Cowboys Free Agency Thread

[p1_]

L 34-30 vs. Detroit Lions (2011: Week 4)
8 OF 10
You take your pick which one of Tony Romo’s interception touchdowns was the worse play.
He marched the Dallas Cowboys out to an overwhelming 27-3 lead against an undefeated Detroit Lions team before suffering a colossal choke.
First, Romo was picked by former teammate Bobby Carpenter, who took it 34 yards for a touchdown. Minutes later, Romo was intercepted by cornerback Chris Houston, who took this one 56 yards for a touchdown.
The Lions went on to win by four, sacking Romo late in the game to preserve the victory.

so little time....

 

[boozeman]

L 34-30 vs. Detroit Lions (2011: Week 4)
8 OF 10
You take your pick which one of Tony Romo’s interception touchdowns was the worse play.
He marched the Dallas Cowboys out to an overwhelming 27-3 lead against an undefeated Detroit Lions team before suffering a colossal choke.
First, Romo was picked by former teammate Bobby Carpenter, who took it 34 yards for a touchdown. Minutes later, Romo was intercepted by cornerback Chris Houston, who took this one 56 yards for a touchdown.
The Lions went on to win by four, sacking Romo late in the game to preserve the victory.

Just fucking imagine if Prescott did this.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

 

[jsmith6919]

Bears vs. Cowboys: Tony Romo Throws 5 INT as Chicago Cruises to 34-18 Win
IAN HANFORD

The Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys 34-18 Monday night, due in large part to Tony Romo's seemingly endless number of giveaways.

Romo would wind up with five interceptions, but this picture sums up his night in every way:

The Cowboys offense was a mess overall, with a futile score in the final minute making the game look closer than it was. Dez Bryant dropped several critical passes and DeMarco Murray couldn't find space—but it's the quarterback's responsibility to pick his team up at some point.

The Cowboys' game effectively ended with just around 8:30 remaining. Romo tried to hit Miles Austin on a slant over the middle, but threw his fourth interception of the game instead.


The game started slow. No one scored until the second quarter, when Robbie Gould got the Bears on the board with a 43-yard goal.

On the following drive, Tony Romo tried to draw Dallas back even, only to find Charles Tillman on the receiving end of his pass. Dez Bryant appeared to run the wrong route, and the miscommunication resulted in Tillman's 25-yard waltz into the end zone.

If it feels like you've seen Tillman do that before, you're probably right. Check out this tidbit from ESPN Stats & Info:

 

[bbgun]

 

[data]

Here’s a forgotten oldie.

‘Lollipop’

Man, the arguments we’d have over that...

 

[Cotton]

 

[Cotton]

Pay attention, Cowboys.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yeah I always liked him. I would love him on a cheap prove it deal.

 

[boozeman]

 

[junk]

I brought this up before and someone argued with me about it. Dallas doesn't spend, but is masterful at creating the impression that Jerry would do anything to win except for that darn salary cap.

I don't think they are dumb, they know how to make money. So I have to think their dumb cap manipulation is just a way to control yearly salary costs.

 

[boozeman]

I brought this up before and someone argued with me about it. Dallas doesn't spend, but is masterful at creating the impression that Jerry would do anything to win except for that darn salary cap.

I don't think they are dumb, they know how to make money. So I have to think their dumb cap manipulation is just a way to control yearly salary costs.

They could afford to build whatever team they wanted to build but yet the narrative is they can't pay everyone.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

They could afford to build whatever team they wanted to build but yet the narrative is they can't pay everyone.

I mean the thing is the way the caps designed you can basically charge the credit cards to the max with no real repercussion. Shifting money from one year to the next is cake. There is so much flexibility that the cap doesn't matter all that much.

But ultimately the cap reflects what you spend. It just doesn't reflect what you actually spend in a year. You could spend a fortune in 2019 and have it all hit the cap down the road. Looks like nothing on the cap now but shows up later. Then later you could spend very little while you still look like you're tight against the cap. Ultimately that money is spent at one time or another.

If I were a GM with a competitive team I'd charge the credit cards and then not pay the bills until you're back in rebuilding mode with a QB on a rookie deal. Wash rinse and repeat.

 

[ravidubey]

These things are cyclical. Teams that hit on draft picks, especially at QB, spend less overall. Some teams overspend recklessly.

Dallas signed several big deals, like Dez, before 2016. They got Cooper in a trade still on his rookie contract.

This article is cashing in by finding an exact window where a popular team like Dallas hit on a bunch of draft picks including Dak.

It’s all about to change as Zeke, Cooper, Dak, and many other deals all hit hard in the next couple of years. We’ve also whiffed in the draft lately which will force the cycle the other direction as we have to sign FAs to compensate.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

These things are cyclical. Teams that hit on draft picks, especially at QB, spend less overall. Some teams overspend recklessly.

Dallas signed several big deals, like Dez, before 2016. They got Cooper in a trade still on his rookie contract.

This article is cashing in by finding an exact window where a popular team like Dallas hit on a bunch of draft picks including Dak.

