Twitter: Rapoport: The Cowboys are still looking for edge help, hosting former Lions DE Jason Jones

[Toruk_Makto]

If we are going to add Scandrick to the list of reasons we went from 12-4 to 4-12 or aka from 1st to worst, then we have to also add that we "lost" the AP Offensive Player of the Year, 1st Team All Pro, and single season rushing record holder as well.....

I know people get all uncomfortable anytime Murray comes up...but he was an important part of our core that was not on the field from the 12-4 team.

In many ways we ran the ball better in 2015 than we did in 2014 and that was without a Tony and Dez.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Ultimately, what will stop the conversation is consistent winning.

I'd really like to believe that.

 

[Sydla]

You. You're complaining that Dallas hasn't signed one of these veteran DEs. Your posts seem to indicate that Dallas is through addressing their need for pass rushers. There's the draft after the draft, and the whole Summer for Dallas to address their DE needs.

There's a difference between overpaying a guy and paying a market rate for a guy.

Seems Dallas is taking a third option.............. low balling guys hoping some will bite.

 

[Gameover]

Ballin' on a budget!

Steelers or Dolphins will sign him by the end of the week. We like our d line depth to be filled out with complete bums !

 

[Sydla]

No they are not going to overpay for FA's. It's the fans who are overvaluing right now.

The evidence suggests otherwise. Some guys they have had interest in and even brought in for visits have signed elsewhere for what appear to be very reasonable deals. They had interest in Miller, he was deemed too expensive and he signed a fairly team friendly deal in Houston. They brought Robinson in for a visit, he passed, signed in Indy on a deal that only has $6MM in guaranteed money and gives the Colts decent flexibility to part ways with minimal cap damage. Those are just a few examples.

I get that they aren't going to overpay for FAs nor would I want them to significantly overpay a guy like Jones, for example. But there is a happy middle ground here, especially when you just got done telling people a month ago what a big need the pass rush was. I think the Cowboys thought they might be able to fix the pass rush real cheap and it's just not working out like they hoped.

 

[LittleD]

I don't need to hear them say anything to see where this team has obvious needs. In fact, I'll disregard it if they try to say otherwise because it's clearly not true.

Stash, here's the same issue we have discussed often. If they team felt desperate, they would have gone after every DE in FA which they
clearly didn't. They focused on a couple but, in the end they chose not to come to the Cowboys probably because they wanted more money
and the Cowboys did not see them worth that much money. I think they viewed the Hardy signing last year as a bust and mostly wasted money
and they are continuing that budget practice again this season. I guarantee that Marinelli will have at least 12 DL as we go to training camp and
that he will likely have 8 available for the 1st game of the season. Will they be better than 2014 or 2015, who knows? I can say that without
Romo, this team will go nowhere and will be picking in the top 5 again next draft.

 

[LittleD]

The evidence suggests otherwise. Some guys they have had interest in and even brought in for visits have signed elsewhere for what appear to be very reasonable deals. They had interest in Miller, he was deemed too expensive and he signed a fairly team friendly deal in Houston. They brought Robinson in for a visit, he passed, signed in Indy on a deal that only has $6MM in guaranteed money and gives the Colts decent flexibility to part ways with minimal cap damage. Those are just a few examples.

I get that they aren't going to overpay for FAs nor would I want them to significantly overpay a guy like Jones, for example. But there is a happy middle ground here, especially when you just got done telling people a month ago what a big need the pass rush was. I think the Cowboys thought they might be able to fix the pass rush real cheap and it's just not working out like they hoped.

Your personal middle-ground does not appear to be their middle-ground and I don't think they're worried right now that
they won't have a good team come the end of training camp. Just think, there will be cuts after the draft, cuts during the draft,
cuts during TC, lots of players that McClay can sift through so just be patient and we'll see how they do. Only two of 32 teams can make it to
the SB and that's pretty bad odds for any one particular team before injuries start taking their toll.

 

[Sydla]

Stash, here's the same issue we have discussed often. If they team felt desperate, they would have gone after every DE in FA which they
clearly didn't. They focused on a couple but, in the end they chose not to come to the Cowboys probably because they wanted more money
and the Cowboys did not see them worth that much money. I think they viewed the Hardy signing last year as a bust and mostly wasted money
and they are continuing that budget practice again this season. I guarantee that Marinelli will have at least 12 DL as we go to training camp and
that he will likely have 8 available for the 1st game of the season. Will they be better than 2014 or 2015, who knows? I can say that without
Romo, this team will go nowhere and will be picking in the top 5 again next draft.

Well I think the underlying point here is it's somewhat bizarre that the Cowboys came into the offseason claiming their two biggest needs were finding a capable backup and fixing a pass rush that just wasn't very good last year and then have done very little to address that pass rush need.

It's hard to understand their thinking here unless they were thinking that pass rush wasn't a problem and they just wanted to find a few bodies to bolster depth, maybe throw in a rookie and it would just all work out.

I am not sure why some of you don't understand why people are puzzled by this.

