Once upon a time, there was a fargin evil king(pin) in a faraway evil land known as New York. One day, as this evil king(pin), otherwise known as Roman Troy Moronie, is discussing his visions for expansion of his vast fargin evil empire (nightclub) with one of his trusted (yet evil) fargin knights (henchman), he is interrupted by the sounds of a fargin dragon (plane) flying overhead. The king(pin) knows it is a dragon (plane); what he does not know is that the dragon (plane) is mounted (occupied) by none other than, our hero, the white knight (rival gangster) Johnny Dangerously, the fearless, bold, and chivalrous. Another detail not immediately apparent to the king(pin) is Johnny Dangerously’s intention.
Far above the land, Johnny Dangerously sores braving the dragon (plane) and the gravity of his situation, while surveying the fargin land far below. Once he sees the fargin empire (nightclub) of his sworn enemy, the fargin king(pin) Roman, a smile slowly crawls across his face…a smile that stops dead cold at his eyes. In his gaze is communicated a different type of emotion; one of determination and mischief seemingly all at once. The brave knight spurs the dragon (plane) into action, prompting the dragon (plane) to lay waste to (drop a bomb on) the fargin evil king(pins) empire (nightclub).
Blackened and charred, the fargin king(pin) and his fargin knight (henchmen) are the only two things left standing. The king(pin) slowly scans the scene with righteous indignation pouring out of his face and his clinched whitening fist at his sides. Tis an old story. Many of you may never have heard of this tale. But, if you have not heard the tale, surely you are familiar with the king(pin’s) immediately following edict:
This Is Fargin War!!!
I was reminded of this age old tale whilst considering the upcoming Training Camp for our very own Dallas Cowboys. Rattling around in my head since the draft concluded has been a topic that I have not explored, but have planned to discuss at length for some time now: Position Battles. A position battle is not the fight that transpires between the offense and defense, but the individual’s battle to make the team’s final 53 above the other players of like position trying to keep their football career’s alive.
The interesting aspect of this year’s catalogue of potential position battles to follow through the various media mediums is the added benefit of subtext. This is not just offense versus defense coupled with player versus player. This is childlike energy versus aged experience. Youthful exuberance versus fire-hardened wisdom. At just about every position, the coaches have to decide which to keep: the youngsters or the veterans.
For the casual football fan, I can imagine, the assumption is many of this year’s crop of rookie’s, as well as, rookie’s from a year ago that did not play (Smith, Tapper, Gathers), may see the field, but in a reduced capacity; perhaps an average of 15 to 20 snaps a game just to keep the veterans fresh throughout. But for those who have watched the Jason Garrett led Cowboys regime through a microscope, which likely pertains to you by merit of you taking time to read this, we know that it could easily go either way.
The defense, in particular, is in the process of a rebuild. The defense looks hardly the same from a year ago, following a Free Agency that bid farewell to Morris Claiborne, Brandon Carr, and Barry Church, 3 starters in the Cowboys secondary, as well as, several role-players who did not start, but played significant roles on the Cowboys defense (JJ Wilcox, Terrell McClain, as well as, others ). If training camp was a place, and the black hole of this season we are presently in were a highway, we would be seeing “reduce speed ahead” signs coupled with “men at work” warnings on the median. For most fans, this is the last thing you want to see as this situation is typically followed by a very frustrating football watching experience. After all, rookies will commit rookie-mistakes. Entire games may be lost on the strength of that particular weakness.
The Cowboys situation, however, is unique. First, despite the rebuild that is occurring on the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys offense features one of the most talent-rich environments in football, spearheaded by an offensive line returning 3 perennial Pro Bowlers (Travis Frederick, Tyron Smith, and Zack Martin) and flanked by a WR, TE, and RB core that is the envy of 31 other teams. In other words, on the strength of the Cowboys’ offense alone, games can be won with little help from their defense and special teams respectively.
Second, this year’s draft was strong in all the places the Cowboys needed it to be. If you had a wish list prior to the draft, you likely had Defensive End, Corner, Safety, and Offensive Line circled as positions of not just want, but dire need. If you took it a step further, you also had a quantity of each position in mind: 2 Corners, 1 Defensive End (possibly a second), 1 Safety, and 1 Right Tackle. The Cowboys were able to address all but Right Tackle; which if you consider the Cowboys did this while competing with 31 other teams, they did very well for themselves, all things considered. Of course, the final grade awaits how these players actually play and fit in this system, but when you consider last year’s drafting success, which found 4 starters (with the potential for 3 more in Gathers, Smith and Tapper) it’s hard not to be at the very least hopeful.
Third, and perhaps the most important facet to consider, is the war of attrition. In the military sense, attrition warfare is a military strategy consisting of belligerent attempts to win a war by wearing down the enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and necessary materiel’s. In football, however, I view attrition warfare as for example what happens to every young buck when they face Tyron Smith for the first time. They find out very quickly that what worked in college will not work in the pros and if they are going to win an individual battle against Tyron, they are going to need the talent and hard work equivalent of more “personnel and necessary materiel’s.”
Now imagine that war of attrition happening in both the literal and metaphorical sense across the defensive line, working its way through the linebacker crew and honing in on the secondary, where youth dominates the scene. Across the defense, and through the roster cutting down process that occurs during the preseason following each game, players will either be packing their bags for home or rising victoriously from the ashes of last week’s war only to begin a new war in the upcoming week. Wash, rinse, and repeat for 5 weeks, as the Cowboys will be one of two teams to participate in this year’s Hall of Fame Game.
This young defensive line will be sharpened by the grind stone that is the great wall of Dallas. The linebacker crew will have both their speed and their strength tested as they face off against the brutal physicality of Ezekiel Elliott and company. The secondary, whose test is quite possibly the most comprehensive of all, will have to shadow the likes of the physically-imposing Dez Bryant, attempt to stay with the ankle breaking quicks of Cole Beasley and Ryan Switzer, and endeavor to blanket the veteran-savvy of Jason Witten, who without the compliment of speed, can still make players look silly as they try to guess where he will go next with his route...not even we fans know where Witten will go, we just know he will be alone when he gets there.
What these young defensive players will face in Training Camp will often times seem like a herculean effort in comparison to what they will face weekend after weekend in the regular season, such is the strength of the Cowboys offensive talent. If this injection of youth wants to stop Dak from doing Dak, they will have to beat the man (nay, the monster) in front of them. Taco and Tapper will have been subjected to the league’s best offensive line trio in Tyron, Zack and Travis. Jaylon Smith and a handful of other hopeful’s, will have to test their sideline-to-sideline speed against a bevy of backs (most notably Ezekiel Elliott) who can find the edge with change to spare as they turn on dropped dimes to expose the second level to their dominance. And, of course, that secondary that features 3 new corners (1 add via Free Agency in Nolan Carrol, and 2 added through the draft in Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis) and 2 new Safeties (1 added via Free Agency in Robert Blanton and 1 added through the draft in Xavier Woods) will have faced every shape, size and type of WR, TE and RB that the NFL at large has to offer, be them strong, fast, or both.
So, while there will be individual battles transpiring across the field at every position on the team, just know when the offense lines up across from the defense in training camp, be it a collection of starters or an assemblage of backups-to-be, in the words of the infamous Roman Troy Moronie, This Is Fargin War!!!
