jday
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In your lifetime you have probably sang the ABC song well over a hundred times; probably more if you have children beyond the age of learning it for the first time. The older you get, I suspect if any of you are anything like me, the more you view the same old arguments and the same old conversations like the ABC song. What I mean is at some point after the hundredth time of having a discussion about the same old thing you probably wish you could simply get from A to Z, without rehashing B to Y…after all, we all should know what happens between A and Z; what’s the point of going over it and over it and over it again when we only have so many seconds promised to us in this life?
If you have been married for more than 10 years, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. There are many times I find myself having the same old argument with my wife, and most of the time (when I’m able to keep my emotions in check) I’m cognizant of that fact. The moment I become aware of it, I have a tendency to hit the skip button on the conversation and immediately jump to the conclusion. This is not a tactic I would recommend to everyone; dependent on the individual you are attempting this on, they may really need to go over the content that occurs between A and Z. It just so happens, as a general rule, I’m not one of those people.
And that is why my contributions in the Cowboys related blogosphere has dipped considerably over the last several months…I’ve grown tired of the same old debates…particularly those debates that have become the song that never ends. If I should at any point in the course of a conversation come to the conclusion that the individual is dug in and will not change what they believe, regardless of the evidence I provide to the contrary, I will often times simply give up and walk away without even wasting time to explain why. At the end of the day, people will believe whatever they want to believe, with or without logic/facts to support it; who am I to deny them that God-given right?
Admittedly, the other part of why I have backed off from contributing as of late was due to the Cowboy season we all collectively wish never was. From my perspective, there is only so much time I am willing to devote to issues I have little to no control over. By season’s end, I was absolutely ready to see coaching changes and not just a gutting of the assistance under Garrett, Marinelli and Linehan…I expected a significant regime change.
Without devoting too much time to what occurred from B to Y in 2017, there were a handful of significant coaching decisions (or lack thereof) that I found to be unforgivable:
1. Kellen Moore made the final 53 despite the fact that Cooper Rush was clearly the better option. This, my friends, to my mind is an excellent microcosm that illustrates what is wrong with Garrett. To put it simply, he has a tendency to coach scared…both on and off the field. It was clear they liked Cooper better, but at the end of the day they failed to pull the trigger on what the many devoted fans had already figured out: Moore might be a great football mind, but that does little for a terrible football throwing arm. As a result, someone who deserved to be on that final 53 instead was either left to seek employment elsewhere or waste a year of their precious youth on the practice squad. Unforgivable
2. Every receiver experienced a down year. Had it been one player as opposed to every one of them, I’d understand the pitchfork crowd currently parading around saying Dez needs to be replaced. But it wasn’t just him…every receiver’s productivity plummeted from a year ago. From that you can only draw one of two conclusions: Either every receiver is on the decline or the scheme failed every receiver…clearly, I lean towards the latter being true. The damning aspect of that narrative is rather than gradually getting better as the season progressed, it only got worse. I respect Garrett at times for sticking to his guns and putting on blinders to the masses to coach what and how he believes. But there’s a limit to how much you can do that and when the numbers suggest a change is necessary (especially over the course of 3 games or more), the onus is on him to fix it or get the hell out of the way. Unforgivable.
3. The Atlanta Falcons game. Dak Prescott was sacked 10 times…10. Six of which were by the same person rushing from the same position against the same offensive lineman Chaz Green. The moment Adrian Clayborn sacked Dak for the third time without even the slightest of adjustment in offensive approach, Garrett and Linehan were simply beyond my abilities to defend them. I knew then there was nothing I could say to justify what happened. And when Adrian hit that magic number of 6 sacks, I was truly baffled. Unforgivable.
If you take a gander at my profile page, you might notice I’ve been contributing to this site for almost 10 years (Dec 5, 2008 is the joined date), but that is not accurate. I was actually a member before then, but something happened on this site prior to then that erased my original profile; I’ve actually been a member since around 2006 (possibly earlier), but on that point I really am not certain. My point is in 10 years of frequenting this establishment, I have participated in many online debates and over the last 6 years, many of those involved defending Garrett.
It’s not like I had a blindspot for him. I fully understand the arguments against him and in many instances agreed with the sentiment of said complaints. My problem with the “fire Garrett” pleas was three-fold.
1. I also recognized the good he brought to this organization. From the moment he took the reins, for the first time since Jimmy, the team adopted a direction I could get behind and believe in. He rid the lockerroom of malcontents. He started the much-maligned RKG movement, say what you will of the results. He seemed to have Jerry’s ear and backing in a manner we hadn’t seen around here since the early 90’s. A clear and concise mission was evident from the very beginning and a youth movement took over. How much credit Garrett deserves for all of this is debatable and that is yet another argument I choose to skip to “Z” on, but I will suffice to say that I believe all the positives we have seen since Garrett took over cannot simply be a coincidence that he had nothing to do with.
