jday
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Like our beloved Cowboys clearly did over the bi-week, I too subject myself to quite a bit of self-evaluation in regards to what and how I write. I hold myself, believe it or not, to a high standard in regards to what I actually submit; for every post the reader sees, there are several that never see the light of day.
To me there is an art form in attempting to strike a balance between easy to digest analysis and engaging/entertaining material. I am by no means a professional and have never had any formal training in the craft, but I do spend more time reading than I do anything, for the lone exception of sleeping. The typical day includes several hours of ingesting written information and ranges from Cowboys related material to the Bible to good ole’ curl-up-into-an-alcove-on-a-rainy-day-and-dive-into-another-world fiction; without fail just about every day, regardless of the weather. I would like to dive deeper into some analysis, parroting the addictive trend of articles complete with slow motion gif’s breaking down plays, but I lack the time, the resources, and the requisite dedication to this pastime to execute something of that nature on a regular and consistent basis.
I’m a father of two young boys and a husband to a my-time-stingy wife of whom I am stingy of her time in return. I’m a ridiculously lucky man: Two awesome young boys, smoking hot, badass cook and OCD cleaning wife, phenomenal mom, who has been with me through thick & thin for more than 12 years….and I live in America, which by defaults means life is better for me than most people on this planet. #blessed
Of course, the key most miss to being happy is simply learning to acknowledge and focus on what they do have versus what they don’t. As an American, after a little practice that should become a fairly easy exercise to perform when your world seems to be a maelstrom of insurmountable issues. I highly recommend you try it; especially if you have anger issues. The more blessed you feel, the harder anger is to maintain and hold on to.
Lastly, you have to recognize the Ying & the Yang of situations. Many positives hinge on negative to exist and many negatives are reliant on positives in order to exist. Take your significant other (if you have one), for instance: One of the few keys to a long lasting relationship is recognizing that the things you love about them are closely related to the things you hate about them. Take my wife’s OCD in regards to cleaning; 12 years ago I had the rude awakening to how different our definition of clean was.
For me, “clean” defined is everything has its place and is where I know it to be…including my clothes and shoes presently on the floor…right where I left them. Her definition of clean? Everything is hidden and getting ready for work for me becomes a frustrating scavenger hunt. But, she does clean…which is hard to find in today’s brand of woman. And she shows the same dedication and passion to doing things the right way in everything…and I mean everything…she does. #soblessed
She also is bat(explicit) crazy, at times. She will snag a hold of a topic that I’m in no way interested in pursuing or discussing and persist to talk about it anyway like a dog chewing a bone…such as everything…and I mean everything…. that happened at her work today, what she talked about over the phone with her friend/sister/mom, or, of course, how much time I devote to things that don’t involve spending time listening to her tell me about everything that happened to her today, regardless of the significance or my own interest in the topic. Mind you, I am interested in my wife, but there are certain details that she includes in the retelling that just are neither necessary to my survival or to my ability to understand what she is talking about.
But, because I recognize what I get out of being with such an awesome woman, I can overlook literally anything she does that I hate. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a plain & simple life changing concept to get a hold of in life, because you can apply that very same principle to everything…and I mean everything…nothing more important than your relationships with everyone in your life. After all, sometimes good is propped up by bad and bad is propped up by good, just like the principle of the Ying and the Yang of life in general.
In Hulk Smash my premise was to simply take a handful of (what I believe to be) false-narratives, and outline why I felt they were misguided. All in all, I’m happy with the finished product, but according to a few, I failed in my endeavor to convince the Cowboys-doubting masses. I concede some topics were wanting with persuasive material (the character restriction of this website deems it so), however, I also suspect, given my abovementioned unique point-of-view, my reasoning carries far more weight in my world than it does in most people’s world.
So, if I failed anything, it was I failed to know my entire audience and my content was not quite universal enough for broad-consumption and, in turn, many readers lack the benefit of my perspective, and therefore, struggled to understand the weight my logic carries. With that phenomenon acknowledged, keeping it as concise as possible, I’m going to apply the lense I applied to my wife above, to a few of the topics I discussed in Hulk Smash and one more agenda that has come to light in the wake of the Cowboys 33 to 10 victory over the Commanders Sunday.
