What was the plan this offseason?

[kiheikiwi]

And as to the thought of not spending in free agency.
I agree with that thought - to a point !
But when you play by that thought pattern, you better hit home runs when you draft,cause thats your only avenue to improve your team.
Anybody feel like we have had outstanding drafts anytime lately ???

 

[zrinkill]

1. Denver was not in salary cap hell
2. They know what they are doing over there
3. They had lots of great players on D already.

They also did not waste 11+ million on a bust like Hardy ..

 

[Sydla]

They also did not waste 11+ million on a bust like Hardy ..

That has no effect on what we could or could not have done in this offseason.

 

[NorthwestDallas40]

We gamble on every other aspect of team building but we forgo FA because Carr was a bust

Not every signing has to be a huge bargain or a huge question mark

There are good players that aren't injured or druggies or quitters

Exactly. And if you have druggies and quitters, isnt the best way to quickly turn around the team to sign free agents that can immediately replace the?

 

[zrinkill]

That has no effect on what we could or could not have done in this offseason.

I understand that ....... just the difference in a well run team and a Jerry Jones team.

 

[RS12]

What was the plan this offseason?

Make money, same as every off season.

 

[Nightman]

Exactly. And if you have druggies and quitters, isnt the best way to quickly turn around the team to sign free agents that can immediately replace the?

We didn't even call about Norman...we let Mario Williams sign a bargain deal....didn't look at LBers

all we do is sign our own FAs when no one else scoops them up...Wilber, Hanna, Heath, McClain, Claiborne

 

[Idgit]

I'm not a fan of most of what we did this offseason. I'm glad we didn't blow our cap room on an overpriced free agent, and I liked the FA we did sign. But we failed to bring in a veteran QB to compete with Moore. And we failed to add enough significant defensive talent (I'd have liked Weddle, for example).

In the draft, we overspent on a position that's much easier to fill elsewhere (David Johnson, anybody?). We invested a pick for tomorrow (or maybe never) at 34. Everything after that, fine. I'm ok with the actual players we got, but tactically, it was poorly done.

The saving grace is that we'd done a lot of smart things in seasons prior that theoretically could start paying off for us. Maybe we finally have a free safety. Our full complement of man-coverage corners are back (for now). We've got some DLs I do think have potential, and the offense is hitting its stride with some really exceptional talent. Elliott, much as I don't like the pick, is going to be a superstar by week 4 this season. If we're better, it's because we've been doing things better for a while now. But as for the offseason plan this year, I don't understand what it could have been. From the outside looking in, it does look like we were standing pat, for the most part, on a 4-12 roster.

 

[Sydla]

In reality we went into the offseason with the belief we could improve the team shopping in the bargain FA bin and if we were lucky, get a better player at a cheap price for us.

I think they wanted to get a vet QB in there as a backup but no one would bite on their low ball offers. I think they wanted a veteran DE as well but again, no one would bite on their low ball offers. A guy like Mario Williams, even with his issues last year, would have been a smart signing as the contract would not have precluded them from doing things in the near future. I think they wanted a veteran CB not named Claiborne but again, no one seemed to want to come at rock bottom prices.

In essence, it seems like the Cowboys after being burned in FA in the past, went to the opposite extreme and just kept their fingers crossed that they could be able to fill needs by not really spending much money at all in FA.

 

[StarBoyz83]

I don't think there was a plan. The FO thinks Dallas is better than they are. With the easy schedule people will think Dallas is a team to beat. If they make the playoffs they'll be in trouble quickly.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

The plan is the SAME as it was last year when Romo go hurt. Or for every other year of the Romo/Garrett marriage....Romo will fix any broken vessel we give him.

And when you think about it...what alternative do they have? You have too many people in key positions of a FOOTBALL operation....that are not good enough at what they do to make a difference. So they sell hope (read Romo). And there are enough people (consuming public)...that buy it (literally)....which buys them more time to throw more stuff on the wall and see if it sticks.

 

[Idgit]

In reality we went into the offseason with the belief we could improve the team shopping in the bargain FA bin and if we were lucky, get a better player at a cheap price for us.