2. He had never been a Head Coach before and he is reportedly a smart guy. So, I figured eventually given enough time, he would figure things out. To a certain extent, that has proved to be true. We are not seeing the same level of time management gaffs we were seeing in the beginning and if you look at the highlights of his coaching career so far there have certainly been games where he outcoached the opposition. Not many mind you, but enough to inspire confidence that he is headed in the right direction.
3. The biggest reason, however, that I have supported Garret despite all the evidence that suggest he should be standing in the unemployment line has been (and will always be) about Jerry. At the end of the day, we as fans have to accept a simple truth: Very few people can set aside their ego to work for Jerry and typically the biggest egos have a tendency to be the best coaches (see Bill Belichick). In conclusion, even if Jerry pulled the trigger on a full-on regime change, based on the sorted history of Jerry’s decision-making we simply cannot expect an improvement in leadership. Anyone who takes that job likely is doing so because no one else is hiring him. I suspect there is a significant contingent of coaches in the league that would prefer coaching a High School football team over working for Jerry…but that’s just a hunch.
For me, that last point is the “Z” of this conversation. Until that changes, everything else (from who coaches to who dons the revered star / e.g. the B to Y of this conversation) is irrelevant. Jerry is holding on to this franchise like Charlton Heston holds on to his right to bear arms. Gripe, complain and moan all you like, Jerry will continue to have the final say until they pry his “cold dead hands” from the wheel.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again: It’s not too late for Garrett to turn it around. I certainly have my doubts, but from my perspective, he’s the best shot the Cowboys have at the moment. The only other way it happens is if somehow someway Jerry luck’s into a great coach…but speaking for myself, I think the Cowboys have a better chance of Garrett turning it around. But that’s just my opinion. Because for every Sean McVay/Doug Pederson, there are ten Chip Kelly’s….for every Belichick, there is 31 other coaches. In other words, I’m putting all my chips on Garrett winning in spite of Jerry, because on the Roulette Wheel of my thought process here, Garrett is “Red” and Jerry finding a better coach that will work for him is 13 Black….savvy?
If you were hoping for an attempt by yours truly at inspiring confidence in the team you love, my sincerest apologies; that’s not what was intended. This is me simply taking a realistic look at the situation of being a Dallas Cowboys fan. The landscape certainly doesn’t look inviting, but if you are stuck being a fan of the Cowboys (as I am), you may as well attempt to make the best of it and stop devoting so many of those limited seconds you are granted on this earth debating things beyond your ability to control or change.
Thoughts?
If you have been married for more than 10 years, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. There are many times I find myself having the same old argument with my wife, and most of the time (when I’m able to keep my emotions in check) I’m cognizant of that fact. The moment I become aware of it, I have a tendency to hit the skip button on the conversation and immediately jump to the conclusion. This is not a tactic I would recommend to everyone; dependent on the individual you are attempting this on, they may really need to go over the content that occurs between A and Z. It just so happens, as a general rule, I’m not one of those people.
And that is why my contributions in the Cowboys related blogosphere has dipped considerably over the last several months…I’ve grown tired of the same old debates…particularly those debates that have become the song that never ends. If I should at any point in the course of a conversation come to the conclusion that the individual is dug in and will not change what they believe, regardless of the evidence I provide to the contrary, I will often times simply give up and walk away without even wasting time to explain why. At the end of the day, people will believe whatever they want to believe, with or without logic/facts to support it; who am I to deny them that God-given right?
Admittedly, the other part of why I have backed off from contributing as of late was due to the Cowboy season we all collectively wish never was. From my perspective, there is only so much time I am willing to devote to issues I have little to no control over. By season’s end, I was absolutely ready to see coaching changes and not just a gutting of the assistance under Garrett, Marinelli and Linehan…I expected a significant regime change.
Without devoting too much time to what occurred from B to Y in 2017, there were a handful of significant coaching decisions (or lack thereof) that I found to be unforgivable:
1. Kellen Moore made the final 53 despite the fact that Cooper Rush was clearly the better option. This, my friends, to my mind is an excellent microcosm that illustrates what is wrong with Garrett. To put it simply, he has a tendency to coach scared…both on and off the field. It was clear they liked Cooper better, but at the end of the day they failed to pull the trigger on what the many devoted fans had already figured out: Moore might be a great football mind, but that does little for a terrible football throwing arm. As a result, someone who deserved to be on that final 53 instead was either left to seek employment elsewhere or waste a year of their precious youth on the practice squad. Unforgivable
2. Every receiver experienced a down year. Had it been one player as opposed to every one of them, I’d understand the pitchfork crowd currently parading around saying Dez needs to be replaced. But it wasn’t just him…every receiver’s productivity plummeted from a year ago. From that you can only draw one of two conclusions: Either every receiver is on the decline or the scheme failed every receiver…clearly, I lean towards the latter being true. The damning aspect of that narrative is rather than gradually getting better as the season progressed, it only got worse. I respect Garrett at times for sticking to his guns and putting on blinders to the masses to coach what and how he believes. But there’s a limit to how much you can do that and when the numbers suggest a change is necessary (especially over the course of 3 games or more), the onus is on him to fix it or get the hell out of the way. Unforgivable.