Jason Garrett’s Sucks
In truth, it is very difficult to apply the above described lense to Jason because it’s nigh impossible to determine what it is exactly he’s responsible for improving/damaging as it pertains to the team as a whole. The front office is responsible for talent acquisition. Linehan is responsible for the offense. Marinelli is responsible for the defense. So what the heck does Garrett do and how has he had in impact on what the team (a team I love more than any previous iteration save The Dynasty) has become since he took over the reins halfway through the 2010 season after the team had literally quit on Wade?
All we fans see is a guy constantly clapping on the sideline come-what-may on the preceding play and the occasional speech following a victory that seem oddly reminiscent of the previous speech we heard him say following the previous win. We see a guy who says a lot of the same stuff over, and over, and over again in every press conference, offering very little new information…without fail, every time.
We are all well-versed in the buzzwords: “Process” “Deliberate approach” “Day to day” “Stacks goods days on top of good days” “Best version of yourself today” etcetera, ad nauseam, etcetera. We are all intimately familiar with the media-born and fueled criticisms of Garrett. And, of course, we are all well aware of the clinching-argument Garrett’s detractors point to: his win/loss ratio to date and his lack of meaningful wins, particularly getting past the first round of the playoffs. We are aware of all that without the benefit of fulling appreciating what it is he actually adds to this team.
So, of course, it is super easy to assume with nothing to counterbalance all those negatives, that Garrett does more harm than good. But I would argue this: You will know them by their fruits. It is a biblical concept (Matthew 7:15-20) but it is applicable and useful in determining what it is that Garrett adds. Watch all of the press conferences and lockerroom interviews of his players. Many of them seem to parrot exactly what Garrett says. So as tired and redundant as his mantra may seem to be, his players clearly listen to him, value his message and apply it to their daily grind. That type of impact should not be ignored.
The second thing I’ll point to is what this team was before him; and not just under Wade, but under every Head Coach that came into being after Jimmy Johnson and the late great Tom Landry. There is no quit in this team…no matter what. Granted, the occasional player will quit on a play, but for the most part, this team fights from whistle to whistle…which is yet another one of his notorious axioms…he has the T-Shirts to prove it.
The last thing I’ll point to is that for the most part everything that happens (good or bad) in a manner of speaking, has the Head Coaches fingerprints on it. You can’t give him full credit and you can’t assign full blame, but for some reasons the media has a tendency to hand the kudos to either the player, the coordinator, or the front office and when it goes wrong, Garrett catches the lion share of the blame….but he does so gracefully, typically hitting you with another catchphrase: we have to be better…certainly in all three phases, but also has coaches preparing these players to be the best version of themselves…we have to be better at that, as well. He does not offer these words facetiously; he absolutely means it…every time.
The lense: Bill Belichick he may not be, but he has been instrumental in building the product we see, and for the most part, I’m content with those returns. Firing him, and by extension his coordinator regime, would essentially mean starting over at the worst possible time: during Dak’s affordable contract…and while I feel sure the front office would do everything they can to bring in a different winning coach, I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be Belichick, whom many seem to measure Garrett by and it will once again take a few years for the new Head Coach to build this team in his own image. The time for this team is now; Garrett’s vision in 2010 for what he wanted this team to become, I believe, is as close to being realized as ever in the last 7 years.
Given the time he has had in service, I will concede he’s on a short leash; his future legacy demands he wins now as I am sure the Jones family and fan base is losing patience. But, like I said, for the most part, I love the team he has had a hand in building (though, how much impact he directly had is debatable) and am hopeful that the issues that plagued him early, such as game management, will remain a distant memory.
The Front Office Botched the Offseason
For those that argued against this in the moments following my submittal of Hulk Smash, I suspect they may have confused “offseason” with “free agency.” Overall, I think the Cowboys did well over the course of the offseason, despite meager returns in Free Agency. And even in Free Agency, given the framework of what is the front office was attempting to accomplish, they did okay, overall.
Here’s what I mean by framework: They don’t want to overspend. They are not looking for starters, but guys to supplement the ranks who can offer reliever-snaps and can provide a degree of veteran leadership to the second youngest team in the league. They did not have Carroll, Paea, or Moore pegged for future starters, however, they got more than they bargained for from Paea as he outplayed the returning veteran Cedric Thorton.
