OrangeSkin Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer August 17, 2003 SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Apparently fed up with a sloppy practice, Bill Parcells and his coaching staff called the Dallas Cowboys together, said a few words and left for the locker room. The players, meanwhile, kept practicing. Led at first by fullback Richie Anderson, the team worked out for about another half hour Sunday afternoon. Several players held play cards and barked out instructions as the drills continued. Fans seemed oblivious to the coaches' absence. They might have gotten a clue something strange was happening when assistant head coach Sean Payton came back onto the field, spoke with quarterback Clint Stoerner and they left for the locker room together. Stoerner was gone about five minutes. Practice ended a few plays after he returned. The team then lined up for two rounds of sideline-to-sideline wind sprints. Afterward, most players headed for the locker room. But about a dozen players, including quarterbacks Chad Hutchinson, Tony Romo sits to pee and Stoerner, stayed for even more work. No one was willing to talk about it. ``Sorry, fellows,'' Anderson said. ``We're not talking,'' Hutchinson said. ``Can't say a word. I gave an oath,'' said tight end Dan Campbell, smiling. Parcells will not be available again until after the morning practice Monday. But he indicated his intolerance for things like turnovers and penalties after the Texans game. ``I want a smart team and a smart team doesn't get eight penalties and turn the ball over twice. A dumb team does that,'' he said Friday night. Although Parcells did nothing more demonstrative than walk off the field Sunday, it was easily the most public outburst of his first training camp with the Cowboys. The workout was the 30th of camp, and the first since a 34-6 victory over Houston on Friday night. Parcells ended his portion about the time a normal practice would end, so nothing seemed unusual when he called everyone together. Earlier Sunday, Parcells said the starting quarterback job remains far from settled. He said Hutchinson and one or two others would be used in a preseason game Thursday night at Pittsburgh. But Parcells stopped short of saying that Hutchinson, the only quarterback not used against the Texans, would start against the Steelers. ``I'm not sure, but I think so,'' Parcells said. Parcells came to camp hoping to name his No. 1 quarterback by Tuesday, the last day in San Antonio. That won't happen. ``Had it been crystal clear for me, I would certainly name the guy right now. It just hasn't been crystal clear for me,'' he said. ``The drop-dead date would be the Tuesday before the Atlanta game. But I would like to do something prior to that.'' I don't know if this is admirable or pitiful. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy-the-Greek Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I think it depends on the outcome. If it works and the next game they have no penalties and no turnovers Parcells is a genius. If it doesn't the Cowboys just plain $uck. It is a win win for Parcells. :rotflmao: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Say what you want to say about Parcells, but the man does work psychological games on guys. I don't know if this is admirable or pitiful either. I don't know if not playing this week's starter at QB is admirable or pitiful. I don't know if signing Murrell is admirable or pitiful. And you know what? Neither do the players there. They can't have any real idea what's going on. Even those who think it's pitiful know better than to say so. Why? Because Bill has his boys like Anderson and Campbell out there still running practice after he leaves. Parcells will have that team playing on needles, afraid to make mistakes. And they'll lose so horribly we're all going to snicker and have fun with it. They'll lose so horribly because they'll be playing tentative. Slow to get off the ball. Unwilling to grab when beaten allowing sacks. Willing to fall down quicker rather than risk losing a ball in traffic. And Dallas will lose, and lose, and lose and then something will happen. Guys will start to transform their games. They'll play so tentatively early, so afraid to make mistakes, that after a few games they'll stop making mistakes and it won't be as tentative. It'll be second nature. They'll start playing more instinctive again. And when they start winning, it'll be the same formula he's won with before, and we'll be laughing less. Unless Ramsey is the real deal, we won't be laughing at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sashae Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Is it just me, or does that whole situation sound a little 'Varsity Blues' AH DONT WAANT... YOOR LAAHF. -s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Comparing this tactic to the comments suggested in the mark may thread is important I think. Notice how impersonal this attack was. It wasn't don't make a mistake or coach'll kill me. HE didn't get in the face of the player who dropped the ball. He made it a team issue. The team didn't do what it needed to do. F'ing brilliant. -DB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Hard Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Originally posted by OrangeSkin ``I want a smart team and a smart team doesn't get eight penalties and turn the ball over twice. A dumb team does that,'' he said Friday night. That's what I like to hear. You guys say what you will about Parcells... but he's bang on. And you do what you gotta do to get players' attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJWatson3 Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 maybe spurrier could take note of parcells action, because our team is playing some sloppy football. he needs to kick some ass in the upcoming practices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 AJ, Just kicking ass isn't enough. In fact as I've said in a couple posts that have yet to be responded to, it can often be detrimental. It has to be done right. Walking out does it right. Getting in some players face or fining them (serious fines) for making mistakes is more trouble then its worth. This sort of thing is just brilliant. Makes you wonder if parcells told some