3. The Atlanta Falcons game. Dak Prescott was sacked 10 times…10. Six of which were by the same person rushing from the same position against the same offensive lineman Chaz Green. The moment Adrian Clayborn sacked Dak for the third time without even the slightest of adjustment in offensive approach, Garrett and Linehan were simply beyond my abilities to defend them. I knew then there was nothing I could say to justify what happened. And when Adrian hit that magic number of 6 sacks, I was truly baffled. Unforgivable.
If you take a gander at my profile page, you might notice I’ve been contributing to this site for almost 10 years (Dec 5, 2008 is the joined date), but that is not accurate. I was actually a member before then, but something happened on this site prior to then that erased my original profile; I’ve actually been a member since around 2006 (possibly earlier), but on that point I really am not certain. My point is in 10 years of frequenting this establishment, I have participated in many online debates and over the last 6 years, many of those involved defending Garrett.
It’s not like I had a blindspot for him. I fully understand the arguments against him and in many instances agreed with the sentiment of said complaints. My problem with the “fire Garrett” pleas was three-fold.
1. I also recognized the good he brought to this organization. From the moment he took the reins, for the first time since Jimmy, the team adopted a direction I could get behind and believe in. He rid the lockerroom of malcontents. He started the much-maligned RKG movement, say what you will of the results. He seemed to have Jerry’s ear and backing in a manner we hadn’t seen around here since the early 90’s. A clear and concise mission was evident from the very beginning and a youth movement took over. How much credit Garrett deserves for all of this is debatable and that is yet another argument I choose to skip to “Z” on, but I will suffice to say that I believe all the positives we have seen since Garrett took over cannot simply be a coincidence that he had nothing to do with.
2. He had never been a Head Coach before and he is reportedly a smart guy. So, I figured eventually given enough time, he would figure things out. To a certain extent, that has proved to be true. We are not seeing the same level of time management gaffs we were seeing in the beginning and if you look at the highlights of his coaching career so far there have certainly been games where he outcoached the opposition. Not many mind you, but enough to inspire confidence that he is headed in the right direction.
3. The biggest reason, however, that I have supported Garret despite all the evidence that suggest he should be standing in the unemployment line has been (and will always be) about Jerry. At the end of the day, we as fans have to accept a simple truth: Very few people can set aside their ego to work for Jerry and typically the biggest egos have a tendency to be the best coaches (see Bill Belichick). In conclusion, even if Jerry pulled the trigger on a full-on regime change, based on the sorted history of Jerry’s decision-making we simply cannot expect an improvement in leadership. Anyone who takes that job likely is doing so because no one else is hiring him. I suspect there is a significant contingent of coaches in the league that would prefer coaching a High School football team over working for Jerry…but that’s just a hunch.
For me, that last point is the “Z” of this conversation. Until that changes, everything else (from who coaches to who dons the revered star / e.g. the B to Y of this conversation) is irrelevant. Jerry is holding on to this franchise like Charlton Heston holds on to his right to bear arms. Gripe, complain and moan all you like, Jerry will continue to have the final say until they pry his “cold dead hands” from the wheel.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again: It’s not too late for Garrett to turn it around. I certainly have my doubts, but from my perspective, he’s the best shot the Cowboys have at the moment. The only other way it happens is if somehow someway Jerry luck’s into a great coach…but speaking for myself, I think the Cowboys have a better chance of Garrett turning it around. But that’s just my opinion. Because for every Sean McVay/Doug Pederson, there are ten Chip Kelly’s….for every Belichick, there is 31 other coaches. In other words, I’m putting all my chips on Garrett winning in spite of Jerry, because on the Roulette Wheel of my thought process here, Garrett is “Red” and Jerry finding a better coach that will work for him is 13 Black….savvy?
If you were hoping for an attempt by yours truly at inspiring confidence in the team you love, my sincerest apologies; that’s not what was intended. This is me simply taking a realistic look at the situation of being a Dallas Cowboys fan. The landscape certainly doesn’t look inviting, but if you are stuck being a fan of the Cowboys (as I am), you may as well attempt to make the best of it and stop devoting so many of those limited seconds you are granted on this earth debating things beyond your ability to control or change.
Thoughts?
,,, EMBRACE the KELLEN,people!
