Watkins: Cowboys are in rebuilding mode

[MichaelWinicki]

But their rebuilding has not resulted in another championship with both those men.

In addition the Patriots have had the advantage of playing in perhaps the least competitive division in the NFL.

 

[Brooksey]

As we enter the weekend, the Dallas Cowboys are acting as if they know something we don't.

Maybe letting go of star defensive end DeMarcus Ware and productive defensive tackle Jason Hatcher in the last 48 hours isn't an indication of a franchise that doesn't know what it's doing.

Maybe the Cowboys have decided it's time to rebuild with younger talent.

Ware and Hatcher will be 32-years old by Week 1 of the 2014 season. If each had remained with the Cowboys, half of the projected starters along the defensive line would be in their 30s.

Hatcher's production increased to the point where he had compiled a career-high 11 sacks but was seeking a big-money deal in free agency.

The cap-tight Cowboys weren't going to do it.

Ware's production slipped last season. He had just six sacks and missed three games because of a quad injury.

The Cowboys weren't going to let Ware snag $16 million of their salary cap. So if Ware wasn't going to take a pay cut, then the next option was to let him go.

Ware signed a three-year deal Wednesday with a team that contends for Super Bowls in the Denver Broncos. Hatcher inked a four-year deal with the Cowboys' NFC East rival, Washington Commanders.

The Commanders, by the way, are also aiming to lock up another Cowboys free agent in defensive end Anthony Spencer, who is coming off microfracture surgery.

Spencer, who is 30, has a few negatives holding him back regarding a contract from anyone, and those are health and age. And while the Cowboys would like to bring Spencer back, they don't seem to be in a hurry to do so.

For that matter, the Cowboys' signings have focused on backups. The team signed defensive linemen Jeremy Mincy and Terrell McClain along with special teams player Will Herring.

Those signings don't excite a fan base that's still angered by three consecutive 8-8 finishes. Free-agent defensive tackle Henry Melton seems to be a perfect fit in this 4-3 scheme, but he hasn't visited Valley Ranch yet.

Maybe the Cowboys understand the frustration of their fan base and have decided to do something about it: Rebuild without telling anybody.

More - http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-cowboys/post/_/id/4725632/4725632

They didn't decide until it was apparent we were not successful. Rebuild was the back up plan. Ratliff robbing JJ was the last straw. No way the guy was willing to gamble on hatcher and ware after that. If Ratliff didn't happen and we made the playoffs, Ware is on the team this year. We would be Elway" all in". We're not. We have to rebuild the defensive through draft and smart fa's that work with cap.

 

[Proximo]

When you need 8 starters.
It isn't that we can't sign anyone, it's that we can;t fill out a starting roster right now.
2m of that June money is just rookie.
Another 2m is the league year padding you keep for emergencies.

So we have realistically 10m to build with.
We lost Spencer, Austin, Ware, Hatcher, Waters. That's 5 starters.
We've signed 0 legit starters thus far.

8 starters? Wha?

I like how you say we "lost" 5 starters, 3 of which contributed little to nothing in 2013. Classifying Miles as a starter last year is laughable. His production has already been replaced by Williams and co. Waters barely started. He inched his way into the lineup and then got put on IR I believe after the Detroit game. Spencer played a few snaps in ONE game. Give me a break. You can't replace somebody when they were never there in the 1st place.

And honestly, as much as I'd like to say I wanted to see Hatcher and Ware return, they were both dinged up during long stretches last year, and they were part of a godawful D line. I'd be fine if every one of our starting 4 D linemen are new faces.

 

[CyberB0b]

In addition the Patriots have had the advantage of playing in perhaps the least competitive division in the NFL.

So do we.

 

[Frozen700]

Panic

 

[ElGatoGrande]

This is a step forward for Jerry. I think he's deathly afraid of cutting his stars because they are the only thing keeping a lot of fans interested and he has a tough time drafting new ones. He did hedge his bets though with Romo,, and what a hedge that was. A giant contract to a player who would only be around for a few years on a team that is at least a few years from contention. Sure looked like a business decision to me,,, somebody's got to pay for that stadium.

Looking forward I'd say they had better get a single, focused plan and run with it,,, no more collective, disjointed, patched together strategies from transient coaches passing through and assorted sycophants on the payroll.

 

[skinsscalper]

So do we.

Oddly, our division actually has a couple of Super Bowl victories in the past decade to show for it.

 

[Hoofbite]

In addition the Patriots have had the advantage of playing in perhaps the least competitive division in the NFL.

I'm sure the numbers would support that but part of the AFC East accumulating losses is that the Patriots win 11+ games every year and beat those teams a whole lot more than they lose to them.

 

[HappyOnions]

As long as Jerruh has Romo, he still thinks that this team can contend for a championship.

This man still thinks it's 2007. We are not "loaded with talent" as all the analysts used to say. We're actually pretty devoid of it...

