RKG - A Point of View

[TwoDeep3]

I don't care, really. This made up crisis about the brand of player the team hires is just that for me. RKG, gang banger, choir boy, it's a thug life, it's all the same to me.

But this is what I do know, for better or worse.

Football is a game of violence. The ambition is for my guys to knock the drizzly shate out of your guys. While we all preach from the podium of brotherly love (read sanctimony,) most here and throughout the fan bases of the NFL understand if your team knocks their star quarterback out of the game, your chances of winning increase.

Now think on that for a second. Knock their star out. Drop the hurt hammer on him.

Back when Vick went down and they brought in the back-up, the temperament on this board was a positive feeling about the upcoming game.

"We'll knock the snot out of this guy," was the mantra here.

The downside to guys like TO and Pacman is their actions which causes them to not be on the field of play on game day.

The fandom of the NFL point fingers at the list of criminals on other teams, yet when your criminal does something spectacular to win a game, don't most of us ignore his off field actions?

I was taking a vacation in Seattle when Clyde Simmons was tragically killed in a car wreck test driving a Corvette. I believe his nephew was with him at the time and also lost his life.

I called back to Dallas to a friend of mine that was as ardent a Cowboys fan as I was and am and suggested while tragic, this just put Dallas in the NFC Championship game.

Callous?

Maybe. Or maybe it was the truth, which could still be callous on my part. I felt bad for Clyde, a player I respected and loathed at the same time.

But the truth was the front four of the Eagles was so daunting, they offered a possibility of stopping the Dallas team from my goals of winning it all.

I didn't whoop it up, nor did I go out and have a drink and celebrate. But the facts are, I understood how the dynamics changed by this tragedy.

So when I see posts extolling the RKG, my first consideration is, "Can this guy actually play the game with savagery and skill and stop the other team? Or is he a good guy that isn't at the top of this sport?"

I often felt Ware was too nice for his own good. Just my feeling. Not knocking him. But there is a certain level of barbaric behavior that sets apart guys like Ray Lewis from other guys. Talent is part of it, but the need to inflict devastation on the other guy is also part of the cocktail.

This is modern day Gladiators. Trying to suggest some charitable nature of the combatants is neither positive nor negative.

It's a beard covering the truth of the matter. This game is about inflicting pain and suffering while moving a piece of leather across a chalk line, or stopping the other team from doing so.

I see nothing in that which spells out ethics, citizenship, or character.

It is what it is. And in most cases it's gonna leave a bruise.

 

[tantrix1969]

 

[xwalker]

I don't care, really. This made up crisis about the brand of player the team hires is just that for me. RKG, gang banger, choir boy, it's a thug life, it's all the same to me.

But this is what I do know, for better or worse.

Football is a game of violence. The ambition is for my guys to knock the drizzly shate out of your guys. While we all preach from the podium of brotherly love (read sanctimony,) most here and throughout the fan bases of the NFL understand if your team knocks their star quarterback out of the game, your chances of winning increase.

Now think on that for a second. Knock their star out. Drop the hurt hammer on him.

Back when Vick went down and they brought in the back-up, the temperament on this board was a positive feeling about the upcoming game.

"We'll knock the snot out of this guy," was the mantra here.

The downside to guys like TO and Pacman is their actions which causes them to not be on the field of play on game day.

The fandom of the NFL point fingers at the list of criminals on other teams, yet when your criminal does something spectacular to win a game, don't most of us ignore his off field actions?

I was taking a vacation in Seattle when Clyde Simmons was tragically killed in a car wreck test driving a Corvette. I believe his nephew was with him at the time and also lost his life.

I called back to Dallas to a friend of mine that was as ardent a Cowboys fan as I was and am and suggested while tragic, this just put Dallas in the NFC Championship game.

Callous?

Maybe. Or maybe it was the truth, which could still be callous on my part. I felt bad for Clyde, a player I respected and loathed at the same time.

But the truth was the front four of the Eagles was so daunting, they offered a possibility of stopping the Dallas team from my goals of winning it all.

I didn't whoop it up, nor did I go out and have a drink and celebrate. But the facts are, I understood how the dynamics changed by this tragedy.

