Eskimo
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I think the key to winning in the consummate team sport which is football requires a total dedication to advancing the causes of the team. That means sometimes players have to accept that on many plays their role is to support another player to make a play.
I think Jerry going back to the Deion and triplet days fell in love with the stars and felt the need to make the stars happy. So long as that was the case he saw SB trophies fall into his grasp with regularity. When Parcells re-made the team into a young and hungry group I think Jerry saw the need to have his enshrined stars and poisoned the well by supporting player's egos. That team quickly fell apart at the seams and we have just finished dismantling the wreckage of that entitled roster this past offseason.
Now going forward we have a bunch of players who are up for contracts. Most recently when push has come to shove we got Free to re-structure, Romo signed a reasonable deal, Tyron signed a cheap deal (but did get lifetime security out of it) while Hatcher and Ware were shown the door when not willing to sign a deal in line with their age and performance. I think we need to stick true to this formula as we move forward - pay people fairly but don't overpay them because they are Dallas Cowboys.
Demarco Murray is not a franchise back but a good soldier who found himself in a great situation this year and put up a lot of yards. He is not a great RB and must not be paid as one. I think the decision has already been made.
Dez Bryant is a very good receiver but I do believe he is limited in some ways and gifted in some ways. I think Romo makes him a better receiver in ways that many don't appreciate. He is not the second coming of Calvin Johsnon and should not be paid like one. I think this is where the Cowboys and Jerry need to be strong and resist the urge to give into a player who is great but perhaps not as great as he believes. It's a shame if Dez's camp won't budge as getting a long-term deal with lots of guaranteed money while staying in the friendly confines of Dallas with a franchise QB is what will be best for him long-term. Looking at comparable a salary of about $12.5M/yr over 6 years with maybe $30M guaranteed seems like the market rate for similarly productive players. This should be the line we draw in the sand. If it comes down to the franchise tag I would honestly just trade him and try to sign a lower tier WR and keep moving forward with the team we have. We need the cap flexibility of a long-term deal to fix the defense while Romo can still play elite ball and we can't give into unreasonable contract demands. The players must be willing to sacrifice a bit in a hard cap league if they put winning first and we must maintain this attitude in our cap management.
I know many will disagree but I think this is the way you move forward with this team. Players should be paid fairly but there needs to be some sacrifice for the good of the team from all if we want to be successful. If the players don't buy in then we need to move on.
I think Jerry going back to the Deion and triplet days fell in love with the stars and felt the need to make the stars happy. So long as that was the case he saw SB trophies fall into his grasp with regularity. When Parcells re-made the team into a young and hungry group I think Jerry saw the need to have his enshrined stars and poisoned the well by supporting player's egos. That team quickly fell apart at the seams and we have just finished dismantling the wreckage of that entitled roster this past offseason.
Now going forward we have a bunch of players who are up for contracts. Most recently when push has come to shove we got Free to re-structure, Romo signed a reasonable deal, Tyron signed a cheap deal (but did get lifetime security out of it) while Hatcher and Ware were shown the door when not willing to sign a deal in line with their age and performance. I think we need to stick true to this formula as we move forward - pay people fairly but don't overpay them because they are Dallas Cowboys.
Demarco Murray is not a franchise back but a good soldier who found himself in a great situation this year and put up a lot of yards. He is not a great RB and must not be paid as one. I think the decision has already been made.
Dez Bryant is a very good receiver but I do believe he is limited in some ways and gifted in some ways. I think Romo makes him a better receiver in ways that many don't appreciate. He is not the second coming of Calvin Johsnon and should not be paid like one. I think this is where the Cowboys and Jerry need to be strong and resist the urge to give into a player who is great but perhaps not as great as he believes. It's a shame if Dez's camp won't budge as getting a long-term deal with lots of guaranteed money while staying in the friendly confines of Dallas with a franchise QB is what will be best for him long-term. Looking at comparable a salary of about $12.5M/yr over 6 years with maybe $30M guaranteed seems like the market rate for similarly productive players. This should be the line we draw in the sand. If it comes down to the franchise tag I would honestly just trade him and try to sign a lower tier WR and keep moving forward with the team we have. We need the cap flexibility of a long-term deal to fix the defense while Romo can still play elite ball and we can't give into unreasonable contract demands. The players must be willing to sacrifice a bit in a hard cap league if they put winning first and we must maintain this attitude in our cap management.
I know many will disagree but I think this is the way you move forward with this team. Players should be paid fairly but there needs to be some sacrifice for the good of the team from all if we want to be successful. If the players don't buy in then we need to move on.
