The Cowboys have been rebuilding under Garrett

[xwalker]

So lf Garrett has been rebuilding for 3 and a half years, where are the results? They have been a. 500 team for Garretts entire tenure. How much longer are fans supposed to wait? Where is the improvement? Certainly not on defense?

How much longer does Garret get? Two more years? Five more years? More?

I can accept rebuilding when there is progress. Jimmy Johnson went from 1-15 to 7-9 to playoffs to Super Bowl. Garrett has gone from8-8 to 8-8 to 5-5. Where is the progress? And how much longer do we have to wait?

Jimmy started with something near Zero. Due to the salary cap and the massive amount of overpaid veterans players, Garrett started with something with negative value. A team with massive salary cap problems and dead-money could be considered a worse condition than having a blank slate with a roster of 53 high school players.

The salary cap will always look tight with an expensive veteran QB; however, they could be near the end of the dead-money years after 2014. The big contracts of active players are a much smaller problem with the salary cap than dead-money. Active contracts can be extended, dead-money cannot.

The dead-money from Ratliff's contract will all be gone after 2014. If players like Ware or Austin are cut, not having their base salaries offsets the dead-money and actually gives the team more room under the cap.

 

[Hoov]

You dont rebuild with a 30+ year old qb. More empty apologism for a mediocre job.

You do if ur building a solid team to be in place for his replacement which you will be drafting in 2 years

 

[TheSport78]

When you have a top ten QB and you're paying him elite player money, you're NEVER rebuilding IMO.

 

[CyberB0b]

Just because there are different faces, doesn't mean the team is rebuilding. Surely, the 2002 depth chart was much different than the 1999 roster when Campo took over.

Clearly, Dave Campo rebuilt the roster.

 

[Hoofbite]

Plus with the draft and free agency, you are adding 10-15 new players to the roster every season. Doesnt take long for a 53 man roster to turn over, even if you do have a couple of superstars on long term deals.

Agreed. And lets be honest, it's not like he didn't have a hand in building the roster of 2010.

 

[camelboy]

I think that's what JJ means when he says he did some of his best GM job the last few years…I think OP is right..they are rebuilding but they do not and will not come out and talk about it….

 

[xwalker]

This is a very good question and one that I have brought up on another site.

If Dallas has been rebuilding and Garrett has done a good job of building the team, that implies that the 2011 team is worse than the team we see today and yet the results have not changed.

If Garrett got 8 wins out of a crappy 2011 team and he's since built the team then why is the 2013 team set to go 8-8 only this time the 8-8 record comes on the back of playing in one of the worst divisions out there?

Two teams can have a similar talent level; however, the upside can be much better for 1 team than the other.

The following drawing depicts 2 teams with equal talent; however, the average of the players on the first team are on the upside of their career while the average of the players on the 2nd team are on the downside of their careers.

 

[Kristen82]

Two teams can have a similar talent level; however, the upside can be much better for 1 team than the other.

The following drawing depicts 2 teams with equal talent; however, the average of the players on the first team are on the upside of their career while the average of the players on the 2nd team are on the downside of their careers.

You just wanted an excuse to draw boobs, didn't you....

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Jimmy started with something near Zero. Due to the salary cap and the massive amount of overpaid veterans players, Garrett started with something with negative value.

Absolutely ridiculous comment.

 

[mahoneybill]

So lf Garrett has been rebuilding for 3 and a half years, where are the results? They have been a. 500 team for Garretts entire tenure. How much longer are fans supposed to wait? Where is the improvement? Certainly not on defense?

How much longer does Garret get? Two more years? Five more years? More?

I can accept rebuilding when there is progress. Jimmy Johnson went from 1-15 to 7-9 to playoffs to Super Bowl. Garrett has gone from8-8 to 8-8 to 5-5. Where is the progress? And how much longer do we have to wait?

He also had herschel walker deal to help him

The veterans received by the Cowboys were linebackers Jesse Solomon and David Howard, cornerback Issiac Holt, defensive end Alex Stewart and running back Darrin Nelson.

The draft picks were used on Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith and Darren Woodson.

Three of the picks were traded by the Cowboys. Nelson balked at the trade, refused to report and was traded to chargers

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Just more excuses to explain the Cowboys underperforming record.

 

[pjtoadie]

It worked in Denver.

Yeah with Peyton Manning!

 

[xwalker]

You just wanted an excuse to draw boobs, didn't you....

It didn't occur to me that the drawing might resemble boobs, but I see how your mind works.

 

[5Stars]

You just wanted an excuse to draw boobs, didn't you....

lmao

You're so bad...

 

[Wizarus]

It worked in Denver.

Denver was already a decent team that lacked a good QB. I mean they went to the playoffs with Tim Tebow.

 

[TwoDeep3]

It is the premise of the OP that this team has been rebuilt, or in the process of rebuilding, that brings up an even more scary proposition than this team befuddling themselves into mediocre.

This means that the architect - Jason Garrett - has no clue that football is built from the trenches out. Successful lines open holes or close them. Successful lines put on pressure or prevent it. Successful lines make the support players on defense and the skill players on offense successful.

So taking this into consideration, two options here come to mind.

