I dont really disagree...but Wade goes and has a super defense somewhere else , and most teams would kill to have the weapons we have on offense.
Like Norv on offense, Wade is a defensive guru. You can't take that from him. But he cares too much about being the players' friend to have long term success as the man in charge. You don't need to be Tom Coughlin circa 2004, but it's proven time and time again that the coaches who have the most success are the ones who make it clear it's their way or the highway.
(Obviously not every "disciplinarian" is going to have that kind of success unless he actually knows what the hell he's doing, and the constant "fire and brimstone" act wears thin relatively quickly too...but you get the idea)
Players are seriously under performing, that's on the HC. Believe me Id be thrilled if he brought in a good GM but its not happening.
Which players would you specifically say are underperforming? Would it be off base to say that these "underperformers" are just not that good?
The effect of Parcells, as usual, is vastly overrated. Parcells' tenure in Dallas was like Bobby Knight's last years at Indiana...it was mediocre AT BEST. Parcells has an eye for defensive talent and acquired a few good players, but it was Phillips who got the most out of that talent. I don't see it as Phillips riding Parcells' coattails...Phillips could outcoach Parcells any day of the week.
I agree. When I say Parcells laid the foundation, I'm talking more about the mentality of the players and coaches that were brought in during that time, as well as the philosophy of how the team was being built. The talent Parcells brought in wasn't necessarily overwhelming (Sean Payton practically had to beg him to bring Romo on as an UDFA, Jerry and the scouts overruled him in taking DeMarcus Ware in 05, they drafted Witten in shock in the 3rd round after passing on him in the 2nd for Al freakin' Johnson, among many others).
As far as scheme, yeah, I won't argue with you there - Parcells would probably still believe in his "planet theory" if he were coaching today.
I think it was a mistake to get rid of Phillips, but oh well. I didn't really mind Garrett's hire, either. The problem is that Dallas went with Rob Ryan as their defensive coordinator, which is like the Bears going with Mike Martz as their offensive coordinator. You have a hard-headed, inflexible retard who tries to run a scheme that doesn't fit his personnel.
You know what's crazy? As bad as the defense looked toward the end of the year, they actually improved over the 2010 version. I think you're right about Rob Ryan forcing his scheme on players that didn't fit, and I'm somewhat hopeful an offseason of study and acquiring new pieces that DO fit can make a little bit better of a difference. But his scheme, like Rex's, relies on having great corners. Not exactly a lot they can do about that part.
I don't disagree that Jones has been a bad influence on player acquisition, but I think the Cowboys have enough talent to win...which the sort of still do. I think if they had better coaching, they would have been a playoff team.
The top-tier talent of the roster is good enough to mask a lot of the deficiencies. Hell, they're good enough to win in the postseason based on those guys alone. The problem is the bottom of the roster and the role players in between are not up to snuff. And anytime one of those role players IS good enough, he gets overblown by everyone and thinks he's a fucking star (see; Marion Barber, Patrick Crayton, Gerald Sensabaugh, and I'm afraid to say that Laurent Robinson could be this year's iteration).
Lastly, I think Garrett is learning on the job (doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that, I know) and eventually will end up being pretty successful as a head coach. I'm just not sure it will be with this particular group.
