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Gosselin: In cutting DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones finally learned how to say goodbye
Published: 11 March 2014 04:00 PM
On Tuesday, Jerry Jones finally learned how to say goodbye.
That’s the nature of the NFL in a salary cap world. You can’t pay age.
The 49ers made those hard decisions in the 1990s. They said good-bye to Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott _ great players who helped San Francisco win four Super Bowls in the 1980s.
The 49ers retooled the roster, replaced their Hall of Famers and have gone to five NFC title games and two Super Bowls since the implementation of the salary cap.
That’s what the successful franchises do — make the hard decisions and move on. Logic must prevail over emotion and sentimentality in today’s NFL. And logic prevailed at Valley Ranch Tuesday with the release of DeMarcus Ware.
Ware is 32 this season. He was coming off the worst season of his nine-year career. He also counted $16 million against the Cowboys’ salary cap in 2014. That’s bad business. So Jones had to make one of the hardest decisions in his 25-year ownership of this franchise.
Ware was a great player in the 3-4 defensive scheme when he was standing up and rushing the edge with his speed, often racing beyond the reach of blockers. He averaged almost 14 sacks in each of his first eight seasons as an outside linebacker in that scheme.
But in the 4-3 scheme of Monte Kiffin implemented in 2013, Ware seemed miscast. He had to put his hand in the dirt as an end and engage an offensive tackle on every play. He took a beating both physically and statistically, falling off to just six sacks in 13 games.
His release was especially difficult for Jones because Ware was one of the two best draft picks by the owner in the 20 years since Jimmy Johnson left the building. Ware’s presence on the field was proof that Jones could draft. Now he’s gone.
There have been 23 primary starters released by NFL teams this offseason _ players who started at least half of their team’s games in 2013. Seventeen of those starters will be in their 30s in 2014.
Ware became the 23 and 17 player on those lists late Tuesday afternoon as Jones finally made the concession he could no longer pay age.
Published: 11 March 2014 04:00 PM
On Tuesday, Jerry Jones finally learned how to say goodbye.
That’s the nature of the NFL in a salary cap world. You can’t pay age.
The 49ers made those hard decisions in the 1990s. They said good-bye to Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott _ great players who helped San Francisco win four Super Bowls in the 1980s.
The 49ers retooled the roster, replaced their Hall of Famers and have gone to five NFC title games and two Super Bowls since the implementation of the salary cap.
That’s what the successful franchises do — make the hard decisions and move on. Logic must prevail over emotion and sentimentality in today’s NFL. And logic prevailed at Valley Ranch Tuesday with the release of DeMarcus Ware.
Ware is 32 this season. He was coming off the worst season of his nine-year career. He also counted $16 million against the Cowboys’ salary cap in 2014. That’s bad business. So Jones had to make one of the hardest decisions in his 25-year ownership of this franchise.
Ware was a great player in the 3-4 defensive scheme when he was standing up and rushing the edge with his speed, often racing beyond the reach of blockers. He averaged almost 14 sacks in each of his first eight seasons as an outside linebacker in that scheme.
But in the 4-3 scheme of Monte Kiffin implemented in 2013, Ware seemed miscast. He had to put his hand in the dirt as an end and engage an offensive tackle on every play. He took a beating both physically and statistically, falling off to just six sacks in 13 games.
His release was especially difficult for Jones because Ware was one of the two best draft picks by the owner in the 20 years since Jimmy Johnson left the building. Ware’s presence on the field was proof that Jones could draft. Now he’s gone.
There have been 23 primary starters released by NFL teams this offseason _ players who started at least half of their team’s games in 2013. Seventeen of those starters will be in their 30s in 2014.
Ware became the 23 and 17 player on those lists late Tuesday afternoon as Jones finally made the concession he could no longer pay age.
ThoughtExperiment
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^^ Bingo. He was forced into this move by his past mistakes, not because he suddenly developed some great insight.
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Well, to be fair, even when it has been his mess in the past, he hasn't owned up and done the right thing. I am surprised he actually did it this time.
cockstrong
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The strong move was to pay Romo like a top 5 QB in this league based on his ability to win big playoff games
yimyammer
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How wrong could it ever be with this current roster?
He may end up on a team like Seattle and look like a monster but that will be because of the team that surrounds him not just because he suddenly reverted back to his prime.
He may have a few great years left in him but this damn organization acts like cutting a player is giving up half a lung, too much reliance on a few players in the hope they'll drag everyone to the promised land.
This ain't basketball, you need a team and until they learn how to do that, having players like DW even at their prime won't be enough
He may end up on a team like Seattle and look like a monster but that will be because of the team that surrounds him not just because he suddenly reverted back to his prime.
He may have a few great years left in him but this damn organization acts like cutting a player is giving up half a lung, too much reliance on a few players in the hope they'll drag everyone to the promised land.
This ain't basketball, you need a team and until they learn how to do that, having players like DW even at their prime won't be enough
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I don't even know he cap ramifications .
I would be all Over not re-signing ware at this point. But when it's not even a full salary savings it does feel like we are purgatory.
I would be all Over not re-signing ware at this point. But when it's not even a full salary savings it does feel like we are purgatory.
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Have you ever driven the wrong way on a one way street? Ppl flip out
So you were for keeping Ware at $16 million?