What I learned from watching Seattle and what we're doing wrong

[ConstantReboot]

1. We should have hired a proven coach. Having a coach with a ton of experience in both the college and the NFL ranks would have made a difference with this team. Garrett is a joke compared to any coach who has any experience because its obvious he doesn't know what his doing.

2. We should have learned how to draft. Seattle and even San Fran draft players that are from top schools even if its in the 3rd and 7th rounders. We draft projects from small schools to play important positions such as safety and we've been doing it for years. Its time we just focus on selecting players from big schools with experience playing the position they've played in college.

3. We should stop paying older players big money. Sorry but I think Romo's contract is way, way too much for what he is worth. I do love him as a QB but he's not worth that much. Right now I would not sign anyone including Ware. We need to get our finances in order first before we commit big money to anyone.

4. If were going to pay someone big money its should be a passrusher. Period. An effective passrush is the ticket to the big dance. Not a high profile QB. If Hatcher was younger we should sign him. Heck, we should have gone after Bennett. A passrush is what we've needed all these years. Especially not corners.

5. We should focus on building both sides of the lines first - offense and defense. Our 2nd rounders should have been spent on either a passrusher or an oline. I can't understand why we keep drafting TEs and LBs in the 2nd round and nothing else?

6. Get our finances in order. We pay so much for players that are in decline. I say its time to cut ties to all our old players right now. Including Romo and Ware.

7. We should totally go in another direction. Something drastic needs to be in Dallas. Jerry should step down from being GM which won't happen. Garrett should be fired and should never have been promoted to coach.in the first place. Our organization is run by amateurs.

I could list a few more. But I won't. Too bored of watching a superbowl that were not in it. Its quite depressing actually. Especially the joke that this team has morphed into.

 

[CyberB0b]

We keep mortgaging our future to hang on to a perennial 8-8 team. It makes no sense. Jerry, ever the gambler, is going to keep gambling on small school picks. As long as the Jones family is in charge, we aren't going to be successful. Sorry.

 

[IrishAnto]

1. We should have hired a proven coach. Having a coach with a ton of experience in both the college and the NFL ranks would have made a difference with this team. Garrett is a joke compared to any coach who has any experience because its obvious he doesn't know what his doing.

2. We should have learned how to draft. Seattle and even San Fran draft players that are from top schools even if its in the 3rd and 7th rounders. We draft projects from small schools to play important positions such as safety and we've been doing it for years. Its time we just focus on selecting players from big schools with experience playing the position they've played in college.

3. We should stop paying older players big money. Sorry but I think Romo's contract is way, way too much for what he is worth. I do love him as a QB but he's not worth that much. Right now I would not sign anyone including Ware. We need to get our finances in order first before we commit big money to anyone.

4. If were going to pay someone big money its should be a passrusher. Period. An effective passrush is the ticket to the big dance. Not a high profile QB. If Hatcher was younger we should sign him. Heck, we should have gone after Bennett. A passrush is what we've needed all these years. Especially not corners.

5. We should focus on building both sides of the lines first - offense and defense. Our 2nd rounders should have been spent on either a passrusher or an oline. I can't understand why we keep drafting TEs and LBs in the 2nd round and nothing else?

6. Get our finances in order. We pay so much for players that are in decline. I say its time to cut ties to all our old players right now. Including Romo and Ware.

7. We should totally go in another direction. Something drastic needs to be in Dallas. Jerry should step down from being GM which won't happen. Garrett should be fired and should never have been promoted to coach.in the first place. Our organization is run by amateurs.

I could list a few more. But I won't. Too bored of watching a superbowl that were not in it. Its quite depressing actually. Especially the joke that this team has morphed into.

Point seven explains what we’re doing wrong in a nutshell, and why we’re likely to keep on doing it wrong.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Jerry made a comment recently in an article that he doesn't see a time they will not be having to manage the cap as they are this season, because he believes this is indicative of their aggressive style.

I love the film "Rounders." In the film, as Matt Damon does the voice over, he says this that has reminded me of the Cowboys for a number of years now.

Mike McDermott: I've often seen these people, these squares at the table, short stack and long odds against them. All their outs gone. One last card in the deck that can help them. I used to wonder how they could let themselves get into such bad shape, and how the hell they thought they could turn it around.

Jerry is looking for one card in the deck to win. But he continues to play gut shot straights and catching that one card on the river that will give him the win.

Is that luck?

I have never thought in poker a bad beat was a card from Heaven on the last turn. The card was there, and there are odds, however slim, that suggest it could be there.

But when a player bets on that card, he is betting on luck. No matter the odds.

Then there are those players that continually bet on that card. The desperate. The unskilled. The ones that never learn from their mistakes.

