jday
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A farmer was sitting in the neighborhood bar getting drunk. A man came in and asked the farmer, "Hey, why are you sitting here on this beautiful day, getting drunk?"
The farmer shook his head and replied, "Some things you just can't explain."
"So what happened that's so horrible?" the man asked as he sat down next to the farmer.
"Well," the farmer said, "today I was sitting by my cow, milking her. Just as I got the bucket full, she lifted her left leg and kicked over the bucket."
"Okay," said the man, "but that's not so bad."
"Some things you just can't explain," the farmer replied.
"So what happened then?" the man asked.
The farmer said, "I took her left leg and tied it to the post on the left."
"And then?"
"Well, I sat back down and continued to milk her. Just as I got the bucket full, she took her right leg and kicked over the bucket."
The man laughed and said, "Again?"
The farmer replied, "Some things you just can't explain."
"So, what did you do then?" the man asked.
"I took her right leg this time and tied it to the post on the right."
"And then?"
"Well, I sat back down and began milking her again. Just as I got the bucket full, the stupid cow knocked over the bucket with her tail."
"Hmmm," the man said and nodded his head.
"Some things you just can't explain," the farmer said.
"So, what did you do?" the man asked.
"Well," the farmer said, "I didn't have any more rope, so I took off my belt and tied her tail to the rafter. In that moment, my pants fell down and my wife walked in (sigh) ... Some things you just can't explain."
The book is out on Dak. Whatever it is he struggles to do, opposing defenses will attempt to force the issue; they will attack his weaknesses until he proves it is no longer a struggle. Zeke certainly isn’t surprising anyone. The opposition will be coached to keep tabs on #21 at all times when he is on the field. Dez is Dez; he hasn’t earned his contract, if you want to know my honest opinion, but to be fair that is not entirely his fault…injuries happen. The beauty of having a Dez is that regardless if he plays up to his ability or not, so long as he is on the field, defensive coordinators will still have to game plan for him…so, I guess you could say, in that sense, his reputation is certainly worth the cap hit.
The same could be said of Witten and Beasley. Witten is old. Beasley is small. But when Dak look’s to move the chains on 3rd and manageable, you can bet he’ll be looking for one of them….and there isn’t a whole lot defenses can do to take all of Dak’s options on third down away. Behind those primary targets, is a bevy of reliability. Williams and company (Butler, Switzer, Jones, Brown) may not ever be considered ideal as #1 options, but as #3’s and #4’s you won’t find too many team’s that boast better potential targets, all things considered.
The bottom line is the Cowboy’s offense is about as close to a finished product as a team could ask for heading into a season. There are not a lot of questions about that side of the ball other than offensive line and tight end. By preseason end, I suspect there won’t be too many questions about those positions either, as the Cowboys will likely look to quicken the pace on Dak’s snap to release time….that’s what adding a Switzer to the equation could assist with and not adding an offensive lineman high in the draft could force.
The defense, on the other hand, is one big question mark. For the exception of Byron Jones at Free Safety and Sean Lee at Weakside Linebacker, every starting position is up for grabs. Some may say that TCraw and DLaw are locks to start, but I’m not so sure. David Irving, Maliek Collins, Taco, and Charles Tapper will certainly have something to say about that…and to be fair, starting means next to nothing on Marinelli defensive line, given how he likes to rotate players in and out to keep them fresh throughout and for when it really counts: the fourth quarter.
The trouble with guessing how the secondary will shake out is the rather unique situation of having a full cupboard of corners ideal for the Nickel role. Most believe the competition at Strong Safety is between Heath and Xavier Woods, but don’t sleep on Chidobe Awuzie being in that conversation; he played everywhere in the secondary at Colorado and actually may be a better fit in that role versus corner.
Furthermore, given the 3-2-6 the Cowboys like to use on 3rd and long, I could certainly see the Cowboys using a pure corner look on the back end, bringing the safeties up to the linebacker spot. The point is, much like the defensive line, whomever is christened the starter at each spot matters little; every corner that makes the final 53 is pretty much guaranteed a spot on the Gameday 46.
But as I have said countless times over the years in the months leading up to a season, having questions is not the same thing as being hopeless. Of course, I get following last year’s 13 and 3 magical season, few are in need of a lecture about having hope; transverse to seasons past, hope seemingly springs eternal for many among Cowboys nation. Nevertheless, regardless if you need this pep talk or not, this defense could very well be considered a strength by seasons end.