 

[speedkilz88]

The evidence suggests otherwise. Some guys they have had interest in and even brought in for visits have signed elsewhere for what appear to be very reasonable deals. They had interest in Miller, he was deemed too expensive and he signed a fairly team friendly deal in Houston. They brought Robinson in for a visit, he passed, signed in Indy on a deal that only has $6MM in guaranteed money and gives the Colts decent flexibility to part ways with minimal cap damage. Those are just a few examples.

I get that they aren't going to overpay for FAs nor would I want them to significantly overpay a guy like Jones, for example. But there is a happy middle ground here, especially when you just got done telling people a month ago what a big need the pass rush was. I think the Cowboys thought they might be able to fix the pass rush real cheap and it's just not working out like they hoped.

4 year 26 million (14 guaranteed) for a rb is not a team friendly deal. And did you miss the Robinson news? His agent agreed to a deal and he decided to fire his agent to get out of it and signed almost the same deal with the colts where his db coach from san diego hired on.

 

[cowboyblue22]

I think that if you don't get the defense fixed some even with romo you are looking at a 8 win team.

 

[Sydla]

Your personal middle-ground does not appear to be their middle-ground and I don't think they're worried right now that
they won't have a good team come the end of training camp. Just think, there will be cuts after the draft, cuts during the draft,
cuts during TC, lots of players that McClay can sift through so just be patient and we'll see how they do. Only two of 32 teams can make it to
the SB and that's pretty bad odds for any one particular team before injuries start taking their toll.

Exactly.

And that's why I disagree with how they've handled the DE position thus far. That's the reality of sports, being a fan, etc. Fans disagree, agree, criticize, applaud the things their team does or doesn't do.

I believe they thought they could rectify the pass rush on the cheap with under the radar guys and maybe a draft pick or two and it's not working out like they hoped.

 

[LittleD]

I think that if you don't get the defense fixed some even with romo you are looking at a 8 win team.

Many people said the same thing during the early part of the 2014 league year and look what happened...12-4!
Romo makes the offense better, Romo makes the defense better, Romo wins games, period.

 

[Sydla]

4 year 26 million (14 guaranteed) for a rb is not a team friendly deal. And did you miss the Robinson news? His agent agreed to a deal and he decided to fire his agent to get out of it and signed almost the same deal with the colts where his db coach from san diego hired on.

The Texans can get out from under Miller's contract in two seasons with a minimal cap hit.

It's a pretty good team friendly deal for a young RB.

 

[Sydla]

Many people said the same thing during the early part of the 2014 league year and look what happened...12-4!
Romo makes the offense better, Romo makes the defense better, Romo wins games, period.

Then what happened in 2011, 2012 and 2013 when we also had Romo and only won 8 games a year?

 

[LittleD]

Exactly.

And that's why I disagree with how they've handled the DE position thus far. That's the reality of sports, being a fan, etc. Fans disagree, agree, criticize, applaud the things their team does or doesn't do.

I believe they thought they could rectify the pass rush on the cheap with under the radar guys and maybe a draft pick or two and it's not working out like they hoped.

Who knows, maybe they have. I still think David Irving is going to play a lot of DE this year and I like the tape on Benson Mayowa too. We are not going to
have 8 DL "all pros" I guarantee you. Marinelli will work his magic on who he has.

 

[LittleD]

Then what happened in 2011, 2012 and 2013 when we also had Romo and only won 8 games a year?

Not much of a OL then. Dez was just coming in. They were re-building around Romo, right?

 

[Sydla]

Who knows, maybe they have. I still think David Irving is going to play a lot of DE this year and I like the tape on Benson Mayowa too. We are not going to
have 8 DL "all pros" I guarantee you. Marinelli will work his magic on who he has.

Where is this David Irving playing DE coming from? It seems like he's locked in as the 3 Tech. Is there any reports of the Cowboys thinking he can be a DE? Honest question.

 

[cowboyblue22]

but I always thought your goal was to win a championship they havn't came close so 12 and 4 don't really mean a whole lot other than a good regular season they have to improve this defense to be in contention for a superbowl the nfc east is ranked as the worst division In football on nfl .com

 

[LittleD]

Where is this David Irving playing DE coming from? It seems like he's locked in as the 3 Tech. Is there any reports of the Cowboys thinking he can be a DE? Honest question.

He played some DE last year and I think they are going to give him a shot this year too.

 

[Sydla]

Not much of a OL then. Dez was just coming in. They were re-building around Romo, right?

Possibly. Or maybe 2014 was an anomaly where just about everything went right for the team and that over a normal season, this still is just an 8 win team. The offense was nearly flawless that year with not one significant injury anywhere. Even the backups were relatively healthy. They covered up significantly for the defense that if you looked at advanced stats, still wasn't all that good.

To me, the recipe going forward shouldn't be trying to recreate 2014, which could have easily been a fluke, but rather balance the team out where you try to stay committed to a run game like you had in 2014 but then also significantly improve the defense. I like the Thornton signing very much, but IMO, not enough has been done on the defensive side of the ball.

It's very simple to me. If this team can't get to the QB more than they have, I don't think they can have a very successful season. And right now, I just don't see much of a pass rush here.