The Cowboys had the worst offseason in the NFC East

[Midswat]

ESPN NFL writer Bill Barnwell went through the offseasons of all 32 NFL teams and graded each of them out. Only two teams received grades above a B+, so Barnwell's grading system was tough.

With that said, his reactions to the moves the Cowboys made were still not very encouraging. For example:

What went wrong


That draft. Ezekiel Elliott may very well turn out to be a fantastically productive running back behind that dominant Cowboys offensive line, but one of the reasons you build a line that good is to ensure that you can pay a back peanuts to run behind it. Teams are often overly optimistic about their ability to identify players who should be drafted way higher than the typical top prospects at their position, as recent examples like Trent Richardson and Reggie Bush can remind you.
Barnwell also criticized the Cowboys for taking Jaylon Smith in the second round, as he probably won't contribute this year, which represents 25 percent of the length of his affordable rookie contract. Finally, he expressed confusion at why the Cowboys have not cut Brandon Carr.

It wasn't all bad, though. Barnwell also outlined some things the Cowboys have done well this offseason.

What went right


Their forays into free agency made sense. Given where the Cowboys were weak coming into this offseason, their modest free-agent spending seemed to fit. Their biggest signing was Eagles defensive tackle Cedric Thornton, who started 45 games during the past three seasons and profiles as a run-stopper on the interior next to smaller penetrating tackle Tyrone Crawford. Dallas had the league's fourth-worst run defense by DVOA last season, so any help up front would be extremely appreciated.

He also lauded the Cowboys for moving on from Greg Hardy and signing Alfred Morris in free agency.

Barnwell ended up giving the Cowboys a final grade of C, which put them last in the NFC East. The Giants and Redskins received Bs and the Eagles received a B-.

 

[Omegasupreme]

C is about right. They make moves. Just odd ones. This stuff happened with Campo and now with Jason. If the HC is not a strong visionary of the whole team. The personnel moves become a spectrum of stupid.

Thornton is a good signing for depth but he is not really a definitive answer. Jaylon is not an answer (more of just a question). Dak being an undefined and underdeveloped QB for a scheme that requires timing and precision makes no sense. Judging a player on his intangibles and what he does off the field as a means to win a play, a series, and a game makes no sense. Having wide open parts of the field on passing downs and not using them because they are not in the scheme makes no sense.

C is right. C is for Counterintuitive.

 

[Midswat]

I don't know what I'd grade us. I actually really liked the Alfred Morris and Cedric Thorton signings. Good solid role players who could start in a pinch.

The draft... I love EE as a player and his potential behind our line, but a lot of compelling arguments out there how we could've taken a RB later and better utilized pick #4. We took a couple project players (Dak, Gathers) when we've shown an inability to develop projects. Taking Jaylon top of the 2nd when there was a lot of other talent on the board was stupid. I seriously question not only if he'll return, but how long he'll be any good. This team will just not learn from past mistakes drafting injured players.

Keeping Garrett warrants an F grade in and of itself.

 

[MrB]

I can definitely understand why some say the Cowboys had the worst off season in the NFC. They didn't break the bank in FA like the Giants did and they didn't draft or re-sign potential franchise QB's like the Skins and Eagles.

With that said I actually like the change they've made by not dishing out millions of dollars to other team's players. Doing that has never worked for them. They do a lot of really dumb shit as an organization but changing that philosophy I don't think is one of them. I do wish they would have drafted a QB. It will be a couple of years though before we find out if Cousins and Wentz are franchise QB's. Personally i think Wentz has a great shot but Cousins is suspect.

 

[Midswat]

I do wish they would have drafted a QB.

 

[MrB]

I meant a franchise caliber QB not Quincy part 2

 

[SixisBetter]

Folks,you could make a good draft by just doing whatever the opposite of whatever my considered opinion is.
I don't mind saying I rely on the internet and a few of the posters here to get info on prospects.
But I do know as long as we have Jerry "Arkansas Al" Jones running the show we'll never: A)have a great draft unless we back into it like we did with our O-line B)have a head Coach who's worth the title,or not one who'll stick it out anyway C)be capable of building a team
JJ is certainly a great showman and knows how to make money,but he's fucked the football side of the operation right in half.
Here's an exercise:Imagine every single draft under Howdy the Clapper went exactly as you wanted it to,whatever that might be.Or every FA signing period.
We'd still be exactly what we are now,Jerry's toy and erstwhile cash cow,but an average or worse football team.

 

[NoShame]

I agree our offseason was pretty lackluster and splash-less but not being crowned offseason champs isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[dbair1967]

I agree our offseason was pretty lackluster and splash-less but not being crowned offseason champs isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Redskins & Eagles are perennial winners of that.

 

[onlyonenow]

giants overspent on B grade talent= that earns a B?
Eagles are trying to dig out of the mess Chipster made; did get Wentz but I think they are also over graded
Skins did pretty good but cousins is still a big question mark

 

[ZeroClub]

Ezekiel Elliott may very well turn out to be a fantastically productive running back behind that dominant Cowboys offensive line, but one of the reasons you build a line that good is to ensure that you can pay a back peanuts to run behind it.

The writer acts as if a "fantastically productive" running game is trivial.

 

[Midswat]

Well he may have a point. I mean, Murray got 1800 yards then looked like cooked shit in Philly.

D-Mac has been garbage his whole career then got 1400 yards behind our line.

I mean I love Elliott and I hope he breaks Dickersons rookie rushing record this year. But thats just my myopic fanboy opinion reminiscent of how I as a teen cheered for Emmitt to break every imaginable record. Does it make us a significantly better team than a less effective run game but more complete team?

