The Official Dallas Cowboys Off-Season Thread

[baazinakon]

OK, this is the worst endorsement in the history of endorsements...Garrett saying Ryan is ready to be a HC? Garrett OBVIOUSLY has no idea how to be a head coach and yet, he thinks Ryan is ready? Irony, there is nothing like it!

(note: I am not saying Ryan isn't necessarily ready, just that Garrett is HORRIBLE as a HC and his opinion is meaningless)

Garrett = irony

I saw this too and thought the same things, how the hell would JG know what a head coach looks like?
I also thought this may be an effort on his part to move Ryan out of Dallas b/c if we have another season lile this one he knows everyone will be calling for JJ to fire him and Ryan would likely be a front runner for the job, especially if the d improves which I think it will after a full offseason and FA/draft. I think Garrett realizes this and wants other teams to look at/hire Ryan. This could backfire for Garrett if Ryan isn't hired but is moved into potential HC conversations, and does well with the D this next year.

I wpuld love for Ryan to prove himself with the D this year, then become our HC and hire Martz as our OC.

[france03]

I think we have to go get some of these guys then address in the draft:
Sign either (SS) Bob Sanders or LaRon Landry
Sign either (CB) Leon Hall or Cortland Finnegan
Sign either (LB) Lawrence Timmons or E.J. Henderson
MUST Have (DE) Aaron Smith, DE or Robert Mathis, DE
Must have (NT) Antonio Garay
Sign one of these guys (O-Line) Ben Grubbs / Kareem McKenzie, Demetrius Bell / Carl Nicks / Chris Myers

Sign (FB) Mike Tolbert

Own Free agents Sign:
Robinson and Fiametta

Let GO or Trade
Martellus Bennett TE (since he feels he can start for any team,,,trade for whatever Value!!!
Keith Brooking ILB Bye
Abram Elam S Bye
Bradie James ILB Bye
Gerald Sensabaugh Bye
Anthony Spencer Bye Or trade for whatever value
Newman Bye
Ball Bye
Orlando or Jenkins as the THIRD CORNER Only, the other one can GO<<<<

Draft:
Address with our 1st Pick:
CB- 1stRound: Morris Claiborne / Dre Kirkpatrick / Alfonso Dennard / Janoris Jenkins
SS- 2nd Round: Duke Ihenacho (BEST SS this round)
TE-3rd Round: Best TE available
O-Line or D-Line: 4th Round: Best Available
RB: 5th Round Best RB Available
O-Line: 6th Round Best O-LINE
QB-7th Round Best QB Available
So we have to address some areas with Free Agency and Draft
Need to solidify the secondary with Quality Vets and rookies
Boost up the D-Line by mixing with Vets and Rookies (DE and LB’s)
O-Line needs one or two players and that will be solid for years
I’d try to trade Felix for more draft picks and get Tolbert and Draft a RB…
With Bennett gone,,,Phillps should be ready to step up to the number 2 TE, then address TE in draft,,,late rounds
Draft a QB and or maybe look at the free agents QB

I think they just gave up,,,and it really showed the last game...
Orlando looked Lost all Game...But by mixing up Quality Vets with the draft picks at Key spots,,,hopefully they'll get it right...

Sorry its a bit long....
still pissed they lost....

[JReh7]

i dont wanna get anyones hopes up lol..but i live in the DC area..die hard cowboys fan..i actually met Orakpo and Landry at a lounge in DC Tattoo Bar..both are cool *** dudes..I told them i was big a dallas fan..they joked with me orakpos friends are all dallas fans he tells me he turns his cell phone off when they play dallas haha..anyways..orakpo was a little tipsy i think..he almost said Rex Grossman sucks LOL (we all kno that)..but he also heard they might be trading down to get a WR and get another QB..idk why im telling u all that haha..anyways i told landry man have ur agent contact jerry jones i think u would be great in that rob ryan D..he smiled and was like im pretty sure my agent talked to jerry..i can really see landry with us..he would be pretty damn good in that system rob has..most def an upgrade from Elam..
CUTS
Newman
James
Elam
Ball
Scandrick (wont happen tho i know)
Bennett
ADDS
CB SS FS!!!
Pass Rushing DEs!

