Gosselin: Injuries are no excuse for another mediocre Dallas Cowboys season

[Risen Star]

The point is that he has accepted the lunacy for 7 years, he's not someone who has just had his eyes opened and is trying to make the most of a poor situation while he attempts to change things internally.

No, it's been the opposite, he has allowed Jerry to get even crazier, as hard as that is to believe, under his watch.

He has had plenty of opportunity to take a stand and demand certain 'normal' head coach privileges, he would have had backing from the media and fans as well i'm sure of it.

But no sir, it's thank you and may i have another.

As long as Jerry keeps finding these types of coaches, he will keep acting in the same fashion, if it's a never ending list and Jerry never wants to win again, so be it, we are done.

I know we have an enabler now though, that's beyond a doubt, all we can hope for is that the next one isn't, what else do we have?

So the employee is "enabling" the owner to run his company the way he wants to run it?

Should he get him in a ginger headlock until he cries uncle?

But you seem set in your stance. So unless it gets me to 2,000 likes I don't see this being a very productive conversation.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I don't agree. It's not just about having the talent, though I do think the Cowboys talent is vastly overrated. If a coach doesn't have the authority to control his own locker room he's pretty much set up to fail. Parcells didn't just talk about finding more talent when he arrived here. He talked about changing the culture. This is exactly what he was referring to.

So I don't really care what Belichick or Payton or McCarthy or Pagano are doing in sane NFL cities. They wouldn't do that here with Jerry so actively hands on. The culture would need to change. The head coach would have to have some authority again.

It's convenient to blame Jason Garrett. It's also lazy and wrong. He may in fact not be a good head coach, but he doesn't even have a chance to be in Dallas.

You and I agree a great deal. I believe our takes on Romo may be where we diverge.

However, the bolded area is also a place where we see things differently.

I believe the evidence is on game day. it so much the win or loss but the way he runs the team and how he allows both himself and Callahan to get into a passing contest and ignoring the run when it is clearly;y working.

That is not called down from the owner box. Garrett has had seven years here and game day he should show something. I figure a coach will pull something out a couple of times a year and win one they were not supposed to. I see nothing in Garrett that is gutsy, innovative, or head's up.

 

[links18]

He failed, which is why Jerry surrounded him with experience... Poor choices, but still. The only reason he is here is because of Jerry's stubborn desire to have him succeed.

Collinsworth commented during the Philly game that Jerry would take any excuse to keep Garrett. He is Jerry's pet project and it will hurt him immensely the day he has to fire him.

 

[Coy]

I'm betting those "Games Lost by Starters" doesn't include the games Ratliff didn't play due to his hissy-fit. That's one of your starting DT's who was counted on to contribute from the get go and in turn contributed to the chain-reaction of cluster-***** along the defensive line.

He had 7 tackles in 5 games with the Bears, we didn´t lose much by him not playing.

 

[dreghorn2]

So the employee is "enabling" the owner to run his company the way he wants to run it?

Should he get him in a ginger headlock until he cries uncle?

But you seem set in your stance. So unless it gets me to 2,000 likes I don't see this being a very productive conversation.

I think we, probably i, may not be communicating effectively Jones being incompetent is not the issue, he is.

If a person is a drug addict and family members continue to help them out, even from kindness, with money to continue their habit they enable the addict to continue to harm themselves.

It does not absolve the addict from responsibility for their actions, just as Jerry does not get a pass for his, but as long as he is able to find the Phillips and Garretts of the world to continue to help with his habit, then they are also somewhat (maybe more than somewhat) culpable for the end results.

Fair enough on discontinuing the discussion, i know likes are important.

 

[Coy]

i am confused now.... did the HC not have input into players acquired and the coaches hired?

you know.. that places where the "primary issues" exist per your post


wait, i got it, garrett only has input when things go right

That´s a good point, most of the Garrett supporters were saying that he decided to fire Rob Ryan, that Kiffin was his hire, that he decided not to call plays anymore and that he wasn´t Jerry´s puppet. Now??

 

[Risen Star]

I think we, probably i, may not be communicating effectively Jones being incompetent is not the issue, he is.

If a person is a drug addict and family members continue to help them out, even from kindness, with money to continue their habit they enable the addict to continue to harm themselves.

It does not absolve the addict from responsibility for their actions, just as Jerry does not get a pass for his, but as long as he is able to find the Phillips and Garretts of the world to continue to help with his habit, then they are also somewhat (maybe more than somewhat) culpable for the end results.

Fair enough on discontinuing the discussion, i know likes are important.

Why wouldn't Garrett try to make it work and win on the big stage in Dallas? Why are you wasting a second of your energy on him for the sins of the owner? He's not Parcells or some other big name established head coach who could have wrestled some authority out of Jerry before he signed his contract.

Honestly, I think you're merely pointing your anger at someone who can actually be replaced.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

http://msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/sto...boys-owner-jerry-jones-with-awful-joke-122613

Billboard in Philly labeled as "Lame", turns out closer to the truth....meanwhile Dallas Cowboys Fans sit idle for two Decades.

 

[Coy]

Gosselin doesn't address the talent aspect though. The Cowboys defense has almost no depth. A few key injuries and they were crippled. The Saints didn't have the Dline issues Dallas had. They were signing guys from the deli to play on sunday.

The saints defense was the worst defense in the history of the NFL in 2012, they got a new DC in 2013, lost many players and still finished 5th in the league? That´s coaching in my eyes.

