The Big If Is Scaring The Heck Out of Me

[TheHerd]

Here's what's scary to me tank makes 21 million a year Cooper makes 20 million a year Martin and Tyron make roughly 12 million a year Zeke makes 12 million a year and Dak makes like 40.

What sense would it make for any of these guys to go the extra mile and even want to play a playoff game let alone three to get to a game where they make 150k.

Jerry has paid these guys so much that the risk to win a championship is not worth the reward.

Micah Parsons and Trayvon Diggs make about 5 and 1/2 million together so it certainly makes sense that these are the guys that are going 110% at all times trying to make their big contract.

Sorry guys but this is a business we fans are the only ones that really care about winning a championship.

Players have learned a long time ago that they age in dog years and the most important thing is to make money in the small window of time you have in the NFL

Kupp makes 18M a year, Ramsey 20, Aaron Donald 22. They don't seem to be having trouble risking anything to get to the Super Bowl. Every team has highly paid players. The key is paying the guys who want to win and contribute to that winning.

 

[fivetwos]

Kupp makes 18M a year, Ramsey 20, Aaron Donald 22. They don't seem to be having trouble risking anything to get to the Super Bowl. Every team has highly paid players. The key is paying the guys who want to win and contribute to that winning.

Their coach wants a championship VERY badly and that vibe extends to the players. That group WANTS it.

Does anyone look at MM or our guys and get that impression?

In fact he fits right in with the owner and players here.....winning would be nice but getting paid is first and foremost.

I was surprised at how disinterested Dallas looked in the playoff game.

Oh we lost? Oh well. It ain't my fault. Party time either way.

 

[Doomsday101]

In a salary cap league, teams are often forced to make tough decisions. This is one of those years for us. We tried to make a run in 2021, but obviously came up short.

Now we have to cut costs, try to keep the young talent that we do have, and draft well to quickly reload for another opportunity. And hope that we don’t squander the next one.

a lot of teams right now feel the same way. We will see what happens in FA and the draft and move on from there. I do think a big key will be along the OL, center and guard hurt us both in running game and pass protection. Defense even if we lose Dlaw I see a lot of young talent and vet talent that they can build off of.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

If the Cowboys release DLAW for cap purposes, he will have a choice of any team in the league. We will be the real losers, as we do not have anyone to replace him. Dorrance Armstrong may also bolt and we will be left with some mediocre free agent or worse, a green rookie.

Retaining Armstrong is important if DLAW will be released, as he finally showed the talent and performance this year that made him initially a wise draft choice. He probably will be a better LDE replacement than anyone we draft or sign as a free agent.

Gregory will also have to be resigned, but a team with lots of cap room can just overpay him and he will also bolt. Do we then have for DE only Chauncey Golston and the small sized Bardley Anae?

If we lose two DE's to free agencies or a combo of a DLAW release and 1-2 free agent DE's leaving, we will be stripped bare to the bone, as bad as we were going into the 2005 draft, when Parcels drafted DWARE, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff and 3nd round LB K Burnett, Marion Barber.

Stripped so bare, we will not be able to target positions of need in the draft, a center and a guard/tackle for the OL, a LB, a TE if Schultz leaves, another WR if Wilson or Malik Turner leave, or if Coop is cut to find salary cap money.

Once again the National Communist League with the free agent rules will destroy my favorite team. The Jones have an inability to manage the cap, as they overpay too many people.

The Jones crew better be very aggressive in retaining our own free agents early on during the free agency period, or we will be completely taken to the cleaners, wiped out, especially on defense. Promise them some off-the table business opportunities. Get them multi-million endordement deals they do not have now. Hook up the free agents with some big corporations whose exectives' egos would love to have a Cowboy on its board.

Now is the time to move hard and swiftly.

he maybe good, but he is not that good. first he has been injury prone and missed games every year for one reason or another. when he has played, he has been good but not great.....Armstrong may not have been as good as him, but still had 5 sacks in 3 games he started and played in 13 games. Lawrence in 7 games he played had 3 sacks, 7 QB pressures....

we can do a lot more than what lawrence brings to the table with the 18M savings on the cap.

