superpunk
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It’s not how you play the game, it’s how you win it.
I know, Beastie Boys lyrics can’t be team mottos. But this is a motto I’m gonna live by in following the team for the rest of the year. Because, otherwise this is just too difficult to understand.
To make it clear, I’ll reference the 2005 Arizona Cardinals. Last year, the Arizona Cardinals were the only team in the league to rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense. Granted, there were many reasons for this, that I’m not going to get in to, but the fact remains, they were the only one. The 2005 Cardinals made too many mistakes, shot themselves in the foot too many times, and wound up with a losing record and a top 10 pick.
After a tough game like the one on Sunday, we get pissed about a lot of things. Mainly, this week, it’s that the game was decided on a judgement call by the referees - seeing such a great game come down to whether a referee believes contact with a facemask that occurred in fractions of a second was flagrant or incidental is a tough pill to swallow. That much is obvious given the reaction and consistent arguments we see on the board. Tough to swallow, but not impossible. Results oriented thinking makes it void. (although we really don't need all the Skins fans trying to defend their team's "honor" when we just want to vent. It was a judgement call. This is irrefutable. I would think either team's fans would be upset such a great game came down to that.)
In finding hope for the team, as fans MUST do, we look at our offensive and defensive rankings, and take solace in the fact that we’re not as bad as our record indicates. To be honest, we’re really not, and that’s reason for hope, as is our newfound QB. Which brings us back to the motto. We blame some defensive failings on penalties that keep drives alive and kill the team’s spirit. Unfortunately, those penalties are committed by our defense. In addition, the yardage given up through those penalties is not reflected in that yardage total we take solace in. Just something to consider.
In short - we’ve had a nice win. We’ve rolled some bad teams. And we’ve come up small when we needed to come up big. Watching this team and seeing the stats it’s unfathomable that we are 4-4. All the talent in the world can’t overcome the mistakes this team is making, and that’s part of the game and team evaluation, no matter how much we’d prefer it not to be. And the only thing that matters is the score. So I'm personally done *****ing about calls. This team can't let it come down to that. No contender should.
It’s not how you play the game, it’s how you win it. I’m sure Cardinals fans took some solace in their distinctive rankings last year. But in the end, the only thing it got them was a shot at Matt Leinart. I don’t know about you, but my goals for this team were a good deal loftier. Excuse time is over. The first half of the season everyone gets a feel for each other. The second half the contenders emerge. It’s put up or shut up time. It’s about time the results started matching the perceived talent. Let’s go Cowboys.
Thanks for letting me get that out. It’s random and scattered, but I felt the need to share.
I know, Beastie Boys lyrics can’t be team mottos. But this is a motto I’m gonna live by in following the team for the rest of the year. Because, otherwise this is just too difficult to understand.
To make it clear, I’ll reference the 2005 Arizona Cardinals. Last year, the Arizona Cardinals were the only team in the league to rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense. Granted, there were many reasons for this, that I’m not going to get in to, but the fact remains, they were the only one. The 2005 Cardinals made too many mistakes, shot themselves in the foot too many times, and wound up with a losing record and a top 10 pick.
After a tough game like the one on Sunday, we get pissed about a lot of things. Mainly, this week, it’s that the game was decided on a judgement call by the referees - seeing such a great game come down to whether a referee believes contact with a facemask that occurred in fractions of a second was flagrant or incidental is a tough pill to swallow. That much is obvious given the reaction and consistent arguments we see on the board. Tough to swallow, but not impossible. Results oriented thinking makes it void. (although we really don't need all the Skins fans trying to defend their team's "honor" when we just want to vent. It was a judgement call. This is irrefutable. I would think either team's fans would be upset such a great game came down to that.)
In finding hope for the team, as fans MUST do, we look at our offensive and defensive rankings, and take solace in the fact that we’re not as bad as our record indicates. To be honest, we’re really not, and that’s reason for hope, as is our newfound QB. Which brings us back to the motto. We blame some defensive failings on penalties that keep drives alive and kill the team’s spirit. Unfortunately, those penalties are committed by our defense. In addition, the yardage given up through those penalties is not reflected in that yardage total we take solace in. Just something to consider.
In short - we’ve had a nice win. We’ve rolled some bad teams. And we’ve come up small when we needed to come up big. Watching this team and seeing the stats it’s unfathomable that we are 4-4. All the talent in the world can’t overcome the mistakes this team is making, and that’s part of the game and team evaluation, no matter how much we’d prefer it not to be. And the only thing that matters is the score. So I'm personally done *****ing about calls. This team can't let it come down to that. No contender should.
It’s not how you play the game, it’s how you win it. I’m sure Cardinals fans took some solace in their distinctive rankings last year. But in the end, the only thing it got them was a shot at Matt Leinart. I don’t know about you, but my goals for this team were a good deal loftier. Excuse time is over. The first half of the season everyone gets a feel for each other. The second half the contenders emerge. It’s put up or shut up time. It’s about time the results started matching the perceived talent. Let’s go Cowboys.
Thanks for letting me get that out. It’s random and scattered, but I felt the need to share.
