The one thing I hope Jerry & company learn from the Roy Williams trade

[yimyammer]

At this point there is only one thing I hope we get from this trade and anything else would be gravy.

What I hope Jerry Jones learned is he doesn't have to make trades lke this in order to win and compete in this league. Only give up this much in draft picks and salary when you (AND ALL YOUR SCOUTS & COACHES) are 95% positive (barring injury) that you are getting a Hall of Fame type player that will perform for the duration of his contract and up to the level of his cost.

Make trades where the risk is LOW and the reward is HIGH and then be sure to discount your expectations and have a plan for the possibility that when a guy is full (gets paid), he just might lose his hunger (drive to work).

Learn from guys like Ratliff, Miles & Romo that someone in the building knows how to spot talent (sorry Jerry, I don't believe it's you) so trust them and do not reach for players like this because you think it will give you an instant Super Bowl.

Learn from the success of this off season that a team can be built out of 53 guys who might not have all the acclaim and best talent but together can perform more than well enough to allow you to compete and get a shot at where we all want to go.

The worst part about this trade is the hidden costs. Some of the hidden cost that come to mind are:

1. Agents and teams believe Jerry will over pay. As a result, he damages his negotiating power significantly with other players. What leverage does he have to justify paying Austin any less than Roy? Had Roy not been signed, I suspect Miles would have signed a much less risky, cowboy friendly deal at a lower cost. (Don't tkae this wrong, I believe Miles deserves a good contract, but I don't want any player to be able to cripple the team if he gets injured or doesn't perform up to expectations)

2. Existing players were on the team that could have easily equaled or exceeded his production at a fraction of the cost and we keep our draft picks (we could have had Michael Oher for example)

3. Other players did not get an opportunity to develop on the field because of the obligation to play a player simply because of his cost (Hurd, Ogletree)

Scout, develop, teach, churn, coach & build a team for the long haul.

You no longer have to think in terms of narrow windows of opportunity that cause you to make gambling trades like Roy's! You can compete year in and year out if you play as a team and allow you staff to do their job.

Now trust and empower them!!

No more wild-catting Jerry, this ain't the oil business!!

Like Bob Newhart says:

"Stop it!!"

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[Bach]

What I hope Jerry Jones learned is he doesn't have to make trades lke this in order to win and compete in this league. Only give up this much in draft picks and salary when you (AND ALL YOUR SCOUTS & COACHES) are 95% positive (barring injury) that you are getting a Hall of Fame type player that will perform for the duration of his contract and up to the level of his cost.

2. Draft WR sometime on day one of the draft more than once a decade.

 

[RainMan]

Good post, yimyammer.

One thing I like about our current collection of coaches and scouts is that they're proving pretty competent in finding AND developing players. That's the key to success in this league. One is useless without the other.

I think this is important to remember come next offseason when we as fans are inevitably pining for big names like Peppers who ever ends up being available. The big name isn't always -- in fact, rarely is -- the way to go. There are exceptions, like a La'Roi Glover. But buyer beware.

That's not to say free agency will be useless, but I think we'd be best served attacking the open market like we did this offseason. Get moderately priced players with skill sets that allow them to come here and perform a role, and do it well (Olshansky, Sensabaugh and Brooking), as opposed to going for broke to make a bang.

Roy was the classic case of a knee-jerk reaction.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Good post, yimyammer.

One thing I like about our current collection of coaches and scouts is that they're proving pretty competent in finding AND developing players. That's the key to success in this league. One is useless without the other.

I think this is important to remember come next offseason when we as fans are inevitably pining for big names like Peppers who ever ends up being available. The big name isn't always -- in fact, rarely is -- the way to go. There are exceptions, like a La'Roi Glover. But buyer beware.

That's not to say free agency will be useless, but I think we'd be best served attacking the open market like we did this offseason. Get moderately priced players with skill sets that allow them to come here and perform a role, and do it well (Olshansky, Sensabaugh and Brooking), as opposed to going for broke to make a bang.

Roy was the classic case of a knee-jerk reaction.

Exactly. Get guys who know talent and also can develop it. We seem to have that right now, and yes, hopefully Jerry will learn that a Miles Austin or Kevin Ogletree is just as exciting and can win just as much for you as a Roy Williams.

But Wade knows defensive talent and Garrett seems like he's done pretty well also. And I hope part of Jerry's desire for this continuity he talks about is because of this very subject.

And finally... Give Tom Ciskowski a raise. A big one. Now.

 

[yimyammer]

2. Draft WR sometime on day one of the draft more than once a decade.

Better yet, keep plucking guys like Austin off the undrafted free agent market

 

[Sandman52]

How does RW11's contract figure in to next year's uncapped CBA? Could we release him with minimal damage?

