First Cowboys related post on this forum. Woohoo! Feels like I graduated. At one point or another, I've agreed with just about every reply in this thread, but currently I'm closer to bullish than doom and gloom regarding the team. It helps to concede on the season. Just not in the cards. Not the worst thing, I mean if I've waited this long for another title, I'd rather it be in a packed stadium of Cowboys fans instead of watching cousin Jim jumping up and down in row Q. Honestly, I didn't put much hope into this season anyway. Last year was THE opportunity. Everything was aligned: quality depth, no gaping holes, good health, relatively easy schedule. As arduous and enduring as the Garrett investment was, it did (seemingly on paper) deliver us to a point where it (seemingly on paper) gave us our best shot at a title since (seemingly on paper) the Jimmy years. And we failed in just about every way possible. For me, that was a wrap with this particular core of players and, needless to say, that coaching staff. They'd gone as far as they were capable. Swapping coaches wasn't going to be enough, we need to replace foundation pieces as well, and that wasn't going to happen in one off-season. So, the team's performing about as well as I expected.
I think there are reasons to be encouraged going forward. The 2020 draft class appears to be a HR. In our first draft without the Garrett influence, we have, arguably, a better class than any in his tenure. Maybe it's not that crazy to expect more good drafts going forward? I don't think Stephen is wrong to place so much emphasize on the draft. More than maybe anything, what's hurting us are the drafts from 2017-19. They weren't complete busts, but how many guys are true difference makers that will get 2nd contracts? You sort of need to keep restocking the core every other year at minimum, or you'll go barren fast and I think we're experiencing that now. For the record, I'm not bullish on LVE and I like Gallup, but I'm more a trench guy than skills. Anyway, start drafting better, and we won't be completely unhinged with bad coaching or free agent disappointments. 2020 draft was a step in the right direction. As far as McCarthy, wasn't really a fan of the hire, but he's growing on me. I mean, he's far from perfect, but right now he's measured against Garrett, and in contrast to Garrett, I find he's more open minded. Lack of adjustments whether in play designs, protection and defensive calls, personnel decisions mired the Garrett era and cost us a lot of opportunities. McCarthy, might not be quick on the trigger with adjustments, but he's shown he's willing to make changes. I mean, maybe it's not the greatest endorsement, but it's an improvement over what we had imo.
In the end, a lot of folks believe the real undoing is the Jones family, and until they're gone, there's little hope for the franchise. They're often accused of meddling too much and generally making a mess of things. I actually think it's more the opposite and they're too slow to react at times. Patience may be a virtue, but it can be paralyzing, too. I appreciate Jerry's community approach to decision making, but he probably listens to too many voices and it muddies his decision making. If he could manage to put together a smaller, but great brain trust, he's shown he'll listen and pretty much follow their instruction. So, I think, at this point (not always) Jerry's biggest issue is not finding a great brain trust. Is it McClay, Stephen, and McCarthy? Not sure yet, but it certainly wasn't McClay, Stephen, and Garrett. Not unless the objective is 8-8 and maintaining constant spotlight. Which, some believe is Jerry's number one objective. I'm open to believing it has been at times, but I really do believe he just wants to win more than anything now. Maybe he's hoodwinking me now
.
