The power of high expectations

[Bobhaze]

I’m a retired educator- a former teacher, principal and superintendent. And I can tell you from 36 years of working with young people, if you have high expectations for them, they will almost always achieve more. There’s certainly science to back that up. Most children respond very well to positive, appropriate levels of high expectations. Those expectations help form habits of excellence. It’s a powerful teaching tool.

When you look at the patriots and their amazing dynasty the last nearly two decades, there are 3 constants that are keys to their success:

• The best QB in NFL history.
• The best coach in NFL history.
• Many good but not great players that were able to maximize their talents through great coaching and discipline formed through high expectations.

I saw an interview about 5 years ago with Bill Belichick where he was asked what the keys to the patriots’ success were. Without skipping a beat he said, “It’s our culture- we have high expectations to win, no matter what. No excuses.”

When I look at our Cowboys, we are no longer a talent starved team. We have a very talented young defense, one of the best RB weapons in football with Zeke, a top WR in Cooper, and I believe a mentally tough leader at QB. Yes, Dak is not the most accurate passer, but IMO he’s better than too many here think. In short, we have a workable amount of talent here that should be achieving MORE. What we need are leaders with high expectations.

If I were HC, that would be my first message. “I expect more”. If I were the GM, and was interviewing our next HC, I would make expectations clear “I expect us to win a championship.”

The biggest problem with this franchise of course is the fool running it. He makes excuses for his HC and players constantly, winks at mediocrity, and makes “high expectations” only apply to his cash register. When the leader of an organization and his nepotistic kids working for him are not held accountable for failure, your organization’s culture is sick. Thus the last 23 years.

Make no mistake Cowboys fans. Winning a championship starts at the top. And it begins with the culture being molded around the idea that winning a championship is our expectation. And no great drafts or infusion of talent can overcome a fool with a billion dollars.

I know many here will say it’s crazy to expect anything to change. Just accept that this is the way things are. I totally understand that this is the way things are with Jerry. But as a fan, I refuse to accept that this is the way things have to be.

One thing’s for sure....if we as fans continue to have low expectations for Jerry, he will continue to deliver.

 

[DallasEast]

Jerry Jones has faults but I extremely doubt one of those faults has not been conveying to his post-Johnson head coaches he expects more. I am 99.9% certain he has told his head coaches he expects championships (plural) ad nauseam.

In my opinion, I doubt any of his post-Johnson head coaches outside of Parcells has been able to communicate the true essence of championship expectations to his roster. His current head coach offers inspirational taglines and oral descriptions of Cowboys championships from yesteryear but does not seem (from my observation) capable of instilling that final intangible ingredient of title achieving focus every member of the roster must have to exceed the dreams of every other team.

The team that executes best and most often ends up holding the trophy. Not just this or that specific player. The team. Adopt the mindset that I, the player, will eliminate drive killing errors from my game. Embrace the mentality that I, the coach, will adapt and expose my opponents' weakness on any and every given Sunday. Fortify my game day objective to not <expletive> my blocking assignment, my catches, my tackling, my kicks, my passes, my carries, my gameplan, etc. from kickoff to the final second.

That is what has been lacking in Dallas since Johnson's departure even during Parcells' tenure, namely, not enough people doing their jobs, consistently, every blessed week. No exceptions. The team cannot 'Bring It' one week or weeks and lose it at crucial moments. You must maintain. Make the opponent beat you and not beat yourselves because every person should unquestionably believe in their heads and hearts that no one can beat them. Ever. These things must change before Dallas ever hoists another Lombardi trophy.

 

[cowboyblue22]

Jerry Jones has faults but I extremely doubt one of those faults has not been conveying to his post-Johnson head coaches he expects more. I am 99.9% certain he has told his head coaches he expects championships (plural) ad nauseam.

In my opinion, I doubt any of his post-Johnson head coaches outside of Parcells has been able to communicate the true essence of championship expectations to his roster. His current head coach offers inspirational taglines and oral descriptions of Cowboys championships from yesteryear but does not seem (from my observation) capable of instilling that final intangible ingredient of title achieving focus every member of the roster must have to exceed the dreams of every other team.

