Watkins: The Cowboys’ trade for Amari Cooper signals a sense of desperation

Cowboysrock55

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What bothers me most is watching the top players go to other teams in the 19' draft, while we wait until midway through the second round.
Yeah the draft is absolutely miserable without a first round pick. No point even discussing the first round players now.
 

Donpingon

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This trade pretty much ends any hope that I had of Stephen Jones being any different than his father.

From what I've read, it seems that there were multiple people within the organization that were on board with this, but most importantly, Stephen Jones and Jason Garrett absolutely were.

I've also lost the hope of seeing Jason Garrett get fired but even if he did, what does it say about the direction our team is going to go in under Stephen if he looks at this team in its current state and truly believes that the solution to the problem is adding a wide receiver?

Nevermind the piece of shit head coach that was largely responsible for losing two games in three weeks.

Nevermind the quarterback who is struggling with basic throws and reads that an NFL level quarterback should be able to make.

No, the only thing holding this powerhouse back from going to the playoffs and making a deep run is a wide receiver who hasn't had a 1,000 yatf season in 2 years.

Unless he makes a deal with the Devil, the tenure under Stephen Jones will be just as fruitless as it has been with his father.

We're screwed.
How about if Cooper turns into a 5-6 year starter and avgs 1000/8? Just curious to know everyone’s threshold for the trade
 

Cowboysrock55

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How about if Cooper turns into a 5-6 year starter and avgs 1000/8? Just curious to know everyone’s threshold for the trade
If he does that trade was worth every penny. I mean that's what we are hoping for. To get a true #1 WR for the next 6 years. And frankly with this offense I don't expect a 1,500 yard receiver. It's just not going to happen under Garrett/Linehan. They love running the ball to much and playing conservatively. But if he consistently cracks the 1000 yard mark that's number 1 numbers in this offense.
 

NoDak

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After digesting this trade the last couple days, I've come in off the ledge. It might not be nearly as bad as an emotional fan first thinks it was. When I heard we'd traded a first round draft pick, that was the main target of my angst. Not the player. The draft pick. I instantly hated the trade because we traded out of the first. I instantly hated it before thinking about all the different angles. I'm a fan. That's what we do.

But now that a little time has passed, this trade doesn't look nearly as bad to me as it did at first glance. I still hate the fact that we won't have a first round draft pick this year unless something drastic happens. But after listening to a bunch of NFL pundits, I'm beginning to see that there are benefits to this trade.

A curious thing is happening with this trade and people's opinion of it. There are people that hate it, and there are people that like it. Even some that love it. Far more people on the edges of the scale than there are in the middle of it. And it seems that most of the people that like the trade, are actual football people. People that have either played or coached in the league. People that get paid to analyze the game. The people that hate it are the fans. The people that wear their emotions on their sleeves when it comes to the teams they follow. The people that want to pour over the draft to see who their team will select with that first round pick.

Even so, I'm still not in the crowd that thinks this was a good trade. I know the talent of the player, and I know the need of the team. But I'm not in the crowd that hates the trade like I initially was, either. I still hate the fact we don't have a first round draft pick. But I'm willing to see if this can work out. Willing to give Dak a little time to see if he can make it work with him. See if he's worth keeping around after having a better receiving group to work with.

I'm not willing to give Garrett more time, though. Fuck that guy.
 

Simpleton

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If we were hell bent on going WR in the 1st like a bunch of morons then trading it for Cooper right now is probably the best decision.

The problem is that there is going to be some prime DL talent available in the 10-20 range, which is where I assume we'll be, especially at DT. There might even be a nice rangy FS type available in Deionte Thompson.

Now, Cooper could very well give us 1000-1200 yards and 8-12 TD's over the next 5 years, and if that's the case then the trade will be a win either way, but there's also quite a bit of risk there in terms of his lack of production the last two years, the fact that he's had two concussions, and of course the concerns over his "passion".

It's not the fact that we gave up a 1st, if we had gotten Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins or Mike Evans I wouldn't be complaining at all, it's the risk that bothers me.
 

p1_

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Simpleton

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I'll say this as far as Cooper goes, I think you have to kind of write off what he's done so far in 2018.

