Twitter: Werder says if Dez is tagged, he will skip Offseason Activities.

[Idgit]

I appreciate the undertones you incorporate in your responses. I always get a good chuckle.

Ever since the decision to get rid of the search function well it's just not worth the time and energy to dig through posts to find exact quotes from posters. I understand why that it is and that's fine with me.

But @Risen Star can correct me if I wrong here but he hated the OL coach hire because he knew that wasn't the real problem with the unit. Whether it was man blocking or zone blocking Houck was scapegoated as the reason why the unit was failing, where as we know that real talent needed to be in front of Romo to allow the offense to operate. The HC even admitted to that fact they they used alot of "smoke and mirrors" to allow the offense to operate at times. He correctly predicted that Phil Costa would be out of football and Bernadeau is a mere afterthought after Zach Martin was drafted. I would disagree with him on Free being "slop" but he is by far the weakest link on the unit but he is better than Parnell which highlights another problem there. And what exactly did Nate Livings do here? Arkin is still around somewhere, maybe the Fins? The teams drafting strategy has changed multiple times to include who the point man is, and the Floyd fiasco is an embarrassment that led to that change. Even if Claiborne can play this year the trade to get him was too much and it has played a part in why the defense is in state of flux, again. Lawrence already has a huge expectations because of what we gave up to draft him, although he did have a nice short rookie year.

We do indeed have alot to do this year. Our beloved Cowboys can easily sink back to the cellar and all of this righting of the ship will join it. Let's hope that isn't the case.

I work hard at my undertones.

I'm sure Risen would agree with your characterizations. I take it it was him you were referring to, then. It doesn't really much matter why he was complaining, though. The reality is the team made the moves it needed to make and got them right while he was complaining about them being wrong or irrelevant. Hitting on all of the three first rounders obviously helped. But he can't simultaneously complain non-stop about a process and then try to get credit when it works. I'll give him credit for approving of how the first round draft picks were spent, but, as I said he's far from alone in that. Other than that, just because he said 'OL' a lot and our OL is now very good, it doesn't mean his arguments were ever right. This is a guy who wanted to do a $60M deal for a FA OG and to draft Chance Warmack #1 overall, for the record.

A few comments and corrections to your other characterizations:

Risen incorrectly thought Costa would be out of football due to a lack of talent. Instead, he got an extension from Dallas and a contract from the Colts. Costa retired due to injuries. That's not the same thing. Not to debate his positions when he's not in the thread, but come on.

Hitting on VFA stop gaps is not an afterthought. Much like hitting on Mincey was not an afterthought this year. That's how good teams are built. The Patriots have added lots of hardware by finding affordable stop gaps, and Bernadeau is definitely in that category.

Floyd was not a 'fiasco' it was an active draft day disagreement of some sort. We did the right thing with the picks. Your agenda shows when you have to exaggerate for effect.

Claiborne was a huge miss.

The jury's out on Lawrence.

And, while there is a ton of work to do, we can't sink 'back into the cellar' since we weren't in the cellar in the previous seasons in question. Yes, let's hope we do finally address the DL in earnest in a way we failed to do in the last two drafts and not mess up any/many of the UFAs and RFAs we have have decisions to make on.

 

[Bluestang]

I work hard at my undertones.

I'm sure Risen would agree with your characterizations. I take it it was him you were referring to, then. It doesn't really much matter why he was complaining, though. The reality is the team made the moves it needed to make and got them right while he was complaining about them being wrong or irrelevant. Hitting on all of the three first rounders obviously helped. But he can't simultaneously complain non-stop about a process and then try to get credit when it works. I'll give him credit for approving of how the first round draft picks were spent, but, as I said he's far from alone in that. Other than that, just because he said 'OL' a lot and our OL is now very good, it doesn't mean his arguments were ever right. This is a guy who wanted to do a $60M deal for a FA OG and to draft Chance Warmack #1 overall, for the record.

A few comments and corrections to your other characterizations:

Risen incorrectly thought Costa would be out of football due to a lack of talent. Instead, he got an extension from Dallas and a contract from the Colts. Costa retired due to injuries. That's not the same thing. Not to debate his positions when he's not in the thread, but come on.

Hitting on VFA stop gaps is not an afterthought. Much like hitting on Mincey was not an afterthought this year. That's how good teams are built. The Patriots have added lots of hardware by finding affordable stop gaps, and Bernadeau is definitely in that category.

Floyd was not a 'fiasco' it was an active draft day disagreement of some sort. We did the right thing with the picks. Your agenda shows when you have to exaggerate for effect.

Claiborne was a huge miss.

The jury's out on Lawrence.

And, while there is a ton of work to do, we can't sink 'back into the cellar' since we weren't in the cellar in the previous seasons in question. Yes, let's hope we do finally address the DL in earnest in a way we failed to do in the last two drafts and not mess up any/many of the UFAs and RFAs we have have decisions to make on.

Costa played a total of 26 games, and started in only 20 of those. Yes, he had injuries but why was that? Was he under-sized? Did he struggle to play at a consistent level at the NFL? He didn't even play one snap or even take an OTA snap before he threw in the towel at Indy so you can't even credit his time there. Costa just didn't have what it takes to play in the NFL and it showed up on Sundays. The definition of talent is a "special ability that allows someone to do something well." In the NFL you have to consistently display "talent" day after day, season after season. Costa couldn't do it without getting hurt, thats why he ultimately decided that the NFL wasn't for him.

If you could use the search function, you would find that I thought Mincey was the only consistent DL we had during the preseason. What I didn't know is how invaluable his leadership would be for the DL throughout the season and even the entire defense. I like his attitude and his demeanor and that was a good signing but I worry about his age and if he will be as productive this next season. Mincey was originally going to be a starter but Lawrence's training camp had him penciled in as the starter until his foot injury. This year Lawrence should be the weakside rusher and Mincey could be relegated to a backup role depending on FA and the draft. Again another VFA that becomes an afterthought if Dallas plays their cards right.

Teams prepare for the draft and practice all kinds of scenarios that could happen to prepare themselves for draft day. The Cowboys have this ongoing tradition to film the war room and live stream it to the fans, which I'm a big fan of. However, the tension in the air during that time was undeniable and it was recorded for all to see. The following year Will McClay is introduced as the new point man and Jerry even gave him a grade A for his first draft...whatever that is worth.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Our beloved Cowboys can easily sink back to the cellar and all of this righting of the ship will join it.

If Romo stays healthy that won't happen.

 

[Nation]

I blame anyone under contract who skips offseason workouts.

BTW, one of my favorite things that I like about Dez is that he wouldn't pull a chicken-crap move like that.
Getting $13 million guaranteed for one year's work while you wait for a longer deal does not warrant sitting home and crying about it.
And Dez is not the type to do so.
The dude is all man.

He won't be under contract when he's skipping the offseason workouts so he's not doing anything wrong, he'll just be a player with a franchise tag offer that isn't signed by himself

 

[DFWJC]

He won't be under contract when he's skipping the offseason workouts so he's not doing anything wrong, he'll just be a player with a franchise tag offer that isn't signed by himself

If he's franchised then he is under contract.

Or I guess it is true that he could sit the season out

I don't see it getting to that level. They'll eventually get a long term deal done

 

[Nation]

If he's franchised he will then he is under contract

All the franchise tag is is an offer for a Top 5 contract and a two-1st round pick obligation if the player signs elsewhere. You do not have any requirement to sign the contract when you are tagged and thus a player can wait until the start of the season to do so. Even if he's tagged he's under no obligation to attend offseason activities until he actually signs the contract himself.