The goal should be to win a SB, not responsible cap management

[SlammedZero]

Possibly, but not w/o like 7 new players on the D.

They absolutely need more talent. Hopefully the front office steps up, though we’ve watched this play out before.

 

[Blackrain]

Agreed. Plus, we had real, proven coaches in the building at the time. I know not everyone liked Big Mac and/or Quinn, but they had legitimate success in this league and plenty of skins on the wall. Now we’re rolling forward with very unproven leadership. Look, I like Schotty, he seems like a genuinely good guy, but is he the one to lead this franchise to the promised land? Time will tell….but I’d be surprised.

Well looking at it from Jerry's standpoint he cost the Cowboys about 4 million a year in contrast Jim harbaugh is getting paid 20 million a year Andy Reid is getting 20 million I believe .

Jerry's promised land is making ultimate profit so I think he's helping Jerry get to his promised
Land.
As far as if he is talented enough to win a Super bowl that remains to be seen I don't think Jerry will ever spend the money on enough talent to even get him close.

 

[McKDaddy]

It's not as though the business model is barely squeaking by.

 

[Blackrain]

Agreed. Plus, we had real, proven coaches in the building at the time. I know not everyone liked Big Mac and/or Quinn, but they had legitimate success in this league and plenty of skins on the wall. Now we’re rolling forward with very unproven leadership. Look, I like Schotty, he seems like a genuinely good guy, but is he the one to lead this franchise to the promised land? Time will tell….but I’d be surprised

It's not as though the business model is barely squeaking by.

You're certainly right there.
But in Jerry's case it looks like IT'S GOOD TO BE THE KING
AND NOTHING EXCEEDS LIKE EXCESS.

 

[Blackrain]

They absolutely need more talent. Hopefully the front office steps up, though we’ve watched this play out before.

I think they're definitely going to step up they don't want to see TV ratings slip.
And that defense was so bad last year Jerry had to be just laughing to himself and saying I can't believe people are actually watching this but they did.

Jerry's going to do just enough to make us relevant could be difficult to make the playoffs though pretty tough schedule this year.

Think he'll do enough to get the defense around middle of the pack and that will be enough to put us in contention for a playoff spot but maybe not enough to actually get into the tournament

 

[atlantacowboy]

The baffling part here is that the league is set up to reward a "go for broke" approach. You load up on free agents for a super bowl run and then in a few years if it not working, you cut all the expensive vets, take your salary cap medicine, and have a bad year. The league then rewards you with a high draft pick. The worst place to be is in the middle where we have resided for 30 years.

 

[fivetwos]

Jerry has a plan on how to win and he does it every year it's just his game and priorities are different than ours probably because he is a billionaire and aspires to different things than we do.
The rest of the owners use their team to win Super bowls Jerry uses his to make money and he's very successful at it he has a plan he has ideas and he implements them to satisfy himself and his family

The celebrity thing is the biggest deal to him.

He loves all the attention. Thinks he is funny and entertains people because they laugh at his dumb jokes. Doesn’t mind that he is hated by many….it’s still attention.

What Jimmy did here was incredible and great at the time, but if the price is Jerry trying to prove he can do something that everyone knows he can’t….it’s beginning to get to where it wasn’t worth it.

 

[infamousstyles]

Its all about taking calculated risks.

The time to go "all in" was during our 3 straight 12 win seasons.

Its late in the game now, and I still hope we are aggressive but its more desperate than smart at this point. Imo

The argument to make is we still have a top 5 offense and bringing the defense up to par should net real results. I think Jerry feels like this is his last push as he and his qb age out.

I Agree 1000%

 

[Diehardblues]

Every time Stephen Jones opens his entitled jaws and talks about being “financially responsible” I can’t help but laugh to avoid screaming with frustration.

If being “financially responsible” is the goal for this front office, congratulations.

But.. If winning SBs is the goal then start taking notes from the rams and eagles who have won 3 SBs between them in this last decade. And they’ve spent a ton of cap space, been in “cap hell” occasionally, completely retooled their rosters, and even had multiple QBs lead those teams.

