CFZ Key Questions to be answered this off-season

[Diehardblues]

Lance probably isn’t the answer, I agree. But can we also agree if we don’t try something new, why would we expect different results?

I fully realize Jerry is going to extend Dak. And I think Dak is a good QB. I have fullly supported him for the last 8 years. Most of the team’s failures are not all on him. But I also believe Jerry hangs on to guys too long. He did with Romo and he’s doing it now. It’s time to move on IMO. I think a team like Pitts that has a good team and needs a QB might be a good trade. Or even a team like Sea who has a new coach and has been searching for a QB.

The Cowboys have had only 2 starting QBs in the last 18 seasons. The 49ers have had 8 starting QBs in that same period and two of those QBs who aren’t there anymore each won an NFC championship and took them to two different SBs. Good organizations recognize when it’s time to go another direction.

Overall I’d agree with this but not sure SF is the model to follow. They’ve actually had prob one of the weaker groups of QB’s for a team in champ games and SB’s during this run . And I’m still not sold they have one of the better QB’s.

I see them as one of the greater teams this era without a great QB. And maybe why they continue churning them out. Injuries have also played a role.

I also don’t think you change just to change. But our problem is we don’t continue to draft QB’s which SF did. Some didn’t work out but they kept trying.

Especially in Cap era we should be drafting QB’s regularly. If nothing else you have trade bait. But it’s obvious why we don’t hear. Our owner doesn’t want the controversy. Cause it can prove he’s wrong. And he’d rather lose than proved wrong.

 

[Diehardblues]

All it took was a 6-week meltdown by Philthy.

And a gift from Detroit. All of a sudden after losing what should have been 3 out of 4 to close the season , fans bought into the 2 seed.

 

[ShortRound]

Jerry can’t stand to be uncomfortable. He won’t make any meaningful changes, just enough to calm the pitchforks for another year.

 

[Diehardblues]

For most of the best players playing in this league, winning a SB is worth everything. For the players who don’t feel that way I wish they would leave the Cowboys.

I’d like to believe that . And at one time that prob was true. But I’d have to believe that earning a huge contract is what most wish for more than winning a SB.

We have to remember that about 80% of NFL players still only make around minimum to 1 million a year.

These stars are fat. Set for life if they manage it. Winning a SB doesn’t set them up for life like a huge contract does.

I don’t think winning championships carry’s the same weight it used to unfortunately. Back in the day winning in playoffs , etc brought all the money and fans, endorsements, etc.

For most of these big stars it’s all about the money. Sure, winning a championship is great and gravy but I bet if you asked what was more important . Money and securing their family comes first. And they get that without winning championships.

 

[Diehardblues]

The 2024 off-season has already started for our Cowboys and there are a ton of questions that must be answered before we get any kind of feel for this team’s real prospects in 2024.

I’m sure I’m missing some, but here are the biggest questions facing the Cowboys this off-season :

1. What to do about Dak Prescott? I have supported Dak for the 8 years he’s been our starter. I still think he’s good enough to win playoff games with. BUT…I feel it’s time to move on from him. The team won’t. They are handcuffed (at least in their own thinking) by his contract and their options to cut/trade aren’t great. I would definitely seek a trade partner, roll with Trey Lance, and draft a QB early. But the team won’t do that.
2. Which of the team’s 16 FAs will keep next year? Heres the list:
   • Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, Tyler Biadaz, Jourdan Lewis, Stephon Gilmore, Dorance Armstrong, Jayron Kearse, Dante Fowler, Jonathan Hankins, Trent Sieg, Neville Gallimore, Chuma Edoga, Rico Dowdle, Sean McKeon, CJ Goodwin and Noah Igbinoghene.
   • I would let everyone go except Jourdan Lewis, Trent Sieg (deep snapper) maybe Hankins (if the money works), and perhaps Dorance Armstrong (although I seriously doubt we can afford him) Biadaz will cost too much, Gilmore will be 34 and we will have Diggs back. Fowler is a spot down pass rusher which we don’t need compared to run stuffers. Pollard will cost too much, Kearse is overrated, Tyron is good but he’s a ticking time bomb each week. I say we need to say goodbye and move Tyler Smith to LT and Bass to LG, and draft a nasty C/G.
3. Who will be the Defensive coordinator? As of today it looks like Dan Quinn which won’t be a tragedy. But whoever it is, we need to stop believing we can play small LBs and expect to stop the run. It won’t happen. Changes/upgrades are desperately needed on defense starting with major help stopping the run. (For the umpteenth year!) We especially need LBs and DL.
4. What should be our draft priorities? Watching the two championship games this past weekend made it obvious how much we need to (once again) upgrade our physicality on both sides of the ball. We desperately need some help at LB, DL, OL and RB. If it were me as GM, I would try to move Dak and draft a QB early, roll with Lance this year and try to rebuild. This FO won’t do that, but I would.
5. What will the starting backfield look like next year? I would move on from Dak, see what Lance has, draft a QB early, draft a RB on Day 2 that can start for us and sign a cheaper FA RB. This team will extend Dak I’m sure of it. And Dak isn’t as bad as too many here think. But sometime’s it’s just time to move on. I would.
6. Will this team go farther in the playoffs next year? I hope so but I do not believe so. This team will not get better until this FO can admit that we aren’t that close.

