Darren Woodson: "There are no days off"

[Doomsday101]

Of course this is about winning and losing.

However, the current topic asks us to ponder whether it was a good idea to do so. As you have no doubt observed, I merely stated that my answer was no, it probably wasn't a good idea.

As I have opined ealier and on a myriad of other occassions, Tony Romo's trip to Mexico probably had little to do with the outcome of the game.

What we do know is the Dallas Cowboys lost their first Playoff Game of the 2007 Season. I am sure we can point to several historical precedents that prove that off the field matters can be a distraction and vice vesa. Was Tony Romo distracted by his trip to Mexico a week before the game? I doubt it, but can we really truely rule out that he wasn't?

As I said people will believe what they want they will ponder what they want but I don't think Romo or any player can live their life based on public opinion. He is not out breaking the law or getting into some other trouble. In the end though it all comes down to win or lose. We did not hear this stuff about Danny White yet the negitive press was there for 1 simple fact his team lost and he took the brunt of the blame welcome to Dallas and the QB position. I don’t think this will have any lasting effect on Tony Romo and expect him to be back and work pretty soon.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

As I said people will believe what they want they will ponder what they want but I don't think Romo or any player can live their life based on public opinion. He is not out breaking the law or getting into some other trouble. In the end though it all comes down to win or lose. We did not hear this stuff about Danny White yet the negitive press was there for 1 simple fact his team lost and he took the brunt of the blame welcome to Dallas and the QB position. I don’t think this will have any lasting effect on Tony Romo and expect him to be back and work pretty soon.

Again, I think you are leaping to spurrious conclusions .

In this argument, when one states that he does not feel Tony Romo should have went to Mexico does not mean he is saying that it is the reason why the Dallas Cowboys lost.

Furthermore, noone said this would have a lasting affecton Tony Romo.

 

[LarryCanadian]

If the coaches do not call a practice and say "go and get away from football for awhile" then you can't blame Romo and anyone else for going away. He didn't get seen partying it up, downing 50 shots of tequila or anything.

The issue I have is that if I'm coach of a young team with some issues over the past 3 weeks, I don't think it's the same as midseason. You are now 1 and out!

I would have called 2-3 more practices, at least one of which would have been in pads. Balls were dropped, tackles were missed, snaps were bad, even conditioning was called into question (Barber second half - which I totally don't agree with, Oline 2nd half, WR's getting back to line in hurry up and then hitching up their routes because tired - ouch). OH yeah, special teams coverage sucked and pretty much cost us the game. Tons of penalties.

This team is young, without playoff experience. It was coming off some weaker games (Phili, Washington).

What worries me is Wade isn't saying to anyone that they dropped the ball and could have been sharper and more prepared. You need to take away the doubt and give your team total confidence and make things instinctual. Roy, Reeves, and others weren't playing instinctual out there. Drill Drill Drill.

If this team had won 2 superbowls and was older and tested etc, then give em more time off.

We can't expect Romo to call a team meeting and do his own practices, as that would have undermined the team. He's a bit new/young to pull a stunt like that anyway, even though I would have been impressed if he'd have been throwing to Glenn, Crayton, Hurd, Austin and Stanback over that 3 day weekend. Would have felt better. Even TO dropped another early, and he could have stood still and caught balls just to keep hands and concentration sharp.

LarryCanadian

 

[jamesdojr]

I touched on this in the original post. Dallas is not New England. I think NE is a veteran team that could be ok with taking the time off. Dallas is you. They could have used the extra work and extra study. I agree with Darren Woodson. Vacation starts at the Pro Bowl.

The Patriots had the weekend off, and Brady spent the whole time in his girlfriends pad in NYC making crazy. Not much coverage there.

I saw someone say that Witten and Romo "parting like rock stars". Huh? Witten brought his wife, and they were holed up watching the games. It isn't about that guys. If Crayton catches those balls or runs through his pattern at the end, we win and we're moving on.

We can't blame this on something like where Romo watched Sunday's games. Our players just aren't quite as good as we all seem to think they are.

 

[jamesdojr]

The loss was a team loss. But at the same time you don't work on correcting problems by going on vacation. That time should have been focussed around eliminating mistakes they made during the regular season. Clearly from your post they were plenty of things to work on. The more things you need to work on the less time should be spent in Mexico on vacation.

My post did not have to do with Romo specifically, it had to do with the whole team. Players that went to visit girlfriends in Kansas should not have been in Kansas. They should have been at the ranch working out the kinks.

Again, Dallas is not NE. NE is an experienced veteran team that could take a week off and not blink twice. We are the 3rd youngest team in the league. We needed the extra work.

If I'm studying for an exam and I'm ok with a C, I study for a day. If I want a B, I study for a week. If I want an A, I study for 3 weeks.....

Thank you.

It's been the same stuff haunting us all year, except it caught up to this time around.

(Oh, and you forgot to add a couple of key dropped passes here and there.)