The crazy thing is, I’m not pointing to the talent-level as our reason to have faith in what I predict will be a mid-season turn-around for the Cowboys defense. I am pointing to the collective attitude of this defensive roster. I’ve watched the interviews. I’ve read the articles, however obscure. And I believe Jason Garrett finally has the locker room collection he has wanted from the beginning.
Gone are the cancers. Signed and accounted for, are the RKG’s. A mantra that I believe will be a galvanizing force behind this team’s (again) mid-season emergence.
In the early going of the RKG movement, Jason Garrett caught a lot of grief. From misinterpretation of what “RKG” actually means to moves that seemed to contradict what he was looking for, “RKG” quickly became a punchline on the national media’s lips just about every time the Cowboys caught a mention. Not too many people are laughing now.
Rather their current roster of 88 (I believe) are ideal representatives of this “ideal” or not remains to be seen. But the final 53, I feel fairly confident, will be its shining example. And, as a result, regardless if by season end the Cowboys have even one defensive Pro Bowl representative, I strongly believe the Cowboys will be extremely difficult to play against in all three phases of the game.
To come to this conclusion on your own, you will have to do the homework. You’ll have to dig deeper into the personality of every player. You will find this understanding in the fluff pieces; the throw-away space-eaters that various media outlets will include as an after-thought, when football news is a mere trickle, as it is presently.
You will find that many of the players that will be wearing a blue star in the upcoming season were leaders in their perspective locker rooms. You will discover that each player has a certain intensity and by extension a commitment to the game that is rare.
Talent-wise, admittedly, they may not have acquired the best player available at every opportunity, be it from the draft or via Free Agency. But when you can put together a collection of such players, talent can be transcended by attitude. Of course, if you only have a few of these guys, seeing that manifest itself is unlikely. But should you have the opportunity to have representatives of this approach across the board 53 players deep, overall talent can become an afterthought, as the players play beyond their billing and force the media to second-guess themselves in hindsight, Dak Prescott being the epitome of this phenomenon.
However, should you not do the homework and still haven’t the slight idea of what it is I’m trying to explain, all I can say is, some things you just can’t explain.
Thoughts?
The farmer shook his head and replied, "Some things you just can't explain."
"So what happened that's so horrible?" the man asked as he sat down next to the farmer.
"Well," the farmer said, "today I was sitting by my cow, milking her. Just as I got the bucket full, she lifted her left leg and kicked over the bucket."
"Okay," said the man, "but that's not so bad."
"Some things you just can't explain," the farmer replied.
"So what happened then?" the man asked.
The farmer said, "I took her left leg and tied it to the post on the left."
"And then?"
"Well, I sat back down and continued to milk her. Just as I got the bucket full, she took her right leg and kicked over the bucket."
The man laughed and said, "Again?"
The farmer replied, "Some things you just can't explain."
"So, what did you do then?" the man asked.
"I took her right leg this time and tied it to the post on the right."
"And then?"
"Well, I sat back down and began milking her again. Just as I got the bucket full, the stupid cow knocked over the bucket with her tail."
"Hmmm," the man said and nodded his head.
"Some things you just can't explain," the farmer said.
"So, what did you do?" the man asked.
"Well," the farmer said, "I didn't have any more rope, so I took off my belt and tied her tail to the rafter. In that moment, my pants fell down and my wife walked in (sigh) ... Some things you just can't explain."
The book is out on Dak. Whatever it is he struggles to do, opposing defenses will attempt to force the issue; they will attack his weaknesses until he proves it is no longer a struggle. Zeke certainly isn’t surprising anyone. The opposition will be coached to keep tabs on #21 at all times when he is on the field. Dez is Dez; he hasn’t earned his contract, if you want to know my honest opinion, but to be fair that is not entirely his fault…injuries happen. The beauty of having a Dez is that regardless if he plays up to his ability or not, so long as he is on the field, defensive coordinators will still have to game plan for him…so, I guess you could say, in that sense, his reputation is certainly worth the cap hit.
