The Great Amigo Thread...

[Green Balloon]

On whether or not Jason Garrett will be back next year.

Oh, I have no doubt he will not be fired but should he be???

In my honest opinion, no. He absolutely is the right guy for this job.

Hi Mike,
I know you really love the guy, but what attributes does he bring to the table that make you think he is the right man for this job?
His ability to co-exist with Jerry ?
He gets the team ready to play and they don't give up on him but what else ?
I am asking this respectfully because I really want to know what people see in this guy.
Thanks, John

The full support of his best players. He makes a difference in their lives. There is nothing more I want from a coach than that.

Oh, I don't know. I'd kind of like to have a coach that could make quick, smart game day decisions. Adjust properly to the flow of the game, etc...

He isn't paid for that. He could go do that for a JV team just as well. He's paid to lead the Dallas Cowboys to victory.

I'm not on the fire Garrett bandwagon (I think he should have one more year; the injuries do matter.), but the reality is he's not a god or a priest and this isn't a religion. Making a difference in the players' lives is not in his job description.

I disagree with you 100%. I think that is exactly what is needed, because when you have that players will run through walls for you. Landry had that.

I don't need to tell you that Landry also invented things that changed the game of football. He was a football genius. What has Garrett done?

I truly don't want to play the coaching carousel game that we've done in the past. I want Garrett to succeed and to be a long-term, stabilizing solution. If he's not, I want the next guy to be that.

 

[Green Balloon]

A Touch Of Hostility...Driving Home Last Night Sucked

I started this thread last night, got right to the end and had my PC freeze up. On top of the loss it made me too angry to do it over so I went and watched Criminal Minds on Netflix.

I was in a very bad mood coming home last night. Not as much from the loss as I am having to face fickle Cowboys fans the rest of this year and all off season. No disrespect is meant to anyone, but as much as I enjoy Cowboys fans when they are excited, I dislike them just as much when they are upset. It's bad enough when Washington, New York, Philly and other fans slap at the team I love. It's just worse for me when a Cowboys fan does it.

I'll tell you who I am really angry at right now, Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel. I say this fully acknowledging that I like Matt Cassel. I really do. But the fact of the matter is neither one of them could manage to win a single game for us so far, and we really needed them to win a few. Because they couldn't do that with this freaking talented team Tony Romo rushed back, was clearly rusty last week, and is now lost for the rest of the season.

Someone is going to read that part, obsess on the word talent describing this team, and lose their mind. Let them. It clearly isn't much a of a mind to begin with if they can't see the talent. Let me be very blunt here. The loss of Callahan is not what caused this season to go down the toilet. The team was not over rated. The Draft haul was not over rated. The off season went down exactly like we all plotted, planned, dreamed, and praised. The team did not over spend. They landed talent. They did not execute well enough.

I see three areas of weakness on this team. Dedicated return man, bell cow RB, and backup QB. We got injured and suspended into oblivion this year and paying the price with Tony equaled doom for our chances. It is just that simple, and anyone who doesn't see that is trying too hard to find monsters under the bed. Right now, today, you wouldn't take a pass rusher like Hardy in Free Agency? You wouldn't take Byron Jones? You wouldn't take Randy Gregory? You wouldn't take La'El Collins?

Let me answer those questions about the talent we added. Of course you would. And you wouldn't be wrong. About the only mistake this Front Office did was not getting us a RB to take Murray's place, and none of us would have paid his ransom price to stay, and so we shouldn't fault the team for moving on. Let's face it, if we had paid him that money and got the results he is getting in Philly or the results we are getting now none of us would have been happy anyway. We all wanted a RB in the Draft, I find myself wishing we had got one, regardless of the trade up price. Would I have taken one over Gregory or Jones where we got them? No, I would not have. I believe long term those picks will prove to be a part of a Championship picture. But I am able to admit I wish we had traded up after Gregory and got our RB.

Or I'd have gone all in for the guy in Minnesota. So many of our fans wouldn't have given up a #1 pick for him. I suspect they would if they could have won 3 or more of those 8 games, and had Tony not have to be rushed back, and available to us in the post season, where it genuinely matters most. But hindsight is 20/20 vision and we all have it. Not doing me any good to use it right now. If yours is doing you some good I offer you my sincere congratulations. I hope you enjoy it and it warms your heart.

I am left for the rest of this year to enjoy the players I genuinely love, look forward to the Draft, next year, and really enjoy my family, who are way too good for the likes of me. I love this game, but it is still a game. Forgive me for that perspective. I'm old. Too old to believe my anger (and make no mistake it is there) makes a difference in a world where I see too damned much anger already.

I'm disappointed. Like many of you I had visions of a 6th Lombardi in this 50th year of Super Bowls. It isn't going to happen. I can live with it, knowing I live in a country I admire, believe with all my heart in a higher purpose to life, and am blessed to have a job, a loving family, a loyal dog, and a team I can love whether they are up or down. Life is good. Don't look to me for anger, indignation, and all that stuff. I left it on Highway I-10 on a drive home I hated. I am not going to go back and pick it up.

