What made the team get worse in the off season?

[OhSnap]

The predictions by fans of this team everywhere bottomed out during the off season. For several years fans and writers have criticized the team for over paying 30+yr old players and for not rebuilding the trenches and gambling on other teams has beens to build the O-line. The team has systematically been reversing those things but for some reason the consensus is that it will bottom out this year not during the last 6-10 season that started the process that got the team to this point.

I believe in the old cliche "If your not getting better your getting worse".


What ways has this team gotten worse than the 8-8 team from last year?

 

[DFWJC]

There are least 20 ( maybe much more) ways they could have upside.

The three clear areas that may or may not be worse are
Romo's health?
Can Melton and subs be better than Hatcher and subs?
Can Ware (even at his semi jag state from 2013) and subs be replaced by this years RDEs?

Otherwise, it all seems like upside.

My concern is none of those ...not much anyway.
It's how much other teams can or will improve and the schedule.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

The predictions by fans of this team everywhere bottomed out during the off season. For several years fans and writers have criticized the team for over paying 30+yr old players and for not rebuilding the trenches and gambling on other teams has beens to build the O-line. The team has systematically been reversing those things but for some reason the consensus is that it will bottom out this year not during the last 6-10 season that started the process that got the team to this point.

I believe in the old cliche "If your not getting better your getting worse".


What ways has this team gotten worse than the 8-8 team from last year?

IMO there are two things that have potentially made this team worse:

1. The Romo back injury/surgery.
2. The release/free agency loss of the team's two best defensive linemen.

The Romo thing concerns me, as I'm sure it concerns most Cowboy fans. If the guy isn't healthy enough to start most of the season, we're looking at a difficult season ahead.

I'm more confident in the changes/upgrades that have occurred on the defensive front. While I do not see two guys who are going to replace the production of Ward and Hatcher, I see 3 or 4 who could. In addition the guys that were horribly in-effective on the defensive line last season are either gone or will probably be gone by the end of training camp.

All in all I think the season will come down to the health of Romo.

 

[RS12]

I still dont see one area on defense where you cans say for sure they got better. Hopes and question marks dont necessarily make a better defense. I also still think the safety play will still be horrid. Hope I get proven wrong.

 

[OhSnap]

There are least 20 ( maybe much more) ways they could have upside.

The three clear areas that may or may not be worse are
Romo's health?
Can Melton and subs be better than Hatcher and subs?
Can Ware (even at his semi jag state from 2013) and subs be replaced by this years RDEs?

Otherwise, it all seems like upside.

My concern is none of those ...not much anyway.
It's how much other teams can or will improve and the schedule.

IMO there are two things that have potentially made this team worse:

1. The Romo back injury/surgery.
2. The release/free agency loss of the team's two best defensive linemen.

The Romo thing concerns me, as I'm sure it concerns most Cowboy fans. If the guy isn't healthy enough to start most of the season, we're looking at a difficult season ahead.

I'm more confident in the changes/upgrades that have occurred on the defensive front. While I do not see two guys who are going to replace the production of Ward and Hatcher, I see 3 or 4 who could. In addition the guys that were horribly in-effective on the defensive line last season are either gone or will probably be gone by the end of training camp.

All in all I think the season will come down to the health of Romo.

the Ware, Romo and Melton questions are the first thing in my head too but I feel Like Romo has a good prognosis from reliable doctors or they just wouldn't have been able to pass on Manziel, an 11 sack DT is a taller order than replacing the impact Ware had last year, I think his chuckin arm he uses to fight 300lb lineman is probably gonna never have the strength it had again. For me Crawford, Lawrence can match the pressure of those 2 guys on the line but I understand the concern for sure.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Mickey Spagnola has publicly said on Talking Cowboys that this team is worse, not better, after losing Hatcher and Ware

He said you don't replace 52% of your sacks from last season with rookies and expect no drop off.

It's not just the fan base saying we are going to suck, most of the media thinks so also.

