Jump to content

Andy Dalton now a Cowboy


5x10

Recommended Posts

This has now become my favorite thread this entire offseason.  So much overreaction from both sides of the Dak issue.  I’ve been saying for the better part of a year that I want Dak to be our QB but not at $35M a year.  I’ve also been saying that if you give a game manager enough weapons... they can do just fine in the playoffs.  We seen that this year with the titans And 49ers.   
 

Here’s why I absolutely LOVE the Dalton signing... it’s freaking good business.  Dak turned down a deal that would pay $33M per year.  I get it.  It’s not the decision I would have made but I get it.  Dak is betting on himself.  Good for him.  
 

But business goes both ways.  Dak is the The threatening to hold out this offseason, etc. OK.  Do it.  Let Dalton get to know the offense first.  Let Dalton develop chemistry with the offense and the coaching staff.  See, a real franchise QB... would never even risk letting another player take his job.  A real leader sacrifices for the team.  All the great ones have.  Most of the great QBs of our time have realized the importance of getting paid but also making sure there’s enough to go around.  

 

By this one move... The front offense brought in a quality backup which everyone knows is important.  But it also took away tons of Dak’s leverage at the negotiation table.  I think this completely calls Dak’s bluff on holding out during the offseason.  And most importantly... it’s important for Dak to realize that that being the Cowboys QB is an honor and if he wants to risk that so he can get a few more million a year when decent NFL QBs will do it for 90% less then so be it.  Go get paid in Jacksonville.  Have fun with Dan Snyder in DC.  

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Nextyearfordaboyz said:

To be clear, their desire to sign Dak to a longer contract makes you question their commitment to him?

Perhaps I misunderstood the post. I was of the impression Dak wanted the longer contract and Dallas wanted less years.

My bad.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Nextyearfordaboyz said:

If Dak threw for 5,000 yards, 40 TD, and won the Super Bowl this year, we would still have posters on here who would throw Dak shade. For sure.

If Dak actually WON something, then the shade would go away

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Rtnldave said:

Perhaps I misunderstood the post. I was of the impression Dak wanted the longer contract and Dallas wanted less years.

My bad.

The Cowboys want the longer deal because they can spread the bonus out longer.

As someone who has negotiated contracts for many years, I’ll throw this out there: astute negotiators understand that leverage and optics are critical components of a negotiation; ones which may also serve to distract a person/team from what the organization really wants. It’s very easy to make our QB look like the bad guy even if the organization doesn’t actually want to keep him. Putting the message out there that they want more years than he does - and knowing that he’ll reject the contract - makes them look like victims if they publicly need to “move on” from him because he kept rejecting fair and reasonable contract offers based on market value. Jerry and Stephen can come away looking like the heroes for putting their best feet forward, when in fact, they *wanted* him to walk.

I’ve seen (and used) this strategy before, and it can work incredibly well if the team is disciplined enough to hold the line. I’m not saying that this is the situation with this team, but I wouldn’t rule anything out unless/until that new contract is signed.

Edited by plan9misfit
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, 5x10 said:

Agreed 

now, how much different do you think this offense looks with someone like dalton at qb?

I expect a significant difference. Mobility and arm strength would be different.

What Dalton offers is more than anything experience. Dak has greatly benefited from mentors (albeit not good ones) in the past. I don't expect Dalton to come in and put the team on his back to win us games - he isn't Romo. But I do expect him to manage the game to the point where he doesn't lose it. That is phenomenal and ideal from a #2 QB.

Let me put it this way. My expectations for the season, with a new coaching staff, and a truncated off-season:

With Dak -> Deep Playoff Run, Contender - anything else would be a deep disappointment.

Without Dak (IE with Dalton) -> Fringe playoff team under the new format, 1st or 2nd round bounce - not making the playoffs wouldn't be shocking but it would be disappointing given the talent level.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Texas_OutLaw7 said:

I expect a significant difference. Mobility and arm strength would be different.

What Dalton offers is more than anything experience. Dak has greatly benefited from mentors (albeit not good ones) in the past. I don't expect Dalton to come in and put the team on his back to win us games - he isn't Romo. But I do expect him to manage the game to the point where he doesn't lose it. That is phenomenal and ideal from a #2 QB.

Let me put it this way. My expectations for the season, with a new coaching staff, and a truncated off-season:

With Dak -> Deep Playoff Run, Contender - anything else would be a deep disappointment.

Without Dak (IE with Dalton) -> Fringe playoff team under the new format, 1st or 2nd round bounce - not making the playoffs wouldn't be shocking but it would be disappointing given the talent level.

So your expectations without Dak are the same as the past 4 years with him?

Edited by DaBoys
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, DaBoys said:

So your expectations without Dak are the same as the past 4 years with him?

Expectations & achievement are two different thing. We have a very talented team - and we went 13-3 his rookie year.

But we play in a weak division - weaker now than four years ago. I think if you ask most people we have under-performed after over-performing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think that 2016 is a pretty good example of what an average QB can do with an absolute juggernaut roster. Dak was great for a rookie but he wasn’t asked to do much but drive the bus in 2016. He wasn’t our main weapon. For instance, he threw the ball 137 more times in 2019 than he did in 2016. He was young, inexperienced, and not asked to carry the team. But we went 13-3.

2017 and 2018 really had people wondering if Dak was the guy. Obviously our passing game struggles were recognized by decision makers as Dez was cut, Linehan fired, Garrett fired, blockbuster trade for Cooper, drafting WRs early and often, and offensive line coaches getting canned etc...

Things weren’t going well for Dak in ‘17 or ‘18, if they were then so many others involved in the passing game wouldn’t have been fired but.... we made the playoffs in 2018. On the flip side, 2019 was tremendous for him but disappointment to the team. 
 

So if him playing lights out doesn’t guarantee 9 wins and him struggling mightily, doesn’t keep us from beating Russell Wilson in the playoffs, is he really worth 17% of the cap?

And is Dalton not capable of putting up Daks numbers from 2016, and 2018(our two playoff years in the Dak era)?


 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dak threw for 7,552 yards in our 2016 and 2018 playoff runs. That’s 236 yards per game.

Andy Daltons career average over 9 seasons is 237.5 yards per game.

Dak threw for 45 TDs those two years, which is 1.406 TD passes a game. 

Andy Daltons career average over 133 games is 1.533 TD passes per game.

 

Daltons career averages are Daks numbers from our two playoff runs essentially. Minus the running threat that Dak provides. Unfortunately our coaches have refused to use this advantage often enough for it to be a huge drop off. Plus Dalton is probably more mobile than people realize. He had more rushing TDs than Dak did last year and he didn’t play all 16 games. He also had 4 rushing TDs in 2016. Dak had 6. So the drop off isn’t a complete fall.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, DaBoys said:

is he really worth 17% of the cap?

All you can ever do when building a roster is give yourself the best possible chance to achieve success. Let's take Zeke for instance, you and I agree that the best RB in the league should not have been re-signed - why? Positional evaluation. I am adamant that you draft a 5th rounder each other year and run them into the ground and move on. That is because RB is one of the lowest starting positions for me from a roster evaluation. The best RB in the league can't do anything without a OL. The best RB can't do anything without pressure from pass-catchers, etc. The same cannot be said about QB. We ran a poll and everyone agreed QB was number 1 - and it wasn't even close.

Anytime you have a top 10 QB, you pay a premium for the best position in football. So in short, the answer to your question is yes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...