[ragman]

I know, I couldn't agree more, and said as much in my long-winded post. Thus, the reason we are not likely to play for a SB any time soon IMO...JJ came out yesterday and said he is staying as GM so you KNOW that reporters were jumping on the topic...he is so stuck on himself and thinks he is a good GM, that is the problem...if he were good at the job, then his quotes about not cluttering things up would be accurate....but, it will take something drastic to change things in Dallas...I don't wish ill will on anyone, including JJ (he is a terrific owner), but this team will flounder until Jones gets out of the way...the only thing that would make a difference is if people stopped buying merchandise and stopped coming to games,hit his wallet a little....but, there is too much history with this team...it's just a money-making business to him...if they win, great! If not, at least the cash is flowing in...a Cowboys team in the news is ALL he wants whether they win or lose...

Fred, you forgot another scenario in which JJ would step down as GM. He died. I know that's so bad to say, but that's about the only other way the Cowboys will be able to get a new GM in here.

Finally, who did the books for this team? Me? Sure looks like it.

[MacFitz92]

CUTS
Newman
James
Elam
Ball
Scandrick (wont happen tho i know)
Bennett
ADDS
CB SS FS!!!
Pass Rushing DEs!

Getting rid of four key DBs isn't the answer. Newman is old, expensive, injured often, it makes sense to cut him. Elam has been solid, and he's a FA anyway, I wouldn't mind giving him another 1 year at the right price. Ball and Scandrick are both pretty young, and we just resigned Scandrick, so your right, we won't cut him.

You'd have to be crazy to start a bunch of rookies and FA's. It's both unpractical and not an improvement.

I question if you guys just blame every DB because the pass defense is bad. You look at solutions: Improve the pass rush, it isn't good, and any secondary will struggle with a piss poor pass rush. Eliminate the weak links (Newman). Draft players you think can improve the secondary/pass rush, give guys looks and chances in training camp, sign a guy or two who can improve it.

[MCSJR2]

OK, this may end up a little long-winded so bear with me. I wanted to do a priority list based on a few things that I think the team needs to do to have a shot at a SB run in 2012:

1) Non Players (subjective)
2) Free Agents
3) Draft

1.0 NON-PLAYERS
1.1) GM - it is the perfect time for JJ to take a step back and get some assistance. Bill Polian became available yesterday and he would be a dynamic person to help run the team. Granted, JJ is not likely to think he needs any of this but let's assume that someone thinks he does and convinces him. As someone else said in another post/thread, bring him in as a consultant (like the Phillies did with Pat Gillick advising Ruben Amaro Jr).
1.2) Coaches - it is a shame that JJ will do nothing to make this team better, but again, you have to assume that if 1.1 happened, then perhaps Polian would get a new coach in here. If so, we get a new HC as soon as possible. Jeff Fisher's name is ALL OVER the news and this would be a marketing strategy for JJ. He would keep the brand name of the Dallas Cowboys on people's lips for quite some time. Kick Red into the FO so JJ can save face. Then, let Fisher pick his staff, and quick. In my opinion, Ryan should stay as DC, bring in an OC (Norv Turner) and let Fisher run the day-to-day stuff. This coaching staff receives instant credibility. But, as mentioned, none of this is likely with Jones owning the team. That is unfortunate.

2.0 FREE AGENTS
2.1) Who to look at - First, I did a weighted ranking of all of the FAs. The rankings were based on my personal rankings at "position need" (60%), "Ranking of the player against others at that position" (30%), and the "team for whom he played in 2011" (10%). The list of the top 10 is not surprising as you can imagine. I felt that the order of position need was the following: 1-DB, 2-DL, 3-OG, 4-LB, 5-C, 6-OT, etc.. The first two ratings are obvious, I put OG 3rd because I believe we have our 2 starting Tackles so while we need depth, I thought OG to be more important. Then, LB is next. The ranking of player by position was somewhat my beliefs on where someone ranked (a 12 rating is Drew Brees, a 1 rating is Jon Kitna, while injured). The team ranking is because I believe that a winner comes from a winning program (with free agents) unless you get a stud. Thus this was important although only worth 10%. My list of "go and get them" players are the following (not all, these are just the top guys):
Williams-Hou/DL; Griffin-Ten/DB; Landry-Was/DB; Finnegan-Ten/DB; Porter-NO/DB; Smith-Pit/DL; Leonhard-NYJ-DB; Merriweather-CHI/DB; Thomas-NYG-DB;Williams-Cin-OL; Grubbs-Bal/OL; McKenzie-MYG-OL

