In all seriousness, Do the players even care if they make the playoffs?

[Everson24]

Even if they were to play the wild card game and win their way to the Super Bowl championship they would earn a total of $170K. That amount is less than 10% of some of the players individual game check. I have a hard time believing that amount of money is any motivating factor for many of our highly overpaid players.

I remember reading somewhere that Walt Garrison made something like 30% of his annual salary if they went to and won the Super Bowl. Now I can understand that making a difference in your motivation.

As far as getting more publicity for winning, We lack motivation for that too. Win or lose what team gets more publicity than the Dallas Cowboys? I just don't think there is anything these players really care about other than staying on an NFL roster,getting their paychecks and planning their family vacation as soon as game 16 is over. Think about it. Would you be excited to give up a two week family vacation in Aruba for %10 of your weekly salary not to mention a chance to rest and get healthy again? I didn't think so. This may explain why we see many players laughing it up on the sidelines while we are down 21-3 against our division rivals. I'm getting tired of caring more about winning than some of the players do. And really who could blame them?

[fifaguy]

I think the Cowboys care an awful lot, especially given their recent history of failing to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen this year either...

[lwehlers]

i bet they do not. the players that are making millions and what is an extra 170k to them.

[Kaika]

Originally Posted by lwehlers

i bet they do not. the players that are making millions and what is an extra 170k to them.

Not sure I agree. I believe $$ isn't the most imp. thing to most NFL players ,if it was, why kill yourself after receiving Millions ,you can find a way to survive 1 or 2 mill.
Nah, I think most care ,ego is a big part of being a professional athlete ,but caring isn't enough sometimes. You have to produce as a team,and as a TEAM ,that aren't.

[REDVOLUTION]

Originally Posted by fifaguy

I think the Cowboys care an awful lot, especially given their recent history of failing to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, it's not going to happen this year either...

I think they all care A LOT!

BUT...


1. I dont know if they care to the point of preparing to be the most prepared player(s) on the field.

2. I dont know if some of them are smart enough (football-wise and otherwise)

[MichaelWinicki]

I wouldn't be surprised if a decent sized group of players on the team could care less if they made the playoffs.

I'm still shocked that Felix Jones couldn't pass his conditioning test at the beginning of training camp.

That speaks volumes.

[Rynie]

I guarantee you Mike Jenkins doesn't care. Probably Orlando scandrick also.

[big dog cowboy]

Originally Posted by Everson24

In all seriousness, Do the players even care if they make the playoffs?

That is probably true for every team in the league.

[Howardlittleton64]

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

I wouldn't be surprised if a decent sized group of players on the team could care less if they made the playoffs.

I'm still shocked that Felix Jones couldn't pass his conditioning test at the beginning of training camp.

That speaks volumes.

Bingo

[tyke1doe]

Fans tend to think that players in the NFL are extra motivated because they play professional football and make millions.

But NFL players are like real people in their particular jobs.

You have some who are very passionate about their jobs and would do it without making a lot of money.

You have some who are playing football for any number of reasons - it's the only thing they know to do, they're good at it but they could take it or leave it, they're in it for the money, etc.

I'm sure there are some who have a burning desire to make it to the playoffs and be a winner.

There are others, I don't think they even care. They play football. They're making money. They're ready for the off season.

I'll never forget what Michael Irvin said about players: Someone are just there to cash a paycheck. They really aren't there to win. So when Jimmy Johnson came on board, Irvin went to him and told him, "This one doesn't need to be here, and this one doesn't need to be here, etc."

The other thing he said is you can tell the players who want the ball in crunch time. There are some players who actually are scared to handle the ball or be in the line up when a critical game-winning play is at stake. Then there are other guys who live for that moment. They want the ball in their hands. They want to step up and make the game-winning play.

I suspect there are some players on the Cowboys who are just ready for the season to be over. They won't tell you this, of course.

But the Cowboys and NFL football isn't/aren't any different from the work situations in other non-sports environments.

[Illini88228]

Originally Posted by Rynie

I guarantee you Mike Jenkins doesn't care. Probably Orlando scandrick also.

Why do people hate Mike Jenkins so much? The guy played last year when is arm kept getting ripped out of its socket. Yes he's dogged it on some tackles over the year, but lots of cornerbacks have done that. I'm just amazed that somehow Jenkins has become the poster child for not caring.

[fifaguy]

Originally Posted by REDVOLUTION

I think they all care A LOT!

BUT...


1. I dont know if they care to the point of preparing to be the most prepared player(s) on the field.

2. I dont know if some of them are smart enough (football-wise and otherwise)

yes; caring and getting it done are two different things

[Super_Kazuya]

A fair question. You know, there's no doubt a lot of players who look at the NFL as strictly a job... and the playoffs would therefore be a low-paying overtime. However, these "low enthusiasm" types tend to be the types who don't get a lot of media exposure, so we don't know who they are. We know that Romo, Witten, etc. want to go to the playoffs. But do the interior players, the ones in the trenches who are literally shaving time off their life with each game, do they want to play a minimum wage playoff game?

[Reverend Conehead]

Originally Posted by tyke1doe

Fans tend to think that players in the NFL are extra motivated because they play professional football and make millions.

But NFL players are like real people in their particular jobs.

You have some who are very passionate about their jobs and would do it without making a lot of money.

You have some who are playing football for any number of reasons - it's the only thing they know to do, they're good at it but they could take it or leave it, they're in it for the money, etc.

I'm sure there are some who have a burning desire to make it to the playoffs and be a winner.

There are others, I don't think they even care. They play football. They're making money. They're ready for the off season.

[View Full Quote]I'll never forget what Michael Irvin said about players: Someone are just there to cash a paycheck. They really aren't there to win. So when Jimmy Johnson came on board, Irvin went to him and told him, "This one doesn't need to be here, and this one doesn't need to be here, etc."

The other thing he said is you can tell the players who want the ball in crunch time. There are some players who actually are scared to handle the ball or be in the line up when a critical game-winning play is at stake. Then there are other guys who live for that moment. They want the ball in their hands. They want to step up and make the game-winning play.

I suspect there are some players on the Cowboys who are just ready for the season to be over. They won't tell you this, of course.

But the Cowboys and NFL football isn't/aren't any different from the work situations in other non-sports environments.

I remember seeing that Irvin interview. I'd love for a mole to be in there like that so that we could just get rid of anyone who's just playing for a paycheck.

[Risen Star]

Originally Posted by MichaelWinicki

I wouldn't be surprised if a decent sized group of players on the team could care less if they made the playoffs.

I'm still shocked that Felix Jones couldn't pass his conditioning test at the beginning of training camp.

That speaks volumes.

It does speak volumes on Felix. People wanted to blame the injury for it. I don't buy it. You're not talking about some extreme test of conditioning here. RBs should pass it in their sleep.

I think it shows the lack of desire in Felix's belly that has been very apparent since he's been here. That's why a guy with his ability has underachieved like he has.

As for the overall premise of this thread, I don't believe so. The Cowboys are one of 32 teams operating under the same financial structure. They all have millionaires playing for thousands in the postseason. Most of these guys would run through a wall for a title. They care. They just aren't very good.