Jerry is betting on luck without preparing himself to be in a bully position on the board. He keeps betting on his expertise, and investing in players who succeeded yesterday, and betting on their continued success for tomorrow as they age.

Can everything align and Jerry be right?

Of course. The odds, no matter how slim, suggest he can.

Which way will you bet on his success or failure.

For me, I don't even need to see a line from Vegas to feel confident about Jerry's moves and their success.

 

[TheFinisher]

I learned a coach and the culture he fosters ultimately determines success or failure in this league...

 

[Risen Star]

I learned a coach and the culture he fosters ultimately determines success or failure in this league...

That's a big part of it but that coach also needs talent.

Our puppet coaches are given inferior talent.

 

[TheFinisher]

That's a big part of it but that coach also needs talent.

Our puppet coaches are given inferior talent.

its a combination of things that contribute to our mess, no doubt.

 

[burmafrd]

Well, Pete Carrol had FAILED twice as a Pro Coach, so calling him proven is stretching a bit. However he had a great record as a college HC. I think taking a guy that has never had HC experience is a big gamble. And Red Ball had so little coaching experience anyway.

 

[Bowdown27]

21 of the 53 guys on the Seattle roster are Undrafted. So it's not all about too drafts for them. They signed a bunch and traded for a bunch of guys too. It's just having a good gm.

 

[trueblue1687]

Well, Pete Carrol had FAILED twice as a Pro Coach, so calling him proven is stretching a bit. However he had a great record as a college HC. I think taking a guy that has never had HC experience is a big gamble. And Red Ball had so little coaching experience anyway.

This is true. Hiring big name coaches is all well and good...at least they might know how to win, but past performance doesn't insure future success. Many pieces to winning. There's a reason that only two teams play in the Superbowl each year.

 

[Alexander]

That's a big part of it but that coach also needs talent.

Our puppet coaches are given inferior talent.

It is not just they are given inferior talent, they are hamstrung by how the players that are talented are paid. It is next to impossible to pay the top half of the roster what we do (and it is not just because we have an expensive QB) and expect to be able to be competitive.

The inability to use free agency to fill gaps in the roster literally makes every draft bust doubly bad.

 

[Alexander]

21 of the 53 guys on the Seattle roster are Undrafted. So it's not all about too drafts for them. They signed a bunch and traded for a bunch of guys too. It's just having a good gm.

They have had over a 1000 roster transactions since 2010. That is far and away the highest in the league.

I guess they have never taken the approach that we have several offseasons saying that the "roster is set".

 

[Parcells4Life]

Carroll was thought by nearly everyone at the time to be a stupid hire by Seattle. He only left USC because of the sanctions he put on them with Reggie Bush, not because he was a great NFL coach and really wanted to be there. He had failed twice miserably before in the NFL so to say we should go find another Pete Carroll is crazy.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

1. We should have hired a proven coach. Having a coach with a ton of experience in both the college and the NFL ranks would have made a difference with this team. Garrett is a joke compared to any coach who has any experience because its obvious he doesn't know what his doing.

Carroll is now proven in the NFL so this is looking at the crystal ball after the fact. He failed in the NFL much like Nick saban did. hiring him was a risky move. so you can't say proven college coaches are going to be in the NFL.

2. We should have learned how to draft. Seattle and even San Fran draft players that are from top schools even if its in the 3rd and 7th rounders. We draft projects from small schools to play important positions such as safety and we've been doing it for years. Its time we just focus on selecting players from big schools with experience playing the position they've played in college.

drafting is key and there are 30 other teams that are saying the same thing. finding those 5th, 6th and 7th round jems is huge. but hitting on the 1st and second rounders is required. Ravens mostly one because they do realy well in the first and second round with solid players and every few years they hit on a star. BTW, SF has 3 first round picks and a 2nd rounder on their OL. they also have 2 first rounders on the DL and three top 10 picks in their LB group. lets not forget bad coaching kept them at the top of the draft for years and they stock piled talent.

3. We should stop paying older players big money. Sorry but I think Romo's contract is way, way too much for what he is worth. I do love him as a QB but he's not worth that much. Right now I would not sign anyone including Ware. We need to get our finances in order first before we commit big money to anyone.

I agree. there is a time to let go. just watch ravens. they let their big name starts who are past their prime go. bill walsh use to do the same thing. that's the fantasy football mentality of Jerry Jones.

4. If were going to pay someone big money its should be a passrusher. Period. An effective passrush is the ticket to the big dance. Not a high profile QB. If Hatcher was younger we should sign him. Heck, we should have gone after Bennett. A passrush is what we've needed all these years. Especially not corners.

you need a high profile QB, outside of ravens winning a superbowl with the all time best defense. going against a nobody QB. almost every team has a marquee QB. and yes, you need defense and it starts with pass rush.

