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Cowboys Mailbag: On Ware, The Cap, and Romo
Bob Sturm
FOX Sports Southwest
It seems that the reports from Wednesday that the Cowboys had failed to reach an agreement with DeMarcus Ware and therefore were forced to terminate their relationship were premature and unfounded. That said, I am fully prepared to recognize these facts as true soon enough as finally the conveyor belt of cap negligence comes home to roost.
There are some in the local media who are acting like the Cowboys are fine as it pertains to the cap and although they are technically able to defend their position - that the Cowboys are not REALLY that far over the cap because a quick adjustment here and here to Tony Romo, Jason Witten, and Brandon Carr and presto, they are fine - it still is symptomatic of a franchise that has been winding up a ticking time bomb. Yes, they can function and yes, they can continue to put off the inevitable, but do not dare argue that this is all a figment of the media's imagination and some anti-Cowboys bias in the national press. That is disingenuous on every level and the Cowboys are trying to function without a major avenue of improvement at their disposal (free agency) because of this negligence.
Is free agency a sole and proper way to fix your franchise? Of course, not. But, to argue that they wouldn't want so sign Henry Melton or TJ Ward anyway is just stupid. This team is over the cap worse than anyone in the entire league and for the media to advocate on the behalf of this poor strategy smacks of homerism of the highest order. Let's at least recognize that the Cowboys bet hard on this group of vets as the nucleus for a contender and after 4 years of 8 wins or less in a row, it is very difficult to say that this strategy has been anything short of failure.
They put big extensions on Tony Romo (6/$108m), Jason Witten (5/$37m), Miles Austin (7/$54m), Jay Ratliff (7/$48m), and DeMarcus Ware (7/$78m) over the last several years and if you were honest with yourself, you would have to conclude that it was not close to the return on the investment to the point that Ratliff has been dismissed, Austin will never play another down here, and the clock on the other 3 is expiring rather quickly, it would seem.
Witten and Romo will certainly be back in 2014, at least, and Romo seems secured every opportunity to still have several years left with his back pending, but the Ware run looks like we are at the end of the road now. With a cap number of $16m or just half of that in dead money if they say goodbye (which can then be teased into 2 years of $4m each as a June 1 cut), it now looks like the Cowboys have very little reason to keep going since his productivity has been less than elite recently.
The one argument for the two sides agreeing on rolling this problem over yet again is that this is what Jerry always does. Think about it; name the last beloved Cowboy that was shown the door. If Jerry is guilty of anything, it is loyalty and falling in love with his most decorated soldiers. He seldom ever does the 49ers tradition of saying goodbye a year too soon rather than a year too late. Jerry always says goodbye a year too late and rides his investment all the way down to zero. Last year, in this space, I proposed the shopping of Ware because we knew this day would come - if he ever had even one significant injury, he would be damaged goods and then with that cap number there would be no way to trade him. Instead, you would have to cut him loose and watch someone else snag him for nothing.
But, go down the list. As one Cowboys official told me, we never are able to say goodbye to our favorites before it is too late. That is why he thought ultimately, Jerry would take the easier way out and redo DeMarcus yet again and delay the inevitable for one more year. But, it appears, finally, that Stephen and Jerry have realized that with Sean Lee's new deal done and with Tyron Smith, Dez Bryant, and DeMarco Murray due, it is time to make sure we don't lose a young asset because we couldn't say goodbye to an aging player. I don't like the idea that Ware could return to 12 sacks next season in this league and it will be somewhere else, but at some point, it is best to argue that the current mix wasn't working and that they were given enough time. Ware is a hall of famer and a ring of honor recipient, but that group of Cowboys were just not successful enough and it might be time to turn the page on the era.
This could have been avoided if the team would have been in a better spot last year and not extended Tony Romo. To give him that amount of guaranteed money when they didn't have to seems crazy now, but they decided to do so. As I suggested at the time, I sure didn't see the harm in letting him play out his deal and with the ability to slap the franchise tag on him, you were never going to lose him. Instead, they tried to appease him with over $100 million dollars and a ton guaranteed and now he has significant health concerns. Could you imagine this offseason if his deal expired last month? Would they franchise him needing back surgery? His leverage would have been completely gone and the Cowboys could have walked away. Instead, they would have $41million plus in dead money if he were to be done in 2014 and therefore cannot even imagine what happens if he is seriously at risk with these back problems. The Romo deal is costing them Ware and it didn't need to happen.
But, it did happen and now I believe Ware is gone. He can stay with a significant pay cut, but why should he agree to that? If anyone has earned their money over the last 9 seasons it is him and I would have to side with him and it is certainly not his problem that the Cowboys over spent on a QB that has been treated like an elite NFL QB without ever having to produce those elite results. Perhaps the eulogy of this generation is that they bet hard that they had an elite level QB and lost.
