Help me
by Dave Halprin on Jul 17, 2007 10:59 AM CDT
in Dallas Cowboys News
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PrintI need help. I think I’m losing it and it’s not even my fault. For months I basically ignored Jennifer Floyd Engel articles, finding nothing of interest in them. Suddenly, I’m about to post my third reference to a JFE article/interview in as many days. Yes, I am now questioning my own sanity. But wait, it gets worse. Not only am I referencing JFE, but I am actually in total agreement with her latest article as it expresses exactly my thoughts on the whole "Blame Bill" mentality. My only hope, my only sliver of belief that my days as a rational thinker aren't over, is that maybe JFE read my Patrick Crayton article, agreed with my sentiments at the end, and then wrote her article. Someone please tell me that’s the case – on the eve of training camp I must be of pure mind and heart - and going into it knowing that JFE and I agree on something has shattered that illusion.
Here’s the paragraph that sums it up for me:
Mark me down as not giving a flying Fig Newton if Big Bill was a lousy Suzy Sunshine and if every day at Valley Ranch failed to feel like Christmas and if players were not living a Hallmark commercial. This is an NFL franchise, not a self-esteem camp.
Just win, baby.
I forgot to mention this the other day but in USA Today’s 25 greatest NFL players of the last 25 years series, Emmitt Smith comes in at #7
Smith, after an NFL-record 11 consecutive seasons with more than 1,000 yards rushing, passed Walter Payton to become the NFL rushing king on Oct. 27, 2002. By the end of his career, he had collected 18,355 rushing yards and had only one season in which he didn't record more than 900 yards on the ground.
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J - O - B, JOB
Playing football is a job to these guys and Valley Ranch is their office. If I had a jerk boss screaming at me every day at my office, you're damn skippy I'd tell him where to shove it while I found other employment.
A strenuous work environment does not help the team, just like it doesn't help my productivity at my office. If something doesn't help the team, it needs to be eliminated.
by theogt on Jul 17, 2007 11:19 AM CDT reply actions
Re: J-O-B
On the other hand, you may not like your boss, but if you got paid several millions of dollars a year, wouldn't that help sweeten the deal?
Even the URFAs, assuming they make the roster, make something like $270,000 annually. I'll take a bad boss with that kind of a salary any day.
And Tuna, even if he was a hardass, was nonetheless effective. Not to say Wade won't be ... but it's just a different philosophy. I refuse to believe a Hall of Fame coach doesn't know how to get his players to play football. Except Joe Gibbs, naturally.
by no1cowboysfan on Jul 17, 2007 11:29 AM CDT up reply actions
I don't know...
I guess if I was getting paid lousy ducats for a crappy job in a drab cubicle filing TPS reports for a job that wasn't really my passion, I'd probably say see ya, too. But if I was getting paid great to unbelievably extravagant loot to play a game I love under a legendary Hall of Fame coach who has proven he can win, I'd probably just shut up and listen.
by Dave Halprin on Jul 17, 2007 11:30 AM CDT up reply actions
This is no different than other
walks of life. Some bosses are team builders, others are one bad mood away from a postal incident. Most people prefer the team builder but I think it's a little like working out. If you don't change up and shock the system from time to time, adaptation and complacency set in and decline is inevitable. Some coaches can do both over the long haul (nurture and kick butt), but many cannot. Tom Coughlin apparently cannot. I think Parcells was more adept at both than some give him credit for, but his general approach was butt-kicking.
To quote Thomas Jefferson (yes, I'm in a quoting mood today): "Every generation needs a new revolution."
Not that these lists mean a damn thing
but Emmitt is not the 7th best. If you like WRs or QBs, you can place Jerry Rice or Joe Montana ahead and maybe one or two others, but not six others. The dude holds one of the three top records in football, not to mention three SBs, SB MVP, League MVP, etc.
But the write-up is as lame as it is predictable.
Emmitt Smith lands at No. 7 on USA TODAY's list in light of his record-breaking success and astounding durability in a 15-year NFL career during which he became the league's all-time rushing leader.
