Trying isn't good enough

[Diehardblues]

As always my friend, I respect your opinion as well.

Where I disagree with you is this: Unfortunately in the NFL (and most major pro sports) you have to overpay to get some of the very talent you need to compete for a championship. I’m not talking about overpaying everyone. Just a guy here and there.

We won our last SB in 1995 by overpaying to acquire the services of Deion Sanders. (I know the financial landscape was different then) And we’ve heard Stephen was really upset about that. But that overpay was exactly what we needed. And here we are 31 years later without a championship since.

Regarding competitive offers to Walker and Dean and in the trade offer for Crosby - I’m not saying that isn’t true, but all I’ve ever seen about that is what SJ and JJ are saying on that. Do we have verification from anyone else? Like agents? Someone outside our organization?

And if those offers were supposedly that “close” to landing one of those guys, would adding another million be untenable? If you’re close, sometimes you do have to “bust the budget”.

Obviously there’s no guarantee if we overpay someone we will win big. But not ever doing it to me means we’re going to keep getting what we’ve been getting. We need to take some chances IMO.

The bottom line is we want the same thing - the Cowboys to start winning playoff games again. I know we agree 100% on that!

In 1995 Jethro had some pressure to win after Jimmy’s debacle and 94 disappointment.

There’s basically no pressure this era to take risk.

 

[Diehardblues]

Fans keep hoping there’s going to be an awakening for our dysfunctional ownership to change their ways but an epiphany isn’t coming.

We can still root on our Cowboys without hoping for change. Much like we’d root on a friend or family while not expecting them to change their ways.

And hope the team can overcome their leadership’s dysfunction and toxic environment.

That doesn’t mean we should stop being critical but as long as the record revenue continue we aren’t providing much motivation or incentive to change.

 

[StarBoyz83]

Fair to be skeptical - I would wait until after the draft to formulate opinions - this draft has the most riding on it of any in recent memory.

They need 4 players that can be starters and with only 3 picks in the top 100 now they are going to need to make some moves to make that likely.

Id love to see a trade back at 12 and pick up a late 1st and another top 100 pick or two....there are a few scenarios.

Also I wouldnt be super averse to trading back and trading out of the 1st with one of ghe picks for a 2nd and a 2027 1st.

Feels like they need to make aure they have enough ammo next year too...


Anyway long ramble of saying let's wait a week and then relook

I dont expect a good season no matter who they draft. I just hope the get really good players and no busts with the 1st 3 picks.

Thats one of the main problems is Dallas mainly only uses the draft to upgrade the roster.

 

[Chasing6]

Think most figured Dallas was at least 2 offseasons away from doing anything. Now its looking more like 3-4 if its gonna be offseasons like this one.

If it is 3 or 4, it may as well be 10. We will need to find a new QB at that point.

 

[blueblood70]

I dont expect a good season no matter who they draft. I just hope the get really good players and no busts with the 1st 3 picks.

Thats one of the main problems is Dallas mainly only uses the draft to upgrade the roster.

That’s not true—they make trades quite often. They may not be the trades you prefer, but they happen. While they don’t use free agency as much as fans would like, the three draft picks aren’t the whole story. They’ve tried to get Max Crosby with a strong offer, and they’ve gone after Dean, Brooks, and Queen. They’re working hard, and I believe things will pick up. For impatient fans, the list of linebackers and pass rushers, including Clowney, is still the same as it was three weeks ago—no notable transactions have happened across the league, as teams seem to be waiting until after the draft.

Once the draft is done, activity will pick back up. The Cowboys will still pursue moves for players like Brooks, Queen, or similar targets, and they’ll use the remaining free agent pool to add more talent. They’ve done this before—when they missed out on a tight end in the draft, they went and got George Pickens, Gilmore, and Brandon Cooks. You might call them bargain picks, including Kendricks, but they’re all solid players with something to offer. This offseason may not be to everyone’s liking so far, but the effort is there, and that effort matters—it signals they’ll keep pushing after the draft, and hopefully it will pay off.

