CFZ What are your plusses and minuses?

[Stash]

Which is exactly what Randy Gregory was, despite being overrated by some fans. Cost a lot less, too.

Absolutely. Fowler has a low bar of 6 sacks to hit.

 

[Stash]

I predict that his production will exceed Gregorys.

It won’t be too hard.

 

[fivetwos]

Which is exactly what Randy Gregory was, despite being overrated by some fans. Cost a lot less, too.

I always liked and supported him...mostly because I knew what 100% of him could mean to a defense.

Sort of like hoping Jerry's meddling wouldn't hurt us....long shot but worth a thought and maybe a prayer.

When I first saw 5/70 I was like.....ooooof, OK but the guarantee is the determining factor.

Then I saw 28 million and knew it was a mistake.

Then we miraculously are saved from that mess...but I am having a tough time celebrating it when that was what they WANTED to do.

The guy can only earn that money if he plays a full season (which he has never done) and is fully motivated every week (which Marijuana doesn't exactly promote)....so lotsa luck Broncos....you're hoping for something quite far fetched but I guess when you're hired somewhere to win right away you've gotta try. We dont have such problems.

Repeating myself but it just seems like every player is treated as if in its own box instead some sort of overall plan.

 

[quickccc]

Doing some more research and digging into Dante Fowler and I found some tweets from Bucky Brooks. I think that he absolutely nails it with this one:



This is exactly the player that I see. A complimentary pass rusher that excels as part of a group.

Ditto here.

This team would be a fool to set it all in Fowlers lap to be a co- savior for the pass rush, ..he'll be more a part of the committee
i think more is needed.. .imo we need a DT out of Gallimore or Osa to emerge big time. .

who knows if we'll have a slim chance of drafting a regarded DE within the first two rounds.

 

[CT Dal Fan]

Positives
1. Retaining players like Gallup, Kearse, D-Law, Watkins, LVE, Anger, Armstrong, etc. on extremely cap-friendly deals.
2. Franchising Dalton Schultz. I know opinions here are mixed on him, but the passing game would be substantially weaker if he were allowed to leave.
3. Not overpaying Randy Gregory. I think the Cowboys saw him in a different light than most teams. Is he good? Yes. Is he a game changer worth all that money? No.

Negatives
1. Getting next to nothing for Cooper and absolutely nothing for Collins. While I realize the Cowboys wanted out from these contracts and the production no longer matched the money, they could have handled the situations with them better and perhaps gotten more trade compensation.
2. The Cowboys went from $21 million over the cap to $28 million under- and then do next to nothing as far as adding outside talent. Fowler and Washington could be steals but at this point I don't think either represent that much of an upgrade from players like Dorance Armstrong and Noah Brown who are already here. Adding and re-signing depth at economic deals is smart. But the Cowboys have done nothing with their money to upgrade the talent on this roster. They seem satisfied with the status quo. If you aren't going to spend the money than what was the purpose of dumping Cooper and re-structuring Lawrence? Can they carry all this room into 2023?

 

[Big_D]

Minuses-Jerry & Stephen

plusses-never enough to offset the minuses

 

[CowboyRoy]

While I understand the tendencies of many to feel down about the offseason thus far, I can see some positives amidst the rubble. I don't think the offseason and free agency have been a total disaster, and I wanted to point out what I feel have been good moves and some that still have me scratching my head and get some opinions on what others think?

Here are my negatives:

1. Trading away Cooper for a bag of magic beans. No sugar-coating it. The Cowboys gave away their best receiver for peanuts, especially when seeing what receivers like Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams fetched in their trades.
2. Announcing to the world that you were 'done' with La'el Collins and ultimately cutting him. I know about the cap savings situation, and I also know that the Cowboys themselves created that cap situation too. They released one of the best right tackles in the league and got nothing for him.
3. Franchise tagging Dalton Schultz. Sorry, but in no universe is Schultz a franchise player worthy of an $11 million cap hit this year. And he's not worth any big money multi-year contract going forward either. Teams like Buffalo are loading up for a championship run and getting guys like OJ Howard to be their #2 TE for a third of what the Cowboys are paying Schultz.
4. Doing nothing thus far to improve a weakened offensive line. They were right to let Williams go, but they should be doing more to potentially upgrade at left guard and possibly center. There are some good options available, stop sitting on your hands!

Here are my positives:

1. Swapping out Randy Gregory at $70 million for Dante Fowler for $3 million. Some try to criticize the Cowboys for 'screwing up' the Gregory deal but I think they did the right thing and not making that deal will ultimately turn out to be a blessing. Fowler is a better player on every level, and certainly less of a suspension risk.
2. The James Washington deal. The team deserves credit for adding a good young receiver to their trio at a bargain price. He wanted to play close to home and the Cowboys wisely signed him. The guy was a former second round draft pick and highly regarded. For some reason, he got lost in the shuffle in Pittsburgh and hopefully that's not the case here.
3. Retaining several defensive players at modest prices. The team was able to keep a good portion of its defense intact with several modest contracts. This is NOT saying that the defense is 'finished' or that it cannot be improved before anyone gets the wrong idea. But continuity is important, especially for a unit in its' first year together in a new system. And the team kept most of what they had, while leaving themselves the option to continue to add and improve in the draft.
4. The new contract for Demarcus Lawrence. I see this as a win-win for player and team. And as someone who wanted Lawrence and his bloated contract gone, I've done a complete reversal after seeing both parties get a deal like this done.

