An email I sent to Albert Breer on 8/29/08

[yimyammer]

Below is an email I started to post here but didn't because I figured I wouldn't get a straight answer and instead be shellacked with calls that I am a fair weather, bandwagon, good for nothing non fan.

Unfortunately I never got a response from Albert and even more discouraging is that what I was concerned about seems to have come to fruition.

Let the flames begin, here's the letter:

I was hoping you might be willing to give your assessment of this years Dallas Cowboys. While I think we have a talented team, something seems missing to me and I don’t know if it’s coaching, players or just in my head. Whatever it is, I just don’t feel this team has the same heart that say the New York Giants have and fear Cowboy fans may be in for a disappointing season (However, I don’t throw Romo, Witten & Barber in this category). I feel the Cowboys are over-rated and don’t have the attitude necessary to take them to where they want to go. I hope its just fear and I am wrong, but I guess we’re about to find out.


Conversely, I am not willing to write off the New York Giants (or the Eagles for that matter). The Giants showed incredible heart and tenacity with how they played New England in that final meaningless regular season game. Then, they make the incredible run through the playoffs & win the super bowl with a slew of injuries, a bunch of rookies, missing Shockey, all while on the road. I think their coaching staff creates an environment of toughness and finds guys with attitudes and then lets the competition of camp/practice bring the cream to the top. I think the Giants head coach sets a higher level of expectation from the top whereas Coach Wade makes ridiculous statements like “all the mistakes the team make are his fault” (See Hard Knocks). I won’t be surprised if they give the Cowboys and the rest of the league hell again this year.


So what do you think, are the Cowboys as good as billed?

Now, I have to ask if a couch potato, arm-chair QB like me can see problems before the season started, then why the hell can't all these high paid coaches & management?


***for the record and I'm sure this won't register with many that reads this, I have been an avid Cowboy fan since I was 6 years old. I'm 42 now. That's 36 years and I literally get depressed everytime we lose. I watch every game to the bitter end, went to the Super Bowl in 95 and live and die with this team. I love the Cowboys more than I can accurately convey. No matter what comes of this year or the future, they will always be my team and I will root for them regardless of how they perform. So just because I notice and point out flaws I perceive they have, this in no way makes me any less of a fan. If our coaches had half the concern many of us critical fans have, I seriously doubt we'd be in the situation the team now presently finds itself in***

 

[DaBoys4Life]

I felt/feel the same way.

 

[tomson75]

Breer is probably sitting around scratching his head too right now. It isn't three days since the guy wrote a piece declaring that the Cowboys arguably have the more talent than the 2007 Patriots...and perhaps the most ever.

 

[TonyS]

No, you don't have to worry about being called a fair weather fan from real fans. Real fans of a team know their team inside and out and can see patterns developing and weaknesses almost as well as the coaches themselves. This team was waiting to roll into the playoffs and forgot that there were 16 games before they got there. With all this talent, we should be much better.

 

[RCowboyFan]

Well I guess you perception was right. But I think there bunch of others like you were not believing the team this season. Sure most of us hoped that we were completely wrong. We still have time to be wrong though, thats the only hope. But I don't have hopes, so I am not going to sweat it anymore either.

Like a Drug addict I can't help but watch the Cowboys, so I will be watching as usual next week, just not as emotional tie as I had before.

 

[Big Dakota]

I wasn't just hopeful about this season, i was demanding we win and i mean win the NFC championship and go to the SB. BUT, i had this part of me gnawing away that maybe what i saw from turkey day on in 2005(2-4) 2006(3-4) and 2007(4-3) is exactly what this team is when the chips are down. An average team that will lose in the end.

As a Mets fan I've watched it 3 years in a row now and it sickens me, but i don't love the Mets like i do my Cowboys.

If we fold this year, it will be the most disappointing and underachieving year in the Cowboys nearly 50 year history. But that small part that gnawed away at me won't be surprised.

 

[Boysboy]

I wasn't just hopeful about this season, i was demanding we win and i mean win the NFC championship and go to the SB. BUT, i had this part of me gnawing away that maybe what i saw from turkey day on in 2005(2-4) 2006(3-4) and 2007(4-3) is exactly what this team is when the chips are down. An average team that will lose in the end.

As a Mets fan I've watched it 3 years in a row now and it sickens me, but i don't love the Mets like i do my Cowboys.

If we fold this year, it will be the most disappointing and underachieving year in the Cowboys nearly 50 year history. But that small part that gnawed away at me won't be surprised.

I'm also a big Pistons fan-having watching them meltdown in the ECF the last 3 years have sicked me just as much.

 

[mperfection]

Below is an email I started to post here but didn't because I figured I wouldn't get a straight answer and instead be shellacked with calls that I am a fair weather, bandwagon, good for nothing non fan.