The team that executes best and most often ends up holding the trophy. Not just this or that specific player. The team. Adopt the mindset that I, the player, will eliminate drive killing errors from my game. Embrace the mentality that I, the coach, will adapt and expose my opponents' weakness on any and every given Sunday. Fortify my game day objective to not <expletive> my blocking assignment, my catches, my tackling, my kicks, my passes, my carries, my gameplan, etc. from kickoff to the final second.

That is what has been lacking in Dallas since Johnson's departure even during Parcells' tenure, namely, not enough people doing their jobs, consistently, every blessed week. No exceptions. The team cannot 'Bring It' one week or weeks and lose it at crucial moments. You must maintain. Make the opponent beat you and not beat yourselves because every person should unquestionably believe in their heads and hearts that no one can beat them. Ever. These things must change before Dallas ever hoists another Lombardi trophy.

POST OF THE YEAR SO FAR

 

[Bobhaze]

Jerry Jones has faults but I extremely doubt one of those faults has not been conveying to his post-Johnson head coaches he expects more. I am 99.9% certain he has told his head coaches he expects championships (plural) ad nauseam.

In my opinion, I doubt any of his post-Johnson head coaches outside of Parcells has been able to communicate the true essence of championship expectations to his roster. His current head coach offers inspirational taglines and oral descriptions of Cowboys championships from yesteryear but does not seem (from my observation) capable of instilling that final intangible ingredient of title achieving focus every member of the roster must have to exceed the dreams of every other team.

The team that executes best and most often ends up holding the trophy. Not just this or that specific player. The team. Adopt the mindset that I, the player, will eliminate drive killing errors from my game. Embrace the mentality that I, the coach, will adapt and expose my opponents' weakness on any and every given Sunday. Fortify my game day objective to not <expletive> my blocking assignment, my catches, my tackling, my kicks, my passes, my carries, my gameplan, etc. from kickoff to the final second.

That is what has been lacking in Dallas since Johnson's departure even during Parcells' tenure, namely, not enough people doing their jobs, consistently, every blessed week. No exceptions. The team cannot 'Bring It' one week or weeks and lose it at crucial moments. You must maintain. Make the opponent beat you and not beat yourselves because every person should unquestionably believe in their heads and hearts that no one can beat them. Ever. These things must change before Dallas ever hoists another Lombardi trophy.

I agree that execution is huge. But when you have a HC that continues to show year after year that he’s slightly above average and you still employ him, you have low expectations. I don’t see how you can argue that Jerry has high expectations. Sorry man, his actions say otherwise. Accountability and expectations go together. There’s little accountability here.

 

[kuyyo_morro]

Jerry Jones has delivered 3 SBs to Dallas, 1 more than coveted Landry. Still fans dont respect him.

 

[Bobhaze]

Jerry Jones has delivered 3 SBs to Dallas, 1 more than coveted Landry. Still fans dont respect him.

Wow. True my friend, but that’s like saying you respect Coach so and so who “won state 3 times back in the 90s, and that’s good enough for me.”

Jerry loves your “respect”.

 

[Cowfan75]

Expectations AND discipline. Two things Jerry doesn't care much about. Unless you're talking about TV ratings, then there are expectations.

 

[ksadler1]

I was listening to a radio show this morning talking about the Pats and what an epic accomplishment that organization has achieved that will never be seen again in the NFL. They talked about how they can pretty much plug-n-play anyone in their system because EVERYONE in that organization knows what's expected and what the reward will be. Everything they said was true.

What we have in Dallas is a storied history but nothing but hollow statements made by the leaders. Jerry should be embarrassed (and pissed) about the past 23 years, especially the two times we had home field thru-out and crapped the bed. Until Jerry can admit that he's horrible GM and step away, we're stuck right where we're at. Unfortunately, Stephan may be even worse. . .

