The Changing of the Guard (long)

[Hawkeye19]

With the ascendancy of Dak Prescott-- the Cowboys are in the process of reforging the core of this team. Older players are and will continue to be phased out. Last year-- it was Romo's release. This year it is Dez. Next year will be Witten. Sean Lee will be gone after two more years.

The FO is paving the way to make this team "Dak friendly". This is his team now. They thought Romo had 2-3 years left-- but his injury and Dak's surprise performance has forced them to accelerate the transition. It is a fact of life in any organization. The old leadership has to depart in order for the new leadership to establish its own identity.

Whether you like Dak or not-- the last two off-seasons have been about getting younger, and clearing the table of old guard leaders.

People say Dez getting cut is about the money. Wrong. It's about attitude and his ego/influence on the team. He's getting cut tomorrow because his antics/attitude/distractions outweigh his production and are getting in the way of Dak's development.

The only older players that you will see stick around will be "company guys" like Lee and Witten-- but they will be phased out too eventually. For better or worse-- the next 3-5 years of this franchise's success ride on their betting that Dak is "the guy".

If he stumbles badly-- it will take a season or two to recover, shift, and go in another direction to find a franchise QB. They are going to eliminate any and every excuse/hinderance that could possibly prevent Dak's success.

As much as we want defense in round one... prepare yourselves for a WR or OL. Defense will be addressed in rounds 2-4.

 

[Gridiron Man]

BS

 

[Beats_By_Zeke]

The title is Misleading!

 

[Hawkeye19]

The title is Misleading!

How so?

 

[CATCH17]

So Dak will be better without Dez? Ok...


Somehow the real problems get overlooked and we just blame it on Dez.

 

[Beats_By_Zeke]

How so?

It was not a "Long " post. I almost did not click on it.

 

[Hawkeye19]

So Dak will be better without Dez? Ok...


Somehow the real problems get overlooked and we just blame it on Dez.

I am not saying what I think about Dak or Dez-- rather, the post is about what I think the front office is doing right now in terms of philosophy and decision making. Just reading the tea leaves and the handwriting on the wall.

 

[Hawkeye19]

It was not a "Long " post. I almost did not click on it.

Gotcha

 

[jazzcat22]

And yet we keep on building a team for the future, for the long run. Yep having built in excuses for keeping Garrett while losing...becasue we are building for the long run....

well guess what, if you keep saying you are building for the long run, you are not building at all. Because you are never going for it while you have it in front of you.

it is like a revolving door...let's get rid of Romo, build for the long run...let's get rid of Dez, build for the long run...let's get rid of Witten, build for the long run...yet 3 years later at 8-8....guess what...

People will now say...let's get rid of Zeke, let's get rid of Dak and their contracts and ...build for the long run....

 

[CATCH17]

I am not saying what I think about Dak or Dez-- rather, the post is about what I think the front office is doing right now in terms of philosophy and decision making. Just reading the tea leaves and the handwriting on the wall.

If they think that they are stupid.


They have a guy out wide that Dak can throw to at anytime and there is a 50-50 chance of a big play.


If it's for cap purposes then go for it. Cut him. I admit they suck at using him so don't spend.

Just don't go chasing WR's after you cut him because you're not upgrading over Dez.

 

[DallasEast]

They thought Romo had 2-3 years left but their exuberance over Dak's surprise performance has prematurely motivated them to accelerate the transition.

Fixed.

If he stumbles badly-- it will take a season or two to recover, shift, and go in another direction to find a franchise QB.

Anything is possible but the Joneses rarely strip gears going into reverse. The decision was made at quarterback, probably early October 2016, for the franchise's next decade. No one should be surprised if the front office does not invest in a high round pick at the position for that long--barring significant injury to Prescott, that is.

PS I think @jday would disagree with your definition of "long".

 

[Hennessy_King]

I hope we throw out all the old players. This team needs a culture change and a coaching change for years now.

 

[jday]

With the ascendancy of Dak Prescott-- the Cowboys are in the process of reforging the core of this team. Older players are and will continue to be phased out. Last year-- it was Romo's release. This year it is Dez. Next year will be Witten. Sean Lee will be gone after two more years.

The FO is paving the way to make this team "Dak friendly". This is his team now. They thought Romo had 2-3 years left-- but his injury and Dak's surprise performance has forced them to accelerate the transition. It is a fact of life in any organization. The old leadership has to depart in order for the new leadership to establish its own identity.

Whether you like Dak or not-- the last two off-seasons have been about getting younger, and clearing the table of old guard leaders.

People say Dez getting cut is about the money. Wrong. It's about attitude and his ego/influence on the team. He's getting cut tomorrow because his antics/attitude/distractions outweigh his production and are getting in the way of Dak's development.

The only older players that you will see stick around will be "company guys" like Lee and Witten-- but they will be phased out too eventually. For better or worse-- the next 3-5 years of this franchise's success ride on their betting that Dak is "the guy".

