What is making this team so widely inconsistant?

[TellerMorrow34]

that was my argument

The sooner people realize that, then they can actually think or come up with other ideas on how to improve this team.

Jerry and stephen will always be the head of the snake. Want change? Just hope they change their ways, because they ain't leaving.

We Won 3 superbowls with Jerry before, we can win again, just need the right pieces...IMO..a better offensive mind is at the top of the list.

Agreed.

Now don't get me wrong I'd love to see some FO change. In both how things are done and how it's structured. But those are things that if we're discussing them then we're discussing a mythical wish list that isn't going to happen. It's sort of like discussing well wouldn't it be great if Dallas had drafted "insert Hall of Fame Players name" and how great our team would have been with him. It's a fun little what if situation but it's a situation that has zero shot of happening.

There are tons I'd love to change about the FO and how it's structured and ran but those are things that simply aren't ever going to be on the table to be changed or done. Those things aren't changing unless the Jones family sells the team. And if anyone thinks that Jerry, or Stephen, are going to sell a franchise making them the kind of money it's making then I've got some ocean front property to sell you in Duncan, Oklahoma.

We can talk about some other things like coaches, and players, that could be brought in here with the type of schemes or whatever that maybe can overcome some of the FO stuff and win in spite of a less than ideal situation. Those things have a chance of happening, maybe not a good or great chance but there is a chance so that's more interesting and worthwhile to me.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

No football Team has ever bought into the Jerry Way.

Concluding that it is impossible for a NFL team to operate successfully with his mentality.

Will change, has to change...Dallas Fans will demand it changes...Jerry is in for an awakening.

It's not going to be pretty.

I'm curious but when exactly do you figure this is going to happen?

The fans are going to will change because they demand it? How do they demand it? By watching the team play? By buying the teams stuff? By paying for season tickets?

The fans aren't changing anything. Period.

There is only one way fans can change how an organization does things and that's simply to stop taking part in it. Stop buying Cowboys merchandise. Stop watching Cowboys games on TV. Stop paying for tickets to Cowboys games and going to them.

As long as they're making all that money they're making then you're not going to see them change anything. Unless the fan base suddenly stopped having anything to do with the team to where the team wasn't making money then you're not going to see Jerry change his ways or even consider selling the team.

So, no, Jerry is not in for any sort of awakening because the vast majority of the fan base is not going to do any of those things, let alone all of those things.

 

[Plankton]

A real GM who's a visionary and architect of the team. A real VP of personnel who acts as his chief assistant. An environment that allows coaches to flourish. Accountability from top to bottom throughout the organization.

If you really want to fix the Cowboys, that's how you do it.

That is it in a nutshell. You can't have a GM who drafts and signs (using significant resources) press man corners one offseason to only switch to a zone based scheme the next season. The GM has to have a pulse on where the team is, and where they are going, and make sure that the personnel are good scheme fits.

Plus, with Jones being the head marketer, and being involved in a whole assortment of other endeavors, he cannot be as well versed as he needs to be in personnel and the operation of the team.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

The pressure cooker has obviously been on for awhile and it's just getting hotter in the kitchen. Nobody likes what's being served. Jerry has continued to receive a clear message from the fans and players alike.

NFL Professionals want more than money, believe it or not, real men want to play for real men. The disconnect from players since Johnson left is gaping and has never been mended.

 

[KingintheNorth]

A lack of accountability from the top that spreads down to the whole organization.

When your General Manager has no real fear of consequences (losing job) for making poor decisions, he can continue to gamble and make the wrong moves. The Shante Carvers, Quincy Carters. and horrible trades greatly outweigh the Larry Allen's, Sean Lee's, and Dez Bryant's. Way more misses than hits.

Jason Garrett may be the guy that some here have proclaimed him to be but he will never be able to flourish and fully implement his style with Jerry looming over every decision.

 

[DuceizBak]

yesterday we weren't really inconsistent... our defense is bend and don't break..so a lot of yardage is expected for teams..those blown coverages have to go though..

 

[xwalker]

I rarely post here, not because I don’t want to, but most of the time, you guys just beat me to the good topics and I really enjoy logging on and reading/lurking every day. This week (probably next week too) is a good time to point out all the things that have plagued this team really since Jimmy left. I know we had a small respite when Parcells was here, but not much. We're still a fairly mediocre team and have been for a long time. So I don’t want to pile on with all the negative stuff, So my question is, looking at the teams that are doing really well this year,(Seattle, Denver, KC or organizations like New England, Pittsburgh etc. that put together a good showing year in and year out. What are they doing that is making them so much better than us? It’s not money. Jerry has plenty.

