Talent alone doesn’t make a good team

charron

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we need to put that on a bill board so jerry will see it!


he wants to win as a side effect of him making money not a priority. It's unfortunate. They do a lot of things well but just can not put it all together for playoff success.
 

DandyDon52

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lose 2/3 of your starters with no offseason, sure..lets be real here..stop blaming MM for finishing one game worse then Rivera , he actually did more with less if you stop looking at it through hate goggles..
I dont have any goggles on BB, I am not looking at his win loss record, I am looking at his game plans, not dealing with his DC,
and his poor game mgmt on many occasions. And his overall leadership.
He was pitiful.
 

conner01

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No one thing makes a team but talent is one thing you can’t win without
 

TwoDeep3

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Fantasy football is fun. I was in a fantasy league with a bunch of friends starting in the early 90s, through about 2007. It was fun to draft and select players and watch them weekly. It was all about grabbing the most talented skill position players to score points, not about building a team to win.

IMO, one thing fantasy football introduced to the average football fan’s mindset is the belief that talent alone is everything. Coaching, toughness, development of players, team culture, etc. all took a deep backseat to talent. Especially flashy talent that makes one hand catches, has freak speed, or has a killer college highlight reel.

Don’t get me wrong- talent is huge. It’s the most important starting quality for a football player- having the talent to become a great player. But just drafting a bunch of talented players is not enough. Those players have to be coached and developed as part of a TEAM. Here are some qualities in addition to talent we must have in order to become a contender again:
  • Coaching- it matters. A good coach brings out the best in a player’s talent. And drafting talented players who are coachable matters too. A great NFL HC builds a TEAM that knows how to play together as a team. Great coaches recognize role players- guys who aren’t stars but are hugely important to the team’s success.
  • Scheme Stability- the best coaches maximize their talent with offensive and defensive schemes. Teams that have a clear identity can draft talent that best fits their scheme as we see in Pitts, and Balt. One of the problems in Dallas the last 20 years is how much instability we’ve had with schemes on defense. We went from a 4-3 to a 3-4, back to a 4-3, then last year to a hybrid, and now back to a 4-3. All with 7 different defensive coordinators.
  • Player development- very few drafted players are “plug and play”. And even the few who are have a lot to learn. Talent alone doesn’t make a player NFL ready. It’s why even the best rookie players must be coached, trained and developed into professional football players.
  • Team culture- most Cowboys fans understand that our culture has been a problem for years. An obvious lack of accountability at the top of the organization filters down to the field. A sense of entitlement has poisoned the well. A healthy Football culture starts with accountability. The HC sets the tone. It was one of Jimmy Johnson’s greatest strengths.
  • Toughness- mental as well as physical. The teams winning in the playoffs are almost always the toughest. Especially mentally. Can you take a punch of adversity and still counter punch? This is one area the Cowboys must improve. We have been one of the softest teams in this league for years.
So as we head into the draft, let’s hope we draft some great talent. Then coach and develop that talent within a great scheme, to be the toughest TEAM in the league. That’s a formula for success.

Good coaching without talent does not make a good team.
 

Bobhaze

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Good coaching without talent does not make a good team.
Right...I believe that’s in the OP...”Don’t get me wrong- talent is huge. It’s the most important starting quality for a football player- having the talent to become a great player.”
 

blueblood70

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I dont have any goggles on BB, I am not looking at his win loss record, I am looking at his game plans, not dealing with his DC,
and his poor game mgmt on many occasions. And his overall leadership.
He was pitiful.
disagree it was an odd year and they didnt some odd desperate things..chat happens. move on
 

Motorola

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Moving through the 2021 off season so far...
1) Overhauling the defensive coaching staff - a positive
2) Free agent acquisitions - underwhelming (but that was expected per track record)
3) 35 hours until the draft starts... what priority emerges, and what strategy will the Cowboys use in getting new players to enhance the talent on this team?
 

sean10mm

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Good coaching without talent does not make a good team.

2020 Patriots are the ultimate example of this, though conversely I don't know if any coach but Belichick sniffs 7 wins with that roster. Bad QB, trash tier WRs and TEs, mediocre RB, OK but not amazing talent on D with a ton of holdouts.

But Bob said up front that talent does still matter, just that fantasy points aren't real football.
 

atlantacowboy

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Fantasy football has been the death of the NFL. I'll root for an Eagles player on my roster to get a win. That's just down right disgusting...This has nothing to do with the OP though.

Like the humor but pandemics, CTE, and politics are at the front of the "death of the NFL" line.
 

atlantacowboy

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Fantasy football is fun. I was in a fantasy league with a bunch of friends starting in the early 90s, through about 2007. It was fun to draft and select players and watch them weekly. It was all about grabbing the most talented skill position players to score points, not about building a team to win.

IMO, one thing fantasy football introduced to the average football fan’s mindset is the belief that talent alone is everything. Coaching, toughness, development of players, team culture, etc. all took a deep backseat to talent. Especially flashy talent that makes one hand catches, has freak speed, or has a killer college highlight reel.