The same could be said of Witten and Beasley. Witten is old. Beasley is small. But when Dak look’s to move the chains on 3rd and manageable, you can bet he’ll be looking for one of them….and there isn’t a whole lot defenses can do to take all of Dak’s options on third down away. Behind those primary targets, is a bevy of reliability. Williams and company (Butler, Switzer, Jones, Brown) may not ever be considered ideal as #1 options, but as #3’s and #4’s you won’t find too many team’s that boast better potential targets, all things considered.
The bottom line is the Cowboy’s offense is about as close to a finished product as a team could ask for heading into a season. There are not a lot of questions about that side of the ball other than offensive line and tight end. By preseason end, I suspect there won’t be too many questions about those positions either, as the Cowboys will likely look to quicken the pace on Dak’s snap to release time….that’s what adding a Switzer to the equation could assist with and not adding an offensive lineman high in the draft could force.
The defense, on the other hand, is one big question mark. For the exception of Byron Jones at Free Safety and Sean Lee at Weakside Linebacker, every starting position is up for grabs. Some may say that TCraw and DLaw are locks to start, but I’m not so sure. David Irving, Maliek Collins, Taco, and Charles Tapper will certainly have something to say about that…and to be fair, starting means next to nothing on Marinelli defensive line, given how he likes to rotate players in and out to keep them fresh throughout and for when it really counts: the fourth quarter.
The trouble with guessing how the secondary will shake out is the rather unique situation of having a full cupboard of corners ideal for the Nickel role. Most believe the competition at Strong Safety is between Heath and Xavier Woods, but don’t sleep on Chidobe Awuzie being in that conversation; he played everywhere in the secondary at Colorado and actually may be a better fit in that role versus corner.
Furthermore, given the 3-2-6 the Cowboys like to use on 3rd and long, I could certainly see the Cowboys using a pure corner look on the back end, bringing the safeties up to the linebacker spot. The point is, much like the defensive line, whomever is christened the starter at each spot matters little; every corner that makes the final 53 is pretty much guaranteed a spot on the Gameday 46.
But as I have said countless times over the years in the months leading up to a season, having questions is not the same thing as being hopeless. Of course, I get following last year’s 13 and 3 magical season, few are in need of a lecture about having hope; transverse to seasons past, hope seemingly springs eternal for many among Cowboys nation. Nevertheless, regardless if you need this pep talk or not, this defense could very well be considered a strength by seasons end.
The crazy thing is, I’m not pointing to the talent-level as our reason to have faith in what I predict will be a mid-season turn-around for the Cowboys defense. I am pointing to the collective attitude of this defensive roster. I’ve watched the interviews. I’ve read the articles, however obscure. And I believe Jason Garrett finally has the locker room collection he has wanted from the beginning.
Gone are the cancers. Signed and accounted for, are the RKG’s. A mantra that I believe will be a galvanizing force behind this team’s (again) mid-season emergence.
In the early going of the RKG movement, Jason Garrett caught a lot of grief. From misinterpretation of what “RKG” actually means to moves that seemed to contradict what he was looking for, “RKG” quickly became a punchline on the national media’s lips just about every time the Cowboys caught a mention. Not too many people are laughing now.
Rather their current roster of 88 (I believe) are ideal representatives of this “ideal” or not remains to be seen. But the final 53, I feel fairly confident, will be its shining example. And, as a result, regardless if by season end the Cowboys have even one defensive Pro Bowl representative, I strongly believe the Cowboys will be extremely difficult to play against in all three phases of the game.
To come to this conclusion on your own, you will have to do the homework. You’ll have to dig deeper into the personality of every player. You will find this understanding in the fluff pieces; the throw-away space-eaters that various media outlets will include as an after-thought, when football news is a mere trickle, as it is presently.
You will find that many of the players that will be wearing a blue star in the upcoming season were leaders in their perspective locker rooms. You will discover that each player has a certain intensity and by extension a commitment to the game that is rare.
Talent-wise, admittedly, they may not have acquired the best player available at every opportunity, be it from the draft or via Free Agency. But when you can put together a collection of such players, talent can be transcended by attitude. Of course, if you only have a few of these guys, seeing that manifest itself is unlikely. But should you have the opportunity to have representatives of this approach across the board 53 players deep, overall talent can become an afterthought, as the players play beyond their billing and force the media to second-guess themselves in hindsight, Dak Prescott being the epitome of this phenomenon.
However, should you not do the homework and still haven’t the slight idea of what it is I’m trying to explain, all I can say is, some things you just can’t explain.
Thoughts?
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