Carroll was inconsistent, to say nothing of his off-the-field issues, and was subsequently outplayed by 3rd round draft pick Lewis Jourdan. To me, releasing him should have been viewed as a plus for the front office because they found a viable replacement for Carroll in the third round. Third round picks are far from automatic starters, and yet the natives are restless none the less.
Stephen Paea wasn’t lighting up the stats sheets when he ultimately decided to retire due to a nagging injury, but that’s not something you expect from your 1-tech anyway. His job was to hold his ground against the usual double-team, allowing for the other lineman to make plays. He had mixed reviews, but that’s beside the point. One, he was supposed to be Cedric Thorton’s backup, but he replaced Thorton instead, meaning the Cowboys front office got more of a return on their investment than they initially thought he would be. Second, his exit ushered in the wardaddy-in-the-making David Irving, whom the front office found on Kansas City’s practice squad. And yet everyone wants to focus on the retirement of Paea, suggesting that the Cowboys should have seen that one coming. Seriously? The net returns ultimately suggest the Cowboys won that situation.
Demontre Moore reportedly got in trouble off the field again and was subsequently released. While I will concede the Cowboys could have predicted it, given his troubled history, he was a bargain basement deal to begin with and that was likely the biggest reason why. The Cowboys knew what they were getting into when giving Moore a chance and when Moore messed up they released him. In my view, this should in no way be perceived as a negative. The Cowboys took a hard stance on their chance giving and backed up the threat of releasing him if he didn’t stay out of trouble.
But because this happened on the heels of the other Free Agent’s exodus, rather than applaud the front office for maintaining the sanctity of the RKG lockerroom, the media and fans at large lump this miss with the other two dismissals as though they all underperformed as a collective and the Cowboys front office does not know how to acquire talent in Free Agency. And a misguided agenda is born.
Dak Prescott is a Bus Driver
When I first penned Hulk Smash, I had a section entitled Dak Prescott Sophmore Slump. Due to size restrictions of the site, I ultimately deleted this section, because I figured the proof of the last 3 games (Rams, Packers, 49ers) had already put that agenda to bed and was unnecessary. However, following this past Sunday’s contest against the Commanders, another agenda reared its ugly head. Dak Prescott is just a bus driver whose career has been propped up by the work of one Ezekiel Elliott. The one stat being pointed to by those embracing this movement is the fact that Dak put up paltry numbers on an otherwise rainy day (despite winning), further pointing out the stats Kirk Cousins put up in his losing effort.
This is where stats can be ridiculously misleading. If you watched the game, the wetter it got, the more dangerous it became to throw the ball. Both QB’s were struggling throwing the ball on a line, most of which were coming out of the QB’s hand high, causing the ball to catch more air than what they actually intended, making passes intermediate to deep an interception waiting to happen. For those who watched closely or know anything about throwing a wet football, this was clearly apparent.
In response to counteract this issue, the Cowboys took their foot slightly off the pedal. They placed a premium on protecting the lead versus adding to the lead, given the ripe conditions for turnovers. As a result, Dak’s stats suffered…and rightfully so, Dak could care less.
Where this occurred on the timeline of this weekend, I do not recall and is not really important. Dak was asked about continuing his trend of throwing 3 touchdown passes per game, as he has done in the last 3 Sunday matchups. His answer: I’d rather win and throw no touchdowns than lose and throw 5 touchdowns. I’d argue that when your quarterback has wins and not padding his stats in mind, you have already won half the battle. But, of course, if you would have rather had a different signal caller such as Wentz for our beloved Dallas Cowboys, being deeply ensconced in your hate of Dak’s brand of football is only natural. But is he really just a bus driver?
When I think of a bus driver, I cannot help but immediately think of Brad Johnson, who relied on an elite defense to win a Super Bowl on behalf of the Buccaneers over the Raiders many years ago. He put up few points, but typically did enough simply because his defense allowed very few scores in return.