I wish this owner would allow us to rebuild instead of pretending to be “close”. To repeat a phrase I wrote in question #5, This team will not get better until it can admit that we aren’t that close. You can’t get better if you don’t start with the truth.

What about you? How would you answer these questions? Do you have more questions I didn’t have?

Naaa, we aren’t rebuilding a 12-5 team . Not this owner.

Unfortunately sir, we are as close as Jethro needs to be. But all great points about roster.

We’ll need to root for a collapse of some sort if we want a rebuild. Shoot, this is prob one of best teams he’s put together this era. Seriously.. lol

 

[Diehardblues]

I heard Bob Sturm the other day make an amazing point. Since 2006, the Cowboys have only had 2 starting QBs. That’s 2 QBs in 18 years. Once Jerry locks in that he has a QB he can win with, he won’t move on from them until it’s just beyond obvious, like it was with Romo, who had become so fragile he couldn’t take any kind of hit.

Look at this year’s NFC champions and how many QBs they have gone through since 2006:

• SF- they have had 8 starting QBs since 2006: Alex Smith, Shaun Hill, Colin K, Brian Hoyer, CJ Beathard, Jimmy Garropolo, TreyLance and Brock Purdy.

My point here is even after Colin K and Jimmy G took the niners to SBs they STILL moved on from them because they thought they could do better and we’re willing to take chances to do that. Not here.

Jethro would never move on from a QB who took him to a SB like Landry did with Morton who was a very good QB in his own right.

To SF’s credit looking at that list of QB’s it’s no wonder they have continued looking. Honestly not having a greater QB might be what prevented them from winning a championship. And might still.

 

[rambo2]

All it took was a 6-week meltdown by Philthy.

17 games is 17 games any way you slice it.

 

[Bobhaze]

17 games is 17 games any way you slice it.

What good are 17 games if it doesn’t translate to playoff success?

 

[Diehardblues]

The Cowboys need to find a eject button on Dak. It will come with pain. Other teams do it with high price players. Other teams have done is recently and were just in the playoffs. Keeping Dak's contract will hurt the team's salary cap and ability to bring in any quality FA's.

I get that some still believe Dak can deliver but I'm not one of them. It's simply time to move on. His support has eroded so much this year from the fans, teammates and now teammates family members are popping off.

He just can't win 3 games in a row to get to the super bowl. And his contract will make it even harder to field a team that can help him.

They should have after his Rookie contract or at least after first Franchise Tag. Which would have provided us ample time and money to draft or pursue another .

But don’t look for it to happen now. Not unless it collapses or he gets hurt.

This team never drafts QB’s early anymore. Maybe if we were starting over but we aren’t.

Last thing Jethro wants is a QB controversy.

 

[rambo2]

What good are 17 games if it doesn’t translate to playoff success?

It is the same for everybody. Only 1 tean made it to the Super Bowl in the NFC and they just got lucky.

