CFZ The NFL off-season usually tells us which teams are the more serious contenders

[DandyDon52]

Man you have given up, you have lowered your expectations to goals that the Cowboys can reach so you won't be disappointed, it's a defense mechanism. I've been rooting for this team so long I couldn't imagine "adopting" another team, that's crazy talk.

you dont have to give up the cowboys, just pick another team or 2 that u like for whatever reason.
That way u have 3 teams to root for, and if cowboys fizzle out and other 2 are doing good, u can have fun rooting for them.

 

[DandyDon52]

Agree.


And that brings up a question for fans: when will you stop doing the same thing over and over again? I'm an older guy but worked up a fresh plan which I've previously articulated. This includes focusing on enjoying the regular season and adopting other teams to root for. I see 98% of fans here absolutely locked in on repeating the same miserable and failed plan with perpetual whining. Rinse. Repeat. Year after year.

Yes: that's insanity.

Be willing to change bros, or be just as insane as Jerry.

Exactly, and I still watch all the cowboy games, but I have a few other teams I pick each year to follow.
last season it was the giants,seahawks,SF, Jags , and they all made playoffs.

 

[T-RO]

The Jones boys don't do that. The one time Dallas did do that, was the Walker trade.

The Walker trade was a total white flag. A surrender. It outraged Troy Aikman ("Trade our best player!?!?"). It flushed the season down the toilet --and the next couple-- in hopes of building something great in 2-4 years.

And the trade of course was brilliant!

That kind of thing is 100% opposite of what BobHaze has been arguing for us to do this year: he wants us to throw the future away, risk everything to win now.

 

[Flamma]

The Walker trade was a total white flag. A surrender. It outraged Troy Aikman ("Trade our best player!?!?"). It flushed the season down the toilet --and the next couple-- in hopes of building something great in 2-4 years.

And the trade of course was brilliant!

That kind of thing is 100% opposite of what BobHaze has been arguing for us to do this year: he wants us to throw the future away, risk everything to win now.

No he doesn't. No one does. You take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you. You don't go looking to make a splash. If something presents itself, you consider it. What you don't do, is take everything off the table. Which is what the Cowboys do every year. What the Cowboys do in the offseason is an amateur approach. Year in and year out.

 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

For every Philly and KC there is a Buffalo and San Francisco

San Francisco traded umpteen draft picks for CMC and Trey Lance in the last 2 years, probably more draft value than Philly has traded for both Super Bowl runs combined.

 

[MaineBoy]

So you’re saying that after Jerry resigns Pollard, Zeke, and LVE we’re good ?

 

[Bobhaze]

I dislike the front office just as much as everyone else around here (they even pushed me to start adopting other favorite teams!)

But it's flat silly to act like they aren't doing a number of things right. And of course they absolutely do have a plan.

I'll set aside my normal Jones-hate and note some smart things in their plan:
1. They stay on good terms with their players.
2. Emphasize the draft and generally draft pretty well
3. They are particularly clever about acquiring comp picks in the draft. They are among league leaders in stacking these up.

Let's drill down on #3, loading up extra picks:
2023: 3 extra picks (169, 176 and 212)
2022: 2 comp picks (176, 178)
2021: 4 comp picks!

And guess what...they are poised to load up on those again in 2024.

The front office here has done some things right for sure:

• Hiring Will McClay which has given us mostly good drafts for years.
• Stopped the bad habit of stupid trades (like the Joey Galloway and Roy Williams trades)
• Stayed mostly a young team in recent years.
• They have won 12 games and made the playoffs two years in a row. (Been 15 and 27 years since they did that)

Maybe a few others…But the bottom line for me is this:

• 5 wild card playoff wins in 27 seasons.
• 12 playoff appearances in 27 seasons and never even winning a divisional playoff game (That’s a record btw)
• Tyler Smith, Micah Parsons, and Cedee Lamb were not even born the last time we won a divisional playoff game.

They aren’t doing enough right.

 

[Bobhaze]

Jerry's plan is to patch the holes in the boat as he cruises along.
Bail water and patch the holes, it will be ok.
If his team gets in the playoffs, he really thinks they can go to SB because they got in !
half the NFC gets in each year, and many are weak teams that have no chance at SB.
Dallas is usually eliminated by teams that lose the champ game, GB 2 times, SF 2 times, Rams 1 time.
That says none of those dallas teams were ready for a SB run due to one thing or another, HC's, FO (jones boys) QB play, rest of team
no one really steps up.

Well said.

Nobody has said they do nothing right, the problem is they just dont do enough.

