There is no such thing as a "lucky" turnover

[BulletBob]

So you don't know what luck is. Got it. Every turnover is a result of luck. If the ball is fumbled, it is luck that determines who the ball goes to. If a ball is overthrown for a pick, it is luck if the ball is thrown in the direction of a defender. If a ball is tipped, it is luck that determines what direction the ball flies.

I think you've confused "luck" with "physics."

 

[Blackspider214]

While I agree with your premise, the game does have some very weird bounces and sometimes you need a little luck. You remember last year, nothing ever went our way. Any loose ball was never gotten by us. I do agree that you need to be in position and have the awareness to jump on the ball before the other team. We did that Sunday night the whole game and took advantage. But how many times have you seen a punt like that take a direct sideways bounce right into a player? When that ball was in the air, he was about 10-12 yards from it, just content on letting it bounce and let us down it. But it took a wicked bounce back towards him that caught him off guard. Maybe he should have been prepared for anything and been ready? Maybe.

Now I will say that we still had to capitalize off those mistakes. How many times in the past have we seen tipped balls that go right into the defender's body just dropped to the turf? Plenty. Or how many times have we seen a play like Ware's turnover to start the game just dropped? Plenty. So it works both ways.

 

[dargonking999]

You can force a fumble, for example, but it is complete luck which direction the ball goes. Said fumble is only a turnover if the opposite team comes up with it. Who the ball bounced to, on said fumble, is complete luck. Put the pieces together. It's not that tough. There is more to a turnover than what caused the other team to lose the ball.

Correct, but in a sense i can see what he's saying because you can have a fumble, but if you have players being aware, regardless of where that ball may bounce if the player is more aware than anyone else they have a higher chance of recovering the fumble.

Take for instance the onside kick. witten went up and boom the ball bounces off him and goes to the ground. The man with the highest awareness on the field in Lee see's that football on the ground and immediately is able to react and get to the football before anyone else can even locate where anything is.

While luck is a part of getting a turnover, it also takes players being aware of what's going on around them, to be able to captialize on a "lucky" turnover.

We have seen far to often a ball get thrown right to our defender but because his head is turned, its an incomplete pass. Or the ball is fumbled right at a guys feet, but because he's looking elsewhere, we don't recover. Have a ball tipped into the air, but the safety is late to the play and it falls to the ground incomplete. You've got to have guys where they are suppose to be, and paying attention to the field in order for "lucky" turnovers to happen. Otherwise, it just becomes a moment of angst.

 

[Rockport]

While I agree with your premise, the game does have some very weird bounces and sometimes you need a little luck. You remember last year, nothing ever went our way. Any loose ball was never gotten by us. I do agree that you need to be in position and have the awareness to jump on the ball before the other team. We did that Sunday night the whole game and took advantage. But how many times have you seen a punt like that take a direct sideways bounce right into a player? When that ball was in the air, he was about 10-12 yards from it, just content on letting it bounce and let us down it. But it took a wicked bounce back towards him that caught him off guard. Maybe he should have been prepared for anything and been ready? Maybe.

Now I will say that we still had to capitalize off those mistakes. How many times in the past have we seen tipped balls that go right into the defender's body just dropped to the turf? Plenty. Or how many times have we seen a play like Ware's turnover to start the game just dropped? Plenty. So it works both ways.

The OP apparently believes that the players must be taught mind control to make the ball bounce right into their hands. Since it's either a mistake by the opposition or a good play by us.

 

[AsthmaField]

Jimmy Johnson said two things regarding luck:

1. You make your own luck.

and

2. It seems like the better prepared team is always the luckiest.

Both of those suggest that, while luck is real... working hard, being prepared and putting your team in the proper position tends to make things fall your way.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

This phrase should be eliminated from the board's lexicon immediately. I'm alway stunned when people downplay a turnover because (according to some) a turnover that is a result of another's mistake is somehow not as impressive. Well, this argument is bunk because EVERY turnover is a result of another's mistake and there is a mistake on every possession. Turnovers are the result of awareness and proper positioning to capitalize on mistakes.

Take Eli's last turnover -- some say it was a "fluke" turnover, but again, there is no such thing. The int was the result of Hatcher's pressure and Carr's awareness around Eli's premature throw. Without either of those factors, you only have a mistake, NOT a turnover.

If feel like policing everybody's thoughts I would suggest you start with your own, stay there for 5 months, then quit.