3.0 DRAFT
3.1) Who to Draft - We need to draft smart and get guys that will help this team immediately. Based on the FA list, it should determine where we draft (note: the same list of position need is used for draft purposes).
3.2 Fred's proposed order -
3.2.1 FIRST PICK-#14 - go and get Dre Kirkpatrick-CB from Alabama; he is tall and fast; he will bump receivers at the line and slow them down; with the proposed upgrades on the line via FA, this seems to be a perfect match
others to watch @ CB: Claiborne-LSU, but he will be gone long before #14; Dennard-Neb; Jenkins-N.Alabama...although I likely go somewhere else as these two could be around later
3.2.2 SECOND PICK-#45 - Mark Barron-SS from Alabama; he is not likely to be there @ #45 so they may need to move up to get him. Ball Hawk type; comes from a great program
Others to watch (in 35 to 45 range): Whitney Marcelius-DE/Ill-16 sacks this year; Sam Montgomery-DE/LSU;

After that, you take BPA with a focus on CB, S, DL, OL - WE DON'T NEED SKILL PLAYERS ON DAY 1 and not likely til later in the draft, if at all!!!! If you want to take a stab at a skill guy later in the draft, that's fine...I wouldn't mind looking at Case Keenum in the 5th round or so to be our 3rd QB, just not earlier...not sure if he would be there at that point

That all being said, here is what would turn this team into the SB contenders next year:

SUMMARY
1) Get Polian on board so that he can be used to help with the talent evaluation for Free Agency AND the draft.
2) Give Garrett a lollipop and send him to the corner and bring in Fisher. This should happen in January to give him and Polian time to gel and to formulate a player game-plan (note: there are other good coaches out there like the chin, but Fisher is in the news so JJ will like that)
3) Free Agency, get the following (in this order)
a) Mario Williams
b) One of the following DB's: Michael Griffin-Ten, LaRon Landry-Was, Cortland Finnegan-Ten. If none leave their current team then plan B comes from a list of Tracy Porter-NO, Jim Loenhard-NYJ; Brandon Merriweather-Chi, Terrell Thomas-NYG....notice that all plan B guys come from winning/tough-minded organizations (merriweather formerly of New England)
c) One of Aaron Smith-Pit, Robert Mathis-Ind

This is already a lot but after getting 3 players from this list, then look at OL...candidates are:
a) Bobbie Williams-Cin, Ben Grubbs-Bal, Kareem McKenzie-NYG

My cuts/let walk:
Defense: Newman, James, Spears, Brooking, Ball (but only if we get a CB with our 1st round pick); Spencer? depends on his pricetag
Offense: Bennett, Kitna, Ogletree, possibly Harris

My 53-man roster would look like the following:

QB (3): Romo, McGee, Keenum
RB (4): Murray, Felix, Fiammetta; I wouldn't mind a cheap vet in here like we had with Morris or someone like Tomlinson; also if someone intriguing falls to us in the 5th or later, you have to consider it
WR (7): MUST re-sign Robinson; promote Holley to 4th WR
TE (3): Draft a TE to go to practice squad in case of injury or minimally play ST
OL (9): Get a FA as listed; draft the best OG
K (1): no need to do anything here with Bailey
P (1): it is somewhat important to get McBriar back unless he is too expensive
LS (1): we have one of these, no changes
DL (6): no major changes here; I expect the pass rush to come from the outside but if you put williams (FA) here then so be it
LB (9): again, if williams is considered a LB, then he goes in here; we would need to replace some LB since I am dumping 3; this should give the MLB spots to Lee and Carter and more playing time to Butler
DB (9): Can you say overhaul? Jenkins should be a #2 so the plan is to get one from FA and use the #1 pick on another to go with Jenkins, Scandrick and Ball (if he stays); the 2nd pick should be a safety...two FA's would be better if affordable;

anyway, that's where I am with all of this right now. I didn't take the time to look at the salary cap situation so we may not be great players in FA...if so, then get bargains with some experience at OL, DL, and CB....

Thoughts?

note: I will be combining all of the other threads regarding people's thoughts on the team into this off-season thread by tomorrow...just an fyi....

