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

[xwalker]

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.

Skins won the off-season for a decade...

Bucs won because they had the GOAT.

Rams. Yes, trades and fa were big for them but coaching and run blocking scheme are core for them.

Eagles. Coaching. Designed perfect scheme for Hurts.

KC. Mahomes...

 

[Diehardblues]

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.

I look for the Cowboys to be passed by again this year as other teams improve more than we do.

Last year it was Egirls. Next year could be NY and others like Det or NO for example .

 

[Diehardblues]

“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.

Coach correctly states it. And the fans haven’t forced him to change . Rewarding Jethro’s foolishness is just as embarrassing as he is.

 

[jazzcat22]

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.

I wonder if McClay has input on what players to keep and to let go, as he does with suggesting FA's as well as the draft.
I am sure he does, or would hope he does. This is something we do not hear much about. Only his input on finding players including those from other teams PS.

Though everyone thinks it is all Jerry all the time. But it does ultimately come down to Jerry and son as to what they want to offer the players. However, there are others, such as coaches involved as well.
Of course they are stuck with some players due to the contracts. Again, that is on Jerry and son.

 

[jazzcat22]

I look for the Cowboys to be passed by again this year as other teams improve more than we do.

Last year it was Egirls. Next year could be NY and others like Det or NO for example .

I think Detroit makes a push to win the NFCN this upcoming season.

 

[birdwells1]

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.

What is this everything that you speak of?

 

[birdwells1]

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.

Name the last first wave free agent that the Cowboys have signed. I'll give you a hint it was in 2012!!

 

[birdwells1]

I wonder if McClay has input on what players to keep and to let go, as he does with suggesting FA's as well as the draft.
I am sure he does, or would hope he does. This is something we do not hear much about. Only his input on finding players including those from other teams PS.

Though everyone thinks it is all Jerry all the time. But it does ultimately come down to Jerry and son as to what they want to offer the players. However, there are others, such as coaches involved as well.
Of course they are stuck with some players due to the contracts. Again, that is on Jerry and son.

Really it's Stephen running the show now, on McClay I think he gets to go shopping at Marshall's and TJ Maxx and sometimes find some jeans with both the pant leg being the same size. Those are the only stores Stephen allows him to shop.

 

[birdwells1]

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.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2022/5/24/23076139/only-3-of-15-dallas-cowboys-players-with-highest-2022-cap-hits-are-free-agent-acquisitions

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

If the OP's title was true then we would have better preseason predictions.

 

[blueblood70]

Name the last first wave free agent that the Cowboys have signed. I'll give you a hint it was in 2012!!

who cares dude


they still but team that got to 2nd round of the playoffs and were b2b 12win teams .. their job is too build team and be competitive , saying they MUST overpay for frontline players top appease fans is Nuts, sure grab one if it fits but a requirement no.. stop whining go grab new team and new jersey and be gone. that list i provided was solid list..and? what poor fan base didn't get von or Wagner and their teams did how much more than ours? adams did what for Seatle? et and berry the big wants here for years did what since. Nada.

more risk sure id like to see it but not requirement for building a winner.. didn't KC let more frontline players go then they replaced, and they won it all.. they used younger players, draft, and some 3rd tier Fas to beat the team who made the most moves.

there is no right way..

 

[ArtClink]

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.

Hope is our strategy. It has been our main strategy that has produced no Div playoff wins for 26 years. The Jones boys haven’t learned anything nor do they care if we win.

They will not make any big free agent signings because “winning” under the Fuhrers plan only includes being mostly frugal w salary cap and making sure they maximize profits. Yeah I get it that it is a business, but in this business making deep playoff runs is the best thing for business. Some things never change.

 

[birdwells1]

who cares dude


they still but team that got to 2nd round of the playoffs and were b2b 12win teams .. their job is too build team and be competitive , saying they MUST overpay for frontline players top appease fans is Nuts, sure grab one if it fits but a requirement no.. stop whining go grab new team and new jersey and be gone. that list i provided was solid list..and? what poor fan base didn't get von or Wagner and their teams did how much more than ours? adams did what for Seatle? et and berry the big wants here for years did what since. Nada.

more risk sure id like to see it but not requirement for building a winner.. didn't KC let more frontline players go then they replaced, and they won it all.. they used younger players, draft, and some 3rd tier Fas to beat the team who made the most moves.

there is no right way..