Your claim that it's just whiney fans is not accurate and is also baiting in that you are using derogatory terminology like "whiney little school girls" to describe fans that think the team may be worse this year.

Just because your opinion is the team will be better doesn't mean other fans and posters that have a different opinion should be made fun of.

My .02

 

[MichaelWinicki]

the Ware, Romo and Melton questions are the first thing in my head too but I feel Like Romo has a good prognosis from reliable doctors or they just wouldn't have been able to pass on Manziel, an 11 sack DT is a taller order than replacing the impact Ware had last year, I think his chuckin arm he uses to fight 300lb lineman is probably gonna never have the strength it had again. For me Crawford, Lawrence can match the pressure of those 2 guys on the line but I understand the concern for sure.

There wasn't a QB available in the first round who was going to be able to give 75% of the passing efficiency that Romo could. And any of them could be worse, even much worse than that.

It really is all about Romo.

I think Romo's replacement is drafted next May(?), but even then, that player won't be a potential starter for at least one full season.

Again, it really is all about Romo.

 

[OhSnap]

I still dont see one area on defense where you cans say for sure they got better. Hopes and question marks dont necessarily make a better defense. I also still think the safety play will still be horrid. Hope I get proven wrong.

There isn't one place where you can say they definitively got better but the youth and depth could be an upgrade and as bad as I hate to say it they may have improved by releasing Ware. But I can't see where they got worse except maybe a drop in the 11 sacks Hatcher gave but I doubt many people would predict that 2 years in a row from him either.

 

[Nova]

Might not be much worse, but the schedule sure looks tougher.

Other than that I honestly think we're a little better. But you can be a better team with a worse record.

 

[guag]

Bash me if you want, but I feel like we've at least broken even on the DL. Yes, we lost Ware. But we've also brought in some guys who will obviously be a big upgrade over Hayden (who BTW I've read had one of the worst DL performances last season in the league). We've essentially replace Hatcher with Melton -- on paper, I believe this is a fairly even trade if Melton is healthy. I can go on about the other additions on the line (and those who will benefit from another year in the system). But I'm typing this from my phone so I will stop here

 

[OhSnap]

Mickey Spagnola has publicly said on Talking Cowboys that this team is worse, not better, after losing Hatcher and Ware

He said you don't replace 52% of your sacks from last season with rookies and expect no drop off.

It's not just the fan base saying we are going to suck, most of the media thinks so also.

Your claim that it's just whiney fans is not accurate and is also baiting in that you are using derogatory terminology like "whiney little school girls" to describe fans that think the team may be worse this year.

Just because your opinion is the team will be better doesn't mean other fans and posters that have a different opinion should be made fun of.

My .02

I like Spags but I would worry more about replacing Wares presence than his numbers and it's not likely Hatch was coming back with 11 sacks again.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Mickey Spagnola has publicly said on Talking Cowboys that this team is worse, not better, after losing Hatcher and Ware

He said you don't replace 52% of your sacks from last season with rookies and expect no drop off.

It's not just the fan base saying we are going to suck, most of the media thinks so also.

Your claim that it's just whiney fans is not accurate and is also baiting in that you are using derogatory terminology like "whiney little school girls" to describe fans that think the team may be worse this year.

Just because your opinion is the team will be better doesn't mean other fans and posters that have a different opinion should be made fun of.

My .02

And Mickey was right. 52% of your sacks are gone.

BUT that 52% of the sacks doesn't have to be replaced by 2 new players.

Take away Hatcher's and Ware's sacks (and ignoring Selvie's contribution for a moment) there were well over 2,000 snaps given to guys who contributed almost nothing– 5 sacks.

5 sacks for 2,000+ snaps.

That's where the loss of Hatcher and Ware's production can be made up.

 

[RS12]

There wasn't a QB available in the first round who was going to be able to give 75% of the passing efficiency that Romo could. And any of them could be worse, even much worse than that.

