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By: Todd Brock | 44 minutes ago
When things are quiet, assign grades. Whether it’s ranking which team had the best free agency period or which club scored highest in draft picks or who had the most productive/surprising/disappointing minicamp, nothing gets the fanbases chattering (and the click count climbing) during a slow news spell like a comprehensive list that puts all 32 teams in some sort of hierarchy.
With 2019’s offseason work officially over and training camp next on the schedule, ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters broke down how each team fared, placing each on a 4-grade spectrum ranging from “elite” to “too soon to tell.” Perhaps predictably, the Cowboys’ offseason efforts are being called “average.”
Cleveland was the only team to garner an “elite” rating for their offseason, while 10 teams (including Philadelphia, New Orleans, Buffalo, and Detroit) earned an “above average” score. Dallas was one of six teams with an “average” offseason; the value of fifteen franchises’ efforts were labeled “too soon to tell.”
According to Todd Archer, the main goal in Dallas this offseason was to “keep their own,” which the club did. DeMarcus Lawrence’s deal, clearly the priority, was wrapped up in early April. Though the process involved more nail-biting and hand-wringing than most might have preferred, the contract was inked in time for Lawrence to undergo shoulder surgery and still be on track to start Week 1. The timing also allowed the organization to, as Archer points out, “avoid a June franchise tag showdown.”
While to Cowboys Nation, the “keep their own” mantra also includes Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper getting new long-term pacts sooner rather than later, the reality is that all three players are locked in for the coming campaign. It could still happen this offseason for each of them (and likely will for two of them), but none of them are going anywhere in the immediate future; the Cowboys have- as intended- kept their own.
The biggest question still to be answered is, Archer asks, “how quickly can things come together?” Indeed.
“Tight end Jason Witten is back after a one-year stint in the Monday Night Football booth. Sean Lee is switching positions to strong-side linebacker. Travis Frederick is returning after a year off because of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Lawrence (shoulder) and Byron Jones (hip) have a goal to be ready from offseason surgeries by the season opener. That’s a lot of snaps from starters that either did not play in 2018 or did not take part in the offseason program because of injuries. With a difficult close to the regular season, the Cowboys need a fast start if they want to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2006-07.”
It’s a valid point. Weeks 12 through 17 will see the Cowboys facing the defending Super Bowl champ Patriots in Foxborough, Buffalo on Thanksgiving, the Bears in Chicago for a December night game, the Rams, the Eagles in Philadelphia, and Washington. That’s a tough stretch of games, especially late in the season when everybody’s dinged up. It wouldn’t be embarrassing for any team to go 2-4 over that slate. But if the Cowboys enter that gauntlet at anything worse than 7-3, a postseason berth may well be a tough ask.
There are a ton of unknowns in Dallas, mostly on offense. How the Kellen Moore offense really runs once the key is turned remains to be seen. Although optimism is high based on how Prescott looks in practice or whispers of how quickly Randall Cobb has fit in, the truth is that the team likely can’t afford to spend September working out the kinks of a new offensive system.
The offseason may have been “average,” but the story of 2019 will likely depend on the Cowboys coming out of the gates way above average when the regular season kicks off.
When things are quiet, assign grades. Whether it’s ranking which team had the best free agency period or which club scored highest in draft picks or who had the most productive/surprising/disappointing minicamp, nothing gets the fanbases chattering (and the click count climbing) during a slow news spell like a comprehensive list that puts all 32 teams in some sort of hierarchy.
With 2019’s offseason work officially over and training camp next on the schedule, ESPN’s NFL Nation reporters broke down how each team fared, placing each on a 4-grade spectrum ranging from “elite” to “too soon to tell.” Perhaps predictably, the Cowboys’ offseason efforts are being called “average.”
Cleveland was the only team to garner an “elite” rating for their offseason, while 10 teams (including Philadelphia, New Orleans, Buffalo, and Detroit) earned an “above average” score. Dallas was one of six teams with an “average” offseason; the value of fifteen franchises’ efforts were labeled “too soon to tell.”
According to Todd Archer, the main goal in Dallas this offseason was to “keep their own,” which the club did. DeMarcus Lawrence’s deal, clearly the priority, was wrapped up in early April. Though the process involved more nail-biting and hand-wringing than most might have preferred, the contract was inked in time for Lawrence to undergo shoulder surgery and still be on track to start Week 1. The timing also allowed the organization to, as Archer points out, “avoid a June franchise tag showdown.”
While to Cowboys Nation, the “keep their own” mantra also includes Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, and Amari Cooper getting new long-term pacts sooner rather than later, the reality is that all three players are locked in for the coming campaign. It could still happen this offseason for each of them (and likely will for two of them), but none of them are going anywhere in the immediate future; the Cowboys have- as intended- kept their own.
The biggest question still to be answered is, Archer asks, “how quickly can things come together?” Indeed.
“Tight end Jason Witten is back after a one-year stint in the Monday Night Football booth. Sean Lee is switching positions to strong-side linebacker. Travis Frederick is returning after a year off because of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Lawrence (shoulder) and Byron Jones (hip) have a goal to be ready from offseason surgeries by the season opener. That’s a lot of snaps from starters that either did not play in 2018 or did not take part in the offseason program because of injuries. With a difficult close to the regular season, the Cowboys need a fast start if they want to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2006-07.”
It’s a valid point. Weeks 12 through 17 will see the Cowboys facing the defending Super Bowl champ Patriots in Foxborough, Buffalo on Thanksgiving, the Bears in Chicago for a December night game, the Rams, the Eagles in Philadelphia, and Washington. That’s a tough stretch of games, especially late in the season when everybody’s dinged up. It wouldn’t be embarrassing for any team to go 2-4 over that slate. But if the Cowboys enter that gauntlet at anything worse than 7-3, a postseason berth may well be a tough ask.
There are a ton of unknowns in Dallas, mostly on offense. How the Kellen Moore offense really runs once the key is turned remains to be seen. Although optimism is high based on how Prescott looks in practice or whispers of how quickly Randall Cobb has fit in, the truth is that the team likely can’t afford to spend September working out the kinks of a new offensive system.
The offseason may have been “average,” but the story of 2019 will likely depend on the Cowboys coming out of the gates way above average when the regular season kicks off.