Is anyone kind of upset

[CATCH17]

Is anyone kind of upset that we let all of these quality Linebackers just walk in Free Agency and now we may have to spend a first round pick on one?


If we could've just kept Durant or Carter we'd have our guy that could play basically every position for when Lee gets hurt.


Our focus should've been getting more of a pass rush. I would argue that the pass rush up the middle was our biggest weakness last year and got us sent home against GB.

Now we're reeling and trying to find Linebackers. If we lose McClain then we're in big trouble.

 

[dwreck27]

It's called a salary cap. You've got to make smart financial deals or else we can be in cap hell.

I suggest you look into it..

 

[NorthTexan95]

Enhance your calm.

If we replace a linebacker with a high pick then it's because we want to upgrade and lower costs. If we really wanted any of those linebackers we let go for the price they got we would have signed them.

 

[DBOY3141]

I'm not.

Durant - good player, always hurt. He only played 5 games last year and we went 13-5. Not a huge loss IMO.
Carter - I'm a Tar Heel fan and love Carter, but his inconsistent play was not worth what he got paid.

 

[CATCH17]

It's called a salary cap. You've got to make smart financial deals or else we can be in cap hell.

I suggest you look into it..

Thanks for the lesson.

 

[CATCH17]

I'm not.

Durant - good player, always hurt. He only played 5 games last year and we went 13-5. Not a huge loss IMO.
Carter - I'm a Tar Heel fan and love Carter, but his inconsistent play was not worth what he got paid.

I just feel like we took a step forward with getting Hardy but we lost some quality LB's and now we're hurting at our defenses biggest strength.


Our D Line still needs work and now we need LB's as well.

Hardy buys us a little time.

Im just hoping we don't lose McClain.

 

[DBOY3141]

I just feel like we took a step forward with getting Hardy but we lost some quality LB's and now we're hurting at our defenses biggest strength.


Our D Line still needs work and now we need LB's as well.

Hardy buys us a little time.

Im just hoping we don't lose McClain.

I agree we lost some good players, but I don't think the drop off is huge. Brinkley has shown he can play in the league. Gaz is known by our LB coach who has shown he can coach up players, so I'm excited about his potential. Hitchens should get better in year 2. Any games from Lee will be a bonus and if he plays 5, he off-sets the loss of Durant.

RoMac would be good to get back and if we do, then LB's are still IMO a strength.

 

[Oh_Canada]

Easier to find linebackers in this scheme than a dominating defensive end. Carter was ridiculously inconsistent and brutally soft I won't miss him at all.

 

[Doomsday101]

I just feel like we took a step forward with getting Hardy but we lost some quality LB's and now we're hurting at our defenses biggest strength.


Our D Line still needs work and now we need LB's as well.

Hardy buys us a little time.

Im just hoping we don't lose McClain.

I agree. I was hoping to keep 2 LB (Durant or Carter) along with McClain. My hope is Dallas will be able to get a deal done with McClain if they do then these recent pickups as well as having Hitchens in the lineup along with Lee I think gives this unit a good chance at being even better than last season.

 

[sureletsrace]

Is anyone kind of upset that we let all of these quality Linebackers just walk in Free Agency and now we may have to spend a first round pick on one?


If we could've just kept Durant or Carter we'd have our guy that could play basically every position for when Lee gets hurt.


Our focus should've been getting more of a pass rush. I would argue that the pass rush up the middle was our biggest weakness last year and got us sent home against GB.

Now we're reeling and trying to find Linebackers. If we lose McClain then we're in big trouble.

I'm slightly concerned. But, they picked up Rivers, Brinkley, and Gachkar. They must feel one or more of these guys will perform close to or better than Durant and Carter.

 

[AsthmaField]

Dallas didn't want Carter, IMO. Marinelli just didn't like the guy as a player.

Durant they wanted but there was nothing special about the guy and they weren't going to pay much for him.

As for the 27th pick, if there is a good pass rusher they like there, they'll still take him. They can find LB's in later rounds that can play well in this system and they know it, IMO.

Kendricks is an option if everything else is picked over, which can happen when you're picking at the very end of the first round.

 

[tm1119]

The coaching staff took Carter off of the field as often as they could and Durant was only hurt and overrated here anyway. We already signed 3 guys + we have Lee coming back. They are already replaced as far as I'm concerned. And let's not forget Hitchens will be in true NFL shape and coached up more as well. We are just fine at LB....I really don't even want to draft 1 until at least the 3rd.