So when I see posts extolling the RKG, my first consideration is, "Can this guy actually play the game with savagery and skill and stop the other team? Or is he a good guy that isn't at the top of this sport?"

I often felt Ware was too nice for his own good. Just my feeling. Not knocking him. But there is a certain level of barbaric behavior that sets apart guys like Ray Lewis from other guys. Talent is part of it, but the need to inflict devastation on the other guy is also part of the cocktail.

This is modern day Gladiators. Trying to suggest some charitable nature of the combatants is neither positive nor negative.

It's a beard covering the truth of the matter. This game is about inflicting pain and suffering while moving a piece of leather across a chalk line, or stopping the other team from doing so.

I see nothing in that which spells out ethics, citizenship, or character.

It is what it is. And in most cases it's gonna leave a bruise.

Clyde Simmons would be surprised to know that he is dead.

He would be really surprised to find out that he died in a Corvette just like his old teammate Jerome Brown.

 

[Idgit]

Why does the 'right kind of guy' get misunderstood so often? It's got to be intentional at this point, doesn't it? It's not, nor has it ever been about ethics, citizenship, character. It's always been about finding smart, passionate players whom football is important to. Just as you say, TwoDeep. And any definition of Demarcus Ware that finds him lacking as a football player during his time in Dallas is an utterly useless definition. I'm sorry.

Here are a handful of quotes from JG himself where the right kind of guy is concerned:

Jul 16 2011
My experience as a player and a coach in this league is that talent is really important. When we won those Super Bowls in Dallas in the 90s we had some very talented players. But I'll go to my grave saying, what makes Troy Aikman great is who he is, as much as the talent that he has. I can say that for Emmitt Smith, Daryl Johnston and go down the list. Darren Woodson, all the great players that we had on those teams, they were the right kind of guys.

They loved to play. They were talented, but they loved to play and they were great teammates. We're not living in the past, but we're trying to recreate that model. So as talented a guy as you can get, there's also the right kind of guy who can fit into your team and make the chemistry of your team right. That's what we're trying to do.

And again:

MARCH 26, 2012
“We’re looking for the right kind of guy,” he said. “The right kind of guy, to us, is someone who loves to play football, who is very passionate about it, willing to work hard at it, willing to be part of a team, willing to be part of something that is maybe greater than himself.

“We want a guy who has an ego. Egos are important. But ego in the context of what we’re trying to accomplish as a team. Guys who are willing to work, are great teammates – there’s always going to be a place for those guys.”

-- Carlos Mendez

Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.co...and-says-ego-is-part-of-it.html#storylink=cpy

Or again:

May 17, 2012
"It's not like they're undersized guys who will run through the wall for you but can't play in the NFL. These guys have the physical traits to play, and they also have the intangible qualities, which we think can help them be their best and help our team."

Sounds like he wants talent, physicality, hard work, and passion for the game, to me. And team players. I'm missing the ethics and citizenship part.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Clyde Simmons would be surprised to know that he is dead.

He would be really surprised to find out that he died in a Corvette just like his old teammate Jerome Brown.

Yep...old age strikes Andy Hardy. Good call Walker.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Why does the 'right kind of guy' get misunderstood so often? It's got to be intentional at this point, doesn't it? It's not, nor has it ever been about ethics, citizenship, character. It's always been about finding smart, passionate players whom football is important to. Just as you say, TwoDeep. And any definition of Demarcus Ware that finds him lacking as a football player during his time in Dallas is an utterly useless definition. I'm sorry.

Here are a handful of quotes from JG himself where the right kind of guy is concerned:



And again:



Or again:



Sounds like he wants talent, physicality, hard work, and passion for the game, to me. And team players. I'm missing the ethics and citizenship part.

I read all the griping about this player or that because they don't fit the mold of this RKG. I understand what it means, thank you. I disagree with the premise that you have to hire boy scouts.

Or, for that matter that Clyde Simmons is dead.

 

[Idgit]

I read all the griping about this player or that because they don't fit the mold of this RKG. I understand what it means, thank you. I disagree with the premise that you have to hire boy scouts.

Or, for that matter that Clyde Simmons is dead.

