Old vs New

[rwalters31]

This thread is about the now and future. Old players start good and have the experience to win games at the beginning of the season but at the end of the season injuries and endurance suffer and that is when you see 8-8 records. New players come in and are mistake prone but if team endures the first half of season the young players have learned and have the endurance for the end of the season and defiantly the post season.

I bring to this argument the Denver Broncos as an old team with great players who are old who looked like gang busters at the beginning of the season but looked gassed at the end and the playoffs. The Cowboys where younger and looked good at the end of the season but not enough play makers on the defense to face good offenses in the post season.

Moral of this post is that no matter how good a player looks in FA, he is not going to as good as a young player with upside taken in the draft. The Cowboys should not be looking to FA to go further in the post season but devote all energy to make the team good for the post season though the draft.

Thank you

 

[The Natural]

julius peppers seemed to make a pretty big difference for green bay

 

[rwalters31]

julius peppers seemed to make a pretty big difference for green bay

He had a lot of help but still did not look like the player of old.

 

[jazzcat22]

This reminds me on a season years ago, maybe mid 80's.

Denver was a younger team, and Dallas was an aging team. Though not a huge difference. It was later in the year, and the Cowboys were favored. Denver players said, they weren't concerned. That they had fresher legs at this time of the year. And the Cowboys being older, coming into Mile High Stadium, by the end of the 3rd quarter thy would be worn down. They would have the tired leg syndrome, and the thinner air would wear them out.

And sure enough that's exactly what happened. now could have been coincidence it's just the way the game went. but I believe there was some truth behind that.

As is now, we are one of the youngest teams. I don't mind adding a few vets, as a team needs to in FA. But not guys toward the end of their careers.

 

[xwalker]

julius peppers seemed to make a pretty big difference for green bay

There is a big difference between the youngest free agents and the oldest free agents.

DeMarcus Ware is 32.

JPP is 26
Greg Hardy is 26.
Suh just turned 28.

 

[The Natural]

There is a big difference between the youngest free agents and the oldest free agents.

DeMarcus Ware is 32.

JPP is 26
Greg Hardy is 26.
Suh just turned 28.

I'm unclear on what that has to do with what I said

 

[mahoneybill]

This thread is about the now and future. Old players start good and have the experience to win games at the beginning of the season but at the end of the season injuries and endurance suffer and that is when you see 8-8 records. New players come in and are mistake prone but if team endures the first half of season the young players have learned and have the endurance for the end of the season and defiantly the post season.

I bring to this argument the Denver Broncos as an old team with great players who are old who looked like gang busters at the beginning of the season but looked gassed at the end and the playoffs. The Cowboys where younger and looked good at the end of the season but not enough play makers on the defense to face good offenses in the post season.

Moral of this post is that no matter how good a player looks in FA, he is not going to as good as a young player with upside taken in the draft. The Cowboys should not be looking to FA to go further in the post season but devote all energy to make the team good for the post season though the draft.

Thank you

Nice , well thought out summary. I'm with you think longer term, and multiple success years , not just one impactful ( to be proven - ala Ware in Denver ).

When we picked up Haley, we still had a core of players to rotate around and with him , so he indeed was a true difference maker, also our O Line & Emmitt had matured to be a dependable force to close out games once we got ahead in most cases

 

[Doomsday101]

I think trying to keep a team on the younger side is important but having seasoned vets in the mix matters a lot.

 

[erod]

I'm a believer in the ONE big free agent signing in an area of need.

Otherwise, draft well and comb the cheap free agent scrap heap for bargains.

I want Suh because I believe he transforms the defense immeasurably.

 

[Nightman]

This thread is about the now and future. Old players start good and have the experience to win games at the beginning of the season but at the end of the season injuries and endurance suffer and that is when you see 8-8 records. New players come in and are mistake prone but if team endures the first half of season the young players have learned and have the endurance for the end of the season and defiantly the post season.

I bring to this argument the Denver Broncos as an old team with great players who are old who looked like gang busters at the beginning of the season but looked gassed at the end and the playoffs. The Cowboys where younger and looked good at the end of the season but not enough play makers on the defense to face good offenses in the post season.

Moral of this post is that no matter how good a player looks in FA, he is not going to as good as a young player with upside taken in the draft. The Cowboys should not be looking to FA to go further in the post season but devote all energy to make the team good for the post season though the draft.

