Jerry Wrongly Defends Cowboys’ Trade Decisions: ‘Thank Goodness
The distinction between poor and good process decisions can be used to gauge how far apart the top and bottom teams in the league are from one another.
For good reason, certain businesses have a tendency to remain (non-)competitive for extended periods of time. The San Francisco 49ers acquired standout edge rusher Chase Young, a former second-overall pick who has been explosive while on the field, by beating this year’s NFL deadline. For the price of a third-round pick, he’ll provide even more dynamism to a formidable defensive line, helping them reach their Super Bowl goals.
On the other hand, the Chicago Bears acquired pass rusher Montez Sweat in exchange for a key second-round pick that, given Chicago’s troubles, was almost certainly going to be selected in the top 40. Sweat had all but declared he didn’t want to play for the Bears. Thus, one NFC club upped the bar, and the other might have dug a worse hole for itself than it previously had.
The Dallas Cowboys did not make a move by the trade deadline on Tuesday, which passed. It was frustrating, especially for those who yearned for defensive, receiving, or running back support, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Sometimes the future picks are required for salary cap relief, or the value just doesn’t add up. Other times, the proper deal just doesn’t exist.
If Dallas made an aggressive move but was stifled by the state of the market and a dearth of feasible transactions, then okay. However, it is pointless to defend the Cowboys’ choices by pointing to activities taken during a different period of the season. Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys, did not meet that low standard on 105.3 this Friday. The Admirer
Jones stated, “We established our trade deadline prior to the start of the season.” “For this reason, we made trades for Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore. We are grateful that we were able to complete the trade deadline prior to the start of the season.
That wasn’t a quotation from a minor league baseball team attempting to eek out a Wild Card spot in exchange for a few more ticket sales. It came from the owner of the football team with the highest value. Of course, the pay cap means that Jones’ riches isn’t making a difference, but the attitude of doing nothing is still conservative—possibly to the point of being detrimental.
The Texas Rangers, incidentally, were highly active during the trade deadline. That was a fairly good outcome.
But let’s get back to Gilmore and Cooks and Dallas: The fact that neither of those offseason purchases has shown to be especially successful doesn’t help either. It was undoubtedly significant that Gilmore’s interception against the Los Angeles Chargers ended the game. However, according to PFF, he has allowed the ninth-most yards in man coverage this season, and other cornerbacks in the lineup have played better than him.
The Gilmore conversation could have been more poignant if it weren’t for slot corner Jourdan Lewis’s outstanding performance against Los Angeles Rams receiver Cooper Kupp and cornerback DaRon Bland’s rise to prominence.
Likewise, Cooks hasn’t been productive this season, until recently turning it on with two touchdowns in his previous two games. It might be too soon to remove him from his position in an offense that had trouble getting going prior to the bye week. However, the output—16 catches for 158 yards and two touchdowns in six games—is alarming. The inadequacies of Dallas’ roster do not necessitate the Tuesday trade. The 49ers, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks are all comparable.
They all improved.The Cowboys decided against it. Jones could have at the very least defended the choice in a way that made sense. Furthermore, it makes no sense to say that March’s actions negate the need for October’s actions.