 

[Bobhaze]

I was listening to a radio show this morning talking about the Pats and what an epic accomplishment that organization has achieved that will never be seen again in the NFL. They talked about how they can pretty much plug-n-play anyone in their system because EVERYONE in that organization knows what's expected and what the reward will be. Everything they said was true.

What we have in Dallas is a storied history but nothing but hollow statements made by the leaders. Jerry should be embarrassed (and pissed) about the past 23 years, especially the two times we had home field thru-out and crapped the bed. Until Jerry can admit that he's horrible GM and step away, we're stuck right where we're at. Unfortunately, Stephan may be even worse. . .

Well said. “Until Jerry can admit that he’s a horrible GM...” is something we fans can continue to remind him on.

 

[CWR]

I agree that execution is huge. But when you have a HC that continues to show year after year that he’s slightly above average and you still employ him, you have low expectations. I don’t see how you can argue that Jerry has high expectations. Sorry man, his actions say otherwise. Accountability and expectations go together. There’s little accountability here.

I actually believe JJ thinks patience is the best course of action. I think he waited until Garrett put his stamp on these teams and then convinced himself Garretts failures were due to circumstances beyond anyones control. I think JJ simply believes Garrett will get over the hump. Granted JJ lowers his expectations during seasons when we lose our starting QB or lose our franchise RB ect. Im not arguing this is the right stance, but I would argue JJ has superbowl expectations most seasons. Its his accountability thats lacking. JJ thought he let go of Gailey (or was it Switzer?) too soon and hes made an effort since to try and hold off on the impulse to turn over our head coach. Unfortunately for us Garrett has an uncanny ability to pull himself out of the fire. Winning your division 2 of the last 3 years will buy you a little time in most instances.

Btw, great post to start the thread, I completely agree with most of that.

 

[CouchCoach]

Jerry Jones has delivered 3 SBs to Dallas, 1 more than coveted Landry. Still fans dont respect him.

LMAO at "respect him". He hired the exact right HC once and left the team to him and won 3 rings with that roster and his ego demanded more so he screwed that up. If he hadn't hired Johnson, he probably has to sell the team the way that Bright did.

Why would anyone respect him as a builder of football teams? He is a businessman playing football man because of his ego. The majority of other businessmen, quite a few a lot more successful than he is, that are owners pay others to run their business because they lack the required skills or time to do that themselves. But then most don't buy a business to hire their family.

 

[Doomsday101]

I’m a retired educator- a former teacher, principal and superintendent. And I can tell you from 36 years of working with young people, if you have high expectations for them, they will almost always achieve more. There’s certainly science to back that up. Most children respond very well to positive, appropriate levels of high expectations. Those expectations help form habits of excellence. It’s a powerful teaching tool.

When you look at the patriots and their amazing dynasty the last nearly two decades, there are 3 constants that are keys to their success:

• The best QB in NFL history.
• The best coach in NFL history.
• Many good but not great players that were able to maximize their talents through great coaching and discipline formed through high expectations.

I saw an interview about 5 years ago with Bill Belichick where he was asked what the keys to the patriots’ success were. Without skipping a beat he said, “It’s our culture- we have high expectations to win, no matter what. No excuses.”

When I look at our Cowboys, we are no longer a talent starved team. We have a very talented young defense, one of the best RB weapons in football with Zeke, a top WR in Cooper, and I believe a mentally tough leader at QB. Yes, Dak is not the most accurate passer, but IMO he’s better than too many here think. In short, we have a workable amount of talent here that should be achieving MORE. What we need are leaders with high expectations.

If I were HC, that would be my first message. “I expect more”. If I were the GM, and was interviewing our next HC, I would make expectations clear “I expect us to win a championship.”

The biggest problem with this franchise of course is the fool running it. He makes excuses for his HC and players constantly, winks at mediocrity, and makes “high expectations” only apply to his cash register. When the leader of an organization and his nepotistic kids working for him are not held accountable for failure, your organization’s culture is sick. Thus the last 23 years.