They’re not done and not just relying on the draft. They’ve been making real offers, not lowball ones, going after multiple players, and while they haven’t landed one yet, it’s clear they’re not just focused on the draft. They’ve picked up the phone and tried to make plenty of deals for good players. They’ve already made trades this year, midseason last year, and before last season began. In their view, trades are a supplement to free agency—good, bad, or indifferent—and they’re not just sitting back. Based on how they’ve operated the past two seasons, even if it hasn’t paid off yet, they’ll keep up the same effort and it will eventually pay off. Maybe we should wait until a couple weeks before the season starts to judge the roster and what hasn’t been done, especially since there are still five months left to make moves.

 

[kskboys]

That’s not true—they make trades quite often. They may not be the trades you prefer, but they happen. While they don’t use free agency as much as fans would like, the three draft picks aren’t the whole story. They’ve tried to get Max Crosby with a strong offer, and they’ve gone after Dean, Brooks, and Queen. They’re working hard, and I believe things will pick up. For impatient fans, the list of linebackers and pass rushers, including Clowney, is still the same as it was three weeks ago—no notable transactions have happened across the league, as teams seem to be waiting until after the draft.

Once the draft is done, activity will pick back up. The Cowboys will still pursue moves for players like Brooks, Queen, or similar targets, and they’ll use the remaining free agent pool to add more talent. They’ve done this before—when they missed out on a tight end in the draft, they went and got George Pickens, Gilmore, and Brandon Cooks. You might call them bargain picks, including Kendricks, but they’re all solid players with something to offer. This offseason may not be to everyone’s liking so far, but the effort is there, and that effort matters—it signals they’ll keep pushing after the draft, and hopefully it will pay off.

They’re not done and not just relying on the draft. They’ve been making real offers, not lowball ones, going after multiple players, and while they haven’t landed one yet, it’s clear they’re not just focused on the draft. They’ve picked up the phone and tried to make plenty of deals for good players. They’ve already made trades this year, midseason last year, and before last season began. In their view, trades are a supplement to free agency—good, bad, or indifferent—and they’re not just sitting back. Based on how they’ve operated the past two seasons, even if it hasn’t paid off yet, they’ll keep up the same effort and it will eventually pay off. Maybe we should wait until a couple weeks before the season starts to judge the roster and what hasn’t been done, especially since there are still five months left to make moves.

Yeah, bad trades.

 

[Jarntt]

I dont expect a good season no matter who they draft. I just hope the get really good players and no busts with the 1st 3 picks.

Thats one of the main problems is Dallas mainly only uses the draft to upgrade the roster.

If we draft two studs at 12 and 20 I think we likely win the NFCE. But, that isn't saying much because the division just isn't very good and even with that, I don't expect us to compete with the better teams in the league yet. If we draft two studs and also trade for Brooks (or acquire a good MIKE some other way) I think we can with luck have a good season and finish the year with our sites set on competing for more in 2027

 

[gtb1943]

If we draft two studs at 12 and 20 I think we likely win the NFCE. But, that isn't saying much because the division just isn't very good and even with that, I don't expect us to compete with the better teams in the league yet. If we draft two studs and also trade for Brooks (or acquire a good MIKE some other way) I think we can with luck have a good season and finish the year with our sites set on competing for more in 2027

really will come down to the draft and pickens and how good Parker is

 

[Robster8989]

Before this very important off-season began, our owner/GM stated once again publicly that they were willing to “break the bank” to add talent to this roster. Halfway through the 2026 off-season that has not happened.

And both JJ and SJ continue to tell the fan base they “tried” to acquire a top edge rusher and FA LB but the prices were “too high”. (Side note: NFL truth - The best talent out there is not coming here for less money. You have to overpay. Sorry sad truth)

So…as fans…are we now supposed to give our FO “credit” just for trying to sign or trade for a big impact player? But the price was too high? We didn’t get it done, but “we tried”? Seems to me in professional sports credit is earned when you do it, not when you simply try.