That is not in any way a fair description of what Dak has done. Through the air on the strength of his arm or on the ground, even if it means he has to do a front flip over 3 players, coming precariously close to landing on his head, to get the score, Dak does it. Dak does it all and like Zeke, does it all well, if not great. He may never be considered elite at any one thing he does physically, but from a mental perspective, by career end, he absolutely will be considered Top 5 of his position. People who hate Dak, clearly are ignoring his intangibles and using the failings of the team at large to prop up their arguments against Dak. Because I can say this without hesitation: Dak has lost games since he was named the starter; but not once was a loss specifically due to his failings on that day. He has put the Cowboys in position to win every game for the lone exception of the Broncos game, which still, in my view, was not on him.
Wrap It Up
As wisely suggested by @TheDude, if you believe differently, the above likely did nothing to change your mind. As I have stated before, agendas are hard to shake. Even before submitting the above, I already know I have failed in my objective for most.
Many, whom I feel confident won’t get this far in the reading before responding, will likely point to fallacies throughout my argument. Please note, it is impossible to make a persuasive argument without the presence of an occassional fallacy or two; that’s the nature of debating, particularly when it is about the direction of a team without the benefit of knowing what the conclusion will be. I am aware of that and am prepared for the occasional flamethrower bent on torching my ideas and beliefs.
The good news is I exercise high discretion in whom I take seriously. If you respond disrespectfully, arrogantly, facetiously, or condescendingly, your words, regardless of logic employed, will largely be categorized as not worthy of serious consideration. That’s just how I roll. Furthermore, I will likely start toying with said attacker for the fun of it. At times, I admittedly can take things too far, so I’ll go ahead and apologize in advance for those I offend. Others, whom I deem beyond help, I won't even bother responding to, as it would simply be a waste of time.
I apologize up front, because I think it is important the readers understand that I view all fellow Cowboys fans as brothers and sisters. And like I would do to a brother or sister I disagree with and whom has adopted one of the aforementioned negative approaches to responding, I will have fun from time to time at their expense. I don’t, however, want to hurt anybody’s feelings and have experienced regret in hindsight to things I’ve said in the past; I fully acknowledge that I’m not perfect and will go overboard with some in the name of fun…which does not make it right.
My point is, if you find yourself on the business-end of a like discussion, just know I do so with a smile on my face; I’m not trying to be malicious or hurtful. In my view, it is just verbal jousting.
Thoughts?
To me there is an art form in attempting to strike a balance between easy to digest analysis and engaging/entertaining material. I am by no means a professional and have never had any formal training in the craft, but I do spend more time reading than I do anything, for the lone exception of sleeping. The typical day includes several hours of ingesting written information and ranges from Cowboys related material to the Bible to good ole’ curl-up-into-an-alcove-on-a-rainy-day-and-dive-into-another-world fiction; without fail just about every day, regardless of the weather. I would like to dive deeper into some analysis, parroting the addictive trend of articles complete with slow motion gif’s breaking down plays, but I lack the time, the resources, and the requisite dedication to this pastime to execute something of that nature on a regular and consistent basis.
I’m a father of two young boys and a husband to a my-time-stingy wife of whom I am stingy of her time in return. I’m a ridiculously lucky man: Two awesome young boys, smoking hot, badass cook and OCD cleaning wife, phenomenal mom, who has been with me through thick & thin for more than 12 years….and I live in America, which by defaults means life is better for me than most people on this planet. #blessed
Of course, the key most miss to being happy is simply learning to acknowledge and focus on what they do have versus what they don’t. As an American, after a little practice that should become a fairly easy exercise to perform when your world seems to be a maelstrom of insurmountable issues. I highly recommend you try it; especially if you have anger issues. The more blessed you feel, the harder anger is to maintain and hold on to.
Lastly, you have to recognize the Ying & the Yang of situations. Many positives hinge on negative to exist and many negatives are reliant on positives in order to exist. Take your significant other (if you have one), for instance: One of the few keys to a long lasting relationship is recognizing that the things you love about them are closely related to the things you hate about them. Take my wife’s OCD in regards to cleaning; 12 years ago I had the rude awakening to how different our definition of clean was.