 

[TheRomoSexual]

If feel like policing everybody's thoughts I would suggest you start with your own, stay there for 5 months, then quit.

English, do you speak it?

 

[ElGatoGrande]

English, do you speak it?

po·lic·ing, 1. To regulate, control, or keep in order with or as if with a law enforcement agency

It's called a dictionary, find one (or not)

 

[starfrombirth]

It's semantics and all results in the same end product. Some circumstance whether caused by another individual or as the result of self inflicted failure leads to an opportunity for possession of the ball by us or the other team. Luck or good heads up play. Really two ways to say the same thing. GO COWBOYS!

 

[kevm3]

So we were just unlucky for the past few years when we hardly got any turnovers and now the winds of luck are blowing? Yes, a lot of turnovers DO have an ELEMENT of luck, but it takes the player to capitalize on it. Remember the past few years when what would have been easy interceptions were dropped? Our guys now are more aware and are around the ball to actually make a play on those situations and they execute.

 

[mmohican29]

My father told me that luck is the intersection of opportunity and preparation. Even
in cases of extreme luck, the definition holds true. A lottery winner is prepared when he purchased a ticket, and an opportunity arose when his numbers were pulled.

The Cowboys were prepared to seek and hustle to the football, and opportunity arose on six different occasions to capitalize. Some was luck, some wasn't. In all cases, they were prepared to hunt for the football. When that is a unifying quest of 11 aware professional athletes, they will find the ball more than not.

Great job regardless of luck's role in the victory.

 

[durrrr]

I kind of want to throw my hat in the ring on this one but I have a feeling it's ultimately going to boil down to semantics...

 

[Hoofbite]

Sure there is.

RBs flat out drop balls all the time.

Phillip Rivers botching that snap against KC?

Ball taking a wicked bounce off a guy on the punt return team.

Yeah, that's good fortune working in your favor.

 

[Hoofbite]

My father told me that luck is the intersection of opportunity and preparation. Even
in cases of extreme luck, the definition holds true. A lottery winner is prepared when he purchased a ticket, and an opportunity arose when his numbers were pulled.

The Cowboys were prepared to seek and hustle to the football, and opportunity arose on six different occasions to capitalize. Some was luck, some wasn't. In all cases, they were prepared to hunt for the football. When that is a unifying quest of 11 aware professional athletes, they will find the ball more than not.

Great job regardless of luck's role in the victory.

Preparedness and opportunity are one in the same in terms of the lottery, and neither are more overpowering than flat out good fortune. There is literally nothing you can do to be more prepared than anyone else who has purchased a ticket and all those people have the same opportunity.

Once you have purchased a ticket it's 100% luck.

 

[Hoofbite]

So, dense huh?

Luck, by definition, means fortune due to events beyond one's control. As such, and as I said, opportunities for a turnover can be created by luck, but the actual turnover itself is not "lucky" because it is not predicated on everts entirely outside of one's control, but rather those events AND one's own awareness and preparation.

You're assuming that there are teams or players who don't prepare to jump on a loose ball to the same extent.

Good luck finding a team that doesn't stress the importance of jumping on a loose ball.

 

[Little Jr]

Lol. This post cracked me up. People agree on a subject but somehow find a way to argue about it. Good stuff

 

[TheDude]

 

[cowboys2233]

Absolutely not. If the defender wasn't completely aware of the circumstances, you have only a mistake, not a TO.

Wow, completely aware, huh? Yes, props to Carr for being so highly trained that he noticed the ball flying directly at him. Dude, I used to make that interception playing football in my backyard when I was nine.

 

[Doomsday101]

Preparedness and opportunity are one in the same in terms of the lottery, and neither are more overpowering than flat out good fortune. There is literally nothing you can do to be more prepared than anyone else who has purchased a ticket and all those people have the same opportunity.

Once you have purchased a ticket it's 100% luck.

You don't practice the lottery, teams and some coaches spend a lot of time getting players ripping at balls, having guys hustle to the ball instead of standing around. There is a lot a team can do to increase the likelyhood of creating the turnover. It is no accident guys like Marinelli defense gets a lot of turnovers. They don't pray about it they work at it constantly. Luck is random this is not

 

[anj113]

Ball miraculously bouncing off of Witten's foot into a defenders hands = lucky turnover

Ha I remember that, YES that is the DEFINITION of luck lol