That’s especially true IMO with a front office that does a ton of talking but rarely back it up. And the only way we heard they tried so hard is they tell us all the time…without getting it done.

I think it’s fair for Cowboys fans to say at this point, “Don’t tell us what you’re planning or hoping to do. Show us what you've done.” Otherwise stop talking. Talk when it’s done.

This FO should not get the benefit of the doubt with the track record they have given us for decades.

Agreed Bob.
I always remember Jimmy's famous saying. "If you're gonna talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk".
Clearly, Jerry and Stephen fail on that measure, year after year.
I'm completely unimpressed with what they have done this off-season so far.

Let's examine LB as an example.
Last year, we fielded a JV level LB room. Murray does not belong on an NFL field, yet he was our starter and main LB.
We paid him 7.1 mil last year (cap space)
For the season, he was ranked 88th of 88 NFL LBs by PFF. Dead last.

This off season, there were a lot of really good, young LBs available in FA.
Here are the 2026 cap hits of some of them:
Nakobe Dean 7.9 (the Raiders could have lowered to under 5 had they wished)
Quay Walker 9.6 (same as Dean, this could have lowered easily)
Leo Chenal 4.3
Devin Bush 5.6
Yet the Jones claim the prices were too high?
That's rubbish.

The cap is easy to manipulate when it's over 300 mil as it is this season, and will grow every year.

We kept 2 players who should have been released based on their performance, simply because the Jones' fear long term money (which would have been required to upgrade the positions). Namely Steele and Hooker.

The Jets traded a 7th round pick for Minkah Fitzpatrick, then extended him so that his cap number is almost the same as Hooker's. Minkah is one of the top deep cover safeties in the NFL. Hooker is average at best. Why not upgrade that position?

Even our main FA signing, Thompson, is really an average Safety. There were better players at the position available, who went for slightly more money. Kam Curl went for 3/36 (Thompson was 3/33), Brian Cook went for 3/40, both far superior players to Thompson in my opinion.
I don't dislike Thompson, he's a solid player, but there were better players at the position readily available.

Looks to me like we are rolling with our below average Tackles from last year, which I think will be a weakness.

And Kwyn noted we could save 20 mil in space by signing Pickens to a long term deal. He's going to get it somewhere, the longer we dealt the higher the price goes.

Either sign him or trade him, I believe tagging him is the worst scenario, namely because it holds so much cap space for a team that needed to spend to improve.

Frustrating to say the least.
I hope they have a great draft and sign some FAs after the draft shakes things up.

 

[Kwyn]

Possibly so. But I would never support a franchise that I believe had no chance of turning itself around. That’s just being a glutton for punishment.

I’m still here because I believe it can be different. Maybe that’s naive.

I’m trying to figure out why you are still here if you have no hope.

You’ve been a fan forever, right?

And you always believe it can be different year after year, right?

If you’re like most of us, you might find yourself transitioning to not expecting it to change but still being a fan.

Sure, there are those who reach that point and give up and stop being a fan, but if you’re passionate enough to have stuck around, you’ll stay,

Now, you could be one of those who will always believe change is coming regardless of history and the evidence. If 30 years isn’t enough, then it’s unlikely 35 or 40 will he any different.

I personally believe hopium is better than copium, so put on the mask but save some for the rest of us.

 

[Kwyn]

Yes, as are posts that you can't read due to zero punctuation and bad sentence structure. This one is much better, you turning over a new leaf?

He uses voice to text and just goes stream of consciousness

In my Zone imagination, he’s a truck driver who just speaks in thirty minute long ramblings and then says “Siri, post that to the zone”

He’s said he doesn’t have time to bother with making coherent posts and that voice to text is as much as he’s willing to do so tells people if they don’t like it, just put him on ignore

Many have him on ignore for this reason because his posts take up half a page. You can always unhide a comment if someone replies to him with their own comment and you want context

 

[DarkVader33]

You’ve been a fan forever, right?