 

[Diehardblues]

It is the same for everybody. Only 1 tean made it to the Super Bowl in the NFC and they just got lucky.

They got lucky getting to SB cause Dumb Dan gave it away just like he did to us.

And if Egirls don’t collapse we are prob headed to Tampa losing last 3 of 4 . I bet everyone wouldn’t have been as shocked if we lose then.

Luck does play a part. But SF was best NFC team all year. Nobody collapsed for them to win division .

And I doubt we give SF as good a game as Det or GB.

We are what we we were. A dominating team against lesser teams and inconsistent against better teams.

Only better or playoff caliber team we dominated was Egirls in the midst of their collapse.

12-6 was a good year for this roster of talent and weaknesses we have. And 3 consecutive 12 win seasons is about as good as it gets with Jethro Ball this era for Cowboy fans. They should create some tshirts. Maybe hang a banner. Go Pokes!!!

 

[Beast_from_East]

The 2024 off-season has already started for our Cowboys and there are a ton of questions that must be answered before we get any kind of feel for this team’s real prospects in 2024.

I’m sure I’m missing some, but here are the biggest questions facing the Cowboys this off-season :

1. What to do about Dak Prescott? I have supported Dak for the 8 years he’s been our starter. I still think he’s good enough to win playoff games with. BUT…I feel it’s time to move on from him. The team won’t. They are handcuffed (at least in their own thinking) by his contract and their options to cut/trade aren’t great. I would definitely seek a trade partner, roll with Trey Lance, and draft a QB early. But the team won’t do that.
2. Which of the team’s 16 FAs will keep next year? Heres the list:
   • Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, Tyler Biadaz, Jourdan Lewis, Stephon Gilmore, Dorance Armstrong, Jayron Kearse, Dante Fowler, Jonathan Hankins, Trent Sieg, Neville Gallimore, Chuma Edoga, Rico Dowdle, Sean McKeon, CJ Goodwin and Noah Igbinoghene.
   • I would let everyone go except Jourdan Lewis, Trent Sieg (deep snapper) maybe Hankins (if the money works), and perhaps Dorance Armstrong (although I seriously doubt we can afford him) Biadaz will cost too much, Gilmore will be 34 and we will have Diggs back. Fowler is a spot down pass rusher which we don’t need compared to run stuffers. Pollard will cost too much, Kearse is overrated, Tyron is good but he’s a ticking time bomb each week. I say we need to say goodbye and move Tyler Smith to LT and Bass to LG, and draft a nasty C/G.
3. Who will be the Defensive coordinator? As of today it looks like Dan Quinn which won’t be a tragedy. But whoever it is, we need to stop believing we can play small LBs and expect to stop the run. It won’t happen. Changes/upgrades are desperately needed on defense starting with major help stopping the run. (For the umpteenth year!) We especially need LBs and DL.
4. What should be our draft priorities? Watching the two championship games this past weekend made it obvious how much we need to (once again) upgrade our physicality on both sides of the ball. We desperately need some help at LB, DL, OL and RB. If it were me as GM, I would try to move Dak and draft a QB early, roll with Lance this year and try to rebuild. This FO won’t do that, but I would.
5. What will the starting backfield look like next year? I would move on from Dak, see what Lance has, draft a QB early, draft a RB on Day 2 that can start for us and sign a cheaper FA RB. This team will extend Dak I’m sure of it. And Dak isn’t as bad as too many here think. But sometime’s it’s just time to move on. I would.
6. Will this team go farther in the playoffs next year? I hope so but I do not believe so. This team will not get better until this FO can admit that we aren’t that close.

I wish this owner would allow us to rebuild instead of pretending to be “close”. To repeat a phrase I wrote in question #5, This team will not get better until it can admit that we aren’t that close. You can’t get better if you don’t start with the truth.

What about you? How would you answer these questions? Do you have more questions I didn’t have?

Great post Bob.

Jerry will not get rid of Dak and "blow up the team" and do a solid rebuild, he just is not going to do that.

Dak can probably win you 10 games which should be good enough for a playoff spot, that is all Jerry cares about is being in the playoffs and being relevant.