If winning SBs is the real goal here, we don’t need to worry about “financially responsibility”. We need to start acquiring some major talent upgrades NOW. Not gradually. NOW. If being in a comfortable cap situation every year is the goal, then goodbye to contending - ever again.

And if we end up having a bad cap space issue for a couple years - good! That means we tried. That also would mean we get some better draft picks at the bottom of the league to reload.

Stop being careful and go for it.

But that isn’t our immediate priority.

Jethro has even told as much with “ remaining relevant and interesting “ is priority. And “ hanging around the rim”.

Winning a SB is only something he murmurs out there to hype hope for battered and beleaguered fans.

He’s even admitted he’d of fired a GM with his record this era and still insists on staying in place.

So his words and actions continue telling us winning Super Bowls isn’t our top priority. But here we are still expecting more. Well, some of us anyway

 

[Diehardblues]

The celebrity thing is the biggest deal to him.

He loves all the attention. Thinks he is funny and entertains people because they laugh at his dumb jokes. Doesn’t mind that he is hated by many….it’s still attention.

What Jimmy did here was incredible and great at the time, but if the price is Jerry trying to prove he can do something that everyone knows he can’t….it’s beginning to get to where it wasn’t worth it.

Yep. Years ago when I first introduced that winning those SB’s with Jimmy probably wasn’t worth it . I was shunned by most.

 

[Diehardblues]

I have yet to see any signs that a super bowl is their goal.

Now, Stephanie was right that the cap was badly mismanaged when he took over. However, what he didn't add into the equation was needing a GM w/ excellent player evaluation skills. As opposed to what we have where those evaluation skills are nonexistent.

There are no signs that winning a SB is priority.

 

[Diehardblues]

They absolutely need more talent. Hopefully the front office steps up, though we’ve watched this play out before.

Unfortunately hope isn’t much of a plan.

 

[Diehardblues]

The baffling part here is that the league is set up to reward a "go for broke" approach. You load up on free agents for a super bowl run and then in a few years if it not working, you cut all the expensive vets, take your salary cap medicine, and have a bad year. The league then rewards you with a high draft pick. The worst place to be is in the middle where we have resided for 30 years.

But being in the middle “ hangin round the rim” is objective.

Jethro can hype and sell mediocre to our casual, fringe and wagon fans .

His worst nightmare is hitting rock bottom as he knows not capable of total rebuild without bringing in someone he’d lose some control with.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Every time Stephen Jones opens his entitled jaws and talks about being “financially responsible” I can’t help but laugh to avoid screaming with frustration.

If being “financially responsible” is the goal for this front office, congratulations.

But.. If winning SBs is the goal then start taking notes from the rams and eagles who have won 3 SBs between them in this last decade. And they’ve spent a ton of cap space, been in “cap hell” occasionally, completely retooled their rosters, and even had multiple QBs lead those teams.

If winning SBs is the real goal here, we don’t need to worry about “financially responsibility”. We need to start acquiring some major talent upgrades NOW. Not gradually. NOW. If being in a comfortable cap situation every year is the goal, then goodbye to contending - ever again.

And if we end up having a bad cap space issue for a couple years - good! That means we tried. That also would mean we get some better draft picks at the bottom of the league to reload.

Stop being careful and go for it.

That is why I have stated that their approach to roster construction is antiquated. Which is understandable when you have the oldest GM in the history of the NFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[RonWashington]

I guess expectations were high with the contracts handed out to 4 & 88 . Then it became apparent the defense was in the gutter the Q. Williams trade helped Clark is talented and OSA has been paid .

This draft & the FA period is critical to get a defense that compliments a high octane offense . Keeping 33 good move . First round playoff exits won’t cut it in 2026 .

 

[Blackrain]

The baffling part here is that the league is set up to reward a "go for broke" approach. You load up on free agents for a super bowl run and then in a few years if it not working, you cut all the expensive vets, take your salary cap medicine, and have a bad year. The league then rewards you with a high draft pick. The worst place to be is in the middle where we have resided for 30 years.

