News: Not Everything Has Gone Wrong For The Cowboys: Players To Build With In 2016

[dallasdave]

A fresh start sounds good !!!!

 

[CCBoy]

Sure there are some good components to this team but the core is rotten and spreading. I think it can't be saved. It's time to start all over. Fire everyone and sell the team Jerry, please. This fan base deserves better all around.

Oh it's cryin' time, again...she's goin' to leave me. Leave me...

 

[CCBoy]

A fresh start sounds good !!!!

And you are basing this upon the age of the offensive line, defensive ends, cornerbacks/safeties, and receiver group. Right?

 

[dallasdave]

And you are basing this upon the age of the offensive line, defensive ends, cornerbacks/safeties, and receiver group. Right?

I'm basing this on this season being awful and the thought of a new season sounds nice.

 

[gmoney112]

Martin, Collins, Lawrence, Gregory, Jones.

That's quite a coup over 2 drafts. Between them, Frederick on a rookie deal, and young guys like Dez, Smith, Crawford locked up with Scandrick and Lee, we really do have a lot of young talent on this team.

Still, successful teams bring in veterans in FA, it's a necessary part of the game now. You simple can't plug every hole in the draft. There's some decent safety and CB options in FA this year, you can probably find an upgrade to Hayden in FA, maybe a RB to compliment a drafted player.

I think everyone's starting to see the end of the Romo era, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them break out the checkbook this season. Some significant FA signings and another draft like 14-15, and we'll be sitting pretty for a while. From a talent standpoint at least.

 

[cowboyblue22]

all of these things maybe true but until I see this team this staff put together back to back winning seasons and being consistent on offense and defense and teams to me to it all just lots of talk. I don't think this team will compete for a super bowl in the tony romo time he has left but that's just me I think they are a lot farther away than most people believe.

 

[Fletch]

As I've said many times before...if Romo and Dez are healthy, we run away with this division. Anybody think 'we are the Browns!' either doesn't understand football or is using extreme hyperbole in order to get attention they never got as a child from their parents.

The bigger issue is 'if Romo and Dez were healthy, would we contend for the Super Bowl?'

I tend to think not. We have glaring holes on defense, particularly in the secondary and the RB situation is not as good as it should be. Plus, Romo isn't getting any younger or less injury prone and neither is Witten.

But, we are in a far better place than we were after 2010 and they went 6-10 in 2010.

Going 4-12 might end up being the best thing to happen to the organization in a long time and the worst thing to happen to the Eagles, Giants and Skins. It could allow the team to draft a QB of the future (possibly Paxton Lynch who has the most unique skill set I've seen in a QB in a long time) and let that QB sit and learn which there is a much better success rate at. And at the meantime, still address the secondary as well as being well under the cap to pick up quality FA's they may need.





YR

Not Everything Has Gone Wrong For The Cowboys: Players To Build With In 2016
By Tom Ryle
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2015...s-lawrence-sean-lee-byron-smith-lael-colllins



Reality bites sometimes, and for fans of the Dallas Cowboys, the reality is that we are pretty much left looking forward to next year after the trainwreck of 2015. It feels like everything that could go wrong did. Barring a completely implausible run through the last three games and a lot of help, that is just how it is.

But hidden among the long, long run of disaster and doom are some bright spots. Not only are some players having some very good individual years, they actually offer evidence that the coaching and personnel staffs do know what they are doing. Here are four names that could be important building blocks in 2016.

Sean Lee. The often injured linebacker missed all of 2014, but he has mostly been healthy this year. And the decision to move him from the Mike to the Will linebacker position is paying off. He is showing the talent and savvy that the team really needs on the field. His performance has him on NFL.com's list of the top ten candidates for comeback player of the year.

After missing the entire 2014 campaign with a torn ACL, the Cowboys decided to shift him from the middle to the weakside, hoping to decrease the risk of further injuries. The transition has been an unqualified success; Lee has been Dallas' best defensive player, regaining his closing speed and excelling in coverage.

Lee is not only a top talent for the defense, he is a true leader for the team. If he can continue to stay on the field because he is taking less punishment playing outside, the team can only benefit.

DeMarcus Lawrence. After a rookie season that was severely hampered by a preseason injury, Lawrence has begun to emerge as a real force. The team paid a lot in the draft to get him in 2014, trading up in the second round to make sure they got a player they felt they had to have. But due to those injury issues, he had no impact until the very end of the season, and really began to contribute in the playoffs.

