Cowboys Free Agency Thread

Stasheroo

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As depth-poor as the entire roster is, they really need to get out of this habit and join the rest of the NFL in getting their OL depth from more reasonable sources. We have had a strong OL for years and it has barely moved the needle. How about pumping resources into another positional group to shore it up for a change.
I agree, the huge investment on the offensive line and running back never paid off as much as they should have.
 

Simpleton

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I agree, the huge investment on the offensive line and running back never paid off as much as they should have.
Hard to say if this is true or not considering who has been coaching this team.

One could easily argue that an average/above average coach like a Ron Rivera or Gary Kubiak could've taken that 2016 team to the Super Bowl, let alone an elite coach like a Reid, Shannahan, McVay, etc.
 

mcnuttz

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Stasheroo

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Hard to say if this is true or not considering who has been coaching this team.
Regardless of Garrett's impact, the offensive line was never the overwhelmingly dominant force that they were intended to be, or should have been based on investment. A line comprised entirely of 1st and 2nd round draft picks along with a #4 overall 1st round pick at running back, and they were stopped all too often when it mattered most. That's inexcusable to me.

One could easily argue that an average/above average coach like a Ron Rivera or Gary Kubiak could've taken that 2016 team to the Super Bowl, let alone an elite coach like a Reid, Shannahan, McVay, etc.
I'm not talking about overall team results, I'm talking about the offensive line and running game specifically.
 

Simpleton

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Regardless of Garrett's impact, the offensive line was never the overwhelmingly dominant force that they were intended to be, or should have been based on investment. A line comprised entirely of 1st and 2nd round draft picks along with a #4 overall 1st round pick at running back, and they were stopped all too often when it mattered most. That's inexcusable to me.



I'm not talking about overall team results, I'm talking about the offensive line and running game specifically.
They were completely dominant in 2014 and 2016 and generally very good to excellent most of the rest of the time.

In 2015 Romo was out, not to mention we had McFadden starting at RB, 2017 Elliott missed half the year plus I believe Tyron missed a good amount of time and 2018 Frederick was out all season. Sure, maybe they should've been more dominant last year but the team was a dysfunctional mess as soon as they started playing any half-decent opponents.

Murray led the league in rushing in 2014, damn near got 2,000 yards and broke the single-season Cowboys record, while Elliott led the league in rushing in 2016 and 2018. Hell, even dickhead McFadden was top 5 in the league in rushing in 2015.

When they were all together and firing on all cylinders they were completely dominant and if we didn't have a complete dickhead at HC we would've 100% made the Super Bowl either in 2014 or 2016. I'm not sure what it is exactly that you think is "overwhelmingly dominant" but it's probably something that's completely unrealistic to do year in and year out in the NFL.
 

NoDak

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Hard to say if this is true or not considering who has been coaching this team.

One could easily argue that an average/above average coach like a Ron Rivera or Gary Kubiak could've taken that 2016 team to the Super Bowl, let alone an elite coach like a Reid, Shannahan, McVay, etc.
Exactly right. And without the investment in the OL and RB, Garrett would more than likely been hanging around his 8-8 or less every year.

Kind of a double edged sword. Nice that it kept us competitive, but horrible that it allowed that POS Garrett to remain as HC as long as he did.
 

Simpleton

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Exactly right. And without the investment in the OL and RB, Garrett would more than likely been hanging around his 8-8 or less every year.

Kind of a double edged sword. Nice that it kept us competitive, but horrible that it allowed that POS Garrett to remain as HC as long as he did.
Yea he would've definitely been fired years earlier, and as best as I can remember it was Linehan who forced Garrett/Romo into being more run-oriented in 2014.
 

P_T

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Hard to say if this is true or not considering who has been coaching this team.

One could easily argue that an average/above average coach like a Ron Rivera or Gary Kubiak could've taken that 2016 team to the Super Bowl, let alone an elite coach like a Reid, Shannahan, McVay, etc.
Is he really in the elite class?
 

Stasheroo

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They were completely dominant in 2014 and 2016 and generally very good to excellent most of the rest of the time.

In 2015 Romo was out, not to mention we had McFadden starting at RB, 2017 Elliott missed half the year plus I believe Tyron missed a good amount of time and 2018 Frederick was out all season. Sure, maybe they should've been more dominant last year but the team was a dysfunctional mess as soon as they started playing any half-decent opponents.

Murray led the league in rushing in 2014, damn near got 2,000 yards and broke the single-season Cowboys record, while Elliott led the league in rushing in 2016 and 2018. Hell, even dickhead McFadden was top 5 in the league in rushing in 2015.

When they were all together and firing on all cylinders they were completely dominant and if we didn't have a complete dickhead at HC we would've 100% made the Super Bowl either in 2014 or 2016. I'm not sure what it is exactly that you think is "overwhelmingly dominant" but it's probably something that's completely unrealistic to do year in and year out in the NFL.
Overwhelmingly dominant" would be the 90's Cowboys offensive lines. Who imposed their will and there wasn't a damn thing other teams could do about it. They knew what was coming and still couldn't stop it. That line was money on short yardage and goalline too, this group, as good as they were, haven't been.
 

Stasheroo

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2016 was about as dominant a season I can recall outside of, say the '92 - '95 units.
Those were the ones I was referring to, the benchmark. Our line has been very good and at times, best in the league, but in my opinion, never as dominating as those '90's lines.
 

UncleMilti

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Those were the ones I was referring to, the benchmark. Our line has been very good and at times, best in the league, but in my opinion, never as dominating as those '90's lines.
Sad how such a great OL has been reduced down in such a short amount of time. Smith is still decent but a shell of himself, Fredrick is gone, Martin has caught the knee/ankle injury bug and then his back. Williams supposedly bulked up but still got pushed around. They will need to start drafting OL this season, and the next few seasons will probably have to rebuild the talent that Garrett wasted.
 
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