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Gosselin: Cowboys coach Jason Garrett channels Vince Lombardi, goes against conventional wisdom
By Rick Gosselin
The game meant nothing to the 2007 New York Giants.
The Giants were 10-5 and already locked in as the fifth seed in the NFC playoff bracket heading into their season finale against the New England Patriots.
The Patriots had already secured the top seed in the AFC with their 15-0 record, but the chance to play for perfection gave Bill Belichick incentive to keep his starters in longer than usual in an otherwise meaningless regular-season finale.
Conventional wisdom in the NFL says rest your starters and don’t risk injury. Get them out of there as soon as you can. The games that matter are played in January — not the final Saturday of December.
What followed was one of the most riveting regular-season games in recent memory. The two teams played 60 minutes of meaningful football in a meaningless game with the Patriots prevailing 38-35 to claim their perfect regular season.
Both coaches kept their starters on the field throughout — and the Giants discovered that night that they could hang with the mighty Patriots. A month later, the Giants would upset those mighty Patriots in the Super Bowl.
The Giants saw something to be gained from playing to win a game they didn’t need to win. So did Jason Garrett last weekend.
Conventional wisdom decreed that Garrett give his starters some work in the first half of a meaningless finale against the Redskins, then get them out of there.
Beating Detroit on the opening weekend of the playoffs was far more important than beating the Redskins in the season finale. Why jeopardize January with an injury or two on the final Sunday of December?
But there was something to be gained in the season finale. Garrett has talked about changing the culture at Valley Ranch, and he’s still in the process of teaching a young team how to win and close out games.
You don’t do it by taking your foot off the gas pedal. Winning has not become such a habit at Valley Ranch that this team can flip the switch on and off. Maybe for the Patriots, who have gone to the playoffs in 10 of the last 11 seasons. But not so the Cowboys, who qualified just four times during that same stretch.
That’s why Tony Romo and his offensive mates were still on the field into the fourth quarter of a runaway victory against Jacksonville in London — even though conventional wisdom said to sit them.
That’s why Romo and his mates were still on the field well into the fourth quarter of lopsided victories against the Bears and Colts in December. It’s also why Romo and his mates were still on the field deep into the fourth quarter of a 44-17 triumph over the Redskins in that meaningless finale.
Vince Lombardi believed that whenever you took the field, you played to win. It didn’t matter if it was August, October or January. Lombardi won 74 percent of his career regular-season games with the Packers. He was even better in the exhibition season — the games that didn’t matter — winning 84 percent of the time (42-8).
Winning breeds winners. There was no such thing as a meaningless game in Lombardi’s eyes. He believed that whenever you put on the pads, you were playing to win. So does Garrett.
“What we’ve tried to emphasize is take full advantage of every opportunity every time you get one,” Garrett said. “Go be your best. That’s part of the culture we’ve tried to instill in our football team. That’s how we try to live each and every day. Embrace the opportunity to play.”
There has been a sense of entitlement at Valley Ranch for years. The players and coaches expected to be treated like champions even though they had no Lombardi trophies or rings to show for their efforts. They were living on the names of great players and great teams of the past.
Garrett was there when this franchise did win championships. He saw the work ethic, attention to detail and unselfishness that manufactured that team success. And that’s what he’s been trying to instill. Winning is the reward for all three of those investments.
The more you win, the quicker the culture changes. After three consecutive 8-8 seasons under Garrett, the culture is now changing. The Cowboys are 12 victories into that culture change this season. But the 1992, 1993 and 1995 Cowboys didn’t stop at 12 wins.
Which is why Romo and the starters continue to play all these fourth quarters. Garrett’s foot remains firmly on the gas pedal. Continue to win, continue to play.
“Momentum is something that we have control over,” Garrett said. “That’s something we try to emphasize to our team a lot. You have to earn it — every snap, every series, every game.”
It worked for the 2007 Giants. Maybe it will work for the 2014 Cowboys as well.
By Rick Gosselin
The game meant nothing to the 2007 New York Giants.
The Giants were 10-5 and already locked in as the fifth seed in the NFC playoff bracket heading into their season finale against the New England Patriots.
The Patriots had already secured the top seed in the AFC with their 15-0 record, but the chance to play for perfection gave Bill Belichick incentive to keep his starters in longer than usual in an otherwise meaningless regular-season finale.
Conventional wisdom in the NFL says rest your starters and don’t risk injury. Get them out of there as soon as you can. The games that matter are played in January — not the final Saturday of December.
What followed was one of the most riveting regular-season games in recent memory. The two teams played 60 minutes of meaningful football in a meaningless game with the Patriots prevailing 38-35 to claim their perfect regular season.
Both coaches kept their starters on the field throughout — and the Giants discovered that night that they could hang with the mighty Patriots. A month later, the Giants would upset those mighty Patriots in the Super Bowl.
The Giants saw something to be gained from playing to win a game they didn’t need to win. So did Jason Garrett last weekend.
Conventional wisdom decreed that Garrett give his starters some work in the first half of a meaningless finale against the Redskins, then get them out of there.
Beating Detroit on the opening weekend of the playoffs was far more important than beating the Redskins in the season finale. Why jeopardize January with an injury or two on the final Sunday of December?
But there was something to be gained in the season finale. Garrett has talked about changing the culture at Valley Ranch, and he’s still in the process of teaching a young team how to win and close out games.
You don’t do it by taking your foot off the gas pedal. Winning has not become such a habit at Valley Ranch that this team can flip the switch on and off. Maybe for the Patriots, who have gone to the playoffs in 10 of the last 11 seasons. But not so the Cowboys, who qualified just four times during that same stretch.
That’s why Tony Romo and his offensive mates were still on the field into the fourth quarter of a runaway victory against Jacksonville in London — even though conventional wisdom said to sit them.
That’s why Romo and his mates were still on the field well into the fourth quarter of lopsided victories against the Bears and Colts in December. It’s also why Romo and his mates were still on the field deep into the fourth quarter of a 44-17 triumph over the Redskins in that meaningless finale.
Vince Lombardi believed that whenever you took the field, you played to win. It didn’t matter if it was August, October or January. Lombardi won 74 percent of his career regular-season games with the Packers. He was even better in the exhibition season — the games that didn’t matter — winning 84 percent of the time (42-8).
Winning breeds winners. There was no such thing as a meaningless game in Lombardi’s eyes. He believed that whenever you put on the pads, you were playing to win. So does Garrett.
“What we’ve tried to emphasize is take full advantage of every opportunity every time you get one,” Garrett said. “Go be your best. That’s part of the culture we’ve tried to instill in our football team. That’s how we try to live each and every day. Embrace the opportunity to play.”
There has been a sense of entitlement at Valley Ranch for years. The players and coaches expected to be treated like champions even though they had no Lombardi trophies or rings to show for their efforts. They were living on the names of great players and great teams of the past.
Garrett was there when this franchise did win championships. He saw the work ethic, attention to detail and unselfishness that manufactured that team success. And that’s what he’s been trying to instill. Winning is the reward for all three of those investments.
The more you win, the quicker the culture changes. After three consecutive 8-8 seasons under Garrett, the culture is now changing. The Cowboys are 12 victories into that culture change this season. But the 1992, 1993 and 1995 Cowboys didn’t stop at 12 wins.
Which is why Romo and the starters continue to play all these fourth quarters. Garrett’s foot remains firmly on the gas pedal. Continue to win, continue to play.
“Momentum is something that we have control over,” Garrett said. “That’s something we try to emphasize to our team a lot. You have to earn it — every snap, every series, every game.”
It worked for the 2007 Giants. Maybe it will work for the 2014 Cowboys as well.