 

[visionary]

That´s a good point, most of the Garrett supporters where saying that he decided to fire Rob Ryan, that Kiffin was his hire, that he decided not to call plays anymore and that he wasn´t Jerry´s puppet. Now??

Garrett groupies keep moving the goal posts

it cant be easy to come up with new and more elaborate excuses for the worst owner/GM in the NFL and one of the most incompetent HCs

 

[Yakuza Rich]

8-8 is not mediocre. It's average.

Does that meet the expectations? Of course not. But there is no sense in trying to make something that it isn't. It only produces more detractors and makes one more skeptical of Gosselin's work.

Tough to say that injuries are not an excuse. FootballOutsiders.com has researched this quite extensively and in general, the teams that fare best in a season....tend to have far few injuries.

A better way to phrase it, IMO, is to say that it was an average season that did not meet expectations. And that even if we are healthy in 2014, there's a good chance we will still be unable to meet those expectations next year and give evidence as to why.

But, that would require Gosselin writing a genuinely well thought out column. And I will believe it when I see it.





YR

 

[dreghorn2]

Why wouldn't Garrett try to make it work and win on the big stage in Dallas? Why are you wasting a second of your energy on him for the sins of the owner? He's not Parcells or some other big name established head coach who could have wrestled some authority out of Jerry before he signed his contract.

Honestly, I think you're merely pointing your anger at someone who can actually be replaced.

No, i was simply responding to something that i've seen you mention a couple of different times, which is that Garrett is absolved of any criticism and that it is lazy and stupid to think otherwise.

I wasn't even bothering to discuss his on the field, .. difficulties, which are obvious enough, but wanted to point out that his relationship with Jones also warrants criticism.

I'm generally in agreement with a lot of your takes but take affront that those of us who have plenty of ammunition to critique our head coach, should be labelled 'lazy and stupid'.

That is the essence of it.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I understand why people fault Garrett as our offense was very healthy and that is his specialty.

What is becoming evident as we change our defensive coordinators like we change out underwear, that neither he, or especially the GM, value or understand defense. The thing is Jones has tried it all. Hired the skins on the wall coach, hired the defensive guru, hired who he thinks is the next Sean Payton, nothing works. There is a common theme, regardless of how you feel about the coach.

I think we value defense. This team went how many years w/o drafting an offensive player in the first round under Zimmer? We've picked up a lot of FA's on defense, many of which were not cheap.

I just think we've got the wrong DB philosophy. We value 'cover corners' a lot, even if they can't tackle worth a lick. And then we completely undervalue the safety spot. And these days safeties are asked to do a lot more.

This reminds me a lot of the Steelers with their pass defense woes from about 2000-2004. They wanted good corners and undervalued the safeties and eventually the Bengals exposed this by throwing the ball over 70 times in a game and then the Patriots took this the next season.

Shortly afterward, the Steelers drafted Polamalu in the 1st round and then put in a very high bid for Ryan Clark in free agency.

To me, this is the largest woe we have from a personnel position. If there is something that has plagued us since 2000, it has been the pass defense. We have had a couple of good years (2003) when we had Woody and Ro. Williams. But for the most part, it has been suspect at best.

In the meantime, we've had good QB play, good WR play, good O-Line play, good pass rush, good LB play, etc. And it still results in mostly the same thing. But since 2003, we really haven't had 2 good, reliable safeties. We came somewhat close in 2007 with Ken Hamlin and Ro. Williams. Although they were hardly reliable, but they did make big plays that year.

To me, if we had the foresight to change this philosophy and value the safety over the corner, it would not only improve the team, but it would save the team a lot of money against the cap and draft picks.






YR

 

[Alexander]

i am confused now.... did the HC not have input into players acquired and the coaches hired?

you know.. that places where the "primary issues" exist per your post


wait, i got it, garrett only has input when things go right

You should be confused. Some people will assure you that Garrett is driving personnel and is not just another person Jones listens to.

 

[blindzebra]

Injuries didn't make us lose two games we easily should have won, Detroit and GB. We do that every year.

Injuries on defense, defense lost both games...hmmm.

 

[Alexander]

Injuries on defense, defense lost both games...hmmm.

Controlling the clock was unnecessary I guess?

 

[blindzebra]

Funny how Gosselin is considered an idiot by fans until his idiocy supports the agenda.

 

[Bullflop]

The Cowboys must find a way to solidify those positions that lack depth. Injuries can and do strike anywhere that a lack of depth is present. The elite teams always make sure overall depth in their lineup is a high priority. Sound drafting is always the best injury insurance.

 

[wileedog]

I believe the evidence is on game day. it so much the win or loss but the way he runs the team and how he allows both himself and Callahan to get into a passing contest and ignoring the run when it is clearly;y working.

This. Say whatever you want about his situation with Jerry or ability or non-ability to effect things off the field, but we have specific data points over 3 years of coaching showing at numerous times simply inexcusable game day mis-management. Jerry doesn't call down and tell Jason to run the ball 7 times the rest of the game with a 23 point lead.

He may be a good coach someday, but I doubt it and I'm positive it won't be here. This team has too many holes to go anywhere next year either and the experiment will thankfully end. But in no way does Garrett get a pass IMO because he happens to work for an egomaniacal lunatic, his mistakes were his own.

 

[blindzebra]

Controlling the clock was unnecessary I guess?

One more time...just when did we have a game management issue against Detroit? We didn't run the ball too little. We did not pass late and stop the clock. Oh yeah Garrett ordered Smith to get the holding penalty, that must be it,