Thank you

I gotta say that is a pretty drastic and unreliable stance. There are plenty of 28-32 year old players in the NFL. Peyton Manning got hurt and they tried to hide it with a running game, but any team is gonna struggle if their franchise QB gets hurt.

 

[Silver N Blue]

JPP is damaged imo and is still living off that great year what 4 years ago now? Don't bring him in Hughes needs to be on this list.

 

[Jenky]

This thread is about the now and future. Old players start good and have the experience to win games at the beginning of the season but at the end of the season injuries and endurance suffer and that is when you see 8-8 records. New players come in and are mistake prone but if team endures the first half of season the young players have learned and have the endurance for the end of the season and defiantly the post season.

I bring to this argument the Denver Broncos as an old team with great players who are old who looked like gang busters at the beginning of the season but looked gassed at the end and the playoffs. The Cowboys where younger and looked good at the end of the season but not enough play makers on the defense to face good offenses in the post season.

Moral of this post is that no matter how good a player looks in FA, he is not going to as good as a young player with upside taken in the draft. The Cowboys should not be looking to FA to go further in the post season but devote all energy to make the team good for the post season though the draft.

Thank you

Not 100% true.

Baltimore Ravens vs San Francisco 49ers Superbowl

San Francisco undoubtedly had the more talented and younger team. The Ravens had older players on both sides of the ball, but they did have two huge driving forces.

1) Experience
2) Determination

There was no possible way Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were going to let them lose that game. It was Ray's last game and everyone knew he would give it his all.

As for the acquiring talent thing, I think you need a mix of veterans through FA and rookies through the draft.

 

[rwalters31]

Not 100% true.

Baltimore Ravens vs San Francisco 49ers Superbowl

San Francisco undoubtedly had the more talented and younger team. The Ravens had older players on both sides of the ball, but they did have two huge driving forces.

1) Experience
2) Determination

There was no possible way Ray Lewis and Ed Reed were going to let them lose that game. It was Ray's last game and everyone knew he would give it his all.

As for the acquiring talent thing, I think you need a mix of veterans through FA and rookies through the draft.

Ravens did a good job with the old players. The coach new that the injured and old players would not be good after that year and got rid of the whole group in the off season for the next year. That was called seizing blood out of a rock and does not work 99% of the time. That was the exception not the rule.

 

[JDSmith]

It depends on how young the players are - rookies often hit the wall around week 12 and fade down the stretch because they haven't played a 16+ game schedule before. Players with a couple of years under their belts are better equipped for the grind.

 

[Jenky]

Ravens did a good job with the old players. The coach new that the injured and old players would not be good after that year and got rid of the whole group in the off season for the next year. That was called seizing blood out of a rock and does not work 99% of the time. That was the exception not the rule.

Maybe so, but it can be done. Denver tried to do it and lost in the SB.

"Moral of this post is that no matter how good a player looks in FA, he is not going to as good as a young player with upside taken in the draft. The Cowboys should not be looking to FA to go further in the post season but devote all energy to make the team good for the post season though the draft."

This the part I disagree with as it is full of absolutes and statements that aren't accurate. "The young player with upside" could be a complete bust and not contribute a single thing to your team. Rookies tend to burn out towards the end of the season while adjusting to the NFL.

All and all, I still think a good mix of rookies/vets is the way to go. Either way, a team will still have to be smart about evaluating and acquiring the talent through FA and the draft.

 

[CowboyChris]

I'm a believer in the ONE big free agent signing in an area of need.

Otherwise, draft well and comb the cheap free agent scrap heap for bargains.

I want Suh because I believe he transforms the defense immeasurably.

that one big free agent will be Dez, not a run at Suh

 

[EST_1986]

JPP is damaged imo and is still living off that great year what 4 years ago now? Don't bring him in Hughes needs to be on this list.

if living ff success from 4 years ago gets you 12.5 sacks this past season I'll take it

 

[Silver N Blue]

if living ff success from 4 years ago gets you 12.5 sacks this past season I'll take it

I'd rather see them bring in Hughes who has no injury history.

 

[JDSmith]

JPP is damaged imo and is still living off that great year what 4 years ago now? Don't bring him in Hughes needs to be on this list.

Early in the season Giants fans were a bit disappointed with JPP. But he came on strong towards the end and from what I saw on their forums the fans would love to keep him at this point.

 

[Silver N Blue]

Early in the season Giants fans were a bit disappointed with JPP. But he came on strong towards the end and from what I saw on their forums the fans would love to keep him at this point.

All good points just would rather have a guy with no injury history.