LaTunaNostra
06-16-2004, 06:14 AM
Putting blame on Big Bill a little tricky
Randy Galloway - In My Opinion
Don't confuse what follows with fair and balanced reporting. It's too late for me in that regard.
Actually, I bring this up mainly for personal amusement.
What if that had been Dave Campo or Barry Switzer?
What would have been the degree of local media hellfire-damnation if an underachieving, mouthy young Cowboys player had thrown his sweaty, stinky jersey right smack in the puss of Docile Dave or Gunsmoke?
And a week later, that player was still on the team?
The condemnation would have been worse than airport security finding a gun in the carry-on bag.
Or Coach Campo's rendition of My Girl.
Without question, you would have read in sports sections this three-inch headline:
DISCIPLINE DEAD AT VALLEY RANCH
And, of course, I would have been the first to blame Jerry by starting off this column with:
"The gutless puppet coach once again had his strings pulled by the stupid meddling owner."
Second paragraph:
"This stuff wouldn't be happening if Jerry Jones would hire a real head coach. Like Bill Parcells."
You know I'm right on this. Even worse, I know I'm right on this.
Next question:
Has Big Bill gone soft?
A week later, why the heck hasn't Antonio Bryant's butt been sent packing?
I read earlier this week Brother LeBreton's opinion on these pages that an overreaction in this case would be foolish. That Bryant's talent level was worthy of Big Bill turning the other nostril after getting a full face strong sniff of Bryant's sweaty, stinky jersey.
No, I thought. A thousand times "no."
Parcells' strongest ally as a coach is the fear factor that the mere mention of his name brings.
With the entire team watching that practice field scene a week ago, even a Parcells loses respect if he doesn't react. Or overreact. Big Bill can't allow that punk to get away with that.
Still waiting, however.
Parcells has left town for a vacation. And instead of hanging around Valley Ranch and begging for forgiveness, Bryant went to Miami to hang out after being barred from the final three days of minicamp practices.
What does that say about Antonio?
He doesn't care.
Meanwhile, Valley Ranch continues under a strong verbal lockdown order from Big Bill.
Anyone caught talking about this case will be immediately fired, sources inside the bunker reported.
We are still awaiting a final disposition. No one knows at the moment if Bryant stays or goes. I've heard it both ways. But Parcells is leaving us in limbo, and Bryant in limbo. And unless a trade happens, it might be the start of training camp before Parcells announces his intentions for Bryant.
So for a little reassurance regarding my get-his-butt-outta-here reaction, or overreaction, I turned Tuesday to the former king of discipline at Valley Ranch.
I wanted to hear from the guy who had the guts to be the first to go public with the obvious truth that a funny guy named Barry Switzer had played a role in bringing down the last great NFL dynasty.
And as Daryl Johnston said again about his Cowboys of the '90s, "There was a total breakdown in discipline and accountability, plus there were the separate rules for individual players. Once players realize that, it's a matter of time before you have internal chaos."
OK, that's old news, and even after Barry went back to the sofa in Norman, nothing much changed until Parcells arrived at Valley Ranch.
Let it be noted, however, that until last week no player ever hurled a sweaty, stinky jersey into the face of a head coach.
Johnston, now a Fox-TV football voice, was asked for his opinion on the Bryant situation.
His answer was something along the lines of trust in Big Bill. And don't overreact. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but ...
"Parcells is so good in these kind of cases, let him be the judge," Johnston said. "He will know how to handle this. Let him weigh it, let him wait and deal with Antonio on his own terms."
For one thing, Johnston remembered private conversations he had last season on the subject of Antonio Bryant.
"I think Bill likes him, plus he thinks he can be a player, and those two factors are major with a guy like Parcells. What he told me was Bryant was a kid who had no filter on his mouth or on his reactions. What Antonio thought, he said, or he reacted.
"In this case, he thinks he should be starting, despite having had a subpar season, and he sees two of Parcells' guys [Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn] as his competition at receiver. But he absolutely can't do what he did. That was crazy, arguing with the position coach, with [Keyshawn Johnson] and then having Parcells get involved."
Johnston admits its doubtful he'd be willing to give very many coaches such flexibility in this case. But Parcells is Parcells.
"The guy's track record speaks for itself. Parcells is among the best at knowing everything about each individual player. I don't know what he's going to eventually do here, but in Bill's mind, if [Bryant] wasn't worth saving, I think he'd already be gone."
Meanwhile, I will continue to overreact. And wait on Big Bill to do something.