**Garrett is a complete moron that doesn't understand what it takes to build a football team that has powerful lines which excel. Or far worse doesn't understand the significance of the truth about the lines and the muddled crap he fields is his best foot forward.

** The OP's proposition is the steaming matter falling from a tall bull's butt and Jerry and his egomaniacal, narcissistic attitude causes him to think he knows best and makes the decisions, and we all know - or almost all of us know - Jerry cannot build this team because he is not a football man nor talent evaluator.

Now we have approximately seventeen years of results to choose from. It should be pretty evident Opie is a puppet. Parcels put together some talent and Wade Phillips profited from that talent, but the culture of this team, and continued undisciplined play from the players caused the team to fail.

Garrett has had his hands in this for seven years and the team is steadily eroding, because in this game you are moving up or down, There is no static because of cap and age.

I'll allow you to decide which is the path the Cowboys have taken. And I suppose since Garrett has arrived he and Jerry both have built this franchise, or rebuilt it to be one of the best .500 teams in the league.

It is just too bad, no matter which way it was assembled that .500 doesn't win you anything.

Searching for a silver lining in a pile of bull manure is a dirty job. I suppose someone has to do it.

 

[TrailBlazer]

Semantics. Rebuild, reload, 90% rebuild, non-QB rebuild, etc.. Whatever you want to label it. It has been a massive overhaul.

There is a high probability that they are down to 4 older/expensive players in 2014. There's a slight possibility that it could be down to 2 players if they decide not to pay 12.25M for the declining, soon to be 32 year old Ware and if they happen to draft an OT to replace Free.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We need to do more than just churn the bottom half of the roster. We need bigger changes to have a true complete rebuild. That means coaches too! The players who are old and overpaid have got to go. That's ware and miles and maybe hatch if he demands too much. Id like to keep marinelli an just find the right personnel to fit what he wants to do. New OC that is creative, innovative, and knows how to use dez in many different ways. And lastly but most important, draft a qb in round 1 next year. Lets face it, Romo's best days are behind him and i dont see us winning anything with him going forward. And I don't want to go through another Anthony wright, Ryan leaf, Vinny Testeverde, etc. type scenario. Our others needs won't matter because no 1 player can put us over the top right now. Maybe we can trade down and pick up an extra 2nd or 3rd and replenish the DL. Either way, I don't believe we will be a contender next year. Its gonna take time to fix this thing. If we lose to NYG, time to tank and start a real rebuild.

 

[jobberone]

This is a very good question and one that I have brought up on another site.

If Dallas has been rebuilding and Garrett has done a good job of building the team, that implies that the 2011 team is worse than the team we see today and yet the results have not changed.

If Garrett got 8 wins out of a crappy 2011 team and he's since built the team then why is the 2013 team set to go 8-8 only this time the 8-8 record comes on the back of playing in one of the worst divisions out there?

Injuries....way more than normal for one unit.

 

[khiladi]

Cowboys would have been rebuilding irrespective of the coach. That's what happens when players get old. BTW, the picks on offense during Wade's era, you don't think Garrett had any input?

 

[xwalker]

The more things change, the more they stay the same. We need to do more than just churn the bottom half of the roster. We need bigger changes to have a true complete rebuild. That means coaches too! The players who are old and overpaid have got to go. That's ware and miles and maybe hatch if he demands too much. Id like to keep marinelli an just find the right personnel to fit what he wants to do. New OC that is creative, innovative, and knows how to use dez in many different ways. And lastly but most important, draft a qb in round 1 next year. Lets face it, Romo's best days are behind him and i dont see us winning anything with him going forward. And I don't want to go through another Anthony wright, Ryan leaf, Vinny Testeverde, etc. type scenario. Our others needs won't matter because no 1 player can put us over the top right now. Maybe we can trade down and pick up an extra 2nd or 3rd and replenish the DL. Either way, I don't believe we will be a contender next year. Its gonna take time to fix this thing. If we lose to NYG, time to tank and start a real rebuild.

I agree and disagree.

I agree that they should move on from Ware, Austin and Hatcher. I would always put the roster together with a focus on the following year, not the current season (i.e. this offseason I would focus on building for 2015). The exception would be if the team wins some playoff games. If a team has won playoff games, then it can be justified to keep or acquire some older and/or expensive players.

I disagree on Romo. He looks the same physically to me. It appears that the coaches have made him a low risk type QB and the play calling and game planning have gotten worse, not better. I reviewed the Denver game this week to see what was different about the Cowboys offense. For some unknown reason, they have quit doing many of the things that were successful in that game.

I wouldn't draft a QB early. They can't cut Romo for 2 or 3 years due to the contract. With the new CBA, you can't afford to have a 1st round QB sit on the bench for 2 or 3 years.

I would make the top priority the OLine and running game. If that requires a new offense or offensive coordinator, then so be it.

Add 1 great OL and find the right play caller and this offense could be great, IMO.

Marinelli has done a good job with castoffs. I think he can build a good DL with some draft picks and possibly a couple of mid-level free agents. I don't think he requires multiple 8 to 12 million dollar per year players. He just needs to make it through a complete training camp with the players that started training camp. There is only so much you can do with players acquired during the season.