OT: The enigma that is Bill Parcells

[HornedFrog Purple]

For everything right Tuna did last year, he has in my opinion equaled that total this season in baffling moves.

Of course there is the Quincy thing, but for the sake of argument lets assume that everything done there was correct.

Marcellus Wiley. I never saw what Tuna saw in him. If you looked behind the numbers, almost all of Wiley's sacks were in garbage time when the Chargers were being blown off the field. The money spent on him was a complete waste. Pitiful player. And you are tied up with him contract wise.

Antonio Bryant. Ok so you keep him for half of the season despite him throwing pads in your face. Everything resolved? No... traded for Quincy Morgan?? Tuna got shafted on that one big time. Quincy Morgan is the worst route runner I have seen in a number of decades for the Cowboys. The timing of the trade was strange too... Bill made a decision about Bryant a couple days after the incident. So why was Bryant still here? And you can't tell me that the best you could get was Quincy Morgan.

Tuna makes absolutely no move in the offseason to shore up the secondary, knowing that Woodson could be out and that you have no 2nd cornerback on the roster with any experience. Tony Dixon must completely suck if Lynn Scott has taken Woodson's position.

Vinny Testaverde. Ok so you "trust" him. Great. Vinny is an enigma in himself. Some quarters of the game, I think "Wow, he is on fire." then the next play he throws an errant pass that makes you wonder if he knows what team he is on. There is no doubt he still has one of the strongest arms in the league, but his decision making has been bad also at times.

How Willie Blade was not resigned is beyond me. He was really starting to develop as a DT with good pass pressure and good gap control.

So lets go to the Saints game. Vinny is playing terrible, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and the Cowboys are tied 13-13 at the half. Now Drew Henson was in the same exact situation tied with the Bears at 7 and Bill yanks him. What exactly do you lose putting Henson or Romo in there?

I don't care what Bill says, this Sunday Vinny was not himself physically. Anyone who watched the game could see that it was painfully obvious something was wrong with him. The Saints defense is horrible yet they pretty much shut down the Cowboys in the 2nd half.

I guess the thing for me is I just don't see what exactly Bill is doing here as far as the direction of this team. I did not expect 10-6 again, I thought 8-8 would be a good year or maybe 9-7 with a fluke win somewhere, but this team especially the defense is a shell of last years and I am confused as to why. Bill has stated numerous times he is targeting next season as the turnaround but I have no idea what ammo he is going to pull out his hat.

Discuss.

[Cuckoo]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying here. The only points I would disagree with are the issue of character (Bryant, Blade). The one thing I like about Bill Parcells is that he has an old-school commitment to team oriented players. He doesn't tolerate laziness or selfishness (at least blatent selfishness), and I respect him for that.

Bryant was about as much of a cancer as one could be. Now, could Parcells have done better in a trade, received better value? I would think so. But dumping Bryant, despite his talent, is not something I fault him for.

The same with Blade. Blade came in out of shape and had little desire to work. Talent doesn't mean a whole lot when you don't work to develop it, and I think Blade was the epitome of underperformance, which is too bad because I do think he was a bit of jewel find for the Boys.

I think the Cowboys have some major things to address. Put Vinny on the bench now, and let Henson play the last three games, even if they get killed. You have to find out about him, at least a little bit because they have to decide whether to use a first round pick on a QB.

In the draft/FA (list of priority assuming Drew show something) - CORNER, DE, Safety. Oh and did I mention corner? I think people will be amazed at how good of a player Roy Williams is/can be when he doesn't have to spend the whole game covering for horrible corner play.

[JAG]

I agree with you HFP, although I agree more with Cuckoo on the Bryant / Blade thing. Considering how many young cornerbacks Dallas has, I'd rather them try to sign a veteran corner in free agency and address what's been one of the weakest parts of the team ever since Haley and Tolbert retired in the draft: the pass rush. Ideally I'd like to see the two first round picks spent on a DE and DT, and the second round pick on a safety, although I won't complain if one of the picks is spent on a wide receiver.

But I agree that Parcells has made a number of quesitonable decisions this season, especially in game management whereas last year he could do no wrong. I have no explanation for this at all.

[enigma]

I am not Bill Parcells!

[Franklinnoble]

I still think Parcells is a decent coach. I think the Cowboys over-achieved last year, and got derailed by the QB problem this year.

You cannot overestimate the importance of the QB in professional football - this is one area where FOF is extremely accurate and realistic (as I've had dynasties where I've won titles with all-star QB's and nothing else but undrafted free agents). Look at what's happened in Washington - the Redskins would probably be playoff contenders had Gibbs benched Brunell sooner, and given Ramsey all season to play and mature under his system (they were one bad pass from beating the Eagles yesterday).

