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How Can The 'Boys Go From Good To Great?
Posted by CBS11
The season ends well for only one of the 32 NFL teams, but for the second consecutive season, it ended very, very badly for the Dallas Cowboys. However, unlike last season, the Cowboys have some things they can build on, instead of trying to figure out how to re-shape the chemistry of the football team.
The Cowboys now face the toughest challenge in all of sports. How to go from a good team to a great team.
So here are some of my reflections on this past season, some decisions that the Cowboys have in front of them, and some thoughts for next year.
1) Wade Phillips. Yes, I think it is a good thing that he will be back, even if he does not inspire a great deal of excitement or optimism. He is a victim of his personality, or lack thereof. If your measure for success is winning a Super Bowl, than clearly he fell short, and may for the rest of his career. But look at things on face value. He took over a 9-7 team, and has gone 13-3, 9-7, and 11-5. That is 33-15, and that is pretty good. He has the first playoff win this organization has seen in 13 years. Bill Parcells has no bigger fan than me, but in four years he never won over 10 games here. He did leave two things to remember him by: an organization that was in much better shape than when he found it, and a quarterback.
2) Speaking of that quarterback….Tony Romo made tremendous strides this year, throwing 26 touchdowns against just 9 interceptions. He was a better leader, because there was a framework in place for leadership to emerge. That will need to continue. I truly believe he has his best years ahead of him, and he already has a couple of pretty good years behind him. But again, taking a good team, in any sport, from good to great is the toughest task of all. We will see if he is up for the challenge. Remember, Payton Manning took 6 years before his first playoff win, 9 for a Super Bowl win. Tony Dungy came in studio for our Sunday night “Score” show earlier this season, and I asked him what he told Manning when he continually came up short. He said that he told him to keep getting them into the playoffs, he would get better players around him, and they would get it done. That is exactly what happened.
3) Roy Williams? Wow, He was simply unproductive, and the Cowboys are going to have to make the hard decision. Do we play Roy because of what we gave him and what we gave up to get him, or do we play the best player? Kevin Ogletree was so much better than Roy this year that it wasn’t even close. The kid may be a real player. They waited four years to unleash Miles Austin on the rest of the league. They can’t wait that long for Ogletree. I was really hoping that someone (Jerry? Wade? Jason Garrett?) would go to Roy and say, “We have to play the best player right now, and that is Kevin Ogletree.” That didn’t happen. Roy Williams is a limited player. The Cowboys need to accept that it was a bad trade, and not be burdened by that trade. Bad trades happen. Bad drafts happen. You move on. Organizations have to make the hard decision. They made it with Terrell Owens. Now they need to make it with Roy. That doesn’t necessarily mean release him, but it does mean you tell him he will have to earn his spot next year, that his starting role is not a Supreme Court Lifetime Appointment. Moreover, while we are on the wide receiver position, they need to take one high in this year’s draft. The NFL has become a passing league, and you have to have somebody to throw it to. The greatest contribution…and let me make this clear…you do not want to see an injury to anyone…was Roy getting hurt in Denver and missing the Kansas City game, allowing Miles Austin to let people know that he could play a little. No injury, no Miles, and maybe, no playoffs.
4) What a nice segue into this thought. Don’t worry about stopping the run and running the football. That has gone the way of the gas guzzling SUV. 3 of the top 4 rushing teams, and 6 of the top 10, did not make the playoffs. 7 of the top 8 passing teams did make it, and the one that did not (Houston) finished 9-7. The Cowboys held Adrian Peterson to 63 yards on 26 carries, a 2.4 average. They lost 34-3.
5) I know it has been given the once over, but really, what were the Vikings doing going play action and throwing a touchdown pass on fourth and three? Yes, the Cowboys are big boys, and yes they are getting paid to stop the other team, but really? It just showed a lack of respect for the game and their opponent. I like Brad Childress, I really do. But it sounds like he was mad at the national media for picking Dallas over his football team, so he took the opportunity to rub it in. In psychology, it’s called displacement. You know, bad day at the office, so you go home and kick the dog. That one had me scratching my head. And spare the lame stuff about the Cowboys using their time outs. That was with 6 minutes to go in the game. Improbable that they could make up 24 points in 6 minutes? Yes. Impossible? No.
6) And finally, I know I am a few days late in the celebration of Martin Luther King Day, but do yourself a favor and read his, “I Have a Dream” speech. Dr. King was such a tremendous orator that I think the depth and conviction of his speech gets overlooked. It was one of the great speeches ever delivered. Just tremendous, and nearly 50 years later, still deserving of your time.