A rookie pass rusher generally needs a season of work to become effective in the NFL, and due to the way his development was held back in 2014, he is just now getting enough experience under his belt to become the player that the team had hoped for. He has now accumulated enough playing time to make the gamble the team took with the trade pay off.

In a year of so many disappointments, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence has been one of the few bright spots, recording five of his team-high six sacks during the last five games. Lawrence, who has only been called for two penalties, has also climbed to second on the team with 26 quarterback pressures.

Not only is Lawrence beginning to make significant contributions, he also provides hope for 2015's second round pick, Randy Gregory, to pay off. Like Lawrence, Gregory missed significant playing time due to injury. He also is just now starting to show up on the field. As one of the "extra" first-round picks he is characterized as after falling in the draft due to off-field concerns, he is poised to have the same kind of progression as Lawrence, which means he could be coming into his own around midseason next year...​

 

[dallasdave]

 

[starfrombirth]

A mean right tackle, and nothing but another year without both Tony Romo and Dez Bryant will derail the Cowboys over the next five years.

What the Cowboys dearly need, is a YOUNG runningback that can take advantage of a crease, and can also pound hard on short yardage.

On the defensive front, Lawrence and Douglas; McClain and Lee; and Scandrick and Jones will mean a whole lot to that group...next season.

I agree. I just don't think we should spend our high 1st on it. That must go for Romo's replacement or secondary or a monster DT.

 

[DC Cowboy]

Right Tackle would be nice to have, especially since Romo plays his best when his RT play is good. And obviously, we need to get better in short yardage. Although that's not all on McFadden. Some of it is on playcalling, some are issues with La'el, some TE blocking issues and Clutts is another culprit on those plays.

I really think you can find a good zone running RB easier that people think. Alfred Morris (although having a bad year) is a good example. Even Murray was a 3rd round pick and Turbin has looked good in the zone scheme. We just happened to get a RB in McFadden that isn't a zone runner.

Either way, we're not competing for a Lombardi until the secondary is fixed. The corners have 0 INT's and I think Church and Wilcox are bigger issues than the corners because they are so bad.

We need to be able to mix up zone and man coverage more. We need to defend pick plays much better. We need to allow the pass rush some time to get to the QB and we need to immediately bring down the receiver when they catch the ball.





YR

Question what about a stud D-tackle or do you think we can give Irving more playing time?

 

[JoeKing]

Oh it's cryin' time, again...she's goin' to leave me. Leave me...

It's not like that. More like, pack your bags and get the heck out.

 

[DogFace]

It's not like that. More like, pack your bags and get the heck out.

Or maybe she has rights to the house so you hit the road bu bye

 

[JoeKing]

Or maybe she has rights to the house so you hit the road bu bye

I'm with Jerry and he definitely owns the house so no, she has to go.

 

[dogunwo]

Yea, tell that one to Murray...and start defining what a pass completion is.

Over recent years, many good safeties have gone the free agency route, as well. Wonder why?

Free agency occurs before the draft, because even the Cowboys aren't dumb about team needs.
Plus, really think that another safety is the answer to team needs, over all others? Explain, then...

I do. I don't think the corners are as bad on this team talent wise as most others seem to think. I think horrendous safety play has been the main culprit in the secondary. Wilcox is known for big hits, well lately he can't even do that right, matter of fact he can't even get into position or take the right angles. He already blows in coverage. Church is extremely inconsistent. Jeff Heath is not as awful as people make him out to be, but he is still pretty terrible.

I am not sure what Murray has to do with this. I think it's pretty obvious that his position has been devalued, and with the passing attacks these days it is much harder to find a consistent, competent coverage safety then a dent running back.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

Question what about a stud D-tackle or do you think we can give Irving more playing time?

I think T. Crawford at DT, when healthy, is really freaking good. And we had a nice pairing with him and T. McClain before he got injured. I would wait and see on Irving. He's pretty tall for a DT in Marinelli's defense, but so was Hatcher and Keith Millard. I question if Irving can play 1-tech, but could be a good backup for Crawford and whomever the 1-tech is. Need more 1-tech depth, unless we want Hayden to play more. Hayden wouldn't be bad as 5th DT. He's too much of a pet cat though. Does all of those little things the coaches love, but he's not productive...so he stays on the roster by appealing to the coaches, but isn't a very good player.




YR

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

We need to be able to mix up zone and man coverage more. We need to defend pick plays much better. We need to allow the pass rush some time to get to the QB and we need to immediately bring down the receiver when they catch the ball.

YR

RB

Without a lead score, pass rushing in the NFL is DOOMED, no matter how talented they are.

 

[pugilist]

you don't build around oft injured players

DLaw i agree with however