With the way this team operates they have shown that the Divisional round is their ceiling, that is the cold hard truth and its been this way for 27 years.

Now as the saying goes, if you want to accomplish something you have never accomplished before, you must do something you have never done before. This applies to life in general, not just football. Otherwise, if you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results..........well, you know what that is.

Man I wish I could give this 100 likes!

 

[GMO415]

Great job Bullet! Unfortunately, we have a GM that's satisfied with the status quo of "good enough."

He doesn't realize "good enough is the enemy of excellence.'

 

[Bobhaze]

The Walker trade was a total white flag. A surrender. It outraged Troy Aikman ("Trade our best player!?!?"). It flushed the season down the toilet --and the next couple-- in hopes of building something great in 2-4 years.

And the trade of course was brilliant!

That kind of thing is 100% opposite of what BobHaze has been arguing for us to do this year: he wants us to throw the future away, risk everything to win now.

Actually you are incorrect about “what BobHaze is saying”. It’s often humorous when people tell you what you really meant despite never actually saying it. I‘m not saying “risk everything”, nor did I say that in the OP. I am saying we need to do more than we’ve been doing which is clearly not enough.

Look at how aggressive Philly was last year- all those moves all while retaining 6 draft picks this year, including 2 in the first round, and 4 in the top 100. Unfortunately, they did not “risk everything“ to win now. The rams- they did go all in for one year and gained a Lombardi for it. (Their GM Les Snead has built two rosters in 5 years that went to 2 SBs with 2 different QBs.) I’m not advocating the rams approach but I would rather see us do something different than keep doing the same things and praying for some good luck.

 

[Reality]

It has often been said the last few years that NFL seasons can be both won or lost in the off-season.

In fact, is not uncommon in this modern NFL to see the teams that had great off-seasons be the ones in major contention for a Lombardi. Just look at the last several seasons- most of the conference champions and SB winners had extremely active off-seasons. These teams were both strategic and aggressive in their off-season moves and it translated into playoff wins.

Look at some of the teams that were consensus choices as having a great off-season:

• 2020- Tampa Bay, led by the strategic moves of GM Jason Licht signed FA Tom Brady (after releasing former #1 pick Jameis Winston), traded for TE Rob Gronkowski, franchise tagged LB Shaq Barrett, re-signed FA DL Ndamukong Suh, and drafted T Tristen Wirfs, among several other big moves. They went on to win the NFC Championship and SB 55.
• 2021- LA Rams- led by GM Les Snead, the rams were very aggressive in the 2021 off-season. They traded former #1 pick QB Jared Goff and draft picks for Det QB Matt Stafford, signed CB Jalen Ramsey (who they acquired in a trade in 2019) to a 5 year/100 mil deal, traded for Edge rusher Von Miller, and signed FA WR Odell Beckham during the season. And that’s just the big moves. The rams won the NFC championship and SB 56.
• 2022 Filly- Look I hate the eagles but their GM Howie Roseman led a very successfully aggressive off-season last spring. The eagles traded for WR AJ Brown, traded WR Jalen Reagor to the Vikings for 4th and 7th round picks, signed FA LB Hassan Reddick, traded for DB CJ Gardner-Johnson, and several other key moves. And they still have 4 picks in the top 100 in this year’s draft. The eagles won the NFC championship for the 2nd time in 5 years with two completely different built rosters.
• 2022 KC chiefs- the chiefs led by GM Brett Veach were aggressive again, despite Pat Mahomes’ big contract taking up so much cap space. They traded their #1 receiver Tyreek Hill, released S Tyrann Mathieu, signed FA WR JuJu Smith, acquired SB hero WR/PR Kadarius Toney in an Oct trade with the giants, and got great production late in season from 7th round RB Isaiah Pacheco. The chiefs won their 3rd AFC championship in 4 years and their second SB in 4 years.

Bottom Line- having a great off-season plan and executing it well is step one in putting your team in position to have a great season. What happens the next 2 months will tell us a ton about this team’s ability to compete for a championship in 2023.

Jerry and Stephen are so focused on building a dynasty team that they forget you need to win a Super Bowl first before you can even start thinking about a dynasty.

They are still living in the 1990s and are bound and determined to do things their way to prove they were/are right.

What they fail to understand is that after 28 years, even if the Cowboys win 2-3 Super Bowls in a row at some point, no one .. not other teams .. not the media .. not Cowboys fans .. not fans who hate the Cowboys .. are going to think they were smart or did it the right way.

Most Cowboys fans would take one Super Bowl win every 8-10 years over the last 28 years of no Super Bowls.

