Why are we desperately hanging on to an 8-8 team?

[CyberB0b]

fix the oline in the draft and we can maybe do better.

So we invest 11 million in a 3-4 OLB converting to a 4-3 DE? When has Jerry ever made the offensive line a priority? Certainly not last offseason. Certainly, not this season. When?

You guys keep hanging your hat on an 8-8 team magically turning into a SB winner. It just doesn't happen that often. We are .500 for the last 20 years for a reason.

Hope in one hand and s in another. Tell me which one fills up faster.

 

[Idgit]

:starspin

Sounded like a trick question, didn't it?

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

That is a legitimate question. We are clinging to Spencer as if he has played better than Ware. In my opinion I think that is crazy. Spencer was nothing special for the majority of his contract. Why do so many people choose to judge him to be all world based on a small portion of his time in Dallas and choose to ignore the fact that he was just mediocre for a majority of the time he has been here.

Hmmm...maybe because his replacement (with basically no cap room to get one) will be far less than mediocre.

 

[LarryCanadian]

I would agree with your thread title if I saw the team overpaying (this season) for players like Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins, or not parting ways with Sensi or Connors.

The verdict is still out on Doug Free, but I hope they stay sane and replace him after June 1st or as a June 1st elected cut after getting another OT in draft or FA to compete with Parnell.

They aren't desperately keeping the wrong guys yet - YES they are restructuring some risky players (Miles, Rat, etc) but that is to give the team that chance to turn around quickly.

Losing a pro-bowl player in his prime like Spencer would be a tough move. It is really a REBUILD or a go for it type league - and we still seem to be going for it, just in a cheaper fashion than in the past. I still say we are kind of in the 3rd year of a rebuild, even though Jerry never really would admit it (we nuked whole oline and cut a bunch of the bad boys a few years back).

When you have a QB with the potential to put it all together, like Romo (meaning ability to produce yards, TD's, make plays from nothing etc) - you basically stay in the hunt and try and keep your better players with that slim hope that things come together to make a run. Of course not everyone believes he can do it, which is a fair opinion, or, many believe that without an oline and running game to restrict his gunslinger mistake type plays, the odds of success are just that much lower.....

Who else would you cut though - who are we desperate to keep on roster? EAch guy you cut, you need to replace, and FA's cost a lot, or you end up with even worse contracts added to the dead money from the last ones......

 

[Blackspider214]

I wonder this myself. The core of Romo, Witten and Ware have won just 1 playoff game. And have been apart of many collapses and pathetic performances in win or go home games.

It's time to get rid of the vets and get younger. The name of the game is to get rid of someone while they have value, not keep throwing money at them when they are not in their prime anymore.

 

[Idgit]

That is a legitimate question. We are clinging to Spencer as if he has played better than Ware. In my opinion I think that is crazy. Spencer was nothing special for the majority of his contract. Why do so many people choose to judge him to be all world based on a small portion of his time in Dallas and choose to ignore the fact that he was just mediocre for a majority of the time he has been here.

Because there's not a single poster who supports Spencer who would characterize him as mediocre for the majority of his time here.

Only the people who didn't pay close attention in the first place find themselves confused by last season's sack totals. Teams have been planning around him on defense for years, and multiple DCs coming through Dallas have commented on what a good player Anthony Spencer is.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

I would agree with your thread title if I saw the team overpaying (this season) for players like Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins, or not parting ways with Sensi or Connors.

The verdict is still out on Doug Free, but I hope they stay sane and replace him after June 1st or as a June 1st elected cut after getting another OT in draft or FA to compete with Parnell.

They aren't desperately keeping the wrong guys yet - YES they are restructuring some risky players (Miles, Rat, etc) but that is to give the team that chance to turn around quickly.

Losing a pro-bowl player in his prime like Spencer would be a tough move. It is really a REBUILD or a go for it type league - and we still seem to be going for it, just in a cheaper fashion than in the past. I still say we are kind of in the 3rd year of a rebuild, even though Jerry never really would admit it (we nuked whole oline and cut a bunch of the bad boys a few years back).

When you have a QB with the potential to put it all together, like Romo (meaning ability to produce yards, TD's, make plays from nothing etc) - you basically stay in the hunt and try and keep your better players with that slim hope that things come together to make a run. Of course not everyone believes he can do it, which is a fair opinion, or, many believe that without an oline and running game to restrict his gunslinger mistake type plays, the odds of success are just that much lower.....

Who else would you cut though - who are we desperate to keep on roster? EAch guy you cut, you need to replace, and FA's cost a lot, or you end up with even worse contracts added to the dead money from the last ones......

"EAch guy you cut, you need to replace, and FA's cost a lot, or you end up with even worse contracts added to the dead money from the last ones"

Exactly what people who want Spencer and others gone always seem to ignore. Amazing.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

I wonder this myself. The core of Romo, Witten and Ware have won just 1 playoff game. And have been apart of many collapses and pathetic performances in win or go home games.

It's time to get rid of the vets and get younger. The name of the game is to get rid of someone while they have value, not keep throwing money at them when they are not in their prime anymore.

Uh, we have youth on the team.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Uh, we have youth on the team.

Yea out of our core the only players over 30 are Romo, Witten, Ratliff and Ware. Its hard to get much younger at this point. And those guys are all still in the prime of their careers.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Seems to be. Except they call it "coach em up".

Isn't that what you're suppose to do though? Teams that win the Super Bowl don't usually have a bunch of guys they got out of free agency. They are always homegrown. We're on the 2 year anniversary of the "Dream Team" and two years later Babin, Young, Asomugha, DRC and Jenkins are all looking for new homes.

