What keeping the same core of big paid players has produced

[kskboys]

Who was drafting one legged, broke neck LBs, and letting healthy LBs go to KC to get Super Bowl rings that left the team with a S playing LB? Your GM, defacto Head Coach, and Owner, the same person, and the same results for 30 years.

Absolutely. Who didn't provide w/ enough talent.

 

[Chasing6]

You didn't see our LB's and DT's getting run over due to inferior talent? Honestly, how did you miss that?

Definitely a lack of talent in the middle of our defense. Just look at the $'s allocated to the position.

 

[Chasing6]

I don't think it's a matter of talent. I think it has to do with team culture when it comes to the level of their commitment to be champions.

Due to Jerry's marketing prowess, they are incredibly popular without having to win anything. Their situation is "satisfying". Do they really have that desire to work at peak level every day to be the best?

What does it say to the entire team that the position of "GM" is a part time job?

Do you think Jerry is spending nights in his office brainstorming for ways to build a championship team, obsessed with being the best, leaving no stone unturned? Does he put in a 70 hour week with the sole responsibility of giving his city or region something to celebrate?

Building the right culture starts at the top. They don't have the culture because they don't even have the proper builder.

I agree, GM Jeruh has not created a culture when it comes to stopping the run. He has not committed a championship mindset to the middle of our defense.

He has bought into the idea that the NFL is a passing league and it is to a certain degree, until it is not.

A passing team is exciting, big plays and scoring a lot of points sells tickets. Stoping the pass is also exciting with sacks and interceptions and we have had plenty of those.

And if you are good in those areas it almost assures you a playoff birth.

However, the playoffs are a different league in itself. It is a much more physical league, if you will, than the regular season and it requires big uglies in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

Stoping the run and/or needing 2 yards on 3rd down is not sexy. Some argue it is absolutely boring, but it is the key to winning in the playoffs.

 

[Beast_from_East]

I don't think it's a matter of talent. I think it has to do with team culture when it comes to the level of their commitment to be champions.

Due to Jerry's marketing prowess, they are incredibly popular without having to win anything. Their situation is "satisfying". Do they really have that desire to work at peak level every day to be the best?

What does it say to the entire team that the position of "GM" is a part time job?

Do you think Jerry is spending nights in his office brainstorming for ways to build a championship team, obsessed with being the best, leaving no stone unturned? Does he put in a 70 hour week with the sole responsibility of giving his city or region something to celebrate?

Building the right culture starts at the top. They don't have the culture because they don't even have the proper builder.

That is an excellent point my friend.

Look, its human nature to do just what is required and nothing else.

At UT, if a professor said "today's lecture will be covered on the exam", guess what? Everybody took notes and it was so quiet you could hear a mouse fart, LOL!!!
If a topic was not going to be on the exam, everybody spent the whole lecture on their phones, laptops, ect...

At work, I manage a division at a factory, guess what happens when the division meets its quota for the month and its like the 28th day of the month? For the next 3 days, nobody does jack. People call in sick left and right, the ones who do show up take a break like every 15 mins, everybody is in the hallways talking and telling jokes, guys are bragging about who they are going to be banging on the weekend, ect...

The Cowboys are no different. They get the highest ratings in the league, they get the most prime time games of any team, and the players get paid like they are the best at their position in the league, and all of this happens despite not winning anything besides a division title every other year or a wildcard game every couple of years.

Bottom line, be it in school, at a factory, or on a football field, people will do the bare minimum to get by, that is just human nature.