AP has been dominant forever. Minnesota has largely been mediocre all this time though.

 

[SixisBetter]

AP has been dominant forever. Minnesota has largely been mediocre all this time though.

There ya go.
Ball control is a great thing,and it certainly looks we have the tools to do it.
But if your defense can't hold a slim lead against playoff caliber offense when they absolutely have to,when it's when or go home,then you're cooked.
Possibly Marinelli can put pieces in place to correct that problem,but it's only so much conjecture right now.

 

[Doomsday]

But if your defense can't hold a slim lead against playoff caliber offense when they absolutely have to,when it's when or go home,then you're cooked.
Possibly Marinelli can put pieces in place to correct that problem,but it's only so much conjecture right now.

The problem as I see it is, Ginger really only likes to run the ball late to "put away" close games late. Problem is, the opponent knows this and loads up the box and we are too stupid ("risk averse") to take advantage of this when it happens late. The result is 3 plays and punt, no real time used, and the opponent gets extra cracks at us late.

 

[MrB]

Well he may have a point. I mean, Murray got 1800 yards then looked like cooked shit in Philly.

D-Mac has been garbage his whole career then got 1400 yards behind our line.

I mean I love Elliott and I hope he breaks Dickersons rookie rushing record this year. But thats just my myopic fanboy opinion reminiscent of how I as a teen cheered for Emmitt to break every imaginable record. Does it make us a significantly better team than a less effective run game but more complete team?

AP has been dominant forever. Minnesota has largely been mediocre all this time though.

The Vikings have also never had a decent QB or any kind of passing game during AP's time there. They've been strictly a 1 dimensional team. Dallas on the other hand can attack you through the air or on the ground. I do agree though that none of this matters if Red doesn't call the right plays or if the defense continues to suck.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Exactly, MrB. It took Minnesota forever just to find a QB to drive the bus.

And not long ago, Mike Wallace was their best receiver.

 

[Omegasupreme]

I'm still so puzzled about why Dak was so linked to Dallas before the draft and then why they took him. There were so many more polished and overall physically skilled QBs. Was it the character thing? I get the feeling that Jason would pass on Favre, Brady, Rothlisberger, Flacco or even Russell Wilson if he had the chance to draft them and instead find some baptist bible college QB who is running for a Connecticut Senate seat and has the endorsement of his dad and Geep Chryst.

 

[ZeroClub]

Well he may have a point. I mean, Murray got 1800 yards then looked like cooked shit in Philly.

D-Mac has been garbage his whole career then got 1400 yards behind our line.

I mean I love Elliott and I hope he breaks Dickersons rookie rushing record this year. But thats just my myopic fanboy opinion reminiscent of how I as a teen cheered for Emmitt to break every imaginable record. Does it make us a significantly better team than a less effective run game but more complete team?

AP has been dominant forever. Minnesota has largely been mediocre all this time though.

I believe that a top-notch OL + a top notch RB will be significantly better than a top-notch OL + an average or somewhat above average RB.

"Better" is tricky to define, though.

More yards? Yeah, probably, but not by a huge amount.

More rushing TDs? Probably. I would expect more TDs scored by the RB, but it could be that several of those RB TDs are on pass receptions.

More short yardage 3rd downs converted? Probably.

More plays vs. 8+ men in the box (i.e., making the defense unidimensional)? Absolutely.

I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen this season. Starting about 8 years ago or so, I was convinced that the team needed to rebuild the OL. The team did it, eventually. And during 2014, it became apparent that as effective as Murray was, the team would be better with a better RB. The team then drafted one (we expect), in Elliott.

For me it is a lucky coincidence that the Cowboys happened to do what I hoped they'd do. I am excited to have a chance to see how it'll actually turn out.

 

[Omegasupreme]

5000 yards passing is not enough either by itself.

It all comes down to game strategy. Having huge amounts of yards but very few TDs and even less management of the clock is just a lot of wasted effort. For all of Murray's yards in 2014, if Garrett resorted to passing at critical times (and passing to players who can't catch for that matter) without even faking to Murray, then what was the point - especially in an offense that is supposed to gain facility in the deep routes FROM play action.

I don't care whether Elliott breaks any yardage record. What I hope is that nothing is obvious, nothing can be anticipated and nothing defines the offense. The Patriots, Seahawks, and Packers have offenses that seem to succeed because they run when it's time to run and they pass effectively when it's time to pass.

Harbaugh in SF had a philosophy that I would love to see Garrett adopt. Worry about your passing game failing and run whether at 2.7 ypc or 5ypc.

 

[MrB]

5000 yards passing is not enough either by itself.

It all comes down to game strategy. Having huge amounts of yards but very few TDs and even less management of the clock is just a lot of wasted effort. For all of Murray's yards in 2014, if Garrett resorted to passing at critical times (and passing to players who can't catch for that matter) without even faking to Murray, then what was the point - especially in an offense that is supposed to gain facility in the deep routes FROM play action.

I don't care whether Elliott breaks any yardage record. What I hope is that nothing is obvious, nothing can be anticipated and nothing defines the offense. The Patriots, Seahawks, and Packers have offenses that seem to succeed because they run when it's time to run and they pass effectively when it's time to pass.

Harbaugh in SF had a philosophy that I would love to see Garrett adopt. Worry about your passing game failing and run whether at 2.7 ypc or 5ypc.

In a perfect scenario Garrett would lose his job and Harbaugh would be brought in the run this team. Will never happen though as long as Jerry has Johnnie Walker Blue coursing through his veins.