Randy Galloway - In My Opinion
Don't confuse what follows with fair and balanced reporting. It's too late for me in that regard.
Actually, I bring this up mainly for personal amusement.
What if that had been Dave Campo or Barry Switzer?
What would have been the degree of local media hellfire-damnation if an underachieving, mouthy young Cowboys player had thrown his sweaty, stinky jersey right smack in the puss of Docile Dave or Gunsmoke?
And a week later, that player was still on the team?
The condemnation would have been worse than airport security finding a gun in the carry-on bag.
Or Coach Campo's rendition of My Girl.
Without question, you would have read in sports sections this three-inch headline:
DISCIPLINE DEAD AT VALLEY RANCH
And, of course, I would have been the first to blame Jerry by starting off this column with:
"The gutless puppet coach once again had his strings pulled by the stupid meddling owner."
Second paragraph:
"This stuff wouldn't be happening if Jerry Jones would hire a real head coach. Like Bill Parcells."
You know I'm right on this. Even worse, I know I'm right on this.
Next question:
Has Big Bill gone soft?
A week later, why the heck hasn't Antonio Bryant's butt been sent packing?
I read earlier this week Brother LeBreton's opinion on these pages that an overreaction in this case would be foolish. That Bryant's talent level was worthy of Big Bill turning the other nostril after getting a full face strong sniff of Bryant's sweaty, stinky jersey.
No, I thought. A thousand times "no."
Parcells' strongest ally as a coach is the fear factor that the mere mention of his name brings.
With the entire team watching that practice field scene a week ago, even a Parcells loses respect if he doesn't react. Or overreact. Big Bill can't allow that punk to get away with that.
Still waiting, however.
Parcells has left town for a vacation. And instead of hanging around Valley Ranch and begging for forgiveness, Bryant went to Miami to hang out after being barred from the final three days of minicamp practices.
What does that say about Antonio?
He doesn't care.
Meanwhile, Valley Ranch continues under a strong verbal lockdown order from Big Bill.
Anyone caught talking about this case will be immediately fired, sources inside the bunker reported.
We are still awaiting a final disposition. No one knows at the moment if Bryant stays or goes. I've heard it both ways. But Parcells is leaving us in limbo, and Bryant in limbo. And unless a trade happens, it might be the start of training camp before Parcells announces his intentions for Bryant.
So for a little reassurance regarding my get-his-butt-outta-here reaction, or overreaction, I turned Tuesday to the former king of discipline at Valley Ranch.
I wanted to hear from the guy who had the guts to be the first to go public with the obvious truth that a funny guy named Barry Switzer had played a role in bringing down the last great NFL dynasty.
And as Daryl Johnston said again about his Cowboys of the '90s, "There was a total breakdown in discipline and accountability, plus there were the separate rules for individual players. Once players realize that, it's a matter of time before you have internal chaos."
OK, that's old news, and even after Barry went back to the sofa in Norman, nothing much changed until Parcells arrived at Valley Ranch.
Let it be noted, however, that until last week no player ever hurled a sweaty, stinky jersey into the face of a head coach.
Johnston, now a Fox-TV football voice, was asked for his opinion on the Bryant situation.
His answer was something along the lines of trust in Big Bill. And don't overreact. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but ...
"Parcells is so good in these kind of cases, let him be the judge," Johnston said. "He will know how to handle this. Let him weigh it, let him wait and deal with Antonio on his own terms."
For one thing, Johnston remembered private conversations he had last season on the subject of Antonio Bryant.
"I think Bill likes him, plus he thinks he can be a player, and those two factors are major with a guy like Parcells. What he told me was Bryant was a kid who had no filter on his mouth or on his reactions. What Antonio thought, he said, or he reacted.
"In this case, he thinks he should be starting, despite having had a subpar season, and he sees two of Parcells' guys [Keyshawn Johnson and Terry Glenn] as his competition at receiver. But he absolutely can't do what he did. That was crazy, arguing with the position coach, with [Keyshawn Johnson] and then having Parcells get involved."
Johnston admits its doubtful he'd be willing to give very many coaches such flexibility in this case. But Parcells is Parcells.
"The guy's track record speaks for itself. Parcells is among the best at knowing everything about each individual player. I don't know what he's going to eventually do here, but in Bill's mind, if [Bryant] wasn't worth saving, I think he'd already be gone."
Meanwhile, I will continue to overreact. And wait on Big Bill to do something.