CFZ The missing elements in Cowboys attempts at championship roster building

[Bobhaze]

First point before anything else- yes, you must have talent to win in the NFL. But talent alone is never enough to win a championship.

Putting together a championship level roster is so much more than just collecting talent. Teams that win SBs or even conference championships are not just talented. They are a real TEAM, meaning their collective talent is greater than each individual talent on the team. It is why a championship team is not always the most talented roster, but the most effective roster as a complete unit. Another term for this is “complementary football”.

The Dallas Cowboys had enough talent to win 12 regular season games 3 straight seasons. But the missing element is their inability as a complete roster to overcome their collective weaknesses. Here is a short list of the Cowboys‘ team weaknesses that cannot just be fixed with individual talent.

TEAM WEAKNESSES THAT REQUIRE MORE THAN INDIVIDUAL TALENT TO FIX

• Culture (aka Unnecessary distractions) in a recent interview, Troy Aikman mentioned how the Cowboys as a team have to overcome some inherent cultural problems other teams don’t. Like watching tours of team facilities happening while they are trying to prepare each week. Like film crews from Netflix filming the owner for a “special” while the team was preparing for the GB playoff game. Aikman called this “unnecessary distractions“. Troy has mentioned after Jimmy left, you never knew what celebrity was going to show up with Jerry at practice. It creates a circus of distractions. And if the owner is the one doing it, who can correct this?

• Lack of understanding on collective roster building- one of the fun parts of being a fan is pretending we could select the right talent for our favorite team. “I like this player. He’s really good.” It’s like fantasy football. Just draft the most talented guys you can. But the problem with that is championship rosters require the talent to make a collective whole that is better than its individual parts. Otherwise all you have is an All Star team without a team concept. Sometimes it feels like this front office drafts like a fantasy football draft.
  
  
• Understanding collective complementary football- the Cowboys have had some similar problems for decades.
  • One easy example is the team’s long standing inability to stop the run. Really improving this requires multiple players that collectively as a unit make our run stopping ability much better. What does our FO do? They draft a guy in round one thinking “we’ve addressed our inability to stop the run”. Or they trade for a decent run stuffer like Jonathan Hankins. They don’t seem to ever think about needing a collective unit that can stop the run.
  • Dak Prescott is MOST EFFECTIVE with a good running game. Yet somehow this FO doesn’t draft a RB last year or recognize their aging OL is no longer great for running the ball. That oversight killed this team against the better teams last year.

So again, the missing elements for building a championship roster can be boiled down to this:

1. Eliminate unnecessary distractions.
2. Recognize talent alone isn’t enough. It takes a collective whole, not just individual parts.
3. Build a roster that complements and supports key player strengths and covers also for their weaknesses.

 

[Big D]

Our team lacks the element of toughness.

 

[DenCWBY]

Our team lacks the element of toughness.

Comes from our ownership/GM/"Face of the franchise"

 

[Big D]

Comes from our ownership/GM/"Face of the franchise"

 

[ShortRound]

Hold on a second I got to take this call from the World Cup.

 

[zrinkill]

First point before anything else- yes, you must have talent to win in the NFL. But talent alone is never enough to win a championship.

Putting together a championship level roster is so much more than just collecting talent. Teams that win SBs or even conference championships are not just talented. They are a real TEAM, meaning their collective talent is greater than each individual talent on the team. It is why a championship team is not always the most talented roster, but the most effective roster as a complete unit. Another term for this is “complementary football”.

The Dallas Cowboys had enough talent to win 12 regular season games 3 straight seasons. But the missing element is their inability as a complete roster to overcome their collective weaknesses. Here is a short list of the Cowboys‘ team weaknesses that cannot just be fixed with individual talent.

TEAM WEAKNESSES THAT REQUIRE MORE THAN INDIVIDUAL TALENT TO FIX

• Culture (aka Unnecessary distractions) in a recent interview, Troy Aikman mentioned how the Cowboys as a team have to overcome some inherent cultural problems other teams don’t. Like watching tours of team facilities happening while they are trying to prepare each week. Like film crews from Netflix filming the owner for a “special” while the team was preparing for the GB playoff game. Aikman called this “unnecessary distractions“. Troy has mentioned after Jimmy left, you never knew what celebrity was going to show up with Jerry at practice. It creates a circus of distractions. And if the owner is the one doing it, who can correct this?

• Lack of understanding on collective roster building- one of the fun parts of being a fan is pretending we could select the right talent for our favorite team. “I like this player. He’s really good.” It’s like fantasy football. Just draft the most talented guys you can. But the problem with that is championship rosters require the talent to make a collective whole that is better than its individual parts. Otherwise all you have is an All Star team without a team concept. Sometimes it feels like this front office drafts like a fantasy football draft.
  