 

[RxMan]

I think the coaches were making this game just like any other. You come in on Wednesday and you install the game plan just like any other week. You practice the normal weekly schedule and you play the game.
Phillips did NOT give the team the week off. Players were required practice on Wednesday and then had Thurs-Sun off. Came back Monday for regular film study and continue the week.

My thinking is the same as the coach(es). We've been struggles a bit lately. Let's not beat ourselves up over it with 4 extra practices. Let's take some time off and come in fresh for a week of sharp practices. Could you imagine the uproar if Romo, Witten, Ware or Newman got hurt with extra practices?

The opponent was not even known at the time of the players 'vacations'.

How many coaches have said during SuperBowl week 'We just want to keep things normal. We install the game plan, etc...just like any other week.'

 

[jamesdojr]

You're correct. Not right before the biggest game of the season. Not right after Dallas was in a very rare situation of winning the division and earning a bye. Not right before a playoff game where the tempo and game speed and intensity is significantly different than regular season games. Not before a playoff game that very few of any of the Dallas players have experienced.

If I am ok with a C, I study for a day. If I want a B, I study for a week. If I want an A, I study hardcore for 3 weeks. It's not complex logic. The team (not just Romo) could have taken their freakin vacations 3-4 weeks later. What harm would that have done?

I agree

 

[jamesdojr]

What do you do if there are issues the team had all season? YOU WORK HARDER ON FIXING THEM.... You make my poiint... The team had a lot of things to fix, therefore they had no business being on vacation.

If you're failing at something, do you work hard and put in the extra effort to correct the mistakes and be the best? Or do you go on vacation?

I love D.Woodson and I hate to challenge anything he has to say when it comes to football but for ANYONE to say that the weekend off had anything to do w/ this loss is crazy! The issues we had in this game are the SAME ones we've been dealing with for the past few seasons...what makes anyone think that an extra 2-3 days of work is going to change anything?! Besides, did Fasano or Crayton (both made BIG drops) go to Cabo? How about Gurode, Flo or Colombo (who some attacked for their bad snaps and lack of pass protection)? Or maybe that was Jacques Reeves chillin' w/ Romo because he sure was on an ISLAND out there in pass coverage! Point blank, the same troubles we were able to overcome during the season reared their ugly heads once again in the playoffs and our Supermen (Romo, TO, Witten) weren't able to save us this time...and it sucks big time! :bang2:

 

[Boysboy]

What do you do if there are issues the team had all season? YOU WORK HARDER ON FIXING THEM.... You make my poiint... The team had a lot of things to fix, therefore they had no business being on vacation.

If you're failing at something, do you work hard and put in the extra effort to correct the mistakes and be the best? Or do you go on vacation?

For the record-Wade DID run practices during that bye week(it was the weekend that he gave his players off, which Parcells would even do with bye weeks).

Anyhow-the BIG question is NOT "Should Wade have run more practice days".

It's actually..."What did HE DO in THOSE extra practices in the bye week?".

 

[RxMan]

You're correct. Not right before the biggest game of the season. Not right after Dallas was in a very rare situation of winning the division and earning a bye. Not right before a playoff game where the tempo and game speed and intensity is significantly different than regular season games. Not before a playoff game that very few of any of the Dallas players have experienced.

If I am ok with a C, I study for a day. If I want a B, I study for a week. If I want an A, I study hardcore for 3 weeks. It's not complex logic. The team (not just Romo) could have taken their freakin vacations 3-4 weeks later. What harm would that have done?

Comparing an NFL team's work habits to your time spent studying is comical. Have you ever played sports at an advanced level?
Maybe next year they can skip the half day off Monday and Tuesday as well. Hell, why even go home? Let's practice 24/7 and make an A+!

 

[Boysboy]

Comparing an NFL team's work habits to your time spent studying is comical. Have you ever played sports at an advanced level?
Maybe next year they can skip the half day off Monday and Tuesday as well. Hell, why even go home? Let's practice 24/7 and make an A+!

Even my medical school friends would go out on Fri and Sat nights to parties, the movies, or whatever-for the reason being to just CLEAR their minds before they go back to hitting the books...this time, with their minds being FRESH.

And for that matter too, even during my exam weeks in colleges, I myself would go out on a Fri night to clear the air(unless, of course, I had a Sat morning exam).

Yah-losing SUCKS. There's just so many unanswered questions when you do so, and it's just a waste of time to contemplate the real answer.

However-I CAN say the Cabo trip is NOT one of them.:bang2:

 

[LarryCanadian]

The odds of getting injured in a controlled practice are very small.

I mean the QB/Centre exchange was dismall ALL GAME. There is no way it should have been. Could have spend 2 hours practicing that over that OFF weekend. Guys dropping balls MIGHT have been avoided with a little extra jub machine work. Stuff like that.

I mean you don't really even have to move to practice a shotgun snap. What is the risk of injury there.

Practicing lanes in the special teams coverage assignments can be helped by walking through it 10 more times. Makes it instinctual.

All these things were below average last Sunday. Things that practice CAN improve.