Make no mistake Cowboys fans. Winning a championship starts at the top. And it begins with the culture being molded around the idea that winning a championship is our expectation. And no great drafts or infusion of talent can overcome a fool with a billion dollars.

I know many here will say it’s crazy to expect anything to change. Just accept that this is the way things are. I totally understand that this is the way things are with Jerry. But as a fan, I refuse to accept that this is the way things have to be.

One thing’s for sure....if we as fans continue to have low expectations for Jerry, he will continue to deliver.

I think fans have the low expectation not Jerry or the organization. He may not do what fans think he should but that in no way means his expectations are low. Hell we had many here predicting this team as winning 8 games or less, they exceed that and yet the same people are here moaning. This is a young team and I think expectation for them are high.

 

[ArtClink]

I agree that execution is huge. But when you have a HC that continues to show year after year that he’s slightly above average and you still employ him, you have low expectations. I don’t see how you can argue that Jerry has high expectations. Sorry man, his actions say otherwise. Accountability and expectations go together. There’s little accountability here.

And evidenenced by jerry hiring unqualified, unproven friends for off coordinator when there are proven, credentialed off coordinators that we could have if jerry really wanted to win. Nope, we get entitled bafoons like Kellen "Doc" Moore to learn on the job.

The Rams playoff game was winnable. But coaching was the difference. Jerrys friends have been learning on the job as hc, qb coach, and now off coordinator. If only we had an owner who wantrd to win and would hire coaches with proven track records then we would have won the rams game.

Kellen Moore will be able to learn on the job, a euphamism for no accountibility for the next umpteen years. You cant rehab stupid (jerry) and the 24 year, no div playoff win continues. At least jerry is comfortable with his friends he hired to be pretend coaches. I wonder if this is how 'Lil Bobby Kraft runs the Patriot organization....

 

[cern]

I’m a retired educator- a former teacher, principal and superintendent. And I can tell you from 36 years of working with young people, if you have high expectations for them, they will almost always achieve more. There’s certainly science to back that up. Most children respond very well to positive, appropriate levels of high expectations. Those expectations help form habits of excellence. It’s a powerful teaching tool.

When you look at the patriots and their amazing dynasty the last nearly two decades, there are 3 constants that are keys to their success:

• The best QB in NFL history.
• The best coach in NFL history.
• Many good but not great players that were able to maximize their talents through great coaching and discipline formed through high expectations.

I saw an interview about 5 years ago with Bill Belichick where he was asked what the keys to the patriots’ success were. Without skipping a beat he said, “It’s our culture- we have high expectations to win, no matter what. No excuses.”

When I look at our Cowboys, we are no longer a talent starved team. We have a very talented young defense, one of the best RB weapons in football with Zeke, a top WR in Cooper, and I believe a mentally tough leader at QB. Yes, Dak is not the most accurate passer, but IMO he’s better than too many here think. In short, we have a workable amount of talent here that should be achieving MORE. What we need are leaders with high expectations.

If I were HC, that would be my first message. “I expect more”. If I were the GM, and was interviewing our next HC, I would make expectations clear “I expect us to win a championship.”

The biggest problem with this franchise of course is the fool running it. He makes excuses for his HC and players constantly, winks at mediocrity, and makes “high expectations” only apply to his cash register. When the leader of an organization and his nepotistic kids working for him are not held accountable for failure, your organization’s culture is sick. Thus the last 23 years.

Make no mistake Cowboys fans. Winning a championship starts at the top. And it begins with the culture being molded around the idea that winning a championship is our expectation. And no great drafts or infusion of talent can overcome a fool with a billion dollars.

I know many here will say it’s crazy to expect anything to change. Just accept that this is the way things are. I totally understand that this is the way things are with Jerry. But as a fan, I refuse to accept that this is the way things have to be.

One thing’s for sure....if we as fans continue to have low expectations for Jerry, he will continue to deliver.

really well written piece, bob. and very accurate.

