Moore: Sink or swim - If Jerry and his talented crew don’t make it deep into postseason, there will be consequences

[Cotton]

By David Moore

10:35 PM on Aug 28, 2019

Editor's note: The following story is a part of the 2019 Cowboys/NFL preview section, which will be included in print editions of The Dallas Morning News on Thursday, Sept. 5.

Jerry Jones embraces life in a way few can match.

Whether it's upping the value of the Cowboys to astronomical heights or downing a Johnnie Walker Blue, the architect behind the world's most valuable sports franchise is constantly on the move. One of his newest possessions, the Bravo Eugenia, will be docked in South Florida for Super Bowl LIV.

It won't mean nearly as much if his most-prized possession is unable to make the trip.

Jones has acquired much in his 76 years. But for all of the wealth, real estate toys and attention he's accumulated, the accomplishments -- or failures -- of his football team resonate in a way nothing else does.

Yes, Jones recently purchased a 358-foot yacht. It's nice to cruise the Mediterranean when the pavement and business parks of Frisco get too hot. But outside of his family, the owner's true joy sinks or swims with what the Cowboys do on the field.

Jones doesn't freely articulate his Super Bowl expectations the way he once did heading into a season. A 23-year absence has a way of making even the most optimistic of individuals cautious.

But there's a persistent, yet understated, optimism throughout the organization that this team has what it takes to return.

The Bravo Eugenia cost $250 million. It has two helipads, a spa, a gym and 22 cabins to accommodate family, guests and crew. It doesn't have a plank.

If the Cowboys fall short of expectations, it may need one for head coach Jason Garrett.

"I expect us to be a better team, and I think that our personnel supports that,'' Jones said during the news conference to open training camp. "Our experience gained supports that. I'm real impressed with the staff that Jason has put together here. So I expect us to be better.

"Part of that, it should result in maybe advancing our record, or if you will, our place in the playoffs. It should result in that. That's the assumption you make, that if you're a better team and you've put together a sound one that can stay healthy, then you should be able to do better than you did last year.

"That is what I would call success.''

The Cowboys are coming off their third NFC East title in the last five years. Only one team in the NFL has more division titles in that span.

New England.

What do the Cowboys have to show for it? The team has stalled in the divisional round each time.

The nucleus is young. But if the Cowboys fail to get past the second round again, it means quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott have been unable to nudge the team beyond the bar set their rookie seasons. It would indicate a ceiling has been hit.

That's why Garrett enters the final year of his contract.

Stephen Jones believes Garrett remains the right man for the job. But the club's executive vice president has acknowledged repeatedly in recent months that this team needs to push deeper into the postseason.

"I've never seen this team not play hard for him, even in tough situations,'' Stephen Jones said. "I've always seen his teams play hard for Jason all the way to the end, even when we knew in some cases we were out of it. The guys respond well to him. They play hard for him.''

But?

"We've got to take the next step,'' he said.

Seattle. Carolina. Atlanta. Philadelphia. The LA Rams. Those are the five NFC teams to advance to the Super Bowl the last five years.

The Seahawks are the only one of those teams to have won more regular-season games than the Cowboys in that span.

Players and coaches have largely refused to advance the argument that this is their time. They have generally avoided the stance that they are due, or, as their fans would rail, past due.

That's why it was striking recently when linebacker Jaylon Smith casually mentioned how the Cowboys were "on our quest to win the Super Bowl.''

He has no problem saying it out loud?

"That's why we play the game,'' he said. "Any team in the National Football League, if that's not your goal, then you shouldn't be out here. We're focused each and every day on bettering ourselves.''

There's no guarantee this team will reach the NFC Championship Game with a chance to return to the Super Bowl. But the Cowboys appear to be in better position than most in the conference.

Elliott's holdout dominated much of the conversation surrounding the Cowboys in August. An impending extension for Prescott was right behind.

The beauty of Prescott, in the mind of Jerry Jones, is that the contract status of the quarterback in no way impacts his approach to the season.

"Everybody's boat, if we could have that great year, we'd go to the stratosphere, and Dak and I would be riding with it,'' Jerry Jones said.

Jerry Jones will have his yacht in Miami during Super Bowl week one way or the other. Will the team be with him?

If not, there will be consequences.

 

[bbgun]

The rookies wearing floaties

P.S. There will be no consequences for Jerry or any member of his ghastly family, only Red.

 

[Rev]

The rookies wearing floaties

P.S. There will be no consequences for Jerry or any member of his ghastly family, only Red.

Red is part of the family

 

[deadrise]

Maybe it depends on how much of debacle it is. A wild-card spot and one and out? Or a back-door division title and one and out? Or no playoffs at all? I have to think that in any one of those Garrett is gone.