Players are always told, "You play to win the game!" Meaning, you play to win games NOW.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys ownership never got that message or they are incapable of grasping the concept.

 

[Coogiguy03]

IF NOTHING CHANGES, NOTHING CHANGES!!!!

 

[Diehardblues]

I still hope…I mean if there’s no hope there’s no fun at all. I keep thinking these guys will get tired of only winning wild card games every so often. “Their way” isn’t all bad, but it’s clearly not enough to win a SB.

I hear ya but I wouldn’t say no fun at all. We can still hope to win each game without any real hope it’s going to extend to anymore success in postseason.

I’m not sure how we can say “their way” isn’t enough to win a SB but retain this level of hope ?

 

[Bobhaze]

Jerry and Stephen are so focused on building a dynasty team that they forget you need to win a Super Bowl first before you can even start thinking about a dynasty.

They are still living in the 1990s and are bound and determined to do things their way to prove they were/are right.

What they fail to understand is that after 28 years, even if the Cowboys win 2-3 Super Bowls in a row at some point, no one .. not other teams .. not the media .. not Cowboys fans .. not fans who hate the Cowboys .. are going to think they were smart or did it the right way.

Most Cowboys fans would take one Super Bowl win every 8-10 years over the last 28 years of no Super Bowls.

Players are always told, "You play to win the game!" Meaning, you play to win games NOW.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys ownership never got that message or they are incapable of grasping the concept.

So true. If the Cowboys somehow win a SB in Jerry’s lifetime, he will probably be surprised how tepid the fan response will be to give him “credit”. When you shoot 1-28 in basketball, no one is impressed when you finally make one, lol.

 

[john van brocklin]

It has often been said the last few years that NFL seasons can be both won or lost in the off-season.

In fact, is not uncommon in this modern NFL to see the teams that had great off-seasons be the ones in major contention for a Lombardi. Just look at the last several seasons- most of the conference champions and SB winners had extremely active off-seasons. These teams were both strategic and aggressive in their off-season moves and it translated into playoff wins.

Look at some of the teams that were consensus choices as having a great off-season:

• 2020- Tampa Bay, led by the strategic moves of GM Jason Licht signed FA Tom Brady (after releasing former #1 pick Jameis Winston), traded for TE Rob Gronkowski, franchise tagged LB Shaq Barrett, re-signed FA DL Ndamukong Suh, and drafted T Tristen Wirfs, among several other big moves. They went on to win the NFC Championship and SB 55.
• 2021- LA Rams- led by GM Les Snead, the rams were very aggressive in the 2021 off-season. They traded former #1 pick QB Jared Goff and draft picks for Det QB Matt Stafford, signed CB Jalen Ramsey (who they acquired in a trade in 2019) to a 5 year/100 mil deal, traded for Edge rusher Von Miller, and signed FA WR Odell Beckham during the season. And that’s just the big moves. The rams won the NFC championship and SB 56.
• 2022 Filly- Look I hate the eagles but their GM Howie Roseman led a very successfully aggressive off-season last spring. The eagles traded for WR AJ Brown, traded WR Jalen Reagor to the Vikings for 4th and 7th round picks, signed FA LB Hassan Reddick, traded for DB CJ Gardner-Johnson, and several other key moves. And they still have 4 picks in the top 100 in this year’s draft. The eagles won the NFC championship for the 2nd time in 5 years with two completely different built rosters.
• 2022 KC chiefs- the chiefs led by GM Brett Veach were aggressive again, despite Pat Mahomes’ big contract taking up so much cap space. They traded their #1 receiver Tyreek Hill, released S Tyrann Mathieu, signed FA WR JuJu Smith, acquired SB hero WR/PR Kadarius Toney in an Oct trade with the giants, and got great production late in season from 7th round RB Isaiah Pacheco. The chiefs won their 3rd AFC championship in 4 years and their second SB in 4 years.

Bottom Line- having a great off-season plan and executing it well is step one in putting your team in position to have a great season. What happens the next 2 months will tell us a ton about this team’s ability to compete for a championship in 2023.

Sadly, our front offices past off seasons gives us little hope that this off season is going to be any different.
They like playing it safe.

 

[CouchCoach]

No team in the NFL will make it happen without one crucial part of the puzzle, a GM that has to win or else. The Cowboys do not have that.

Aggressive teams in the off season have aggressive owners that must keep the fans and sponsors happy. No way Snead mortgages the future of the Rams without direction from Kronke to win now. Kronke was well aware of the spotty history the Rams had in attracting the fans in LA, had the most expensive stadium built to date and another team sharing it with him. Only time will tell with this but the LA market is a huge risk with the NFL. Would they have been better off just contending?

