CFZ Key Questions to be answered this off-season

[1942willys]

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

so speaks those that are satisfied with being relevant

 

[1942willys]

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.

I wish I could argue but I cannot

the culture and mentality of the NFL has changed over the last 20 years or so
FA is now the overwhelming fact in the NFL and money is everything to the vast majority of the players
Guys like Staubach and so on; Emitt and Troy and MIchael would have PAID to play if it had come down to it
Not many you can say that about anymore

 

[rambo2]

so speaks those that are satisfied with being relevant

Are you saying that the 49ers weren't lucky? Is it normal for a coach not to kick a field goal midway through the 3rd quarter to take a 17 point lead? Is it not luck to complete a 45 yard pass off the head of a defender after that?

 

[Diehardblues]

I wish I could argue but I cannot

the culture and mentality of the NFL has changed over the last 20 years or so
FA is now the overwhelming fact in the NFL and money is everything to the vast majority of the players
Guys like Staubach and so on; Emitt and Troy and MIchael would have PAID to play if it had come down to it
Not many you can say that about anymore

And the Salary Cap has impacted greatly as well. It’s all about cashing in on that second contract now.

The old guys played for money as well but there was more incentive for playoff success. Now playoff money is a huge pay cut . The league really needs to address increasing playoff money for players.

 

[Forneymike]

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?

If you do the first one, start trading everyone. No CD, No Micah. All free agents let go and just start signing cheap guys to tank for the next 2 to 3 years and start drafting young guys and building salary cap to make a run in 2028 or 2029 possibly. You are probably going to miss on Daks replacement and will need to go through a few guys to possibly draft the right guy

 

[Brax]

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.

Jerry won’t move on from a QB that took the team nowhere in 8 seasons with quality players around him. He wouldn’t have moved on from Romo if it wasn’t for the injury issues at the end. Let’s face it Jerry lives on hope that luck will work for him. Me Jettison Dak take the cap hit over 2 years and tell MM since you know how to win and are the QB whisper prove it this year make it work with Lance or you are history. Won’t happen because of Jerry’s narcissistic personality.

 

[rambo2]

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.

So, you actually think that they won't try to get better? They will just ignore their needs? They won't sign a running back? They won't get a better center? They won't sign and draft some linebackers?

 

[Bobhaze]

Are you saying that the 49ers weren't lucky? Is it normal for a coach not to kick a field goal midway through the 3rd quarter to take a 17 point lead? Is it not luck to complete a 45 yard pass off the head of a defender after that?

All good teams have some good luck. The difference is the niners were good enough to use their good fortune to win the NFC championship. Something the Cowboys have been unable to do for three decades. The Cowboys got some luck getting the #2 seed. But they were unable to convert that luck to anything in the playoffs.

Good teams convert whatever is needed to win. Jimmy used to say “Good teams create their own good luck”.

 

[Sandyf]

Great exercise in what could/should/will not happen this offseason. I like Dak but at some point it would be better for us and Dak to part. Of course, Dak would have to agree with the trade and to what team. Really Atlanta fits the bill the best for him and the Falcons. Problem is Jerry and Stephen, they either don't believe Lance can be the guy or blind to the fact that Dak needs more to be successful.

The OL has a few good men. Tyron Smith would be great to bring back as the swing OT not a starter so either move Tyler Smith to LT and put Bass at LG or draft a LT. At OC, you not only need a smart guy (as he makes the line calls) but a guy that is physical i.e. a guy like Kelce from Philly. Probably could get the kid from Duke or Oregon or Georgia in the 2nd round. The RB position could be good with an OL that actually opens a lane for the RB. But we need a better compliment to Lamb as no one really stepped up other than Ferguson at TE. Time to find that hidden gem to be WR2.

Defense is and has been the same thing since the last time we were in the Super Bowl. We cannot stop the run. You need a powerful DT1 and a physical MLB, not one or the other. Maybe Mazi steps up in year two, hopefully. Still you need a guy that can be the guy. Drafting one or both is always dicey and this year there is not any that stand out in the first 2 days of the draft. If we want to fix the run stop then Dallas is going to have to spend the money on top free agents like a Chris Jones and Patrick McQueen because nothing is going to change until that happens.

