Cap Hell?

[jarntt]

Can Wilber still play some DE or was that just in a 3-4

He can of course, but I think the move to LB was made and I think the team feels it was permanent.

 

[UK Cowboy]

The salary cap takes care of itself if a team drafts well. You never hear about the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, or New England Patriots being in Cap Hell, because they don't have to go outside and sign big ticket free agents who end up not playing up to their deal, just a bit player here or there. The Cowboys are about 2 real good drafts away from righting what's ailed them IMO

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

The salary cap takes care of itself if a team drafts well. You never hear about the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, or New England Patriots being in Cap Hell, because they don't have to go outside and sign big ticket free agents who end up not playing up to their deal, just a bit player here or there. The Cowboys are about 2 real good drafts away from righting what's ailed them IMO

I know they have had tremendous success and it is a business when it comes down to it, but I have never liked the way the Patriots have done it. Its almost like sometimes they think they are smarter than everyone else and maybe they are- whether it be draft day trades for picks or simply how they treat their veterans. Im sure its in the best interest for the team but Seymour, Milloy , Welker, probably wouldnt piss on them if they were on fire

 

[UK Cowboy]

I know they have had tremendous success and it is a business when it comes down to it, but I have never liked the way the Patriots have done it. Its almost like sometimes they think they are smarter than everyone else and maybe they are- whether it be draft day trades for picks or simply how they treat their veterans. Im sure its in the best interest for the team but Seymour, Milloy , Welker, probably wouldnt piss on them if they were on fire

I don't like the Patriots either, just commenting on teams that have stayed on top without ever really being in cap Hell like the Cowboys, Redskins, and a few others, who haven't won nearly as much during the same span. Winning FA doesn't equate to winning in the NFL, but winning the draft sure does. I liked our last couple of drafts, and really do hope I'm wrong about this years class

 

[PDay8810]

Like I said, you guys worry about cap ramifications down the road. This is nothing new to me with regards to the cowboys....least since the cap era it's not

 

[PDay8810]

I dont try to worry anyone with the cap situation........ I simply do my best to keep people informed so we dont get the stupid ass let's go sign every high dollar free agent post.

Last year the Cowboys spent 7.5 million on players we picked up AFTER the start of the season due to injuries.
Jarntt is right ... that money came from restructuring Romo

True ... any player is a step away from career ending injury ............ but not to the tune of 40+ million which is a team KILLER if it was to happen. And the more you restructure a player over that 30 year old mark ..... The more risk you are taking.

and if you want to know where that money is going ..... It's going into resigning Dez .... Cheaper to sign him while he is under contract than after the season when he is a free agent and a bidding war can begin. That's basic football 101
In other words ... he wont be playing for 2 million this year .... He is going to get a hefty raise .....

and if Jerry stays true to form ... Dez will get that nice paycheck this year .... and restructure next .... To resign Smith

A) Jarntt is right IF somebody thought otherwise which they didn't
B) restructuring is nothing new and not the problem....IMO
C) I could see Dez playing all year at his current rate...matter of fact, I'd bet it

 

[PDay8810]

The salary cap takes care of itself if a team drafts well. You never hear about the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, or New England Patriots being in Cap Hell, because they don't have to go outside and sign big ticket free agents who end up not playing up to their deal, just a bit player here or there. The Cowboys are about 2 real good drafts away from righting what's ailed them IMO

Baltimore gutted their team signing their QB....not near the example the patriots are

 

[Schmoopy1000]

those three teams mentioned stayed on top because of coaching & lack of injuries, not because of the cap. We are not in cap hell now honestly. We just don't/wont have a surplus money to make big splashes in FA, like a lot of teams, which is a good thing to me.
The only player that is actually damaging if he gets injured (cap wise) is our QB, which all teams with a vet Qb (contract) is in the same boat (except the niners new contract)
Yes there are teams that work the cap better than us (lots actually) but I remember back when we had a cap hell. This isn't that.

