Is Stephen Jones a "Football Guy?"

[Illini88228]

So how do you explain the bad contracts and cap problems we've had recently?

The cap that he said was so easy to manage.

Some of the contracts were just bad choices. Every team in the league makes mistakes. But, I don't remember the team ever not getting someone because they couldn't afford them.

I also don't remember him saying it was easy to manage. He responded to a question about what things in his background helped with his current job by saying that his education as an engineer helped with the math involved in working with the cap.

 

[Risen Star]

Excuse me but haven't the front office been criticized for that exact thing... handing out terrible contracts (MB3, T-new, Hamlin ect) and being in trouble with the cap?

How is that doing a great job?

Because he's a Cowboys fan.

As for the football guy thing - to me a true football guy (or almost any other trade) is a guy that maybe started out as a ball player then went into coaching or right into being a scout and worked his way up - thats "making your bones" IMO those types make the better GMs.

Yeah. Seems reasonable to think the pool of guys who worked their way up the scouting world and earned promotions on merit would be a better field of GM candidates to choose from than guys related to the owner.

 

[nyc-cowboy]

Some of the contracts were just bad choices. Every team in the league makes mistakes. But, I don't remember the team ever not getting someone because they couldn't afford them.

I also don't remember him saying it was easy to manage. He responded to a question about what things in his background helped with his current job by saying that his education as an engineer helped with the math involved in working with the cap.

Well he's had a pretty good amount of bad choices - enough of those gets you fired......

Oh My bad, his dad is the boss.... ; )

As far as not being able to afford players, were we not pretty quiet the last couple of years, (obviously not counting this last off season) and is not like they make an announcement every time they see a player go to another team and decided not to outbid for them so we really don't know the answer to that question.

 

[Risen Star]

Some of the contracts were just bad choices. Every team in the league makes mistakes.

I don't have the stats but I'd venture to guess few teams have had more dead cap space over the years than the Cowboys.

But, I don't remember the team ever not getting someone because they couldn't afford them.

You must have missed last spring. When the team couldn't do anything thanks to Stephen's fine work with the cap.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

He did absolutely nothing to earn those rings.

That's some clear desperation to even mention it.

He was a part of it. No matter how much you aggrandize yourself thinking that you could do a better job, you cannot just take that away from him.

Even if he was off drooling in the corner somewhere while Jimmy was there, he was still there and part of those teams. He broke his NFL teeth in that environment.

Never mind what Jimmy or any of the other coaches say about him. I mean how petty can you get?

 

[Risen Star]

He was a part of it. No matter how much you aggrandize yourself thinking that you could do a better job, you cannot just take that away from him.

Even if he was off drooling in the corner somewhere while Jimmy was there, he was still there and part of those teams. He broke his NFL teeth in that environment.

Never mind what Jimmy or any of the other coaches say about him. I mean how petty can you get?

So, it counts even though he had no part whatsoever in building those teams. But he was in the building and we're really desperate fans trying to find the right shade of lipstick for this pig.

Gotcha.

 

[nyc-cowboy]

^^^^THIS



I think the biggest argument against him is that another team wouldn't hire him. I think that's a bunch of BS. Guys with 25 years of Front office experience don't grow on trees. Would he have been hired by another team 25 years ago? No. Would a team hire him now? Heck Yes. People learn from their successes and failures and he has had a front row seat in a classroom that has witnessed the building of 3 Superbowl teams as well as the building of 3 straight 5 and 11 Teams. He saw fresh faced kids like Aikmen, Irvin, and Smith develop into hall of famers, while others like Quincy Carter let their 2 cent heads lead themselves to oblivion. How is this not as valuable as spending 10 years in your station wagon driving from the Comfort Inn in Iowa City to the Super 8 in Madison to the Best Western in Ann Arbor and back to Ames Iowa.

Let me play devil's advocate and ask the $64,000 question - if Jerry and SJ have all this experience and knowledge and have "seen it all" then how do we go from:

2007 - we have a core of young players with a young franchise QB, we go 13-3, have a bunch of Pro Bowlers AND have -not one- but 2 first round picks for the upcoming draft and from that we go:

2008 - 9-7 - miss the playoffs
2009 - 11-5 - one playoff win
2010 - 6-10 - started the year 1-7, missed playoffs
2011 - 8-8 - missed playoffs

Surely all that experience would have produced a bit better results......