I'm with you on the Clyde Simmons not being dead part. I guess I don't get where you're getting the boy scout thing, which I've never heard from anyone in the organization.

 

[TwoDeep3]

I'm with you on the Clyde Simmons not being dead part. I guess I don't get where you're getting the boy scout thing, which I've never heard from anyone in the organization.

Sorry, do you wish to point out the part where I said anyone in the organization stated this? Because I'm a little confused about your reply. More so than Clyde Simmons and Jerome Brown. Or am I wrong?

Please allow me to refresh your memory.

So when I see posts extolling the RKG, my first consideration is, "Can this guy actually play the game with savagery and skill and stop the other team? Or is he a good guy that isn't at the top of this sport?"

 

[xwalker]

I read all the griping about this player or that because they don't fit the mold of this RKG. I understand what it means, thank you. I disagree with the premise that you have to hire boy scouts.

Or, for that matter that Clyde Simmons is dead.

I think every coach/team could have a definition of RKG. The Bengals probably have an RKG for their team but it obviously does not indicate a boy scout for them.

I think Jimmy had his own type of RKG. He didn't like guys that were football stupid like Curvin Richards. I know that he he loved the ability of LB Robert Jones but almost didn't draft him because Jimmy thought he had a low IQ. He stayed on that player nonstop to make sure that he didn't fail. I know that he passed on some very telented players because he didn't think they had a passion for football. There is "the list" of players that Irvin told Jimmy were not Jimmy-RKGs. The players on the list were gone as quickly as Jimmy could get them out the door.

 

[casmith07]

Sorry, do you wish to point out the part where I said anyone in the organization stated this? Because I'm a little confused about your reply. More so than Clyde Simmons and Jerome Brown. Or am I wrong?

Please allow me to refresh your memory.

So you're just calling out fans...who haven't said that they only want choir boys too?

Literally nobody has said what you propose as the antithesis to your argument.

 

[maxdallasfan]

I want a bunch of savages wearing the star. The 9ers and Seahawks come to mind.

 

[Bluestang]

I'll just say that a good portion of the media have misunderstood the whole RKG term and have blatantly used it to say things like "Cowboys are not interested in player X because he's not the RKG mold".

They've used it in the sense that RKGs are upstanding citizens, will walk your grandma across the street, and will give you their shirt off their back to keep the Earth spinning.

I'm pretty sure we can understand why they would do such things, but it could be that the Cowboys just don't believe player X can help the team or they mis-evaluated him on their ability to find talent.

 

[waving monkey]

I like your article 2D3,
thanks for taking time . Idgit point is that RKG is someone that loves to play.It's more important then strip clubs.
Dez is an example of right kinda guy. This kid is crazy football bad mofo. Is he a choir boy?

 

[skinsscalper]

I understand the need to feel like your guys are the meanest, baddest, scariest Mfers on the planet. I also don't think that every successful team in full of choir boys.

I think the RKG thing is a little overblown. I don't think Dallas wants to tether themselves to players with serious character issues. They would get eaten alive in the Dallas media the very first time they went to a mall with pants that were too saggy (sound familiar?). The dynamic in Dallas is different than anywhere else in the league. It just is. It's not an excuse but it is a reality. I think Garrett and Jones want to find guys that can handle Dallas, being a Cowboy, and making a meaningful contribution to the football team. .

There are guys out there that are menacing and the "RKG". For every Suh there's a Larry Allen (and Allen would whoop that guy's *** on a regular basis). For every Ray Lewis there's a Ronnie Lott. For every Pac-Man a Jason Witten. And so on. You get the point. Now, again, I'm not naive enough to believe that you can build an entire roster of choir boys. I think what Dallas is trying to do is find guys that are all about football. It's a continuation of what Parcells started, I believe. That guy was always looking for team captains, gym rats, and film junkies. He knew they weren't ALL going to be perfect but he also knew that football for the most part was everything to these guys. Some made the team and an impact and some didn't but it's hard to argue the approach.

