Sports

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman  @teganslaw  @yellowrose 

Has anyone read or heard why the Cowboys arent going with Zeke and his running game???....Is he out of shape ...drank too many Coronas or feasted way too much on tamales and cabrito????...Is he hurt????  The whole thing seems a bit odd...The Cowboys were still in the game where they could have used him 

12 carries 71 yds...30 long.....

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My best guess is they don't want to wear him down now that they've committed so much cap space to him. When you've signed him to a six year $90 million deal, with $50 million guaranteed, you've pretty much married the guy and wearing him down in the early years of that deal could prove catastrophic later.

Coming into the year the plan was to run him into the ground and use him up. Use the franchise tag if he held up and make no longterm commitment. Keep him going year to year until he was used up. Then he decided, "If you're not paying, I'm not playing." That changed the Cowboys' plan. They then opted to pay him, but now they have to preserve him. Running backs only have so many carries in them and when they're done, they're done. If they kept him on the thirty carries a game plan, he would be done before the six years were up. He'd probably be done in a year or two. Ten to fifteen carries a game doubles or triples his playing time making it more likely he'll survive the length of his contract.

 When the Cowboys went public with their plan for Elliott, they forced him and his agent into playing hardball. Then the Cowboys backed down and gave him a boatload of money over six years, but now they have to preserve him, and that means fewer carries per game. That makes him less worth the $90 million they're paying him.

The Cowboys contract negotiations over the last year have been something of a disaster. They overpaid Demarcus Lawrence for his four and a half sacks. They overpaid Zeke. They still have to pay Dak and Cooper. They've made some bone-headed moves. Elliott's arguably their best player, but running backs have short careers. They've now invested $90 million in him over six years, so they're trying to preserve him which takes away what he does best. He wears defenses down with twenty to thirty carries a game. Giving him ten to fifteen carries prolongs his career, but limits his effectiveness. 

Teams have to know the value of guys and not overpay. The Cowboys missed that lesson. The Eagles let much of the Super Bowl winning team go in free agency (Foles, Ajayi, Blount, linebacker Jordan Hicks) because the value wasn't there. We just resigned Ajayi and included language that lets the Eagles match any new contract he's offered in free agency, giving them a chance to keep him if the price is right. It all comes down to the value. JJ won't let one of "his guys" go, and it's going to be a huge problem for the organization.

[sunshine45]

thank you to the thursday thanksgiving day teams.

there were no real blowouts and all three games were enjoyable to watch.

[gardenman]

Some bad news for the Cowboys. Starting offensive guard Connor Williams tore his ACL Thursday and is done for the year. It may be a bit of a struggle for him to be ready for training camp given how late in the season the tear occurred. Minimum recovery time is typically 6-9 months and nine months would be September. In most cases, it takes a year or longer to be fully back.

Word is the Cowboys are stalking two college coaches to replace Garrett if the Cowboys miss the playoffs, or don't make the Super Bowl. The leading candidate is reportedly Urban Meyer, but Meyer wants total control of the roster and that's highly unlikely in Dallas. Option two is Lincoln Riley who half the league apparently has targeted to be their next head coach. It's going to be an interesting offseason. Will the Cowboys go outside their inner circle for a coach, or promote from within yet again? What kind of power/control will they give a new head coach? Will they have to loosen the reins on the roster control to lure in a big-time coach?

[Spurt]

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@yellowrose wrote:

Cowboys gave me turkey heartburn....but that was fixed with a couple of Tums.

There's no medication for what's happening on the field.  A "For Sale" sign would

be a good start, but that's not going to happen.  

Don't know why they gave up on the run @Spurt .  Not as if the pass was going so great.  Come on Dak....what was up with the 4 and 1 pass?????

It was just a complete mess, yet the Cowboys are providing the best thing on TV right now with the local news.  I'm even copying so I won't miss any of it. 

But hey, the Cowboys can still make the playoffs, dont' see it happening and I actually hope they don't.  Not Deserving!!!!

Bills played a good game. Congrats to them.  I'm sure Beasley had a good time.

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@yellowrose 

Hey YELLOWROSE you are taking a page right out of the Redskin fans playbook with your SELL THE TEAM chant!!!!  I know quite a few people that were loyal Cowboy fans but jumped off the bandwagon because they can't stand Jerry Jones.....

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman  @teganslaw  @yellowrose 

Has anyone read or heard why the Cowboys arent going with Zeke and his running game???....Is he out of shape ...drank too many Coronas or feasted way too much on tamales and cabrito????...Is he hurt????  The whole thing seems a bit odd...The Cowboys were still in the game where they could have used him 

12 carries 71 yds...30 long.....

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My best guess is they don't want to wear him down now that they've committed so much cap space to him. When you've signed him to a six year $90 million deal, with $50 million guaranteed, you've pretty much married the guy and wearing him down in the early years of that deal could prove catastrophic later.

Coming into the year the plan was to run him into the ground and use him up. Use the franchise tag if he held up and make no longterm commitment. Keep him going year to year until he was used up. Then he decided, "If you're not paying, I'm not playing." That changed the Cowboys' plan. They then opted to pay him, but now they have to preserve him. Running backs only have so many carries in them and when they're done, they're done. If they kept him on the thirty carries a game plan, he would be done before the six years were up. He'd probably be done in a year or two. Ten to fifteen carries a game doubles or triples his playing time making it more likely he'll survive the length of his contract.