 

[big dog cowboy]

As long as Jerruh has Romo, he still thinks that this team can contend for a championship.

JMO but he has always felt that way even in the lean years.

 

[cowboys1981]

In addition the Patriots have had the advantage of playing in perhaps the least competitive division in the NFL.

Alot like the 49ers having that same weak division back in the day.

 

[Coy]

Why? I'm serious.

Let me try an answer that:
Defense - We probably can't be worse than last year but it's hard to see them being much better, we lost our 2 best defensive players from 2013 and you can almost be sure Lee and Mo will miss a couple of games each, plus it's safe to say you will have other injuries, maybe not as much as in 2013 but we will sure have them.

Offense - this was a healthy bunch, our O line was good to very good, our WR were very good to great (Dez was a beast) T Will and Cole, you know what you get from Witten year ina nd year out, Romo had a great year (31 td's and 10 Int's), Demarco had the best year of his carreer and our ST were one of the best in the league. This year we have Romo at 34 with another back surgery, Witten a year older, you can bet someone will get hurt ( we were really lucky on offense last year)

HC - we know what we have in Garrett, his game management is really bad and he will probably lose you 2 games a year, we have that proof, we don't even know who the coordinators are, what's Callahan's job? What's Kiffin's job? It's anybodys guess? It's all a mess.

Just my two cents, hope I'm wrong

 

[sideon]

I'm about sick of Calvin Watkins diarrhea of the mouth since the Ware cut, he's been on stop and was struggling to excuse Ware's poor performances the past few seasons.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I'm sure the numbers would support that but part of the AFC East accumulating losses is that the Patriots win 11+ games every year and beat those teams a whole lot more than they lose to them.

No doubt.

But bottom line, the Giants, Eagles and Commanders have been far better teams over the last decade+, than have the Bills, Jets and Dolphins.

 

[Real1st]

Rebuild my ***. Cap troubles and cap casualties.

 

[Risen Star]

No doubt.

But bottom line, the Giants, Eagles and Commanders have been far better teams over the last decade+, than have the Bills, Jets and Dolphins.

And the Patriots have been far better than the Cowboys during that same stretch.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

And the Patriots have been far better than the Cowboys during that same stretch.

OK.

 

[CF74]

As we enter the weekend, the Dallas Cowboys are acting as if they know something we don't.

Maybe letting go of star defensive end DeMarcus Ware and productive defensive tackle Jason Hatcher in the last 48 hours isn't an indication of a franchise that doesn't know what it's doing.

Maybe the Cowboys have decided it's time to rebuild with younger talent.

Ware and Hatcher will be 32-years old by Week 1 of the 2014 season. If each had remained with the Cowboys, half of the projected starters along the defensive line would be in their 30s.

Hatcher's production increased to the point where he had compiled a career-high 11 sacks but was seeking a big-money deal in free agency.

The cap-tight Cowboys weren't going to do it.

Ware's production slipped last season. He had just six sacks and missed three games because of a quad injury.

The Cowboys weren't going to let Ware snag $16 million of their salary cap. So if Ware wasn't going to take a pay cut, then the next option was to let him go.

Ware signed a three-year deal Wednesday with a team that contends for Super Bowls in the Denver Broncos. Hatcher inked a four-year deal with the Cowboys' NFC East rival, Washington Commanders.

The Commanders, by the way, are also aiming to lock up another Cowboys free agent in defensive end Anthony Spencer, who is coming off microfracture surgery.

Spencer, who is 30, has a few negatives holding him back regarding a contract from anyone, and those are health and age. And while the Cowboys would like to bring Spencer back, they don't seem to be in a hurry to do so.

For that matter, the Cowboys' signings have focused on backups. The team signed defensive linemen Jeremy Mincy and Terrell McClain along with special teams player Will Herring.

Those signings don't excite a fan base that's still angered by three consecutive 8-8 finishes. Free-agent defensive tackle Henry Melton seems to be a perfect fit in this 4-3 scheme, but he hasn't visited Valley Ranch yet.

Maybe the Cowboys understand the frustration of their fan base and have decided to do something about it: Rebuild without telling anybody.

More - http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-cowboys/post/_/id/4725632/4725632

Welcome to 3 years ago Watkins. (Does anybody remember Garrett saying we were in rebuilding mode 3-4 years ago?) for starters we replaced everybody on the o-line and pretty much have all new WR's...

 

[Fredd]

Jones is never in rebuild mode in his mind, he always thinks he is a move or two away...as long as he has his QB, the Jones isn't throwing in the towel.....

 

[Alexander]

Jones is never in rebuild mode in his mind, he always thinks he is a move or two away...as long as he has his QB, the Jones isn't throwing in the towel.....

Jones is incapable of even getting his arms around the thought of a rebuild. The last time that was done, he hired Parcells to do it for him.