I don't think I'd want to be the target of a Sean Lee or Barry Church when they are bearing down on you. Add Wilcox and Hamilton to that mix too. Those kids have a bit to learn but they can lay the wood. Dez Bryant is another guy that plays with absolute ferocity with the ball in his hands. I saw Demarco Murray lay the smack down on a DT against Philly, also (I believe he was later fined for the hit). Those guys leave bruises. No doubt about it. Along with the philosophy of not having a team of choir boys. You can't have a team full of thug mentality either. Winning football is a combination of brute force and superior intellect which manifests itself in textbook execution. As much as I hate the guy Richard Sherman is alamost the perfect storm of intellect and thug (on the field. *I don't mean to implicate Sherman as a street punk*). He brings the pain and he plays smart. You just wish that he would keep his flapping gums shut. But, his flapping gums is part of what makes him him. So you manage him as much as possible and turn him loose. I don't think there was anything pre-draft that would have dropped a guy like Sherman from the Cowboys draft board. Unfortunately, the Cowboys whiffed on getting and developing him. Just like 31 other teams did 5 times in a row.

I don't have a problem with the Cowboys taking certain players off their board over character concerns. I remember they took Talib completely off their board when he was coming out. You could argue that they were right and you could argue that they were wrong. But, it wouldn't surprise me a bit to see Talib on the Denver police blotter after emerging from the umbrella of the hoodie. It's a tight wire to walk, but I prefer that they look for the Revis and Sherman types than the Talib and Suh types. That's just me though.

 

[50cent]

I agree with most of everyone's points on here about "RKG". You want a guy with a work ethic, passion for the game, talented, physical and a high football IG. It's the physical/savage part that seems to escape our RKGs and mainly on defense. The two guys that come to mind that fit the bill to a tee are Murray and Lee. Never have to worry about them off the field, they are dedicated to their craft (choir boys) and have the savage mentality (thug) that many of our fans crave. Miss me with the Murray avoids contact foolishness, he is more than physical enough (see his pass blocking and trucks). I exclude Dez because of his off the field PAST, but I he is a RKG because of his passion and never say die play.

As much as I love DWare, he lacked that "knock the snot out of you" mentality and when your leader isn't a OVERLY PHYSICAL TACKLER it trickles down if you ask me. This is why I've been yearning for Lee to be the face of the defense because he brings the savage physical tackling that reminds me of Bowman and Willis. This type of leading by example is needed even if he can't stay healthy because it will trickle down to those that want to be a part of his unit. Ray Lewis used to say that if you didn't bring it, you'd have a problem with HIM. I took that as, if you weren't in the right place and tackled with an edge, you most likely weren't gonna be getting a defensive paycheck from the RAvens. Lee needs to be surrounded by more players with that striking ability mentality.

Offensively, I have more confidence in their savage mentality due to the presence of Waters last season. This is why I wanted him in the lockerroom for another season to cement that offensive mindset. He may not return, but I believe he instilled that savage play in guys and that showed in the improved run game, the part of the game that required more savages. I think Fred/Leary had that DNA, Waters just helped bring it out more on the pro level, but guys like Free, Mack and Smith (laid back personalities) are better because of Waters presence and his insistence on playing with an edge. Combine those big uglies increased physicality to go with Dez and Murray's and the offense is on to something if they pound the rock.

I'll add Church to the list of guys on defense, but that's still only two savage RKGs on that side of the ball and 1 within the FRONT SEVEN. Simply not enough!

 

[Rockytop6]

Why does the 'right kind of guy' get misunderstood so often? It's got to be intentional at this point, doesn't it? It's not, nor has it ever been about ethics, citizenship, character. It's always been about finding smart, passionate players whom football is important to. Just as you say, TwoDeep. And any definition of Demarcus Ware that finds him lacking as a football player during his time in Dallas is an utterly useless definition. I'm sorry.

Here are a handful of quotes from JG himself where the right kind of guy is concerned:



And again:



Or again:



Sounds like he wants talent, physicality, hard work, and passion for the game, to me. And team players. I'm missing the ethics and citizenship part.

I really like the RKGs. We are not an average team because we have RKGs, but we are an average team because we do not have the RKGs.
As was stated, we must have the talent. you can't win whether your players are RKGs or not. But with talent, my opinion, you have a better chance of winning if your guys are RKGs. This means they give their all and refuse to be defeated.