Go Cowboys! Never say die.

 

[Cotton]

Isn't cml750 the guy that just signed up here?

 

[Cotton]

And, yes, let's blame the backup fucking QBs instead of the real problem.

 

[jsmith6919]

On whether or not Jason Garrett will be back next year.








Oh, I don't know. I'd kind of like to have a coach that could make quick, smart game day decisions. Adjust properly to the flow of the game, etc...

I can think of 2 games off the top of my head they flat out gave up playing for gingerfuck. Chicago when Garrett was bundled up like the kid from Christmas Story and Saints when Romo seemed to be the only one who gave a shit, even Witten was half-assing it that day

 

[Rev]

Isn't cml750 the guy that just signed up here?

yes

 

[Texas Ace]

So did Hos' nephews go to Red Mesa high school?

That's the real question.

 

[Green Balloon]

Cont...

When you can clone Tom Landry you'll have a point that trumps mine.

I'm honestly not sure what your point is. Of course I can't clone Landry, but I do know that Garrett is no Landry.

Players are only going to continue running through walls for him if they see results.

No one is a Landry. That was my point.

If you are holding out hope that we can find another Landry I hope you aren't disappointed. They don't make them like that any more. We were blessed.

This guy is as close to that as I think it is possible to get.

He was the best ever. I really miss him.

I'm not holding out for a Landry. You brought Landry up. My point was and is that Garrett is paid to win football games while instituting a program that is forward thinking in terms of player acquisitions, player development, and scheme, one that can truly live up to a next man up mantra from game to game and from season to season. He is not paid to be a positive influence on individual players' lives. If he can do that in addition to what he's paid to do, that's wonderful. But if he can't, then we will need to find someone who can.

Even Tom Landry had some losing seasons. So I can't fault Garrett for this one - not with all the injuries and lack of a quality backup QB. If we address just that area of need and shore up the RB position we'll be good to go next year, and Garrett will have this team back on track, right Hos?

 

[Rev]

So Garrett is as close to Landry as anybody can get? Seriously?

 

[Texas Ace]

You think talking to Schmitty about Garrett is tough?

It's a walk in the park compared to engaging in a conversation about Garrett with the great amigo.

I have no patience for that type of stupidity.

 

[Cotton]

So Garrett is as close to Landry as anybody can get? Seriously?

Yeah, he really said that.

 

[Green Balloon]

...

I'm not holding out for a Landry. You brought Landry up. My point was and is that Garrett is paid to win football games while instituting a program that is forward thinking in terms of player acquisitions, player development, and scheme, one that can truly live up to a next man up mantra from game to game and from season to season. He is not paid to be a positive influence on individual players' lives. If he can do that in addition to what he's paid to do, that's wonderful. But if he can't win, then we will need to find someone who can.

Yes, I brought up Landry, by saying that what made him special is that his players looked up to him as a father figure. The only coach we've had near that point since he left this earth for some pearly gates is named Jason Garrett. Now, you can tell me Jimmy and Bill were better Head Coaches, and I will agree, but they did not have that incredible impact factor the same as Landry because they were not of the same calm character.

The worst thing you could do to Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Sean Lee and the other top players on this team who look up to this Head Coach is get rid of the Head Coach. If you can't see that I can't help you see it. Listen to them, not to me. Especially Tony Romo.

 

[Green Balloon]

...

No one is a Landry. That was my point.

If you are holding out hope that we can find another Landry I hope you aren't disappointed. They don't make them like that any more. We were blessed.

This guy is as close to that as I think it is possible to get.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you here. You think GARRETT is as close to Tom Landry as it is possible to get? Really? I would love to see an explanation on that. I don't see it at all.

Before I attempt to explain my comment would you mind giving me a list of the current head coaches or potential Head Coaches that you think are closer to Landry in the impact he has on his player's lives. I'd be very curious to see what I am being asked to compare to if that is fair to ask.

I don't care about the impact they may have on a players lives. I'm interested in the impact he has on their careers. Their time on the field, winning games for the organization that I love. I'm not looking for a coach to stand on the sidelines and look stoic. And that's about the only resemblance I see between Tom Landry and Garrett. I want to have a coach leading this team that will get the most out of the talent we have. And I don't believe Garret does that.

So, please accept my apologies, but I'm not interested in making a list of people that may impact a players life outside of football. There are people that the team can hire for that specific task. A coach's number one job should be to win games. I feel ours lacks in that criteria. If you'd like a list of people that could help this team win games on the field, that would make more sense when talking about a head coach.

 

[Texas Ace]

Angus is making too much sense for ol' Hos.

He better prepare for a long-winded argument that consists of a bunch of ass-kissing for Garrett along with an insult of Angus' football knowledge while also being told how much Hostile respects him.

 

[Green Balloon]

Angus is making too much sense for ol' Hos.

