I’ve been thinking a lot about the BH interview and the VILLAIN theme. The word itself kind of goes against what we have heard about the priority of high character so I don’t think we can take it at face value. I believe it may be an acronym for qualities in the players they are looking for. I followed this idea up by watching interviews of staff and identifying key words used in interviews over the past month.
This is what I have so far. Violent - Instinctive - Love of the game - Leadership - Awareness - Intelligent - Nasty
Now breaking those down I think each word has a specific value.
Violent = Imposing will
Instinctive - Nose for the ball
Love of the game - passion to play
Leadership - on and off the field
Awareness - play recognition
Intelligent - learn and retain information
Nasty = grit
I’m not convinced I have all the right words representing the letters and I’ve played with other possibilities but I am convinced it’s an acronym. BH was very secretive about it and wouldn’t even get into the meaning behind it but did talk about identifying players they are interested in. Being so secretive about its meaning tells us it’s not a clever marketing gimmick so there must be a deeper meaning. I’ll be curious to hear what others think.
Always asking questions and searching for more depth and meaning
I said it in another thread but I think I applies to Micah Parson and his quote “Nobody is leaving LA for Detroit”
The “villain” is an antagonist to the hero of the story.
Who’s the hero? America’s Team, right? Dem Cowboys!
Well, ok, you want to be the hero…then we’ll play the villain in Detroit. Brad is really leaning into the bit rather than give some PC boring response.
I’d love if it was an Acronym for something. Keep up the detective work!
I love the idea behind this, especially when you point out Dallas as Americas team. I also thought of it as another way of trying to create that “Bad Boys” culture. Clearly is means something deeper and I’m dying to figure it out.
This is crazy high level thinking. And I believe you nailed it. When I go back and match the language Brad used to describe it with your view of it…its the absolute best explanation. And it would speak to Brad’s mindset and that sweatshirt would be a great thing to wear to remind yourself and your staff of what is most important about the evaluation process, and not to get caught up in the stuff that’s less important. Your version also matches the language Brad, Dan and other members of the staff have used in the past.
“This is something that we kinda came up with over time just inside our personnel and scouting department,” Holmes told Peter Schrager on ‘Good Morning Football’ on Wednesday. “It’s just about what we’re all about, what we’re trying to find (in the draft), and the guys that fit our culture. I can’t give out too much, but it’s something that’s within our building and then it’s on our walls. It’s something that we believe in.”
Yep. The definition of the word itself is understood. But if you’re wearing the word on your shirt and saying there’s an inside meaning, then it’s obviously not a dictionary meaning and we shouldn’t be looking at it that way.
YUP - We’re the spoiler, the NFL is against us, & it’s very much like the “Us vs Everybody” theme, but more intense. We’re owning it as part of our identity, aware that officiating, scheduling, etc are likely to go against us. We are aware that the league wants its ratings & $$$, so it promotes certain teams. We are the villains, because we are throwing a HUGE wrench in the works.
…that’s why they can’t talk about it publicly.
Genius.
Well thought out! I think youre spot on or really close. I watched an interview with a guy from nbc who was really teying to get it out of him. He said it was nothing to do with the team and strictly a personell thing. Well done.