 

[Bullflop]

Teams that are able to produce elite deep playoff teams on a regular basis have elite managements in place. Sadly, the Dallas Cowboys appear to be in need of such a management team. Jerry and Stephen have proven they're don't fit into that category in the past. Will McClay is good at what he does, although the financial aspects of managing a team seems to be lacking with the salary cap being what it is. Stephen and Jerry both appear to lack the wherewithal to make the most of that situation, imho. Negotiating contracts doesn't appear to be one of their strengths. Also, not being in favor of acquiring the most talented vet free agents doesn't benefit the team's collective talents to the best advantages.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

I will start with the assumption that most of us would agree that the “core” players this team has built around the last 5-8 years are the players based on their contracts and/or future contracts. Doesn’t mean we all agree they are worth it, just that these are the players the Cowboys have chosen to keep and pay big bucks to keep:

CORE PLAYERS UNDER BIG CONTRACTS

• Dak Prescott (been here since 2016- signed a 4 year, $160 million contract in 2021, and is negotiating an extension)
• Tyron Smith (been here since 2011- signed big in 2014 and has been extended multiple times- probably not back in 2024)
• Zack Martin (been here since 2014- just signed a 2 yr $36 million extension)
• DeMarcus Lawrence (been here since 2014- signed a 3 year, $40 mil contract in 2022)
• Michael Gallup (been here since 2018- signed a 5 year $57 million contract in 2022)
• Tony Pollard (been here since 2019- was on the franchise tag last year for $10 million)
• Donovan Wilson (been here since 2019- signed a 3 yr 21 million contract in 2023)
• Trevon Diggs (been here since 2020- signed a 5 year $97 million contract in 2023)
• Terrance Steele (been here since 2020- signed a 5 year $82 million contract in 2023)

CORE PLAYERS PROJECTED TO GET BIG CONTRACTS (there will be others too but these are obvious)

• Cedee Lamb (been here since 2020. Will get a big deal soon)
• Micah Parsons (been here since 2021. Will get a huge deal soon too)

So here’s my big point- with all the money sunk into all these players over multiple years, with two different HCs, multiple coordinators and assistant coaches - THIS CORE GROUP OF PLAYERS HAVE WON 3 WILD CARD PLAYOFF GAMES. If having these guys is soooo important, why haven’t we done better in the playoffs?

So here’s some questions:
1. if this core group hasn’t been able to accomplish more than 3 wild card wins in 10 years, why are we “running it back” thinking 2024 is going to be “the year”?
2. Why do assume these guys are all worth keeping together when having them together with multiple coaching staffs hasn’t gotten much further than an occasional wild card win.
3. Are we really just a couple of players away from winning multiple playoff games? I can’t see how that’s true.

Great post!
2024 is definitely our year.

 

[Dutton]

It got us some trips to the playoffs which led to crazy eyes and choking performances

 

[DandyDon52]

I will start with the assumption that most of us would agree that the “core” players this team has built around the last 5-8 years are the players based on their contracts and/or future contracts. Doesn’t mean we all agree they are worth it, just that these are the players the Cowboys have chosen to keep and pay big bucks to keep:

CORE PLAYERS UNDER BIG CONTRACTS

• Dak Prescott (been here since 2016- signed a 4 year, $160 million contract in 2021, and is negotiating an extension)
• Tyron Smith (been here since 2011- signed big in 2014 and has been extended multiple times- probably not back in 2024)
• Zack Martin (been here since 2014- just signed a 2 yr $36 million extension)
• DeMarcus Lawrence (been here since 2014- signed a 3 year, $40 mil contract in 2022)
• Michael Gallup (been here since 2018- signed a 5 year $57 million contract in 2022)
• Tony Pollard (been here since 2019- was on the franchise tag last year for $10 million)
• Donovan Wilson (been here since 2019- signed a 3 yr 21 million contract in 2023)
• Trevon Diggs (been here since 2020- signed a 5 year $97 million contract in 2023)
• Terrance Steele (been here since 2020- signed a 5 year $82 million contract in 2023)

CORE PLAYERS PROJECTED TO GET BIG CONTRACTS (there will be others too but these are obvious)

• Cedee Lamb (been here since 2020. Will get a big deal soon)
• Micah Parsons (been here since 2021. Will get a huge deal soon too)

So here’s my big point- with all the money sunk into all these players over multiple years, with two different HCs, multiple coordinators and assistant coaches - THIS CORE GROUP OF PLAYERS HAVE WON 3 WILD CARD PLAYOFF GAMES. If having these guys is soooo important, why haven’t we done better in the playoffs?

