Paying the wrong guys leaves you treading water

[Jake]

Dallas has four players who are in the top five paid at their positions: Dak, Zeke, DLaw, and Amari. Do any of them look like top five players at their positions?

Being able to distinguish good players from great ones is essential to making smart personnel decisions in the salary cap era. The Cowboys front office has made this mistake too often since their last SB, and we've seen the results.

 

[JJHLH1]

You are right.

We have overpaid for good, but not great players.

 

[Whyjerry]

Dallas has four players who are in the top five paid at their positions: Dak, Zeke, DLaw, and Amari. Do any of them look like top five players at their positions?

Being able to distinguish good players from great ones is essential to making smart personnel decisions in the salary cap era. The Cowboys front office has made this mistake too often since their last SB, and we've seen the results.

Dak at times plays like a top 5 player. Zeke has the dumbest contract in history. Amari will
cost them Gallup. Bad contract. Lawrence is a good player but very rarely dominant.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Yeah Zeke and Dak are not living up to their contracts. Who saw that coming? I don’t even blame Amari, Dak can’t get the ball to him.

 

[thunderpimp91]

I would redo the Cooper & Dlaw contracts again in a heartbeat. I'm not a fan of paying RBs so I certainly wouldnt redo the Zeke deal. Dak I would have been cool with moving on, but you need a real backup plan if your going to move on from a decent QB. It's not like Andy Dalton was going to lead us to the super bowl this year.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

[Zeke has exited the chat]

 

[Killerinstinct]

This is the reason the future looks like a downward spiral

 

[Jake]

I would redo the Cooper & Dlaw contracts again in a heartbeat. I'm not a fan of paying RBs so I certainly wouldnt redo the Zeke deal. Dak I would have been cool with moving on, but you need a real backup plan if your going to move on from a decent QB. It's not like Andy Dalton was going to lead us to the super bowl this year.

Paying the best guy you have at a particular position like he's the best in the league at his position won't get you to a super bowl, either.

Sometimes, you have to take your lumps and start over. Or you can do what the Cowboys have been doing for 25 years.

 

[thunderpimp91]

Paying the best guy you have at a particular position like he's the best in the league at his position won't get you to a super bowl, either.

Sometimes, you have to take your lumps and start over. Or you can do what the Cowboys have been doing for 25 years.

Gotta keep somebody at some point though. I'm not sure the roster construction of this team is its biggest issue. I've never been a fan of the Zeke contract, the Dak contract I was on the fence either way. Cooper & Dlaw are certainly top players at their positions though.

 

[movaughn88]

Ok so let's just not re-sign our best players to market contracts? Good lord our fans just lose their minds after losses.

 

[ShortRound]

Not being able to trade a good player for future picks hasn't helped either. And paying Jaylon, while negotiating with Dak was just mind-boggling.

 

[Jake]

Gotta keep somebody at some point though. I'm not sure the roster construction of this team is its biggest issue. I've never been a fan of the Zeke contract, the Dak contract I was on the fence either way. Cooper & Dlaw are certainly top players at their positions though.

I refer back to my original post.

Four guys are paid like top five players in the league at their positions. If they're not playing like it then you made a mistake by paying them.

 

[CATCH17]

Dak at times plays like a top 5 player. Zeke has the dumbest contract in history. Amari will
cost them Gallup. Bad contract. Lawrence is a good player but very rarely dominant.

At times being when we play bad football teams or teams that can’t put points on the board.

 

[Jake]

Ok so let's just not re-sign our best players to market contracts? Good lord our fans just lose their minds after losses.

Some other fans struggle with reading comprehension, win or lose.

 

[visionary]

Paying the best guy you have at a particular position like he's the best in the league at his position won't get you to a super bowl, either.

Sometimes, you have to take your lumps and start over. Or you can do what the Cowboys have been doing for 25 years.

the difference is that no matter what Jerry says, his first objective is branding and making money way way way before winning a SB

to do this the team can’t be really really bad
As long a they are “relevant “ and “in the hunt” he can take in the dollars

that’s why Dak got paid

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

What stinks is it's basically this year or bust, because Dak's contract is going to make sure that we can't get the type of talent that he needs to play well enough to win the division, let alone make a real run at the Super Bowl.

 

[Creeper]

Thank you! I have been saying this for 2 years or more. I don't understand why it gets pushback from some fans. Some people respond as if these are the only players at their positions. Robert Quinn, ex-Cowboys, has 18 sacks this year. There are other players to play that position and the idea is to get the best value player - which of course requires more skill than just signing the players you drafted for a lot of money.

I never would have paid Zeke. Then again, I never would have drafted him. He was a great college RB and had a good year as a rookie. But RBs do not need to be great. You can find RBs in the draft in the middle rounds. Look atPollard. He is better than Zeke right now.

Amari Cooper is a good WR. But he is not worth $20 million. He disappears too often.

Then there is Dak. $40 million for him is an absurdity. Jerry messed this up so bad it is laughable. Dak has never demonstrated for a full season he is worth $40 million. He is a streaky player but when he goes bad, he goes really bad. You do not pay $40 million for that kind of inconsistency. Dak has 3 more years on this contract too. Jerry bet the future on him and I think he is going to regret it if he is not already. In 2024 Jerry has a chance to right this. Dak will be looking for a new contract. If he does not show more consistency by then, Jerry must let him go for the good of the team. He has 3 years to find a young replacement.

 

[baltcowboy]

Dallas has four players who are in the top five paid at their positions: Dak, Zeke, DLaw, and Amari. Do any of them look like top five players at their positions?

Being able to distinguish good players from great ones is essential to making smart personnel decisions in the salary cap era. The Cowboys front office has made this mistake too often since their last SB, and we've seen the results.

Every team pays there top players. Amari, DLaw, and Dak would have received top dollar if they were free agents. I don’t know about Zeke but that is hindsight. The big four got the team to the playoffs this season. Let’s see what happens when the games get real. Let’s stop speculating off of a three point loss to a quality team. Arizona is really good. No matter if we won or lost yesterday. I think they are going to win their division next week because the 49ers will beat the Rams.

 

[My3Sons]

I would redo the Cooper & Dlaw contracts again in a heartbeat. I'm not a fan of paying RBs so I certainly wouldnt redo the Zeke deal. Dak I would have been cool with moving on, but you need a real backup plan if your going to move on from a decent QB. It's not like Andy Dalton was going to lead us to the super bowl this year.

Well, to be fair, Dak won't either.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

The Fan Boys who buy tickets and jerseys all screamed ‘pay da man’ when it came to Lawrence, Elliott, Cooper, and Dak. Jerry gave the Fanboys what they wanted.

The Fanboys are still buying tickets and jerseys.

So, @Jake what exactly is the problem?