All the Zeke shit notwithstanding, this is a pretty good team. Good coaches figure out how to put that to work.

 

[jsmith6919]

Maybe it depends on how much of debacle it is. A wild-card spot and one and out? Or a back-door division title and one and out? Or no playoffs at all? I have to think that in any one of those Garrett is gone.

All the Zeke shit notwithstanding, this is a pretty good team. Good coaches figure out how to put that to work.

What? You just want to <smack> throw away all that time we spent training Garrett?

 

[ravidubey]

I agree good coaches will find ways to get production.

Defenses have game film on Cooper. They know how to play Zeke.

Other players have to step up, and they need to do so consistently. That’s not Jason Garrett’s strength. Kind of hard to tell what his strength really is.

I feel if the players don’t put on a show, Garrett is incapable of coaching a victory.

And three or four consecutive games in a row against playoff competition... that’s Everest for a guy like Garrett.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Still don't think his seat is even that warm. Jerry's just suggested that because the fans like to believe it's true.

If the team falters, there will be some excuse like there always has been.

 

[Rev]

. That’s not Jason Garrett’s strength. Kind of hard to tell what his strength really is..

He claps like no other.

 

[ravidubey]

Still don't think his seat is even that warm. Jerry's just suggested that because the fans like to believe it's true.

If the team falters, there will be some excuse like there always has been.

He did put his (lack of) money where his mouth is though.

Wasn’t long ago Jerry extended Garrett’s contract just for the masturbation of it.

For him to actually imply Garrett has to earn it and then leave him hanging heading into his final contract year— major steps for Jones.

 

[L.T. Fan]

He did put his (lack of) money where his mouth is though.

Wasn’t long ago Jerry extended Garrett’s contract just for the masturbation of it.

For him to actually imply Garrett has to earn it and then leave him hanging heading into his final contract year— major steps for Jones.

That could be the case or Jones is deliberately putting all things Garrett on the back burner to keep fan clamor down during the regular season.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

He did put his (lack of) money where his mouth is though.

Wasn’t long ago Jerry extended Garrett’s contract just for the masturbation of it.

For him to actually imply Garrett has to earn it and then leave him hanging heading into his final contract year— major steps for Jones.

He did that in 2014, too, though. Jerry's so weird he probably thinks that's a good indication of what will happen this year.

 

[deadrise]

If you define disappointment as not getting deep enough into the playoffs -- conf. championship game? -- or, worse, one and done or no playoffs at all, you have to wonder how Jerry could withstand the scorn of the fans and the local and national media.

The scenario would be this: Jerry's front office loads the team with young, high-priced talent. Look back at the other coaches who took their talented teams to the big game in short order -- McVay, Pederson. If Garrett falls short with this level of talent, the spotlight will turn on both him and Jerry. Pundits all across the land will crucify Garrett as a coach who can't win no matter what. And Jerry becomes the doddering old fool who protects Garrett at any cost. His so-called football acumen becomes even more of a joke than it already is: a stumbling, bumbling old fossil who cares more about hanging on to a boot-licker coach than he does about winning.

Will Jerry stand by and watch that happen?

 

[junk]

Will Jerry stand by and watch that happen?

Ha. Jerry doesn't really care about winning. He pays lip service to it. Gets everyone riled up about Super Bowl talk even though they haven't been a real contender in like 2 decades.

He makes tons of money. Spends near the bottom of the league in actual cash spent. Gives a few players big money contracts then manipulates their contract to inflate the cap hit and actually pay less than basically anyone. Keep Garrett around so he's not "walking on eggshells". Sell a big screen and Cowboys gear to rubes. Profit.

That is your Jones Family Cowboys. Winning ceased to be the primary goal a long time ago.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Ha. Jerry doesn't really care about winning. He pays lip service to it. Gets everyone riled up about Super Bowl talk even though they haven't been a real contender in like 2 decades.

He makes tons of money. Spends near the bottom of the league in actual cash spent. Gives a few players big money contracts then manipulates their contract to inflate the cap hit and actually pay less than basically anyone. Keep Garrett around so he's not "walking on eggshells". Sell a big screen and Cowboys gear to rubes. Profit.

That is your Jones Family Cowboys. Winning ceased to be the primary goal a long time ago.

I don't think that's how the salary cap works.

 

[1bigfan13]

"I expect us to be a better team, and I think that our personnel supports that,'' Jones said during the news conference to open training camp. "Our experience gained supports that. I'm real impressed with the staff that Jason has put together here. So I expect us to be better.

He's right about the talent being there. I've pointed out before that from top to bottom, Cowboys' rosters over the past 10-12 years have generally had equal or more talent than most of the teams that have gone on to appear in conference title games.