I'm left to wonder why Gibbs made the Brunell gaffe, and my only conclusion is that because Brunell was "his" guy, and because he'd paid so much to get him, he simply HAD to let Brunell play out as much of the season as possible, until it was totally undeniable that Brunell was DONE, and there was no room left to doubt that his contract was wasted, and it was time to move on. Sadly, this cost the Redskins their season, but you cannot deny the huge improvement in the offense since Ramsey took over.

Unfortunately, Parcells didn't have too much to work with after Quincy was cut. And, for the record, if Carter was indeed playing with nose candy, I support that move 100%, even if it did hurt the team's chances. The Cowboys have tolerated bad behavior for too long, and I'm happy to see Parcells instilling a little discipline down there. While I will always hate the Cowboys, they have been particularly loathsome of late with their endorsement of criminal behavior amongst their star players.

[Desnudo]

Parcells has never been a great evaluator of talent. His best work has always been accomplished with a GM-type helping him acquire players.

[HornedFrog Purple]

Ahhh I forgot about Blade's meltdown, so I will even forgive him about that.

So Quincy and Blade are no factors in my questioning Parcells, I give him an A+ for getting them out of town. Bryant I give a D only because Morgan is a body.

[varacel]

I think Parcells thought he was upgrading with Hunter replacing Edwards, Carson repalcing Blade and Wiley replacing Ekuban. It appears Ekuban and Blade were better against the run then the stats sheet showed last season, though Wiley didnt even make a tackle in a 3 game stretch this season, and Hunter looked OK until his injury. The key loss on D has been Woodson though. In hindsight they should have put him on IR, cos there appears to have been a lot of 'it'll get better when Woodson's back' (no pun intended), and force someone else to be the leader on D, though Glover and Ellis always look good. The games I've seen Williams has looked a little lost, especially in coverage. To be honest in the summer I hoped they signed Taylor or Vincent, but both have barely played this year.

The offense has been stung by key players injured, Jones, Campbell, Glenn and never had the depth to recover, especially with Eddie George looking so old and slow (can't believe it's not a year since he was running over Ray Lewis in the play-offs). Vinny Has been OK with not a lot to work with. Most of the picks came when Keyshawn was the only recognized reciever and there was no running game.

Let Vinny play at Philly this week, if they win (lol) keep him in and try for 8-8 and the playoffs, if they lose have a look at Henson or Romo for 2 games. I'm not convinced playing Henson is the best thing for him right now though.

Not all negatives though - Jones looks amazing, Witten seems to be the real deal, Al Johnson has come back from injury well and Terrance Copper and Reshard Lee have shown some promise.
If Pete Hunter comes back ok he should at the worst be a very good nickel-back. James, K Thornton and Shanle have all shown something when they have got on the pitch. If Williams and Newman are as good as advertised, which I think they are, then this will surely be the worst season of their careers. Plus there are 2 number 1 picks to look forward to.

[Axxon]

He doesn't tolerate laziness or selfishness (at least blatent selfishness), and I respect him for that.


BWAHAHAHA!!!

Doesn't tolerate selfishness? Does the number 19 ring a bell? The man that the "Leon" character was based on?

Ha, that's funny.

Otherwise, good post.

[ISiddiqui]

I thought Leon was based on Owens?

[cthomer5000]

Despite all the talk though, Keywhawn isn't a really selfish player. He blocks well, gets drilled repeatedly (he's made more than a couple appearances on Jacked Up! this season) while never complaining, and generally has great hands. There's a reason Parcells brought him on board.

edit: The only place he's been a real jackass (at least in the public view) was in Tampa Bay. I imagine that was 100% personality conflict between Keyshawn and Gruden. I'm guessing they simply didn't 'click' the same way Parcells and Gruden do. Keyshawn seems to be able to 'mouth off' to Parcells without Parcells reacting too strongly, and Parcell's brand of motivation apparently works for Keyshawn. It's fascinating because you really think they'd be polar opposites based on public perception. Obviously that isn't the case.

[ISiddiqui]

I gotta agree with cthomer. Keyshawn has gotten a bum rap. He does a lot of stuff 'for the team'.

[Axxon]

Despite all the talk though, Keywhawn isn't a really selfish player. He blocks well, gets drilled repeatedly (he's made more than a couple appearances on Jacked Up! this season) while never complaining, and generally has great hands. There's a reason Parcells brought him on board.

I was a fan of Key when he was with the Bucs and yes, on the field he's a great player, no doubt but off the field his selfishness is probably the highest I've seen in a ballplayer.

Some of the things he did, like wearing flip flops to practice then complaining that no one told him it wasn't allowed, threating to kill his ex wifes boyfriend, the whole star vs flashlight thing etc etc are supremely selfish and having met him in person I tend to say the perception is real.