5. We should focus on building both sides of the lines first - offense and defense. Our 2nd rounders should have been spent on either a passrusher or an oline. I can't understand why we keep drafting TEs and LBs in the 2nd round and nothing else?

couldn't agree more. that's why I hated the trade down last year and was screaming at the TV when we passed on Floyd when he was a top 10 talent on most draft boards. don't get me wrong. I like Fredrick, but he could have been had a little lower. I just didn't trust a DL like Rat who had been injured for several years, older than 30. I like what hatcher did, but prior to this year he was injury prone and he is 30. spencer is 30 and so is ware.

6. Get our finances in order. We pay so much for players that are in decline. I say its time to cut ties to all our old players right now. Including Romo and Ware.

7. We should totally go in another direction. Something drastic needs to be in Dallas. Jerry should step down from being GM which won't happen. Garrett should be fired and should never have been promoted to coach.in the first place. Our organization is run by amateurs.

I am not sure if another coach would result in anything different. as long as Jerry is the GM, we are always going to have to fight against him and swim up stream. even parcells couldn't take it. we change directions too many times at the wrong time. it was the wrong time to change defense from 3-4 to 4-3, specially that its harder to go to a 4-3 and it takes several years to rebuild and restock it. garrett is a puppet and he is set up to fail. or he is set up not to succeed. the drama regarding the coaches, and how we continuously change direction and lots of unhappiness and Callahan is not happy, but garrett has to deal with it, because Jerry created the mess and now that it stinks, he is stepping away going Garrett is in charge, so that at the end when you know what hits the fan, he can say, we needed a change and that he feels we needed a change. and the cycle starts again. the amateur you are referring to is our GM.

I could list a few more. But I won't. Too bored of watching a superbowl that were not in it. Its quite depressing actually. Especially the joke that this team has morphed into.

 

[Alexander]

Carroll was thought by nearly everyone at the time to be a stupid hire by Seattle. He only left USC because of the sanctions he put on them with Reggie Bush, not because he was a great NFL coach and really wanted to be there. He had failed twice miserably before in the NFL so to say we should go find another Pete Carroll is crazy.

I still think the wave of the future will be college coaches.

In the salary cap age, you are going to want to have a young team that the coach can relate to, the shortened practice schedule is just like a college program and you have to be prepared to turn talent over every three to four years.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

It is not just they are given inferior talent, they are hamstrung by how the players that are talented are paid. It is next to impossible to pay the top half of the roster what we do (and it is not just because we have an expensive QB) and expect to be able to be competitive.

The inability to use free agency to fill gaps in the roster literally makes every draft bust doubly bad.

This, to me, sums up Jerry's failures as a GM in a nutshell.

Seattle not only drafted well over that last few years, they also added the right pieces through FA. This draft has to produce multiple day-one starters or 2014 could be a very disappointing season.

 

[Risen Star]

It is not just they are given inferior talent, they are hamstrung by how the players that are talented are paid. It is next to impossible to pay the top half of the roster what we do (and it is not just because we have an expensive QB) and expect to be able to be competitive.

The inability to use free agency to fill gaps in the roster literally makes every draft bust doubly bad.

Which is odd considering we can do anything we want in free agency.

 

[Alexander]

This, to me, sums up Jerry's failures as a GM in a nutshell.

Seattle not only drafted well over that last few years, they also added the right pieces through FA. This draft has to produce multiple day-one starters or 2014 could be a very disappointing season.

They have made mistakes. Actually quite a few. But they moved on quickly to the next player when one disappointed and killed it with numbers. They somehow avoid to use hope as a strategy.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Talent on the field dictates the effectiveness of the head coach. To suggest Carroll suddenly became smart after two tries before in the NFL ignores that he has a team now that can succeed, as attested by the results from yesterday.

So many want a convoluted answer to the coaching situation.

Can a coach, coach 'em up?

Yes.

But the up is limited to the talent on the field and execution. To denigrate Carroll for failing before ignores that he has exhibited, with talent, his skill at getting the most from a team in college. Coaching X's and O's is the same in the pros and in college. When you have the horsepower, you tend to get to the finish line first.

 

[reddyuta]

just a sample of OP points-
the seahawks drafted Malcolm smith(USC) in the 7th rd ,we have drafted such distinguished players like Caleb mcsurdy(montana).who looks at Caleb freaking Mcsurdy and thinks he can play in the NFL,what the heck are the scouts thinking.I feel are scouts themselves are very poor and we never talk about them and instead give all the blame to Jerry.we have basically thrown away our late rd picks,the last good 7th rd pick was Ratliff but he went to Auburn.we have had more success with UDFAs than late rd picks .