Repairing the Cowboys

[Hadenough]

I think in the offseason they have to take a look at the team and consider tearing it down. You have tradable assets like Martin, Cooper, and Dak (tag and trade) that can get you middle to late first round/2nd round draft choices. In two seasons you probably can have a competitive team and in 2021 it will be fun developing the first round quarterback prospect. I would cut Jaylon and Zeke as well and would not hand out big extensions unless Gallup is willing to take a team friendly deal.

Gotta get rid of Sean Lee too. He never should of been signed again.

 

[Hadenough]

Do you think it’s just injuries, do you think it’s coaching. Do you think it’s general managing micromanaging. I don’t know how to fix this mess. And make no mistake about it we are in a mess. It was the wrong players for the wrong scheme. I’m starting with coaching I can’t stand McCarthy . We’ve had opportunities he’s put us in the wrong position so many times. Thank you again Jerry

You think its bad now! Wait til Jerry pays Dak than every player on the team will be holding out their hand wanting to get paid. Its like rewarding a small child for bad behavior. There will be such a resentment that will radiate through the team and locker room.

 

[Typhus]

Do you think it’s just injuries, do you think it’s coaching. Do you think it’s general managing micromanaging. I don’t know how to fix this mess. And make no mistake about it we are in a mess. It was the wrong players for the wrong scheme. I’m starting with coaching I can’t stand McCarthy . We’ve had opportunities he’s put us in the wrong position so many times. Thank you again Jerry

Flex Seal fixes everything

 

[Crazed Liotta Eyes]

Looking at the leagues top teams is interesting.

KC has an tremendous offensive set up that combined with the leagues current rules makes them incredibly strong. Their defense is horrible. They played Las Vegas last week and only stopped the Raiders from scoring a touchdown twice, one was a field goal, and one punt. They won that game.

SEA is on pace to have the worst defence of all time. They are 8-3 because of a QB and two stud wideouts.

NO is 9-2 with a good defence and excellent in game coaching.

Pitt is 10-0 because they adhere to a system thats been well established over time. Physicality on defense, great QB play and stud receivers.

The league is weak. There are no dominant teams just good ones facing terrible opposition for the most part.

Keep Dak healthy and they'll score enough to win. Try to add defensive playmakers, but keep the offense as the priority, specifically the offensive line.

Spend money wisely! No more big money running backs and no more money for non-dominant defenders. I would not guarantee Zeke's 2021 salary by having him on the books this March. Painful but i think they should do it. Smith i feel has to go and it doesn't hurt as much, do it this offseason.

They can turn this around fast if they're smart.. i know that's saying a lot, but i don't think this is a tear down and total rebuild

I'm surprised I gave the only like to this. This is a really good post in my opinion.

 

[Whirlwin]

You think its bad now! Wait til Jerry pays Dak than every player on the team will be holding out their hand wanting to get paid. Its like rewarding a small child for bad behavior. There will be such a resentment that will radiate through the team and locker room.

I feel that way when he paid Elliot

 

[Whirlwin]

He absolutely does not. When you know you'll fail but keep doing it your way, you do not want to win.

I just can’t buy the fact that he doesn’t want to win. I’m positive he wants to win but he wants credit. Just hiring the right people isn’t good enough for him he wants to be part of the decisions. It’s micromanaging

 

[RonnieT24]

I just can’t buy the fact that he doesn’t want to win. I’m positive he wants to win but he wants credit. Just hiring the right people isn’t good enough for him he wants to be part of the decisions. It’s micromanaging

I agree.. Jerry wants to win.. he just wants to win his way.. and he wants to be recognized for his contributions. Which in his mind extends beyond just signing checks. And he may be right.. but it's clear that getting that recognition has become an obsession of his which blinds him to all the potholes he has hit along this path that has tore up the suspension and undercarriage of his franchise so bad it's running on 2 cylinders and 3 wheels at this point.. When it should be a V12 road hugger rollin on 20's.

 

[RonnieT24]

You think its bad now! Wait til Jerry pays Dak than every player on the team will be holding out their hand wanting to get paid. Its like rewarding a small child for bad behavior. There will be such a resentment that will radiate through the team and locker room.

I think you are reading the pay dat man sentiments among players completely wrong. Every guy on every team wants every other guy on his team and on every other team to get every dollar they can. That's why there was a such a backlash against Emmitt when he spoke out about Dak possibly taking less money to help the team with the cap. The unwritten rule is you simply don't mess with another man's money. Every one of these guys is one hit away from bagging groceries if they haven't already gotten paid life changing money. And every one of them knows it. There will be no backlash when the Cowboys sign Dak because one he is probably the most beloved guy on the team and two he has shown himself by his absence to be absolutely essential to any chances this team has to compete.