 

[ClappingCarrot]

What amazes me the most about New England's roster is their OL's ability to play at a high level and protect the QB despite undergoing constant turnover. That's typically a unit that takes time to gel and work better together, but those guys just make it looks so easy. Think about it - they lost their LT to a mega-deal that he signed in NYG. Then their RT signed with us to be our swing tackle. Then New England drafted a tackle in the first round and he was placed on IR before he could play a snap. Yet none of those guys missed a beat.

Unbelievable how well they're coached.

 

[CouchCoach]

Booger runs this team for one main reason, he enjoys being a half-assed celebrity and Kraft has 6 rings and in a year won't be on radio and TV as much as Jones in a week. He's an attention junkie with his stupid homilies and that group of nepotistic people that wouldn't even get an interview with a NFL club.

The Dallas Cowboys are designed for one main reason, to keep the owner happy. The Raiders used "Commitment to Excellence" as their battle cry and mantra back in their day. Over the last 20 some odd years, the Cowboys have their own "Good enough is good enough".

And Booger has his own. "The buck does not stop here; it goes right into the register".

 

[CouchCoach]

really well written piece, bob. and very accurate.

Well, what the hell, the man is an ex educator, principal and superintendent, what would you expect? Not like being an ex radio man. I'm lucky to string two cohesive thoughts together and type them before I forget them.

 

[viman96]

The culture in Dallas needs to change before deep playoff runs are to be expected.

 

[CouchCoach]

What amazes me the most about New England's roster is their OL's ability to play at a high level and protect the QB despite undergoing constant turnover. That's typically a unit that takes time to gel and work better together, but those guys just make it looks so easy. Think about it - they lost their LT to a mega-deal that he signed in NYG. Then their RT signed with us to be our swing tackle. Then New England drafted a tackle in the first round and he was placed on IR before he could play a snap. Yet none of those guys missed a beat.

Unbelievable how well they're coached.

And on top of that, Belichick seldom runs the same defense. At least when Landry developed the Flex and they had to think more than react, he didn't demand his guys change it each week. And it is a testament to his attention to detail that his D players are seldom out of position. They'll miss a play but not because they were not where they're supposed to be.

 

[cern]

Jerry Jones has faults but I extremely doubt one of those faults has not been conveying to his post-Johnson head coaches he expects more. I am 99.9% certain he has told his head coaches he expects championships (plural) ad nauseam.

In my opinion, I doubt any of his post-Johnson head coaches outside of Parcells has been able to communicate the true essence of championship expectations to his roster. His current head coach offers inspirational taglines and oral descriptions of Cowboys championships from yesteryear but does not seem (from my observation) capable of instilling that final intangible ingredient of title achieving focus every member of the roster must have to exceed the dreams of every other team.

The team that executes best and most often ends up holding the trophy. Not just this or that specific player. The team. Adopt the mindset that I, the player, will eliminate drive killing errors from my game. Embrace the mentality that I, the coach, will adapt and expose my opponents' weakness on any and every given Sunday. Fortify my game day objective to not <expletive> my blocking assignment, my catches, my tackling, my kicks, my passes, my carries, my gameplan, etc. from kickoff to the final second.

That is what has been lacking in Dallas since Johnson's departure even during Parcells' tenure, namely, not enough people doing their jobs, consistently, every blessed week. No exceptions. The team cannot 'Bring It' one week or weeks and lose it at crucial moments. You must maintain. Make the opponent beat you and not beat yourselves because every person should unquestionably believe in their heads and hearts that no one can beat them. Ever. These things must change before Dallas ever hoists another Lombardi trophy.

following a relatively successful 2014 season, tony romo was injured. the coaching staff led the team to a 1-11 record with a combination of weeden, cassell and moore. and yet despite this monumental coaching failure, garrett, linehan, and Marinelli all kept their jobs. there was not one nanogram of accountability. among the front office, only Stephen expressed his dissatisfaction with the coaching. but jerry kept them all. I think the op hit it on the head. jerry's might talk a big line about a winning culture, but his actions indicate otherwise.