 

[DanteEXT]

So we invest 11 million in a 3-4 OLB converting to a 4-3 DE? When has Jerry ever made the offensive line a priority? Certainly not last offseason. Certainly, not this season. When?

You guys keep hanging your hat on an 8-8 team magically turning into a SB winner. It just doesn't happen that often. We are .500 for the last 20 years for a reason.

Hope in one hand and s in another. Tell me which one fills up faster.

I see it as they invested almost 11 million in a DE that was converted to a 3-4 OLB who is now going back to his natural position.

 

[Doomsay]

Parcells? We didn't start drafting well until Parcells left.....I have respect for Parcells and his career but he gets far too much credit here.

Wrong, we've been living off the carcass of the team and organization that he repaired for the better part of a decade, but it's almost gone now.

 

[junk]

Parcells? We didn't start drafting well until Parcells left.....I have respect for Parcells and his career but he gets far too much credit here.

The 2005 draft was one of the better draft classes you'll ever see.

Ware, Witten, Romo, Austin, Ratliff all came in under Parcells and are still the core of this team how many years later?

Not to mention all the solid contributors that have came and went.

Parcells was not perfect but the team was headed in the right direction. We had talent and a nice salary cap when he left.

Exactly. Not perfect, but hands down the most successful person working for this franchise since Jimmy.

I don't get the desire to diminish what Parcells did in Dallas. Took a cellar dweller and built the foundation that the team is still trying to keep together and inch into the playoffs today.

 

[fivetwos]

Sounds to me like we have some folks that are extra cranky that we aren't throwing tens of millions at this weak free agent class.

I realize it sucks to not be in the playoffs in a while and also have cap issues, but consider not being able to sign free agents right away a good thing in this case.

None of the guys who signed already are worth even close to the money they've gotten.

It's still very possible this team can get over the hump with a good draft, a low level FA signing or two, and a player or two that we already have moving his game up a level. Not impossible or even far fetched.

In no way should this team in it's current state be completely blown up.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

I would understand some of the decisions if we were a Super Bowl defending champ, but what are we clinging to? I don't get it. We are about 500 in the last 20 years and coming off 2 8-8 seasons.

Why are we so committed to guys over 30 who are injury proned? Why did we have the previous Ratliff contract, the Witten contract, the Miles Austin contract? Marion Barber, Ken Hamlin, Doug Free. The list goes on and on.

Why is Jerry so loyal to guys? You don't pay a guy for what he has done, you pay him for what he could do. So far, we have come up short in this department and I don't get it.

In my eyes, the only untouchable is Tony Romo.

It boggles my mind that Jay Ratliff's contract was structured so poorly that the only option we have is to extend him further to avoid paying him more money to cut him. That is insane. Doug Free is the same way.

:bang2:

I have been posting a varioation of this for a LONG time. And you are exactly right....we are maintaining continuity....for WHAT?!!!!!!! You are right...the only untouchable should be the QB. The rest of these guys.....a trade should have been made to shake this franchise up. The core of Spears, Ratliff, Ware, Romo, Witten, and Miles have not come close to winning anything....yet we lock them up and continue to roll them out every year like they have EARNED the right to be kept together. Older injury prone players do not get BETTER as they get older...the just remain soild overpaid old players. And their effectiveness goes down as the season gets into the later stages. It's simply insanity!

 

[burmafrd]

Because there's not a single poster who supports Spencer who would characterize him as mediocre for the majority of his time here.

Only the people who didn't pay close attention in the first place find themselves confused by last season's sack totals. Teams have been planning around him on defense for years, and multiple DCs coming through Dallas have commented on what a good player Anthony Spencer is.

Oh BS on all this spencer drivel. If he was so promising why did the Boys make no real attempt to sign him LAST offseason?

Yes he is a good player but he has had ONE season where he could be considered a Pro Bowl player out of SIX SEASONS TOTAL.

1 out of 6

think on that before you call him Pro Bowl. Things broke right for him last year- who is to say he will ever match it again?

 

[burmafrd]

The 2005 draft was one of the better draft classes you'll ever see.

Ware, Witten, Romo, Austin, Ratliff all came in under Parcells and are still the core of this team how many years later?

Not to mention all the solid contributors that have came and went.



Exactly. Not perfect, but hands down the most successful person working for this franchise since Jimmy.

I don't get the desire to diminish what Parcells did in Dallas. Took a cellar dweller and built the foundation that the team is still trying to keep together and inch into the playoffs today.

He changed the culture of the team; took a 5-11 team with Q and Hambone as starters and got them to the Playoffs. And from that point on we were considered a contender. If that is not a major change then what is?

And you look at the replacements for players he brought in and at best we are about batting .500 as regards quality. Lee and Carter are upgrades as is Carr and maybe Claiborne. But look at the O line and look at other areas and tell me we are really better or even as good as what he left.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

Ugh, this kind of thread is absurd.

For one, we are not "desparately" clinging to the same team -- heck, we've made a radical defensive change over the offseason. How is that trying to stay pat?

It seems like your entire conclusion is based on a single contract, a la Ratliff, which is somewhat perplexing to be honest. People on this board tend to get blindly focused on certain aspects of this team (the Ratliff contract, the 09 draft) while turning a blindeye towards others (our decimating injuries last year for example).

 

[DanteEXT]

Parcells drafted several good players and helped lay the foundation for this team since the mid 2000's. The only thing you could fault him on, IMO, is swinging and missing on several OL in the draft.

 

[TNCowboy]

Parcells? We didn't start drafting well until Parcells left.....I have respect for Parcells and his career but he gets far too much credit here.

:laugh2: this is about as foolish as it gets. Parcells took a team with no talent to one of the most talented rosters in the league when he left.