JJT: Wade Phillips living in land of gum drops and lollipops

[cowboyjoe]

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Wade Phillips living in land of gum drops and lollipops
7:53 PM Mon, Dec 07, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor/Columnist E-mail News tips

Norv Turner, the coach Jerry Jones rejected to hire Wade Phillips, returns to Dallas on Sunday with an opportunity to send the Cowboys' season into a free fall.

You must admit the irony is delicious. It gets even better.

Phillips' team that plays its best football before Thanksgiving Day, while Turner's team plays its best football in the final month of the season.

Phillips' team has had no postseason success, while Turner has been to the AFC Championship game and won at least one playoff game each of the past two seasons.
Turner has done everything Jerry wishes Phillips had done.

Imagine that.

If he chooses, Phillips can continue to reside in a world of gum drops and lollipops, but the reality is that he's about to coach the game that will tell us whether he'll return next season.


Beat the Chargers, who are riding a seven-game winning streak, and the season remains salvageable. Lose and this season is a wrap because we know the beatdown that awaits in New Orleans the following week.

Turner understands December matters, while Phillips tries to act like it doesn't.
We all know Turner is a flawed head coach after failed stints in Washington and Oakland, but he has unearthed the secret of getting his team to peak late.

Two years ago, the Chargers started 1-3 before winning their last six games to finish 11-5. Last year, they started 4-8 before winning their last four games and overcoming a three-game deficit in the AFC West to win the division.

Compare that with Phillips, whose face turns red every time you mention the Cowboys' 18-32 record after Dec. 1 since 1996. Obviously, he's not responsible for all of it - just the last nine games.

Think about it.

This is the same coach who can tell you he's won more regular-season games than just about any other NFL coach the past three years. And that his team led the NFL with 59 sacks last year. And that his winning percentage as a head coach is nearly .600.

That's because Phillips likes those numbers. He feigns ignorance on all others.

Frankly, it's easy to see why he hasn't earned the respect he covets so desperately.
How can you respect the job someone does when they live in a fantasy world when it comes to the Cowboys' struggles?

Reality says Phillips is 0-4 in the playoffs, presided over the only No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in the first round since the NFL developed the current format in 1990, failed to make the playoffs last year with a team Jerry believed had Super Bowl potential and oversaw the most gutless performance in franchise history, a 44-6 loss at Philadelphia, in the final game of last season with the playoffs on the line.

Phillips wants you to believe this team has nothing to do with the other Cowboys' teams that have failed in December. He wants you to believe history doesn't matter.
Poppycock.
History, you can call it tradition, is a huge part of sports. It's the reason some pro franchises such as the Yankees, Lakers and Red Wings and some college programs such as Ohio State football, North Carolina and Duke basketball and Texas baseball always seem to find ways to win.

It's the same reason why some franchises always find ways to lose. At times, winning and losing becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The prophecy can be broken - the Red Sox are a good example - but it's difficult.
Failing to acknowledge the Cowboys' failures in after Thanksgiving Day won't make the questions go away.

Jerry believes winning the division and winning a playoff game are tangible goals. He wants to see some tangible progress before committing another year to Phillips, which is why he hasn't extended his contract.

If Phillips doesn't find a way to match Turner's success in December, he'll spend the off-season looking for a new job.

 

[Hostile]

Can you just do bold for emphasis? The underline on top of bold is almost impossible to read.

 

[Hypnotoad]

Last week JJT was living in a land of gum drops too.

 

[mldardy]

Last week JJT was living in a land of gum drops too.

Yes this idiot couldn't wait to right this article. Like he wrote it about a month ago and held it for this week.

 

[Idgit]

Hey, JJT figured out that the season is salvageable if we beat a good team at home and stay in first place in the division. Somebody must have PM'd him with this info.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Last year, they started 4-8 before winning their last four games and overcoming a three-game deficit in the AFC West to win the division.

LOL. They won the division at 8-8 after Denver underwent an historic collapse. That team would've been 7-9 at best in the NFC East.

 

[Faerluna]

Beat the Chargers, who are riding a seven-game winning streak, and the season remains salvageable. Lose and this season is a wrap because we know the beatdown that awaits in New Orleans the following week.

Who knows anything about how the Saints game will turn out? JJT is a pathetic excuse for a writer.

 

[rcaldw]

LOL. They won the division at 8-8 after Denver underwent an historic collapse. That team would've been 7-9 at best in the NFC East.

Say whatever you want, Norv Turner has done a good job in San Diego. They are 10-0 in the final month under him. 10-0. And yes, they made it in at 8-8, not only due to a Denver collapse, but also due to their final month run. And once they got into the playoffs, once again, they won a playoff game.

They went further than us in year 1 - AFC Championship game
They went further than us last year - made the playoffs and won a playoff game
They have a better record than us this year

Any way you cut it Norv Turner has out performed Wade Phillips.

