Verdict
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We are all here on this board (well most of us anyway) because we love our Dallas Cowboys. Loving the Dallas Cowboys often means we love our players, but it can also mean we do not care for a player, or players because we do not like the effect that player has on the team, or the cost of the player, or that the player just sucks.
Often, perception is different than reality. It is all subjective from person to person, and I find it truly fascinating that a player can be loved by some and despised (as a player) by others and literally every shade of grey in between. Importantly and significantly, it is often a fluid dynamic, and quite honestly, perceptions change over time. Sometimes it is based on the performance or lack thereof, by the player and sometimes it is based on wins and losses.
I try to ignore the game by game too high when we win and too low when we lose dynamic. I also try to ignore what I view as "outliers" meaning too high or too low of a performance (meaning stats) in a single event. Those facts tend to lie to you.
For as much as I bash the hell out of Taco I fully realize he was drafted as a long term prospect (not project). They didn't draft him to set the world on fire today. That was obvious when we drafted him. So far he has totally sucked pretty much beyond my expectations. On the other hand I realize he could become the next D. Lawrence. When and for how long we get that level of performance could potentially justify the pick. Having said that, so far we have gotten almost zero out of him and I think discussing that is fair game. The longer it continues it would become more and more of a valid criticism. I won't wait to criticize his play, but I will give time to determine if the pick was a good pick or not as time goes on (from the franchise's point of view). However, I will not let it slide that we are forcing his snaps because that is a poor decision from my point of view. I will root for the player and hope for the best.
Having said all of that, I think based on the level of play we are getting out of him now it would have been a lot better decision to not reach for him and take a better player. If we had drafted a RB instead of him (Mixon) it might have been the difference between making the playoffs this year and pissing off a year of cheap salary of Prescott's rookie contract. I concede that long term, selecting a DE might be the better choice than a RB but in the short term there is no debating that issue. Going for the best player would have been a better short term option. How much better would our team be if we had selected a linebacker with that pick and took a DE project later in the draft? Time will tell.
The DL is setting the world on fire. Its a bit surprising that they are doing THIS well, but its not really surprising that they have improved. Many of us said they aren't as bad as they appeared last year. Some us (including me) figured some of that improvement would come from Tapper, but that hasn't been the case (but I still have some degree of hope for him). The franchise got it right by not going out and throwing money at this problem and solving it in house. I am willing to give the organization some lattitude on the Taco pick, long term.
Jaylon, Jaylon, Jaylon. We knew he would be hampered to some degree this year, but hoped he would improve game by game. Unlike many, I think the pick was a reasonable risk. So far, like Taco, it hasn't panned out. I am willing to give the organization the benefit of waiting to see how it turns out, but I am not willing to give the organization a pass on playing a guy who really can't play at an acceptable level. Its just not even excusable.
DBs. The DBs are a mixed bag, but so far, quite honestly they are playing at a level that is approximately the same level as their higher priced, more experienced counterparts were last year. There is promise. These guys should get better. The team gambled a little bit here but it seems to be a reasonable gamble that is paying some dividends in splash plays (and cap savings).
The biggest complaint I have for the Cowboys on defense is the lack of quality depth at linebacker. Outside of Lee they really seem to struggle. Hitchens is serviceable, and steady. But Lee is an injury waiting to happen. They should have at least ONE guy of HITCHENS caliber that can come in and play in Lee's absence. Thats not asking much but they failed on that one. They should have not spent the money they spent on Carroll and spent it at linebacker. In my opinion the failure to contemplate the need for a decent backup linebacker was a "fail". Most importantly it was foreseeable, and it was a financially achievable fix.
Often, perception is different than reality. It is all subjective from person to person, and I find it truly fascinating that a player can be loved by some and despised (as a player) by others and literally every shade of grey in between. Importantly and significantly, it is often a fluid dynamic, and quite honestly, perceptions change over time. Sometimes it is based on the performance or lack thereof, by the player and sometimes it is based on wins and losses.
I try to ignore the game by game too high when we win and too low when we lose dynamic. I also try to ignore what I view as "outliers" meaning too high or too low of a performance (meaning stats) in a single event. Those facts tend to lie to you.
For as much as I bash the hell out of Taco I fully realize he was drafted as a long term prospect (not project). They didn't draft him to set the world on fire today. That was obvious when we drafted him. So far he has totally sucked pretty much beyond my expectations. On the other hand I realize he could become the next D. Lawrence. When and for how long we get that level of performance could potentially justify the pick. Having said that, so far we have gotten almost zero out of him and I think discussing that is fair game. The longer it continues it would become more and more of a valid criticism. I won't wait to criticize his play, but I will give time to determine if the pick was a good pick or not as time goes on (from the franchise's point of view). However, I will not let it slide that we are forcing his snaps because that is a poor decision from my point of view. I will root for the player and hope for the best.
Having said all of that, I think based on the level of play we are getting out of him now it would have been a lot better decision to not reach for him and take a better player. If we had drafted a RB instead of him (Mixon) it might have been the difference between making the playoffs this year and pissing off a year of cheap salary of Prescott's rookie contract. I concede that long term, selecting a DE might be the better choice than a RB but in the short term there is no debating that issue. Going for the best player would have been a better short term option. How much better would our team be if we had selected a linebacker with that pick and took a DE project later in the draft? Time will tell.
The DL is setting the world on fire. Its a bit surprising that they are doing THIS well, but its not really surprising that they have improved. Many of us said they aren't as bad as they appeared last year. Some us (including me) figured some of that improvement would come from Tapper, but that hasn't been the case (but I still have some degree of hope for him). The franchise got it right by not going out and throwing money at this problem and solving it in house. I am willing to give the organization some lattitude on the Taco pick, long term.
Jaylon, Jaylon, Jaylon. We knew he would be hampered to some degree this year, but hoped he would improve game by game. Unlike many, I think the pick was a reasonable risk. So far, like Taco, it hasn't panned out. I am willing to give the organization the benefit of waiting to see how it turns out, but I am not willing to give the organization a pass on playing a guy who really can't play at an acceptable level. Its just not even excusable.
DBs. The DBs are a mixed bag, but so far, quite honestly they are playing at a level that is approximately the same level as their higher priced, more experienced counterparts were last year. There is promise. These guys should get better. The team gambled a little bit here but it seems to be a reasonable gamble that is paying some dividends in splash plays (and cap savings).
The biggest complaint I have for the Cowboys on defense is the lack of quality depth at linebacker. Outside of Lee they really seem to struggle. Hitchens is serviceable, and steady. But Lee is an injury waiting to happen. They should have at least ONE guy of HITCHENS caliber that can come in and play in Lee's absence. Thats not asking much but they failed on that one. They should have not spent the money they spent on Carroll and spent it at linebacker. In my opinion the failure to contemplate the need for a decent backup linebacker was a "fail". Most importantly it was foreseeable, and it was a financially achievable fix.