And you always believe it can be different year after year, right?

If you’re like most of us, you might find yourself transitioning to not expecting it to change but still being a fan.

Sure, there are those who reach that point and give up and stop being a fan, but if you’re passionate enough to have stuck around, you’ll stay,

Now, you could be one of those who will always believe change is coming regardless of history and the evidence. If 30 years isn’t enough, then it’s unlikely 35 or 40 will he any different.

I personally believe hopium is better than copium, so put on the mask but save some for the rest of us.

This is how I cope with it. I am pessimistic about pretty much everything the cowboys do. However, I also hope that it will change, even though it’s unlikely. It’s already hard being a cowboys fan at this point but the silver and blue is in my blood. So the only way to not be miserable is to at least hang on to a little hope, even though I know nothing will probably change.

 

[noshame]

Before this very important off-season began, our owner/GM stated once again publicly that they were willing to “break the bank” to add talent to this roster. Halfway through the 2026 off-season that has not happened.

And both JJ and SJ continue to tell the fan base they “tried” to acquire a top edge rusher and FA LB but the prices were “too high”. (Side note: NFL truth - The best talent out there is not coming here for less money. You have to overpay. Sorry sad truth)

So…as fans…are we now supposed to give our FO “credit” just for trying to sign or trade for a big impact player? But the price was too high? We didn’t get it done, but “we tried”? Seems to me in professional sports credit is earned when you do it, not when you simply try.

That’s especially true IMO with a front office that does a ton of talking but rarely back it up. And the only way we heard they tried so hard is they tell us all the time…without getting it done.

I think it’s fair for Cowboys fans to say at this point, “Don’t tell us what you’re planning or hoping to do. Show us what you've done.” Otherwise stop talking. Talk when it’s done.

This FO should not get the benefit of the doubt with the track record they have given us for decades.

AMEN Bob!

 

[Chasing6]

Before this very important off-season began, our owner/GM stated once again publicly that they were willing to “break the bank” to add talent to this roster. Halfway through the 2026 off-season that has not happened.

And both JJ and SJ continue to tell the fan base they “tried” to acquire a top edge rusher and FA LB but the prices were “too high”. (Side note: NFL truth - The best talent out there is not coming here for less money. You have to overpay. Sorry sad truth)

So…as fans…are we now supposed to give our FO “credit” just for trying to sign or trade for a big impact player? But the price was too high? We didn’t get it done, but “we tried”? Seems to me in professional sports credit is earned when you do it, not when you simply try.

That’s especially true IMO with a front office that does a ton of talking but rarely back it up. And the only way we heard they tried so hard is they tell us all the time…without getting it done.

I think it’s fair for Cowboys fans to say at this point, “Don’t tell us what you’re planning or hoping to do. Show us what you've done.” Otherwise stop talking. Talk when it’s done.

This FO should not get the benefit of the doubt with the track record they have given us for decades.

Failing is not good enough. Trying to or intentionally offering less value to make it look like you at least tried, is not good enough.

Failing to make your team better in the off season and expecting rookies to get you over the hump is not an aggressive strategy.

We see the same approach with Micah, now Pickens and with FA targets that will make us better, then we over pay for Gary woh GB was going to cut.

 

[TwentyOne]

Before this very important off-season began, our owner/GM stated once again publicly that they were willing to “break the bank” to add talent to this roster. Halfway through the 2026 off-season that has not happened.

And both JJ and SJ continue to tell the fan base they “tried” to acquire a top edge rusher and FA LB but the prices were “too high”. (Side note: NFL truth - The best talent out there is not coming here for less money. You have to overpay. Sorry sad truth)

So…as fans…are we now supposed to give our FO “credit” just for trying to sign or trade for a big impact player? But the price was too high? We didn’t get it done, but “we tried”? Seems to me in professional sports credit is earned when you do it, not when you simply try.

