The Parcells "Core" Bull Shit . . .

[Midswat]

While the final 53 man roster has yet to be announced . . . I think it's safe to predict with a modicum of accuracy roughly what the opening day roster will be.

So, barring any unforseen suprises, when we go into this 2010 season, we will have 39 players on our roster who have no connection to Parcells whatsoever.

Lets look at the 14 Cowboys from the Parcells tenure:

2003 Additions​

Tony Romo - Discovered and brought in by Sean Payton in 2003. Props to Parcells for keeping him around. But Romo himself has gone on record as crediting Payton and former QB coach David Lee for his development.
Terrence Newman - Very good cover corner. This was a Jerry pick. Parcells wanted either Dwayne Robertson (who?) or Kevin Williams.
Jason Witten - Witten carried a first round grade by a lot of teams, and most pundits projected him to the Eagles in the first (who instead opted for LJ Smith). Parcells wanted Al Johnson in the 2nd, but we were fortunate that Witten miraculously fell to us in the third. No-brainer pick.
Matt McBriar - Best punter in the league, IMO. Props to Parcells.

2004 Additions​

Bradie James - Solid contributor. Has played far and away his best football since Parcells left and started being coached by Wade and his defensive staff. Parcells wanted BJ to gain weight, which severly limited his effectiveness.
Patrick Crayton - Runs his mouth better than he plays, and (deservedly) catches slack for a terrible performance in the 2007 Divisional round game. But anytime you can get 6+ years production out of a 7th round project receiver, it's a hell of a find. Props to Parcells.

2005 Additions​

DeMarcus Ware - Arguably our best player, and best defensive player in the league. It is well known and documented that Parcells both preferred Merriman over Ware, and when Stephen and Jerry refused to take Merriman, Parcells wanted to get Spears at 11, with the belief that Ware would be available at 20. Therefore, I think it's safe to say Jerry and Stephen deserve all the credit in the world for him being a Cowboy.
Marcus Spears - Solid contributor, but thanks to Jerry for not letting BP draft him at 11.
Marion Barber - Work horse back who's best days are behind him. Great find in the fourth. Props to Parcells.
Jay Ratliff - Props to Parcells for the find. But Ratliff didn't become a Pro Bowler or All-Pro until coached by Wade.

2006 Additions​

Kyle Kosier - Solid guard. Good at pulls and sweeps.
Jason Hatcher - Role player. Has yet to make his presence felt. Not very good against the run at all.
Miles Austin - Discovered by John Garrett. Signed as an UDFA. Developed under Wade's coaching staff, and had a break out year in 2009.
Stephen Bowen - Solid DE prospect. Looks like a potential replacement to Spears. Spent most of 2006 on the practice squad. Developed under Wade's coaching staff.

So . . . four of the 14 came during Parcells final year with the team. Meaning they've spent the majority of their careers being coached by Wade. Only a fool would even attempt to try and give Parcells credit for their development. Especially considering two of which were undrafted free agents, meaning they needed significant development time.

Parcells gets no credit for two of the remaining 10 (Ware & Newman) for the above stated reasons.

The remaining 8 I'll give credit to Parcells . . . but three (Barber, James, Ratliff) of which improved significantly when not coached by BP and his antiquated schemes.

Furthermore . . . and this might be splitting hairs, but I'd argue that the term "core" is not accurate. The core of a team isn't it's stars. The core is the role players. The steady contributors who produce when called upon. The special teams stand-outs. The guys in the trenches. That is the core of any football team. Once you have that core, then the stars excell.

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This post/thread isn't agenda driven. It isn't started with the intent to tear down Parcells. I can give credit where credit is due. I think Parcells used to be a hell of a coach in the old NLF. I think he used to be able to get guys to run through walls for him. And as a leader, nothing is more important.

I loved the fact that Jerry hired him, and there is no question his impact on the way the Cowboys operate is felt to this day. He certainly deserves some credit for our success . . . but not all of it. Not even most of it.

Now . . . I'm sure sbk will chime in with the notion that this is "laughable", call me "idiotic", and make some irrelevant mention of how Parcells will end up in the Hall of Fame while Wade won't. Even though, as I stated in another thread, Parcells upcoming indoctrination into the NFL will be because of what he did in the league 15-20+ years ago . . . not what he accomplished in Dallas.

As a Cowboys fan, I only care what a coach can do while coaching my team.

And right now, I'm a big fan of what Wade, Jerry, & Stephen have done lately.

 

[sbk92]

Die in a fire.

Honestly. I will no longer address this type of idiocy.

 

[Midswat]

Die in a fire.

Honestly. I will no longer address this type of idiocy.

