The front office has failed to build depth - again

[waving monkey]

The crushing loss to the Atlanta Falcons showed that the Dallas Cowboys are suffering from an old bugaboo. They have a very good, perhaps great, starting roster, but when some key injuries happen, they don’t have effective depth to compensate.

And this is a failing that falls largely on the top management for the team. Specifically Jerry Jones has to take responsibility for this. There have certainly been some misfires in the acquisition of players, but this is one area where Jones’ approach to that has shaped things. Now it is threatening to drop the Cowboys out of the playoffs altogether.

The big issues in that 27-7 drubbing were the absence of Tyron Smith and the loss of Sean Lee at the end of the first quarter. In both cases, Dallas had no answer. The coaches certainly made some errors along the way, both in preparation for the game and in not finding ways to adjust adequately. But in hindsight, it is clear that the coaching staff was hamstrung (pun intended) by the lack of the right personnel.

Exhibit A has to be Chaz Green. He was a monumental failure as Smith’s backup. He was simply awful, and it seemed to be both a lack of technique and physical ability. Adrian Clayborn had a career game. It was so good, he really should tip Green.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...led-to-build-depth-again-sean-lee-tyron-smith

 

[Q_the_man]

We loss, period. No matter how we lost we lost and now it's time to adjust or finish the season at 7-9 or 8-8.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

I disagree with this.

But if there is a team that can lose 4 All Pros (Bailey counts in there for me) to injury/suspension and be fine in this salary cap era let me know.

I'll then point to the 2016 Cowboys who lost League MVP at QB (Tony won it in 2014 in my mind) and turned a project 4th round QB into arguably the league MVP.

For those who say this team doesn't have depth I wonder if they remember when we were signing defensive lineman literally off the street every week. Literally.

 

[noshame]

I'm beginning to really believe letting Callahan walk was a big mistake, there is no way green looks that bad under his tutelage

 

[Wolfpack]

I don't think it is as much personnel as coaching. Other teams seem to make do with make shift OLs but here the wheels always come off.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

No dept whatsoever and out backups are not just bad but awful.

 

[CATCH17]

It’s coaching more then it is depth.

It can’t be perfect all the time.

You shouldn’t lose a tackle and almost give up an NFL sack record with a guy who has played well in this league.

 

[IrishAnto]

I disagree with this.

But if there is a team that can lose 4 All Pros (Bailey counts in there for me) to injury/suspension and be fine in this salary cap era let me know.

I'll then point to the 2016 Cowboys who lost League MVP at QB (Tony won it in 2014 in my mind) and turned a project 4th round QB into arguably the league MVP.

For those who say this team doesn't have depth I wonder if they remember when we were signing defensive lineman literally off the street every week. Literally.

Well Green Bay had 17-18 guys on IR when they won the SB in 2011 and they found a way.
I know they had Rodgers at QB but he still needed a team around him.
That would never happen here.

 

[JakeCamp12]

On defense, the problem that the team has is that Lee does too much. I believe the other linebackers just let him do everything and tell them where to be. So when he is out, they can't pick up the slack. Lee covers up so much that when he is out, he leaves this huge void. If he is out for the next 2 games, I would be happier if he was call the defense instead of Marinelli.

 

[HungryLion]

We literally have no depth at LB.

Sean Lee has a well known injury history.

Anthony Hitchens was injured during the pre season.

And they came into the season with. NO viable LB back ups. They chose to rely on a second year player with one leg.

So when Lee gets hurt, the defense can’t stop the run. And we have no chance to win.

It was a huge mistake.

But this is what happens when you crap the bed in free agency. You can’t build depth through the draft alone. You need to find solid, cheap veteran free agents to be back ups.

They failed miserably.

 

[ShiningStar]

I disagree with this.

But if there is a team that can lose 4 All Pros (Bailey counts in there for me) to injury/suspension and be fine in this salary cap era let me know.

I'll then point to the 2016 Cowboys who lost League MVP at QB (Tony won it in 2014 in my mind) and turned a project 4th round QB into arguably the league MVP.

For those who say this team doesn't have depth I wonder if they remember when we were signing defensive lineman literally off the street every week. Literally.

it should not be that they loss, granted on that you are correct. the problem is how they lost and why they continued to allow it to happen that long.

 

[Stash]

I'm beginning to really believe letting Callahan walk was a big mistake, there is no way green looks that bad under his tutelage

Sure it was.

But it was a power struggle with Garrett and that just can't happen.

Look no further than how well Washington managed to weather the storm when their entire offensive line was out injured.

Callahan kept it together. Ours loses one and it all falls apart.

 

[Stash]

I don't think it is as much personnel as coaching. Other teams seem to make do with make shift OLs but here the wheels always come off.

And the author kept mentioning it, but then choosing to blame personnel decisions instead. That's showed me his agenda.

 

[Sydla]

We have depth issues at certain positions, for sure.

1Tech is a disaster. LB depth is poor. Frankly, I don't like our TE depth either. OL depth is OK.

We seem deep at CB and DE and that's about it.

This is what happens when you basically eschew any attempts at getting better through FA and instead sign bargain bin buns that either don't help you or get cut almost immediately.

The front office needs to rethink their plan.

 

[Alexander]

Depth means a lot of things.

Picking the right players has a lot to do with it.

So does developing them and providing the best environment to succeed. That is on coaching.

We picked Jaylon Smith and Chaz Green in rounds 2 and 3.

Those players are supposed to be building blocks, not liabilities.

And the big kicker is, since we spent high picks on them, we coddled the pair of them.

We provided them with inferior competition. They did not have to earn anything.

As much as we talk about things like competition, it certainly does not roll out that way.

 

[Stash]

It’s coaching more then it is depth.

It can’t be perfect all the time.

You shouldn’t lose a tackle and almost give up an NFL sack record with a guy who has played well in this league.

Just these past two weeks, I've seen teams somehow handle Von Miller with backups. How is that possible? One word - coaching. Some teams have it, some teams don't. Some coaches can compensate if they don't have Pro Bowlers all over the field, and some can't.

 

[Alexander]

And the author kept mentioning it, but then choosing to blame personnel decisions instead. That's showed me his agenda.

It was Tom Ryle. You might as well make him a member of the "Look At What Garrett Is Building Here" fan club.

 

[Stash]

We have depth issues at certain positions, for sure.

1Tech is a disaster. LB depth is poor. Frankly, I don't like our TE depth either. OL depth is OK.

We seem deep at CB and DE and that's about it.

This is what happens when you basically eschew any attempts at getting better through FA and instead sign bargain bin buns that either don't help you or get cut almost immediately.

The front office needs to rethink their plan.

I don't think OL depth is OK.

I don't think either of the backups can play. Green was abysmal, but Bell was no better when he came in. They're dead in the water if either of those guys has to play left tackle.

But yeah, sit on your hands while you keep guys around like Benwikere and March-Lillard who you never want to see the field.

All while guys like Green, Bell, and Jaylon Smith help you end up with another wasted season.

 

[Grevus]

There is partial blame on the Front office and on the coaching staff. The front office rolls the dice to often on project players, and the coaching staff is too stubborn to make adjustments when they are needed. They tend to stick to the plan until it's too late.

 

[Stash]

It was Tom Ryle. You might as well make him a member of the "Look At What Garrett Is Building Here" fan club.

That figures.

Cross one more name off of the oh-so-short list of decent writers I thought they had over there.