We have to hope that guys drafted last year like Scott actually take off in 2024 and become good players. The same goes for Overshown and Fehoko. Richards I believe did far better than expected filling in at OT.

Still, the key is going to be what we do with Dak. Forget about them releasing him, just not going to happen. They can do a restructure and move money down the road and let him walk next year but is that really a good option, not really. They could trade him if he agrees and then restructure about 6 or 7 contracts as well as sign Lamb and Parsons to new contracts and get under the cap to do some things as well as getting probably a nice haul of picks for 2024 and 2025 (Vegas has Dak worth to any team as 2 !st, 2 2nd, and a 3rd - they obviously view Dak more valuable than do most Cowboy fans) OR and the most likely thing is Jerry signs Dak to a new 5 year deal most likely at a rate of around 55 million a year.

Like it or not, this offseason is going to revolve around what the Dak decision will be!

 

[blueblood70]

Are you saying that the 49ers weren't lucky? Is it normal for a coach not to kick a field goal midway through the 3rd quarter to take a 17 point lead? Is it not luck to complete a 45 yard pass off the head of a defender after that?

You can add in the fact that how lucky can a team be to make such a bad trade up three first round picks for Trey Lance and then just trip over Brock Purdy is the last player drafted in the draft they had no idea that Purdy could run this team literally got lucky and I mean extremely lucky because the quarterback is the hardest position to fill and they just lucked out...

It does take a little luck along the way just like the Herschel Walker trade finding an idiot to do that trade it happens all over the NFL sometimes you just catch fire and they literally have kept that going making the right moves but some of their things that are happening for them is luck..

I mean just this postseason how many near interceptions has Brock Purdy had that people drop just like Trayvon diggs in 2021 or was it 2022 just dropped the one to hit him right in the hands or they have kittle bobbling the ball all the way down to the ground and nobody really gets a hand on them when Trayvon diggs just bumps them hard enough he probably doesn't make that catch that's just luck I mean go all the way back to the game deemed the catch the Cowboys had that game Danny white would have finally made it to a Super Bowl but that ball they admitted probably what he was trying to throw away got caught in the back of the end zone.. Teams need that kind of luck

and unfortunately the Cowboys have the other luck the bad luck..ugh

 

[Bobhaze]

So, you actually think that they won't try to get better? They will just ignore their needs? They won't sign a running back? They won't get a better center? They won't sign and draft some linebackers?

Sure, I think this team will try to get better. I’ve never said otherwise. The Cowboys have been pretty good drafting the last decade. They will definitely try to get better. But they won’t address their biggest problem.

The owner refuses to address the biggest problem this team has had for 3 decades - keeping himself as the centerpiece of the franchise. Jerry is not the only problem this team has. He’s just the biggest one. The winning owners of the last 28 SBs (soon to be 29) all hired someone else to run the football side of their organization. Not in Dallas.

 

[Bobhaze]

Great exercise in what could/should/will not happen this offseason. I like Dak but at some point it would be better for us and Dak to part. Of course, Dak would have to agree with the trade and to what team. Really Atlanta fits the bill the best for him and the Falcons. Problem is Jerry and Stephen, they either don't believe Lance can be the guy or blind to the fact that Dak needs more to be successful.

The OL has a few good men. Tyron Smith would be great to bring back as the swing OT not a starter so either move Tyler Smith to LT and put Bass at LG or draft a LT. At OC, you not only need a smart guy (as he makes the line calls) but a guy that is physical i.e. a guy like Kelce from Philly. Probably could get the kid from Duke or Oregon or Georgia in the 2nd round. The RB position could be good with an OL that actually opens a lane for the RB. But we need a better compliment to Lamb as no one really stepped up other than Ferguson at TE. Time to find that hidden gem to be WR2.