 

[doomsday9084]

Ugh. I wouldn't even know where to really start to "repair the Cowboys". To really fix it, you need to probably burn the whole thing down. The contract situation is ugly.

If you just want to wing it and see what happens, there would be 3 things I would try to fix:
- O line. Not sure how because I'm not sure you can trust a lot of these guys but if you found a way to have a great line, the whole team would look better. It even would make the defense look better because the TOP would go up.
- DT. The Cowboys tried to fix this and failed, other than Gallimore being promising. The team needs an elite DT. Jerry really overvalues DE's and undervalues DT's. A very disruptive DT would again make a lot of players look better. The DE's would get less blockers, the LB's would have more room to run, etc.
- Safety. Again, one top line safety is going to make a bunch of other players look good. He would cover for the CB's and fill in to help the LB's.

Basically, the team has to fix a bunch of non-glamour positions to make the glamour positions look better.

As far as coaching, I would give the staff another year and a full training camp but next year would be it. They have been terrible at times this year.

 

[kskboys]

I just can’t buy the fact that he doesn’t want to win. I’m positive he wants to win but he wants credit. Just hiring the right people isn’t good enough for him he wants to be part of the decisions. It’s micromanaging

OK, but he doesn't want to win at all costs. He wants credit, period.

 

[quickccc]

Until the Cowboys change their philosophy on how to build a team they will never win another championship.

what philosophy is that ?

 

[Creeper]

what philosophy is that ?

The philosophy that S and DT are not worth high draft picks. That they can get by with K-Mart quality DTs and Safeties. That free agency is for bargain shopping. And that over-paying their own players while refusing to look at other free agent options is a better strategy.

 

[jazzcat22]

First of all, I think the OP is talking about this year.
Of course most jump in with there usual 25 years bad GM stuff. But we could be 11-0 right now, and not one of them would give Jerry any credit regardless.

So THIS SEASON....

Injuries, the is 80% of the problem.
Then Nolan and his scheme because of no off-season to prepare come next.
Then because of the injuries, and because being behind all the time, that makes MM to make poor decisions to try to make something happen. Does anyone think if we were in the lead, he would make those same choices.

Lack of depth is hard to say. If you have a medicare player their weakness can be covered up by surrounding them with strong players. And their play can still be pretty decent. But now put 3 mediocre players around each other, it is all bad.

Jerry and the FO comes in last here, but they get all the crap, because fans do not agree with him, nor like him. I understand that though. And yes they made bad choices, as well as good choices, as many teams do. But with the odd off-season, hard to judge. They did have a great draft, and even the "experts" said they nailed the draft, probably the best.

 

[CouchCoach]

Repairing this team can be easier than most think because there is one difference between this league now and even 10 years ago, there are no great teams.

Have you watched the 11-0 Steelers play? That's the worst 11-0 team I have ever seen. KC has a QB that just runs all over the backfield and hits WR's and TE that secondary's aren't good enough to cover. Are GB and NO that good or is the competition that bad?

There is only one area that the NFL has improved in, circus pass catching and still there are too many drops of easy catches. But that's the game now, the oohs and aahs of watching those catches.

Blocking and tackling are not close to where it was when you had to really build a complete team like GB 60's, DAL, MIN and PIT 70's. SF 80's and 90's and DAL 90's and 00/10's NE.

The fact is there are not enough good players at any position to have even 32 of them, let alone the positions that demand 64. The NFL, in their infinite greed, expanded beyond the talent base.

Getting right back in this thing is a lot easier then we expect. They are not as far away as the record would indicate. Fix that OL and with the skill positions on this offense, they can play with any team. Hell, they've gotten homefield advantage with D's no better than this one when healthy.

It is completely understandable that most are down on this team and the future but do not sell them short. They do not have that far to go to be right back in it. Now, whether these cats can catch some mice in the off season, that's another discussion. There are some in the league that could just take this bunch, with a couple of strategic additions, and turn it into a true contender.

 

[jsb357]

Not sure why people keep blaming Jerry. Due to the circumstances this team had basically very minimal preparation time. No offseason camps, workouts, training camp or preseason.

1 out of over 20 seasons

list the other 19 +

 

[Redline360]

It starts and ends with the dictator I mean Jerry Jones. The Cowboys will never be competitive in the post season until Jerry sells the team. Other miracle would be when Stephen finally takes over he miraculous has an epiphany and hires a competent GM.

