The Future is Bright

[CalPolyTechnique]

Proof homerism is a mental disorder…

 

[CATCH17]

The Dak and Zeke deal were so dumb.

Locked us into mediocrity like myself and so many other knew it would.

 

[Aftershock]

There’s a lot to be optimistic about. The Cowboys have a strong core of players and have numerous ways to lower their salary cap. It’s obvious the weakness is the wide receivers. Outside of Cee Dee, they have no one. Not sure what’s up with Gallup but he was just lost out there. I gave him a pass early because he was coming back from injury. But that play where Dak threw an interception, he looked like he didn’t know what to do on that route. So they definitely need to spend some capitol on a high end WR in free agency.

Zeke is done. I wouldn’t want him back at anything more than the league minimum.

Dak was awful during this game. They’re not going to make it deep in the playoffs with that kind of play. He needs better options around him at WR and he needs to stop forcing it to try to win the games single handedly. I think another top end WR will allow that to happen. But he’s got to do his part and quit thinking he’s Mahomes. He’s not. But they can win with him I have no doubt.

It’s also time to spend some capitol on defensive lineman. Hankins played great but he’s just a stop gap. When Watkins is your best DL, then you know you’re in trouble.

CB is another area that needs addressed. Diggs is solid although he doesn’t like to tackle like Prime didn’t. Bland is solid and Mukuamu has a chance. But they need depth and they have no one.

They should resign LVE. I think he had his best year. Just from a fan perspective I’d like them to play Micah at LB more. Just to help extend his career and also to take advantage of his speed.

They’ll probably have a new DC and OC as well as other coaches. They need to hit a home run here with their replacements.

So there’s reasons to be optimistic. I for one am. I will always have hope and never give up.

Yea let’s just sign all pros at every position!

While dak is making $50m next season!!

 

[infamousstyles]

You summed it up perfectly!!!

I wish I was wrong though ugh. When we won last I was barely a teenager and now I'm closing in on 40. It's depressing.

 

[CATCH17]

Proof homerism is a mental disorder…

I just don’t know what Dallas can do honestly.

The NFC was weak this year and we just lost to a 7th round rookie QB when our defense did everything possible to slow them down while our 40 million dollar QB struggled.

The Cowboys are pointless until some type of change happens and Dak has peaked.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

I am usually optimistic, but losing Dan Quinn will be a big loss. If this happens the defense will regress. Dallas will still have the talent on that side of the ball, but they won't be coached up. See Mike Nolan as example.

You are assuming that our two choice in life are Mike Nolan or Dan Quinn and that somehow no other defensive coach exists who can do what Quinn does.

 

[bottleKids]

I just don’t know what Dallas can do honestly.

The NFC was weak this year and we just lost to a 7th round rookie QB when our defense did everything possible to slow them down while our 40 million dollar QB struggled.

The Cowboys are pointless until some type of change happens and Dak has peaked.

This reply hits hard.....

you summed it up perfectly

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

I guess it was only a matter of time before the pope of the Church of Dak addressed this latest failure.

 

[Sydla]

Problem is they don't have a lot of great options to restructure. They should just cut Elliott. Don't even bother with getting him to take a pay cut. He's done. Yank off the bandaid.

Dak will likely get restructured but that just makes it way more difficult to get out from under him in two years if we finally realize he's just not the guy.

Lawrence is probably a restructure, as his cap hit next year isn't terrible and he has a dummy year to spread the restructure over.

Tyron Smith is interesting. They could try to extend him and cut his cap hit. Or they could just say we have Tyler Smith and Steele and just cut him and save around $9MM on the cap.

I suspect they will do what they always do. Think the draft will solve their problems (mostly drafting offensive guys to justify Dak's restructure/being the guy for the next 3-4 years) and nickel and dime their way through FA. I suspect Jerry and Stephen see their close loss as vindication they are doing this right. They aren't as evidenced by the 27th year without a NFCCG appearance but at this point, only a fool expects them to change.

 

[Creeper]

The future is not bright IMO. Between free agency, and age, the Cowboys bulb is dimming not shining brighter. The QB is eating up way too much CAP space for what he produces on the field. When you feed you prize horse all the hay and all he does is fill the barn with poop, he is no longer your prize horse. The Eagles have a good team because they are paying a rookie QB. They use the money on other players they have acquired through free agency and trades. Our GM put all his money on 1 horse and he is filling up the barn.

There are some bright spots, I admit. Steele and Tyler Smith are going to be solid tackles for years. Ferguson looks like he can easily replace Schultz. CeeDee is becoming a star. Micah, of course, is a once in a generation player in danger of being wasted in Dallas. LVE is playing like a 1st round pick now. But this is not enough if your QB is soiling the sheets in big games. Finding a new franchise QB is going to be hard. It is going to require time and patience.

But we all know that Jerry is going to restructure Dak next year pushing more money into the voided years of his contract which almost guarantees Dak gets an extension. For those of us who thought $40 million was ridiculous for Dak, we are absolutely going to wretch over his next deal.

I think Jerry just wants the Cowboys to be relevant. He doesn't really care if they go to the Super Bowl or not. That's why he will stick with Bad/Good Dak.

 

[CTcowboy203]

I’m not as down as others here but I find it very hard to share your optimistic viewpoint as much as you do.

 

[kramskoi]

The weaknesses are the GM and QB. How could the future be bright with that combination?

QB is a BIG hurdle. Buy another top flight WR, bring in a new OC (with a new scheme) and hope like hell that it gets what is left out of Prescott in his EIGHTH year.

That said, both the Eagles and the Giants are in the ascendant, which will certainly affect what is possible within the division going forward.

