What am I concerned about???Originally posted by Wild Card
Tango:
O.K., here's a "what if" for you. What if Dennis Green is no more or less successful in Arizona than he was in Minnesota (i.e., he's learned nothing, makes all the same errors in professional judgment, lasts no longer as head coach, and his Cardinals have no better on-field performance than his Vikings teams did). What can Cards fans look forward to?
*Green will be here for the next decade.
*The Cards won't have a losing season again until 2013.
*They'll go to the playoffs eight of the next nine seasons, and play in two NFC Championship games (sadly, losing both).
*Win or lose, the Cards will have one of the highest-scoring, most exciting offenses in the league.
In short, should he merely equal his track record with the Vikings, Dennis Green will be the longest-tenured, winningest coach in the long, storied history of the Cardinals franchise.
So what, exactly, are you so concerned about?
WC
I guess you could sum it up by saying: Maybe Green isn't quite the genius some people make him out to be.
Maybe there has been a rush to judgement that might end up resulting in less than the hoped for and/or expected success, especially in the long run.
Maybe its a big mistake in being overly simplistic and a little naive to blindly ignore or fail to take into sufficient account some red flags that DO exist.
Maybe some of that won/lost record that is the flag everyone is running up the pole right now in his behalf, is due, not just to Dennis Green....but "in spite" of "him".
Maybe "he" is too quick to take......or some people are a little too eager to give ..."him".....more credit than "he" deserves.
Maybe Tony Dungy, Brian Billick, & Foge Fazio, were ultimately more resposible for some of the success "he" is getting credit for.
Maybe there were circumstances BACK THEN that contibuted to the success the Vikings had, but are not repeatable NOW, AND IN THE FUTURE for the Arizona Cardinals.
Like for instance....
How much of "his" early success was really a hold-over from what Bud Grant had essentially built???
"He" inherited some pretty good talent and experience, especially on the offense. Remember, Bud Grant had been there something like 17 years. His retiring seemed to throw some turmoil into the mix. The famous Hershel Walker deal had also contributed to the scenario then. Green came in just about the time the Vikings were finally escaping from that draft crippling deal by the owners at that time. He also inherited an offensive line and receiving corps that a lot of people would have died for, so to speak.
I think an appropiate comparison that might be made is that maybe Dennis Green got credit for some of the success that had been "set up" by Bud Grant...just like John Gruden came to Tampa Bay to end up getting credit for the success that TONY DUNGY had "set up".
Undeniably Green struck some real pay dirt with draft selections like Robert Harris, and the real biggy...Randy Moss, among others.
But he also, simultaneously, exhibited a tendancy to make some real stinkers too. That's not really a big concern for me, at the moment, other than the fact that, even the best "eyes for talent" sometimes whiff or negated by injury...so there's never any guarantee of success there for ANYONE.
Maybe more people should pay heed to what happened in 2000 in Minnesota when 6 of Green's staff left, for one reason or another. The "Biggie" being Foge Fazio, who had been DC for 4 years after replacing the departed Dungy, resigned saying he essentially felt the whole situation in Minnesota had been allowed to deteriorate to an almost hopeless one due to poor cap management and lack of decent long-term planning.
......the next 2 years proved him right.
Maybe those "rumors" that some of Green's "preferred" coaches, couldn't really coach that well ....are indeed true.
maybe...maybe....maybe.....
Too many exist right now to justify a real comfortable feeling, for me.
Maybe all these red flags mean nothing.
Maybe Dennis Green has learned from the past.
Maybe it's best, all around, that people don't just stick their heads in the sand, but keep their heads up... observant...willing to ask questions... keeping the general awareness level at a "healthy" degree.
