Thanks for "all" you write, not just the Cowboys content. That being said, I'd go left side, the bargain bin, that is where this team will shop. As infuriating as the owner is to me, I can't seem to stop caring entirely.
What do you think it would take for us not to be invested in the Cowboys? For as bad as the Jones family has been at managing player contracts, free agency, and an overall failure to spend money on player contracts, the fans still support this team. I'm disappointed in all of us, frankly.
I think Jerry will spend money, for me it is more his self promotion at the expense of everything, including winning. As far as what it would take for us to quit, I think those of us who are older will have a hard time. I think maybe younger people will naturally start to see through the hype when there are no results to justify it. Jerry is a great salesman, he knows how to market with the best of them, so maybe it goes forever. Getting enough people to see reality and stop buying into what they are being sold is something society hasn't figured out yet.
I can just tell you for myself, it was Bob’s article about how little Dallas spends compared to the rest of the league. I don’t know how Jerry is still mentioned as the big spending, free-wheeler. He is a lot closer to Mike Brown than any of us knew. I’ve been a Cowboys fan since the late 70’s and had a birthday party scheduled for the SB before ‘The Catch’ happened, so I’m am not a fair weather fan. But Jerry refusing to spend anything on the team is more than I can take. I live in Houston now and watching the Texans go all in this offseason has been jarring. Trading for Diggs and Mixon, signing Hunter, Al-Shair and Autry, resigning Schultz. That is what all in looks like to me. Texans have spent $155M this offseason and they will easily blow past the chump change Jerry spends. I’ll always follow the team, but I’m not diehard any more. Why should I continue to care more than the Jones family?
The Jones run one gell of a successful business, but not a serious championship level football team. Great point on Houston, Jerry probably doesn't even have the best football team in the State now.
Living n D/FW since the Meredith days, my fandom runs deep. However all 3 of my boys have already vacated to greener pastures. Their other sports loyalties have stayed local…
Left side, please -- and, truly, thank you for the contemplative reader engagement. You spotted a likely coverage gap and asked for meaningful feedback due to time constraints. The content here is already tremendous, but that type of reader-driven thoughtfulness makes this Substack even better.
"Make us care, Cowboys." Exactly. The Jones family now treats the entire offseason as a break, so it only makes sense that the coverage of the team takes a break, too. It really is a shame that Jerry and Stephen suffer no consequences for failing to win in the postseason. Plus, a normal front office might see the success/rise of the Rangers, Stars and Mavs and think that it might be time to start pulling their own weight around town.
Bob's three-round mock is much better than I expect the Cowboys to do. I'll be shocked if they don't reach for an offensive tackle in round one, even if JPJ is still on the board. If Benson or Wright are still available within 5-8 spots of the Cowboys' third round selection, as was the case in Bob's simulation, I'd love to see a trade up to get a good RB. I know they're already short picks this year, but giving up late round picks to move up a handful of spots to get your guy seems like a wise move. Aggressive moves to improve the on-field product aren't exactly a hallmark of this front office, though.
Profile the guys on the left please. You can always do a piece on the rookie qbs over the summer, but the more info I have about the guys Dallas drafts the more I enjoy draft day.
Left column for sure for predraft. BTW I still subscribe to the Athletic but it is a huge disappointment now, they have no regular Stars/Mavs/Rangers stories (just mentions of them but they don't seem to have any writer for them), I only keep it for The Beast draft write up which is excellent and the Cowboys coverage. Thank you for covering all of them, this is a much better experience and by yourself you are doing what all of the Athletic writers for our teams did collectively, excellent job Bob.
