TheWarrenReport
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Nature versus Nurture. The gridiron might seem an improbable arena for resolving this age-old riddle, but the Dallas Cowboys' December may unscramble the chicken/egg-like conundrum.
Statisticians, die-hards and certain head coaches will tell you the Past is insignificant. Numbers are immune to history as the Present resets odds habitually. And, they are right. On any given Sunday, any team's fortunes are a 50/50 proposition. Just ask the Raiders who beat the Bengals only to lose, convincingly!, to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, 7-24. Oakland's more irregular than Deion Sanders' wardrobe.
Psychologists, cynics and certain talking jocks will tell you the Past is inescapable. The Past is precedent; late-season swoons are an insurmountable intangible. And, they may be right. Witness 2008's year-ending, soul-crushing shellacking at Lincoln Financial Field. Question is: do these Dallas Cowboys have it in them to prove the latter group wrong? We'll see this weekend. Dallas needn't necessarily win, but a blow-out or last-second loss might devastate... which leaves little room for error and plenty for followers' terror.
If the Cowboys defeat the New York Giants, the team solidifies its first place division lead and Nurture moves ahead. While I have been consistently critical of Wade Phillips' abilities as a head coach, a victory would make me, more strongly, reconsider my doubts than his current 8-3 (30-13) record already has. I would lend credence to the notion that this year's team is most truly, finally "his," not some bedeviled, if talented inheritance from Bill Parcells. Wade has assumed accountability for his strength, the defense, and suggested the offensive gameplan, while not called by him, is an accurate reflection of his philosophy... though he tinkers with the OC's balancing (t)act weekly. The off-season and training camp were under his re-dedicated supervision. And, the regular season has proceeded as he's directed, from Victory Mondays thru erratic Sundays. Jerry Jones has helped prune the offense to one that's Romo-friendly and drafted a kick-off specialist who is field position-friendly... with benefits. If Dallas wins, Wade's nurturing will have overcome doubters' notions of the Cowboys' un/natural self-destruction and Jerry can hog or halve the credit as he so whimsically desires.
In order for Dallas and Nurture to triumph, the team — not just its quarterback — will need to adopt Parcells' commandment: Never let good enough be enough. Yes, the Cowboys beat the Raiders Thursday and edged the Commanders before that, however, neither victory should be regarded as good enough. We can enjoy them as fans, but the team must demand more of themselves. To wit...
* Dear Tony Romo, Ignore the labels, neither a bus-driver nor a gun-slinger be. Be yourself. That'll get us the win/s.
* Winning may be what it's all about Roy Williams, but posting some decent numbers or making a highlight catch would be better than beneficial... they could be playoff-clinching.
* Uh-oh, Kyle Kosier, even you got two flags thrown your way the other day. Contrary to popular belief, penalties needn't be contagious. Just keep your hands clean... and away from opposing helmets. Same goes for your line-mates, even the new guy. May the Truth set you, Free.
* I don't care if it's duck season, rabbit season or mating season, for that matter, if the camouflage get-up helps you, Marcus Spears, wear leafy-skivvies on game day. This is a playoff hunt, after all.
* I'm convinced, Bobby Carpenter: you're not a bust. But why not shame your critics by playing like an overzealous curfew-enforcer, that is, LIGHTS OUT!
* Love you, Nick Folk, but whether it's the yips, your hip or Mat McBriar's grip, you need to drop the Scott Norwood impersonation. It's good, but I'd prefer you mimic Adam Vinatieri... or Christopher Walken.
* Good things — not just celebrity deaths — come in threes, Patrick Crayton. Take another one to the house and Cribbs will be remembered as that MTV show not some guy up in Cleveland.
It is tempting to let minor successes buoy you after surviving stormy seas. However, bobbing along ain't no way to get back to shore. Or, The Super Bowl. I know I have allowed momentary stress-relievers to rebalance me AND then made me complacent only to lose myself to the lurch once more.
Some would argue my occasional tendency to implode is the result of my childhood, a tattered and battered affair that left me with good reason to give up in toughest times. Some, even my ex, have suggested that having suffered abuse as a kid, I am incapable of parenting or, hell, living, maturely, as I am bereft of role models or a lover's consistent monitoring. And, from time to time, I succumb to her curse, this curse, believing my earlier experiences are the consequence of some (self-)loathsome core that cannot be denied; the victim's irrational need to make sense by accepting responsibility for the unimaginable. And then, when I regain consciousness, as it were, I remind myself that sometimes, the fault does lie in our stars, not ourselves. Sometimes, circumstances collude, and in so doing, collide with our selves' own true Natures. Looking back, clearly, I can be prouder of the fact I endured rather than dwelling on the misery of the endurance. It is my Nature to survive and thrive, not to be beaten down.
Plenty of pundits have analyzed the Cowboys' collapses of years past. I beg you to believe these retrospectives are irrelevant. Do not condemn a team, a quarterback, any individual to future failures due to past mistakes or misfortunes. Prophecies self-fulfilled are the hollowest victories. Instead, enable a team, a quarterback, any individual, to redeem themselves from histories of which they are more ashamed than you. Let them embrace their genetically- (or God-) blessed abilities and the possibilities born of greater, later, nurturing. Or coaching.
Damn, in re-reading, I just realized, we may have a tie on our hands. To determine the Nature vs. Nurture champ, we may just have to go into relativistic overtime... or march into Giants Stadium, helmets held high, baggage stored neatly in the locker room.
