Can Talent Alone Help The Cowboys Win?

I’ve been thinking this myself, the talent on this team is just immense, but whether that translates to winning has to do with intangible factors, and you’ve nailed some of the main ones. We just don’t know how it all comes together until we actually see them execute and win on the field.

I think teamwork and experience is especially important with the O-line, where we have not changed and have the most stability, and for them to have another year of chemistry could make a big difference. The O-line collapsing had a lot to do with the loss to the Giants.

Other factors…

Coaching
One additional area that I think is key is coaching, and in that regard we have made some big improvements from last year, e.g O-line and secondary, both in terms of the quality of the coaches and how they fit into Wade’s scheme. Plus the experience factor also applies to coaches, e.g. Garrett has a year of play calling to further develop as an OT.

Pacing
This seems a really hard thing to try to make happen, but peaking at the right time is huge. The Giants obviously peaked at the right time, and went roaring into the playoffs with confidence. The Cowboys weren’t the only team that peaked early. I think the Pats did also, and despite being undefeated and overwhelming favorites, they weren’t the powerhouse in the playoffs that they had been in the regular season. The made it to the SB, but in close games, and then lost of course.

Injuries
You alluded to this in teamwork, but of course this is the big unknown, can happen at any time to anyone. Having such depth at many positions means we could probably handle pretty well if most starters were injured, but if Romo or TO or Ware were knocked out, and maybe Flow, I’d say those might be the most significant that would really make a difference. Even with Ware we do have a solid backup in Spencer, but there’s a reason why Ware plays basically every snap on defense, and it would remove the option to have all three on the field at the same time . But it is the supreme talent at those positions that allows the really good talent everywhere else to excel, and if they were knocked out the team would certainly struggle more to manifest the talent in wins.

Luck

I know you can say it about almost every game, but the Giants really were one or two plays away from losing their last three playoff games. And in the Cowboys and Pats games, they were plays that should have been made. If Crayton doesn’t drop that huge third down or pull up on that bomb from Romo, I have no doubt in my mind that we win that game. In the Super Bowl, if “the best corner in the league” Asante Samuel doesn’t drop an easy interception with like a minute to go, the infamous Tyree play never happens and Brady kneels out for victory. It really takes the stars aligning to win the Super Bowl. Whether you have the most talented team, or a team full of overachievers, Lady Luck has got to be on your side.

in the regular season but once the post season begins, you need more than talent to win a championship.

and I am hoping the sting of last year gives these guys and Wade some extra fire come playoff time. The Giants surprised everyone last year and showed that the most talented team does not always win but the one who excutes the game plan and is the most hungry.

...talent is what you care about. If your front office can consistently put together talented teams, eventually you will get to a Superbowl. The early 2000’s Eagles could be an example of this, but I think Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are better examples. I don’t think those teams that won superbowls this decade were their most talented teams, but they have put together talented teams for so long, it’s not a surprise that they finally broke through. That’s why you’ll see me advocating signing players at premium positions (QB, WR, CB) over those that aren’t (RB, RB, RB, OG). Even though I admit that I was wrong about how LG worked out for us, the salary cap makes it hard to consistently pay non-premium positions premium money. And since long-term success is the best way to get to the Superbowl, cap management is important.

And the good news is, from the Parcells hire forward, I have had confidence in the front office.

Teamwork is important, but I think a better word for it would be chemistry. Players liking each other makes it easier to work longer hours, and more importantly, makes it likely that they won’t blow up at each other after a bad loss. Every team has to work together at a basic level, so I think chemistry might be a better word for it.

I think you get most of the experience you need after playing 2-3 years in the NFL (outside of maybe QB). Sure, more experience helps, but soon after that it’s an experience vs. age thing.

If I were ranking it, I think it would go Talent, Luck, Injury-free, Coaching, Chemistry.

One thing to remember in our 13-3 season was how slow we were starting out games for the first half or so of the season. In the first 6 games, we got a total of 6 first quarter points. It wasn’t until week 7 that we finally scored a TD in the first quarter (and then went scoreless in the second quarter). During first quarters and sometimes into the second quarters, the offense’s timing seemed off, they just weren’t clicking, it was like they needed a quarter to get warmed up and synchronized.

Point being, we had the same talent in the first quarters, but the talent wasn’t living up to its potential because of intangible factors like chemistry/timing.

One thing I will be looking for this year is whether they can overcome those slow starts and come onto the field in sync and firing on all cylinders from the first snap. I think that is really a combination of chemistry from having most of the starters back again, and a coaching thing that will prepare them better. If that happens, it will be a good sign that we’ve improved the intangibles that turn talent into wins.

The difference between highly talented teams who underachieve and moderately talented teams who succeed (all other things being equal) is the mental aspect of the game. The preparation, drills, film study and overall attention to detail that teams like the 80’s 49ers, 90’s Cowboys and 000’s Pats have spent so much of their time on has EVERYTHING to do with why they were/are winners.

At the end of the day, the responsibility for those things falls on the coaching staff and that is why 2008 is the Season of Wade in Dallas. If this team fails, it won’t be because they fielded a lesser quality product, it will be because they let HBO Hard Knocks, locker room issues, Jessica Simpson or whatever else distract them. Jimmy Johnson had crazyness going on around him at all times, but through his own force of will, never let the team lose focus and his players said the same thing after every big win, “we were well prepared”. I haven’t heard that from a Dallas player since JJ left.

So, in my humble opinion, catastrophic injuries notwithstanding, Coaching is the thing that will determine the outcome of the 2008 seaon for America’s Team.