Bob, you should have taken Kiran Amegadjie in the second round. I have done the study, and once you get over the fact that he is a small school prospect you will see he was suitably man-amongst-boys type dominant. He has long, long arms, agilty, explosiveness, and is beastly strong. I know you don’t like mock drafts but if you run them patterns emerge. 1. If the tackles are wiped out, then a really good player will fall and it will be interesting to see if they can break the tackle tunnel vision they currently have. They couldn’t break DT and TE tunnel vision last year and we got Mazi and Scoony. (It sucks when the best things you can say about your first and second round picks is they have cool names). That was with better player available. This year I am suggesting we don’t take a OT unless someone with a strong first round grade is there. There will be a lockdown corner or game breaking wide receiver or pass rushing 3 tech or DE available. About receivers, I am tired of watching SF hold our offense down with their dominant defense until their magnificent offense breaks though. It’s easy for them because they just have to take Cee Dee out of the game and Dallas has no one else that can win 1 on 1. (SF has 4 elite offense weapons that can DOMINATE 1 on 1, Dallas only has Cee Dee). Do we really expect any rookie tackle or center is going to change that equation? We need more game breaking offensive weapons and Dallas isn’t going to find them in round 3. Names that might be available in the first include Brian Thomas Jr, Keon Coleman and Adonai Mitchell among others; and then one of Amegadjie, Paul, and Suamataia should be available in round 2 to satisfy the Joneses OT jones. Seriously, how can we expect to beat the SFs of the world without a significant upgrade in offensive skill player talent? We had the best tackle in football playing last year, is a rookie left tackle going to somehow unlock the offense in a way that Tyron couldn’t? IMO Dallas really needs to come out of this draft with a dominant WR and one of the electric RBs you wrote up for the 60
If the Cowboys don’t get some O-line help, it won’t matter how many playmakers they have. They couldn’t run the ball on SF last year, and the line has more holes this year and Zack Martin is a year older.. if Dak is under constant pressure, even Jerry Rice wouldn’t have time to get open.
It’s not sexy but you build a team from the inside out.
I understand the philosophy of “building through the trenches” and don’t disagree with it but the offensive line was not the problem last year. The lack of offensive skill players was. I had high hopes when Cooks showed up, but last year Dallas didn’t have any one other than Cee Dee that caused the opposing defense any sleepless moments. Dallas needs top offensive skill players to counter the top defenses in the league or what has changed? Can we expect rookie linemen to make the difference? The opposing defense having to worry about another player that demands double coverage will make a difference. Another thing to consider, what if Cee Dee gets hurt? Do you think Cooks and Ferguson are going to get it done? I repeat, Dallas has a dire need for offensive skill players right now.
In the first round especially it makes sense not to draft a center and maybe even guard. Consider what Dallas saved having 5 years control over Cee Dee Lamb vs 5 years with Tyler Smith or a center? Top wide receivers salaries are rapidly heading north of 30 million. Top centers get half that, guards a little more. Cee Dee is going to break the bank partly because Dak had to target him at such a high rate his stats look ridiculous, and he will be paid accordingly. If you love Powers-Johnson (I do) wait a few years and pick him up for half of what a top WR, CB or edge will cost as a free agent.
You make a good case. I still don’t agree totally, but I agree we need at least one more game breaker. I’m thinking Ferguson is on the brink of reaching that level. I love his violent running style. Running back is more of a need to me than receiver. If we can fix the line and get a good back, we can get by with the wideouts we have for another year. If the line’s not fixed , then there won’t be time for anything but dinks and dunks. The defense will collapse to the line of scrimmage and shut down any semblance of a running game.
Left side list please. As much as I would love to see your profiles of the Longhorns on the right side, I want to see the guys that are more realistic Cowboys targets.
And at the same time the Jones family have once again put themselves in a position to not get the opportunity to draft the right side by winning football games
One other thought could be to be sure you looked at all of the 30 day visit players and maybe the Dallas day visits as many of their picks and undrafted free agents come from those
Left side Bob. However, it says SturmStack on the header, not MarkStack so you do you and we'll read it. ;-)
Thanks for "all" you write, not just the Cowboys content. That being said, I'd go left side, the bargain bin, that is where this team will shop. As infuriating as the owner is to me, I can't seem to stop caring entirely.
What do you think it would take for us not to be invested in the Cowboys? For as bad as the Jones family has been at managing player contracts, free agency, and an overall failure to spend money on player contracts, the fans still support this team. I'm disappointed in all of us, frankly.
