Dallas' "Super Bowl Or Bust" Mentality vs. Quitting

[Nav22]

I thought of this yesterday while talking to a buddy of mine about this train-wreck of a season. "Dallas is either in it to win it all, or they lose interest... nothing in between", he said.

Look around the league, and see the teams with records as bad as Dallas' or nearly as bad. Are their players tanking like ours are? No.

Buffalo gave KC everything they could handle in Arrowhead. San Francisco found a way to win for their beleaguered Head Coach, and in London. Oakland is playing great football and has fought their way to .500. Carolina competed with a better Rams team, on the road. And Detroit beat Washington at home.

But the Cowboys, Jerry, and our "Super Bowl or bust" mentality means that we QUIT the second a Super Bowl seems unreachable. This, to me, is the only real negative with having a "Super Bowl or bust" mentality. Other less-historically-successful teams would be satisfied with a winning record or a playoff appearance, but it seems that our guys have no interest in anything other than a Lombardi Trophy.

I always used to like that about our team... 'let other teams stay satisfied with their playoff appearances and NFC Championship losses, we're going for the gold!'

But in an embarrassing season like this one, I wish we had a little more fight. It's almost like the Cowboys feel that "playing for pride" is beneath them... they'd rather just take an early vacation and gear up for when these games matter again (2011).

I think back to the Eagles' seasons when they were annual contenders with McNabb, and how even in their down years they found a way to keep fighting. In 2005, Philly nearly beat Washington in Week 17 when they had nothing to play for and the Commanders had everything to play for... that would've helped us possibly make the playoffs. Of course, we laid down for an awful Rams team later that night, at home, in a game that COULD have mattered if the Eagles had pulled off the upset.

To me, that sums it up perfectly. Think about this: Philly had nothing to play for and gave it their all. Dallas was hoping that Philly would play for pride and win, so that their own game against St. Louis would be meaningful. And after Philly lost and our own game turned out to be "for pride"? We laid down. Pretty hypocritical, no? We were asking other teams to play for pride when we weren't even planning on doing that ourselves!

Speaking of the Eagles, the next year (2006) they reeled off 5 straight wins after a terrible start and a McNabb injury to make the playoffs with Jeff Garcia at QB. Their guys rallied around their backup and played solid football in all phases. Compare that to the 2010 Cowboys laying down the second Romo goes down. Remember the whooping they gave us on Christmas day that year? The first very bad game of Romo's career.

Then there's Week 17 in 2008... yeah. I guess our locker-room was in such disarray that nobody believed a Super Bowl was in reach, even if we were to beat Philly and make the playoffs.

I think it's worth asking if Jerry really WANTS to win meaningless games that hurt our draft stock. We're a "Super Bowl or bust" outfit, after all. If it's unreachable in 2010, it's all about positioning yourself for 2011. And I'm still not sure how I feel about that. I'm hoping like hell we beat Green Bay next week, but is that what the organization truly wants? What I do know is that I don't expect a great effort out of our guys.

 

[Nav22]

Wow, I made this thread before reading Bob Sturm's comments in this thread... did Sturm plagiarize me or what?

http://cowboysblog.***BANNED-URL***/archives/2010/11/bob-sturm-if-the-guys-arent-go.html

Many years ago, when I first arrived in Dallas in 1998, I was introduced to a sports theory that I had never heard in my first 26 years of life. It was from my colleagues at the Ticket, the Hardline. The Hardline back then would talk about the 1990's Cowboys who had won many rings through the lens of a theory called "Super Bowl or Bust". The idea is this: After 3 Super Bowls, the Cowboys' team knew what a Super Bowl Champion looked like, felt like, and played like. If that group of guys were in the running for the Super Bowl, everything was perfect and everyone did their job. But, in years where the Super Bowl was a dream that kept fading as the season went along (take 1997 for instance) the team would gradually collapse into a pile of rubble.

Those teams were up for playing for the big prize, but as a collective group, they could see no real appeal to playing hard to get to 8-8 after they had won their Super Bowls. Whether that theory was true of those players, I am not sure. I was watching the Cowboys of the dynasty from 1,000 miles away so I do not have enough to say what happened in 1997. But, the Hardline saw what they saw.

Anyway, I tell you about that theory to try to explain what we have seen the last two weeks. Sure, the Cowboys were losing games in Washington and in Minnesota that were also losses, but they were certainly not because of a lack of fight. Further, I want to admit that if the Cowboys were up for the fight yesterday there is no certainty that they were going to be able to beat the Jaguars. The Jaguars may not be anything special in the AFC, but they do look like a reasonable opponent by NFC standards.

But, when Tony Romo gets hurt - both in 2008 and 2010 - this team seems to lose its passion. They seem to get a "Super Bowl or Bust" attitude that looks contagious. If they cannot compete for the Super Bowl, then why compete at all?

What a sorry way to go about representing your organization.

To bring this full circle, though, why should today be any different? If they quit in St Louis in 2008; And then quit again at Giants Stadium; and then again in Philadelphia and nothing happened to the leadership of this team, why would it start now? No price to pay for quitting? And, if they quit last Monday in the 3rd Quarter against the Giants, and then quit again on Sunday against Jacksonville, why should we A) be surprised and B) expect changes of consequence? The types of changes we see are of the small variety - a healthy scratch of Chris Gronkowski, for instance, will not rattle the cages of those who live in mansions. The types of changes this organization really needs will go largely unadjusted - a massive overhaul of how this organization sees its own way of doing business.

Football is not about the stadium. It is not about the HD Jumbotron. Not about the training camp moving from port to port. Not about the 60 Minutes piece being shot during a game in which your franchise is burning up in flames. It is about the 45 guys who are lucky enough to wear the Dallas Cowboys' star on their helmet competing and executing to the best of their ability and representing a proud franchise properly.