Babe Laufenberg
How Can The 'Boys Go From Good To Great?
Posted by CBS11
The season ends well for only one of the 32 NFL teams, but for the second consecutive season, it ended very, very badly for the Dallas Cowboys. However, unlike last season, the Cowboys have some things they can build on, instead of trying to figure out how to re-shape the chemistry of the football team.
The Cowboys now face the toughest challenge in all of sports. How to go from a good team to a great team.
So here are some of my reflections on this past season, some decisions that the Cowboys have in front of them, and some thoughts for next year.
1) Wade Phillips. Yes, I think it is a good thing that he will be back, even if he does not inspire a great deal of excitement or optimism. He is a victim of his personality, or lack thereof. If your measure for success is winning a Super Bowl, than clearly he fell short, and may for the rest of his career. But look at things on face value. He took over a 9-7 team, and has gone 13-3, 9-7, and 11-5. That is 33-15, and that is pretty good. He has the first playoff win this organization has seen in 13 years. Bill Parcells has no bigger fan than me, but in four years he never won over 10 games here. He did leave two things to remember him by: an organization that was in much better shape than when he found it, and a quarterback.
2) Speaking of that quarterback….Tony Romo made tremendous strides this year, throwing 26 touchdowns against just 9 interceptions. He was a better leader, because there was a framework in place for leadership to emerge. That will need to continue. I truly believe he has his best years ahead of him, and he already has a couple of pretty good years behind him. But again, taking a good team, in any sport, from good to great is the toughest task of all. We will see if he is up for the challenge. Remember, Payton Manning took 6 years before his first playoff win, 9 for a Super Bowl win. Tony Dungy came in studio for our Sunday night “Score” show earlier this season, and I asked him what he told Manning when he continually came up short. He said that he told him to keep getting them into the playoffs, he would get better players around him, and they would get it done. That is exactly what happened.
3) Roy Williams? Wow, He was simply unproductive, and the Cowboys are going to have to make the hard decision. Do we play Roy because of what we gave him and what we gave up to get him, or do we play the best player? Kevin Ogletree was so much better than Roy this year that it wasn’t even close. The kid may be a real player. They waited four years to unleash Miles Austin on the rest of the league. They can’t wait that long for Ogletree. I was really hoping that someone (Jerry? Wade? Jason Garrett?) would go to Roy and say, “We have to play the best player right now, and that is Kevin Ogletree.” That didn’t happen. Roy Williams is a limited player. The Cowboys need to accept that it was a bad trade, and not be burdened by that trade. Bad trades happen. Bad drafts happen. You move on. Organizations have to make the hard decision. They made it with Terrell Owens. Now they need to make it with Roy. That doesn’t necessarily mean release him, but it does mean you tell him he will have to earn his spot next year, that his starting role is not a Supreme Court Lifetime Appointment. Moreover, while we are on the wide receiver position, they need to take one high in this year’s draft. The NFL has become a passing league, and you have to have somebody to throw it to. The greatest contribution…and let me make this clear…you do not want to see an injury to anyone…was Roy getting hurt in Denver and missing the Kansas City game, allowing Miles Austin to let people know that he could play a little. No injury, no Miles, and maybe, no playoffs.
4) What a nice segue into this thought. Don’t worry about stopping the run and running the football. That has gone the way of the gas guzzling SUV. 3 of the top 4 rushing teams, and 6 of the top 10, did not make the playoffs. 7 of the top 8 passing teams did make it, and the one that did not (Houston) finished 9-7. The Cowboys held Adrian Peterson to 63 yards on 26 carries, a 2.4 average. They lost 34-3.
5) I know it has been given the once over, but really, what were the Vikings doing going play action and throwing a touchdown pass on fourth and three? Yes, the Cowboys are big boys, and yes they are getting paid to stop the other team, but really? It just showed a lack of respect for the game and their opponent. I like Brad Childress, I really do. But it sounds like he was mad at the national media for picking Dallas over his football team, so he took the opportunity to rub it in. In psychology, it’s called displacement. You know, bad day at the office, so you go home and kick the dog. That one had me scratching my head. And spare the lame stuff about the Cowboys using their time outs. That was with 6 minutes to go in the game. Improbable that they could make up 24 points in 6 minutes? Yes. Impossible? No.
6) And finally, I know I am a few days late in the celebration of Martin Luther King Day, but do yourself a favor and read his, “I Have a Dream” speech. Dr. King was such a tremendous orator that I think the depth and conviction of his speech gets overlooked. It was one of the great speeches ever delivered. Just tremendous, and nearly 50 years later, still deserving of your time.
Babe Laufenberg