I think Jerry will spend money, for me it is more his self promotion at the expense of everything, including winning. As far as what it would take for us to quit, I think those of us who are older will have a hard time. I think maybe younger people will naturally start to see through the hype when there are no results to justify it. Jerry is a great salesman, he knows how to market with the best of them, so maybe it goes forever. Getting enough people to see reality and stop buying into what they are being sold is something society hasn't figured out yet.
I can just tell you for myself, it was Bob’s article about how little Dallas spends compared to the rest of the league. I don’t know how Jerry is still mentioned as the big spending, free-wheeler. He is a lot closer to Mike Brown than any of us knew. I’ve been a Cowboys fan since the late 70’s and had a birthday party scheduled for the SB before ‘The Catch’ happened, so I’m am not a fair weather fan. But Jerry refusing to spend anything on the team is more than I can take. I live in Houston now and watching the Texans go all in this offseason has been jarring. Trading for Diggs and Mixon, signing Hunter, Al-Shair and Autry, resigning Schultz. That is what all in looks like to me. Texans have spent $155M this offseason and they will easily blow past the chump change Jerry spends. I’ll always follow the team, but I’m not diehard any more. Why should I continue to care more than the Jones family?
The Jones run one gell of a successful business, but not a serious championship level football team. Great point on Houston, Jerry probably doesn't even have the best football team in the State now.
Yes. Fan since a kid from the 60's. But admit the fire does not burn nearly as hot these days.
Same here
Regarding Jerry spending money, reread Bob's post about where the Cowboys spend with regards to the rest of the league
Agree,for the past several years, that is the case. I was speaking more historically, as I am old.
I total agree.
Living n D/FW since the Meredith days, my fandom runs deep. However all 3 of my boys have already vacated to greener pastures. Their other sports loyalties have stayed local…
That speaks volumes. The DFW Cowboys hype train is crazy. Your boys shifting loyalties despite the propaganda says much.
Left side, please -- and, truly, thank you for the contemplative reader engagement. You spotted a likely coverage gap and asked for meaningful feedback due to time constraints. The content here is already tremendous, but that type of reader-driven thoughtfulness makes this Substack even better.
"Make us care, Cowboys." Exactly. The Jones family now treats the entire offseason as a break, so it only makes sense that the coverage of the team takes a break, too. It really is a shame that Jerry and Stephen suffer no consequences for failing to win in the postseason. Plus, a normal front office might see the success/rise of the Rangers, Stars and Mavs and think that it might be time to start pulling their own weight around town.
Bob's three-round mock is much better than I expect the Cowboys to do. I'll be shocked if they don't reach for an offensive tackle in round one, even if JPJ is still on the board. If Benson or Wright are still available within 5-8 spots of the Cowboys' third round selection, as was the case in Bob's simulation, I'd love to see a trade up to get a good RB. I know they're already short picks this year, but giving up late round picks to move up a handful of spots to get your guy seems like a wise move. Aggressive moves to improve the on-field product aren't exactly a hallmark of this front office, though.
Profile the guys on the left please. You can always do a piece on the rookie qbs over the summer, but the more info I have about the guys Dallas drafts the more I enjoy draft day.
Left column for sure for predraft. BTW I still subscribe to the Athletic but it is a huge disappointment now, they have no regular Stars/Mavs/Rangers stories (just mentions of them but they don't seem to have any writer for them), I only keep it for The Beast draft write up which is excellent and the Cowboys coverage. Thank you for covering all of them, this is a much better experience and by yourself you are doing what all of the Athletic writers for our teams did collectively, excellent job Bob.