It really is all about Romo.

I think Romo's replacement is drafted next May(?), but even then, that player won't be a potential starter for at least one full season.

Again, it really is all about Romo.

I agree that if Romo goes down, season over. There have been whispers about Dez's back too. If he goes down they become much easier to defend.

 

[jday]

The predictions by fans of this team everywhere bottomed out during the off season. For several years fans and writers have criticized the team for over paying 30+yr old players and for not rebuilding the trenches and gambling on other teams has beens to build the O-line. The team has systematically been reversing those things but for some reason the consensus is that it will bottom out this year not during the last 6-10 season that started the process that got the team to this point.

I believe in the old cliche "If your not getting better your getting worse".


What ways has this team gotten worse than the 8-8 team from last year?

While I agree with the Cowboys mantra of getting younger, that doesn't mean you get better immediately by merit of doing so. Ware and Hatcher would probably give us a better chance in the immediate future to win, but the decisions the Cowboys are making are not about next season. It's about building this team for the future. So on one hand, the critics and cynics are right; this team may have got worse, as far as next season is concerned. But that doesn't mean the Cowboys did not make the right moves.

As far as predictions go, the Cowboys are an 8-8 team until they prove otherwise. And since the Cowboys have a whole lot less experience on the defensive side of the ball, it's not unreasonable to ratchet your expectations accordingly. There are fans who simply need to always beleive their team can contend...God bless them. There are other fans who like to take a realistic view and not set themselves up for dissappointment. There really is nothing wrong with either approach. But from experience I can tell you if you belong to the first group, the week following another end to another dissappointing season is miserable for you and everyone within range of your misery. Now that I am married with children, my wife demands I belong to the latter group.

 

[big dog cowboy]

And Mickey was right. 52% of your sacks are gone.

BUT that 52% of the sacks doesn't have to be replaced by 2 new players.

A concept that doesn't seem to matter to anyone I've heard/read who can't see anything more than the those 52% of the sacks leaving.

 

[LatinMind]

The predictions by fans of this team everywhere bottomed out during the off season. For several years fans and writers have criticized the team for over paying 30+yr old players and for not rebuilding the trenches and gambling on other teams has beens to build the O-line. The team has systematically been reversing those things but for some reason the consensus is that it will bottom out this year not during the last 6-10 season that started the process that got the team to this point.

I believe in the old cliche "If your not getting better your getting worse".


What ways has this team gotten worse than the 8-8 team from last year?

This happens every offseason.

 

[jimmy40]

No matter how bad we think Ware was, every play Ware was on the field the other team's QB was worried about him. That's gone

 

[ShiningStar]

No matter how bad we think Ware was, every play Ware was on the field the other team's QB was worried about him. That's gone

just stop, last year Ware kept running past qbs they werent scared. Hes a year older and with a team that will know how to use him. His time was coming and im okay with Rod having a year with no expectations to get these younger guys going full steam and learning now.

There was not one good unit on our D last year. This year is going to be a new year with another chance to get this defense back on track. Having Ware was not going to help or make a difference.

 

[Picksix]

A concept that doesn't seem to matter to anyone I've heard/read who can't see anything more than the those 52% of the sacks leaving.

My question is, what did those sacks get us? Did they have a significant effect on any of the wins we had? I agree, that's quite a bit to lose (although after week 3, Ware just wasn't good, and it's hard to see Hatch repeating that kind of production this season). Who knows if Melton, Lawrence, and co. will make things any better, but seeing as how we had one of the worst defenses in NFL history, it's hard seeing us being any worse.

 

[jimmy40]

just stop, last year Ware kept running past qbs they werent scared. Hes a year older and with a team that will know how to use him. His time was coming and im okay with Rod having a year with no expectations to get these younger guys going full steam and learning now.

There was not one good unit on our D last year. This year is going to be a new year with another chance to get this defense back on track. Having Ware was not going to help or make a difference.

keep telling yourself that.