I’ve got it again. That hollow, sinking feeling that investing as much as I do as a sports fan may be a gross misappropriation of resources. It doesn’t matter mind you, because I can’t help it anyway, and there are probably millions (literally, millions!) of people out there feeling the same way I do today but that’s no solace either.
The NFL season is over and we’re not in the playoffs. There, I said it.
For me it was the Raiders. For you it was the Cowboys or the Titans or the Jets. What is it that makes a person think things like a mid-season trade for Carson Palmer is going to make their team a playoff contender? Does Palmer play defensive back too?
Spare me the ‘he’s the other team’s best defender’ jokes, I’ve heard them. Here’s the real kicker- I was entirely, 100% happy with the trade when it happened. Draft picks? Who cares! Injuries and rust? He’ll be fine! They did something. They didn’t stand pat and go with Kyle Boller until Jason Campbell recovered. As into our fandom as some of us are the reality is we don’t have all that big an attention span, or endless reserves of patience. We’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
Only now it is “today,” and today I’m clinging to the silver lining that the second draft pick Oakland gave up didn’t accelerate to another first rounder when the team missed the postseason. I’m staring at a defensive back seven that desperately needs the other first round pick back too, just to hopefully plug up one of the holes. I’m pondering how a team in such organizational disarray off the field can possibly improve on a record setting penalty spree on the field.
The worst part, the absolute gut wrenching worst part? I still like the Palmer trade. I can’t separate the insane cost from the incremental improvement- Hey, we’re better! Palmer wasn’t the real problem – but bringing him in cost the Raiders the assets they need to sort out the real problems. I know this, so why am I such a sucker for the quick fix?
Do Dallas Cowboys fans still believe Rob Ryan is going to deliver them a top ten defense? He’s only done it once in his 8 or 9 seasons as a defensive coordinator. He’s never been the DC on a team that made the playoffs, or even been the DC on a team with a winning record! The best finish a team with Rob Ryan as their defensive coordinator ever had was 8-8. It just happened- the 2011 Cowboys. This is just where we get ourselves into trouble.
Dallas fans everywhere today are looking at the Cowboys and talking themselves into giving Rob Ryan more time. Come on, he just had his best season yet! Us Raiders fans are stoked for a full season of Carson Palmer- that first game against the Chiefs when he wasn’t ready was the one that cost us the playoffs of course, just watch what happens when he plays all 16..!
Somebody, anybody, stop us. The Cowboys have much bigger problems than their defensive co-ordinator. Oakland has much bigger problems than their quarterback. We can’t blame these teams for applying the easy quick fix bandages though, not when we so readily eat them up.
Fans should try to take a longer term view. Teams should try to trust us to do that. Is it possible? I’m not sure, but there are two test cases for it going on in the NBA right now. The Raptors brass has all but said this season will be more akin to live practices, an opportunity to install a new defense while awaiting the arrival of cap space and their top draft pick, both coming next season. Are fans upset at this throw-away season? No! There’s a plan in place built around common sense. Fans get it. We’re savvy like that- and the ones that don’t get it aren’t the ones buying merchandise or tickets. They’re the ones that yap about making the playoffs when they haven’t watched a down all year. Screw ‘em.
The Cowboys don’t even have to leave town to get a close up look at test case two. The Dallas Mavericks are not so subtly making little effort to compete for a title this year, and here’s why that’s significant: they’re the defending champions!
Think about it. The fan base is as rabid as it’s ever going to be following a title – the die hards are vindicated, the casual fans are whooping it up- and yet the Mavericks elected not to sign any marquee free agents. They elected to let their own key free agents leave. Why? It was the smart thing to do for the future. The Mavericks churn out 50 win seasons like clockwork, and by tightening their belts just for one year they’re going to have the cap space to add two superstars next offseason and keep ripping those wins off. Not above average players, not all-stars. Superstars.
Imagine an NFL team with that kind of foresight. With the kind of honest evaluation that says hey, you know what, we’ll never win a title with this baling twine and duct tape stuff so lets take our time and do this right.
When Jason Campbell broke his collarbone the Raiders should have stepped back, said tough break, realized they were on the right track, and used the rest of the year like an extended preseason to install the new coach’s system and evaluate their roster. Instead they panicked, mortgaged their immediate future, and got absolutely nothing out of it.
The Cowboys need to learn to allocate their staffing budget to the scouting department and a general manager. Jerry’s World doesn’t have a championships in it that wasn’t made by Jimmy Johnson, whose real skill was the talent evaluation Dallas hasn’t had since he left.
Fans, real fans, can handle this stuff. What we can’t seem to do is chill out and stop screaming for our coach’s head at every bump in the road- which leads to decreased job security and the panic moves we all end up regretting.
It’s a vicious cycle, and coaches aren’t growing thicker skin- it’s up to us fans to wise up if we want this culture of mediocrity in sports to change.