Now, if they do let Ware go, they can fix much of this by not redoing other deals besides Romo. Resist the urge to redo the Carr and Witten deals and therefore take your medicine in 2014 and be out of the woods for the most part right here. Spend the money on your in-house extensions and now your team is spending money on players in their prime and you continue to dig out of this mess. Your next big winner may not have Ware, Witten, or even Romo on it, but that is life in the NFL. You have windows and they don't stay open forever. Ware will be remembered fondly around here, but the absolute right move is to say goodbye and turn this page to the next wave of talent. The group from the Parcells/Phillips era did not get it done. Cut the cord.
=====
Now on to your tweets this week:
mitch aitonâ�@TheAitonMachine
—
—
@SportsSturm are Bernadeau and Leary good enough to move forward with or are we targeting that position in the draft
Mitch, as far as I can tell, the answer to both of those would be "yes". It is a rare treat when the Cowboys actually get out ahead of a salary cap issue and have what is known around the league as "cheap labor". The going rate for a starter on the offensive line is well above what the Cowboys have been paying their 2 guards and now, even though Bernadeau is due a raise to $4 million (thanks partially to restructuring him last spring) they will still have both starting guards for under $5m dollars in 2014 and will have them both under contract for 2015 at a similar rate (although they will have to qualify Ron Leary next spring).
So, now that we have established that they are cheap, let's visit about whether they are good enough. I honestly must tell you that while I would not call them a power of this team, I also seldom pointed to them and called them a weakness. Bernadeau, in particular, raised the level of the offensive line to some extent when Brian Waters left after the Detroit game. I don't know if it was all him (and I suspect it wasn't), but the zone running really took off in November and December. As for Leary, when you take an undrafted free agent with health concerns and get over 1,000 snaps and pay him next to nothing you have to be pleased. Now, does that mean that everything is fine and there is no need to watch his progress carefully? Of course not. But, Leary is a young player who has limitations for sure - pass rush is a battle at all times - and yet there were very few moments this season when something went horribly wrong and it was Ron Leary's fault.
So, in conclusion, if you had to head into next season with these 2 as your starters, you would survive. However, if you find a great guard prospect, you should take him at the right price. And, you cannot forget that Leary's medicals indicate that his career will not last too long, most likely.
Bob Sturm
FOX Sports Southwest
It seems that the reports from Wednesday that the Cowboys had failed to reach an agreement with DeMarcus Ware and therefore were forced to terminate their relationship were premature and unfounded. That said, I am fully prepared to recognize these facts as true soon enough as finally the conveyor belt of cap negligence comes home to roost.
There are some in the local media who are acting like the Cowboys are fine as it pertains to the cap and although they are technically able to defend their position - that the Cowboys are not REALLY that far over the cap because a quick adjustment here and here to Tony Romo, Jason Witten, and Brandon Carr and presto, they are fine - it still is symptomatic of a franchise that has been winding up a ticking time bomb. Yes, they can function and yes, they can continue to put off the inevitable, but do not dare argue that this is all a figment of the media's imagination and some anti-Cowboys bias in the national press. That is disingenuous on every level and the Cowboys are trying to function without a major avenue of improvement at their disposal (free agency) because of this negligence.
Is free agency a sole and proper way to fix your franchise? Of course, not. But, to argue that they wouldn't want so sign Henry Melton or TJ Ward anyway is just stupid. This team is over the cap worse than anyone in the entire league and for the media to advocate on the behalf of this poor strategy smacks of homerism of the highest order. Let's at least recognize that the Cowboys bet hard on this group of vets as the nucleus for a contender and after 4 years of 8 wins or less in a row, it is very difficult to say that this strategy has been anything short of failure.
They put big extensions on Tony Romo (6/$108m), Jason Witten (5/$37m), Miles Austin (7/$54m), Jay Ratliff (7/$48m), and DeMarcus Ware (7/$78m) over the last several years and if you were honest with yourself, you would have to conclude that it was not close to the return on the investment to the point that Ratliff has been dismissed, Austin will never play another down here, and the clock on the other 3 is expiring rather quickly, it would seem.
Witten and Romo will certainly be back in 2014, at least, and Romo seems secured every opportunity to still have several years left with his back pending, but the Ware run looks like we are at the end of the road now. With a cap number of $16m or just half of that in dead money if they say goodbye (which can then be teased into 2 years of $4m each as a June 1 cut), it now looks like the Cowboys have very little reason to keep going since his productivity has been less than elite recently.