For me, “clean” defined is everything has its place and is where I know it to be…including my clothes and shoes presently on the floor…right where I left them. Her definition of clean? Everything is hidden and getting ready for work for me becomes a frustrating scavenger hunt. But, she does clean…which is hard to find in today’s brand of woman. And she shows the same dedication and passion to doing things the right way in everything…and I mean everything…she does. #soblessed
She also is bat(explicit) crazy, at times. She will snag a hold of a topic that I’m in no way interested in pursuing or discussing and persist to talk about it anyway like a dog chewing a bone…such as everything…and I mean everything…. that happened at her work today, what she talked about over the phone with her friend/sister/mom, or, of course, how much time I devote to things that don’t involve spending time listening to her tell me about everything that happened to her today, regardless of the significance or my own interest in the topic. Mind you, I am interested in my wife, but there are certain details that she includes in the retelling that just are neither necessary to my survival or to my ability to understand what she is talking about.
But, because I recognize what I get out of being with such an awesome woman, I can overlook literally anything she does that I hate. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a plain & simple life changing concept to get a hold of in life, because you can apply that very same principle to everything…and I mean everything…nothing more important than your relationships with everyone in your life. After all, sometimes good is propped up by bad and bad is propped up by good, just like the principle of the Ying and the Yang of life in general.
In Hulk Smash my premise was to simply take a handful of (what I believe to be) false-narratives, and outline why I felt they were misguided. All in all, I’m happy with the finished product, but according to a few, I failed in my endeavor to convince the Cowboys-doubting masses. I concede some topics were wanting with persuasive material (the character restriction of this website deems it so), however, I also suspect, given my abovementioned unique point-of-view, my reasoning carries far more weight in my world than it does in most people’s world.
So, if I failed anything, it was I failed to know my entire audience and my content was not quite universal enough for broad-consumption and, in turn, many readers lack the benefit of my perspective, and therefore, struggled to understand the weight my logic carries. With that phenomenon acknowledged, keeping it as concise as possible, I’m going to apply the lense I applied to my wife above, to a few of the topics I discussed in Hulk Smash and one more agenda that has come to light in the wake of the Cowboys 33 to 10 victory over the Commanders Sunday.
Jason Garrett’s Sucks
In truth, it is very difficult to apply the above described lense to Jason because it’s nigh impossible to determine what it is exactly he’s responsible for improving/damaging as it pertains to the team as a whole. The front office is responsible for talent acquisition. Linehan is responsible for the offense. Marinelli is responsible for the defense. So what the heck does Garrett do and how has he had in impact on what the team (a team I love more than any previous iteration save The Dynasty) has become since he took over the reins halfway through the 2010 season after the team had literally quit on Wade?
All we fans see is a guy constantly clapping on the sideline come-what-may on the preceding play and the occasional speech following a victory that seem oddly reminiscent of the previous speech we heard him say following the previous win. We see a guy who says a lot of the same stuff over, and over, and over again in every press conference, offering very little new information…without fail, every time.
We are all well-versed in the buzzwords: “Process” “Deliberate approach” “Day to day” “Stacks goods days on top of good days” “Best version of yourself today” etcetera, ad nauseam, etcetera. We are all intimately familiar with the media-born and fueled criticisms of Garrett. And, of course, we are all well aware of the clinching-argument Garrett’s detractors point to: his win/loss ratio to date and his lack of meaningful wins, particularly getting past the first round of the playoffs. We are aware of all that without the benefit of fulling appreciating what it is he actually adds to this team.
So, of course, it is super easy to assume with nothing to counterbalance all those negatives, that Garrett does more harm than good. But I would argue this: You will know them by their fruits. It is a biblical concept (Matthew 7:15-20) but it is applicable and useful in determining what it is that Garrett adds. Watch all of the press conferences and lockerroom interviews of his players. Many of them seem to parrot exactly what Garrett says. So as tired and redundant as his mantra may seem to be, his players clearly listen to him, value his message and apply it to their daily grind. That type of impact should not be ignored.
The second thing I’ll point to is what this team was before him; and not just under Wade, but under every Head Coach that came into being after Jimmy Johnson and the late great Tom Landry. There is no quit in this team…no matter what. Granted, the occasional player will quit on a play, but for the most part, this team fights from whistle to whistle…which is yet another one of his notorious axioms…he has the T-Shirts to prove it.