The area that continues to hold them back is the coaching staff.

If Garrett does happen to be replaced after this season, it'll be interesting to see if Jerry finally goes after a hot young assistant or an up and coming college coach (Lincoln Riley, maybe) rather than taking the lazy route and settling on a retread or former acquaintance.

 

[L.T. Fan]

He's right about the talent being there. I've pointed out before that from top to bottom, Cowboys' rosters over the past 10-12 years have generally had equal or more talent than most of the teams that have gone on to appear in conference title games.

The area that continues to hold them back is the coaching staff.

If Garrett does happen to be replaced after this season, it'll be interesting to see if Jerry finally goes after a hot young assistant or an up and coming college coach (Lincoln Riley, maybe) rather than taking the lazy route and settling on a retread or former acquaintance.

If it does happen that Garrett goes on down the road it will most probably be new young blood that replaces him. Jones hasn’t had very good luck with experienced types.

 

[ravidubey]

If Garrett falls short with this level of talent, the spotlight will turn on both him and Jerry. Pundits all across the land will crucify Garrett as a coach who can't win no matter what.

There is a built-in excuse right in our own division. The Eagles have similar talent to Dallas’s.

 

[junk]

I don't think that's how the salary cap works.

Sure it is. Dead money? If that eats up your cap, your yearly spend is less.

Dallas has been in a mode of signing a guy to a contract, giving him a bonus and decent yearly salaries. Then on a year by year basis, they restructure and convert salary to bonus. Which is fine.....until the player is cut and the bill comes due. All that restructured bonus money comes due at once.

25th from 2013 to 2016
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/look-nflpa-salary-cap-chart-shows-patriots-are-money-smart-eagles-arent/

30th in 2018
https://overthecap.com/2018-spending-on-nfl-rosters/

So, since 2013 they've been among the bottom of the league on spend. Which is fine, so are the Patriots, but they win doing it.

The narrative that Jerry is constrained by this darn salary cap or is a "win at all" costs owner just doesn't jive with the way they manage their cap and what they spend on salaries.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Sure it is. Dead money? If that eats up your cap, your yearly spend is less.

Dallas has been in a mode of signing a guy to a contract, giving him a bonus and decent yearly salaries. Then on a year by year basis, they restructure and convert salary to bonus. Which is fine.....until the player is cut and the bill comes due. All that restructured bonus money comes due at once.

25th from 2013 to 2016
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/look-nflpa-salary-cap-chart-shows-patriots-are-money-smart-eagles-arent/

30th in 2018
https://overthecap.com/2018-spending-on-nfl-rosters/

So, since 2013 they've been among the bottom of the league on spend. Which is fine, so are the Patriots, but they win doing it.

The narrative that Jerry is constrained by this darn salary cap or is a "win at all" costs owner just doesn't jive with the way they manage their cap and what they spend on salaries.

But you realize that the Cowboys actually spend that money? You can't just rig the money to look like you're spending it and not spend it? It's just that the money was spent in the past and counting against the cap now. We were like someone who charged up all their credit cards and are now trying to pay them all off. Which is about to end since we are pretty much in the clear on most of those bad deals.

 

[junk]

But you realize that the Cowboys actually spend that money? You can't just rig the money to look like you're spending it and not spend it? It's just that the money was spent in the past and counting against the cap now. We were like someone who charged up all their credit cards and are now trying to pay them all off. Which is about to end since we are pretty much in the clear on most of those bad deals.

But if that was the case, it doesn't really account for them being in the bottom of the league in overall spend as far back as 2013.

It is the way signing bonuses are accounted for against the cap. Player gets the money up front, but the bonus hit is spread out against the life of the contract. If that player is cut, it accelerates into that year's cap (or spread against two years if it is designated post June 1). By keeping a rolling portion of your cap allocated to dead money, you spend less on a year by year basis.

Dallas compounds that by renegotiating deals on an almost yearly basis for their stars. Convert a large annual salary into signing bonus. That pushes future year bonuses into cap hits (but not actual money paid). Those little cap bills add up. Either in cap that is allocated to an initial signing bonus or as an acceleration if the player is cut. In either case, it isn't money being paid out in that year.

This article talks about it a little bit. Now maybe this was a byproduct of Romo. Maybe it is something they won't do this with their next round of contracts. Maybe they are going to hold off on some of these restructures (I don't think they did Martin or Smith this year?). Maybe they feel like they've got their cap right now and don't need to do this. But it is definitely something they do that the rest of the league doesn't do and it definitely prevents them from spending as much money on a year to year basis (as far back as 2013).

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24653201/how-dallas-cowboys-wasting-dak-prescott-rookie-deal-salary-cap-nfl-2018