He had the down season last year with a few injuries here and there but I wouldn't place much, if any relevance, on what's happened so far this year. The Raiders are a dumpster fire and they are just a complete mess from top to bottom, basically every facet of their team has been terrible.
 

deadrise

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Nobody knows, until everybody knows. Given the Clampett family record in these things, it's likely that everybody knows . . . already.
 

p1_

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I'll say this as far as Cooper goes, I think you have to kind of write off what he's done so far in 2018.

He had the down season last year with a few injuries here and there but I wouldn't place much, if any relevance, on what's happened so far this year. The Raiders are a dumpster fire and they are just a complete mess from top to bottom, basically every facet of their team has been terrible.
Agreed. Its hard to know just where the truth lies. May he come in here and light this MF up. I know we'll be a better passing team, but just how much better is the question.
 

Angrymesscan

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It's just not smart business to give away your first, which should translate to 4 years of high level production for a pittance.
 

boozeman

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It's just not smart business to give away your first, which should translate to 4 years of high level production for a pittance.
I guess the historical impact of first round WRs drove them to rationalize the price.

If they had decided that the need was so great they they would have to force a WR pick, then decided to go with a somewhat proven player.

That's the best I can do to feel better about it.
 

Cujo

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How about if Cooper turns into a 5-6 year starter and avgs 1000/8? Just curious to know everyone’s threshold for the trade

He needs to be more than that. We're on the hook for 14 mill next season and, presumably, his second contract which is going to be pricey. The margin for victory with this trade is fucking narrow.
 

Cowboysrock55

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He needs to be more than that. We're on the hook for 14 mill next season and, presumably, his second contract which is going to be pricey. The margin for victory with this trade is fucking narrow.
I don't know that I agree with that. We aren't a high volume passing attack. So the opportunities will be limited. If in those limited opportunities he is able to produce at that level I'd say it's worth the cost. Might be different if we were a team that attempts 35-40 passes a game. But when you're more in the 25-30 range you're just not going to get there. That doesn't mean the WR doesn't have an impact though. If he is helping to open things up for the running game for example that's sort of hidden yardage that won't show up in his stats.
 

L.T. Fan

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Hurns was a woefully weak answer to replacing Dez. I think Watkins might have been a good solution, but they apparently deemed him too expensive. And thus desperate Jerry bids against himself and hopes that it means the difference in making the playoffs.
Why is that? Dez contributed very little to the team over the past two seasons.
 

mcnuttz

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After digesting this trade the last couple days, I've come in off the ledge. It might not be nearly as bad as an emotional fan first thinks it was. When I heard we'd traded a first round draft pick, that was the main target of my angst. Not the player. The draft pick. I instantly hated the trade because we traded out of the first. I instantly hated it before thinking about all the different angles. I'm a fan. That's what we do.

But now that a little time has passed, this trade doesn't look nearly as bad to me as it did at first glance. I still hate the fact that we won't have a first round draft pick this year unless something drastic happens. But after listening to a bunch of NFL pundits, I'm beginning to see that there are benefits to this trade.

A curious thing is happening with this trade and people's opinion of it. There are people that hate it, and there are people that like it. Even some that love it. Far more people on the edges of the scale than there are in the middle of it. And it seems that most of the people that like the trade, are actual football people. People that have either played or coached in the league. People that get paid to analyze the game. The people that hate it are the fans. The people that wear their emotions on their sleeves when it comes to the teams they follow. The people that want to pour over the draft to see who their team will select with that first round pick.

Even so, I'm still not in the crowd that thinks this was a good trade. I know the talent of the player, and I know the need of the team. But I'm not in the crowd that hates the trade like I initially was, either. I still hate the fact we don't have a first round draft pick. But I'm willing to see if this can work out. Willing to give Dak a little time to see if he can make it work with him. See if he's worth keeping around after having a better receiving group to work with.

I'm not willing to give Garrett more time, though. Fuck that guy.
Post more, seriously.
 

