarily nail down every topic quite like I intended; particularly the Garrett doesn't suck topic...that could have used more meat on the bone. I might do a part 2 just to answer the various rebuttals it yielded... tomorrow maybe...

 

[JoeKing]

"Hulk Smash" is the name of my fantasy football team.

 

[Montanalo]

Jday, where the heck have you been? I've missed your musing of late but am glad to see you back to your best!

With regard to the front office, I have two thoughts: first, whether you call it bargain basement shopping or money ball, I much prefer the more recent approach to free agent signings than the past. How many Toy Williams (the receiver) do we have to sign before realizing this is not a good approach. Now, maybe if it resulted in a deep playoff run or, dare I say, a SB, maybe we would all be singing a different tune.

Second, I am glad to see the team cut bait with under-performing players, whether FA's or draft picks. About time we stop perpetuating the myth of job security for "life"

 

[Alexander]

Re: Botched off-season: We whiffed on a bunch of VFAs that we signed to smallish contracts because we knew there was a likelihood of whiffing on them.

So, we signed veterans that we knew could possibly wash out to cheap contracts as part of some clever design with a parachute built in?

I don't believe for one second they felt that they would swing and miss on every single one.

If not, then that is the most ridiculous team building strategy there is. You sign players to get better. Regardless of how cheap they are or fit your budget, nobody in their right mind would shell out even small amounts of money for projects they knew had a high chance of failure. I know it stings to think about it, but they evaluated the talent poorly.

The reality is we got below average talent at contracts that were somewhat of a compromise. In other words, what we offered them was about what they should have expected given their mediocre talent and age.

We got exactly what we paid for. Maybe even a little less since none of them are around any more.

 

[Stash]

So, we signed veterans that we knew could possibly wash out to cheap contracts as part of some clever design with a parachute built in?

I don't believe for one second they felt that they would swing and miss on every single one.

There's always an out for this team. No matter how bad they actually did, some fans will twist and contort things in an effort to make it looks "less bad". Some fans feel obligated to minimize anything and everything this team does wrong. It's never a "big deal" when it goes wrong, only when it goes right.

If not, then that is the most ridiculous team building strategy there is. You sign players to get better. Regardless of how cheap they are or fit your budget, nobody in their right mind would shell out even small amounts of money for projects they knew had a high chance of failure. I know it stings to think about it, but they evaluated the talent poorly.

The reality is we got below average talent at contracts that were somewhat of a compromise. In other words, what we offered them was about what they should have expected given their mediocre talent and age.

We got exactly what we paid for. Maybe even a little less since none of them are around any more.

Now you can expect somebody to jump to the "we're not breaking the bank in free agency" position, even though nobody called for it. That's the other extreme they jump to.

The fact is that it has little to nothing to do with the cost and everything to do with failed evaluation.

Nolan Carroll got $4 million for one game!

And some fans have the nerve to try to say that cutting him was part of some plan? Because Jourdan Lewis played well? Any "plan" that includes wasting $4 million sucks, no two ways about it.

And in terms of "get what you pay for". Claiborne is playing for $5 million with the Jets.

Easy math - for those who apparently struggle with it - says $5 million - $4 million = $1 million. So for $1 million in cap space, you could have kept the guy who knows your system, and despite a poor injury history, would have given you better play, and much more of it. There's not much less you could get than what they got from Carroll.

And for $1 million over that, you could have kept Carr, who got $6 million from the Ravens. That's a difference of $2 million, and the difference between two guys who know your system, and one who doesn't. Two guys who are playing, and the mistake you chose who isn't. And he still isn't. Can you believe that nobody has "scooped up" Nolan Carroll yet?

And that's just one, we can also go into the choice between Cedric Thornton and Stephen Paea vs keeping the player you had and who knew your system in Terrell McClain. Those numbers weren't much different either.

Not only are they failing to evaluate outside talent, they're failing to properly judge inside talent too.

And whatever failed system they have in place, and whoever is involved in that failure, needs to change.

 

[jday]

Jday, where the heck have you been? I've missed your musing of late but am glad to see you back to your best!

With regard to the front office, I have two thoughts: first, whether you call it bargain basement shopping or money ball, I much prefer the more recent approach to free agent signings than the past. How many Toy Williams (the receiver) do we have to sign before realizing this is not a good approach. Now, maybe if it resulted in a deep playoff run or, dare I say, a SB, maybe we would all be singing a different tune.

Second, I am glad to see the team cut bait with under-performing players, whether FA's or draft picks. About time we stop perpetuating the myth of job security for "life"

If there was a theme to this whole thing, you alluded to it above. To put it more succinctly, life with every coach from Jimmy to now should have conditioned us to love the current regime; the front office, the coaches, and the roster. This is my favorite iteration of the Cowboys since the early nineties. Unfortunately, people forget what overspending in FA typically yielded. They forget the failed HC experiments that happened every time from Jimmy to Jason. They forget the wheeling'n'dealing Jerry that tried to buy a Superbowl year after year.

It's like some people want their Starbucks just so and if it's slightly off they a throw a fit. In life, you have to learn to accept the good with the bad particularly if you at least see they are headed in the right direction.

To me, that's our Cowboys; it hasn't been perfect... mistakes have been made; but that team I believe wholeheartedly is on the cusp of greatness.

Thanks for the kudos and taking the time to read!

 

[Alexander]

Not only are they failing to evaluate outside talent, they're failing to properly judge inside talent too.

And whatever failed system they have in place, and whoever is involved in that failure, needs to change.

Proper self evaluation is half the battle in personnel acquisition. If not more.

If you don't think you need anything, you get "depth" signings like these that do nothing to improve the team.

You have to know what you are before you go about the business of improvement.

Sayings like "the roster is set" and "we like what we have" are what holds this team back nearly as much as not being able to evaluate outside talent. Which, by the way, per Stephen Jones, "is really hard".

 

[Stash]

Proper self evaluation is half the battle in personnel acquisition. If not more.

I just hope that the Cowboys do a better job of it than some of their fans do. Too many subscribe to the "remain calm, all I see well" mantra, even when things are clearly bad.

If you don't think you need anything, you get "depth" signings like these that do nothing to improve the team.

Their decisions didn't simply "not improve", they got markedly worse at each and every one of them. And that's why the offseason was such a big failure. Every choice they had to make was the wrong one. Every one not only not improving the team, but worsening it. From Carroll, to Thornton, to Paea, to Moore, to Heath, to even Taco (thus far) in the draft. Every one of them has been a lesser contributor than the player they replaced.

You have to know what you are before you go about the business of improvement.

Clearly, whatever they're doing in this area right now isn't working.

Sayings like "the roster is set" and "we like what we have" are what holds this team back nearly as much as not being able to evaluate outside talent. Which, by the way, per Stephen Jones, "is really hard".

Based on their decisions? It looks "really hard" for them. Impossible, in fact.

 

[visionary]

Let me simplify it

Garrett does suck
They did botch the off season
Zeke was worth the 4th overall pick
BP should not be mentioned in the same post as Garrett

Verbosity is the opposite of intellect in a lot of instances

 

[SlammedZero]

Jday!! Nice work!!! I can appreciate a solid body of work. I may not show it on this site but I can throw down some writing as well, so, long posts like that never bother me. Great post!

 

[CCBoy]

You don't like it, kiss my.........just kidding! Lol, Salud, my friend.