When you see or hear of the Golden State Warriors the first thing that comes to mind is probably super-team or dynasty. While that is true, that's not exactly what I'm getting at. Last year the Dallas Cowboys made a lot of noise in the NFL.
It started with taking a running back with the fourth overall pick in the NFL Draft, Ezekiel Elliott. Some fans absolutely loved the pick, along with most of the media that cover them, but some fans and a lot of the national media absolutely hated the pick.
For those who don't know him, that's @VoiceOfTheStar (Pat Walker) when Zeke was selected in the 2016 NFL draft. He thought it would go another way (Jalen Ramsey), as did many fans.
How does that compare to the Golden State Warriors?
Well when the Warriors are doing good, which seems to be happening on a regular basis the past few years, the haters, hate. You'll hear a lot of “Kevin Durant isn't even that good” and “Draymond Green is a thug,” or “Steph Curry is overrated.”
Cowboys Nation hears similar stories surrounding most of their young talented players.
It seems that even finishing the season 13-3 and winning the NFC East can't shut some of the haters up. When you look at why the Cowboys were so successful last year you have to turn to the two rookies, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, that's obviously no surprise.
Dak Prescott was the leagues Rookie Of The Year and Ezekiel Elliott won the league rushing title.
You would think that having so much success from both player's rookie years would earn them some respect from opposing fans and the media, but it didn't. Even after the performances Prescott and Elliott put on in 2016, people are still using words such as overrated, system-player, or mediocre to describe both players.
https://twitter.com/IgglesCoverage/status/849998241034891264
Not surprised, considering the source.
Fellow NFL running back calls out Ezekiel Elliott as overrated https://t.co/rnBU0CaHeS pic.twitter.com/9vPcE2ir1J
— FanBuzz (@FanBuzz) June 28, 2017
-_-
Somehow, someway after two NBA Championships in the last three years these same words surround the Golden State Warriors.
Why am I using Golden State as an example?
Two reasons. One, because when a team — no matter the sport — is either so loved or so hated by so many people, false opinions follow said team no matter how much they succeed.
And two, the success of said team can drive teams, General Managers, and even fans crazy.
From a personal stand point I think the Warriors are little bit overrated.
— nani (@GroovyGRT) July 3, 2017
In every professional sport there is some sort of copy cat mentality in all of these owner's and general manager's heads. If another team does something and succeeds, a different team is going to try to do that same thing just to beat you. If you're still unsure where I'm going with this, maybe this will help.
All 32 teams saw how effective Ezekiel Elliott was last year and all 32 teams I think began to realize how important a good running game is.
The Jacksonville Jaguars didn't hesitate when they were on the clock with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft. The Jaguars had plenty of holes on both sides of the ball, but took Leonard Fournette, a player who a lot of people called a “bad pick.”
Sound familiar?
We can even look in the Cowboys' own division to see how they are already driving some of these teams crazy. All three teams in the division spent a lot of money and multiple draft picks on ways to target the Dallas Cowboys' weakness, their defense.
- The Washington Redskins signed Terrelle Pryor and Brian Quick early in free agency after having one of the worst defenses in the league last year.
- The Philadelphia Eagles did almost the same thing, signing Alshon Jeffrey and Torrey Smith via free agency and adding Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson via the draft.
- The New York Giants? Same thing. The Giants signed Brandon Marshall in free agency and used their first round draft pick on Evan Engram, a pass catching tight end.
So instead of getting better at the things each team struggled at last year, it seems to me that each team was thinking something along the lines of “how can we beat the Dallas Cowboys?” on their mind going into free agency and the draft.
Very similar to what is going on in the NBA right now.
Not long ago the NBA was all about the big man. DeMarcus Cousins, Zach Randolph, Dwight Howard, and DeAndre Jordan used to be the faces of the NBA, and what all teams wished they had. Now, all the NBA wants is a guy who can shoot threes and handle the ball. The center position in basketball is almost nonexistent and it's all about who can shoot the basketball.
Why is that? Because, that's what's worked for the Warriors.
Having five guys on the floor for a majority of the game who aren't limited to where they can shoot. Having Draymond Green play as the “center” but taking shots from beyond the arch more than an easy layup.
And the NFL is doing the same thing.
A lot of teams are looking at the Cowboys and trying to copy what they have done. Drafting offensive lineman and running backs extremely high and signing and drafting players that can help you beat the teams within your division.
It's an interesting way to look at it if you ask me, and some people will say “the Cowboys haven't won anything yet to be compared to the Warriors,” but how teams are implementing what the Cowboys have been doing for years, and the amount of negativity that is thrown at teams for simply being good sure does raise the question,