I think they wanted to get a vet QB in there as a backup but no one would bite on their low ball offers. I think they wanted a veteran DE as well but again, no one would bite on their low ball offers. A guy like Mario Williams, even with his issues last year, would have been a smart signing as the contract would not have precluded them from doing things in the near future. I think they wanted a veteran CB not named Claiborne but again, no one seemed to want to come at rock bottom prices.

In essence, it seems like the Cowboys after being burned in FA in the past, went to the opposite extreme and just kept their fingers crossed that they could be able to fill needs by not really spending much money at all in FA.

My bet is that the problem at QB wasn't the low-ball. I think they wouldn't hand the QB2 position over to anybody and they wanted them to compete with Kellen Moore. Rightly or wrongly.

The CB deal, they wanted either Carr to take a cut, Mo to come back, or they needed a replacement for one of the two. When Mo re-upped and Carr took the cut, they had what they wanted. I don't mind that so much.

Not adding rotational pass rushers other than Mayowa was a gamble. And with Gregory screwing up, we rolled snake eyes. That's the single biggest hole in the roster and it's at one of the very most important positions.

I don't mind them keeping the FA spending way down. We're going to need that cash to pay the good players we already know are a scheme fit for us. But to do that, we've got to be developing players faster. You can't do that if you're also speculating wildly using your high picks, or trading up with your 2s and 3s to get players and then not replacing those losses somewhere else. It's resulted in us not having another 4-5 capable starters sprinkled across the defense, and that's really painful.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Make money, same as every off season.

Sounds simple. And because fans TRULY believe Jones wants to win ( and for the record I believe he does)...they refuse to accept that making money is the FIRST priority. Listen...go back to Hard Knocks...and listen to the speech Jerry gave to the team...I am paraphrasing...but he said "first things first, ask for the money". Jones is GREAT at this...better than anyone else...and he is the face of this franchise..and sets the TONE of the franchise...and this is his opening address to the team! So no matter how BAD he wants to win...NOTHING....NOTHING gets in the way of making money. Just look at what we have done better than ANY other sports franchise in the world. Just look at our 2 biggest accomplishments over the last 10 years. The stadium. And now the practice facility. That stadium is a multi purpose facility ready for NCAA championship games, NBA All star games, concerts, monster mash, championship boxing....oh...and NFL football. And I deliberately did not say Dallas Cowboy football...because Jerry is a fan of any fan that is a fan of his. It does not matter who you root for..just show up and be ready to party! This is what it is folks. Trust your eyes. What you see is WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sydla]

My bet is that the problem at QB wasn't the low-ball. I think they wouldn't hand the QB2 position over to anybody and they wanted them to compete with Kellen Moore. Rightly or wrongly.

The CB deal, they wanted either Carr to take a cut, Mo to come back, or they needed a replacement for one of the two. When Mo re-upped and Carr took the cut, they had what they wanted. I don't mind that so much.

Not adding rotational pass rushers other than Mayowa was a gamble. And with Gregory screwing up, we rolled snake eyes. That's the single biggest hole in the roster and it's at one of the very most important positions.

I don't mind them keeping the FA spending way down. We're going to need that cash to pay the good players we already know are a scheme fit for us. But to do that, we've got to be developing players faster. You can't do that if you're also speculating wildly using your high picks, or trading up with your 2s and 3s to get players and then not replacing those losses somewhere else. It's resulted in us not having another 4-5 capable starters sprinkled across the defense, and that's really painful.

If they wanted someone to compete with Moore, they would have said that. But they didn't. They said they wanted to upgrade the position. I think when they saw what the market was dictating for backup QBs, they cringed and then came out with this lame story that Moore was their backup QB option all along.

You might be right on Claiborne. In fact, I think he signed before we even brought a guy like Hall in.

Here's why I have a major problem keeping FA spending down. This isn't a team necessarily built where you think you are contender for 5+ years with a young, stud QB. This is a team that is built to win now with a QB who is on his last legs and no heir apparent in sight. Again, this idea that you need cash to pay the good players you already have is a lame excuse. Mario Williams signed for 2 years where the Dolphins can cut him after one season for like $2MM cap hit. That's a deal that would in no way require us to have to make a tough decision down the road with regards to one of our players. And there were other guys out there who could have helped that signed similar deals. So I simply don't buy this idea that we can't do anything other than bit the bottom of the barrel FA guys because we need all that cash for resigning players. There are quality mid-level free agents every year that we don't even bother to look at that sign team friendly deals.