It's as if his accomplishment has an asterisk because he was durable and consistent. In my world, it simply meant that his skill in finding creases and avoiding big hits was better than everyone else. He performed like that in every game, big or small, and rose to the challenge in the most important one. He ran, he blocked, he caught passes...
Sorry USA Today, you didn't make my top ten for NFL lists.
I totally agree
My eyes never saw a better football player and I've seen them all, at least on film anyway.
Emmitt was the best not only because of his physical skills, which were amazing, but because of his heart, not to mention he was the most complete player as well, with sweetness a close second.
Emmitt excelled at every aspect of the game. The only thing you could argue that he was missing was break away speed, but truthfully, I never remember him being caught from behind once he broke loose past the secondary.
Simply an incredible player, easily as good as any player this USA poll ranks ahead of him.
JEF is way off base comparing
the Rangers to the Cowboys because the difference between Parcells and Phillips is a lot more than just atmosphere at the Ranch.
Its the X's and O's the coaching staff employs that will make the big difference.
I have come to the conclusion that
if you were a mentally tough player like Ware, Romo, and Barber you liked Parcells. But if you were mentally weak like JuJo and Crayton you didn't. I have criticized Parcells for many things, but not for being a disciplinarian. there are loads of those types of coaches in this league that do well. if Crayton and JuJo can't handle it, then that speaks something about them.
And for the record I like Crayton.
by Burt D @ Blogging The Boys on Jul 17, 2007 12:50 PM CDT reply actions
You make a great point
That's been my experience outside of sports. Those we could not perform or were not mentally tough had serious trouble with demanding bosses. Others did not.
That said, some of these types need the ability to adjust their style to what they find. Parcells may have been that flexible. I can't say for sure. But I do know that one tool isn't right for every job.
Burt-D, that's a very intersting view
I wish I would've thought of it!
by Dave Halprin on Jul 17, 2007 1:04 PM CDT up reply actions
Thanks for the props Grizz!
by Burt D @ Blogging The Boys on Jul 17, 2007 6:24 PM CDT up reply actions
individualize coaching?
I agree with Burt too. Parcells and Bobby Knight are very similar, and need very tough players to succeed. However, to me, the point of coaching is to get the most out of your players -- if that means doing something different for Crayton, JJ, etc, then do it. Perhaps the reason we folded in each December was we didn't have enough of those strong folk to continue taking the coaching beatings.
And it really does worry me
that you are channeling JFE and she you.
Not only would this spell the end of the BTB as we know it, but it could seriously derail the rapid rise to sports media super-stardom we've predicted for you.
Is she hot?
With one of those hyphenated names I assume she is married. Too bad Grizz, you to could make beautiful Cowboy music. She could be your Michael Irvin and you her Troy Aikman. lol
Seriously Grizz, when you start seeing eye-to-eye with a woman about the Cowboys...you know its the dead part of the year. Take a break, go see the rents in FL or something.
Bill was considered one of the true motivators...
seems everyone totally forgets that Parcells was one of the games great motivators. Look how many guys are so totally loyal to him. If he was such a blind hard-ass, this would simply not be the case. Parcells blended all kinds of styles, from tough disciplinarian to joke-ster.
If you want incite into his personality, look at how he handled the media.
I think the schemes frustrated some people. I think his no-nonsense style did not suit everyone. I think his conservative game-management drove many people nuts. But to say the guy was simply too much of a hard-ass is almost missing the point.
I agree dalailuke
and we all know that winning cures all ailments. Parcells was a great team builder and motivator but I think his conservative play calling and apparent lack of trust to turn his offense loose cost the boys wins and now that he is gone he is the natural scapegoat for an underachieving team. Plus, like moving into a new house or changing jobs, I think the boys are looking for a fresh start doing all they can to buy into wade phillips and believe that now they will get over the hump.
Don't sweat it Grizz, she read your article .....
and my posts! :)
by Badknees on Jul 17, 2007 3:19 PM CDT reply actions
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