UncleMilti

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I don't know that I agree with that. We aren't a high volume passing attack. So the opportunities will be limited. If in those limited opportunities he is able to produce at that level I'd say it's worth the cost. Might be different if we were a team that attempts 35-40 passes a game. But when you're more in the 25-30 range you're just not going to get there. That doesn't mean the WR doesn't have an impact though. If he is helping to open things up for the running game for example that's sort of hidden yardage that won't show up in his stats.
If they somehow ditch Garrett though I could see another HC/OC opening things up a bit.

Garrett is stuck in the “run sets up the pass” fantasy world of the 90’s. I don’t know of any other teams that really follow that blueprint anymore. And when no DC is afraid of your passing game because you haven’t thrown for 200 yards in multiple games, then that 90s offensive ideaology really sucks.

I think if Dak was allowed to throw it around 40 times a game that still leaves 15-20 carries available for Zeke which I’m sure would be productive carries because the passing game (hopefully) would be productive and the defense wouldn’t be sitting and waiting to shut down the run game.
 

Cowboysrock55

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If they somehow ditch Garrett though I could see another HC/OC opening things up a bit.

Garrett is stuck in the “run sets up the pass” fantasy world of the 90’s. I don’t know of any other teams that really follow that blueprint anymore. And when no DC is afraid of your passing game because you haven’t thrown for 200 yards in multiple games, then that 90s offensive ideaology really sucks.

I think if Dak was allowed to throw it around 40 times a game that still leaves 15-20 carries available for Zeke which I’m sure would be productive carries because the passing game (hopefully) would be productive and the defense wouldn’t be sitting and waiting to shut down the run game.
Well that's true, I was speaking more for the expectations in our current offense.
 

Smitty

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After digesting this trade the last couple days, I've come in off the ledge. It might not be nearly as bad as an emotional fan first thinks it was. When I heard we'd traded a first round draft pick, that was the main target of my angst. Not the player. The draft pick. I instantly hated the trade because we traded out of the first. I instantly hated it before thinking about all the different angles. I'm a fan. That's what we do.

But now that a little time has passed, this trade doesn't look nearly as bad to me as it did at first glance. I still hate the fact that we won't have a first round draft pick this year unless something drastic happens. But after listening to a bunch of NFL pundits, I'm beginning to see that there are benefits to this trade.

A curious thing is happening with this trade and people's opinion of it. There are people that hate it, and there are people that like it. Even some that love it. Far more people on the edges of the scale than there are in the middle of it. And it seems that most of the people that like the trade, are actual football people. People that have either played or coached in the league. People that get paid to analyze the game. The people that hate it are the fans. The people that wear their emotions on their sleeves when it comes to the teams they follow. The people that want to pour over the draft to see who their team will select with that first round pick.

Even so, I'm still not in the crowd that thinks this was a good trade. I know the talent of the player, and I know the need of the team. But I'm not in the crowd that hates the trade like I initially was, either. I still hate the fact we don't have a first round draft pick. But I'm willing to see if this can work out. Willing to give Dak a little time to see if he can make it work with him. See if he's worth keeping around after having a better receiving group to work with.

I'm not willing to give Garrett more time, though. Fuck that guy.
Yeah, I would have quickly come over to the "like it" side if this was a second. It would have been instant "love it" for anything less than that.

A first, eh. No, I just can't. Too much. It's an overpay. Yes, he's 24 and a 2 time Pro Bowler.

But there's also a downward trend and 4 seasons of contact on his body despite being 24. Look at Tyron Smith -- only like 28 and breaking down when normally a player that age would be in his physical prime.

But yeah, I hate the price, not the player. This is about as big an impact player you are gonna find. Still, it's gonna suck if we lose out on an LVE or Zach Martin at a position of non immediate need, simply because we decided that not only did we need to lock ourselves into having a WR with our 2019 first round pick, but that we needed to do so 6 months early.
 

Rev

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I still hate it.
 

L.T. Fan

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As a practical matter is is a reasonable move to go ahead and get a proven WR if that was the number 1 target for the next draft. If nothing else the test for whether Dak can take the next step is in place and will be answered this season so this trade serves more than one question to be resolved.
 
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