This is truly the purgatory of the NFL stuck in the middle at 8-8. Or 9-7
Not good enough to make the playoffs not bad enough to draft well just hanging around the rim giving the fan base just enough of a tease to keep them hopeful

 

[john van brocklin]

Every time Stephen Jones opens his entitled jaws and talks about being “financially responsible” I can’t help but laugh to avoid screaming with frustration.

If being “financially responsible” is the goal for this front office, congratulations.

But.. If winning SBs is the goal then start taking notes from the rams and eagles who have won 3 SBs between them in this last decade. And they’ve spent a ton of cap space, been in “cap hell” occasionally, completely retooled their rosters, and even had multiple QBs lead those teams.

If winning SBs is the real goal here, we don’t need to worry about “financially responsibility”. We need to start acquiring some major talent upgrades NOW. Not gradually. NOW. If being in a comfortable cap situation every year is the goal, then goodbye to contending - ever again.

And if we end up having a bad cap space issue for a couple years - good! That means we tried. That also would mean we get some better draft picks at the bottom of the league to reload.

Stop being careful and go for it.

You just exposed the Jones's goals.
To them it's a profitable business, not a championship that's most important.

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

Every time Stephen Jones opens his entitled jaws and talks about being “financially responsible” I can’t help but laugh to avoid screaming with frustration.

If being “financially responsible” is the goal for this front office, congratulations.

But.. If winning SBs is the goal then start taking notes from the rams and eagles who have won 3 SBs between them in this last decade. And they’ve spent a ton of cap space, been in “cap hell” occasionally, completely retooled their rosters, and even had multiple QBs lead those teams.

If winning SBs is the real goal here, we don’t need to worry about “financially responsibility”. We need to start acquiring some major talent upgrades NOW. Not gradually. NOW. If being in a comfortable cap situation every year is the goal, then goodbye to contending - ever again.

And if we end up having a bad cap space issue for a couple years - good! That means we tried. That also would mean we get some better draft picks at the bottom of the league to reload.

Stop being careful and go for it.

Somewhere along the line I feel like trying to Improve the roster became like “this ain’t madden!”

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

I think they’re scared of going for it and crapping out and then having less resources then ever


They like being ahead on draft picks I wouldn’t be surprised if they traded out

 

[plasticman]

I think the goal of the highly successful teams of the past was to build a team capable of competing for a Super Bowl year in and year out.

The highly successful team realized that "stuff happens" to the point where no matter how talented your team is for a single year, it can be easily derailed by injuries, player issues or all-round bad luck.

If you build a team to be strong for several seasons then you have multiple opportunities to win the Super Bowl.

It is just my opinion but using the salary cap to build a great team today while paying for it later is beneath the legacy created before Jerry Jones decided to use the NFL as his personal Playstation game.

Besides, so what if the Cowboys win a Super Bowl?

With 32 teams in the NFL, winning a single Super Bowl in 31 years does nothing but satisfy the Law of Averages. Within a 32 year time frame the "average" NFL team will win a Super Bowl.

Actually, winning a single Super Bowl will only solidify Jerry Jones's legacy of mediocrity.

But why am I sitting here discussing this issue anyway? It's not like the Jones's have a clue how to build an actual contender. If the Cowboys should miraculously win a Super Bowl, it will be despite the Jones's involvement.

Jerry Jones can talk about "financial responsibility" all he wants but he has never been close to that. The Cowboys salary cap is in shambles. Very few people discuss the issue of dead money and how it effects the team even today.

Zac Martin will receive 16.5 million dollars for the 2026 season. Wouldn't it have been nice to use that money for the actual 2026 season?

Dak Prescott will be receiving multi-millions for three years after the end of his current contract thanks to "voidable years".

The 49ers had a poor 2025 season according to their standards. They blame injuries but that is just another way of describing poor depth. How much depth did they expect with 101 million dollars in dead money that year?

Do we envy them now? Today they are paying the price for decisions made in previous seasons. That is how it works. They spent the money to be "all in". Did they succeed?

It would take a three-year drought for the Cowboys to repair the damage that the Jones's have already wrought upon their salary cap.