Trust in a well-seasoned coach
By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
With the regular season beginning today in Jacksonville, it's time for Cowboys coach Bill Parcells to shine.
Much has been written and said about Off-season Bill and his foibles.
Me? Guilty as charged.
Quite frankly, criticizing O.B. has not been too terribly difficult lately.
O.B. deferred to Owner Jones this off-season on whether to sign T.O....sorry...Terrell. Owens says T.O. is a media-driven moniker, and he prefers Terrell. So somebody misquoted him in his book title, right?
O.B. also is responsible for Jason Fabini (signs of sparedom) and Bobby Carpenter (flirting with bust status already?) being Cowboys.
So, go ahead, get a couple of final second guesses in on O.B. Just remember that In-season Bill regains control at 3:15-ish today in Jacksonville. And I am not inclined to bet against I.B.
Whatever problems plague him while grocery shopping, he remains a master at cooking the meals. Who else turns an "oregano-ed" Q into 10 victories and a playoff berth in his first season?
I.B. is that good of a coach, even now, even 16 years after he last hoisted a Lombardi Trophy, even with a combined 15-17 record to show for his past two Cowboys seasons.
I.B. is almost exclusively why I believe this Cowboys team is going to finish 10-6, return to the playoffs and reach the NFC Championship Game. OK, so maybe Mike Zimmer and this defense has a lot to do with my 180-degree turnaround, too.
I admit to thinking 8-8 when schedules were released.
I admit to thinking worse when T.O. started telling O.B. to watch his 10 years of film, and O.B. did not react by immediately shoving a DVD into his pie hole.
Watching this defense -- this nasty, salty, practically hole-free defense -- dominate during the preseason changed everything. Because nobody is scoring easily against it, and a decent number of Cow defenders will improve as this season progresses.
Who doesn't think a couple of games will do Greg Ellis good? And bank on Chris Canty being a bigger force with which to be reckoned by midseason. Ditto for DeMarcus Ware.
And I.B. has proven in Dallas, and elsewhere, if he has a dominating D, he can win.
Does this make him too conservative at times? Heck, yes.
T.O., or Terrell, or whatever he is going by next week, is going to learn what Terry Glenn, Drew Bledsoe, Sean Payton and countless others have over the years: This is not a coach who flings just to fling or simply to keep a ballhog happy.
Do not think I am naive.
I am well aware T.O. may blow my 10-6 thinking to bits because he is going to wreak his brand of havoc, mini or otherwise, at some point. And it will probably be because of catches -- or more specifically -- the lack thereof.
This is where I.B. comes in. He is one of the best coaches in the NFL at figuring out how to properly motivate everybody and how to win games with what he has.
The problem is he has done this so well over the years that he has earned the right to demand there be no checks and balances at Valley Ranch. And even if such a system was in place, does anybody really want Owner Jones and his Q- and Hutch-laden résumé as O.B.'s primary check man?
And there is no doubt this team is better with Bill, both O.B. and I.B., than without him. Dave Campo has not been gone so long that everybody has forgotten how successful life with a puppet is.
So you live with O.B. because I.B. is worth it.
Exactly how worth it will be determined by whether O.B. returns in January, late January or February.
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
With the regular season beginning today in Jacksonville, it's time for Cowboys coach Bill Parcells to shine.
Much has been written and said about Off-season Bill and his foibles.
Me? Guilty as charged.
Quite frankly, criticizing O.B. has not been too terribly difficult lately.
O.B. deferred to Owner Jones this off-season on whether to sign T.O....sorry...Terrell. Owens says T.O. is a media-driven moniker, and he prefers Terrell. So somebody misquoted him in his book title, right?
O.B. also is responsible for Jason Fabini (signs of sparedom) and Bobby Carpenter (flirting with bust status already?) being Cowboys.
So, go ahead, get a couple of final second guesses in on O.B. Just remember that In-season Bill regains control at 3:15-ish today in Jacksonville. And I am not inclined to bet against I.B.
Whatever problems plague him while grocery shopping, he remains a master at cooking the meals. Who else turns an "oregano-ed" Q into 10 victories and a playoff berth in his first season?
I.B. is that good of a coach, even now, even 16 years after he last hoisted a Lombardi Trophy, even with a combined 15-17 record to show for his past two Cowboys seasons.
I.B. is almost exclusively why I believe this Cowboys team is going to finish 10-6, return to the playoffs and reach the NFC Championship Game. OK, so maybe Mike Zimmer and this defense has a lot to do with my 180-degree turnaround, too.
I admit to thinking 8-8 when schedules were released.
I admit to thinking worse when T.O. started telling O.B. to watch his 10 years of film, and O.B. did not react by immediately shoving a DVD into his pie hole.
Watching this defense -- this nasty, salty, practically hole-free defense -- dominate during the preseason changed everything. Because nobody is scoring easily against it, and a decent number of Cow defenders will improve as this season progresses.
Who doesn't think a couple of games will do Greg Ellis good? And bank on Chris Canty being a bigger force with which to be reckoned by midseason. Ditto for DeMarcus Ware.
And I.B. has proven in Dallas, and elsewhere, if he has a dominating D, he can win.
Does this make him too conservative at times? Heck, yes.
T.O., or Terrell, or whatever he is going by next week, is going to learn what Terry Glenn, Drew Bledsoe, Sean Payton and countless others have over the years: This is not a coach who flings just to fling or simply to keep a ballhog happy.
Do not think I am naive.
I am well aware T.O. may blow my 10-6 thinking to bits because he is going to wreak his brand of havoc, mini or otherwise, at some point. And it will probably be because of catches -- or more specifically -- the lack thereof.
This is where I.B. comes in. He is one of the best coaches in the NFL at figuring out how to properly motivate everybody and how to win games with what he has.
The problem is he has done this so well over the years that he has earned the right to demand there be no checks and balances at Valley Ranch. And even if such a system was in place, does anybody really want Owner Jones and his Q- and Hutch-laden résumé as O.B.'s primary check man?
And there is no doubt this team is better with Bill, both O.B. and I.B., than without him. Dave Campo has not been gone so long that everybody has forgotten how successful life with a puppet is.
So you live with O.B. because I.B. is worth it.
Exactly how worth it will be determined by whether O.B. returns in January, late January or February.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:35 AM
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