Cowboysrule122

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Tyron Smith changed Cowboys' mentality


By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

OXNARD, Calif. -- When the Dallas Cowboys selected Tyron Smith in the first round of the 2011 draft, it was the beginning of a change in philosophy.

Never before in the Jerry Jones era as the team’s owner and general manager had the Cowboys chosen an offensive lineman in the first round. It always seemed strange how Jones looked to build his offensive line considering he played the position on a national championship team at Arkansas and should know the importance of the position.

Since taking Smith, the Cowboys picked Travis Frederick in the first round of the 2013 draft. Last May, they took Zack Martin – not Johnny Manziel – with the 16th pick of the first round.

The Cowboys have rebuilt an offensive line that grew old together into one that could be the envy of the NFL.


“We really feel in a lot of ways the offensive line is the heartbeat of the football team,” coach Jason Garrett said. “If you look back at some of the great teams in the history of this league and the history of this franchise, there were always great offensive linemen and great offensive line units. When you have those guys, you can be physical. You need to be physical, particularly in our division, particularly at the end of ballgames, particularly at the end of the season, and that can really positively impact the rest of your team. The quarterback will play better, the receivers will play better, obviously the runner will play better and the defense will play better when you’re good on the offensive line. We’ve made a very conscious effort as a franchise and organization to do that and we feel like we’re starting to see that group really develop and become the strength of this football team.”

Smith is the centerpiece of that rebuilding job. He has started all but one game since arriving and moved from right tackle to left tackle at the start of the 2012 season. He played right tackle at USC and needed some time to adjust to the left, but last season he was named to the first of what should be many Pro Bowls. He was a second-team All-Pro pick.

The $110 million total of the 10-year deal is the highest the Cowboys have given to a non-quarterback in franchise history. According to sources, Smith received a $10 million signing bonus as part of the eight-year extension totaling $97.6 million, and he is guaranteed $40 million.

The best part of the deal for the Cowboys is Smiths’ age. As he begins his fourth season, Smith does not turn 23 until December and is now signed through 2023. Garrett said it sometimes is difficult to remember Smith is so young.

“Look at him when he walks into the room,” he said. “And beyond that, beyond just his physical stature, he’s got a real maturity about him. It’s really impressive and a lot of the guys have to deal with a lot of things when they transition from college football to pro football. He’s something else. And the kind of guy he is. We really emphasize the importance of mental toughness. We believe that’s a distinguishing trait in players and in teams. And he represents that in spades. He’s off the charts. We love him to death.”
 

Hoofbite

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CZ cracks me up.

Wasn't but a year ago people were proud of Jerry for always getting his man, staying out of the salary cap hells and all that other shit.

Now everyone's basically the opposite and the general mood is one of cap responsibility to an extent that players like Dez may cost too much.
 

cmd34(work)

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The board credo is "Whatever the team does is the smart choice."


It is also superpunk and dbair's credo.
 
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every board thinks that. in reality all you have to do is upset whoever holds the tiniest bit of power imaginable.
 
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no you guys are totally different.

quick someone tell me what cowboyszone thinks about mike pope throwing freezing water on naked jason witten
 

boozeman

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no you guys are totally different.

quick someone tell me what cowboyszone thinks about mike pope throwing freezing water on naked jason witten

To answer your question, the discussion centered around homoerotic jokes.
 

Hoofbite

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Pardon me gentlemen, I'm just gonna come through and fuck this thread up a bit.
 
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Tyron Smith’s 10-year deal is “nuts”
Posted by Mike Florio on July 30, 2014, 4:55 PM EDT


It’s hard to say that a guy who signed an eight-year contract reportedly worth $98 million made a mistake. But in the NFL, where the player is far more bound to the deal than the team, left tackle Tyron Smith apparently has given the Cowboys near-unilateral control over the balance of his career.

“There’s no way you can do a deal that long,” a league source with extensive experience negotiating player contracts told PFT. “I’m stunned. . . . 10 years is nuts.”

The extension reportedly places Smith under contract for a total of 10 years at a payout of $110 million. He’ll have no power to get more money, no matter how well he performs. And if he doesn’t perform well, the only security he’ll have is the fully-guaranteed money that he received when committing himself to the Cowboys for the next decade.

The full details eventually will be known, and we’ll get a chance to see just how team friendly the contract is. Unless every year of the contract is fully guaranteed (and if it were, that detail would have been leaked), the mere duration of the deal makes it a bad one for the player — who apparently wanted to do a contract badly enough that he was willing to make a commitment that, for nearly all NFL contracts, never is mutual.

Apparently, the Cowboys knew how badly Smith wanted that new contract, and the Cowboys took full advantage of it.
 

Rynie

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Tyron is probably the best player on our team, so I'm good with this. Our next QB will walk into a good o-line situation
 
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I highly doubt the full 10 years will not be 'restructured' or 'reworked' before that contract expires.
 
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Given Tyron's feelings toward the team and his quiet nature, I seriously doubts he ever holds out. He'll be either the top paid LT, or among the top 5 paid LTs for probably the next 8 years.
 
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