Fred, I enjoy reading your posts but come on man...Mario Williams???...even if the Texans did let him go..no way he makes it past the top teams in the league and winds up in Dallas..

[Fred]

Fred, I enjoy reading your posts but come on man...Mario Williams???...even if the Texans did let him go..no way he makes it past the top teams in the league and winds up in Dallas..

the majority of my post is somewhat far-fetched as JJ won't do much (cap-strapped and won't get a GM)...but, while Williams won't leave Houston easily, there are a lot of reasons to come to Dallas (if affordable)...first, not sure exactly where he lives but Dallas can't be all that far from where he lives now so perhaps he doesn't have to uproot his family...and, I would think that if a guy has an opportunity to play opposite of Ware, he has to consider it....last, Williams is the type of marketing splash that JJ would want to get, again, if affordable...I would say the chances of getting him are about 5%, and that is better than none.

realistically, we should focus any dollars spent in FA on DL, secondary and OG...making those areas better can drastically improve this team

[d79cheese]

Yeah, Free a better fit at RT, and Smith would be a pro bowl LT. At LG; I would draft David DeCastro from Stanford pure beast he'll make us top 5 line in league. We have to bulk up our line. You saw what Romo went through against Giants in the last game we look terrible in the middle of our o-line.

exactly what I was gonna say. He also already plays in a pro style offense, so the transition won't be that much of a problem. Dude is a flat out beast, and the guy I hope we get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8I56-rnbZ8

this line would be very good:

LT Smith
LG Arkin/Nagy
C anyone who can snap the ball on the right count
RG DeCastro
RT Free

[Young2Kinsler]

LOL you guys talk like Jerry Jones is going to spend money and draft well. Put down the damn pipes.

[baazinakon]

LOL you guys talk like Jerry Jones is going to spend money and draft well. Put down the damn pipes.

I laughed, I cried, laughed again poured some scotch and lit a cigar, and said ****

[KiNgJaMeS315]

Its funny cuz everyone has all these great moves the cowboys should make and jerry wont make any of these moves.

[astros1981]

I know cutting players like Davis and Barber were pushed over to the '12 cap to make room in '11. My question is how are we 20mil in the hole with 21 FA's that are off the books? Are there any cuts we can make that can aleviate that hole? I think we need to invest into our draft on the defensive side this year. We need a few pieces on defense. I know some on here want us to chase Finnegan, but if we can't get a pass rush anyone who is in our secondary will get burned. If we can get a consitent rusher opposite of Ware it could solve some of our pass rush/coverage issues. Having Ware on one side and a rush on the other; along with Ratliff in the middleit could take double teams off of Ware and Ratliff. Opposing QB's had alot of success vs our pass rush due to its predictability of where the pressure would come from.

[Auseranami]

This is totally off topic, but I was just looking at the dolphins forum, Jesus Christ there are a bunch of retards in there! Anyways, I just wanted to say I'm glad most of y'all are cool and aren't retards like them.

I don't know many names in the upcoming draft but I'd be fine with us getting Jenkins, Kirkpatrick, or Claiborne. Also we need to address our oline situation. Free has been downright terrible this year, I wasn't a fan of him last year and now I just plain don't like him I don't think switching free with smith will work out like people want because smith would be pretty much be learning a new position, and free, I think he'd be best served as a guard if anything.

[bhooks80]

OK, this is the worst endorsement in the history of endorsements...Garrett saying Ryan is ready to be a HC? Garrett OBVIOUSLY has no idea how to be a head coach and yet, he thinks Ryan is ready? Irony, there is nothing like it!

(note: I am not saying Ryan isn't necessarily ready, just that Garrett is HORRIBLE as a HC and his opinion is meaningless)

Garrett = irony

JG was saying that so another team might do something stupid and actually hire Rob Ryan as their HC. I think they really want Eberflus to run this defense, Ryan if we all haven't noticed is not exactly following JG's classy mantra...

[bhooks80]

Its funny cuz everyone has all these great moves the cowboys should make and jerry wont make any of these moves.

Like last year. Wait til the last minute for DE and Safety. Kenyon Coleman and Abe Elam...? Big FA signings there. lol

JG keeps preaching Youth Movement. Guess we better be ready.

Heard a rumor that NYJ is going to try to trade for Miles Austin from us. Not sure what we could get from them...