The one argument for the two sides agreeing on rolling this problem over yet again is that this is what Jerry always does. Think about it; name the last beloved Cowboy that was shown the door. If Jerry is guilty of anything, it is loyalty and falling in love with his most decorated soldiers. He seldom ever does the 49ers tradition of saying goodbye a year too soon rather than a year too late. Jerry always says goodbye a year too late and rides his investment all the way down to zero. Last year, in this space, I proposed the shopping of Ware because we knew this day would come - if he ever had even one significant injury, he would be damaged goods and then with that cap number there would be no way to trade him. Instead, you would have to cut him loose and watch someone else snag him for nothing.
But, go down the list. As one Cowboys official told me, we never are able to say goodbye to our favorites before it is too late. That is why he thought ultimately, Jerry would take the easier way out and redo DeMarcus yet again and delay the inevitable for one more year. But, it appears, finally, that Stephen and Jerry have realized that with Sean Lee's new deal done and with Tyron Smith, Dez Bryant, and DeMarco Murray due, it is time to make sure we don't lose a young asset because we couldn't say goodbye to an aging player. I don't like the idea that Ware could return to 12 sacks next season in this league and it will be somewhere else, but at some point, it is best to argue that the current mix wasn't working and that they were given enough time. Ware is a hall of famer and a ring of honor recipient, but that group of Cowboys were just not successful enough and it might be time to turn the page on the era.
This could have been avoided if the team would have been in a better spot last year and not extended Tony Romo. To give him that amount of guaranteed money when they didn't have to seems crazy now, but they decided to do so. As I suggested at the time, I sure didn't see the harm in letting him play out his deal and with the ability to slap the franchise tag on him, you were never going to lose him. Instead, they tried to appease him with over $100 million dollars and a ton guaranteed and now he has significant health concerns. Could you imagine this offseason if his deal expired last month? Would they franchise him needing back surgery? His leverage would have been completely gone and the Cowboys could have walked away. Instead, they would have $41million plus in dead money if he were to be done in 2014 and therefore cannot even imagine what happens if he is seriously at risk with these back problems. The Romo deal is costing them Ware and it didn't need to happen.
But, it did happen and now I believe Ware is gone. He can stay with a significant pay cut, but why should he agree to that? If anyone has earned their money over the last 9 seasons it is him and I would have to side with him and it is certainly not his problem that the Cowboys over spent on a QB that has been treated like an elite NFL QB without ever having to produce those elite results. Perhaps the eulogy of this generation is that they bet hard that they had an elite level QB and lost.
Now, if they do let Ware go, they can fix much of this by not redoing other deals besides Romo. Resist the urge to redo the Carr and Witten deals and therefore take your medicine in 2014 and be out of the woods for the most part right here. Spend the money on your in-house extensions and now your team is spending money on players in their prime and you continue to dig out of this mess. Your next big winner may not have Ware, Witten, or even Romo on it, but that is life in the NFL. You have windows and they don't stay open forever. Ware will be remembered fondly around here, but the absolute right move is to say goodbye and turn this page to the next wave of talent. The group from the Parcells/Phillips era did not get it done. Cut the cord.
=====
Now on to your tweets this week:
mitch aitonâ�@TheAitonMachine
—
—
@SportsSturm are Bernadeau and Leary good enough to move forward with or are we targeting that position in the draft
Mitch, as far as I can tell, the answer to both of those would be "yes". It is a rare treat when the Cowboys actually get out ahead of a salary cap issue and have what is known around the league as "cheap labor". The going rate for a starter on the offensive line is well above what the Cowboys have been paying their 2 guards and now, even though Bernadeau is due a raise to $4 million (thanks partially to restructuring him last spring) they will still have both starting guards for under $5m dollars in 2014 and will have them both under contract for 2015 at a similar rate (although they will have to qualify Ron Leary next spring).
So, now that we have established that they are cheap, let's visit about whether they are good enough. I honestly must tell you that while I would not call them a power of this team, I also seldom pointed to them and called them a weakness. Bernadeau, in particular, raised the level of the offensive line to some extent when Brian Waters left after the Detroit game. I don't know if it was all him (and I suspect it wasn't), but the zone running really took off in November and December. As for Leary, when you take an undrafted free agent with health concerns and get over 1,000 snaps and pay him next to nothing you have to be pleased. Now, does that mean that everything is fine and there is no need to watch his progress carefully? Of course not. But, Leary is a young player who has limitations for sure - pass rush is a battle at all times - and yet there were very few moments this season when something went horribly wrong and it was Ron Leary's fault.
So, in conclusion, if you had to head into next season with these 2 as your starters, you would survive. However, if you find a great guard prospect, you should take him at the right price. And, you cannot forget that Leary's medicals indicate that his career will not last too long, most likely.
