Clarification on Wade's "Get your ring finger ready" comment...

[dcfanatic]

Thanks, you're the second person who has confirmed this.

I hope everyone reads this post.

Maybe we should email the Engels or, even better, their employer the FWST about how we feel about this.

But really, what the Engels said -- and a lot of reactions on these boards -- are just another case of having a gun to someone's head and just waiting for them to make a mistake. It's amazing to me.

CL, can you really blame them for writing about this?

Wade shouldn't have known better?

Are we really seeing Wade as some goofball now that just didn't understand that things like that are going to used by the 'big bad media'?

Is Wade in over his head as an NFL head coach IYO?

 

[WoodysGirl]

Please. It was an idiotic comment and that's all there is to it -- you're just biased. Wade has done nothing yet, NOTHING.

Nothing biased by what I said. If what Wade said was so egregious, it would've been headline news. This was hardly something worth reporting.

I have serious reservations about the way he runs camps. Last year's team still had carryover toughness from Parcells', but that stuff disappears quickly.

Talking ain't going to get this done and everybody is already blowing smoke up the Cowboys' *****. And then I've got to read some shyt from one of our players about the playoff loss last year, how they "were caught by surprise" or some pathetic shyt like that?

So far, a Wade-run Cowboys team has done nothing but come up with excuses, so I'm not going to defend the guy's ridiculous comments.

13-3...

somebody had to do it. :starspin

Why is everyone around here take everything so literally? LOL.

Of course Wade isn't going to curse at the guy, but he could have told him politely to hush up.

Better yet, why wasn't anyone else around the guy telling him to ****. If I was there I surely would have.

Everyone was probably rolling their eyes and HOPING he'd shut up on his own. And unless it got to be REALLY annoying, security wasn't going to get involved.

Wade did the only PC thing I think he could've done. A nervous laugh, a "Get the ring finger ready!" pander, and then move on with the program.

I don't think him saying in the context of how it was said was all that bad. I know when I first read it, I thought it sounded out of character for Wade.

 

[dcfanatic]

Exactly.

And dcfanatic, context is always important.

Of course it is.

So Wade doesn't know how the media works? Is he all of sudden just realizing this or should he have learned the lesson last season when he got annoyed because they were calling him 'Mr. Fix It'?

 

[DragonCowboy]

Maybe not, but Mac's article implied that he was making a statement rather than a silly statement made in jest. Kind of like if someone won't stop calling you an idiot, and you finally say, "yeah, yeah, I'm an idiot". You don't actually think that you are an idiot, you are just saying it to shut the guy up by acknowledging him. If you were to state, "hey everyone, I'm an idiot" out of the blue, then that would be a whole 'nother story.

I like Mac personally, but he still should have stated things the way they were, and not the way he wanted it to sound.

Yep, that's exactly what happened.

The coaches are just older fans. They were all excited to see Wade Phillips about 5 feet in front of them, and one of them went crazy. I'm sure a lot of the people around him didn't want him to shut up because they also wanted to hear Wade say it. Many people as fans love to hear the coach of their favorite team say good things. He appeased the fan, and immediately everyone shut up. It was the best way possible.

 

[dcfanatic]

The good thing about this sensationistic reporting is... people are coming around... people now know to question things they hear or read....

The bad thing is... there are still many that read/hear it is as fact... and it drives them.

This makes my point about Wade knowing better and not giving them this material.

 

[cowboys2233]

Nothing biased by what I said. If what Wade said was so egregious, it would've been headline news. This was hardly something worth reporting.

It's not egregious because everyone and their mother is putting out predictions these days. Not egregious, but idiotic nonetheless.

 

[DragonCowboy]

Of course it is.

So Wade doesn't know how the media works? Is he all of sudden just realizing this or should he have learned the lesson last season when he got annoyed because they were calling him 'Mr. Fix It'?

I really don't think Wade cares what the media thinks. It's stupid to keep going, "oh my, is the media gonna report this?" He has a job and I don't think pleasing the media is in the job description.

 

[AsthmaField]

CL, can you really blame them for writing about this?

Wade shouldn't have known better?