 

[Risen Star]

Am I upset that we have to replace Justin Durant in the draft?

This is a serious question?

 

[CATCH17]

Am I upset that we have to replace Justin Durant in the draft?

This is a serious question?

Durant was playing at an elite level last year.

The guy was everywhere.


Bruce Carter as well.



Im just afraid that Dallas will want the LB over the pass rusher and if we ever want to change our defense we need D Line.


Our DT's are pretty jaggy and im not sold on Lawrence at all.

 

[Idgit]

Of all the moves this offseason, I think losing Durant was the one that the team was hoping to avoid. It basically puts us down one LB.

I did like the Gachkar signing, personally.

 

[xwalker]

Is anyone kind of upset that we let all of these quality Linebackers just walk in Free Agency and now we may have to spend a first round pick on one?


If we could've just kept Durant or Carter we'd have our guy that could play basically every position for when Lee gets hurt.


Our focus should've been getting more of a pass rush. I would argue that the pass rush up the middle was our biggest weakness last year and got us sent home against GB.

Now we're reeling and trying to find Linebackers. If we lose McClain then we're in big trouble.

No.

Hitchens started over Carter last season (weeks 12 though 16). It would have been more if McClain was not injured.

Durant just can't stay healthy.

Lee and Hitchens are probably the 3 downs LBs even if McClain returns. They played in the Nickel 66% of the snaps last season. If McClain is out in the Nickel then that limits his impact.

They added multiple veteran LBs that give them great depth and most of them have rarely missed games. Brinkley is a really good 2 down LB. Gachkar is a solid backup that has starter ability. Rivers is a similar player to Durant including the injury issue, but he was signed for a veterans minimum deal. Watson is a Bruce Carter type athlete.

 

[CATCH17]

The coaching staff took Carter off of the field as often as they could and Durant was only hurt and overrated here anyway. We already signed 3 guys + we have Lee coming back. They are already replaced as far as I'm concerned. And let's not forget Hitchens will be in true NFL shape and coached up more as well. We are just fine at LB....I really don't even want to draft 1 until at least the 3rd.

They almost took Shazier last year and you look at Kendricks and the kid from Clemson and you just know the Cowboys will pull the trigger on one of those guys instead of a guy like OO.

 

[AsthmaField]

They almost took Shazier last year and you look at Kendricks and the kid from Clemson and you just know the Cowboys will pull the trigger on one of those guys instead of a guy like OO.

If OO is there and the team takes Anthony or Kendricks, it will be because they like them better than OO. They won't think, "Man, OO is going to be a great DE but we lost Durant so now we have to draft a LB".

There is a good chance there won't be a DL still available that they like at 27. If there is, they will take him and worry about LB later, IMO.

 

[Rockport]

Durants too small to play LB. It's why he's always hurt. Same with Lee. I just hope he's been doubling up on the growth hormones this offseason. Carter is not even a capable backup. So I'm not upset, im happy about it.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I'm not bothered by it. I'm not a big fan of free agency. So many factors can come into play such as injuries and the player having to get used to the coaching staff and vice versa. Lots of money to be paid for something that often times doesn't work out.

I'm more bothered by not being able to keep most of the team together. I liked Bruce Carter and Murray and was pleased with Durant's play last year. I would have rather seen them develop with us instead of a different team. But, if Carter's play had dropped off after re-signing him I wouldn't have the same fond feelings towards him or the contract.

I was actually thinking about this today...if you're making a fairly big FA signing that tells me that there is something wrong with the coaching more often than not. Perhaps it's not the HC in question and maybe the position coach. Or maybe you need to sign a big FA cornerback because you don't draft there very often because your D-Line coach stinks and they focus their draft on the D-Line.

That's what I didn't like about Zimmer, we went something like 9 first round picks in a row on defense and after a while you have to start blaming the defensive coaches for not getting more out of those picks. People will blame the GM, but if the players have first round values on them after a while the coaching staff should be getting good performance from them.

So with that, I think our coaching staff is in a good place right now. We didn't need to sign any big FA's and that indicates that we have the coaching staff for it. When Sean Lee has stayed on the field, he's been fantastic. Bruce Carter really came along incredibly well last year. Durant had his best season as a pro. The same for McClain and Hitchens played fantastic for a rookie, particularly a 4th round rookie.

That indicates to me that Matt Eberflus is a heckuva coach and I wouldn't have a problem with giving him a 1st round talent to develop.





YR