Video: NBC Sports-NFL offseason examination:Dallas Cowboys are built to win now

[Flamma]

Even with the much tougher schedule?

Schedule doesn't matter to teams that are among the best competing for a championship. It only matters to teams that need help. Besides, Dallas plays the AFC East. I can only hope that 3 of those games don't dumb the Cowboys down too much.

 

[Alexander]

Dallas made it to the divisional round last year.

Off the top of my head I cant think of anyone we lost besides Linehan, Beasley, Swaim, Wilson, Rod Smith. Linehan was awful and Beasley is the only player that isnt bottom bin on that list.

Cobb and Witten at least offset Beasley and Swaim. Pollard probably cant be worse than Rod Smith. Quinn, Hyder, Covington, Hill is a pretty big talent injection along the DL. Boy wonder Kellen Moore cant be worse than Linehan. McGovern is a nice addition.

Across the board, the roster and coaching seem to have improved or stayed neutral. There were no real steps back anywhere. Then you factor in how young this team is, they're all now just more experienced. You've got Dak, Gallup, Cooper with a full offseason together.

I dont know, I feel pretty good about this year. We're basically a better version of last year and we won a playoff game last year so it follows we should have some success this year.

I feel just as excited as you until I look and see we still have the same head coach

 

[DasSchnitzel]

I feel just as excited as you until I look and see we still have the same head coach

Well, we could win the superbowl and you would be here trying to make every conversation negative, so no one cares. You're just doing your bit. Have fun.

 

[DanA]

Tight end is probably a step back. Witten is done. Sean Lee may be a step back from Wilson. This isn’t the Witten or Lee of 5 years ago.

Possibly. Those were kind of questionable but Wilson/Swaim are not a bar that requires Lee/Witten to play at the level they were 5 years ago.

And I still think if you weight it up those positions got better regardless of how you score the vets. It’s not just Lee vs Wilson and Witten vs Swaim. LVE, Smith, Covington, Jarwin and Schultz should all develop to varying degrees. Jarwin has to be a candidate for a break out season given how he finished 2018.

 

[john van brocklin]

And the Jets.

And the dolphins

 

[big dog cowboy]

I thought both guys were really civil and make it a point of emphasis not to simply come out and bury the coach, even if that's exactly what their comments and criticisms did. They did it with great tact, never directly saying "coaching has let them down" even when they repeatedly mentioned needing more "creativity", which is, in fact directly connected to coaching. Coaches can and need to be creative, players don't have that luxury. When a coach does it, it's a good thing, when the players do it, it's "freelancing", and frowned upon.

So every time they mention "creativity", it's a direct shot at the lack of creativity from the coaching staff.

But as Simms said, this team is "stacked", and there's "no excuse" why they shouldn't be a contender this year. If they fall short, it will be the direct result of subpar coaching.

Exactly.

 

[Alexander]

Well, we could win the superbowl and you would be here trying to make every conversation negative, so no one cares. You're just doing your bit. Have fun.

You have zero idea how I would behave in that situation.

But please continue like you have insight into how I feel so it makes you feel better about being mindless.

 

[Number1]

“They’re stacked...there’s NO doubt about it”.
“If they don’t just obliterate you, can they match WITS with you“—Sims

Getting out-schemed can’t happen again. The fact that the factors that enabled it to happen over and over have been given yet another chance is the only thing troubling about this team.

Maybe they finally get that their overall philosophy is a poor one(as most see) and change it.

"Getting out-schemed can’t happen again" of course it can - but for all our notins about grea play callers - great football comes from great players

"overall philosophy is a poor one" I felt that way about most of the JJ era, but all organizations change constantly

one of the dumbest thing JJ ever did was making JG head coach before he was ready
one of the best to keep JG
he is a good offensive coach, getting better at his gig, and being given more power
unless the Boys disintegrate he will be extended

we forget Landry took a decade + to win a title
and did it with maybe the most talented team ever

this team is stacked - and a very different team than the JJ era has delivered before

not sure I'm sold on the play calling of Moore & Richards
but I don't see them blowing this either

it's very possible 2019 becomes JG's revenge

 

[SlammedZero]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. For some reason that kind of fired me up for this season!

 

[CowboyRoy]

Dallas made it to the divisional round last year.

Off the top of my head I cant think of anyone we lost besides Linehan, Beasley, Swaim, Wilson, Rod Smith. Linehan was awful and Beasley is the only player that isnt bottom bin on that list.

Cobb and Witten at least offset Beasley and Swaim. Pollard probably cant be worse than Rod Smith. Quinn, Hyder, Covington, Hill is a pretty big talent injection along the DL. Boy wonder Kellen Moore cant be worse than Linehan. McGovern is a nice addition.

Across the board, the roster and coaching seem to have improved or stayed neutral. There were no real steps back anywhere. Then you factor in how young this team is, they're all now just more experienced. You've got Dak, Gallup, Cooper with a full offseason together.

I dont know, I feel pretty good about this year. We're basically a better version of last year and we won a playoff game last year so it follows we should have some success this year.

I completely agree. But then we will get some injuries before the season starts. And we all know that Smith will go down at some point and probably Lee.

