FRISCO, Texas – Welcome to the new catchword in the NFL, used over and over again by coaches, players, commentators and columnist, ad nauseam.
Culture.
Got to have culture to win.
Got to develop culture.
We have culture.
To the point reminds of this ancient high school cheer: We have spirit, yes we do. We have spirit, how 'bout you? Inviting the opposing crowd to respond or sit there like bumps on a log.
So now it's, We have culture, yes we do, we have culture … You get the idea.
Seems when players are breathlessly asked this inane crutch question after a win, "Tell me, how did you do it?" the cliché answer is, "We have a good culture," or lately some higher being is looking down upon them.
Or there's that perfunctory question – from the "book of questions" as Bill Belichick called it one time during a Super Bowl Week press conference – always seemingly posed to a new head coach, "How are you going to turn this franchise around?" The answer becomes, "We have to build a good culture."
Right? Might as well fess up by saying, "I need a good quarterback." Of the seven new NFL head coaches this cycle, five of them aren't totally sure of their quarterback situation. And of the other two, at least the Cowboys' Brian Schottenheimer is depending on the return of a healthy three-time Pro Bowler in Dak Prescott while Chicago's Ben Johnson is depending on the talented 2024 No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams having matured after going through serious rookie growing pains. The rest, good luck with all that.
Let's take the Chiefs when it comes to this culture stuff. Great culture all these years until they got smacked in the mouth by the Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. What, they somehow forget to bring that culture to New Orleans? Didn't have that figurative angel looking over them? No, their offensive line stunk. Couldn't protect Patrick Mahomes to save their threepeat quest.
Or take the Eagles. Head coach Nick Sirianni is credited with bringing a great culture to Philadelphia, advancing to two Super Bowls in the past three years, only winning this recent one. What the hell happened in 2023 when the 11-6 Eagles finished second to the Cowboys in the NFC East and lost a first-round playoff game, 32-9, to 9-8 Tampa Bay? Hmmm, quite similar to the 12-5 Cowboys that year getting run by the 9-8 Packers. The Cowboys culture took a beating. The Eagles got a mulligan.
And that brings us to our home boys for this season, and here comes the catchword for sure with some from the outside having a hard time explaining how the Cowboys went from three consecutive 12-5 seasons, winning two of three NFC East titles, and then falling to 7-10.
Dang it, seems heard/read it 100 times during this year's non-playoff run: Got to build a better culture, and the lack of inevitably falling in the lap of owner Jerry Jones. Or the stock answer for why the Cowboys have failed to advance past the second round of the playoffs to at least an NFC title game for the past 29 years, or for not having played in a Super Bowl since the 1995 season.
Yep, culture. Culture. Culture.
What is this intangible culture, anyway?
You tell me, because one online definition goes like this:
"A group of people share a set of positive values, beliefs and behaviors that promote collaboration, respect, open communication, a sense of purpose and individual growth, creating a positive and productive environment for everyone involved." Pretty much a mouthful.
So wait, and let's take these past four Cowboys seasons for example. If understanding all this culture stuff, the Cowboys had a good enough culture from 2021-23 to win 36 regular-season games – one short of Kansas City's high of 37 those three years. But are you trying to tell me that culture dissipated come playoff time in each of those three seasons, going 1-3?
Come on, get serious.
Like, it was bad culture when losing that second-round playoff game at Carolina in 1996? When Michael Irvin was lost to a first-quarter injury and then later so, too, was Deion Sanders, who was trying to go both ways in that game playing wide receiver as well out of necessity, suffering a second-half fractured eye socket.
Bad culture in 2006 with a plucky 9-7 Cowboys team? When Tony Romo, once he became the starting quarterback for Bill Parcells, turns around a 3-3 team to go 6-4 down the stretch. Only to have that potential first-round playoff game-winning first down at the Seahawks'2-yard line reversed to fourth down, setting up the infamous Romo dropped snapped on the likely game-winning field goal attempt in the final seconds.