 

[Randy White]

back then for the HC and I still want him today. He would have been great for TR. He's also, head and shoulders, a BETTER strategist than Philips will ever be and remember that cupcake Wade is the D-coordinator for this team, not just the HC.

Having said that, I think we'll win this week. We're going to have to make Philip River's life a living hell, but fortunately he's not mobile. I believe we match up with them defensively as long as Philips doesn't get ALL day to throw the ball. If the Cowboys don't pressure him, we're going to get carved.

On offense I'm not too worried. The Chargers, on defense, are gambling team which makes it almost a perfect match up for us. That doesn't mean we can go in and play inept ball like the few weeks prior to Thanksgiven, but we should be able to score plenty of points on them.

And after having said that all, I sincerely hope this is Wade's last year as a HC no matter what happens. He's just not cut out to be a championship coach. He reminds me alot of Del Harris ( NBA ) who does well everywhere he goes because he's a good teacher, but teams just don't take it to the next level with them in charge.

 

[jchocolate82]

Say whatever you want, Norv Turner has done a good job in San Diego. They are 10-0 in the final month under him. 10-0. And yes, they made it in at 8-8, not only due to a Denver collapse, but also due to their final month run. And once they got into the playoffs, once again, they won a playoff game.

They went further than us in year 1 - AFC Championship game
They went further than us last year - made the playoffs and won a playoff game
They have a better record than us this year

Any way you cut it Norv Turner has out performed Wade Phillips.

Everyone wants to take their shot at JJT in this thread even thought his articles can be annoying but he's right in everything he stated in this and I have no problem in what he wrote.

 

[mldardy]

Everyone wants to take their shot at JJT in this thread even thought his articles can be annoying but he's right in everything he stated in this and I have no problem in what he wrote.

It's not about him being right as much it is about him writing these type of articles after a loss. Don't start piling on after a loss that's what bothers me about his articles. Plus this is stuff we already know. We already know about Wade's playoff record, our December woes, etc. It just seems like more piling on.

 

[CowboyMike]

**** Jean-Jacques!

 

[The30YardSlant]

Wade's a joke after November ends. Always has been, always will be. Why everyone expected him or his team to spontaneously change this year, I'll never know, but I'm so damn tired of his "golly-gee willikers" attitude towards the NFL.

 

[jchocolate82]

Wade's a joke after November ends. Always has been, always will be. Why everyone expected him or his team to spontaneously change this year, I'll never know, but I'm so damn tired of his "golly-gee willikers" attitude towards the NFL.

I feel like as fans we're goldie locks and the coaches are the 3 bears. Parcells was too tough and now wade is to soft. We need a coach that demands respect on this team that can be a hard *** but can also be a players coach in the same manner like Jeff Fisher

 

[miamicowboy21]

Last week JJT was living in a land of gum drops too.

Newsflash... The NFL is a week to week league. JJT expected the team to go and bury the giants. That didn't happen so you know scrutiny is coming. JJT has always told it like it is. Until this team performs don't expect to hear anything differently.

 

[SDogo]

spot on Jean-Jacques Taylor

Dont just write what people want to hear, write what they need to hear even if it wont be popular.

 

[gmoney112]

Dallas loses a close one in NY and JJT writes an article bashing them, relishing in the fact that December will give him "substance" for his job.

Imagine that.

This is the same JJT that will argue that he really is a Cowboys fan.

Think about it.


It's that easy ladies and gentleman. DMN have any spots open?

 

[miamicowboy21]

Dallas loses a close one in NY and JJT writes an article bashing them, relishing in the fact that December will give him "substance" for his job.

Imagine that.

This is the same JJT that will argue that he really is a Cowboys fan.

Think about it.


It's that easy ladies and gentleman. DMN have any spots open?

The giants were firmly in control of that game with 5 minutes left. Dallas didn't lose a CLOSE GAME. The cowboys scored a ohh by the way TD to make the score look respectable. His point is Phillips thinks everything is fine after another December loss. We should be in desperation mode, instead he acts like Its just another loss.

 

[RoadRunner]

Dallas loses a close one in NY and JJT writes an article bashing them, relishing in the fact that December will give him "substance" for his job.

Imagine that.

This is the same JJT that will argue that he really is a Cowboys fan.

Think about it.


It's that easy ladies and gentleman. DMN have any spots open?

Seems like you are parrot with that constant repeating of the "you are not a real fan" card. Polly want a cracker?

 

[gmoney112]

The giants were firmly in control of that game with 5 minutes left. Dallas didn't lose a CLOSE GAME. The cowboys scored a ohh by the way TD to make the score look respectable. His point is Phillips thinks everything is fine after another December loss. We should be in desperation mode, instead he acts like Its just another loss.

? It was a close game until the punt return TD, was it not?