Don’t get me wrong- talent is huge. It’s the most important starting quality for a football player- having the talent to become a great player. But just drafting a bunch of talented players is not enough. Those players have to be coached and developed as part of a TEAM. Here are some qualities in addition to talent we must have in order to become a contender again:
  • Coaching- it matters. A good coach brings out the best in a player’s talent. And drafting talented players who are coachable matters too. A great NFL HC builds a TEAM that knows how to play together as a team. Great coaches recognize role players- guys who aren’t stars but are hugely important to the team’s success.
  • Scheme Stability- the best coaches maximize their talent with offensive and defensive schemes. Teams that have a clear identity can draft talent that best fits their scheme as we see in Pitts, and Balt. One of the problems in Dallas the last 20 years is how much instability we’ve had with schemes on defense. We went from a 4-3 to a 3-4, back to a 4-3, then last year to a hybrid, and now back to a 4-3. All with 7 different defensive coordinators.
  • Player development- very few drafted players are “plug and play”. And even the few who are have a lot to learn. Talent alone doesn’t make a player NFL ready. It’s why even the best rookie players must be coached, trained and developed into professional football players.
  • Team culture- most Cowboys fans understand that our culture has been a problem for years. An obvious lack of accountability at the top of the organization filters down to the field. A sense of entitlement has poisoned the well. A healthy Football culture starts with accountability. The HC sets the tone. It was one of Jimmy Johnson’s greatest strengths.
  • Toughness- mental as well as physical. The teams winning in the playoffs are almost always the toughest. Especially mentally. Can you take a punch of adversity and still counter punch? This is one area the Cowboys must improve. We have been one of the softest teams in this league for years.
So as we head into the draft, let’s hope we draft some great talent. Then coach and develop that talent within a great scheme, to be the toughest TEAM in the league. That’s a formula for success.

Bottom line is players play the game. You add Brady to Tampa and suddenly after flopping in Arizona for 5 years, Bruce Arians is an amazing head coach. You take Brady away from NE and Belecheck doesn't even make the playoffs. You can't scheme everything anymore than you can scheme a 280lb DT to take on a 320lb G on a run block.

The problem in Dallas is there isn't enough talent at key spots and the bottom half of the roster is among the worst in the NFL.
 

Doomsday101

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Clearly you need talent just to have a shot at playing in the NFL, to become a team much of that falls to the coaches to be able to take 53 men and have them playing as 1 team, 1 offensive unit or defensive unit all working in unison. Having 53 individuals is not a team regardless of the talent.
 

Turk

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Bottom line is players play the game. You add Brady to Tampa and suddenly after flopping in Arizona for 5 years, Bruce Arians is an amazing head coach. You take Brady away from NE and Belecheck doesn't even make the playoffs. You can't scheme everything anymore than you can scheme a 280lb DT to take on a 320lb G on a run block.

The problem in Dallas is there isn't enough talent at key spots and the bottom half of the roster is among the worst in the NFL.
actually our talent is not that bad; its just mostly a bad fit for our D schemes (Such as they were). Better coaching and schemes would have made a significant difference last year. Still would not have made us close to a top ten D but we would not have been the worst in the league either.
 

atlantacowboy

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actually our talent is not that bad; its just mostly a bad fit for our D schemes (Such as they were). Better coaching and schemes would have made a significant difference last year. Still would not have made us close to a top ten D but we would not have been the worst in the league either.

Last year was the worst front 7 I've ever seen play for the cowboys. Easily the worst LB core in team history. The "talent isn't that bad" argument works is if you are only looking at the offensive side of the ball.
 

CATCH17

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actually our talent is not that bad; its just mostly a bad fit for our D schemes (Such as they were). Better coaching and schemes would have made a significant difference last year. Still would not have made us close to a top ten D but we would not have been the worst in the league either.

Agree.. A bend don't break style probably puts us in the top half of the league defensively.

I've never seen us give up that many big plays in a season.
 

Doomsday101

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Last year was the worst front 7 I've ever seen play for the cowboys. Easily the worst LB core in team history. The "talent isn't that bad" argument works is if you are only looking at the offensive side of the ball.

Going from 9th ranked in 2019 to bottom in 2020 I think has something to do with scheme. Clearly we need to add parts to this defense but normally you don't see that big of a drop
 

TwoDeep3

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Right...I believe that’s in the OP...”Don’t get me wrong- talent is huge. It’s the most important starting quality for a football player- having the talent to become a great player.”

Teams are built around playmakers.
 

DandyDon52

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Free agent acquisitions - underwhelming (but that was expected per track record)
jerry actually explained that, and their philosophy on that in the press conf monday. it is on you tube.
I forget exactly what he said, but they feel the only FA should be the cheap ones on short deals.
I think part of it was controlling the cap so you can keep 'your' guys and have the money to pay them .
So thinking like that, they went cheap FA last few years, so they could sign dak to the mega deal lol. and make elliot highest paid RB ever lol.
 

DandyDon52

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first off saying they dont have good coach IN MM is straight sports idiocy. hes not yes man just because fans say he is..all coaches answer to their GM and owners, period, they dont have cart blanche to go off the pasture and do what ever they feel..

i mean this pace props up Rivera over MM , why is that dude has done far far less then MM and got fired as well nd last year one game better then MM isn the situauon id say MM did beter job....get over it
and if you feel wade wasn't agood choice coaches like him get hired all the time and as for garett well who are the coaches for the eagles and giants right now and who was Pederson, they are all like Garett teams taking fliers on virtual unproven commodities..sure maybe Garrett stayed afew years too long but in no way was he as bad a hire as this place wants to make him be..

what did BB do over in NE with less talent? 7-9 wow that SB caliber :)) what did the boy genius do in years before the sb and now following in SF without talent? umm worse then garett thats for sure..
what did Reid truly do before Mahomes?
I agree with most of what you say here, except MM doing better than Rivera. And MM not being a yes man.

I just go by what I see, and Rivera could change qb's when he felt it was time or needed, he might have had to ask, but I dont think so.
Rivera made moves when things were not working good enough.
He did however make some bonehead game mgmt decisions same as MM.

All the coaches that were new last year did rather poorly. So lets see how they do this season.

And BB, I am starting to think without Brady he may not be so great after all, need a couple more seasons to judge that.
I know Tom can win a SB without BB, and I bet that is driving BB crazy, he missed playoffs, and Tom wins SB !:D
 
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