If it wasnt for Jimmy, Jerry would argurably be one of the worst football owners of all time. Awesome individual outside of football but terrible football owner.

 

[quickccc]

The philosophy that S and DT are not worth high draft picks. That they can get by with K-Mart quality DTs and Safeties. That free agency is for bargain shopping. And that over-paying their own players while refusing to look at other free agent options is a better strategy.

Cowboys have drafted 2 DTs with high picks 2nd and 3rd round respectively last 2 years. But maybe you're referring to 1 tech DTs.
While I don't believe in drafting a 1 tech for a 4-3 scheme in the 1st round (as opposed to a pure 3-4 NT) i wouldn't defer away from a dominant run stuffer.in 2nd or 3rd depending
upon their draft grades.

- Talk was we were interested in Bucs' Vita Vea as a 1st rd possibility.
it's hard to gauge what Vita brings as a pass rusher in NFL as Bucs work him in as a 3-4 NT.
i still find the Vita- Cowboys interest for a mammoth DTvs Marinelli's usual "quick twitch " demand.
And if you research the usual trend of the NFL, the 1 tech, 4-3 guys just don't usually get drafted in 1st rounds. But more so 2nd round and on.

Yeh, we don't have a high regard for 1 techs and safeties in either the draft or FA spending.
We got burnt by failure of FA 1 tech Cedric Thorton and that was it from that point on.

- We got burnt on the Ken Hamlin big contract as he became a bust ..and that was it for safeties that point on.
- We never made a move for Chiefs All pro safety Tyranny Mathieu either when Houston Texans left him as a FA.

- we drafted JJ Wilcox in the 3rd rd. but he never panned out either. Xavier Woods was an INT machine in college but has been average in NFL.

- Odd because we were posed to trade for Earl Thomas (who no NFL team signed up after he was cut this year) before Seattle demanded too much .
.and per Stephen, we low balled Earl in FA period, ..and once he signed on with Ravens, that became a mute point.

-Yes we passed up Juan Thornhill in 2nd rd but from what i was beginning to see from Trysten Hill before his knee wrecked him on IR, he was flashing his penetration skills.
That's encouraging and warrants more wait and see, imo. Harder to get quality interior DTs than it is quality safeties.

-Reportedly we were rumored to be in the Jamal Adams trade mix, but Jets wanted too much. Me? i wouldn't do a 1st for a mini-LB because he doesn't affect the entire field
as Steelers Minka Fitzpatrick does. How much is scheme, how much is his limitations, i dunno.

 

[RonnieT24]

Repairing this team can be easier than most think because there is one difference between this league now and even 10 years ago, there are no great teams.

Have you watched the 11-0 Steelers play? That's the worst 11-0 team I have ever seen. KC has a QB that just runs all over the backfield and hits WR's and TE that secondary's aren't good enough to cover. Are GB and NO that good or is the competition that bad?

There is only one area that the NFL has improved in, circus pass catching and still there are too many drops of easy catches. But that's the game now, the oohs and aahs of watching those catches.

Blocking and tackling are not close to where it was when you had to really build a complete team like GB 60's, DAL, MIN and PIT 70's. SF 80's and 90's and DAL 90's and 00/10's NE.

The fact is there are not enough good players at any position to have even 32 of them, let alone the positions that demand 64. The NFL, in their infinite greed, expanded beyond the talent base.

Getting right back in this thing is a lot easier then we expect. They are not as far away as the record would indicate. Fix that OL and with the skill positions on this offense, they can play with any team. Hell, they've gotten homefield advantage with D's no better than this one when healthy.

It is completely understandable that most are down on this team and the future but do not sell them short. They do not have that far to go to be right back in it. Now, whether these cats can catch some mice in the off season, that's another discussion. There are some in the league that could just take this bunch, with a couple of strategic additions, and turn it into a true contender.

