Phillips: Rebuilding and Contending? Cowboys Continue To Want Both

[hstour]

I just look at the deal TJ Ward got and it is an example of rebuilding through the draft...4 for 23 for a young guy who is coming into his own. Those are the types of deals that make you competitive now and in the future. Some are win now signings, but not all have to be. TB is a great example of a team who rebuilt in a hurry and those players will be productive for quite some time.

Wasn't the same thing being said last year with all of Tampa's spending in free agency? Now to be fair, maybe it is a matter of getting all those parts melded together but it didn't translate into immediate success.

 

[Deuce]

Wasn't the same thing being said last year with all of Tampa's spending in free agency? Now to be fair, maybe it is a matter of getting all those parts melded together but it didn't translate into immediate success.

Some of the individual players they brought in had immediate success but with their QB situation and Neanderthal coach it was hard to win games.

 

[Carp]

Wasn't the same thing being said last year with all of Tampa's spending in free agency? Now to be fair, maybe it is a matter of getting all those parts melded together but it didn't translate into immediate success.

Be dense if you want, but that team got better in a hurry through FA...and did not really break the bank.

 

[boozeman]

Defensive end Andre Branch: Could The Windmill be training camp trade bait? There weren’t any takers last preseason, but he had five sacks in the last eight games and his work ethic improved. But the Jaguars have Chris Clemons, Jason Babin and, on third down, Watson. Depending on the draft, Branch could get squeezed out.

Could be an option since we seem so intrigued by Jaguars castoffs.

 

[Clay_Allison]

Could be an option since we seem so intrigued by Jaguars castoffs.

His production last year wasn't awful for a non-starter. I'm surprised they would want to give up on a second rounder with even a little pass rush ability.

 

[hstour]

Be dense if you want, but that team got better in a hurry through FA...and did not really break the bank.

Not trying to be dense. But in 2011 TB was 4-12. In 2012, with the additions, they were 7-9. That is absolutely an improvement. But with further additions in 2013, they reverted to 4-12. How is it that they "got better in a hurry?"

But if the same were applied to the Cowboys, it would often be spun as "they spent all this money and only improved by 3 games. Total failure."

I'm not saying either is correct, but seeing the same measuring stick used in both situations would be nice.

As for not breaking the bank, they paid out:

2012
WR - Vincent Jackson - 5yrs $55M
OG - Carl Nicks - 5yrs $47.5M
CB - Erik Wright - 5yrs $37.5M
QB - Dan Orlovsky - 2yrs $2.5M

2013
S - Dashon Gholston - 5yrs $41.75M
LB - Jonathan Castillas - 1yr $1.4M
WR - Kevin Ogletree - 2yr $2.6M

Between those two years, they laid out a good bit of salary cap commitment.

 

[Carp]

Their coach and QB sucked. Those additions, plus this years excellent FA crop make them very dangerous.

 

[hstour]

So it's not that they got better in a hurry, it's that they are now very dangerous?