Isn't that the sense most of you are getting?
They are going to keep kicking the can down the road year after year with their "Smart Free Agent Strategy" and look back and have nothing to show for it and another career wasted.
We're 3 years into having Ezekiel Elliot. The same Ezekiel Elliot who single handedly defeated Alabama to win a National Title and came into the NFL and has lead the league in rushing 2 of his first 3 years and the only thing we have to show for it is a QB who is about to get far more money then he is worth because of how good Ezekiel Elliot is.
Jerry keeps telling us how much more of a priority it is for him to win a Superbowl now because of where he is in life but there is absolutely no sense of urgency coming out of this organization.
Status quo with some rookies sprinkled in year after year after year.
If you have no interest in going for a Superbowl then just trade the guy while he still has value and get some picks because Elliot is a luxury that we can not afford if we're only interested in shooting for a playoff spot every other season.
They thought they had forever with Romo... He was going to play until he was a 100 they thought. Well that ended quickly and all they can say is how it was their biggest regret but they somehow don't notice themselves making the same mistake with their current superstar RB.
Let's see. When we opted not to finish Romo in the playoffs in 2016 I got the sense we threw away our chance at contending that year and get a ring for every one on the team. When we had a chance to keep Romo under contract for the last remaining year in 2017 I felt, we once again, threw away another chance. As we watched our RotY's flaws get exposed 2017, as the indicators were there in 2016 towards the 2nd half of the season, I was losing hope then that if they believe this is our guy then were are literally throwing away the careers of every player on the team. Yes, sounds extreme, I know. Every QB has weaknesses, but when you literally see competent defenses playing ONE TYPE OF COVERAGE, we're not even talking pass rush issues but just reading coverages, to shut down the pass game that is a very bad problem to have. And not one single person can ever convince me that our professional coaches are too stupid to work with different passes. I 100% believe they were only calling plays the QB is capable of making and their persistence to make him work is going to cost us and I will stick by that until we see otherwise.
But my issues don't all lie with the QB or getting new players through FA. We have lost a valuable receiver like Beasley when he should be here, retained an injury prone Austin who is rarely worth anything in the pass game. We hold onto bum receivers like Brown and Hurns. Because the organization sticks with idiots like Irving and Gregory those players have literally played our hand in the draft most likely. I still say we need to make moves in the draft and reach for a top safety or interior DL. Stop with the patchwork defensive lineman and get serious about it. The FO did a great job rebuilding the CB group we have and that, not too long ago, was our weakest link. So why do we keep playing musical chairs with the defensive line instead of bolstering it? Why can't we take care of our own? All of this is going to contribute to wasting careers yet again. IF our QB is paid big bucks that's not helping the situation. If we don't retain Lawrence that's another setback.
All we're going to do is play catch-up to neutralize the drop-off. I can only root for the best. JG will find a way to lose or have the team unprepared, JJ will find an excuse to retain him. Dak will continue to struggle with passes that aren't outside the hash marks, and our patchwork dline/safeties will allow every competent team to just roll on by. Sure they're capable of the performance of the Saints game, but I toss that right out when I see the same unit get man handled by other powerhouse teams.
And now we're going to have valid excuses on top of "whatever little excuse we can make for the RotY ProBowl QB who's young and learning" that our dline is nowhere near mid or top tier, we have 3 strong safeties rotating, and we have absolute trash at wide receivers outside our top 2. The teams in the NFL right now that seemingly are contenders every year have made it count under the 1st contract of their QB, able to build their team and then find a QB who can manage. We have one year left to prove to me there's something in Dak and the coaches that I am unaware of otherwise, imo, we are digging our graves of mediocrity until we replace both, not one or the other, but both.