Warmack & Cooper?

[5Stars]

This is largely true, but there's an obvious reason why: fans want players replaced as soon as they peak. Then they complain about those players' performance for, literally, years, until their declining play is actually poor enough to merit replacement. They were doing that last year with Jason Witten, for example. They've been doing it for years with Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff. This offseason it is Demarcus Ware's turn in the barrel. Fan sentiment turning against a player is a precursor to the end of his career, not a measure of it.

It's the easiest thing in the world to say you want a declining player gone. Much harder to determine how long you can effectively use one of those veterans before having to spend valuable resources on his replacement.

We didn't do that at OG. We whiffed on the draft picks we'd tried to develop, and then weren't in a good place to replace Bigg, Gurode, and then Kosier in relatively quick succession. While I've frequently said that OGs are a relatively available commodity for the NFL (you have your pick of all the college OG candidates, the college OT converts, and the small school college players who can really benefit from NFL strength training but who are otherwise plenty athletic enough to play in the box), it is true that you have to invest time and a lot of coaching on these mid-round picks to make that strategy pay off. Grabbing a 'serviceable' player (by serviceable, I mean a slightly below-average NFL starter) for two years to buy time to develop players doesn't excite anybody, but when you've got to replace your OT(s), possibly your C, two DL positions, two CBs, and get a young QB on the roster to develop, it would have been dumb to blow a premium pick or premium cap dollars at a position you can fix with time and at a value if you can just find yourself a stop-gap solution.

Everybody and his or her brother piled on Jerry/Jason for the tactic, but it was the right thing to do. If we hit on Leary, Mack, Arkin, Kowolsi (any two), we're now finally in a position where we can devote precious resources to restocking an aging DL next season and we'll have basically repaired both wings and the engine of this clunky airplane mid-flight. That's pretty impressive as far as I'm concerned, which is why I get grouchy when I hear so many people complaining that we didn't break the bank for Nicks & Grubbs.

This is a really good post...he might be a stupid cowboy mod.

I can really appreciate that approach to understanding how to build a team. And us Cowboy fans get to watch it.

 

[5Stars]

Well they did throw a lot of draft picks at this thing and unfortunately most didn't pan out.

Now they weren't all 2nds and 3rds but when you have 22 starters and probably another 4-6 players/positions that also need attention on a regular basis you can't allocate one of your top 3 picks of every draft on one unit, i.e. offensive line. The "roster math" simply won't allow it. Several offensive line draft picks were botched in the Parcells and Phillips era. It is what it is.

I think some fans think that you can just go spend money like if you were at Walmart. What I have seen so far is that the team is doing a good job of allocating their money by replacing contracts and making new ones. And getting younger and still saving some money if needed.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

I don't consider as a guru. That guru coached the worst line in the history of the Cowboys last year. He when he left the Jets, their line was not so great either. He signed of on Livings and Bernadeau. Yeah, he is real impressive.

You should submit a resume. What exactly are your credentials again? Oh right...cherry picking draft pick selections from your basement.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I think some fans think that you can just go spend money like if you were at Walmart. What I have seen so far is that the team is doing a good job of allocating their money by replacing contracts and making new ones. And getting younger and still saving some money if needed.

Well jnday isn't suggesting that. I know a lot of fans have or do.

Bad drafts from the Parcells and Phillips area doomed the Cowboys braintrust to have to overpay on certain contracts. The drafting has been sharper the last 3 years and hopefully over the next few seasons some of those bad contracts will be eliminated.

 

[jnday]

Well they did throw a lot of draft picks at this thing and unfortunately most didn't pan out.

Now they weren't all 2nds and 3rds but when you have 22 starters and probably another 4-6 players/positions that also need attention on a regular basis you can't allocate one of your top 3 picks of every draft on one unit, i.e. offensive line. The "roster math" simply won't allow it. Several offensive line draft picks were botched in the Parcells and Phillips era. It is what it is.

I said every other year and considering that it is the largest unit on the team, that is not much at all.

 

[jnday]

You should submit a resume. What exactly are your credentials again? Oh right...cherry picking draft pick selections from your basement.

I have quiet a few years coaching and playing, but to be honest I don't have to defend my opinion to you on any of these issues.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I said every other year and considering that it is the largest unit on the team, that is not much at all.

That's a more realistic plan.