This is exactly why all the calls to "blow it up" make no sense to me. The league is down.. not just this year but in general over the last several years. Rule changes have made it nigh impossible to actually be a good defense. Free agency and the cap have made it almost just as impossible to maintain continuity and remain good overall. The key is getting a QB whom you can surround good to great talent and provide at least serviceable defense for days when said QB doesn't have it. Because even on those days that QB can muster enough to win late in games if you keep him close. People need to stop saying "why can't we be like the Patriots and Steelers" and then in the same breath advocate that we go back into QB roulette. The Steelers have had the same good QB now for 16 years. The Pats had theirs for 19. The Packers are going on 13? with their guy? The Seahawks will move on from Russ when he's in a wheelchair. Same with the Chiefs and Mahomes. When you find one of those guys you don't roll the dice that you can do better. You build around him and let him keep you in the hunt for 12-15 years. It's like the guy who takes his girl who is a solid 9 to the club but gets his face slapped cause he gets caught ogling the 10 he passed on the way in. The 9 loves him, cooks for him, bears him many strong sons (nod to old westerns) and the 10 is a spoiled, entitled B, with fake, hair, boobs, butt implants and is higher maintenance than a Murcielago. Oh and she's no good in bed.. But he had to blow it with his 9 in order to find all that out.. Dak is clearly not a 10 yet.. But he's closer to it than he was 3 years ago and will be closer still next year. He may never be a 10.. but he's already good enough to win consistently with a good team around him. As I have pointed out many times.. there has been at least a dozen QBs to win it all in the last 20 years who were not playing anywhere near as well as Dak when they won it.. Eli twice.. Peyton his last year and really Brady his last two Super Bowls and definitely his first, were all inferior to what Dak is now. And DGMS on Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and that ilk.

I will mildly disagree with one point you made though.. That there are not enough good players at any position to field 32 or 64. I believe there are two exceptions to that.. wide receiver and running back. I think there are more than enough guys at that two positions that every team could have at least two good ones and some could have three. A lot of that is simply size and required skillset related. There are simply many many many more 5'9" to 6'4" humans who are between 190 and 230 pounds who can run, jump, and do the things athletically that those positions require. Yes the supply of athletically gifted 6'4" 275-320 pound guys is severely limited as is the supply of guys who can stand in the middle of rush hour traffic and hit a target moving away from them with guys coming at them trying to take their heads off. There will never be enough of those two groups.. especially that last one which is why they make SO much friggin money and why you don't act like they fall off trees as some fans here seem to think.

 

[quickccc]

The philosophy that S and DT are not worth high draft picks. That they can get by with K-Mart quality DTs and Safeties.
That free agency is for bargain shopping. And that over-paying their own players while refusing to look at other free agent options is a better strategy.

If you're gonna over-pay on players, i'd think you'd do that for established vets that have Pro Bowl and All pro resumes or appearances.
i could see understand overpaying for a Elliott, Dlaw, Cooper.

- But Barry Church, Anthony Hitchens, Ron Leary, Damien Wilson, etc. - those are the average guys, never tied into pro bowls, that would have been bad contracts and that's when i'm glad
Stephen Jones has maintained not over-paying and dishing big contracts to average players

- the flip side though is the totally baffling move to maintain another average guy in Crawford, for another year when we could have cut him, taken little to no cap hit
and rolled over his 9 million over next year to Dak and other contracts.

-Jaylon was looking like he was turning the corner into a very fine player after 2018 while still recovering, so i can see why Cowboys gambled on him with re-signing, but
with more plays and years passing by, that contract is obviously not gonna work out. …

 

[Fastpitch Dad]

There are a lot of ways to win in the NFL, but I think the common denominators are you need an elite unit or two and no exploitable areas. 2007 was a well rounded team, but lacking in elite play as Romo wasn't a Jedi yet. By 2014, he was a Jedi and had an historical O line. The offense was Super Bowl worthy, but the defense could hold serve if it was causing turnovers. In all our losses, we couldn't generate more than 1 turnover including the Green Bay game. Eagles defense wasn't great in 2017, but they did have a good pass rush capable of getting a timely stop and they did at the most crucial time. 2016 was just a lesser version of the 2016 team, that again couldn't get a timely stop or turnover when it needed one.

Anyway, we need to build an elite unit or two, I think. I have no candidates. I still don't know if Dak is that kind of thrower or ever will be. Building an O line like we had is probably too difficult, without a transcending O line coach like Callahan and nailing three HOF caliber players in 4 years investment. Having generational talents at WR, TE, or RB doesn't bring Super Bowls. A system/play caller can elevate an offense to elite status, like Reich/Peterson accomplished in 2017, but kind of doubt we have that with Kellen/McCarthy. If we stick with Dak, I think our best bet is trying to develop a top flight defense. Unfortunately, we haven't proven to be very adept at drafting defenders. Might need a defensive HC to fix that trend. Or we move on from Dak and hope to land a elite QB. That would be the easiest path, if only it were guaranteed. Kind of depressing, but we're talking building a Super Bowl contender - which is all I care about. Shouldn't be that hard to be a good team with two more drafts like 2020, and that's good enough for some fans.

Great post, welcome to the board!