I'd like to hear what others think? Are there some that you disagree with? Are there some positives or negatives that I've missed?

I see no negatives at all other than blowing the hometown discount with Gregory.

Copper wasn’t our best receiver and horribly overpaid. He was an obvious dump. Getting a 5th only highlighted how trading a first him was dumb.

there are potential negatives but nothing as of yet.

 

[kskboys]

Positives: Dumping salaries and players that desperately needed to be dumped. Good job. Now it's time to get some players in here.

Minuses: The ones picking the players.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Positives: Dumping salaries and players that desperately needed to be dumped. Good job. Now it's time to get some players in here.

Minuses: The ones picking the players.

Positives: $22m left in CAP. Upcoming draft where boards appear to match our needs. CAP has been reset (despite 2023 figure not looking good, on the face of it it's fairly manageable).

Minuses: Glaring needs: LG, LB (if we want to allow Micah to roam), WR (a no.2/3 type) and swing T.

Neutral: time for the recent draftees to step up: CeeDee, Osa, Gallimore, Armstrong, Joseph, Biadasz, Cox , Bohanna. On paper the roster not as strong.

 

[baltcowboy]

While I understand the tendencies of many to feel down about the offseason thus far, I can see some positives amidst the rubble. I don't think the offseason and free agency have been a total disaster, and I wanted to point out what I feel have been good moves and some that still have me scratching my head and get some opinions on what others think?

Here are my negatives:

1. Trading away Cooper for a bag of magic beans. No sugar-coating it. The Cowboys gave away their best receiver for peanuts, especially when seeing what receivers like Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams fetched in their trades.
2. Announcing to the world that you were 'done' with La'el Collins and ultimately cutting him. I know about the cap savings situation, and I also know that the Cowboys themselves created that cap situation too. They released one of the best right tackles in the league and got nothing for him.
3. Franchise tagging Dalton Schultz. Sorry, but in no universe is Schultz a franchise player worthy of an $11 million cap hit this year. And he's not worth any big money multi-year contract going forward either. Teams like Buffalo are loading up for a championship run and getting guys like OJ Howard to be their #2 TE for a third of what the Cowboys are paying Schultz.
4. Doing nothing thus far to improve a weakened offensive line. They were right to let Williams go, but they should be doing more to potentially upgrade at left guard and possibly center. There are some good options available, stop sitting on your hands!

Here are my positives:

1. Swapping out Randy Gregory at $70 million for Dante Fowler for $3 million. Some try to criticize the Cowboys for 'screwing up' the Gregory deal but I think they did the right thing and not making that deal will ultimately turn out to be a blessing. Fowler is a better player on every level, and certainly less of a suspension risk.
2. The James Washington deal. The team deserves credit for adding a good young receiver to their trio at a bargain price. He wanted to play close to home and the Cowboys wisely signed him. The guy was a former second round draft pick and highly regarded. For some reason, he got lost in the shuffle in Pittsburgh and hopefully that's not the case here.
3. Retaining several defensive players at modest prices. The team was able to keep a good portion of its defense intact with several modest contracts. This is NOT saying that the defense is 'finished' or that it cannot be improved before anyone gets the wrong idea. But continuity is important, especially for a unit in its' first year together in a new system. And the team kept most of what they had, while leaving themselves the option to continue to add and improve in the draft.
4. The new contract for Demarcus Lawrence. I see this as a win-win for player and team. And as someone who wanted Lawrence and his bloated contract gone, I've done a complete reversal after seeing both parties get a deal like this done.

I'd like to hear what others think? Are there some that you disagree with? Are there some positives or negatives that I've missed?

For some reason Cowboys Zone posters seem to ignore the real reason that Cooper and La’el are not on the team. Cooper health has been a issue ever since he signed the contract with the Cowboys. Fish has reported over the years that Cooper barely practices. The first game against Tampa he looked like an all pro then he injured his ribs. After the ribs heal he has a hamstring issue. I think fans remember the Cooper we traded for who would break off an 80 yard bomb every other game. Those days are over.

La’el had one good season for the Cowboys. He signed the big contract and then he comes in out of shape gets a season ending injury. Then the next season gets suspended for 6 games and almost cost us the season. The guy was doing whatever he wanted to do and was not held accountable. La’el originally had a two game suspension but tried to out smart the league.

I have concerns about the Zeke situation because the Joneses think he can still play but overall heading into the draft the Cowboys are the same. Also what tight end that was available was better then Shultz? The Giants tight end that got 9 million or the bust Tampa tight end that could not get off the bench. Please, when Jarwin hurt his hip we had no choice but to bring back Shultz.