We are not seeing that. And the man running it all is apparently not angry enough to make those massive changes.

Until he does, the X's and O's are deck chairs on the Titanic.

 

[CATCH17]

Something random I thought of too so i'll post it here.



How much more different would things have been had we signed Ray Lewis a couple of seasons back?

That is the type of mentality a team like this needs.


Things change in Baltimore all the time but the 1 constant is Ray Lewis.

 

[NextGenBoys]

I said it yesterday, and it probably won't be too popular, but I don't have a problem with this team quitting.

This year was Super Bowl or bust, and right now, how/why could you get up for a game that requires you to throw your body around with the needed intensity and physicality that is needed to win?

I can't blame them one bit after this disappointment, especially when no one has any answers as to "why" this all happened besides we have an awful head coach with zero motivational skills and zero eye for detail.

*Edit* Then again, I am frustrated in that we don't take it "one game at a time" we are too focused on the "big picture" and I think that lends itself to the reason we're sitting at 1-6.

Rather than focusing on each opponent, we're worried about getting to the Super Bowl.

 

[Doomsday101]

I said it yesterday, and it probably won't be too popular, but I don't have a problem with this team quitting.

This year was Super Bowl or bust, and right now, how/why could you get up for a game that requires you to throw your body around with the needed intensity and physicality that is needed to win?

I can't blame them one bit after this disappointment, especially when no one has any answers as to "why" this all happened besides we have an awful head coach with zero motivational skills and zero eye for detail.

*Edit* Then again, I am frustrated in that we don't take it "one game at a time" we are too focused on the "big picture" and I think that lends itself to the reason we're sitting at 1-6.

Rather than focusing on each opponent, we're worried about getting to the Super Bowl.

I would get upset if it were college kids quitting and even more so for highly paid professionals.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Great post, Nav. I've been thinking similar things in trying to figure out why this team quit. I think Jerry has preached "Superbowl in home stadium!" so much that when Romo got hurt and it became clear that the goal wouldn't happen, they packed it in.

 

[NextGenBoys]

I would get upset if it were college kids quitting and even more so for highly paid professionals.

I would get upset more if it were college kids quitting. They have something to play for.

No one on the Dallas Cowboys has anything to play for right now, but perhaps a free agent contract next season.

 

[Ren]

Funny how this team claims to love Wade but apparently don't love him enough to not get him run out of town and make him the most hated coach in franchise history

 

[Doomsday101]

I would get upset more if it were college kids quitting. They have something to play for.

No one on the Dallas Cowboys has anything to play for right now, but perhaps a free agent contract next season.

Sorry I don't think quitting is ever acceptable especially by those who are making big money off of it. There is no doubt that given the situation it becomes hard but that is not an excuse for guys not being professionals.

 

[danzig]

No one on the Dallas Cowboys has anything to play for right now, but perhaps a free agent contract next season.

maybe not even that. if there is a lockout.

as for them quitting, this team quit long before now, try after the playoff victory last year

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

Funny how this team claims to love Wade but apparently don't love him enough to not get him run out of town and make him the most hated coach in franchise history

My guess is that the players love of Wade comes from the fact that there is no accountability and practices are like glorified walk-thru's. Lazy and dumb players that are only in it for the paycheck love that kind of stuff.

 

[NextGenBoys]

Funny how this team claims to love Wade but apparently don't love him enough to not get him run out of town and make him the most hated coach in franchise history

Hahaha that is a great point. He is def. my most hated. Responsible for the two biggest flops in franchise history.

Sorry I don't think quitting is ever acceptable especially by those who are making big money off of it. There is no doubt that given the situation it becomes hard but that is not an excuse for guys not being professionals.

I don't want to absolve the players from blame, but I don't see Wade as a leader, nor mentally tough, thus his attitude and personality has seeped into the core of this entire team. We were 13-3 in 2007 because we had Parcells' mentallity, combined with Phillips defensive mind.

This team needs to really be shaken up and new blood in here to be changed. You all probably know my opinion on Garrett, but I wouldn't be against sending him packing if we can get Gruden.

Wade's marshmallow core has oozed its way everywhere.

maybe not even that. if there is a lockout.

as for them quitting, this team quit long before now, try after the playoff victory last year

Good point, but I doubt there is a lockout. Too much to lose. The NFL dominates America.

 

[Doomsday101]

Hahaha that is a great point. He is def. my most hated. Responsible for the two biggest flops in franchise history.



I don't want to absolve the players from blame, but I don't see Wade as a leader, nor mentally tough, thus his attitude and personality has seeped into the core of this entire team. We were 13-3 in 2007 because we had Parcells' mentallity, combined with Phillips defensive mind.

This team needs to really be shaken up and new blood in here to be changed. You all probably know my opinion on Garrett, but I wouldn't be against sending him packing if we can get Gruden.

Wade's marshmallow core has oozed its way everywhere.




Good point, but I doubt there is a lockout. Too much to lose. The NFL dominates America.

I'm not absolving any of them. Players are paid **** well and I expect nothing less than their best, Wade will get fired but there are players who need to look themselfs in the mirror right now. You get paid like that you better believe they should stand up and play as professionals. Irvin did not need Jimmy Johnson to make him the player he was nor did Aikman or Emmitt they played as professional they gave it all they had because they wanted to be the best and the same can be said about many Pros out there that do not need the rah rah speeches to do their **** jobs.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

The Cowboys chose Bust.

:bang2:

 

[TheDude]

The team is drilled to play for glory not pride.

That's the biggest difference.

 

[pancakeman]

Good post, Nav22

 

[28 Joker]

I have stated that this team needs to be rebuilt from the neck up, and it starts with the organization...

Jerry Jones is the big, pink elephant in the room...