The last thing I’ll point to is that for the most part everything that happens (good or bad) in a manner of speaking, has the Head Coaches fingerprints on it. You can’t give him full credit and you can’t assign full blame, but for some reasons the media has a tendency to hand the kudos to either the player, the coordinator, or the front office and when it goes wrong, Garrett catches the lion share of the blame….but he does so gracefully, typically hitting you with another catchphrase: we have to be better…certainly in all three phases, but also has coaches preparing these players to be the best version of themselves…we have to be better at that, as well. He does not offer these words facetiously; he absolutely means it…every time.
The lense: Bill Belichick he may not be, but he has been instrumental in building the product we see, and for the most part, I’m content with those returns. Firing him, and by extension his coordinator regime, would essentially mean starting over at the worst possible time: during Dak’s affordable contract…and while I feel sure the front office would do everything they can to bring in a different winning coach, I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be Belichick, whom many seem to measure Garrett by and it will once again take a few years for the new Head Coach to build this team in his own image. The time for this team is now; Garrett’s vision in 2010 for what he wanted this team to become, I believe, is as close to being realized as ever in the last 7 years.
Given the time he has had in service, I will concede he’s on a short leash; his future legacy demands he wins now as I am sure the Jones family and fan base is losing patience. But, like I said, for the most part, I love the team he has had a hand in building (though, how much impact he directly had is debatable) and am hopeful that the issues that plagued him early, such as game management, will remain a distant memory.
The Front Office Botched the Offseason
For those that argued against this in the moments following my submittal of Hulk Smash, I suspect they may have confused “offseason” with “free agency.” Overall, I think the Cowboys did well over the course of the offseason, despite meager returns in Free Agency. And even in Free Agency, given the framework of what is the front office was attempting to accomplish, they did okay, overall.
Here’s what I mean by framework: They don’t want to overspend. They are not looking for starters, but guys to supplement the ranks who can offer reliever-snaps and can provide a degree of veteran leadership to the second youngest team in the league. They did not have Carroll, Paea, or Moore pegged for future starters, however, they got more than they bargained for from Paea as he outplayed the returning veteran Cedric Thorton.
Carroll was inconsistent, to say nothing of his off-the-field issues, and was subsequently outplayed by 3rd round draft pick Lewis Jourdan. To me, releasing him should have been viewed as a plus for the front office because they found a viable replacement for Carroll in the third round. Third round picks are far from automatic starters, and yet the natives are restless none the less.
Stephen Paea wasn’t lighting up the stats sheets when he ultimately decided to retire due to a nagging injury, but that’s not something you expect from your 1-tech anyway. His job was to hold his ground against the usual double-team, allowing for the other lineman to make plays. He had mixed reviews, but that’s beside the point. One, he was supposed to be Cedric Thorton’s backup, but he replaced Thorton instead, meaning the Cowboys front office got more of a return on their investment than they initially thought he would be. Second, his exit ushered in the wardaddy-in-the-making David Irving, whom the front office found on Kansas City’s practice squad. And yet everyone wants to focus on the retirement of Paea, suggesting that the Cowboys should have seen that one coming. Seriously? The net returns ultimately suggest the Cowboys won that situation.
Demontre Moore reportedly got in trouble off the field again and was subsequently released. While I will concede the Cowboys could have predicted it, given his troubled history, he was a bargain basement deal to begin with and that was likely the biggest reason why. The Cowboys knew what they were getting into when giving Moore a chance and when Moore messed up they released him. In my view, this should in no way be perceived as a negative. The Cowboys took a hard stance on their chance giving and backed up the threat of releasing him if he didn’t stay out of trouble.
But because this happened on the heels of the other Free Agent’s exodus, rather than applaud the front office for maintaining the sanctity of the RKG lockerroom, the media and fans at large lump this miss with the other two dismissals as though they all underperformed as a collective and the Cowboys front office does not know how to acquire talent in Free Agency. And a misguided agenda is born.
