The Dallas Cowboys are making the right move by shutting the door on quarterback Nick Foles and going with their own guys
After spending the first overall pick on quarterback Jared Goff, the Los Angeles Rams decided they no longer needed Nick Foles at the position. After failing to find a trade partner this offseason, he was released and many Dallas Cowboys fans began clamoring for the team to bring in the former Pro Bowl player to back up starter Tony Romo.
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Dallas, however, opted to pass on the veteran, and, in doing so, decided to head to training camp with the four quarterbacks they already have on their roster. Director of Player Personnel Stephen Jones all but shut the door on the idea of bringing in more competition in a recent interview, saying it’s time for Dallas to trust the players they have to step up if needed.
"“At some point, you got to commit your resources to getting your young guys ready or you’re always in that mode of older, veteran guys,” Stephen Jones said via Jon Machota of Dallas Sports Day. “I think with where Tony is in his career, we’re starting that journey and obviously we made a significant pick there with Dak and we obviously like what we’ve seen in Showers, and we think Kellen is mature beyond his years, so we’re comfortable with where we are. At some point you can get too crowded there.”"
The players Jones refers to would be primary backup Kellen Moore (who has played just three NFL games), second year player Jameill Showers, and recent fourth-round selection Dak Prescott from Mississippi State.
While the idea of going with such inexperience at the position may scare some fans, it’s really the right move by the Cowboys, and owner/GM Jerry Jones explained it well. The elder Jones compared the position Dallas is in this season to that of the Cincinnati Bengals in 2015.
Behind their starter Andy Dalton was second-year pro, A.J. McCarron, a fifth-round pick from Alabama. After Dalton went down with a thumb injury, McCarron led the team to a 2-1 record while throwing for 854 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. The former SEC quarterback then gave the team a fighting chance to win in the playoffs, but they lost to divisional rival Pittsburgh, 18-16.
Jones compared McCarron to Dak Prescott, the Cowboys fourth-round pick who excelled in the SEC, much like the Bengals backup. This was a rather smart comparison from Jones, who gets a lot of grief for some of his comments
In the past, Dallas has put a huge premium on bringing in players no longer wanted by other teams. They did this with Brandon Weeden, and he was unable to get a win when called upon. They did it again when they traded for Matt Cassel, who was arguably even worse than Weeden. Those mistakes led Dallas to trust their young guys moving forward.
Other teams to follow this plan include the New England Patriots, who have elected to go with Jimmy Garoppolo (just 31 career attempts) during Tom Brady’s suspension.
In Denver, the Broncos started Brock Osweiler last season when Peyton Manning was hurt, despite Osweiler having zero starts at the NFL level. Osweiler kept the team afloat, and they ended up winning the Super Bowl.
Now Dallas heads into 2016 realizing that it’s a young man’s game, and fans should be excited. The team knows it’s time to build for the future, and the only way to do so would be to commit to such a process. The ‘Boys believe that Kellen Moore can handle the team now in an emergency and that Prescott is potentially the future.
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This philosophy may not work, but neither did signing former cast-offs. At least Dallas is willing to learn from their mistakes.