 

[CowboyRoy]

"Getting out-schemed can’t happen again" of course it can - but for all our notins about grea play callers - great football comes from great players

"overall philosophy is a poor one" I felt that way about most of the JJ era, but all organizations change constantly

one of the dumbest thing JJ ever did was making JG head coach before he was ready
one of the best to keep JG
he is a good offensive coach, getting better at his gig, and being given more power
unless the Boys disintegrate he will be extended

we forget Landry took a decade + to win a title
and did it with maybe the most talented team ever

this team is stacked - and a very different team than the JJ era has delivered before

not sure I'm sold on the play calling of Moore & Richards
but I don't see them blowing this either

it's very possible 2019 becomes JG's revenge

LOL...…...at what point did Garrett become "ready"? He is still terrible. The only difference is that Jones as slowly neutered him over time and taken more and more of the offense away from him. Now finally culminating in the hire of Moore and Jerry basically telling more to let him know if Garrett is meddling too much in what he does.

And do you really think Garrrett is a good offensive coach? Isnt the whole point of Moore an admission by Jerry that Garrett isn't an good offensive coach?

 

[CowboyRoy]

Built to win now is just another way of saying, when Dak gets his huge payday the Cowboys will backslide. So it's now or good luck down the road.

Clearly the dumbest post I have read on here by far.

Let me help you...……………"Built to win now" simply means that this team is good enough to compete NOW. Its a contender. Its means he thinks they have all the pieces to be formidable "NOW".

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Clearly the dumbest post I have read on here by far.

Let me help you...……………"Built to win now" simply means that this team is good enough to compete NOW. Its a contender. Its means he thinks they have all the pieces to be formidable "NOW".

I took it go mean, they had better win now before the salary cap tips them apart. If the broadcasters thought the Cowboys were contenders then they would just call them contenders. So built to win now is a way of saying they may be contenders, but they better do it quickly. Before their window closes.

Opinions vary.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I took it go mean, they had better win now before the salary cap tips them apart. If the broadcasters thought the Cowboys were contenders then they would just call them contenders. So built to win now is a way of saying they may be contenders, but they better do it quickly. Before their window closes.

Opinions vary.

Somehow you turned it into a bash Dak post. Unreal what lengths you guys will go to bash the guy.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

Somehow you turned it into a bash Dak post. Unreal what lengths you guys will go to bash the guy.

I said the team would backslide not Dak.

Talking about bashing a guy...you just called my post dumb because YOU didnt know what I was talking about.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I said the team would backslide not Dak.

Talking about bashing a guy...you just called my post dumb because YOU didnt know what I was talking about.

Fine I take it back.

 

[Number1]

LOL...…...at what point did Garrett become "ready"? He is still terrible. The only difference is that Jones as slowly neutered him over time and taken more and more of the offense away from him. Now finally culminating in the hire of Moore and Jerry basically telling more to let him know if Garrett is meddling too much in what he does.

And do you really think Garrrett is a good offensive coach? Isnt the whole point of Moore an admission by Jerry that Garrett isn't an good offensive coach?

yes, he i a good O coach, but may never be "ready" as a good HC ... we shall see
the point of Moore is obvious, replacement for the mistake of Scott

 

[TheStarInFLA]

Schedule doesn't matter to teams that are among the best competing for a championship. It only matters to teams that need help. Besides, Dallas plays the AFC East. I can only hope that 3 of those games don't dumb the Cowboys down too much.

Thanks for an excellent response. I learned something.

 

[Roadtrip635]

There have been several teams who've paid huge contracts to QB's because they thought their teams were in contention. After giving out those huge QB contracts those teams struggled to stay above .500 in the following years. And I'm compiling this list just off of memory, no research.

--Ben Roethlisberger. After his second Superbowl appearance the team didnt even make the playoffs the following year.
--Joe Flacco
--Tony Romo
--Russell Wilson (second team friendly contract)
--David Carr
--Micheal Vick in Philly
--Mark Sanchez
--Cam Newton
--Andrew Luck
--Mathew Stafford
--Matt Ryan
--Matt Schaub
And its happening right now to the Vikings with Kirk Cousins.

And I'm sure I forgot a couple of people. So do your research and tell me I'm wrong.

You're wrong. It's too narrow and simplistic to say it's because the QB got huge contracts is the reason why teams struggle. Teams can start to struggle because injuries, coaching changes, player decline, team focus, guys aren't having that career year, luck, bad decisions etc. There's usually a combination of reasons, not just because of one single contract. The truth is every player wants to get paid, not just QBs, but fans expect the QBs to take less before they call out other position players. You don't keep a team intact just because the QB took a little less, it would require every other player to take less. If we signed Dak to $25/year versus $30/yr, is that $5 million on it's own the reason we can keep DLaw, Coop, Zeke, Byron etc? That $5 million difference may help in keeping/signing one guy to keep under the cap, but doesn't help when you're looking at signing/keeping multiple players. Tank didn't take less and most players that have a chance at that first big contract don't willingly take less. Spare me, they should take less because of "team", because it's still a business and in a career that can end with one injury and it all goes away, including endorsements, except for whatever guaranteed money they negotiated. The fans might support him spiritually, but they aren't going to support him financially. The fans will just move onto their replacement and buy the new guy's jersey.

The Patriots don't keep winning and getting players, just because Brady takes a "team friendly deal". They keep winning because they are very, very good at evaluating players and finding players that work in their system and can play a role in their plans and find ways to adapt when things don't go according to plan. They are also very active and fairly successful in making trades to acquire players and draft picks.

 

[This is Our Year]

Great video. Thanks for sharing. For some reason that kind of fired me up for this season!

Same - agree with Florio & Simms points.