Post by MR COWBOY on Dec 7, 2009 15:07:41 GMT -7
Didn’t take long for Cowboys’ December demons to show themselves
By RANDY GALLOWAY
star-telegram.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — So once again, the December demons had their way with the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s a stretch-run NFL month that has been cold and cruel to this franchise for over a decade of Sundays, and absolutely nothing changed here in the New Jersey swamps on, yes, a cold and cruel Sunday afternoon.
Except that after a 31-24 loss to the Giants, the odds are good that the next best chance for a win won’t come until after Christmas. San Diego and New Orleans are next. Good luck on all that.
"I don’t think it’s a mental block; I think it’s something you made up," snapped head coach Wade Phillips in a verbal postgame joust with the media.
Actually, Wade, it’s all right there, December documentation in the franchise record books, going back to 1996, and including your tenure on the job. You can look it up yourself.
Reality is hard, however. So is his job security if this December goes the way of Decembers past. Teams that are good enough overcome it. Teams that aren’t lose a game like this one Sunday. Very winnable, except there wasn’t a W.
A more honest outlook than Wade’s came from tight end Jason Witten. After 14 catches for 156 yards (a career-high in that last category), he said of December, "I’m not trying to avoid it, or say it’s not true. We can’t talk around it. The record is what it says it is.
"But the time is now, for everybody. We can’t let this thing turn again. We’ve got to step up and do something about it. That didn’t happen today, and this one is real hard to take, but it’s got to happen next game."
Off-the-record finger-pointing could be heard in the postgame somber of the locker room. It was the first time this season that this kind of frustration spilled over. Not a good sign for sure, but there were so many breakdowns in so many areas, it’s difficult to pinpoint what was the most accurate finger-pointing.
Start, however, with two blown leads, the result of a defensive collapse, which lands in the lap of Phillips, since there’s no longer Brian Stewart for him or Jerry Jones to blame.
"We didn’t give up a lot of yardage, but the big plays killed us," said Phillips. "We hadn’t done that all year."
Passing-down defensive packages were a joke for Phillips. So was zone coverage on a little 5-yard Eli Manning flip pass to running back Brandon Jacobs, who rumbled down the sideline for a third-quarter, 74-yard touchdown some 19 seconds after the Cowboys had taken a 17-14 lead.
A special teams blunder, something very rare for this team, came in the form of a blown punt coverage, as Domenik Hixon escaped four would-be tacklers on a fourth-quarter, 79-yard touchdown return.
Yes, Nick Folk also missed another field-goal attempt, this one from 42 yards, as his troubles escalated. Asked if it’s time to bring in another field-goal kicker, Joe DeCamillas, the special team’s coach, said, "I wouldn’t."
Joe may be alone on that thought.
Once again, holder Mat McBriar took the blame for that Folk miss, but Nick is about to run out of excuses, particularly McBriar being too nice a teammate.
Even Tony Romo, who had great stats, and a good day throwing the ball (55 throws without a pick), contributed to the defeat by missing a wide-open Roy Williams, who was touchdown bound (it would have been his third TD of the afternoon) down the right sideline.
The Cowboys trailed by 14 points at the time, but would have had 4 minutes to get back into a position to tie it up.
And for all you "run the ball" disciples back home, the ground attack was futile (45 yards on 23 attempts) but Jason Garrett still managed to overdo it in that area.
It was obvious the Giants had coverage problems. It was also obvious the Giants could stuff the run, as they compensated for the 251 yards of rushing given up to the Cowboys in Week 2 of the season.
In both games, however, the Giants ended up the winner.
"In this one, it’s one game. We’ve got to do something about it next game," noted Phillips, still trying to downplay the December demons.
"I’m not going to debate you," added Wade, cutting off the questions.
But with the Chargers next, and then the Saints, it won’t be about a debate. Now, it’s about survival.
And Wade, on that, we can all agree
By RANDY GALLOWAY
star-telegram.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — So once again, the December demons had their way with the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s a stretch-run NFL month that has been cold and cruel to this franchise for over a decade of Sundays, and absolutely nothing changed here in the New Jersey swamps on, yes, a cold and cruel Sunday afternoon.
Except that after a 31-24 loss to the Giants, the odds are good that the next best chance for a win won’t come until after Christmas. San Diego and New Orleans are next. Good luck on all that.
"I don’t think it’s a mental block; I think it’s something you made up," snapped head coach Wade Phillips in a verbal postgame joust with the media.
Actually, Wade, it’s all right there, December documentation in the franchise record books, going back to 1996, and including your tenure on the job. You can look it up yourself.
Reality is hard, however. So is his job security if this December goes the way of Decembers past. Teams that are good enough overcome it. Teams that aren’t lose a game like this one Sunday. Very winnable, except there wasn’t a W.
A more honest outlook than Wade’s came from tight end Jason Witten. After 14 catches for 156 yards (a career-high in that last category), he said of December, "I’m not trying to avoid it, or say it’s not true. We can’t talk around it. The record is what it says it is.
"But the time is now, for everybody. We can’t let this thing turn again. We’ve got to step up and do something about it. That didn’t happen today, and this one is real hard to take, but it’s got to happen next game."
Off-the-record finger-pointing could be heard in the postgame somber of the locker room. It was the first time this season that this kind of frustration spilled over. Not a good sign for sure, but there were so many breakdowns in so many areas, it’s difficult to pinpoint what was the most accurate finger-pointing.
Start, however, with two blown leads, the result of a defensive collapse, which lands in the lap of Phillips, since there’s no longer Brian Stewart for him or Jerry Jones to blame.
"We didn’t give up a lot of yardage, but the big plays killed us," said Phillips. "We hadn’t done that all year."
Passing-down defensive packages were a joke for Phillips. So was zone coverage on a little 5-yard Eli Manning flip pass to running back Brandon Jacobs, who rumbled down the sideline for a third-quarter, 74-yard touchdown some 19 seconds after the Cowboys had taken a 17-14 lead.
A special teams blunder, something very rare for this team, came in the form of a blown punt coverage, as Domenik Hixon escaped four would-be tacklers on a fourth-quarter, 79-yard touchdown return.
Yes, Nick Folk also missed another field-goal attempt, this one from 42 yards, as his troubles escalated. Asked if it’s time to bring in another field-goal kicker, Joe DeCamillas, the special team’s coach, said, "I wouldn’t."
Joe may be alone on that thought.
Once again, holder Mat McBriar took the blame for that Folk miss, but Nick is about to run out of excuses, particularly McBriar being too nice a teammate.
Even Tony Romo, who had great stats, and a good day throwing the ball (55 throws without a pick), contributed to the defeat by missing a wide-open Roy Williams, who was touchdown bound (it would have been his third TD of the afternoon) down the right sideline.
The Cowboys trailed by 14 points at the time, but would have had 4 minutes to get back into a position to tie it up.
And for all you "run the ball" disciples back home, the ground attack was futile (45 yards on 23 attempts) but Jason Garrett still managed to overdo it in that area.
It was obvious the Giants had coverage problems. It was also obvious the Giants could stuff the run, as they compensated for the 251 yards of rushing given up to the Cowboys in Week 2 of the season.
In both games, however, the Giants ended up the winner.
"In this one, it’s one game. We’ve got to do something about it next game," noted Phillips, still trying to downplay the December demons.
"I’m not going to debate you," added Wade, cutting off the questions.
But with the Chargers next, and then the Saints, it won’t be about a debate. Now, it’s about survival.
And Wade, on that, we can all agree