If the Cowboys rebuild and have a couple of 5 win seasons, then the team is not relevant in Jerry's mind. Rolling with Lance is too big of a risk, if Shanny at SF thinks Lance is a bust and traded him for a bag of peanuts, I am hesitant to believe he is a franchise QB. If you draft a dude #3 overall and turn around and trade him for a day 3 pick, that means you think he is bust.

What we honestly need to do is just nuke the roster and start from scratch. Building with high picks over multiple seasons, yes it is painful to the fans to suck for a couple of years, but you rebuild the right way. If you are drafting in the 20s every dam year, its impossible to build through the draft because all the super blue chippers are gone by then.

Just look at the playoff QBs, almost all of them were 1st round picks, and high first round picks. Obviously Purdy and Dak were execeptions, but for the most part everybody else had 1st round QBs.

AND YOUR CLOSING STATEMENT IS PERFECT....THE TEAM WILL NOT GET BETTER UNTIL THEY ADMIT WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS NOT WORKING AND CHANGE IT!!!

 

[Beast_from_East]

1. Dak is not going anywhere regardless if you like him or not. His contract is too big to cut or to trade him.
2. Tyron will be our priority, then Hankins, then either Lewis or Gillmore, most likely whomever is cheaper.
3. Dan Quinn is coming back. If someone wanted him he would have been hired already.
4. Strongly believe Center is holding back our run game. Biadaz is not a bad center, but we need someone who can consistently moving the pile without help. We don't have enough draft picks to fill our holes. So don't be surprised if/when we trade back in the first round unless someone falls in our lap. Then trade back up in the early second for one of the top 2 Centers. LB in the 3rd round. RB comes late in rounds and we get 1 in free agency. RB by committee finally comes to Dallas.
5. I believe we still win the Divison, but still not physical enough to make a deep run.

Good points bro, cant argue with any of them.

 

[Diehardblues]

Great post Bob.

Jerry will not get rid of Dak and "blow up the team" and do a solid rebuild, he just is not going to do that.

Dak can probably win you 10 games which should be good enough for a playoff spot, that is all Jerry cares about is being in the playoffs and being relevant.

If the Cowboys rebuild and have a couple of 5 win seasons, then the team is not relevant in Jerry's mind. Rolling with Lance is too big of a risk, if Shanny at SF thinks Lance is a bust and traded him for a bag of peanuts, I am hesitant to believe he is a franchise QB. If you draft a dude #3 overall and turn around and trade him for a day 3 pick, that means you think he is bust.

What we honestly need to do is just nuke the roster and start from scratch. Building with high picks over multiple seasons, yes it is painful to the fans to suck for a couple of years, but you rebuild the right way. If you are drafting in the 20s every dam year, its impossible to build through the draft because all the super blue chippers are gone by then.

Just look at the playoff QBs, almost all of them were 1st round picks, and high first round picks. Obviously Purdy and Dak were execeptions, but for the most part everybody else had 1st round QBs.

AND YOUR CLOSING STATEMENT IS PERFECT....THE TEAM WILL NOT GET BETTER UNTIL THEY ADMIT WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS NOT WORKING AND CHANGE IT!!!

Yep , right on but who has faith these bozos can build from the ground up ?

This in Jethro’s mind is prob best shape this era he’s been in since Bill left. Shoot , 3 straight 12 win seasons he can sell.

He’s doesn’t start over until he has to. Which is more like 5-12 instead of 12-5.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Yep , right on but who has faith these bozos can build from the ground up ?

This in Jethro’s mind is prob best shape this era he’s been in since Bill left. Shoot , 3 straight 12 win seasons he can sell.

He’s doesn’t start over until he has to. Which is more like 5-12 instead of 12-5.

Your right, Jerry does not see this season as a failure.

Only way Jerry will admit that changes need to be made is when the Cowboys start missing the playoffs on a regular basis.

 

[CowboyStar88]

The 2024 off-season has already started for our Cowboys and there are a ton of questions that must be answered before we get any kind of feel for this team’s real prospects in 2024.