Bob, you should have taken Kiran Amegadjie in the second round. I have done the study, and once you get over the fact that he is a small school prospect you will see he was suitably man-amongst-boys type dominant. He has long, long arms, agilty, explosiveness, and is beastly strong. I know you don’t like mock drafts but if you run them patterns emerge. 1. If the tackles are wiped out, then a really good player will fall and it will be interesting to see if they can break the tackle tunnel vision they currently have. They couldn’t break DT and TE tunnel vision last year and we got Mazi and Scoony. (It sucks when the best things you can say about your first and second round picks is they have cool names). That was with better player available. This year I am suggesting we don’t take a OT unless someone with a strong first round grade is there. There will be a lockdown corner or game breaking wide receiver or pass rushing 3 tech or DE available. About receivers, I am tired of watching SF hold our offense down with their dominant defense until their magnificent offense breaks though. It’s easy for them because they just have to take Cee Dee out of the game and Dallas has no one else that can win 1 on 1. (SF has 4 elite offense weapons that can DOMINATE 1 on 1, Dallas only has Cee Dee). Do we really expect any rookie tackle or center is going to change that equation? We need more game breaking offensive weapons and Dallas isn’t going to find them in round 3. Names that might be available in the first include Brian Thomas Jr, Keon Coleman and Adonai Mitchell among others; and then one of Amegadjie, Paul, and Suamataia should be available in round 2 to satisfy the Joneses OT jones. Seriously, how can we expect to beat the SFs of the world without a significant upgrade in offensive skill player talent? We had the best tackle in football playing last year, is a rookie left tackle going to somehow unlock the offense in a way that Tyron couldn’t? IMO Dallas really needs to come out of this draft with a dominant WR and one of the electric RBs you wrote up for the 60
If the Cowboys don’t get some O-line help, it won’t matter how many playmakers they have. They couldn’t run the ball on SF last year, and the line has more holes this year and Zack Martin is a year older.. if Dak is under constant pressure, even Jerry Rice wouldn’t have time to get open.
It’s not sexy but you build a team from the inside out.
I understand the philosophy of “building through the trenches” and don’t disagree with it but the offensive line was not the problem last year. The lack of offensive skill players was. I had high hopes when Cooks showed up, but last year Dallas didn’t have any one other than Cee Dee that caused the opposing defense any sleepless moments. Dallas needs top offensive skill players to counter the top defenses in the league or what has changed? Can we expect rookie linemen to make the difference? The opposing defense having to worry about another player that demands double coverage will make a difference. Another thing to consider, what if Cee Dee gets hurt? Do you think Cooks and Ferguson are going to get it done? I repeat, Dallas has a dire need for offensive skill players right now.
In the first round especially it makes sense not to draft a center and maybe even guard. Consider what Dallas saved having 5 years control over Cee Dee Lamb vs 5 years with Tyler Smith or a center? Top wide receivers salaries are rapidly heading north of 30 million. Top centers get half that, guards a little more. Cee Dee is going to break the bank partly because Dak had to target him at such a high rate his stats look ridiculous, and he will be paid accordingly. If you love Powers-Johnson (I do) wait a few years and pick him up for half of what a top WR, CB or edge will cost as a free agent.
You make a good case. I still don’t agree totally, but I agree we need at least one more game breaker. I’m thinking Ferguson is on the brink of reaching that level. I love his violent running style. Running back is more of a need to me than receiver. If we can fix the line and get a good back, we can get by with the wideouts we have for another year. If the line’s not fixed , then there won’t be time for anything but dinks and dunks. The defense will collapse to the line of scrimmage and shut down any semblance of a running game.
Left side, Bob!
Left side, please.
Left side please
Left side list please. As much as I would love to see your profiles of the Longhorns on the right side, I want to see the guys that are more realistic Cowboys targets.
Left side please! This isn’t fantasy football and the Jones family have once again, put themselves in a position to draft for need with every pick.
And at the same time the Jones family have once again put themselves in a position to not get the opportunity to draft the right side by winning football games
Cowboys targets please. The draft is so important for the team this year.
Bob, left side! I want to see reality. Not fantasy. Thanks for digging in on these.
Booooo John
One other thought could be to be sure you looked at all of the 30 day visit players and maybe the Dallas day visits as many of their picks and undrafted free agents come from those