Predictable . . .

lol

 

[Jon88]

Good post. This team is definitely a mix of Parcells and Wade. Parcells brought us out of the gutter and made us pretty good. Wade came in and added his pieces and now we're loaded.

 

[Midswat]

Good post. This team is definitely a mix of Parcells and Wade. Parcells brought us out of the gutter and made us pretty good. Wade came in and added his pieces and now we're loaded.

Parcells changed the mindset and raised the expectations of the team. Couple that with his impact on the scouting department, and the knowledge that he undoubtedly passed on to Jerry, and his impact is clearly felt on this team.

We absolutely needed him when he got here. Likewise, he needed to go when he did. His performance as an actual game-day coach was lackluster and underwhelming.

Wade & Jerry have done well the past three years, and they deserve a lot of credit for that.

That is all there is to it, really.

 

[Midswat]

Although Crayton has been traded . . . the 14 remains the same, as Sam Hurd remains. The initial post was completed under the assumption that Hurd, not Crayton, would no longer be with the team.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I don't think Parcells' biggest "gift" to the Cowboys wasn't the addition of talent, yeah he brought in some, but he's not the great talent evaluator that several credit him for IMO.

I think it was the mindset of building a team that is competitive for several seasons not just one.

Like I said in another post, Jerry use to play it for "winning now". And it cost this team the lost decade. He doesn't do that anymore. Guys like Ellis, Crayton, Adams are pushed out the door in order to make room for younger players.

This is how Cowboy teams use to be built back when the team put together all those winning seasons.

 

[Midswat]

I don't think Parcells' biggest "gift" to the Cowboys wasn't the addition of talent, yeah he brought in some, but he's not the great talent evaluator that several credit him for IMO.

When he came here . . . I ate the cheese. I thought he was great at judging RB, OL, DL, and LB talent specifically. That is why I bought into the Julius Jones trade when we passed on Steven Jackson. I literally couldn't believe we did that.

Rather, what I consider his greatest assett is/was was that of a button pusher. He could get underachieving guys to reach their potential. He could get guys to run through a wall. And that is what I want from a coach.

Unfortunately, I didn't see much of that during his tenure in Dallas, outside of that 2003 season.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

When he came here . . . I ate the cheese. I thought he was great at judging RB, OL, DL, and LB talent specifically. That is why I bought into the Julius Jones trade when we passed on Steven Jackson. I literally couldn't believe we did that.

Rather, what I consider his greatest assett is/was was that of a button pusher. He could get underachieving guys to reach their potential. He could get guys to run through a wall. And that is what I want from a coach.

Unfortunately, I didn't see much of that during his tenure in Dallas, outside of that 2003 season.

There's some truth to that.

Many times in life we see really successful people and you quite often think that what you see is what you get. That there success is all "right there". But, once you start looking into the details, the success they had is quite often due to them AND other factors that most of the time can't be duplicated under other circumstances. Take Donald Trump for instance. He has had a lot of success, and some big-time failures along the way. But he had the advantage of growing up in a family that understood the ins & outs of real estate rehab. Donald just took that to a whole new level.

Bill Gates had parents that were very connected, and Microsoft lucked out on being able to purchase MS.dos and turn it into something that IBM wanted.

Bill Parcells was blessed with some very good people that put the Giants together, along with having some terrific assistants at all his stops before he came to Dallas.

I think as he got older he got better at building a team and maybe a little worse at coaching it, or he didn't have the assistants any longer so it appeared his coaching took a turn for the worse.

 

[Midswat]

I think as he got older he got better at building a team and maybe a little worse at coaching it, or he didn't have the assistants any longer so it appeared his coaching took a turn for the worse.

I think the assistants thing plays a huge role. Bills only success came when he had Belichick on his staff. He's a .500 coach without him. Which is exactly what he was in Dallas.

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

There's some truth to that.

Many times in life we see really successful people and you quite often think that what you see is what you get. That there success is all "right there". But, once you start looking into the details, the success they had is quite often due to them AND other factors that most of the time can't be duplicated under other circumstances. Take Donald Trump for instance. He has had a lot of success, and some big-time failures along the way. But he had the advantage of growing up in a family that understood the ins & outs of real estate rehab. Donald just took that to a whole new level.

Bill Gates had parents that were very connected, and Microsoft lucked out on being able to purchase MS.dos and turn it into something that IBM wanted.

Bill Parcells was blessed with some very good people that put the Giants together, along with having some terrific assistants at all his stops before he came to Dallas.

I think as he got older he got better at building a team and maybe a little worse at coaching it, or he didn't have the assistants any longer so it appeared his coaching took a turn for the worse.

Amen. That is why I don't think Shanahan is as great a coach as people are making him out to be. For the Broncos, he was the right coach, for the right team, with the right players, at the right time.