I’m sure I’m missing some, but here are the biggest questions facing the Cowboys this off-season :

1. What to do about Dak Prescott? I have supported Dak for the 8 years he’s been our starter. I still think he’s good enough to win playoff games with. BUT…I feel it’s time to move on from him. The team won’t. They are handcuffed (at least in their own thinking) by his contract and their options to cut/trade aren’t great. I would definitely seek a trade partner, roll with Trey Lance, and draft a QB early. But the team won’t do that.
2. Which of the team’s 16 FAs will keep next year? Heres the list:
   • Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, Tyler Biadaz, Jourdan Lewis, Stephon Gilmore, Dorance Armstrong, Jayron Kearse, Dante Fowler, Jonathan Hankins, Trent Sieg, Neville Gallimore, Chuma Edoga, Rico Dowdle, Sean McKeon, CJ Goodwin and Noah Igbinoghene.
   • I would let everyone go except Jourdan Lewis, Trent Sieg (deep snapper) maybe Hankins (if the money works), and perhaps Dorance Armstrong (although I seriously doubt we can afford him) Biadaz will cost too much, Gilmore will be 34 and we will have Diggs back. Fowler is a spot down pass rusher which we don’t need compared to run stuffers. Pollard will cost too much, Kearse is overrated, Tyron is good but he’s a ticking time bomb each week. I say we need to say goodbye and move Tyler Smith to LT and Bass to LG, and draft a nasty C/G.
3. Who will be the Defensive coordinator? As of today it looks like Dan Quinn which won’t be a tragedy. But whoever it is, we need to stop believing we can play small LBs and expect to stop the run. It won’t happen. Changes/upgrades are desperately needed on defense starting with major help stopping the run. (For the umpteenth year!) We especially need LBs and DL.
4. What should be our draft priorities? Watching the two championship games this past weekend made it obvious how much we need to (once again) upgrade our physicality on both sides of the ball. We desperately need some help at LB, DL, OL and RB. If it were me as GM, I would try to move Dak and draft a QB early, roll with Lance this year and try to rebuild. This FO won’t do that, but I would.
5. What will the starting backfield look like next year? I would move on from Dak, see what Lance has, draft a QB early, draft a RB on Day 2 that can start for us and sign a cheaper FA RB. This team will extend Dak I’m sure of it. And Dak isn’t as bad as too many here think. But sometime’s it’s just time to move on. I would.
6. Will this team go farther in the playoffs next year? I hope so but I do not believe so. This team will not get better until this FO can admit that we aren’t that close.

I wish this owner would allow us to rebuild instead of pretending to be “close”. To repeat a phrase I wrote in question #5, This team will not get better until it can admit that we aren’t that close. You can’t get better if you don’t start with the truth.

What about you? How would you answer these questions? Do you have more questions I didn’t have?

They won’t move on from Dak, but at the bare minimum he should feel some competition at this stage. I’m not sure if that’s Lance or a draft pick, but I do think Lance will get an opportunity for QB2 and you take it from there.

 

[Doomsday]

Center, LB, RB, and a corner to pair with Bland and Diggs

 

[CowboyStar88]

They got lucky getting to SB cause Dumb Dan gave it away just like he did to us.

And if Egirls don’t collapse we are prob headed to Tampa losing last 3 of 4 . I bet everyone wouldn’t have been as shocked if we lose then.

Luck does play a part. But SF was best NFC team all year. Nobody collapsed for them to win division .

And I doubt we give SF as good a game as Det or GB.

We are what we we were. A dominating team against lesser teams and inconsistent against better teams.

Only better or playoff caliber team we dominated was Egirls in the midst of their collapse.

12-6 was a good year for this roster of talent and weaknesses we have. And 3 consecutive 12 win seasons is about as good as it gets with Jethro Ball this era for Cowboy fans. They should create some tshirts. Maybe hang a banner. Go Pokes!!!

Greg you nailed it. I said it earlier with the way this organization is structured and the culture it creates, all we’re gonna get is a competitive team that sells merchandise and puts butts in the seats because it keeps them relevant and keeps the money machine printing. Thats exactly what Dak does. And if they do happen to win a game or 2 in the playoffs it will be a combination of luck and timing. This organization is not built to breed that tough championship mentality.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

The 2024 off-season has already started for our Cowboys and there are a ton of questions that must be answered before we get any kind of feel for this team’s real prospects in 2024.