players to keep the others practicing though. The man knows what he is doing. This isn't just kick ass cause you're angry and want to hold someone responsible. It's entirely different. It's get them to feel responsible. I don't know for sure what you mean by kicking ass, but if you mean more yelling, more benching, more fines some some around here are suggesting, then I'd say this a whole world different from "kicking ass" and it's a better world where stupid mistakes actually stop happening. -DB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 walking out on practice worked for Marty Morningwig a couple years ago for the Lions.... Oh wait.....:doh: that's grand standing, not coachng Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 eh, screw Parcells "mind games" Reminds me of the Phil Jackson Zen Master Bullsh!t. Look, when you get the talent and the right players you will be a good team. The Cowboys are clearly NOT in that spot right now and they are going to be mediocre, no matter WHO the coach is. Yes Parcells can turn them around in a year or two, but who is to say another coach wouldn't? The Cowboys are just in a down cycle right now, but they have an owner commited to winning(well except for the whole Quincy Carter situation thing) and eventually they will be good again. Lets hope it's not for a few years so that by the time the Cowboys are a wildcard team, the Skins are the Superbowl team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I think coaches like parcells and jackson have proven themselves. There is at least something these guys are doing right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 I didn't mean to say Parcells is worthless. He is a great coach, but I just hate how every little detail is being over-analyzed just cause he is coaching the cowboys now. And how every little blowup at practice is being heralded as the next great step for the Cowboys return to glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius J. Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inmate running the asylum Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Say what you want about Parcells, but he eventually gets results. It his way or the highway and the players know it. Parcells gave Joe Gibbs fits, because just like Gibbs, his teams played smart football and usually did not beat themselves. I think Parcells had a winning record against Gibbs, although my memory aint what it used to be. With all the mistakes and dumb wasted timeouts still occurring on the Redskins, I haven't seen this quality yet in Spurrier coached teams and it has me worried. Especially when you consider that the average margin of victory in an NFL game is probably less then 7 points. At Florida players could make dumb mistakes, when you have 3 or 4 patsies on the schedule. But in the NFL there are no patsies on the schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani2 Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Sashae, funny sig... :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Reminds me of Mr T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milliondollarslim Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Parcells is a good coach, no doubt about it. however this stunt seems a little transparent. he knew the team would feel better about itself after winning a preseason game and he wanted to make sure they knew he wasn't impressed or satisfied. it is not that it is a bad tactic, it's just typical of him and hardly new. i can't believe that every player didn't see right through it. maybe the point was to get them to pull together and run practice to build unity and leadership. those are good goals but it still seems phony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Of course it's phony. So what? I've been a fan, for a long time, of an expression: "If it's stupid, but it works, then it isn't." One thing about Parcells. When he says "What we (I) do, works", he's right. I do agree with the point somebody else made, though. This kind of gesture works a lot better after the team wins on the scoreboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thinking Skins Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Ultimately we'll see if his method is any better than Spurrier's. I'll just add this to the covo. Parcells's team was making a lot of mental mistakes with penalties and turnovers. He brought attention to that by walking out of practice. However are they really correcting the mistakes with him not there? I doubt it because nobody is there to coach them about the mistakes and what they're doing wrong to cause them to make the mistake. If it carries over into the next practice and are more willing to listen to coaches comments, then maybe it helps, but I just see it like a 2nd grade teacher just getting mad at his class and walking out of the room. They'll be scaired at first then they forget about it and start throwing paint. Spurrier acknowledged that we made too many mistakes last season, especially with penalities. His strategy for this was to have more actual NFL refs come to training camp and practice so they can practice under more game like situations. We'll see when the games start to count. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Tuna has a track record morningweg was a joke. Heck if the Tuna was here with this talent there wouldnt be the constant mistakes going into season two with him. But I'll wait before slamming S double and saying the gatorade is on par with the marty koolaid. Way too early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eboyer Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Spurrier acknowledged that we made too many mistakes last season, especially with penalities. His strategy for this was to have more actual NFL refs come to training camp and practice so they can practice under more game like situations. Add a time clock to the above scenario and you have Dave Campo. :thud: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CD167 Posted August 18, 2003 Share Posted August 18, 2003 Well, I think SOS does play mind games with his teams. Punting on 3rd down is one example I think of right away. :gus: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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