LarryCanadian

 

[Boysboy]

I mean the QB/Centre exchange was dismall ALL GAME. There is no way it should have been. Could have spend 2 hours practicing that over that OFF weekend. Guys dropping balls MIGHT have been avoided with a little extra jub machine work. Stuff like that.

Remember when Parcells was here, he would rotate Gurode with Procter/Johnson in the shotgun offense.

Pt being that maybe Gurode's just an old-fashioned nucklehead. You can't teach an old dog new tricks(even Gurode has admitted alot he gets "nervous" snapping the shotgun).

Not making excuses, but here's another example of someone's "fragile mentality"-you can't change them.

 

[RxMan]

The odds of getting injured in a controlled practice are very small.

I mean the QB/Centre exchange was dismall ALL GAME. There is no way it should have been. Could have spend 2 hours practicing that over that OFF weekend. Guys dropping balls MIGHT have been avoided with a little extra jub machine work. Stuff like that.

I mean you don't really even have to move to practice a shotgun snap. What is the risk of injury there.

Practicing lanes in the special teams coverage assignments can be helped by walking through it 10 more times. Makes it instinctual.

All these things were below average last Sunday. Things that practice CAN improve.

LarryCanadian

Hindsight isn't 20/20. Did Crayton have trouble catching the ball all year? Did Gurode have trouble snapping all year? If it was that easy then just pull out the crystal ball, see where the trouble areas are and have that extra practice. Believe me, a normal practice week is ALOT of practice. Receivers go through their drills. Gurode made hundreds of snaps.

If the coaches knew these things were going to happen then they would have been corrected. Practicing with a normal work week all year yielded a 13-3 record with last loss not even counting.

 

[jamesdojr]

The fact that you can't wrap your little mind around the point I'm trying to make is even more comical.

My whole entire life growing up was sports. At one point in high school, I was in football, martial arts, gymnastics, and swimming - all competitive. And, as a matter of fact I did play college ball (although, I'll admit it was division III). Even at that level, our coach would not have allowed us time off if we had problems we needed to fix before a big game.

On one hand you're saying the team had all these problems and on the other hand your saying, "VACATION FOR EVERYONE"..... I'll never understand. But then I've always been the type to put in all the extra work to be the best I could possibly be at what I was doing. Clearly that was never your philosophy.

Bottom line is I think Dallas coaches made a poor decision that reflected complacency with 13-3. And their performance showed that they made no improvements during their 2 weeks off... NONE!

Comparing an NFL team's work habits to your time spent studying is comical. Have you ever played sports at an advanced level?
Maybe next year they can skip the half day off Monday and Tuesday as well. Hell, why even go home? Let's practice 24/7 and make an A+!

 

[RxMan]

The fact that you can't wrap your little mind around the point I'm trying to make is even more comical.

My whole entire life growing up was sports. At one point in high school, I was in football, martial arts, gymnastics, and swimming - all competitive. And, as a matter of fact I did play college ball (although, I'll admit it was division III). Even at that level, our coach would not have allowed us time off if we had problems we needed to fix before a big game.

On one hand you're saying the team had all these problems and on the other hand your saying, "VACATION FOR EVERYONE"..... I'll never understand. But then I've always been the type to put in all the extra work to be the best I could possibly be at what I was doing. Clearly that was never your philosophy.

Bottom line is I think Dallas coaches made a poor decision that reflected complacency with 13-3. And their performance showed that they made no improvements during their 2 weeks off... NONE!

I never said the team had problems. Like I said above a week of practice is ALOT of practice.
HOW DID YOU KNOW THERE WERE PROBLEMS THAT NEEDED TO BE FIXED BEFORE THE GAME?


Let's see....Maybe Newman goes back to return a punt and fumbles it..woops..should have practiced more...maybe Miles Ausin fumbles a kickoff...woops...we should have practiced more...crap...Folk missed a kick...should have kicked more in practice. Where does it stop? The whole conversation is ridiculous.

More is not always better. Time off was intended to have players come back for a week of sharp practices. Nothing more.

 

[jamesdojr]

Fundamentals.... passing, timing, catching, Snapping... Fundamentals. Anyways. Well we disagree. Peace!

I never said the team had problems. Like I said above a week of practice is ALOT of practice.
HOW DID YOU KNOW THERE WERE PROBLEMS THAT NEEDED TO BE FIXED BEFORE THE GAME?


Let's see....Maybe Newman goes back to return a punt and fumbles it..woops..should have practiced more...maybe Miles Ausin fumbles a kickoff...woops...we should have practiced more...crap...Folk missed a kick...should have kicked more in practice. Where does it stop? The whole conversation is ridiculous.

More is not always better. Time off was intended to have players come back for a week of sharp practices. Nothing more.

 

[RxMan]

Fundamentals.... passing, timing, catching, Snapping... Fundamentals. Anyways. Well we disagree. Peace!

Yes. We do disagree. A week of practice in the NFL is grueling. Extending that time might have been even more detrimental. We will never know.