I’m sure I’m missing some, but here are the biggest questions facing the Cowboys this off-season :

1. What to do about Dak Prescott? I have supported Dak for the 8 years he’s been our starter. I still think he’s good enough to win playoff games with. BUT…I feel it’s time to move on from him. The team won’t. They are handcuffed (at least in their own thinking) by his contract and their options to cut/trade aren’t great. I would definitely seek a trade partner, roll with Trey Lance, and draft a QB early. But the team won’t do that.
2. Which of the team’s 16 FAs will keep next year? Heres the list:
   • Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, Tyler Biadaz, Jourdan Lewis, Stephon Gilmore, Dorance Armstrong, Jayron Kearse, Dante Fowler, Jonathan Hankins, Trent Sieg, Neville Gallimore, Chuma Edoga, Rico Dowdle, Sean McKeon, CJ Goodwin and Noah Igbinoghene.
   • I would let everyone go except Jourdan Lewis, Trent Sieg (deep snapper) maybe Hankins (if the money works), and perhaps Dorance Armstrong (although I seriously doubt we can afford him) Biadaz will cost too much, Gilmore will be 34 and we will have Diggs back. Fowler is a spot down pass rusher which we don’t need compared to run stuffers. Pollard will cost too much, Kearse is overrated, Tyron is good but he’s a ticking time bomb each week. I say we need to say goodbye and move Tyler Smith to LT and Bass to LG, and draft a nasty C/G.
3. Who will be the Defensive coordinator? As of today it looks like Dan Quinn which won’t be a tragedy. But whoever it is, we need to stop believing we can play small LBs and expect to stop the run. It won’t happen. Changes/upgrades are desperately needed on defense starting with major help stopping the run. (For the umpteenth year!) We especially need LBs and DL.
4. What should be our draft priorities? Watching the two championship games this past weekend made it obvious how much we need to (once again) upgrade our physicality on both sides of the ball. We desperately need some help at LB, DL, OL and RB. If it were me as GM, I would try to move Dak and draft a QB early, roll with Lance this year and try to rebuild. This FO won’t do that, but I would.
5. What will the starting backfield look like next year? I would move on from Dak, see what Lance has, draft a QB early, draft a RB on Day 2 that can start for us and sign a cheaper FA RB. This team will extend Dak I’m sure of it. And Dak isn’t as bad as too many here think. But sometime’s it’s just time to move on. I would.
6. Will this team go farther in the playoffs next year? I hope so but I do not believe so. This team will not get better until this FO can admit that we aren’t that close.

I wish this owner would allow us to rebuild instead of pretending to be “close”. To repeat a phrase I wrote in question #5, This team will not get better until it can admit that we aren’t that close. You can’t get better if you don’t start with the truth.

What about you? How would you answer these questions? Do you have more questions I didn’t have?

You've been a Dak enabler for 8 years?
So peculiar. You think you know somebody ...

Keep Biadaz, Kearse and Dorance.

No. 3 is the truth, chap, the truth!

No. 4. LB, DL, QB in tha order, and then in the 4th, the best kick returner in college football.

No. 5 No idea, grizzled sage, but it should include Dowdle as backup.

No. 6. We slip into the playoffs at 9-8. 1 and out with Dak. As to farther? It's an existential question in linear distance. No one thinks it, but wait for the big drop off. in 2024. Maybe 11-6 or even 9-8. We get Diggs back. But he is only one in a putrid secondary. Packers were not an anomaly, they just exploited our nonexistent front line. Others will exploit it in 2024.

Have you seen our 2024 schedule???
It is brutal! More brutal that the 4 o'clock August heat in downtown Dallas!

 

[Bobhaze]

We are what we were. A dominating team against lesser teams and inconsistent against better teams.

This is the statement we should be looking in the mirror about in order to get better. Any team is what their final results say they are. Our leaders’ continual song of “We’re close” has been sung for far too long.