Unfortunately I never got a response from Albert and even more discouraging is that what I was concerned about seems to have come to fruition.

Let the flames begin, here's the letter:

I was hoping you might be willing to give your assessment of this years Dallas Cowboys. While I think we have a talented team, something seems missing to me and I don’t know if it’s coaching, players or just in my head. Whatever it is, I just don’t feel this team has the same heart that say the New York Giants have and fear Cowboy fans may be in for a disappointing season (However, I don’t throw Romo, Witten & Barber in this category). I feel the Cowboys are over-rated and don’t have the attitude necessary to take them to where they want to go. I hope its just fear and I am wrong, but I guess we’re about to find out.


Conversely, I am not willing to write off the New York Giants (or the Eagles for that matter). The Giants showed incredible heart and tenacity with how they played New England in that final meaningless regular season game. Then, they make the incredible run through the playoffs & win the super bowl with a slew of injuries, a bunch of rookies, missing Shockey, all while on the road. I think their coaching staff creates an environment of toughness and finds guys with attitudes and then lets the competition of camp/practice bring the cream to the top. I think the Giants head coach sets a higher level of expectation from the top whereas Coach Wade makes ridiculous statements like “all the mistakes the team make are his fault” (See Hard Knocks). I won’t be surprised if they give the Cowboys and the rest of the league hell again this year.


So what do you think, are the Cowboys as good as billed?

Now, I have to ask if a couch potato, arm-chair QB like me can see problems before the season started, then why the hell can't all these high paid coaches & management?


***for the record and I'm sure this won't register with many that reads this, I have been an avid Cowboy fan since I was 6 years old. I'm 42 now. That's 36 years and I literally get depressed everytime we lose. I watch every game to the bitter end, went to the Super Bowl in 95 and live and die with this team. I love the Cowboys more than I can accurately convey. No matter what comes of this year or the future, they will always be my team and I will root for them regardless of how they perform. So just because I notice and point out flaws I perceive they have, this in no way makes me any less of a fan. If our coaches had half the concern many of us critical fans have, I seriously doubt we'd be in the situation the team now presently finds itself in***

Spot on.

I know I felt that same way that you did, but chose to ignore it as unrealistic expectations, choosing rather to lower my expectations to what I thought to be more "realistic" terms. Collectively, we are a very talented team, easily in the top 3 in the NFL.

But we lack an identity, and our Head Coach has not been able to instill that. We play scared on both offense and defense, although offense surprises me the most. We know that we are an explosive team, but I feel like we "fear" burying teams once we get on top of them. We lack that knock out punch on offense. On defense, we play not to lose, which doesn't make us an attacking defense as much as Wade would like to think. I've always disliked Dave Campo as a coach, because I think his "bend don't break" style of defense actually works to instill more fear than agression in his defenses. It is a natural law that the wrong type of fear is not productive, but rather regressive if not ultimately self-destructive.

I really wonder if Wade can turn this thing around.

 

[yimyammer]

I just received a reply from Albert Breer, here tis:

Sorry about not getting back to you. It's been crazy busy since I got this job, and I'm trying to do my best here to stay in touch with fans. Always appreciate the support.

In my mind the problem is -- and I don't want to be too superficial here -- that I don't feel like there's a tremendous accountability among the players with Wade in charge. I actually wrote about this too ...

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=469159

It's the Year 2 after Parcells syndrome. The first year after Tuna leaves, and a softer coach takes over, the team and its players continue to police themselves. But the accountability wrought by Parcells eventually erodes (see: Ray Handley '92, Pete Carroll '98, Herm Edwards '02).

I don't think talent is an issue here. I think this is a team that loves hearing how great it is/can be, and a coach who's more than willing to tell them. A dangerous mix, without question, and now the Garrett dynamic comes in and the whole thing could fall apart.

I'm not saying the season's over. But it's certainly teetering.

Thanks, always, for reading.

 

[tomson75]

See. Scratching his head.

 

[Big Dakota]

Interesting take, and yes, it's on the brink.

 

[Future]

Join the club of ppl who predicted this....blah blah blah

 

[yimyammer]

Join the club of ppl who predicted this....blah blah blah

That's not my point, the point is why didn't our highly paid coaches and management see these issues before they came to a head?

 

[Future]

That's not my point, the point is why didn't our highly paid coaches and management see these issues before they came to a head?

Maybe because you didn't email them...

sorry today has just been a bit frustrating

 

[Coakleys Dad]

No, you don't have to worry about being called a fair weather fan from real fans. Real fans of a team know their team inside and out and can see patterns developing and weaknesses almost as well as the coaches themselves. This team was waiting to roll into the playoffs and forgot that there were 16 games before they got there. With all this talent, we should be much better.

money