  
• Understanding collective complementary football- the Cowboys have had some similar problems for decades.
  • One easy example is the team’s long standing inability to stop the run. Really improving this requires multiple players that collectively as a unit make our run stopping ability much better. What does our FO do? They draft a guy in round one thinking “we’ve addressed our inability to stop the run”. Or they trade for a decent run stuffer like Jonathan Hankins. They don’t seem to ever think about needing a collective unit that can stop the run.
  • Dak Prescott is MOST EFFECTIVE with a good running game. Yet somehow this FO doesn’t draft a RB last year or recognize their aging OL is no longer great for running the ball. That oversight killed this team against the better teams last year.

So again, the missing elements for building a championship roster can be boiled down to this:

1. Eliminate unnecessary distractions.
2. Recognize talent alone isn’t enough. It takes a collective whole, not just individual parts.
3. Build a roster that complements and supports key player strengths and covers also for their weaknesses.

Great great post ..........

 

[Coogiguy03]

Our team lacks the element of toughness.

can't be tough when you're in an environment when you're winning before you even play the games!

 

[Coogiguy03]

Hold on a second I got to take this call from the World Cup.

lol how much money can we make off of this??? Uhh who cares about football, let's get this world cup money!!!!! lol

 

[Bobhaze]

Hold on a second I got to take this call from the World Cup.

Underrated post!

 

[kskboys]

Our team lacks the element of toughness.

And LB's.

 

[Quickdraw]

So this tells us what we already knew. Jimmy built the 90's dynasty. All Jerry did was foot the bill for the roster. As evident the past 28 years, money alone doesn't buy championships.

 

[Majic]

Go back to 1989 when JJ took over and 2002 when BP was in charge. Their ways worked. If someone can convince Jerry of this, we might have a chance

 

[Bobhaze]

Go back to 1989 when JJ took over and 2002 when BP was in charge. Their ways worked. If someone can convince Jerry of this, we might have a chance

They only work if you can convince him his ways don’t. Think about how frustrating it is.

 

[chuck520]

First point before anything else- yes, you must have talent to win in the NFL. But talent alone is never enough to win a championship.

Putting together a championship level roster is so much more than just collecting talent. Teams that win SBs or even conference championships are not just talented. They are a real TEAM, meaning their collective talent is greater than each individual talent on the team. It is why a championship team is not always the most talented roster, but the most effective roster as a complete unit. Another term for this is “complementary football”.

The Dallas Cowboys had enough talent to win 12 regular season games 3 straight seasons. But the missing element is their inability as a complete roster to overcome their collective weaknesses. Here is a short list of the Cowboys‘ team weaknesses that cannot just be fixed with individual talent.

TEAM WEAKNESSES THAT REQUIRE MORE THAN INDIVIDUAL TALENT TO FIX

• Culture (aka Unnecessary distractions) in a recent interview, Troy Aikman mentioned how the Cowboys as a team have to overcome some inherent cultural problems other teams don’t. Like watching tours of team facilities happening while they are trying to prepare each week. Like film crews from Netflix filming the owner for a “special” while the team was preparing for the GB playoff game. Aikman called this “unnecessary distractions“. Troy has mentioned after Jimmy left, you never knew what celebrity was going to show up with Jerry at practice. It creates a circus of distractions. And if the owner is the one doing it, who can correct this?

• Lack of understanding on collective roster building- one of the fun parts of being a fan is pretending we could select the right talent for our favorite team. “I like this player. He’s really good.” It’s like fantasy football. Just draft the most talented guys you can. But the problem with that is championship rosters require the talent to make a collective whole that is better than its individual parts. Otherwise all you have is an All Star team without a team concept. Sometimes it feels like this front office drafts like a fantasy football draft.
  
  
• Understanding collective complementary football- the Cowboys have had some similar problems for decades.
  • One easy example is the team’s long standing inability to stop the run. Really improving this requires multiple players that collectively as a unit make our run stopping ability much better. What does our FO do? They draft a guy in round one thinking “we’ve addressed our inability to stop the run”. Or they trade for a decent run stuffer like Jonathan Hankins. They don’t seem to ever think about needing a collective unit that can stop the run.
  • Dak Prescott is MOST EFFECTIVE with a good running game. Yet somehow this FO doesn’t draft a RB last year or recognize their aging OL is no longer great for running the ball. That oversight killed this team against the better teams last year.

So again, the missing elements for building a championship roster can be boiled down to this:

1. Eliminate unnecessary distractions.
2. Recognize talent alone isn’t enough. It takes a collective whole, not just individual parts.
3. Build a roster that complements and supports key player strengths and covers also for their weaknesses.

definitely 2 and 3. 1 you can block out as a player. Complementary you hit it right on the mark. They built a great boat with 2 holes in it. Great passing offense, great pass rush, but no run game and run defense.

Dak would had to play at all time great level to overcome that in the playoffs, The offense scored points to help the run defense but in an even game vs a better opponent where we couldnt score pts, the defense was in trouble.


