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SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: the Cowboy/Redskin paradigm

We've just posted a new analysis of the Wayne issue in Florida, Weaver in Jacksonville and Huizenga in Miami.  Team Identity is our focus as always.  That's why we start our Friday dispatch with an examination of the two teams that have successfully defined pro football in the South - the Cowboys and Redskins.

SPF's primary mission is to examine the connection (or lack thereof) between the NFL and the South's love of football.  As both the Cowboys and Redskins have started the season 2-0, we can use them to set the standard and define the challenges and successes of other teams in our Footprint.

The Cowboys and the Redskins are the yin and yang of the NFL across the Footprint.  The Redskins primarily dominated the Eastern half while the Cowboys took the West.   Their rivalry is one of the best in the NFL.  These franchises are also the two most valuable franchises in all of sports so it shows the financial upside of successfully connecting pro football in the South.  Isn't that every owner's goal - to have the most valuable team?

Redskin-style football - For years, especially during the first Joe Gibbs era, the Redskins looked an awful lot like an pre-Spurrier SEC team.  Their strength was in the trenches.  (The O-line was called "the Hogs" for goodness sake!)  They ran the ball with authority usually favoring brusing runners like John Riggins.  The QB played under control and made good decisions.  WRs were speedy and made plays when it counted.  The defense punished opponents with their hitting.  This is how Redskin fans identify with their team.

 

Cowboy style football -From moment one, the Cowboys were all about setting the standard.  They had clean white uniforms with stars.  They pioneered all sorts of NFL first from the shotgun formation to scouting advances.  They were a team filled with stars - a good guy QB and effective lines mixed in with personalities on the corners.  They were America's team.

Today's Cowboys and Redskins owe a lot to their past counterparts.  Joe Gibbs must get a feeling of deja vu.  He probably sees a lot of Doug Williams in QB Jason Campbell as well as a dash of Riggins in Clinton Portis.  The Redskins are winning in the trenches and everyone is happy.

The Cowboys have another good guy QB in the tradition of Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.  They have TO to play the role of Michael Irvin.  Wade Phillips is just a more media savvy mix of Tom Landry and his Oiler-famous father.

The point of all this is that not only are the respective historical styles of the Redskins and Cowboys working for them again, these style should give our other SPF markets a guide as to where they should be heading.  Southern football fans accept and understand the respective Cowboy and Redskin style.  The question is which one of them should the other teams follow?

SUCCESS STORIES

Cowboy-style followers:

Indianapolis Colts - They are totally Cowboy-style.  This may be the primary reason this team has gained so much of a following in the SPF Footprint.  When the Cowboys struggled in the post-Aikman/pre-Romo era, Peyton Manning and his crew reminded everyone of the Cowboys of old.

New Orleans Saints - Last year seemed to usher in a new dawn for the Saints.  Drew Brees and his band of merry men were lighting up scoreboards faster than shots could be poured on Bourbon Street.  Coach Sean Payton even came from the Cowboys as their offensive coordinator.  They are struggling this year, but they shouldn't stray from the Cowboys formula.  New Orleans and the Gulf Coast like the Cowboy way.

Cincinnati Bengals - We love this team.  They are fun.  Whereas the Colts mirror what the Landry-led Cowboys pretended to be, the Bengals seem to be what those same Cowboys really were behind the scenes as it was displayed in North Dallas Forty.  Always on the verge of chaos, we can't look away.

Redskin style followers:

Tennessee Titans - Jeff Fisher and Joe Gibbs could swap rosters and both be satisfied.  Tennessee football fans already like their football in the old school SEC style.  The Titans satisfy that craving.

Carolina Panthers - Considering they lie in the Redskins' traditional area, the Panthers have wisely followed the Redskins formula.  In John Fox's first year, he even stole away the Redskins power back, Stephen Davis, and coaxed one or two more strong seasons out of him.

NEEDS SOME WORK

Should-be Cowboy style followers:

Miami Dolphins - We have been chronicling the disaster that the Dolphins 2007 season has become.  Although the Dolphins under Shula's glory years played much closer to the Redskin style, Dan Marino embodied the Cowboy style.  Miami is a glitz city.  It's time to go Cowboy-style down in South Florida.

St Louis Rams - This franchise has defined its short existence in St Louis by throwing the ball and scoring lots of points.  They are now losing close, low scoring games.  They already have the stars.  It time to embrace Cowboy style.

Jacksonville Jaguars - This is just one of the several reasons SPF has been pressing hte panic button with this franchise.  Yes, Jax is a football hotbed, but they like it Spurrier style, wide open.  Tom Coughlin had a Cowboy style with all kinds of stars on offense.  Jack Del Rio is much closer to Redskin style and the Jacksonville fans are left yawning.

WCO Confusion

Tampa Bay, Houston, and Atlanta all fall into a weird void.  These teams have their foundation rooted in the West Coast offense.  The WCO, by and large, has little appeal in the Footprint.  It is a style marked by dink and dunk passing.  However, it can be big play oriented with the right personnel.

Tampa Bay and Houston can succeed with the WCO as long as it has a "Cowboy style" to it, meaning that these teams need stars that are allowed to be stars.  If the WCO approach looks more Redskin than Cowboy, then expect these respective fans to reject their teams out of boredom.

Atlanta is in between.  Michael Vick and the WCO never really meshed.  Bobby Petrino was brought in to open things up.  Unfortunately, he has Joey Harrington as his QB, a loser schooled in the WCO.  Now that Byron Leftwich has been signed, let's hope that Petrino goes "full Cowboy" and starts to throw it downfield.  Atlanta definitely likes its stars.  (For evidence, take a look at this piece from the AJC.  Falcons owner Arthur Blank is opening the first of a chain of Atlanta Falcons Physical Therapy Centers around the Atlanta metro area.  I'm sure this was in the works before the Vick debacle.  The article goes on to say that the Falcons TV ratings are off by 28% in Atlanta.  Time to go Cowboy style behind Leftwich.)

Stylistic Summary

So, to summarize, we have three teams effectively running the Redskin style (Redskins, Titans, Panthers), four teams successfully running the Cowboy style (Cowboys, Colts, Bengals, Saints), three teams that should be running the Cowboys style (Dolphins, Rams, Jaguars), and three WCO teams that need to channel some Cowboy flavor in their WCO (Bucs, Texans, Falcons).

I guess the lesson learned is that Cowboy style is probably more appealing than Redskin style.  Redskin style can only be built on a history of winning.  Committing to it might lose your team more fans in the short run than you can regain over the long haul (listen closely, Wayne Weaver.)

Friday Fishwrap-up

Ft Worth Star-Telegram:  Gil Lebreton just can't be any happier withe Cowboys, while Randy Galloway is still concerned about the D.  Maybe NFL bad boy Tank Johnson can help that cause opines Jim Reeves.

Charlotte Observer:  Scott Fowler reports on the whereabouts of ex-Panther Reggie Howard.

Houston Chronicle:  John McClain talks with Mike Shanahan about his protege's success as Houston's head man.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch:  Jeff Gordon sounds another warning bell for the Rams under Scott Linehan.  We agree, Jeff.  The Rams can't afford to be boring.  Bryan Burwell agrees by defending Steven Jackson's passion as a bright spot, not a negative for the Rams.

Tampa Tribune:  Joe Henderson questions GM Bruce Allen's credibility after too many off season signings of problem children like David Boston.  Allen is Gruden's hatchet man, but his stink is starting to spill over to the head coach.  Winning will cure some of the ills, but the personnel side of the Bucs has been a problem for Gruden from the beginning of his tenure in Tampa.

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