 

[PDay8810]

Baltimore gutted their team signing their QB....not near the example the patriots are

old school with the Baltimore reference.......

 

[PDay8810]

those three teams mentioned stayed on top because of coaching & lack of injuries, not because of the cap. We are not in cap hell now honestly. We just don't/wont have a surplus money to make big splashes in FA, like a lot of teams, which is a good thing to me.
The only player that is actually damaging if he gets injured (cap wise) is our QB, which all teams with a vet Qb (contract) is in the same boat (except the niners new contract)
Yes there are teams that work the cap better than us (lots actually) but I remember back when we had a cap hell. This isn't that.

thanks....for a minute there, I thought it was just me

 

[tw1st3d]

I can't see how any sane Cowboys fan thinks we aren't in cap hell.

We have been in cap hell for several years and keep pushing the problem into the future.

Going into this offseason the Cowboys had the worst cap situation in the league. That's not my opinion that's a fact that can be googled.
We never even made a bid on Hatcher ( our best player on defense last year) that being a defense that was the worst in the league and very close to being the worst in the HISTORY OF THE NFL. Our cap situation also forced us to part ways with Ware. Our best player for the past decade.
And because of our cap how were we able to replace them? A couple of low dollar players and another coming off an ACL (which allowed us to get him cheap FOR THIS YEAR ONLY)

Not to mention a QB who's base salary was restructured last year to 1.5 million and this year to 1 million.

And we can jump to next year. Right now AFTER singing our draft class

2015 our already committed money is $135,597,341 plus another $5,110,201 in dead money(99% Austin)

This without resigning Dez or Murray.

So you have to get another jump in the salary cap to afford the team already under contract next year.... much less resigning ANY players. Much less going after anyone in Free agency.

So yes that is cap hell. Will Jerry work the numbers SURE HE WILL .... but this is how far he has pushed it.

Right now the only players he can rework and actually make up any money are down to 3 players.
Romo Carr and Free

and that is it .... Next highest paid guy in 2015 will be Smith on a rookie option. That will make more than that when he gets a new contract.

Jerry is officially running out of guys to restructure. Get past Melton and Witten and the highest paid guy on the team is Lee at 5.4 million and then it goes to Mo who is on a rookie contract


Like it or not his "wiggle room" is running out and the time is coming when he will have to pay the piper

But you can always live in fantasy land, dont think about it .... and when the times comes bitch moan and cry ...... and ofc blame Jerry

 

[tw1st3d]

oh and forgot to mention .... that's also without signing next years draft class.

 

[tw1st3d]

So if you get a 10 million boost on the cap ..... which is what everyone is hoping for ..... You get less than 3 million in free money next year (which wont sign your draft class) Dez to resign, Murray to resign(not a big number) Selvie to resign ( he definately wont be playing for 700,000 again)

Then the lesser contract guys Dunbar, Hayden, Harris, Beasley all also free agents


Sure we added mediocre depth this year .... but look at we lose next year. It's easy to understand why anyne was upset that we traded away picks in the draft that would have small contracts next year when we are set to lose ALOT

 

[jarntt]

"Our cap situation also forced us to part ways with Ware. Our best player for the past decade."

I started writing something on this last night, but got distracted. Although I think at the time we made the right call on Ware based on where we ended up, it was 100% because of our cap that we had to cut him. He was restructured which made his 2014 cap hit more than his actually expected value. If not for those restructures which fool many into thinking we are "OK" with our cap situation each year, he would not have been a necessary cut. So our acts to be mediocre in the past are also forcing us to be mediocre in the future. Also, none of the $8M he is counting against the cap this year was salary. It was all bonus and restructured bonus $'s. So even if we still decided to cut him any way, we could have done so without $8M in dead money in 2014. So we could have used that $8M we are using towards him to give to another FA or to Dez and T Smith, or perhaps just not restructuring Romo again and protect 2015, 16, 17, etc...