I think the cowboys will work hard to resign Gregory and they are already talking to his agent.

btw, none of those guys went on to do anything great when they left (except for ware, but it was because we switch back to a 4-3 defense and he didn't fit any more).

and why are you blaming the league? its the same rules for everyone. the ones that manage it best succeed.

 

[TheHerd]

Their coach wants a championship VERY badly and that vibe extends to the players. That group WANTS it.

Does anyone look at MM or our guys and get that impression?

In fact he fits right in with the owner and players here.....winning would be nice but getting paid is first and foremost.

I was surprised at how disinterested Dallas looked in the playoff game.

Oh we lost? Oh well. It ain't my fault. Party time either way.

I'll extend it to Jerry. He wants to win, but in the end the billions and expanding the brand are the top priority. As long as we win enough and create enough hype to keep the brand on top, everything else is just fine.

I've seen a meme going around that the NFL doesn't want any more home Super Bowls, so they're going to have it at AT&T every year. I bet Jerry would be ok with that. Having his prize possession front and center for two weeks every year and getting the $$$ and exposure that go with it are a trade off I think he'd make.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

The worst part of Jerry hijacking our team and insisting on running it into the ground is his intimidating the local media into not calling him out.

And getting away with it.

The media is bought and paid for......they have been selling our overrated team for decades!!!

 

[LACowboysFan1]

If the Cowboys release DLAW for cap purposes, he will have a choice of any team in the league. We will be the real losers, as we do not have anyone to replace him. Dorrance Armstrong may also bolt and we will be left with some mediocre free agent or worse, a green rookie.

Retaining Armstrong is important if DLAW will be released, as he finally showed the talent and performance this year that made him initially a wise draft choice. He probably will be a better LDE replacement than anyone we draft or sign as a free agent.

Gregory will also have to be resigned, but a team with lots of cap room can just overpay him and he will also bolt. Do we then have for DE only Chauncey Golston and the small sized Bardley Anae?

If we lose two DE's to free agencies or a combo of a DLAW release and 1-2 free agent DE's leaving, we will be stripped bare to the bone, as bad as we were going into the 2005 draft, when Parcels drafted DWARE, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff and 3nd round LB K Burnett, Marion Barber.

Stripped so bare, we will not be able to target positions of need in the draft, a center and a guard/tackle for the OL, a LB, a TE if Schultz leaves, another WR if Wilson or Malik Turner leave, or if Coop is cut to find salary cap money.

Once again the National Communist League with the free agent rules will destroy my favorite team. The Jones have an inability to manage the cap, as they overpay too many people.

The Jones crew better be very aggressive in retaining our own free agents early on during the free agency period, or we will be completely taken to the cleaners, wiped out, especially on defense. Promise them some off-the table business opportunities. Get them multi-million endordement deals they do not have now. Hook up the free agents with some big corporations whose exectives' egos would love to have a Cowboy on its board.

Now is the time to move hard and swiftly.

Good post, don't agree with all you said, but that's life as a Cowboys fan.



Though personally I would both love and hate to see it, at this point, to me, it's just as valid a strategy to try and retain as many of the team's free agents as possible, and hope they can build on the Parsons and Diggs draft picks, as to trade and/or let go as many players as you can except for the Parsons' and Diggs, and start from scratch. Go 0-17 and with the traded players get as many high draft picks as possible. I mean, just look at the Bengals, from 4-11-1 to the SB in two years. Remember Dallas' rise from 1-15 to SB win in 4 years? Both teams were awful, got the no. 1 pick and success followed quickly.

And before the "but Jerry can't build a team" posts start, maybe going from dead last to the SB is what Jerry CAN do, but can't take a mediocre team and build THAT to a SB team.

I mean it's 26 years and counting since a SB win, not like tearing down the team would be messing with success.

Just thinking out loud....

 

[Stash]

a lot of teams right now feel the same way. We will see what happens in FA and the draft and move on from there. I do think a big key will be along the OL, center and guard hurt us both in running game and pass protection. Defense even if we lose Dlaw I see a lot of young talent and vet talent that they can build off of.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on a pet-cat potential reclamation project I have in mind for left guard - Will Hernandez. He’s had a rough past two years but prior to that he was a solid starter and highly-regarded draft pick.

