The Cowboys’ dominant roster was sculpted from Dallas’ dynastic past

[JoeKing]

I can see how one team can be modeled after another team but the chemistry on this team is it's own. This team is special.

 

[waving monkey]

Because Jerry Jones makes the decisions. He is the architect

I dont think your following ,have a good one

 

[Stryker44]

I dont think your following ,have a good one

Jerry Jones is the General Manager and decision maker with personnel. Not McCray. That's what I mean. Jones does the vast majority of the work and analysis.

You have a good one as well, well until 4:30 PM

 

[Sarge]

It's a good time to be Cowboys fan. Relish it.

 

[xwalker]

Are you under the impression that they walked into the draft dead set on taking Fredericks and Martin and none other?

Would they have taken Zeke if the Cowboys had not drafted the two previously mentioned linemen?

When you plan something, it means your intentions are already set before the plan is set in motion. You have a predetermined strategy. For example, when a woman plans a wedding, the elements of that plan are set in motion before that day arrives. She doesn't wait until her and the groom are standing in front of the preacher to decide on the flavor of the wedding cake.

They drafted Fredericks of Hollywood or did Travis Frederick get a new nickname?

You can't compare the draft to a wedding. No team except the on with the #1 overall pick can make an exact plan for the draft. Going into the draft determined to get specific players or positions is the worst possible draft strategy. The Cowboys did that in the past like when the were determined to get a DE and drafted Shante Carver.

The fact that they drafted 3 OLinemen in the first means that they were planning to draft OL high at some point. They were probably almost certain that Tyron would be the pick that year, but with Martin and Fred they had to wait. If Aaron Donald had fallen, maybe they would have drafted him.

They tried to trade for an additional 3rd year in 2014 to get OG Trai Turner (One of my favorite players in that draft) who has been a very good player.
Turner was named to Sports Illustrated All-Rookie Team. Through 618 snaps in the season, Turner did not allow a single sack.

2015 NFL season
Turner picked up where he left off from his strong rookie season. Through the first three games, he did not allow a sack and surrendered just 3 QB disruptions. Turner had not allowed a sack for the past 627 snaps, the 3rd longest streak in the NFL at Left Guard.[24] Through 6 games, Turner allowed just 8 hurries as a pass protector and as a run blocker, he rated as PFF's 4th best run blocker in the NFL. Further, through 9 weeks, Turner ranked as PFF's 4th best guard in the NFL.[26] Turner was selected for his first career Pro Bowl during the season. Turner could not play in the Pro Bowl due to the Panthers appearance in Super Bowl 50. For the season, Turner allowed just one sack all season despite a passing attack that held the ball longer than most and targeted downfield often. Further, Turner was charged with only 2.5 blown blocks in 1,074 snaps played. The only full-time guard with a better rate of blown blocks per snap was Dallas' Zack Martin.[According to PFF, Turner also had the seventh-highest pass-blocking efficiency among guards.[28] On September 6, 2016, Turner became the first solo offensive lineman since Nate Newton to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

In addition to the draft, they went all-in to lure UDFA La'el Collins to sign on and had previously given Ron Leary a 200K plus guarantee to sign as a UDFA.

They hired Bill Callahan in 2012 to install the Zone Blocking Scheme. This was an interesting move for an existing Head Coach. Normally those types of changes happen when a new Head Coach comes to a team.

Conclusion: Yes, they indeed "planned" to a have a top OLine.

 

[plasticman]

Letting Murray go was a smart move, not a mistake. The team would have had to have matched Philly's grossly overpaying for him, hurting our abilities to sign elsewhere.

Not true. Their original offer to Murray was so low it could have been interpreted as "get lost".

It wasnt until Jerry saw the degree to which Murray was being sought that he raised the offer but it was too late by then.

Since that time, the Cowboys tried twice to get him back, an admission that it was not the right move.

Other clues?

#1

4-12, and yes, he would have made a huge difference, as huge as Elliot is now. Who is that guy trailing Elliott for most yards without that elite Cowboy line?

Seriously, does anyone not believe that Weeden, who had a 92.1 rating and completed over 72% of his passes, would have greatly benefited from an elite running game?

Forget the year he spent in a poor offensive match with the Eagles, you can see Murrat was never a one year wonder.