Are we really seeing Wade as some goofball now that just didn't understand that things like that are going to used by the 'big bad media'?

Is Wade in over his head as an NFL head coach IYO?

I blame the media for not writing the context it was said in... yes. That changes things and is simply a case of trying to make a story bigger than it really is, IMO.

Wade just said it to acnowledge to the guy that he heard him and appease the idiot.

That didn't make Wade a goofball. In his shoes, I'd bet most of us would never expect Engel to write that he said that seriously... that he said it as a boast.

It is shameless what Engel did and Wade was correct in not expecting him to blow it out of proportion.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

CL, can you really blame them for writing about this?

Wade shouldn't have known better?

Are we really seeing Wade as some goofball now that just didn't understand that things like that are going to used by the 'big bad media'?

Is Wade in over his head as an NFL head coach IYO?

Of course I can blame them. Mac was on that full KTBB segment with "Smoaky" talking about what a fool Wade was, and Smoak went right along with it. Of course, Mac never mentioned any of what DragonCowboy or another poster who was at the clinic confirmed. (So I'm very glad they were there to tell us what really happened.)

His wife then mentions in passing that it was not a serious comment, so she knew the truth. But she then blasted him anyway, just like she did with Camp Cupcake and all the other crap she threw against the wall all year. So she knew that wasn't a serious comment, but she acted like it was to serve her agenda.

Unlike a beat writer like Mac, she's a columnist and is paid to have an opinion. If someone doesn't like Wade or anyone else, that's their business and their opinion. But that doesn't give her or anyone the right to make up their own facts.

And do I think he's in over his head? The guy won more games last year than the previous Hall of Famer. He's won about 60% of his games as a head coach over a period of decades now. That 60% might not sound great, but look it up -- it's not very common, even among some of the big names.

So of course I don't think he's in over his head. I think that too many people focus on stupid things that have nothing to do with what really matters, which isn't if a guy is fat, or his accent, or that he talks too slow. What matters is how the team performs on the field.

 

[dcfanatic]

Some football coach (for a high school or middle school) who apparently was also a fan.

I don't know why nobody else told him to hush up (but he was yelling this before Wade was speaking and a little bit while Wade was speaking). I guess people didn't want to yell at someone across the room to shut up (which would have stirred up even more trouble).

How would you suggest Wade deal with this? Anything said in an angry way would've caused the media to go, "Wade is a jerk!" He said "get your finger ready" and then went on to say something along the lines of "You know, for our team, this year, the expectations are to win a Super Bowl. We need to reach those expectations. Last year we had a good season. This year, we hope to have a great season. Some teams think of such high goals as too lofty, but we don't want to collapse under the pressure. We odn't have the ability to come out of nowhere and surprise folks, but at least we're considered as one of the best instead of one of the worst."

Did Engel include that?

Let's look at the entire picture here.

Wade is seen by many in the Dallas area as a goofy, laid back, aww shucks kind of guy. He's not seen as a guy who would come out stern faced yelling out to the masses that fans should 'get their ring finger ready because my damn team will be winning the Super Bowl this season!'.

So when he says something goofy that's the comments that are going to be used. We didn't see Engel go off on Wade in the article. He didn't attack Wade for making the comment.

In the next sentence in the article he says this..

'He was playing to the crowd, of course, but, less than a week away from starting his second training camp as Cowboys coach, Phillips sounds thrilled to be returning to full-time practice.'

So he is letting you know it was Wade being Wade by trying to be light hearted and goofy.

 

[dcfanatic]

Nothing biased by what I said. If what Wade said was so egregious, it would've been headline news. This was hardly something worth reporting.

13-3...

somebody had to do it. :starspin



Everyone was probably rolling their eyes and HOPING he'd shut up on his own. And unless it got to be REALLY annoying, security wasn't going to get involved.

Wade did the only PC thing I think he could've done. A nervous laugh, a "Get the ring finger ready!" pander, and then move on with the program.

I don't think him saying in the context of how it was said was all that bad. I know when I first read it, I thought it sounded out of character for Wade.

When I first heard it I knew it was Wade being goofy.

That's why I don't think it's a big deal.