Go Cowboys!
Statisticians, die-hards and certain head coaches will tell you the Past is insignificant. Numbers are immune to history as the Present resets odds habitually. And, they are right. On any given Sunday, any team's fortunes are a 50/50 proposition. Just ask the Raiders who beat the Bengals only to lose, convincingly!, to the Cowboys on Thanksgiving, 7-24. Oakland's more irregular than Deion Sanders' wardrobe.
Psychologists, cynics and certain talking jocks will tell you the Past is inescapable. The Past is precedent; late-season swoons are an insurmountable intangible. And, they may be right. Witness 2008's year-ending, soul-crushing shellacking at Lincoln Financial Field. Question is: do these Dallas Cowboys have it in them to prove the latter group wrong? We'll see this weekend. Dallas needn't necessarily win, but a blow-out or last-second loss might devastate... which leaves little room for error and plenty for followers' terror.
If the Cowboys defeat the New York Giants, the team solidifies its first place division lead and Nurture moves ahead. While I have been consistently critical of Wade Phillips' abilities as a head coach, a victory would make me, more strongly, reconsider my doubts than his current 8-3 (30-13) record already has. I would lend credence to the notion that this year's team is most truly, finally "his," not some bedeviled, if talented inheritance from Bill Parcells. Wade has assumed accountability for his strength, the defense, and suggested the offensive gameplan, while not called by him, is an accurate reflection of his philosophy... though he tinkers with the OC's balancing (t)act weekly. The off-season and training camp were under his re-dedicated supervision. And, the regular season has proceeded as he's directed, from Victory Mondays thru erratic Sundays. Jerry Jones has helped prune the offense to one that's Romo-friendly and drafted a kick-off specialist who is field position-friendly... with benefits. If Dallas wins, Wade's nurturing will have overcome doubters' notions of the Cowboys' un/natural self-destruction and Jerry can hog or halve the credit as he so whimsically desires.
In order for Dallas and Nurture to triumph, the team — not just its quarterback — will need to adopt Parcells' commandment: Never let good enough be enough. Yes, the Cowboys beat the Raiders Thursday and edged the Commanders before that, however, neither victory should be regarded as good enough. We can enjoy them as fans, but the team must demand more of themselves. To wit...
* Dear Tony Romo, Ignore the labels, neither a bus-driver nor a gun-slinger be. Be yourself. That'll get us the win/s.
* Winning may be what it's all about Roy Williams, but posting some decent numbers or making a highlight catch would be better than beneficial... they could be playoff-clinching.
* Uh-oh, Kyle Kosier, even you got two flags thrown your way the other day. Contrary to popular belief, penalties needn't be contagious. Just keep your hands clean... and away from opposing helmets. Same goes for your line-mates, even the new guy. May the Truth set you, Free.
* I don't care if it's duck season, rabbit season or mating season, for that matter, if the camouflage get-up helps you, Marcus Spears, wear leafy-skivvies on game day. This is a playoff hunt, after all.
* I'm convinced, Bobby Carpenter: you're not a bust. But why not shame your critics by playing like an overzealous curfew-enforcer, that is, LIGHTS OUT!
* Love you, Nick Folk, but whether it's the yips, your hip or Mat McBriar's grip, you need to drop the Scott Norwood impersonation. It's good, but I'd prefer you mimic Adam Vinatieri... or Christopher Walken.
* Good things — not just celebrity deaths — come in threes, Patrick Crayton. Take another one to the house and Cribbs will be remembered as that MTV show not some guy up in Cleveland.
It is tempting to let minor successes buoy you after surviving stormy seas. However, bobbing along ain't no way to get back to shore. Or, The Super Bowl. I know I have allowed momentary stress-relievers to rebalance me AND then made me complacent only to lose myself to the lurch once more.
Some would argue my occasional tendency to implode is the result of my childhood, a tattered and battered affair that left me with good reason to give up in toughest times. Some, even my ex, have suggested that having suffered abuse as a kid, I am incapable of parenting or, hell, living, maturely, as I am bereft of role models or a lover's consistent monitoring. And, from time to time, I succumb to her curse, this curse, believing my earlier experiences are the consequence of some (self-)loathsome core that cannot be denied; the victim's irrational need to make sense by accepting responsibility for the unimaginable. And then, when I regain consciousness, as it were, I remind myself that sometimes, the fault does lie in our stars, not ourselves. Sometimes, circumstances collude, and in so doing, collide with our selves' own true Natures. Looking back, clearly, I can be prouder of the fact I endured rather than dwelling on the misery of the endurance. It is my Nature to survive and thrive, not to be beaten down.
Plenty of pundits have analyzed the Cowboys' collapses of years past. I beg you to believe these retrospectives are irrelevant. Do not condemn a team, a quarterback, any individual to future failures due to past mistakes or misfortunes. Prophecies self-fulfilled are the hollowest victories. Instead, enable a team, a quarterback, any individual, to redeem themselves from histories of which they are more ashamed than you. Let them embrace their genetically- (or God-) blessed abilities and the possibilities born of greater, later, nurturing. Or coaching.
Damn, in re-reading, I just realized, we may have a tie on our hands. To determine the Nature vs. Nurture champ, we may just have to go into relativistic overtime... or march into Giants Stadium, helmets held high, baggage stored neatly in the locker room.
Go Cowboys!