If he stumbles badly-- it will take a season or two to recover, shift, and go in another direction to find a franchise QB. They are going to eliminate any and every excuse/hinderance that could possibly prevent Dak's success.

As much as we want defense in round one... prepare yourselves for a WR or OL. Defense will be addressed in rounds 2-4.

I agree with much of what you said, excluding the suggestion that this was "long" in your title...for me, this is about as short and sweet as I get.

But I think your right about the reasons behind why Dez is in the Front Offices crosshairs. But money is also part of that conversation, as well.

As to your suggestion that the Cowboys will leap to address WR or OL, I'm not so sure. Of course, much depends on what happens tomorrow, but at the same time, if you look at how they handled the draft last year, even if they do cut Dez (in much the same way they allowed the entire secondary to walk last offseason) I think they are going to take a hard look at how the draft unfolds in the first day to determine the order. In other words, if there is a run on WR early on the first day, then you are probably right...they'll go get their receiver. But, if by 19 the majority (if not all) the top tier receivers are still available, they will look for help elsewhere and my guess is they'll look to trade up higher into the second round and address WR there following either taking an offensive lineman, or a player that helps the middle of their defense (DT, LB, S...of course, I'm leaning towards LB).

 

[Hawkeye19]

If they think that they are stupid.


They have a guy out wide that Dak can throw to at anytime and there is a 50-50 chance of a big play.


If it's for cap purposes then go for it. Cut him. I admit they suck at using him so don't spend.

Just don't go chasing WR's after you cut him because you're not upgrading over Dez.

You wouldn't be the first person to call this front office "stupid" lol... And for what it's worth-- I agree with you. In my opinion-- Dak has not done enough yet to prove that he is the long term solution at QB.

The way this FO is treating Dez right now is abysmal. If they want to cut him-- dragging it out like this is disrespectful. That being said-- I understand why they are making the decisions they are making IF it is indeed true that they look at Dak as a legit talent at QB and the future face of the franchise.

 

[Stash]

And yet we keep on building a team for the future, for the long run. Yep having built in excuses for keeping Garrett while losing...becasue we are building for the long run....

well guess what, if you keep saying you are building for the long run, you are not building at all. Because you are never going for it while you have it in front of you.

it is like a revolving door...let's get rid of Romo, build for the long run...let's get rid of Dez, build for the long run...let's get rid of Witten, build for the long run...yet 3 years later at 8-8....guess what...

People will now say...let's get rid of Zeke, let's get rid of Dak and their contracts and ...build for the long run....

You nailed it here. In today's NFL, there is no "long run". It's now a 4-year league. If you don't win anything within 4 years, you're essentially reloading with an almost totally different team.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2014_roster.htm

By my rough count, about 12 players remain from the 2014 team, less than one-third. And that's counting the three specialists who rarely see the field.

You don't maintain status quo. You're either contending or rebuilding.

 

[jday]

Fixed.
Anything is possible but the Joneses rarely strip gears going into reverse. The decision was made at quarterback, probably early October 2016, for the franchise's next decade. No one should be surprised if the front office invests a high round pick at the position for that long--barring significant injury to Prescott, that is.

PS I think @jday would disagree with your definition of "long".

I just pointed that out before I even saw this post.

 

[Stash]

If they think that they are stupid.


They have a guy out wide that Dak can throw to at anytime and there is a 50-50 chance of a big play.


If it's for cap purposes then go for it. Cut him. I admit they suck at using him so don't spend.

Just don't go chasing WR's after you cut him because you're not upgrading over Dez.

And there's little available to "spend" on at this point either. If you were going to do this, you should have done it before the stores closed.

 

[MCMetal69]

The odds that this team is going to be better by cutting Dez and drafting his replacement are equivalent to my being Elvis Presley in disguise...........Bryant was one of the most electrifying and physically dominant receivers before injuries took him down ; I find it hard to believe he's lost it completely.........But maybe he has..........

 

[ShortRound]

It's more on coaching than players. the fact that we had names like Romo, Dez, Witten, Lee...etc
and haven't been able to string together two playoff wins in one year speaks to coaching.

The carousel of players, is a game by the staff to keep them safe and us distracted.
We need new coaching and a competent GM.

 

[Stash]

You wouldn't be the first person to call this front office "stupid" lol... And for what it's worth-- I agree with you. In my opinion-- Dak has not done enough yet to prove that he is the long term solution at QB.

The way this FO is treating Dez right now is abysmal. If they want to cut him-- dragging it out like this is disrespectful. That being said-- I understand why they are making the decisions they are making IF it is indeed true that they look at Dak as a legit talent at QB and the future face of the franchise.

I can't figure out any benefit whatsoever in cutting Dez now. Right before the draft, with few players left to spend your newfound cap space on. Unless there are players they haven't even talked to for lack of money. Even then, I think they could have gotten an extension or two done to free up that money.