He plays with power and an aggressive attitude that I think could benefit our line. I liked him in the draft and I know he was close with our linemen at that time. He also works out in Dallas with Duke Manyweather.

Given his past two seasons, I don’t think he’d cost us all that much.

 

[Creeper]

Demarcus Lawrence is a very good player. He is just not worth $21 million a year. People who think we can just cut guys like Lawrence and not suffer on the field make me laugh. The OP has a point. With Gregory and Armstrong becoming free agents, if the Cowboys cutting Lawrence could leave them with Golston and Basham as their starting DEs. The Cowboys were just starting to develop into a good defense. Losing 3 DEs will put them back to 2020 level defense.

What we already know is the Cowboys will not sign a top tier DE to replace Lawrence or Gregory. And drafting 24th, it is unlikely they get a rookie who will be capable of filling the gap.

Cutting Cooper and Lawrence in 2022 creates two more problems for Dallas to solve when they really need to fix the OL. They can restructure Cooper and Lawrence and save about the same amount of money as if they cut both of them.

And always remember, if Jerry did not overpay Lawrence by $5 million a year, he would not be facing this problem now.

 

[Doomsday101]

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on a pet-cat potential reclamation project I have in mind for left guard - Will Hernandez. He’s had a rough past two years but prior to that he was a solid starter and highly-regarded draft pick.

He plays with power and an aggressive attitude that I think could benefit our line. I liked him in the draft and I know he was close with our linemen at that time. He also works out in Dallas with Duke Manyweather.

Given his past two seasons, I don’t think he’d cost us all that much.

Frankly I think with a good center in place I think would help a lot of Guards. No issue with Hernandez should he come here but the center spot in my view outside of tackle is critical.

 

[fivetwos]

I'll extend it to Jerry. He wants to win, but in the end the billions and expanding the brand are the top priority. As long as we win enough and create enough hype to keep the brand on top, everything else is just fine.

I've seen a meme going around that the NFL doesn't want any more home Super Bowls, so they're going to have it at AT&T every year. I bet Jerry would be ok with that. Having his prize possession front and center for two weeks every year and getting the $$$ and exposure that go with it are a trade off I think he'd make.

Yep, and the 'scary' part should be that the kid is probably worse in that line of thinking.

Someone around here posted once that one would think any cap savings goes right into his inheritance....or something like that.

The only hope I hold out anymore that the kid will be different is that maybe, just maybe he won't be as vindictive as the old man and the media will finally get on him to where he hires a GM to buffer it.

 

[Stash]

Frankly I think with a good center in place I think would help a lot of Guards. No issue with Hernandez should he come here but the center spot in my view outside of tackle is critical.

I agree, I think center definitely needs an upgrade. It’s too bad as I had high hopes for Biadasz but he seemed to regress rather than improve as the season went along. I thought he had more power than he shows, and I think the mental process of his game isn’t what I had hoped for. I though Farniok looked better in his brief opportunities.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Production don’t match the pay

True, but how much of that is due strictly to Lawrence? The interior pass rush is near non- existent, the run defense is mediocre, teams can just run up the middle, do quick passes, etc. and I don't care who is at LDE, he's not going to have great "production".

And as far as "production" goes, stat-wise anyway, just check the stats - Lawrence and Gregory are right beside the other:

0

DeMarcus Lawrence 21 16 5 3 0 2

Randy Gregory 19 15 4 6 3

Only substantial difference is 3 sacks for Lawrence vs. 6 for Gregory, but have to keep in mind Gregory plays RDE, which is the blind side for nearly all the quarterbacks, since most are right handed.

I get your point, money is an issue, but regardless of the money, if you let Lawrence go, you're losing good production in the HOPES that you can get the same, or better, with a rookie or some other Dallas free agent.

No easy answers, I just tend to be wary or "throwing the baby out with the bath water"..