Defense is and has been the same thing since the last time we were in the Super Bowl. We cannot stop the run. You need a powerful DT1 and a physical MLB, not one or the other. Maybe Mazi steps up in year two, hopefully. Still you need a guy that can be the guy. Drafting one or both is always dicey and this year there is not any that stand out in the first 2 days of the draft. If we want to fix the run stop then Dallas is going to have to spend the money on top free agents like a Chris Jones and Patrick McQueen because nothing is going to change until that happens.

We have to hope that guys drafted last year like Scott actually take off in 2024 and become good players. The same goes for Overshown and Fehoko. Richards I believe did far better than expected filling in at OT.

Still, the key is going to be what we do with Dak. Forget about them releasing him, just not going to happen. They can do a restructure and move money down the road and let him walk next year but is that really a good option, not really. They could trade him if he agrees and then restructure about 6 or 7 contracts as well as sign Lamb and Parsons to new contracts and get under the cap to do some things as well as getting probably a nice haul of picks for 2024 and 2025 (Vegas has Dak worth to any team as 2 !st, 2 2nd, and a 3rd - they obviously view Dak more valuable than do most Cowboy fans) OR and the most likely thing is Jerry signs Dak to a new 5 year deal most likely at a rate of around 55 million a year.

Like it or not, this offseason is going to revolve around what the Dak decision will be!

Excellent post!

 

[rambo2]

All good teams have some good luck. The difference is the niners were good enough to use their good fortune to win the NFC championship. Something the Cowboys have been unable to do for three decades. The Cowboys got some luck getting the #2 seed. But they were unable to convert that luck to anything in the playoffs.

Good teams convert whatever is needed to win. Jimmy used to say “Good teams create their own good luck”.

The 49ers were handed the NFC championship. Did Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, and Dan Fouts not play on good teams? Were they not good? Hell yes they were good.

 

[Chasing6]

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.

So let's spend all of our cap space on our own current players and and see if we get a different outcome.

 

[MikeT22]

So, you actually think that they won't try to get better? They will just ignore their needs? They won't sign a running back? They won't get a better center? They won't sign and draft some linebackers?

Not where it matters, like GM, HC, QB.

But yeah, more guys like Jabril Cox, Damone Clark and Deuce will get us over the hump.

 

[rambo2]

Not where it matters, like GM, HC, QB.

But yeah, more guys like Jabril Cox, Damone Clark and Deuce will get us over the hump.

They might get 3 outstanding players in this draft and Overshown might turn out to be good as well.

 

[blueblood70]

So let's spend all of our cap space on our own current players and and see if we get a different outcome.

you mean the players that have earned their contracts? vs other players with big names that are going to cost you more off teams who also have not got to the promise land. BY THEMSELVES!! TEAM GAME


hmm ill take our home grown over someone Elses that they cant afford either and play musical chairs. you have to keep some of your best your can let them all go or that makes you the jets browns or other teams always far worse than us....

 

[MikeT22]

They might get 3 outstanding players in this draft and Overshown might turn out to be good as well.

They might draft 3 or 4 future HOFers just on day 3 alone!

 

[rambo2]

They might draft 3 or 4 future HOFers just on day 3 alone!

I think there is a good chance of getting something good with their 1st 3 picks.

 

[xwalker]

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?

Random thoughts:

Get 1 or 2 elite players instead of getting/keeping multiple mid-tier talent veterans.
- i.e. Rookie contract players combined with star players. Move on from the Kearse type veterans.

The best free agent RB might be 10M vs the best pass rusher or WR at 30M+.

Draft:
Over-drafting is OK. Get the player that the team really likes instead of trying to "get value".
-"See the Lions draft from last year.

The Cowboys were sold on the TE LaPorta but decided DT was a higher value position.

RBs went off the board just before their pick in rounds 2 to 4 (if I recall the rounds correctly).

They could have drafted LaPorta in the 1st and the best available RB in the 2nd.

Final Note:
-Give Trey Lance a legit chance to develop.
- Give him 1st string blockers and receivers for some preseason games.