 

[casmith07]

I really like the RKGs. We are not an average team because we have RKGs, but we are an average team because we do not have the RKGs.
As was stated, we must have the talent. you can't win whether your players are RKGs or not. But with talent, my opinion, you have a better chance of winning if your guys are RKGs. This means they give their all and refuse to be defeated.

We're getting there. It takes time to build that culture and talent base that allows you to "plug and play" players at positions instead of being overly reliant on one guy making $80M.

 

[yentl911]

Yes, we need some guys that are solid people but they also need to love the game and play with a chip on their shoulders and hate to lose. I thought this team has had the talent to be relevant at various times in recent years but didn't play with that "edge" or swagger that the good teams have. I want a team of guys that step on the field with the mindset that they are the best and want to kick your *** for 60 minutes. We only have a few guys with that mentality right now.

The early 90's team has some mean SOB's on both sides of the ball and even the ST units were scary. Refused to lose and physically pounded the opposing team into submission week after week. So fun to watch.

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't care, really. This made up crisis about the brand of player the team hires is just that for me. RKG, gang banger, choir boy, it's a thug life, it's all the same to me.

But this is what I do know, for better or worse.

Football is a game of violence. The ambition is for my guys to knock the drizzly shate out of your guys. While we all preach from the podium of brotherly love (read sanctimony,) most here and throughout the fan bases of the NFL understand if your team knocks their star quarterback out of the game, your chances of winning increase.

Now think on that for a second. Knock their star out. Drop the hurt hammer on him.

Back when Vick went down and they brought in the back-up, the temperament on this board was a positive feeling about the upcoming game.

"We'll knock the snot out of this guy," was the mantra here.

The downside to guys like TO and Pacman is their actions which causes them to not be on the field of play on game day.

The fandom of the NFL point fingers at the list of criminals on other teams, yet when your criminal does something spectacular to win a game, don't most of us ignore his off field actions?

I was taking a vacation in Seattle when Clyde Simmons was tragically killed in a car wreck test driving a Corvette. I believe his nephew was with him at the time and also lost his life.

I called back to Dallas to a friend of mine that was as ardent a Cowboys fan as I was and am and suggested while tragic, this just put Dallas in the NFC Championship game.

Callous?

Maybe. Or maybe it was the truth, which could still be callous on my part. I felt bad for Clyde, a player I respected and loathed at the same time.

But the truth was the front four of the Eagles was so daunting, they offered a possibility of stopping the Dallas team from my goals of winning it all.

I didn't whoop it up, nor did I go out and have a drink and celebrate. But the facts are, I understood how the dynamics changed by this tragedy.

So when I see posts extolling the RKG, my first consideration is, "Can this guy actually play the game with savagery and skill and stop the other team? Or is he a good guy that isn't at the top of this sport?"

I often felt Ware was too nice for his own good. Just my feeling. Not knocking him. But there is a certain level of barbaric behavior that sets apart guys like Ray Lewis from other guys. Talent is part of it, but the need to inflict devastation on the other guy is also part of the cocktail.

This is modern day Gladiators. Trying to suggest some charitable nature of the combatants is neither positive nor negative.

It's a beard covering the truth of the matter. This game is about inflicting pain and suffering while moving a piece of leather across a chalk line, or stopping the other team from doing so.

I see nothing in that which spells out ethics, citizenship, or character.

It is what it is. And in most cases it's gonna leave a bruise.

I don't expect guys to be saints but suspended players are no help for any team. Being a thug, creating problems on a team is not wanted or needed. It does not have to be either or situation I want tough aggressive men who play with a mean streak but that does not mean the guy also has to be a street punk dope head who misses games because he can't control his life.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Said it before, but RKG is the most overblown, overhyped, much-ado-about-nothing theme ever. Garrett doesn't say anything of substance at his pressers, so some of his media fans like Archer had to try to make this generic, say-nothing coachspeak into some brilliant philosophy on building a football team.

So you want talented, tough, smart players who are disciplined and don't get into trouble off the field? Wow. So does every other coach who ever lived.

Again, all coaches are trying to accomplish basically the same thing in building and molding their teams. Some are just better at it than others. Too bad Garrett is one of the "others".