 When the Cowboys went public with their plan for Elliott, they forced him and his agent into playing hardball. Then the Cowboys backed down and gave him a boatload of money over six years, but now they have to preserve him, and that means fewer carries per game. That makes him less worth the $90 million they're paying him.

The Cowboys contract negotiations over the last year have been something of a disaster. They overpaid Demarcus Lawrence for his four and a half sacks. They overpaid Zeke. They still have to pay Dak and Cooper. They've made some bone-headed moves. Elliott's arguably their best player, but running backs have short careers. They've now invested $90 million in him over six years, so they're trying to preserve him which takes away what he does best. He wears defenses down with twenty to thirty carries a game. Giving him ten to fifteen carries prolongs his career, but limits his effectiveness. 

Teams have to know the value of guys and not overpay. The Cowboys missed that lesson. The Eagles let much of the Super Bowl winning team go in free agency (Foles, Ajayi, Blount, linebacker Jordan Hicks) because the value wasn't there. We just resigned Ajayi and included language that lets the Eagles match any new contract he's offered in free agency, giving them a chance to keep him if the price is right. It all comes down to the value. JJ won't let one of "his guys" go, and it's going to be a huge problem for the organization.

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@gardenman 

Great analysis .... it seems Jerry overpaid for Zeke's services so now he's not being used effectively and its hurting the Cowboys....There's lots of good RBS in the draft, and with rookie contracts teams can take advantage....It seems that Zeke and the Rams and Gurley are lessons other teams can learn from on how NOT to handle the RB position.....

[Spurt]

@gardenman  @teganslaw 

And the way Jerry fired long time coach Tom Landry too....on a golf course, didnt even give him the courtesy of having Tom come to the facility to thank him for his tenure with the Cowboys and just say they decided to start anew....Even Redskin fans said Tom deserved more respect than what Jerry showed him....

As far as Garrett....no blackmail needed, you see Jerry's ego is as big as the state of Texas and he wants to meddle in all aspects of the teamsand take all the credit, ...even stating which plays should be called, so Jerrah needs a PUPPET COACH that will allow him to do that...Jason Garrett is PERFECT for Jerrah!!!!.....Other coaches got too much credit so Jerry got rid of 'em.....

Heard Riley was the candidate the Cowboys are leaning toward....good luck with that when they expect the Head Coach have to cowtow to Jerrah!  And Redskin candidates worry about the same thing...

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Jerry's history of flushing really good coaches within four or five years makes his holding onto Garrett for nine years an interesting contrast. Jason Garrett's arguably a nice guy and all of that, but as a coach, he hasn't shown a lot. Maybe he's really doing it just because Garrett is a puppet for him, but it's more than a little odd.

[gardenman]

The weird thing with the Cowboys and Elliott, was that their original plan was very smart, but you don't just talk about it publicly. To the public, you talk about how much you love the guy and want to work out a longterm deal. Privately, you plan to just use the fifth-year option then tag him until he's spent. You stall the contract talks forever and just keep running him until he drops, then you move on to another back. The Cowboys, for reasons known only to themselves, went public with their plan to run him into the ground and tag him until he was done. When they put it out into the public, Elliott and his agent had no choice but to play hardball and force the hand of the Cowboys. Now the Cowboys have a very expensive running back who they're afraid to use too much. That Cowboy front office has just done some very strange stuff this year.

No matter what Dak does the rest of the year they're going to have to pay him. The franchise tag value is around $33 million in 2020, then over $40 million in 2021. With most people blaming the coaches for his issues this year (though Dak makes three or four bone-headed throws each week) the pressure is off him to perform. "It was the coaches and their play calling," so he's set to make his money no matter what.

I thought they should have let Demarcus Lawrence test free agency to see what the market was for him. Instead, they signed him to a really big deal. They should have signed Dak early in the offseason to a take it or leave it type deal at $20-$25 million, where if he said no,  they'd let him walk and sign a guy like Foles to lead the team. Instead, they let the other young QB's sign massive deals, elevating Dak's asking price and even raising the franchise tag number. Now they're stuck paying him at least $33 million a year and more likely something closer to $40 million a year, and he's not a $40 million a year QB. 

They've just done dumb stuff all year.

[yellowrose]

Jones has said multiply times that he regrets the way he handled the firing of Landry.

And I stopped feeling sorry for Landry the day he said NY Giants was his favorite team.

I don't even like seeing his statue at the stadium.

Williams replacement is terrible - Sua Filo, or something like that.  He's so bad, not even worth googling to see if I have his name correct.

JJ still think we can make the Super Bowl with Garrett - THIS YEAR!!!!

Someone needs to step on his rose colored glasses.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.  I'll be on the road Sunday, so

won't see the day games.  GOOOO Dolphins!!!  

[teganslaw]

The Colts have a winning record against the Titans, and their O-line is better. But, injuries could be a factor, and they have to stop Derrick Henry. It doesn't bother me that Tennessee pounded Jacksonville; the Jags usually struggle against the Titans. 

SPURT, I read that Snyder is going to evaluate Bruce Allen's status with the team. What is that about? Maybe changes will occur in the off season. Fans can only hope.