That’s especially true IMO with a front office that does a ton of talking but rarely back it up. And the only way we heard they tried so hard is they tell us all the time…without getting it done.

I think it’s fair for Cowboys fans to say at this point, “Don’t tell us what you’re planning or hoping to do. Show us what you've done.” Otherwise stop talking. Talk when it’s done.

This FO should not get the benefit of the doubt with the track record they have given us for decades.

I doubt the Joneses are trying.

I doubt even that. They just dont care about football.

Sorry to kill your positive agenda. But please guys and girls wake up. This is not about football.

 

[Bobhaze]

I doubt the Joneses are trying.

I doubt even that. They just dont care about football.

Sorry to kill your positive agenda.

TO - You’re the first that’s called this OP a “positive agenda”,

 

[ArtClink]

That’s wrong. In years past, they might have tried to appease fans by talking about what they attempted that didn’t work, but they weren’t making valid offers. Back then, they were actually pursuing and offering more than fair contracts, but now it’s different. You keep saying it’s the same, as if you don’t know the details of all the moves they’ve tried and failed to make. They’re not asking for a participation trophy like in the past, when they made offers they knew wouldn’t work, being cheap and budget-minded without putting themselves out there. That’s not the same as the last two offseasons, the trades they made last year, or what they’ve been trying and failing to do this offseason. There are still five months before game one, and yet you think they’re done — but they’re not.

You and Bob can complain about the front office all you want, acting like they’ve been making the same silly lowball offers and not doing enough, but it’s not quite the same. They’ve put in a lot of effort so far, and that tells me they’re willing to keep at it. Once the draft is in full swing and right after, they’ll likely continue with their approach and might even land some of the players they’ve been targeting. The whole league has been in a holding pattern for the past three weeks—I've been watching the NFL too, checking the transaction wires, and nothing significant has happened. That means all those free agents and players they’ve made offers to, along with the draft ahead, are still in play. They’ll probably circle back to many of the same names they’ve been chasing and try to lock some of them in.

Right now, most of the league is in a holding pattern, waiting until after the draft. Teams are often more willing to make deals during and right after the draft, sometimes accepting less for a better shot at landing their targets. For now, like much of the league, they’ve put everything on pause until the draft arrives. Hopefully, we’ll see some moves during or shortly after the draft, similar to when they went after George Pickens last year—making the same effort and, with luck, better results this time.

It’s kind of like spotting a car parked in someone’s yard that’s not for sale. You make genuine offers, even bumping them slightly over value, but they still say no. Over time, you wear them down, return with a fair offer for both sides, and finally convince them to sell. That’s essentially the approach being taken right now.

So in a single paragraph, explain how this FO has failed the fans for 30 seasons and counting (ie, zero NFC Championship appearances. Bad luck, bad calls, injuries, etc are just excuses. Pls include your best defense of Jerry and his strangling micromanagement of this franchise.

 

[kskboys]

I doubt the Joneses are trying.

I doubt even that. They just dont care about football.

Sorry to kill your positive agenda. But please guys and girls wake up. This is not about football.

Trying would be watching tape and studying skillsets, neither of which they bother to do.

 

[kskboys]

He uses voice to text and just goes stream of consciousness

In my Zone imagination, he’s a truck driver who just speaks in thirty minute long ramblings and then says “Siri, post that to the zone”

He’s said he doesn’t have time to bother with making coherent posts and that voice to text is as much as he’s willing to do so tells people if they don’t like it, just put him on ignore

Many have him on ignore for this reason because his posts take up half a page. You can always unhide a comment if someone replies to him with their own comment and you want context

Pure laziness.

 

[DarkVader33]

Trying would be watching tape and studying skillsets, neither of which they bother to do.

Isn’t that what the scouts are for? What GM realistically has the time to run a whole organization and scout players?