So here’s some questions:
1. if this core group hasn’t been able to accomplish more than 3 wild card wins in 10 years, why are we “running it back” thinking 2024 is going to be “the year”?
2. Why do assume these guys are all worth keeping together when having them together with multiple coaching staffs hasn’t gotten much further than an occasional wild card win.
3. Are we really just a couple of players away from winning multiple playoff games? I can’t see how that’s true.

They havent produced much except playoff appearances and early exits.
But they help jerry sell the cowboys as a "contender"
They dont contend for much, lol but they keep people talking which jerry likes and it helps jerry sell team to media and sponsors.
Jerry takes sponsors on every road game, and uses 2 planes to do that. Plus tickets to home games also I imagine.

Cowboys going unbeaten in regular season, was a plus in selling to sponsors.
That last GB WC loss though was a disaster.
Cowboys cant win the big games lol but they sell stuff and sponsors like that or jerry has them all drinking the coolaide.

 

[DandyDon52]

I’m not sure how much further this team should be going. SF def better two previous seasons.

Yea, we prob should have made 2nd round this year. But we certainly didn’t deserve winning division or 2nd seed. Definitely fell in our lap.

This team is what it is. 12 win playoff team pretty pretty pretty good

The 12 win years have been due to soft schedules and playing other teams that were not vg at the time of game.

This coming year looks very tough, and wash could be a lot harder to beat.
However nyg should still be 2 easy wins.
Div wins will factor big this year, in past dallas has got 5-6 wins in the div, so they only had to win 7 other games to get to 12 wins.

 

[kskboys]

The 12 win years have been due to soft schedules and playing other teams that were not vg at the time of game.

This coming year looks very tough, and wash could be a lot harder to beat.
However nyg should still be 2 easy wins.
Div wins will factor big this year, in past dallas has got 5-6 wins in the div, so they only had to win 7 other games to get to 12 wins.

The division being completely crappy is a huge reason for our record. Especially w/ Philly now falling apart.

 

[plasticman]

Simply not true. We got run over several times during the course of the season. Due to the way this D is built, we completely squush bad teams w/ our D. Good teams go crazy on us running the ball. And that is due purely to a lack of talent at LB and DT. And a DE that doesn't set the edge.

Instead of spewing stats, watch the game.

The D was exposed as we played teams who could run the ball.

I seldom spew. I think it was more a lack of size than a lack of talent. If a team is going to run a defense with five DB's and undersized LB's then they should expect opponents to run the ball.

 

[plasticman]

That is an excellent point my friend.

Look, its human nature to do just what is required and nothing else.

At UT, if a professor said "today's lecture will be covered on the exam", guess what? Everybody took notes and it was so quiet you could hear a mouse fart, LOL!!!
If a topic was not going to be on the exam, everybody spent the whole lecture on their phones, laptops, ect...

At work, I manage a division at a factory, guess what happens when the division meets its quota for the month and its like the 28th day of the month? For the next 3 days, nobody does jack. People call in sick left and right, the ones who do show up take a break like every 15 mins, everybody is in the hallways talking and telling jokes, guys are bragging about who they are going to be banging on the weekend, ect...

The Cowboys are no different. They get the highest ratings in the league, they get the most prime time games of any team, and the players get paid like they are the best at their position in the league, and all of this happens despite not winning anything besides a division title every other year or a wildcard game every couple of years.

Bottom line, be it in school, at a factory, or on a football field, people will do the bare minimum to get by, that is just human nature.

It also implies a lack of leadership.

Contrary to popular belief, leaders are seldom appreciated during the time they are actually leading. It's not until after they have led their people to successful completion of their goal that they are referred to as "innovative" or "inspiring".