 

[wileedog]

From the outside looking in, it does look like we were standing pat, for the most part, on a 4-12 roster.

Because remember, in Jerry's mind the only thing that went wrong last year is that Romo went down. Put him back on the field, and voila! It's 12-4 time again!

Nevermind that this team and this coaching staff could only scratch out 1 win without Romo. Nevermind he is now two years older and who knows what happens to that collarbone the next time it hits the turf. Nevermind a decimated front 7 and a pass rush that right now, on paper, looks to be utterly awful.

You want to know what the plan was? Get Romo back on the field. To Jerry that fixes everything.

 

[Doomsday101]

I know what the plan wasn't and that is to have 3 starters under suspension. As for QB I think Cowboys were very interested doing something early in the draft but the draft does not always fall the way you want. Seems there are 31 other teams also involved. Getting Elliott I think the Cowboys saw an opportunity to take a very talented and safe pick to get back to running a balanced attack and given the QB we do have the OL we do have and WR/TE we have I think they have a very good chance to do a lot of good things.

Defense of course is where the issue is now in large part because the 3 players who are now suspended and now the burden will fall others to step up and fill that void. I also tend to think Dallas will bring in more help along the DL and now have added Durant to help the LB core since McClain is out.
I like the fact the defense has now chosen to put Byron Jones at safety and leave him there instead of bouncing him around.

In the end I think the offense will be fine, how this group on defense fairs will go a long way in determining how their season goes.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Jerry and his team so far in 2016......
http://i636.***BLOCKED***/albums/uu87/jdjohnston1960/funny-gif-rocket-fail.gif

 

[ksadler1]

The problem is that this team has tried it multiple ways during the past 20 years and have failed each time. They've overspent, they underspent, they've let people walk that have gone on to be successful elsewhere, they brought people in that were successful elsewhere but didn't do squat here, they've given draft picks away, they've hired coach-after coach-after coach-after coach, etc etc etc etc etc.......the one thing that needs to be done that the Jones family absolutely refuses to do will never be done because they think they're all smarter than everyone else. HIRE A REAL FRICKEN GM and step aside. Until that happens we might as well look forward to saying, "20 going on 30". The only slim chance this team has is named Romo, and he's game to game, not year to year like some here think. I was hoping Stephen could right this ship, but he's looking more like Jerry as time goes on.....

 

[CCBoy]

There was no plan. Many are wondering the same thing.

I think the fools in the FO truly think they have a SB contender on their hands. Its almost laughable.

On Gregory, “We are, first and foremost, interested in how he can basically address his addiction and get to where he can function in society first,” Jones said. “And then we’ll look at him as a football player second.”

Originally considered a top-10 talent, Gregory fell all the way to the back end of the second round before the Cowboys decided to gamble on him.

However bad the decision might look at the current moment, Jones said he had not regrets about the decision.

“We drafted him right where we should have, and he fell from the very top of the board to the second round,” he said. “You can take risks there, where we got him. We do that – we do it with injury, we do it with other issues.”

Asked a similar question, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said he didn’t think the setbacks with Gregory would prompt the team to change its draft day policies regarding risky picks.

“That’s our business. There’s risk-reward in our business,” he said. “We’ve had successes, and when you do something like that you have a chance to obviously hit some bumps and ultimately not be successful.”


http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2...sed-not-expecting-randy-gregory-training-camp

 

[CCBoy]

When it comes to the NFL "Hope rules" is the name of the game for almost all NFL teams.

I still think this is a 10-6 team.

Some of these threads are going to be a hoot.

Even with the time not on the carpet, the team has only lost about $3 million in salary from the suspensions. That, and some valid football players are still very much Dallas Cowboy types, and are ready to compete.

Maybe, just maybe, many are over valuing the projections of a second year player who has yet to get a sack, a linebacker who's desire to play in the NFL is still very much in question, and a defensive end who is not a dominant player, yet.