The power of high expectations

[Bobhaze]

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

Ha! Coach you’re one of the best writers in this place. Your mix of humor, sacrilege and honest opinion making is valued. I continue to have high expectations for your writing!

 

[CouchCoach]

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

Not likely to happen anytime soon and those waiting for it to get better when Booger takes a dirt nap are going to be very disappointed.

 

[Bobhaze]

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.

Coach rockin’ some truth up in here.

 

[cern]

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.

players have left the pats and dissed on belichick, saying he grinds them into the ground by going over things repetitively until they get them right. they complain it's just not fun. but that's what it takes to get everyone on the same page. no trickery from the old master. just good old fashioned coaching.

 

[DallasEast]

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.

Those are logical assumptions If you based them on Jerry Jones having the same accountability and reasoning factors as your own. That is an error in judgment in my opinion. It is an error in judgment concerning Jones that has been repeated by countless people over the years.

Jones' mentality rationalizes that no other qualified person ON EARTH can be a better general manager than himself for his franchise. The customary excuses can and will be used as explanations. He is greedy. He is stubborn. He does not want to share the credit. The last excuse has some plausibility due TO his mentality but does not fully explain his personal view of how to best run any operation--much less his lifelong greatest crowning achievement.

In short, it is impossible for someone to wrap their minds around any other self-perception than Jerry Jones thinks like they do themselves. Jones' thinking does not fit the norm. In my opinion, Jones has HIS version of high expectations. In my opinion, Jones has HIS version of unquestionable self-accountability. Anyone not considering these traits as part of his mental makeup will never understand him.

 

[Bobhaze]

players have left the pats and dissed on belichick, saying he grinds them into the ground by going over things repetitively until they get them right. they complain it's just not fun. but that's what it takes to get everyone on the same page. no trickery from the old master. just good old fashioned coaching.

Yeah, to show us how effective their coaching is, during the game yesterday, pats OC Josh McDaniel actually threw out the game plan. He told his offense during the late second qtr that they were going to run some plays they had not practiced at all in their prep time. McDaniel saw what the rams were doing defensively and realized their original game plan wasn’t going to work.

If any of us are honest, under Garrett would that happen? Could it happen?

 

[CouchCoach]

Bullet, your high expectations piece is very well done but as fans, they've already screwed the pooch on that because he has continually been rewarded for mediocrity. High expectations should include consequences for failure to meet them and that has never happened, not once, with this franchise since he's owned it.

As long as the fans buy tickets, merch and financially support the team, he interprets that as job well done. And that does not look like it is ever going to change. The fans have spoken and good enough is good enough.

The Dallas Cowboys, to me, can best be summed up by a phrase I don't really care for but it fits too well. "It is what it is". Those fives words are surrender to me but there is only one other thing to do and that is no longer be a fan and the history and laundry are still too current with me to do that.

 

[Bobhaze]

Bullet, your high expectations piece is very well done but as fans, they've already screwed the pooch on that because he has continually been rewarded for mediocrity. High expectations should include consequences for failure to meet them and that has never happened, not once, with this franchise since he's owned it.

As long as the fans buy tickets, merch and financially support the team, he interprets that as job well done. And that does not look like it is ever going to change. The fans have spoken and good enough is good enough.

The Dallas Cowboys, to me, can best be summed up by a phrase I don't really care for but it fits too well. "It is what it is". Those fives words are surrender to me but there is only one other thing to do and that is no longer be a fan and the history and laundry are still too current with me to do that.

Yeah when I was “gifted” some tickets to a Cowboys home game against Tampa Bay last Dec, I was struck by the contrast to all the games I went to at Texas Stadium and even the Cotton Bowl over the years. The TB game to me was a bad experience for a host of reasons including the way my handicapped father in law, a Korean War vet was treated by stadium staff. The atmosphere of that place doesn’t feel like a real football stadium as much as a big concert or broadway show.

But that aside, the people I had to shake my head about at the game that day were the people buying the $39 “party pass”. What a crock that is. But it of course was as full as a cattle pen, mostly people in Tony Romo jerseys that I would bet anything they knew neither the score or what they were actually paying for the beers they were guzzling.

Yep...it is what it is. Low expectations that too many fans keep buying at full price.

 

[DallasEast]

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.

I agree that 2015 should have put a death nail in Garrett's tenure. It is why I think the possibility of Garrett being extended if he oversees the team reaching the playoffs again in 2019 is highly likely.

However, I do not apply my self-rationalizing ability onto Jones'. Each are not compatible with the other. Therein lies the reason why Jones' retention of Garrett is not understandable. In my opinion, Jones did not see Garrett as the key reason why the team could not rebound from Romo's injured. It is likely he attributed the season deficit to bad luck. It is how Jones thinks. His self-perception justifies such realizations because his personal assessment of his head coach would be in alignment with Garrett's critics if he allowed himself to think just that. And that sense of personal rationalization runs completely counter to his personality.

 

[CouchCoach]

Yeah, to show us how effective their coaching is, during the game yesterday, pats OC Josh McDaniel actually threw out the game plan. He told his offense during the late second qtr that they were going to run some plays they had not practiced at all in their prep time. McDaniel saw what the rams were doing defensively and realized their original game plan wasn’t going to work.

If any of us are honest, under Garrett would that happen? Could it happen?

But could that happen with most teams? Most teams are strong on strategy and weak on tactics but not Belichick's. And there have been some really strong tactician coaches, Joe Gibbs was one of the best, and they live for that moment, that is when they are most alive.

Comparing Garrett or any of the other coaches to Belichick isn't fair, there is only one of him. Parcells couldn't win a ring without him and when they both saw what Lawrence Taylor could do, Parcells wanted him to tow the line because that's the type coach he was but Belichick changed his defense.