This year:

Hayden: Starting DT that did play football in 2012.
Selvie: Starting DE that was cut by multiple other teams.
Nevis: Backup DT cut by 2 other teams this year. New to the scheme, yet played significant snaps in the past game.
DT Carter: Street Free Agent
Wilber: Drafted to be a 3-4 OLB, now getting significant snaps with Ware often coming out of the game with nagging injuries.
Edgar Jones: Career special teams player, now significant contributor at DE.
Claiborne: Top draft pick from 2012 missed all of the preseason in a year with a new defensive scheme. Is now injured and not expected to be 100% at any time this season.
Wilcox: Starting as a rookie.
Ware: Multiple neck stingers and back injury.

Frederick: Rookie starting Center and De facto leader of the OLine.
Leary: First year to ever get snaps in a real NFL game, now starting. He is a 2nd year UDFA that was on the practice squad most of last year. He missed some time in training camp with an injury.
Waters: Came out of retirement with no Training Camp to prepare.
Free: The blocking scheme has been altered to make it easier on him while being more difficult on the other 4 players.
Murray: Good player, but does not scare defenses as a big play threat.
Romo: Back surgery in April. Injured ribs early this season.
Austin: Injured
T. Williams: 3rd/2nd WR is a rookie at a position that is very difficult for young players.
Hanna: 2nd year player getting significant snaps as a blocker which was not expected to be his strong-suit.

Missing players that at one time were expected to contribute this season:
Ratliff
Spencer
Crawford
Ben Bass
Brian Price
Nate Livings
Josh Brent

 

[dallasdave]

I rarely post here, not because I don’t want to, but most of the time, you guys just beat me to the good topics and I really enjoy logging on and reading/lurking every day. This week (probably next week too) is a good time to point out all the things that have plagued this team really since Jimmy left. I know we had a small respite when Parcells was here, but not much. We're still a fairly mediocre team and have been for a long time. So I don’t want to pile on with all the negative stuff, So my question is, looking at the teams that are doing really well this year,(Seattle, Denver, KC or organizations like New England, Pittsburgh etc. that put together a good showing year in and year out. What are they doing that is making them so much better than us? It’s not money. Jerry has plenty.

That's the Billion Dollar Question.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

That's the Billion Dollar Question.

What are successful teams doing that Dallas isn't doing.


They have a direct chain of command which unifies a Pro Franchise, gets everyone full in and on the same exact page without hesitation or doubt for the duration. Granted it is a balancing act which means it is disasterous to have anyone tipping the scales in any direction without actual or even perceived consequence.

 

[mrmojo]

Successful teams don't have the owner(s) giving there opinion on why the Cowboys lost, injury reports, and who might be benched. The head coach in Dallas has no authority and therefore the team has no identity. We draft for the 3-4 and end up changing to the 4-3, we want to be NE so we draft TE's.........If it weren't really happening you would think this was a soap opera. The problem starts at the top, and the top ain't changing anytime soon. I am just hoping we catch lightning in a bottle one of these days, we can't be the Cleveland Browns of the new millineum.. ..we just cant be.

 

[john van brocklin]

beautiful! I cant believe it took so many posts until you got to what many of us to believe is the real problem.

Well Jerry can't live forever.
I wonder what front office Stephen will have ?
I have heard that he will hire a GM.

 

[Zekeats]

The Coaching

 

[SultanOfSix]

Not enough play makers who can make a play when it matters. Too many chokers.

 

[Eddie]

Coaching

GM'ing.

The players know they are not accountable to the coach. They answer and hide behind the GM ... who does his best to protect "his" guys.

 

[bark]

Well most of the good stuff has been covered, but also, we overrate and over pay our talent before they have earned it.

 

[kruddy]

A real GM who's a visionary and architect of the team. A real VP of personnel who acts as his chief assistant. An environment that allows coaches to flourish. Accountability from top to bottom throughout the organization.

If you really want to fix the Cowboys, that's how you do it.

I do not understand why anyone cannot comprehend that our problem is as simple as you say, because all of the losing teams in the history of the game have always had the same problem, can't see the forest for the trees.

 

[Hoofbite]

Our O-Line pass protection and pass defense has been at the very best, suspect. This year the O-Line seems pretty good in pass protection, but I won't believe it until I see it. This year the pass defense is once against rearing its ugly head. Looked great against the Rams, only to look about as bad as it gets against the Chargers.

I think Claiborne is typical of our problems.

We place a high value on these soft, fragile, but athletic 'cover corners.' So teams end up running the ball at them and throwing slants at them. They can't stop either and get hurt. Then we are not good at adjusting to the player being hurt.

YR

As a fan who just picks up info from all the outlets it was hard not to like the trade for Claiborne, even if it was reckless.