Or bad culture the next year when the Cowboys went 13-3 to earn a first-round playoff bye? Only for Terrell Owens trying in vain to play through a high-ankle sprain, stalling out the Cowboys passing attack against the Giants. And then with a 21-17 deficit on the line, the always sure-handed Patrick Crayton drops a wide-open slant pass that I can still hear Troy Aikman on the broadcast saying, if Crayton catches the ball, he would have hit his head on the crossbar.
Or bad culture in 2014 in the equally infamous Dez Bryant "Catch-No Catch" second round playoff 25-21 defeat at Green Bay?
Or bad culture when rookie quarterback Dak Prescott brings the Cowboys back that 13-3 season of 2016 in the second round of the playoffs to tie the Packers at 31 with just 35 second remaining? Only for a scrambling Aaron Rodgers to complete that third-down, 35-yard sideline pass to tight end Jared Cook with three seconds left to set up Mason Crosby's walk-off, game-winning 51-yad field goal.
See what I'm talking about? We could go on and on about this culture stuff, but think you get the 1080 picture.
Let's not try to sum up the Cowboys' playoff ineptitude by ignoring these facts, and they are facts, when simply and recklessly qualifying these failures with missing culture.
The elephant in the 2024 Cowboys room is plain and simple: Losing Dak Prescott for nine games and not having near enough depth to counter 100 missed starts from their starters. Not just any starters, mind you. We're talking 2023 Pro Bowlers like Dak with his nine MIAs, DeMarcus Lawrence (13), DaRon Bland (9), future Hall of Famer Zack Martin (7), Trevon Diggs (6), Micah Parsons (4) and Jake Ferguson (3) with CeeDee Lamb playing through a bum shoulder the final six weeks of the season and eventually missing the final two games.
Heck, they even lost next-men-up like Caelen Carson, Josh Butler, Amani Oruwariye, Marshawn Kneeland and eventual starter DeMarvion Overshown.
Look, want to know how important the quarterback position really is? There was not one backup quarterback starting in these 2014 playoffs. When it comes to QB ratings, 14 of the playoff-starting quarterbacks were ranked in the top 18, the 18th being Denver rookie Bo Nix with a highly respectable 93.3 rating. Why, the only two non-playoff starting QBs to sneak into the top 10 of those rankings were No. 3 Joe Burrow (108.5) and No. 10 Derek Carr (101.0), but having played just 10 games.
At the Cowboys' defensive end position, the top-four projected starters, including Lawrence, Parsons, Kneeland and Sam Williams (torn ACL in training camp), accounted for 40 of the 100 missed starts. At cornerback, if we count the Top three (Diggs, Bland, Lewis), plus injuries to the backups forced to start (Oruwariye, Butler, Carson), that totals 20 misses.
That's a whole lot of missing pieces throughout the season.
Look, the Cowboys just weren't good enough, hands down. But don't act like this was a team that didn't care. You think Rico Dowdle wasn't playing his heart out? Nor the rookie first-time starting center Cooper Beebe? Perennial backup Brock Hoffman forced to start in place of Martin at guard? Think the likes of Osa Odighizuwa on the final year of his rookie contractwasn't balling out? Same for Chauncey Golston and Cooper Rush and Brandin Cooks and team tackle leader Eric Kendricks? The potential Pro Bowler Overshown until his season-ending knee injury? Rookie Marist Liufau? Lewis? Nick Vigil? Pro Bowler Tyler Smith? KaVontae Turpin?
Get real.
This team came within three seconds of sweeping the Commanders. Had the Bengals teed up for defeat until that crazy muffed punt that Cincinnati recovered and returned for the winning touchdown.
So come on, let's not blame 7-10 on give-up. Or on poor culture. That's lame. That's anall-encompassing hollow excuse. Might as well blame it on the bossa nova.
Period.