All of the shortcomings of the Cowboys can be summed up in one observation for me. They have an owner and GM that wants to win but does not need to win.

I spent a lot of years in management in my career and the difference between wanting to accomplish something and needing to was very wide and I found myself in a different mindset with a need driving me instead of a want.

Oh, I still worked hard but I did back off and tell myself I had done all that I could do when I wanted to win; when there was the need to win, there was no rest because there was always at least one more thing that needed to be done.

GMing in the NFL is a very difficult job; doing it part-time and delegating all the things one does not like to do increases the degree of difficulty.

McClay has it made, why would he leave? He builds his board and he's done and doesn't have to own it. You don't think he has injured and problem players in on his 2nd round, do you?

 

[Bobhaze]

No team in the NFL will make it happen without one crucial part of the puzzle, a GM that has to win or else. The Cowboys do not have that.

Aggressive teams in the off season have aggressive owners that must keep the fans and sponsors happy. No way Snead mortgages the future of the Rams without direction from Kronke to win now. Kronke was well aware of the spotty history the Rams had in attracting the fans in LA, had the most expensive stadium built to date and another team sharing it with him. Only time will tell with this but the LA market is a huge risk with the NFL. Would they have been better off just contending?

All of the shortcomings of the Cowboys can be summed up in one observation for me. They have an owner and GM that wants to win but does not need to win.

I spent a lot of years in management in my career and the difference between wanting to accomplish something and needing to was very wide and I found myself in a different mindset with a need driving me instead of a want.

Oh, I still worked hard but I did back off and tell myself I had done all that I could do when I wanted to win; when there was the need to win, there was no rest because there was always at least one more thing that needed to be done.

GMing in the NFL is a very difficult job; doing it part-time and delegating all the things one does not like to do increases the degree of difficulty.

McClay has it made, why would he leave? He builds his board and he's done and doesn't have to own it. You don't think he has injured and problem players in on his 2nd round, do you?

“All of the shortcomings of the Cowboys can be summed up in one observation for me. They have an owner and GM that wants to win but does not need to win.”
One of the most succinctly true statements made on this forum.

 

[CouchCoach]

Sadly, our front offices past off seasons gives us little hope that this off season is going to be any different.
They like playing it safe.

They like playing it relevant. The owner has admitted that relevancy is crucial to him.

The Cowboys are going to get covered if they have a losing record but Booger wants his unbalanced coverage that has actually had analysts openly questioning "why so much Cowboys"?

They strive to be good enough because they make more money, get more coverage and ratings than any other team being great.

Do you think Booger is happy he has the most polarized QB in the NFL to follow the one that preceded him? Most owners would not like that but he hungers for it.

He'd pay Prescott whatever he has to when he gets more coverage with his "slump" than Brady and Rodgers duking it out for MVP.

Booger already enjoys the spoils of war without really having to get in the battle.

 

[blueblood70]

1.They throw every player home grown player under the bus when it's time to resign them. Lawrence, Dak, Zeke and Dez

2. I will give you that WILL McCLAY does a masterful job with the draft but name a team that has won the Super Bowl with the "Draft Only" plan?

3. Comp pick don't get you to the NFCCG, players do so they need to trade those picks for proven players.

ITS NOT draft only.. they got UDFAS plus umm who are these players, many contributed last year when depth was needed
Kearse
hooker
Turpin
Maher
TY hilton
hankins
peters
Barr
Fowler
Rhodes
Washington, i know they tried.

that off the top of my head but they do bring in FAS just not the ones the fans want and unwilling to go all in is not, not having plan nor is it being cheap just less risky.

sorry but so many fans wanted like

Jamal adams
earl thomas
Berry
and many other would have been horrible choices cap hits and not payig off i mean as much as Von would ahve been nice he was solid over in NY but he didnt last ie age wons most times as much as wagner might have been worth the risk he didnt help the rams do squat , he just came in and played got paid and that was it little impact in the grand schemes.

 

[Blast From The Past]

Jones boys will do what they do - pay the guys they drafted out of validation/emotional attachment - win enough games to be relevant - then flame out when it matters.

How many times does this has to happen until some put down the Cowboys crack pipe and accept that this is what our favorite team has become?

"Yeah, but it if we do this and do that..."

These are the two clowns you are counting on - look at them. Do they look like masterminds who are going to outsmart the rest of the NFL after almost 30 years of trying?

These two think they cracked the code