Maybe doin it the old fashion way and spending time in that station wagon driving to that Comfort Inn is the better way to go... just throwing it out there...

 

[Illini88228]

I don't have the stats but I'd venture to guess few teams have had more dead cap space over the years than the Cowboys.



You must have missed last spring. When the team couldn't do anything thanks to Stephen's fine work with the cap.

They paid a price for gearing up for a run from 07-09, every team in the league is affected by the cap some years. That's hardly cap hell.

On a more general note, how do you possibly enjoy being a Cowboys fan? The Jones family has been in charge for over 20 years, and judging by the 15 year old in the war room, they will be in charge for at least two more generations. If the Jones family is so intolerable to you, why don't you find a team with an owner you don't despise? You're setting yourself up for decades of frustration and disappointment.

 

[Risen Star]

Guys with 23 years of Front office experience don't grow on trees because in the typical sane NFL city, you must perform to hold that position. So 23 years would mean something.

In Dallas, all Stephen had to accomplish to retain his position was have the ability to breathe the last 23 years.

 

[Risen Star]

They paid a price for gearing up for a run from 07-09, every team in the league is affected by the cap some years. That's hardly cap hell.

On a more general note, how do you possibly enjoy being a Cowboys fan? The Jones family has been in charge for over 20 years, and judging by the 15 year old in the war room, they will be in charge for at least two more generations. If the Jones family is so intolerable to you, why don't you find a team with an owner you don't despise? You're setting yourself up for decades of frustration and disappointment.

Ah, the find another team response.

Homer handbook. Page 1, section 4.

 

[Staxxxx]

That might not be a wise bet.

Has anyone other than the Ireland/Parcells package moved on and up from the Dallas front office?

And Ireland has been more or less a disaster in Miami.

And Yet most on here who believe the Jones have no business running this franchise also believed that the recent draft success we had prior to their leaving was almost solely attributable to them and that they would continue that success in Miami.

 

[Illini88228]

Ah, the find another team response.

Homer handbook. Page 1, section 4.

I'm not being a homer. I think the team has screwed lots of stuff up. I definitely wasn't happy with the way that team from 07-09 was built. I think the implosion was pretty easily foreseeable.

I just don't understand how people like you, who not only disagree with some decisions, but fundamentally dislike the people in charge of the team enjoy being a fan. Most of your posts seem to amount to how much you dislike who they are and what they do.

I really am curious why you subject yourself to this.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Ah, the find another team response.

Homer handbook. Page 1, section 4.

:laugh1:

You make me laugh any way.

BTW, how does that new "Claiborne" jersey fit?

 

[Risen Star]

I'm not being a homer. I think the team has screwed lots of stuff up. I definitely wasn't happy with the way that team from 07-09 was built. I think the implosion was pretty easily foreseeable.

I just don't understand how people like you, who not only disagree with some decisions, but fundamentally dislike the people in charge of the team enjoy being a fan. Most of your posts seem to amount to how much you dislike who they are and what they do.

I really am curious why you subject yourself to this.

Because I'm a fan of the team. You can't shut that on and off. It is what it is.

 

[cowboy_ron]

:laugh1:

You make me laugh any way.

BTW, how does that new "Claiborne" jersey fit?

:laugh1: But you didn't say if that was laughing WITH or AT...I'm assuming the latter

 

[MichaelWinicki]

:laugh1: But you didn't say if that was laughing WITH or AT...I'm assuming the latter

Oh Risen Star is OK.

If he wasn't so high-strung about certain topics he would be downright personable.

 

[cowboy_ron]

Oh Risen Star is OK.

If he wasn't so high-strung about certain topics he would be downright personable.

Like anything positive regarding the Dallas Cowboys organization?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Like anything positive regarding the Dallas Cowboys organization?

He only wants them to win the Super Bowl every year.

I can't argue with that. :laugh1:

He's positive about Romo, Ware and Murray.

He has his moments of positiveness if you look really, really hard.

 

[Risen Star]

Oh Risen Star is OK.

If he wasn't so high-strung about certain topics he would be downright personable.

Get me off the subject of Jerry and Stephen and on to a topic like Garrett's mind and coaching ability and I'm a downright happy fan.

 

[cowboy_ron]

He only wants them to win the Super Bowl every year.

I can't argue with that. :laugh1:

He's positive about Romo, Ware and Murray.

He has his moments of positiveness if you look really, really hard.

Nothing unrealistic about that