If so, I can see him gone unless he shows something in the playoffs.

 

[Bach]

Better yet, keep plucking guys like Austin off the undrafted free agent market

It is interesting that two of our main players and reasons we are even in the playoffs - Romo and Austin - are guys that weren't drafted. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

 

[The Realist]

Note to self.......

Only trade for hall of famers.

 

[reddyuta]

JJ is very scared to draft a WR high,hopefully this fiasco will convince him otherwise.

 

[Doomsday]

JJ is very scared to draft a WR high,hopefully this fiasco will convince him otherwise.

Then give Ogletree a chance. It took them way too long to get Romo, Miles and a few others worked into the starting line up. Im not saying OT should start but I think he he should be given a shot at the position next season.

 

[Bach]

JJ is very scared to draft a WR high,hopefully this fiasco will convince him otherwise.

With his track record in the draft it's understandable. But still, hoping to find starters through the undrafted free agent route doesn't seem like a viable way to go.

 

[yimyammer]

Note to self.......

Only trade for hall of famers.

Only give up multiple draft picks and pay a fortune for Hall of Fame caliber players that have proven themselves on the field, in the character department as well as demonstrating an intense hate for losing that shows up in their work ethic. In other words, rarely if ever make these types of trades under the current NFL structure and salary cap. Anyone else you trade for should be cap friendly, low risk deals, like Olshanksy, Brooks & Sensabaugh (imo).

I wanted to make sure it's understood I was attempting to make a distinction here and I wasn't implying Dallas should never make any trades or free agent signings.

 

[yimyammer]

How does RW11's contract figure in to next year's uncapped CBA? Could we release him with minimal damage?

If so, I can see him gone unless he shows something in the playoffs.

I heard his salary is pretty low next year but he's due an $8 or $9 million dollar bonus that Jerry has to pay in March, so there doesn't appear to be any benefit to cutting him in the off season.

If I was Jerry, I would explain that his future looks very dim here but that he'd love to see him succeed so he should do all he can in the offseason to improve like attending Larry Fitzgeralds receiver camp (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jim_trotter/07/16/wrs/index.html) and use any other tools available to him to enable him to be successful next year or he will not be a Cowboy in 2011.

 

[Gadfly22]

There are lots of busts in FA -- guys who are over the hill or somehow underperform once they get paid. But there are some quality players available -- usually for a big down payment. For example, I wouldn't have minded seeing Asante Samuel in a Cowboy uniform, but his price was extremely steep.

 

[Vintage]

2. Draft WR sometime on day one of the draft more than once a decade.

While I do agree with the premise of this....

Our #1 WR is an UFA. Our #3 is a 7th rounder. Our 4th WR next year will likely be UFA Ogletree.

That's a pretty solid, 1, 3, and 4 option, all gained cheaply.

Now... the Roy trade hasn't yielded the ROI like all of us have hoped it would... but we've really hit on the WR position with such little investment at the 1, 3, and 4 WR position.

That being said... yeah, it'd be nice to see us get another WR who can help stretch the field.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

Then give Ogletree a chance. It took them way too long to get Romo, Miles and a few others worked into the starting line up. Im not saying OT should start but I think he he should be given a shot at the position next season.

Id start him this week. Could he be worse than #11?

 

[dbair1967]

It is interesting that two of our main players and reasons we are even in the playoffs - Romo and Austin - are guys that weren't drafted. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

They were undrafted for a reason. Niether walked into camp and looked like sure fire NFL players. Somebody had to coach them up. Somebody did a hell of a job with both of them.

Romo wouldnt even have made the team initially had it not been for bonehead Carter doing his thing. Now THAT was the lucky part.

 

[Doomsday]

Id start him this week. Could he be worse than #11?

I just wonder if he is limited in the amount of the playbook he has mastered.

That said the times he has been on the field he just keeps making play after play.

 

[dbair1967]

I know this is hard for some to believe, but Jerry isnt the sole person to "blame" if the RW trade dosnt work out. We have coaches and scouts who all looked at film on this guy, just like they look at film on every other player they think about acquiring.

Jerry may have pulled the trigger, but others helped load the gun.

Everytime something doesnt work out, you want to pin that solely on Jerry. When something does, it was either luck or to someone else's credit.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

I just wonder if he is limited in the amount of the playbook he has mastered.

That said the times he has been on the field he just keeps making play after play.

Again I ask, could it be any worse than #11? He doesn't look like he has any thing mastered, including the play book. He certainly doesn't have any of Romos confidence.