Dak Prescott is a Bus Driver
When I first penned Hulk Smash, I had a section entitled Dak Prescott Sophmore Slump. Due to size restrictions of the site, I ultimately deleted this section, because I figured the proof of the last 3 games (Rams, Packers, 49ers) had already put that agenda to bed and was unnecessary. However, following this past Sunday’s contest against the Commanders, another agenda reared its ugly head. Dak Prescott is just a bus driver whose career has been propped up by the work of one Ezekiel Elliott. The one stat being pointed to by those embracing this movement is the fact that Dak put up paltry numbers on an otherwise rainy day (despite winning), further pointing out the stats Kirk Cousins put up in his losing effort.
This is where stats can be ridiculously misleading. If you watched the game, the wetter it got, the more dangerous it became to throw the ball. Both QB’s were struggling throwing the ball on a line, most of which were coming out of the QB’s hand high, causing the ball to catch more air than what they actually intended, making passes intermediate to deep an interception waiting to happen. For those who watched closely or know anything about throwing a wet football, this was clearly apparent.
In response to counteract this issue, the Cowboys took their foot slightly off the pedal. They placed a premium on protecting the lead versus adding to the lead, given the ripe conditions for turnovers. As a result, Dak’s stats suffered…and rightfully so, Dak could care less.
Where this occurred on the timeline of this weekend, I do not recall and is not really important. Dak was asked about continuing his trend of throwing 3 touchdown passes per game, as he has done in the last 3 Sunday matchups. His answer: I’d rather win and throw no touchdowns than lose and throw 5 touchdowns. I’d argue that when your quarterback has wins and not padding his stats in mind, you have already won half the battle. But, of course, if you would have rather had a different signal caller such as Wentz for our beloved Dallas Cowboys, being deeply ensconced in your hate of Dak’s brand of football is only natural. But is he really just a bus driver?
When I think of a bus driver, I cannot help but immediately think of Brad Johnson, who relied on an elite defense to win a Super Bowl on behalf of the Buccaneers over the Raiders many years ago. He put up few points, but typically did enough simply because his defense allowed very few scores in return.
That is not in any way a fair description of what Dak has done. Through the air on the strength of his arm or on the ground, even if it means he has to do a front flip over 3 players, coming precariously close to landing on his head, to get the score, Dak does it. Dak does it all and like Zeke, does it all well, if not great. He may never be considered elite at any one thing he does physically, but from a mental perspective, by career end, he absolutely will be considered Top 5 of his position. People who hate Dak, clearly are ignoring his intangibles and using the failings of the team at large to prop up their arguments against Dak. Because I can say this without hesitation: Dak has lost games since he was named the starter; but not once was a loss specifically due to his failings on that day. He has put the Cowboys in position to win every game for the lone exception of the Broncos game, which still, in my view, was not on him.
Wrap It Up
As wisely suggested by @TheDude, if you believe differently, the above likely did nothing to change your mind. As I have stated before, agendas are hard to shake. Even before submitting the above, I already know I have failed in my objective for most.
Many, whom I feel confident won’t get this far in the reading before responding, will likely point to fallacies throughout my argument. Please note, it is impossible to make a persuasive argument without the presence of an occassional fallacy or two; that’s the nature of debating, particularly when it is about the direction of a team without the benefit of knowing what the conclusion will be. I am aware of that and am prepared for the occasional flamethrower bent on torching my ideas and beliefs.
The good news is I exercise high discretion in whom I take seriously. If you respond disrespectfully, arrogantly, facetiously, or condescendingly, your words, regardless of logic employed, will largely be categorized as not worthy of serious consideration. That’s just how I roll. Furthermore, I will likely start toying with said attacker for the fun of it. At times, I admittedly can take things too far, so I’ll go ahead and apologize in advance for those I offend. Others, whom I deem beyond help, I won't even bother responding to, as it would simply be a waste of time.
I apologize up front, because I think it is important the readers understand that I view all fellow Cowboys fans as brothers and sisters. And like I would do to a brother or sister I disagree with and whom has adopted one of the aforementioned negative approaches to responding, I will have fun from time to time at their expense. I don’t, however, want to hurt anybody’s feelings and have experienced regret in hindsight to things I’ve said in the past; I fully acknowledge that I’m not perfect and will go overboard with some in the name of fun…which does not make it right.
My point is, if you find yourself on the business-end of a like discussion, just know I do so with a smile on my face; I’m not trying to be malicious or hurtful. In my view, it is just verbal jousting.
Thoughts?
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