#2

As "undervalued" the RB position is, the Cowboys burned a top #4 pick in the draft hoping to get the productivity they got from Murray in 2014. In fact, at this same 10 game juncture in 2014 Murray had over 100 yards more rushing than Elliott and a higher average yards per carry.

Not signing Murray before the end of the 2014 season was a huge blunder that destroyed a very sensitive and volitile team chemistry and they were blessed that they are not paying for it for the next ten years thanks to the presense of the two rookies.

I would compare not signing Murray to sitting Dak for the rest of the season while Romo takes us as far as we are painfully accustomed to.

 

[plasticman]

They drafted Fredericks of Hollywood or did Travis Frederick get a new nickname?

You can't compare the draft to a wedding. No team except the on with the #1 overall pick can make an exact plan for the draft. Going into the draft determined to get specific players or positions is the worst possible draft strategy. The Cowboys did that in the past like when the were determined to get a DE and drafted Shante Carver.

The fact that they drafted 3 OLinemen in the first means that they were planning to draft OL high at some point. They were probably almost certain that Tyron would be the pick that year, but with Martin and Fred they had to wait. If Aaron Donald had fallen, maybe they would have drafted him.

They tried to trade for an additional 3rd year in 2014 to get OG Trai Turner (One of my favorite players in that draft) who has been a very good player.
Turner was named to Sports Illustrated All-Rookie Team. Through 618 snaps in the season, Turner did not allow a single sack.

2015 NFL season
Turner picked up where he left off from his strong rookie season. Through the first three games, he did not allow a sack and surrendered just 3 QB disruptions. Turner had not allowed a sack for the past 627 snaps, the 3rd longest streak in the NFL at Left Guard.[24] Through 6 games, Turner allowed just 8 hurries as a pass protector and as a run blocker, he rated as PFF's 4th best run blocker in the NFL. Further, through 9 weeks, Turner ranked as PFF's 4th best guard in the NFL.[26] Turner was selected for his first career Pro Bowl during the season. Turner could not play in the Pro Bowl due to the Panthers appearance in Super Bowl 50. For the season, Turner allowed just one sack all season despite a passing attack that held the ball longer than most and targeted downfield often. Further, Turner was charged with only 2.5 blown blocks in 1,074 snaps played. The only full-time guard with a better rate of blown blocks per snap was Dallas' Zack Martin.[According to PFF, Turner also had the seventh-highest pass-blocking efficiency among guards.[28] On September 6, 2016, Turner became the first solo offensive lineman since Nate Newton to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

In addition to the draft, they went all-in to lure UDFA La'el Collins to sign on and had previously given Ron Leary a 200K plus guarantee to sign as a UDFA.

They hired Bill Callahan in 2012 to install the Zone Blocking Scheme. This was an interesting move for an existing Head Coach. Normally those types of changes happen when a new Head Coach comes to a team.

Conclusion: Yes, they indeed "planned" to a have a top OLine.

That was some interesting and unusual logic and I'm impressed by the way you used semantics as an escape hatch, you do it with flair.

Okay, we'll let it go, plenty more topics after today to debate.

 

[xwalker]

wrong

Good Pro Sports team consider the odds when making decisions. The odds were against Murray being worth the big contract. He would have been 31 or 32 at the end of that contract. RBs historically start to decline at 27, especially RBs that tend to seek out contact like Murray did. Also, very few RBs have ever recovered after the workload that Murray had in 2014. Combine that with Murray having only played 16 games one time (2014) and the fact that he had to go to extreme measures to keep from pulling a hamstring (drinking enough water to gain 10 pounds in 24 hours).

 

[Nightman]

Good Pro Sports team consider the odds when making decisions. The odds were against Murray being worth the big contract. He would have been 31 or 32 at the end of that contract. RBs historically start to decline at 27, especially RBs that tend to seek out contact like Murray did. Also, very few RBs have ever recovered after the workload that Murray had in 2014. Combine that with Murray having only played 16 games one time (2014) and the fact that he had to go to extreme measures to keep from pulling a hamstring (drinking enough water to gain 10 pounds in 24 hours).

you know that contracts aren't judged by the total years or total money

all deals are 2-3 year deals....PHI wasted one year with their gimmicks......but TENN shows that he is far from any of the things his 'fans' here in DAL labeled him as

3yrs and 24m is very reasonable for a top RB

 

[Galian Beast]

The defense isn't that far away from being really good. The problem is that we may take a step backwards overall as a team next year.