And I get it that people are sick of these reporters who just want to create a crazy headline and create a story out of nothing, but in the same breath these players and coaches have to be aware of this and not fall into the trap.

 

[dcfanatic]

Yep, that's exactly what happened.

The coaches are just older fans. They were all excited to see Wade Phillips about 5 feet in front of them, and one of them went crazy. I'm sure a lot of the people around him didn't want him to shut up because they also wanted to hear Wade say it. Many people as fans love to hear the coach of their favorite team say good things. He appeased the fan, and immediately everyone shut up. It was the best way possible.

So at the press conference before the Browns game the same guy can go the presser and start yelling out 'The Browns suck' until Wade says it and that would be the best resolution?

I would much rather have read that Wade gave the guy a stern look and the guy hushed up. IMO, that's a much better way of handling it.

 

[dcfanatic]

I really don't think Wade cares what the media thinks. It's stupid to keep going, "oh my, is the media gonna report this?" He has a job and I don't think pleasing the media is in the job description.

Pleasing the media, no.

Dealing with the media, yes.

The man is the HEAD COACH OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS.

Don't be naive and act like Wade can go about his business like he's a junior high coach who only has to worry about his coaching duties.

Maybe that's the way it should be, but it not the reality of Wade's world.

LOL, I said Wade's World. LOL.

 

[dcfanatic]

I blame the media for not writing the context it was said in... yes. That changes things and is simply a case of trying to make a story bigger than it really is, IMO.

Wade just said it to acnowledge to the guy that he heard him and appease the idiot.

That didn't make Wade a goofball. In his shoes, I'd bet most of us would never expect Engel to write that he said that seriously... that he said it as a boast.

It is shameless what Engel did and Wade was correct in not expecting him to blow it out of proportion.

Engel defined the comment as Wade playing to the audience.

Where did he write that Wade was saying it to boast about anything?

Now it seems people like to read the headline and not the article.

 

[BigDFan5]

Engel defined the comment as Wade playing to the audience.

Where did he write that Wade was saying it to boast about anything?

Now it seems people like to read the headline and not the article.

Did you listen to Engal on KTTB with Smoake?

 

[dcfanatic]

Of course I can blame them. Mac was on that full KTBB segment with "Smoaky" talking about what a fool Wade was, and Smoak went right along with it. Of course, Mac never mentioned any of what DragonCowboy or another poster who was at the clinic confirmed. (So I'm very glad they were there to tell us what really happened.)

His wife then mentions in passing that it was not a serious comment, so she knew the truth. But she then blasted him anyway, just like she did with Camp Cupcake and all the other crap she threw against the wall all year. So she knew that wasn't a serious comment, but she acted like it was to serve her agenda.

Unlike a beat writer like Mac, she's a columnist and is paid to have an opinion. If someone doesn't like Wade or anyone else, that's their business and their opinion. But that doesn't give her or anyone the right to make up their own facts.

And do I think he's in over his head? The guy won more games last year than the previous Hall of Famer. He's won about 60% of his games as a head coach over a period of decades now. That 60% might not sound great, but look it up -- it's not very common, even among some of the big names.

So of course I don't think he's in over his head. I think that too many people focus on stupid things that have nothing to do with what really matters, which isn't if a guy is fat, or his accent, or that he talks too slow. What matters is how the team performs on the field.

So will Wade say anything like this again?

You are mad at Engel as if he didn't say that Wade was playing to the audience.

We know his wife was and probably Galloway in time will use this against Wade.

These are the reasons I say that Wade should know better.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

This makes my point about Wade knowing better and not giving them this material.

No not really.


No one is going to be able to speak and not have "something" turned into sensational material.

I get your point but the more the reporters do these things to people the more and more vanilla the answers will get.... overly PC and boring and uninformative.

 

[dcfanatic]

Did you listen to Engal on KTTB with Smoake?

Of course I did, I posted it.

 

[BigDFan5]

Of course I did, I posted it.

From what I caught of it he didnt mention anything about playing up the crowd just made it seem like wade was boasting and being serious about it

 

[bbgun]

So Wade never made the statement? He was merely echoing a fan in the crowd? The only conclusion I can reach is that he has no confidence in this team.