 

[birdwells1]

who cares dude


they still but team that got to 2nd round of the playoffs and were b2b 12win teams .. their job is too build team and be competitive , saying they MUST overpay for frontline players top appease fans is Nuts, sure grab one if it fits but a requirement no.. stop whining go grab new team and new jersey and be gone. that list i provided was solid list..and? what poor fan base didn't get von or Wagner and their teams did how much more than ours? adams did what for Seatle? et and berry the big wants here for years did what since. Nada.

more risk sure id like to see it but not requirement for building a winner.. didn't KC let more frontline players go then they replaced, and they won it all.. they used younger players, draft, and some 3rd tier Fas to beat the team who made the most moves.

there is no right way..

Do you think this is the job description of KC, Philly, SF and NE front office? To be competitive or win the whole damn thing? This is what we've been reduced to as fans. You just want to be competitive, that embarrassing really. I bet you are all for participation trophies too huh? You bring up KC, they have a generational QB and is by far the best in the game, they Trade Tyreek Hill and they replaced him with James Washington (a journeyman wr and Jalen Tolbert a 3rd round pick from South Alabama.........Oh my bad that was the Joneses replacements for Amari Cooper. KC knew that they need some wr talent that had done it in the league so they went got JuJu, MVS, Toney and Sky Moore and all played a pivotal role in the playoffs for them.

After the first play of the second quarter no other wr not named CeeDee Lamb caught a pass until the final dreadful play of the game. The Super Bowl Champions received 5 draft picks for their star wr and are looking good for the future, Philly has 4 picks in the top 100 this year and could have 4 next draft also. There may not be 1 right way but I wished that we'd find one because our way hasn't worked.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2022/5/24/23076139/only-3-of-15-dallas-cowboys-players-with-highest-2022-cap-hits-are-free-agent-acquisitions

 

[CowboyRoy]

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.

Sorry the Chiefs were not one of them. They had moved on from Hill and the fans were complaining about it.

 

[Bobhaze]

Sorry the Chiefs were not one of them. They had moved on from Hill and the fans were complaining about it.

No…actually moving on from Tyreek Hill was a big part of a good off-season plan by the chiefs. They saved cap space and through that trade, allowed them to gain draft capital. The Tyreek Hill move was THE centerpiece of their off-season.

 

[T-RO]

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.

These are 3 biggest current things, in my opinion, limiting playoff success
-Good, but not elite quarterback play
-Lack of sharp, inspirational head coach
-Zebras

If I'd add a 4th for 2022-3 it was that we should have kept Coop as WR1

 

[T-RO]

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.

BobH has argued we follow this pattern:

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.

Tampa Bay and the Rams are now in cap hell for their moves. They stole from the future to feed a run and now they suffer. Philly was able to be so aggressive because Hurts is on a rookie contract, not a luxury we have.

 

[Pass2Run]

birdwells1

- Sports is a very silly past-time. Only purpose is meaningless entertainment.
- If you want meaning look for it in philosophy, religion, relationship, art, practical contribution to a neighbor, whatever. Maybe we should all think more about that.
- Players aren't loyal to a team. Owners happily relocate teams for money. Why are you so locked into absurd fan "loyalty"? Does Jerry care about you? Do the players?

Loyalty isn't for some stupid meaningless sports team. Loyalty is for values. For truth. For cherished family and friends. For building society. Maybe for something transcendent. For football? You gotta be kidding.

Sports has become religion for many. Sad but true.

As for pastime: If you don't enjoy a sport, pick another. If you don't like a team...make a plan for something you do enjoy. A different team? A combination of teams? Whatever.

Very true. There's a lot of totemism in sports.

 

[Pass2Run]

This not only doesn't support your point, it completely contradicts it.

Chiefs traded away their best receiver for future picks. They let their playmaker safety walk, rather than pay.

If anything it was a very soft reload for KC. Some in the media called it a little bit of a rebuilding year for them. They made budget-friendly signings and they focused heavy on the draft, which is exactly the formula you are criticizing.

On the money.