 

[infamousstyles]

I guess it was only a matter of time before the pope of the Church of Dak addressed this latest failure.

Lol. Modern day pageant queen is what it reminds me of. Memorizing lines in case said situation happens...if this occurs, then I say this.....

 

[The Quest for Six]

There's always next year (27 years later) ..

Well, since we're closing in on three decades of failure, maybe instead of there's always next year, it's time to say, There's always next decade......

 

[CATCH17]

Another thing..

We figured out that less Dak is better for the team this year.

Problem is you can’t pay him like we do and ask him to be a Cooper Rush style of player.

We probably could’ve had the same season with Rush as our QB as we did with Dak.

Like why are we paying this guy to be a game manager? Lol. Makes no sense.

 

[Cowfan75]

Yes, I am optimistic about this team going forward. I know nobody on this board wants to hear that right now, but I am. A few aggressive moves could put this team over the top...

They could...a few aggressive and HARSH moves. But we all know we won't make those moves.

 

[CowboyoWales]

There’s a lot to be optimistic about. The Cowboys have a strong core of players and have numerous ways to lower their salary cap. It’s obvious the weakness is the wide receivers. Outside of Cee Dee, they have no one. Not sure what’s up with Gallup but he was just lost out there. I gave him a pass early because he was coming back from injury. But that play where Dak threw an interception, he looked like he didn’t know what to do on that route. So they definitely need to spend some capitol on a high end WR in free agency.

Zeke is done. I wouldn’t want him back at anything more than the league minimum.

Dak was awful during this game. They’re not going to make it deep in the playoffs with that kind of play. He needs better options around him at WR and he needs to stop forcing it to try to win the games single handedly. I think another top end WR will allow that to happen. But he’s got to do his part and quit thinking he’s Mahomes. He’s not. But they can win with him I have no doubt.

It’s also time to spend some capitol on defensive lineman. Hankins played great but he’s just a stop gap. When Watkins is your best DL, then you know you’re in trouble.

CB is another area that needs addressed. Diggs is solid although he doesn’t like to tackle like Prime didn’t. Bland is solid and Mukuamu has a chance. But they need depth and they have no one.

They should resign LVE. I think he had his best year. Just from a fan perspective I’d like them to play Micah at LB more. Just to help extend his career and also to take advantage of his speed.

They’ll probably have a new DC and OC as well as other coaches. They need to hit a home run here with their replacements.

So there’s reasons to be optimistic. I for one am. I will always have hope and never give up.

So spend on WR's and DT's (re-sign LVE), for your health please don't look at Sportrac or OvertheCap.
However, at least you concede that Dak was awful (but we do still have talent on the roster).

 

[Sydla]

The future is not bright IMO. Between free agency, and age, the Cowboys bulb is dimming not shining brighter. The QB is eating up way too much CAP space for what he produces on the field. When you feed you prize horse all the hay and all he does is fill the barn with poop, he is no longer your prize horse. The Eagles have a good team because they are paying a rookie QB. They use the money on other players they have acquired through free agency and trades. Our GM put all his money on 1 horse and he is filling up the barn.

There are some bright spots, I admit. Steele and Tyler Smith are going to be solid tackles for years. Ferguson looks like he can easily replace Schultz. CeeDee is becoming a star. Micah, of course, is a once in a generation player in danger of being wasted in Dallas. LVE is playing like a 1st round pick now. But this is not enough if your QB is soiling the sheets in big games. Finding a new franchise QB is going to be hard. It is going to require time and patience.

But we all know that Jerry is going to restructure Dak next year pushing more money into the voided years of his contract which almost guarantees Dak gets an extension. For those of us who thought $40 million was ridiculous for Dak, we are absolutely going to wretch over his next deal.

I think Jerry just wants the Cowboys to be relevant. He doesn't really care if they go to the Super Bowl or not. That's why he will stick with Bad/Good Dak.

I think this is what is lost on some of the homers. They'll wax on about how it doesn't matter what he's making or that his cap hit is now "fair" as other QBs get their new contracts.

But what they are missing is the production you are getting for that cap hit. When your QB is taking up nearly 20% of your cap, the reality is you need your QB to be great. Because he's eating up 20% of the cap, you have to skimp elsewher - OL, WR, TE, etc. When your QB accounts for that much cap space, you can't then have $20 million in cap hits tied up in your TBs. When your QB is taking up that much cap space, you can't just load up at WR with a bunch of studs. You are paying your QB that number BECAUSE YOU EXPECT HIM TO BE GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE OTHERS AROUND HIM BETTER.

The formula where you are taking a massive cap hit for your QB and then have to surround him with a ton of talent just really doesn't work in a cap age.

Basically, in this scenario with Dak, the Cowboys literally have to kill each and every draft to stock the roster with a bunch of young, cheap talent to compensate for the fact the QB is eating up a massive chunk of your cap space and can only succeed when he's surrounded by ridiculous levels of talent. That's just not a sustainable model.

 

[Surfguy]

The Dak and Zeke deal were so dumb.

Locked us into mediocrity like myself and so many other knew it would.

No doubt that, at the time they were signed, Jerry really did think they would deliver a championship. Of course, Jerry was wrong as usual.

 

[CowboyFrog]

Another thing..

We figured out that less Dak is better for the team this year.

Problem is you can’t pay him like we do and ask him to be a Cooper Rush style of player.

We probably could’ve had the same season with Rush as our QB as we did with Dak.

Like why are we paying this guy to be a game manager? Lol. Makes no sense.

the Dak problem needs to be figured out, BUT hell no Rush is worse and its clearly visible. IF you didnt have Daks contract and the GM would go spend crazy money on the defense THEN maybe but 3 out of 3 of those ifs are not going to happen.