The thought of getting a top notch shutdown CB was awesome. He hasn't looked anything like that.

There's no way his college tape looks like this because if it did, I don't see how he was so highly regarded.

 

[Clove]

That's fine but then you can't fix the team. Just because you can't change it doesn't make the problem go away.

If you want to have a real discussion about fixing the Cowboys those are the issues. All the other stuff sorts itself out once you have the proper leadership in place.

I totally agree with this here. It's hard to fix anything when the problem starts at the foundation. If the foundation of a house is crap, the rest won't make it. Jerry has no vision or identity of who or what he wants this team to be. He thinks like a fan and not a GM. If he gets too happy about a player, he drafts him instead of looking at the entire team concept of who we are. He refuses to hire anyone who don't give a crap about him. He wants, he needs someone to kiss his butt. He can't just get a qualified Coach (young) to come here and do everything his way. He can't handle that.

The coach we have right now is just not a quality coach. No experience, it's just not smart business. Why would anyone do that? Don't just pick your buddy over there cause you like him, this is a business and we need to focus on Greatness. A great coach knows how and what he wants. He knows the type of team offensively and defensively he wants to be. So far, Garrett's had the 3-4, now the 4-3. Exactly what do you want Garrett? He doesn't know what he wants. He had a philosophy of throwing down field, being aggressive on offense. Now he's running some type of generic west coast offense. We keep drafting tight ends, yet we run a TON of 3 WR sets. At one point, we ran sets with a FB, now we ditch the FB and bring in more tight ends. What exactly is your plan Coach?

So how then will anything else work when the whole thing is just unorganized?

 

[DandyDon1722]

As a fan who just picks up info from all the outlets it was hard not to like the trade for Claiborne, even if it was reckless.

The thought of getting a top notch shutdown CB was awesome. He hasn't looked anything like that.

There's no way his college tape looks like this because if it did, I don't see how he was so highly regarded.

Really good point - it's hard to believe we could've missed on his innate ability regardless of scheme. We drafted him for his ball skills which are non existent right now. But don't you get the feeling if he was traded he would flourish? I do.

 

[Dodger12]

I totally agree with this here. It's hard to fix anything when the problem starts at the foundation. If the foundation of a house is crap, the rest won't make it. Jerry has no vision or identity of who or what he wants this team to be. He thinks like a fan and not a GM. If he gets too happy about a player, he drafts him instead of looking at the entire team concept of who we are. He refuses to hire anyone who don't give a crap about him. He wants, he needs someone to kiss his butt. He can't just get a qualified Coach (young) to come here and do everything his way. He can't handle that.

The coach we have right now is just not a quality coach. No experience, it's just not smart business. Why would anyone do that? Don't just pick your buddy over there cause you like him, this is a business and we need to focus on Greatness. A great coach knows how and what he wants. He knows the type of team offensively and defensively he wants to be. So far, Garrett's had the 3-4, now the 4-3. Exactly what do you want Garrett? He doesn't know what he wants. He had a philosophy of throwing down field, being aggressive on offense. Now he's running some type of generic west coast offense. We keep drafting tight ends, yet we run a TON of 3 WR sets. At one point, we ran sets with a FB, now we ditch the FB and bring in more tight ends. What exactly is your plan Coach?

So how then will anything else work when the whole thing is just unorganized?

Great, great post Clove. Let me add this. I know the GM isn't going to change and I know his dolt son and his "secret sauce" recipe is right behind him. What I want to see is the GM dedicate his time to being a GM, not flying around the country on some non-football business on the most important day of the off-season (draft). What I want to see is a real HC who has an organizational philosophy of what he wants out of his team and how he wants to see his team be built. What I want to see is a HC who won't be over ruled by his DL coach and DC who've only been with the team for several months and both of whom should technically work (and have some loyalty to) the HC. Is draft day really the best time for the DL coach and DC to tell the GM that the #5 player on their board doesn't fit their scheme and go against the HC and head scout (TC). How about they shut the hell up and follow their HC's lead because it's his damn job on the line. JG has little credibility and skins on the wall. His players know that and the whole world knows that. He has no idea how to diagram X's and O's to attack a defense; he's just too inexperienced. Can anyone tell me a time when anyone can say JG simply out schemed and out coached anyone? Look no further than the 2012 NO Saints and tell me losing their HC had no bearing on their season. That's the importance a quality HC brings to an organization.

Now I know that folks here will point to Demarcus Ware and somehow believe it validates Jerry's philosophy. But the reality is that we'll have more picks like QC and Julius Jones than we will D. Ware under the current organizational philosophy. A strong and qualified HC can operate under our current structure, if even for a short time before he burns out on Jerry. That's what we need to at least get us back on track.