During this time they are often unappreciated and even resented. Why is this true? That's because a real leader forces his people to give more than they were originally willing to give.

Think of an Olympic race. Even when it is apparent they will not win, the other runner will still give it all they have. Why? Because if they don't, that leader will create a gap so wide between them that people no longer wonder if the other guy can win a race. Instead, they wonder if he even deserves to be in the race.

 

[plasticman]

One element that I feel has been lacking for a while is competition. I think there is a tendency now to start big contract players even if another player might be better in order to justify said contract. Simply put, GMs don't like fans to feel as if they made a mistake.

When a player seems to be set as the starter, what motivation does the players behind him have to perform at their very best? All they really have to do is be better than any other potential backup. Most of those guys are on the practice squad. In addition, if this backup happens to be a drafted player then he knows he has at least two years before they get rid of him....in most cases.

I wish that all the veteran contract and draft status stuff could be tossed out at the beginning of each preseason and a player's status was based on only performance. Even starters would have to re-earn their positions each season.

I also think this team needs to re-think the concept of conditioning and stamina. It just seems that, for the past three seasons, the team burns out around the beginning of December. It's like they run out of gas.

 

[America's Cowboy]

While our priorities are out of whack with our dysfunctional ownership to be fair you really shouldn’t totally shake up a playoff contender with 3 straight 12 win seasons.

I think we’ve all pretty well analyzed our weaknesses and what should be our focus to prop them up. But as much as I have critiqued our team , etc and we are pretty much aligned on these issues not sure what we’d expect .

Yes, we are very disappointed and frustrated by the early playoff exits or choke jobs, however you want to describe it, but this is one of the best teams these idiots have put together this era and isn’t really qualified or has history of totally starting over not to stay the course.

With our situation this is probably best direction to go. Hang on to core of your playoff team and try to build upon it best you can. A few tweaks, edits and new additions . When it bottoms out then you start over or shake it up.

This! ^^^

 

[America's Cowboy]

Sheesh, BP, you've joined the whiners group.

 

[DandyDon52]

The division being completely crappy is a huge reason for our record. Especially w/ Philly now falling apart.

That was strange it was like the players just no longer cared about winning.
They should bounce back this season, at least to being close to what they were before.
Then if wash starts winning, the div will be competitive among themselves.

 

[kskboys]

That was strange it was like the players just no longer cared about winning.
They should bounce back this season, at least to being close to what they were before.
Then if wash starts winning, the div will be competitive among themselves.

Bad leadership from the QB position started it all. For some odd reason, no one brings it up. Hurts publicly blamed his teammates and started the whine fest. I cannot fathom why he gets a pass. The QB of the team absolutely cannot do such a thing.

 

[fivetwos]

That was strange it was like the players just no longer cared about winning.
They should bounce back this season, at least to being close to what they were before.
Then if wash starts winning, the div will be competitive among themselves.

I have a hard time seeing that this window is still wide open.

The last few drafts have left some huge holes in the roster and players are declining and/or leaving faster than they are being brought in.

Doesn’t matter how positive or negative anyone wants to be…that’s a fact. It could be mitigated with free agent additions but we’ve already been told it’ll be bargain bin shopping yet again.

 

[Redline360]

When you realize Jerry does not have the same goal as the mass majority of people on here you can sleep better at night. He only cares about being relevant in the news, his image, and keeping the money press rolling.

He has a few select posters hook line and sinker being happy with regular season wins and "stats it's there only go to in debates. Laughable

 

[kskboys]

I seldom spew. I think it was more a lack of size than a lack of talent. If a team is going to run a defense with five DB's and undersized LB's then they should expect opponents to run the ball.

Size is talent. It's part of the equation.

And then analyze why we ran this type D. Lack of talent. At both LB and DT.

Serious question: Why is it so hard for fans to see and admit we have a lack of talent? I seriously don't understand.