It’s all about to change as Zeke, Cooper, Dak, and many other deals all hit hard in the next couple of years. We’ve also whiffed in the draft lately which will force the cycle the other direction as we have to sign FAs to compensate.

I agree. It's a window where we already handed out all the big deals. Including the Oline. All that reworking of contracts kept the cash low but our cap numbers higher. We have 70 mil in cap space now as a result but now we will be spending some money.

 

[Stasheroo]

These things are cyclical. Teams that hit on draft picks, especially at QB, spend less overall. Some teams overspend recklessly.

Dallas signed several big deals, like Dez, before 2016. They got Cooper in a trade still on his rookie contract.

This article is cashing in by finding an exact window where a popular team like Dallas hit on a bunch of draft picks including Dak.

It’s all about to change as Zeke, Cooper, Dak, and many other deals all hit hard in the next couple of years. We’ve also whiffed in the draft lately which will force the cycle the other direction as we have to sign FAs to compensate.

I'm glad you mentioned the recent whiffs in the draft. We've quickly gone from 'drafting well' to drafting terribly. And those recent misses should - key word should - force the team's hand to have to spend in free agency to make up for them.

Passed on TJ Watt for Taco (fuck you Marinelli!) and then had to trade for Quinn. And now you have to pay your best pass rusher big bucks in free agency.

Again, thanks to the 'defensive line whisperer', they have nothing at defensive tackle either and they have to spend there.

 

[Couchcoach]

Pay attention, Cowboys.

It's like the Jones' don't know how to balance this concept. We used to bring in FA's and grossly overpay. And actually some were damn good.
Now we refuse to sign guys who will make an impact. So here we are, maintaining the status quo. Keeping our own players on board year after year, and relying only on the draft. And that would be great if we were contenders. But we're not!
I know free agency is dicey, but damn!!

 

[boozeman]

I brought this up before and someone argued with me about it. Dallas doesn't spend, but is masterful at creating the impression that Jerry would do anything to win except for that darn salary cap.

I don't think they are dumb, they know how to make money. So I have to think their dumb cap manipulation is just a way to control yearly salary costs.

The cap is still not something the average fan gets. Even the ones who think they do say that the Cowboys can afford anyone.

That is true. But spending in free agency is a choice and we will always do what is best for the family coffers.

 

[junk]

These things are cyclical. Teams that hit on draft picks, especially at QB, spend less overall. Some teams overspend recklessly.

Dallas signed several big deals, like Dez, before 2016. They got Cooper in a trade still on his rookie contract.

This article is cashing in by finding an exact window where a popular team like Dallas hit on a bunch of draft picks including Dak.

It’s all about to change as Zeke, Cooper, Dak, and many other deals all hit hard in the next couple of years. We’ve also whiffed in the draft lately which will force the cycle the other direction as we have to sign FAs to compensate.

Not really. They've been doing it for years.

Here is 2001:

Pasquarelli: Big disparity in payrolls

The big disparity in payrolls in the NFL shows that there are many ways for owners to spend money.

www.espn.com

Here is 2013 to 2016 (25th)

LOOK: NFLPA salary cap chart shows Patriots are money smart, Eagles aren't

Here's a look at how much each NFL team has spent since 2013

www.cbssports.com

2017 (last)

The truth about whether the Cowboys are cheap or big spenders

The Dallas Cowboys have a league-wide reputation as big spenders. But the numbers from 2017 say otherwise.The Cowboys spent less money than any...

www.dallasnews.com

2018 (29th)

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/nfl/dallas-cowboys/article219014330.html

I mean the Patriots don't spend much either and win, so spending isn't a sure fire guarantee of success, but I think the narrative that Jerry would "spend whatever it takes" hasn't been true in a while. They are a business first.

 

[ravidubey]

Nice research, junk, and it proves the point.

Your payroll is low when you’ve got signing bonuses or dead money on the cap and/or are paying players on rookie deals, or JAGs.

2001 Cowboys had some bad dead money contracts, including Troy Aikman who ate up 10 million of cap space but not one dime of payroll. LOW

Dallas finally got out of cap Hell when Parcells arrived and started signing friends of Bill. When more cap space opened they signed Fergy, Henry, and Marco Rivera all at once. This covered some bad drafts from before Parcells arrival. HIGH

Dallas has been one of the best drafting teams since 2013 but was bad in the years before then. They’ve focused on keeping their own since, and outside of a crazy 15 million spent on Greg Hardy, they were able to avoid wasteful bidding wars team like the Eagles are always in the thick of and remain competitive.

2018 they had Romo completely off the books and Dak and Zeke still on rookie deals making the playoffs on the strength of the OL. They even added a #1 WR in Cooper still on his rookie deal.

The Steelers has 29 million spent on just two players in Ben and Antonio alone in 2017.

2020 will be a huge payroll year with Dak, Cooper, and Zeke’s big money kicking in. HIGH cycle again.

What needs to be tracked is the payroll over a solid decade coupled with how far under the cap each team was each year.

Even that doesn’t account for years in which no free agents worth signing were available when the team had space.

 

[Cotton]

Championship.