 

[PDay8810]

LOL...last week I was an ass kisser and now you question my sanity. Walk tall I guess.
You self proclaimed cap experts keep worrying about the cap situation.....I'll continue to talk about evaluations, development and game strategies along with the coming season.


I remain a little shocked at you boys. The very minute Romo signed his contract, it reeked of restructure, but now we're shocked?? This shit ain't changing till jerry is 6 feet under, but somehow a few of you are now shocked at how Jerry does his NFL business.

 

[PDay8810]

As we enter a dead period of the offseason, we present some financial numbers that might interest you before training camp.

• The Cowboys have roughly $8.5 million in salary-cap space. That's enough money to fit in a new contract for a free-agent linebacker, if the team deems one necessary to fill Sean Lee's spot at middle linebacker. Currently Justin Durant is No. 1 on the depth chart at middle linebacker. The Cowboys are open to leaving Durant there, but want to see more work once training camp starts and most likely one or two preseason games before looking at the free-agent market.
• When it comes to the NFC East, Washington has just $2.5 million left in cap space. The Philadelphia Eagles have the most within the division at $19.3 million with the New York Giants coming in third at $6.9 million.
• Cornerback Brandon Carr has the highest salary-cap number on the team at $12.2 million. Tony Romo ($11.7 million), Jason Witten ($8.4 million), Doug Free ($6.5 million)and Morris Claiborne ($4.43 million) are in the top 5. Backup quarterback Kyle Orton, if he plays in 2014, will have the sixth highest cap number on the team at $4.43 million. With Orton and Romo taking up so much cap space, the Cowboys average $17.7 million in space devoted to the quarterback position, far higher than the league average of $12.3 million. Pittsburgh has $21.7 million in cap space to the quarterback position, which leads the NFL.
• The Cowboys lead the NFL in salary-cap space devoted to cornerbacks at $22.7 million. The NFL average for that position is $13.06 million with Carr leading the NFL with his cap number. Orlando Scandrick has a cap number of just $3.6 million and he's a projected starter over Claiborne.
• Last year, the Cowboys had $48.6 million in cap space taken up by defensive players. So far that number has decreased to $42.2 million for the 2014 season. On offense, the Cowboys numbers have gone up. Last year, the Cowboys cap number for the offense was $49.4 million and this season it's $55.2 million.

this was a post about the current cap situation and the same two what to hash out a doom forecast about money. Shoot.......watching this team the last 10 years play the actual games should be doom enough.

I am sorry but lacking quality accurate player evaluations, player development, game strategies and execution on game days remain my concerns, not future cap concerns.

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

Have we ever lost anyone due to the salary cap that went somewhere else and did well? Ken norton comes to mind but Robert jones replaced him well. I would guess Alvin Harper but he really never did anything after us. Newman has done fairly well in cincy but we should be better. Was emmitt a move for the cap ? Ware is definitely the biggest loss IMO but I'm skeptical of how much he really has left. I'm sure their could be others.

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

The main loss we had on defense in the offseason was Hatcher. Ware was injured for a good portion of last season. Lee for the most part is a part time player since we drafted him. Drafting well and Jerrah don't go well together, he seems to always waste 4th round picks on projects. His search for diamonds in the 4th round turn into coal every time. He should just start trading away 4th round picks for quality backups.


I guess I see the defense being better this season than last year. I just don't know how much better. We obviously can't count on Lee. I think I made a prediction that sean lee would injure himself in training camp. I was wrong on that one.

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

The draft this year was very deep. I see several players that we passed on becoming starters. Hitchens will prove to be another mistake

 

[UK Cowboy]

Baltimore gutted their team signing their QB....not near the example the patriots are

Doesn't matter, their GM is Ozzie Newsome, ours is Jerry Jones. That's the biggest squash comparison in the Ravens favor as I can imagine. Even paying Flacco, their GM just keeps hauling in draft talent. Look at this year....C.J. Mosely, Timmy Jernigan, Terrance Brooks. 3 defensive studs