Now, of course there were reasons he was brought in and they are valid ones. He is a great player and he at least seems to like Parcells. No one suggested that he brought him in because he was selfish but rather that he can't really not tolerate selfish players and then turn around and embrace Keyshawn. That's why I laughed.

I wish Keyshawn wasn't so selfish. Watching him play, when he wanted to play was a joy for us in Tampa as I'm sure it was to the fans in NY and it will be looked on by the Dallas fans the same way as soon as he's tired of them.

[Axxon]

I thought Leon was based on Owens?

I've read that it was Key but Owens fits the bill. I know the Leon signs were all over the stadium last season so even if it wasn't him, it sure fit.

[Axxon]

I gotta agree with cthomer. Keyshawn has gotten a bum rap. He does a lot of stuff 'for the team'.

On the field, yes but off the field, no and when he quits on your team, like he did with us last season, it's a real quit job. It was embarrasing watching him go through the motions of pretending to play the game.

He said Gruden wrote him out of the gameplan and he did, but only after he realized that Key had no interest in actually being part of the gameplan and that was never really brought up by the media but I saw the dropped passes, and the poor routes and the lack of effort. They stood out precisely because he's such a good player and had never done that.

[ISiddiqui]

Oh BS! Gruden wanted a scapegoat and picked Keyshawn. I've seen him with the Jets when I was in Jersey and he never quit on that team. When you have a coach that has it out for you, he can say anything about you. Unfortunetly Gruden doesn't have a scapegoat this year to cover up his crappy coaching.

[Cap Ologist]

Keyshawn's daughter goes to the school my wife teaches at. That has nothing to do with the topic I know, but I wanted to share. Plus, I've been impressed with Keyshawn this year. I guess I always had assumed the worst about him, but he's made some tough catches and gotten the snot knocked out of him several times for the team.

[Axxon]

Oh BS! Gruden wanted a scapegoat and picked Keyshawn. I've seen him with the Jets when I was in Jersey and he never quit on that team. When you have a coach that has it out for you, he can say anything about you. Unfortunetly Gruden doesn't have a scapegoat this year to cover up his crappy coaching.

You're simply wrong ISiddiqui. I have seen almost every game he has played in a Bucs uniform and was one of his biggest fans. I SAW him give up. I saw him perform at less than his good forget his best.

The coach having it out for you doesn't make you drop easy passes. Passes you'd never dropped before. Consistantly. Ditto the poor routes and the failure to fight for the ball. This even before the feud became public. After that, then yes, he was written out of the offense as I said but not before and unless you saw him play you'd believe like you do because the only one talking, thus the only side getting out was Keyshawns. Period.

The only skill he didn't slack off on was blocking and he is one of the best blocking receiver I've ever seen but he's also said it's his favorite part of the game so I didn't expect a big dropoff there.

I want to say again that I have nothing against Key. I was a fan until he quit on the team but I don't hate him and wish him all the best wherever he goes.

To say he's not selfish though is simply wrong.

[Axxon]

Keyshawn's daughter goes to the school my wife teaches at. That has nothing to do with the topic I know, but I wanted to share. Plus, I've been impressed with Keyshawn this year. I guess I always had assumed the worst about him, but he's made some tough catches and gotten the snot knocked out of him several times for the team.

When he wants to play, which is most of the time, no one can doubt his game. When he came to the Bucs I too had heard stuff that made me doubt him but I was won over quickly. Unfortunately, well, we all know what happened.

As for the selfishness, I guess no one remembers when it started in Tampa. I do. It was during the super bowl season when he got into a public argument with Gruden. Seems he wasn't catching enough passes.

The year before he'd led the league with 126 with only one td and we were one and done in the playoffs but Key was very very happy. The next season we're winning a super bowl but his numbers are down and he whined the rest of the season.

Of course, he's not selfish or anything.

[Cuckoo]

I agree with much of the response about Keyshawn. The thing to remember is that Keyshawn was selfish in other places in his career. Parcells must have figured that he wouldn't be that way if he were playing in Dallas. And as someone who keeps up with the Cowboys on a day to day basis and has for years, I can say that there has been virtually no mention of anything selfish on the part of Keyshawn Johnson since he came to Dallas, other than of course Pam Oliver's sideline report back in Week 3 or something that was vehemently disputed by Keyshawn, Parcells, and many Cowboys players and coaches.

Edit to add my point: I honestly don't think Parcells cares too much about what Keyshawn may have done wrong on other teams, but he does about his team. If he felt like Keyshawn was being selfish on Parcells' team, I would guess Mr. Johnson wouldn't be around long.

[Cap Ologist]

You won't find a great athlete who isn't selfish. Even the great Jerry Rice was upset when his streak of games with a catch was caught. Great players have confidence in themselves, and right or wrong, think the best chance for their team to win is for them to be heavily involved.