While I do not like what I see of Belichick, and that's the only side he shows publicly, there isn't another coach than can even be compared in the same sentence. When he finally hangs it up, my most vibrant memory of him will be on the sideline down 28-3 in the SB to ATL. I couldn't tell that from how he was going about his business and neither could his players and I was clueless as to what he knew, the Falcons were running out of steam and his players were fresh.

I do not expect Garrett to be Belichick or Landry or Parcells but I did expect a better prepared man to be the HC of the Cowboys. And I did not expect the sideline gaffes to continue.

 

[viman96]

Not likely to happen anytime soon and those waiting for it to get better when Booger takes a dirt nap are going to be very disappointed.

Yep. It is one of the primary reasons I do think changing the HC makes much of a difference.

 

[cern]

I agree that 2015 should have put a death nail in Garrett's tenure. It is why I think the possibility of Garrett being extended if her oversees the team reaching the playoffs again in 2019 is highly likely.

However, I do not apply my self-rationalizing ability onto Jones'. Each are not compatible with the other. Therein lies the reason why Jones' retention of Garrett is not understandable. In my opinion, Jones did not see Garrett as the key reason why the team could not rebound from Romo's injured. It is likely he attributed the season deficit to bad luck. It is how Jones thinks. His self-perception justifies such realizations because his personal assessment of his head coach would be in alignment with Garrett's critics if he allowed himself to think just that. And that sense of personal rationalization runs completely counter to his personality.

I think jerry just can't admit to having made a mistake (garrett). but your point that essentially we do not all think alike is well taken.

 

[Bobhaze]

But could that happen with most teams? Most teams are strong on strategy and weak on tactics but not Belichick's. And there have been some really strong tactician coaches, Joe Gibbs was one of the best, and they live for that moment, that is when they are most alive.

Comparing Garrett or any of the other coaches to Belichick isn't fair, there is only one of him. Parcells couldn't win a ring without him and when they both saw what Lawrence Taylor could do, Parcells wanted him to tow the line because that's the type coach he was but Belichick changed his defense.

While I do not like what I see of Belichick, and that's the only side he shows publicly, there isn't another coach than can even be compared in the same sentence. When he finally hangs it up, my most vibrant memory of him will be on the sideline down 28-3 in the SB to ATL. I couldn't tell that from how he was going about his business and neither could his players and I was clueless as to what he knew, the Falcons were running out of steam and his players were fresh.

I do not expect Garrett to be Belichick or Landry or Parcells but I did expect a better prepared man to be the HC of the Cowboys. And I did not expect the sideline gaffes to continue.

I come back to a question that drives me crazy- “Is Jason Garrett the best Head Coach we could get in Dallas?” If the answer is no, why does JJ continue to employ this guy? Answer- Because Jerry is ok with what we’ve been getting from Garrett. Sure he’d like to win more but not at the risk of being overshadowed. We are trying to win a championship with a mediocre head coach. Man, it’s hard enough to win with an excellent HC.

 

[GMO415]

JJ is living on borrowed time. He's got one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel. He realizes he'd better bring in the best available HC to take this team to a SB .

 

[DallasEast]

I think jerry just can't admit to having made a mistake (garrett). but your point that essentially we do not all think alike is well taken.

Bold> That is exactly what I have always said about Jones' concerning Garrett and other decisions he has made.

 

[DallasEast]

JJ is living on borrowed time. He's got one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel. He realizes he'd better bring in the best available HC to take this team to a SB .

Jones will not suddenly find the fountain of youth or change his fortune IF he does not replace Garrett with 'the best available head coach'. It is not likely Jones views his self-mortality in the same way others normally do.

EDIT: ...because he would have fired himself as general manager years ago if he did.

 

[ShiningStar]

Kris Richard, and Lal both started changing the culture when they got here. Im not to sure on Bloom, but he too was successful. When you change the culture to your "demands" you will raise teh level of success. I am sure Richard had high successes and did his boys do that in the last game? no, but it does show in the big picture, that was his goal but the overall of the defense failed him. When Monte Kiffen game with Rod, they never changed the culture. Lets see if Richard can bring higher success with another year.

 

[CouchCoach]

Kris Richard, and Lal both started changing the culture when they got here. Im not to sure on Bloom, but he too was successful. When you change the culture to your "demands" you will raise teh level of success. I am sure Richard had high successes and did his boys do that in the last game? no, but it does show in the big picture, that was his goal but the overall of the defense failed him. When Monte Kiffen game with Rod, they never changed the culture. Lets see if Richard can bring higher success with another year.

Unlike other teams, the Cowboys culture is not established by the coaching staff. That takes a strong HC whose job it is to establish that culture. Cowboys culture is established by the Jones family.

I used to laugh at all of the talk of "Camp Cupcake" attributed to Wade when those same posters ignored the fact Wade was turned down by Booger when he asked to increase fines for missing meetings and tardiness. Who was the baker in that kitchen? Who issued "media passes" for some players to miss meetings because as we all know, the media is far more important than football?

 

[ShiningStar]

Unlike other teams, the Cowboys culture is not established by the coaching staff. That takes a strong HC whose job it is to establish that culture. Cowboys culture is established by the Jones family.

I used to laugh at all of the talk of "Camp Cupcake" attributed to Wade when those same posters ignored the fact Wade was turned down by Booger when he asked to increase fines for missing meetings and tardiness. Who was the baker in that kitchen? Who issued "media passes" for some players to miss meetings because as we all know, the media is far more important than football?

Exactly, JG has no culture, has no expectations, holds no one to standards because simply put, he cant.

 

[Pantone282C]

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.

Once again, a good synopsis of the Cowboys State of the Union. I agree with your assertions except that I don't understand the last item about expectations. I think I understand the gist of it, but what do you mean?