He better prepare for a long-winded argument that consists of a bunch of ass-kissing for Garrett along with an insult of Angus' football knowledge while also being told how much Hostile respects him.

No need to apologize for anything. I hope though that you see that you don't care about impact on lives and that is exactly what I am making a claim about. I'm not saying Garrett is Landry. I'm saying he has the same kind of impact on his players's lives. Landry didn't do all of those things immediately. He gradually built a team that was a constant contender, and that is what I see happening here now. We've all enjoyed the work of Will McClay, lauded how Jerry is handling things under this watch, and had high expectations for this year. Man, if anyone is reversing field because of a down season due to injuries then they are being silly. This team is doing a lot of things right despite the outcome we all hate. It looks a hell of a lot more like Carolina last year growing into the team they are this year to me than it does the Lions and their regular return to the cellar of the NFL.

Jason Garrett has coached 83 total games, and is 44-39. At the same point in his career Tom Landry was 26-53-4. Now, before anyone freaks out I know all about what Landry was given to build with and what Garrett inherited, and how it is a horrible comparison. All comparisons are horrible unless you make them. I know the rules.

The point is though that it doesn't make sense to throw the towel in just yet when you see a team that is not giving up. Sometimes losing builds character in a football team. I'm not saying the losing is good, it sucks. Flat out sucks.

Landry's best players wanted him gone after 1965. He was too cerebral, too regimented, and too conservative to be a Head Coach. Fans wanted him gone worse than the players. The media wanted him gone worst of all.

Tex Schramm was taking all kinds of heat. Landry was his hand picked solution to build a football team. It was failing horribly. With pressure mounting on him to fire Landry he stepped out of the way and turned that task over to Clint Murchison. Murchison did the unthinkable, he gave Landry a 10 year extension. For the next 20 years the Dallas Cowboys won more games than they lost every year. Was every year great? Frankly no they weren't. Landry only won 2 Super Bowls, yet he is revered as one of the true legendary coaches. And he is all that and so much more.

There are coaches that come in guns blazing (sorry Greg Hardy, I can get away with it) and set the NFL on fire, and then they flame out. Frankly I'm sick of that kind of Coaching in Dallas. Sticking with Landry was the right move. So is sticking with Jason Garrett, because what he is building always leads to wins. He is building an atmosphere around his team. That is what every great team starts with. I do think this team can be great. Not because of him, but because of what he stands for that the team is united in.

I played for a Hall of Fame Head Coach in Lavell Edwards. He coached X's and Os, sure. All of them do. But that isn't what made him great. It was how he made us all think he was the greatest and most inspirational guy on the planet. I learned more football from Norm Chow, Roger French, Chris Pella, etc. than I did from Coach Edwards. But I learned more about life from him, and when your life is right, football being right comes easier.

I've shared this story with youth for years. Coach Edwards asked us one time if we were geese or lobsters. Of course we had no idea what he was talking about. He then explained that if you put a single lobster in a pot of boiling water it will climb out. If you put two or more in there they will cook to death. You see, when one tries to escape the other drags it back into the pot.

A single goose can fly only so far and for so long on a single flight before it is exhausted. However, the same goose in a flock of geese can fly almost 10 times as far and as long. The reason is that geese fly in a V formation. The lead goose takes the wind drag and all of the trailing geese draft off of him. As he tires they shift the V and a new leader takes the drag. They honk at each other as encouragement. When one drops out due to exhaustion others will fall back as well, make a smaller V and by taking turns catch back up to the flock.

Now, to some people that story might have meant nothing. But it changed my life. I said earlier that I 100% disagree that influence on their lives doesn't matter. It matters so much more than anything else. You don't build a unified, long term consistent winner without it. I want to win as much as anyone in here, but I want to do it the right way. The Cowboy way.

That's what we are aimed at. Unfortunately we got upended by fate this year and she kicked us in the pills. We shouldn't let that over rule our intelligence. The pills are a long way from the head.

Last year was not an aberration. That will be proven out, but not in a week or two.

Long winded. Check
Garrett ass kissing. Check
Passive aggressive insult. Check
Proclamation of respect. Miss.

Close. 3 outa 4 aint bad.

 

[boozeman]

What exactly is Garrett doing to enrich the player's lives?

And well, not that I think about it, WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

Does he quote John Wooden when he speaks to them? Does he scan his memory banks for Mike Krzyzewski tidbits and repeat them?

How about Aesop's fables?

 

[Kbrown]

What exactly is Garrett doing to enrich the player's lives?

And well, not that I think about it, WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

Does he quote John Wooden when he speaks to them? Does he scan his memory banks for Mike Krzyzewski tidbits and repeat them?

How about Aesop's fables?

You are clearly a lobster. How sad.

 

[boozeman]

You are clearly a lobster. How sad.

 

[boozeman]

Holy shit, so Garrett tells these guys that geese fly in a V formation?

 

[Texas Ace]

A story about flying birds changed his life? GTFO.

And isn't that story from The Mighty Ducks movie?