I would say #4, in game thinking, coaches have to make in game adjustments, players have to make in game thinking. If its not working, you cant just give up and you cant just do the same thing. I noticed in some games, our guys especially on defense just packed it in because they knew they couldnt stop the opponent with the present talent and scheme. So they could not overcome the obstacle or they believed they couldnt overcome it.

Mental toughness, thats the type of thing you cant practice you have to have in the games as it happens, the team lacks leadership on the field, that has to come from the players. As much as Quinn was liked by the players he didnt seem to hold guys responsible for their play.

 

[GoCowboysGo]

Trenches…and linebackers. Great post, agree 100%!

 

[Bobhaze]

The thing this FO has never understood about Dak- he MUST have a strong running game to support him. With a strong running game, IMO we could win some playoff games with Dak. Without it, Dak is much easier for defenses to stop because he’s not an elite passer. Neither is Purdy or Goff but they both had really good running games this year.

I’m ready to move on from Dak because I don’t think this FO knows how to build the right roster for both Dak’s talents and his weaknesses. He’s not “elite” but he’s good enough to win a lot more than he has. I think Dak is now in his own head and this org has done little to give him what he needed. Same with Romo who IMO this fan base overrated. He was good but his best year (2014) happened when he had a great running game.

 

[DallasEast]

Go back to 1989 when JJ took over and 2002 when BP was in charge. Their ways worked. If someone can convince Jerry of this, we might have a chance

Jones knows their ways worked. He wants his way to work to vindicate his self-opinion of his football genius. He is no football genius so...

 

[fivetwos]

We know the culture isn’t conducive to making a team hungry enough to win playoff football. I’ve come to terms with that just recently and look forward to a time when it could maybe change, as unlikely as it is. Pathetic, but way out of my control.

Adding to your roster building paragraph Bob….stability is problematic. It may not seem that way with only two HC over the last 15 seasons, but how many coordinators and scheme changes did they go through?

MM alone is going to be on his third defense in five years.

Dallas doesn’t seem to have a consistent organizational plan like Baltimore or Pittsburgh, etc. They usually are scrambling to get players that fit the scheme of the coordinator of the month.

How many times did we pass on players because they “don’t fit our scheme” only to drop that scheme soon thereafter? Maddening.

Now we spent three years drafting dudes with long arms that can’t play because that’s what Quinn wanted.

A year from now we will be hearing how they need more players that fit what Zimmer wants to do, and he will be gone when this declining roster can’t even get to where they can choke on the playoffs because they aren’t there….

 

[GoCowboysGo]

The thing this FO has never understood about Dak- he MUST have a strong running game to support him. With a strong running game, IMO we could win some playoff games with Dak. Without it, Dak is much easier for defenses to stop because he’s not an elite passer. Neither is Purdy or Goff but they both had really good running games this year.

I’m ready to move on from Dak because I don’t think this FO knows how to build the right roster for both Dak’s talents and his weaknesses. He’s not “elite” but he’s good enough to win a lot more than he has. I think Dak is now in his own head and this org has done little to give him what he needed. Same with Romo who IMO this fan base overrated. He was good but his best year (2014) happened when he had a great running game.

Look at every great QB this franchise ever had, and there are multiple HoF RB’s, OL, all-decade team members, AP all pros, etc. What we expect from Prescott without that same level of help is telling. Same for Romo. The front office has failed both big time.

 

[Bobhaze]

We know the culture isn’t conducive to making a team hungry enough to win playoff football. I’ve come to terms with that just recently and look forward to a time when it could maybe change, as unlikely as it is. Pathetic, but way out of my control.

Adding to your roster building paragraph Bob….stability is problematic. It may not seem that way with only two HC over the last 15 seasons, but how many coordinators and scheme changes did they go through?

MM alone is going to be on his third defense in five years.

Dallas doesn’t seem to have a consistent organizational plan like Baltimore or Pittsburgh, etc. They usually are scrambling to get players that fit the scheme of the coordinator of the month.

How many times did we pass on players because they “don’t fit our scheme” only to drop that scheme soon thereafter? Maddening.

Now we spent three years drafting dudes with long arms that can’t play because that’s what Quinn wanted.

A year from now we will be hearing how they need more players that fit what Zimmer wants to do, and he will be gone when this declining roster can’t even get to where they can choke on the playoffs because they aren’t there….

Excellent post.

Look at every great QB this franchise ever had, and there are multiple HoF RB’s, OL, all-decade team members, AP all pros, etc. What we expect from Prescott without that same level of help is telling. Same for Romo. The front office has failed both big time.

So true. It’s as if Jerry seems to think when he gets a good QB, he can carry the team. It’s crazy. There are maybe one or two QBs out there who can do that and one is Mahomes. Almost all even decent NFL QBs need help.

Purdy is overrated by many around here because he has a great running game, taking lots of pressure off him. Hurts last year needed a great running game to support him and we saw what happens to him this year when he doesn’t have as much help.