Verdict
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I have a theory on part of the reason that the Cowboys haven't been able to get over the hump and get back to the glory days of the 90's. Many of you go on and on about how we have been a .500 team that never seems to be anything but a .500 team.
If you look back at the 90's Cowboys SB Teams there were several factors that led up to a perfect storm (in a good way). The following factors contributed to that perfect storm:
1. The Cowboys were really bad (the worst in the league) and had a plethora of high draft picks overall.
2. The Cowboys made the H. Walker trade and accumulated even more picks.
3. They hired the right coach for the job in that:
a. He was a good coach.
b. He came out of the college ranks and knew the collegiate talent
c. He had the ear of his GM
4. With Jerry Jones as the GM he had the willingness and the ability to take risks and the attitude and energy to pull it off.
5. Because of Jones' money (and willingness to gamble) we acquired Haley and Sanders who helped push up up over the top.
If you look at the meteoric rise of that team, the fuel for that rise were very high draft picks (including the overall number ones). We haven't drafted that high in forever. Because we draft so low, we never get an infusion of superior talent ROUND BY ROUND.
Let's be clear ..... the failure to have high draft picks isn't single handedly dooming this franchise, but it a huge factor in the continuing mediocrity.
If you look at teams like Kansas City, who had an extended run of higher end draft picks (but perennially underperformed) they acquired a lot of talent. When that talent met up with coaching, well, you see the result.
Part of the reason we are always up against the cap is because we are having to pay to keep the talent we have rather than getting stud players through the draft. There is a reason that the draft value chart places such a high value on the top 10 picks, and as you go from 10 to 1 the value goes up exponentially with each earlier pick.
The guy we get at 18-22 isn't likely to have the career that a top 10 pick is going to have on any sort of regular basis, There will be exceptions, obviously. And keep in mind that happens in every round.
If you look back at the 90's Cowboys SB Teams there were several factors that led up to a perfect storm (in a good way). The following factors contributed to that perfect storm:
1. The Cowboys were really bad (the worst in the league) and had a plethora of high draft picks overall.
2. The Cowboys made the H. Walker trade and accumulated even more picks.
3. They hired the right coach for the job in that:
a. He was a good coach.
b. He came out of the college ranks and knew the collegiate talent
c. He had the ear of his GM
4. With Jerry Jones as the GM he had the willingness and the ability to take risks and the attitude and energy to pull it off.
5. Because of Jones' money (and willingness to gamble) we acquired Haley and Sanders who helped push up up over the top.
If you look at the meteoric rise of that team, the fuel for that rise were very high draft picks (including the overall number ones). We haven't drafted that high in forever. Because we draft so low, we never get an infusion of superior talent ROUND BY ROUND.
Let's be clear ..... the failure to have high draft picks isn't single handedly dooming this franchise, but it a huge factor in the continuing mediocrity.
If you look at teams like Kansas City, who had an extended run of higher end draft picks (but perennially underperformed) they acquired a lot of talent. When that talent met up with coaching, well, you see the result.
Part of the reason we are always up against the cap is because we are having to pay to keep the talent we have rather than getting stud players through the draft. There is a reason that the draft value chart places such a high value on the top 10 picks, and as you go from 10 to 1 the value goes up exponentially with each earlier pick.
The guy we get at 18-22 isn't likely to have the career that a top 10 pick is going to have on any sort of regular basis, There will be exceptions, obviously. And keep in mind that happens in every round.
