Sturm: Dissecting the Cowboys - Understanding 4-year conveyor belt of NFL roster building

[Cowboysrock55]

Sorry, who????

Paxton Lynch

 

[shoop]

Paxton Lynch

And then Connor Cook in the 3rd

 

[boozeman]

Sorry, who????

Paxton Lynch.

 

[p1_]

Jerry named his grandson after Lynch.

 

[ravidubey]

Dak is better than Wentz and Smith, that's kind of the difference.

Based on what, though?

The Dak that could still run through a brick wall and not get hurt, maybe. This tentative Dak who gets hurt and throws all the picks… not so much.

Smith and Mahomes was not as good an analogy as Smith and Kaepernick.

Dak is objectively not that great. Cooper Rush came in and win games with this team. He made throws vs Cincinnati that were more clutch than we saw from Dak last season. I’m not saying he is better than Dak— clearly Rush is not— but he was good enough to lose only a single start.

It doesn’t take a lot of talent for a QB to win a lot of games in the regular season with this team, especially with the easy schedule we had in 2022.

We need a guy who can do more, and seven seasons tells us Dak isn’t that guy.

Instead of drafting someone to at least challenge Dak, like good franchises do, the Cowboys do the opposite in throwing him more guaranteed money.

Jimmy Johnson brought in Steve Walsh to compete with Aikman and kept Beuerlein in as starter well after Troy got healthy enough to play because the team was bigger than Troy or his ego.

 

[son of deadrise]

Paxton Lynch

I wrote in a previous post that the silver bullet is not necessarily betting the ranch by trading up for some hot shot in the first round, More often than not the percentages are against you. Hurts was 2nd round, Rodgers lasted til #26 in the first round. Wilson was 3rd round. As raviddubey points out above, it's more a matter never being satisfied with the status quo. Especially in this case when the status quo is most likely not going to take you to the promised land.

Levis lasted till the 2nd round. And he could sit for a year or more watching and learning. Meanwhile Dak gets the message. But Jerry doesn't like upsetting his pet cats. He just hangs on to them, paying them more and more, adding to the 30 year drought.

 

[Cotton]

Dak was a 4th round pick. An afterthought. Hurts was a 2nd, Rodgers, Allen and Mahomes were 1st rounders. The point being that those teams were looking ahead, knowing that what they had was not going to cut it for long. Churn and burn. Out with old, in with the new. Something the good organizations are doing, but is totally beyond Dumb and Dumber's comprehension.

Drafting Dak was not an afterthought. We were trying to go QB way earlier than the 4th and they didn't get to us. We had the thought of QB early in that draft, so obviously we saw it as a need.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Drafting Dak was not an afterthought. We were trying to go QB way earlier than the 4th and they didn't get to us. We had the thought of QB early in that draft, so obviously we saw it as a need.

I think we almost took a QB this year too. I think we wanted Aidan O'connell.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I think we almost took a QB this year too. I think we wanted Aidan O'connell.

Yep, the talk was that McCarthy liked him a lot.

I don't see it. I don't understand taking these late round guys that you can see don't have the raw ability to be a good starter, unless I guess you just need a backup.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Yep, the talk was that McCarthy liked him a lot.

I don't see it. I don't understand taking these late round guys that you can see don't have the raw ability to be a good starter, unless I guess you just need a backup.

It's funny how that was like the second offensive player McCarthy wanted. Not a RB prospect, not a dynamic WR, not an offensive guard. He wanted what I think will be a career backup at QB.

Of course I thought Dak would make for a good backup NFL QB when we drafted him, so what do I know.

 

[boozeman]

I think we almost took a QB this year too. I think we wanted Aidan O'connell.

And that would been a horrible pick. While I did find it funny they talked about drafting a guy and they didn’t. But this was really not the year to force it either.

 

[son of deadrise]

Every scouting report I saw graded O'Connell as a backup, which is immaterial because they didn't draft a QB anyway. But it goes to show where they set their sights. Jerry would never hurt the feelings of his pet cat QB—just keep paying him more as he lets you down year after year.

 

[Cotton]

Jerry would never hurt the feelings of his pet cat QB

He did it with Romo.

I can't believe you're making me defend Jerry fucking Jones.

 

[ravidubey]

He did it with Romo.

I can't believe you're making me defend Jerry fucking Jones.

Agree. It was clear Romo was nearing the end, couldn’t be relied on to stay healthy, and given the toss-up backup QB market they needed a guy who be a backup in 2016 and groomed as an eventual starter.

They tried hard to get Lynch and several others before Dak.

… Anyways, if Dak can’t get them over the hump yet again this year you have to look at a QB early in the draft in 2024. Put the pressure on, and if Dak actually does respond you can trade the draftee in the future. He can also be a better backup next 1-3 years than Rush if Dak gets hurt again.

Bottom line, we can’t see a third consecutive playoff meltdown by the QB without consequences.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Anyways, if Dak can’t get them over the hump yet again this year you have to look at a QB early in the draft in 2024.

I think more relevant than that is the fact that Dak gets hurt. Not as bad as Romo at the end of his career but Dak has missed games over the last few years. Just having a young guy who can come in the way Dak did for Romo is actually pretty important.

 

[ZeroClub]

I'm surprised by the number of times Kellen Moore isn't mentioned in this thread. Not that it matters. The thing that matters now is next year.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I'm surprised by the number of times Kellen Moore isn't mentioned in this thread. Not that it matters. The thing that matters now is next year.

I mean we are basically dealing with the same issue we saw with Romo. So seeing this team rid of the Garrett staff finally next year is going to be a good test.

 

[Cotton]

I'm surprised by the number of times Kellen Moore isn't mentioned in this thread. Not that it matters. The thing that matters now is next year.

He is irrelevant now. Hell, he was pretty much irrelevant when he was here.

 

[son of deadrise]

He did it with Romo.

I can't believe you're making me defend Jerry fucking Jones.

The whole time Romo was the QB they never had a QB waiting in the wings who was intended as anything other then a backup. Romo's back injury sidelined him for 10 games. Everyone took a deep breath with a rookie 4th-round pick filling in, but the Cowboys got lucky and caught lightning in a bottle with Dak (temporarily) and that was it for Romo, who graciously bowed out and then retired the next year.

Now it's the same situation: a QB in Dak who gets hurt a fair amount and goes limp in the big games -- and no QB in the pipeline, no QB who could possibly threaten Dak's starting job.

And besides, it's impossible to defend Jerry fucking Jones. Everything about him is fucking indefensible.

 

[son of deadrise]

Agree. It was clear Romo was nearing the end, couldn’t be relied on to stay healthy, and given the toss-up backup QB market they needed a guy who be a backup in 2016 and groomed as an eventual starter.

They tried hard to get Lynch and several others before Dak.

… Anyways, if Dak can’t get them over the hump yet again this year you have to look at a QB early in the draft in 2024. Put the pressure on, and if Dak actually does respond you can trade the draftee in the future. He can also be a better backup next 1-3 years than Rush if Dak gets hurt again.

Bottom line, we can’t see a third consecutive playoff meltdown by the QB without consequences.

Sure you can. Just watch.