 

[Doomsday101]

I agree, I think center definitely needs an upgrade. It’s too bad as I had high hopes for Biadasz but he seemed to regress rather than improve as the season went along. I thought he had more power than he shows, and I think the mental process of his game isn’t what I had hoped for. I though Farniok looked better in his brief opportunities.

I agree, had high hope for him as well but he gets blown up and driven back into the pocket. Frankly was missing Joe Looney this season, I think he is not great but solid center who could hold up in the middle.

 

[Stash]

I agree, had high hope for him as well but he gets blown up and driven back into the pocket. Frankly was missing Joe Looney this season, I think he is not great but solid center who could hold up in the middle.

Yeah, Looney made a big mistake signing with the Giants, but it felt like he got tired if waiting for the Cowboys to do something. It felt to me like they got arrogant there and thought they could get him whenever they wanted.

 

[McKDaddy]

Decisions have to be made. But given the situation, probably best to bite the bullet on some of these now & try to get young blood in the pipeline. Some young hungry players might mix in with players like Parsons & truly change the mindset of the locker room. Get rid of the ones who learned under Garrett & have shown they are more about their brand than production on the field.

 

[blueblood70]

If the Cowboys release DLAW for cap purposes, he will have a choice of any team in the league. We will be the real losers, as we do not have anyone to replace him. Dorrance Armstrong may also bolt and we will be left with some mediocre free agent or worse, a green rookie.

Retaining Armstrong is important if DLAW will be released, as he finally showed the talent and performance this year that made him initially a wise draft choice. He probably will be a better LDE replacement than anyone we draft or sign as a free agent.

Gregory will also have to be resigned, but a team with lots of cap room can just overpay him and he will also bolt. Do we then have for DE only Chauncey Golston and the small sized Bardley Anae?

If we lose two DE's to free agencies or a combo of a DLAW release and 1-2 free agent DE's leaving, we will be stripped bare to the bone, as bad as we were going into the 2005 draft, when Parcels drafted DWARE, Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff and 3nd round LB K Burnett, Marion Barber.

Stripped so bare, we will not be able to target positions of need in the draft, a center and a guard/tackle for the OL, a LB, a TE if Schultz leaves, another WR if Wilson or Malik Turner leave, or if Coop is cut to find salary cap money.

Once again the National Communist League with the free agent rules will destroy my favorite team. The Jones have an inability to manage the cap, as they overpay too many people.

The Jones crew better be very aggressive in retaining our own free agents early on during the free agency period, or we will be completely taken to the cleaners, wiped out, especially on defense. Promise them some off-the table business opportunities. Get them multi-million endordement deals they do not have now. Hook up the free agents with some big corporations whose exectives' egos would love to have a Cowboy on its board.

Now is the time to move hard and swiftly.

on the flip side its strong draft for DEs might have to jump up bit and go after one should the scenario of losing dlaw and Gregory..good thing most of FA is before the draft so we will know going in what we need, maybe Gholston turns into something.

 

[McKDaddy]

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on a pet-cat potential reclamation project I have in mind for left guard - Will Hernandez. He’s had a rough past two years but prior to that he was a solid starter and highly-regarded draft pick.

He plays with power and an aggressive attitude that I think could benefit our line. I liked him in the draft and I know he was close with our linemen at that time. He also works out in Dallas with Duke Manyweather.

Given his past two seasons, I don’t think he’d cost us all that much.

I have wondered about that connection as well. He really irritated me with his chippiness whenever we played them. I don't think he's a great guard by any means but as you said he does have power & aggressiveness which this team could use.

 

[Coogiguy03]

Who replaced him when he missed 10 games w/a broken bone in his foot last season? Didn't you watch those games? Hot Boyz salary cap hit this year is at a whopping $27 million.

Jerry's hoping for a hometown discount from Gregory. Don't let the door hit ya where the sun don't shine Tank. Touche'

I JUST LOVE HER!! Great POST

 

[Aven8]

Lawrence got his big contract based on mistakes made elsewhere. Greg Hardy was a bust. And drafting Taco over TJ Watt guaranteed that they had no choice but to keep him. He benefited more than anyone from their other mistakes.

Well it didn’t help him having his best year that year either. Having said that it’s unfortunate he makes so much as he really is a good player.