Post by MR COWBOY on Dec 8, 2009 19:35:18 GMT -7
Phillips lacks in logic while Cowboys lack inspiration
By GIL LeBRETON
star-telegram.com
The 9-3 San Diego Chargers come to town Sunday. A visit to the 12-0 New Orleans Saints comes after that.
Yet, here was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, telling the media that there’s nothing special about December.
In fact, the Cowboys are winners, Wade Phillips said. Just add up the smiles.
"Well, they’ve won eight games and they’ve lost four," Phillips said Monday at Valley Ranch. "That’s where we are.
"I don’t think we have a team of losers."
No. Not yet.
But CBS11-TV’s Steve Dennis, who asked the original question, made a proper point when he reminded Wade that the coach’s "winners" hadn’t exactly won anything of substance lately.
"No," Phillips answered. "We haven’t lost anything, either.
"I think they’re winners. They’ve won eight games already. You wouldn’t call 8-and-4 a winning team?"
Oh, wonderful. The Cowboys lost a meaningful game to a division rival at, perhaps, the worst possible time, and the coach is going to argue semantics with the media?
The stage for Monday’s mini-showdown probably was set at Giants Stadium on Sunday, when Phillips told the media in his postgame interview session that the Cowboys’ habitual post-Thanksgiving woes are "something you made up."
Right. We’ve had 13 years to make it up.
It’s been that long since the franchise’s last playoff victory. It’s been that long, 1996, since the Cowboys forged into January on anything resembling a high note.
But Phillips’ spin campaign with the media seems to be the same line of fluff that he’s currently dispensing to the team — namely, that past Decembers don’t matter. The players, he says, need to focus on the December games ahead.
That led to another trip on the verbal merry-go-round Monday, as Wade tried to void ownership of the franchise’s recent "track record" in December games.
This Cowboys team doesn’t have a December track record, Phillips said, because it hasn’t played all of its December games yet.
"You can’t say this year’s team hasn’t done that, because it hasn’t come up yet," Phillips said, nodding as if he had just nailed his word in a spelling bee.
Well, duh. At least he didn’t start handing out pocket schedules.
The problem, of course, is that Circling the Wagons is seldom a problem-solving strategy. And the Cowboys do have problems.
They had problems with big plays. They had problems running the ball. And on the few times that their quarterback did make a poor pass Sunday, one was big enough to miss a wide-open Roy Williams with just four minutes to play.
On the NFL road, stuff happens — stuff like a 74-yard touchdown on a swing pass and a 79-yard punt return and your once-dependable kicker missing a kick that he’s made a dozen times before.
On the NFL road, the strong survive. And I’m not sure that that describes the Cowboys
After giving the Giants their second victory of the season (a bad tiebreaker omen) over the Cowboys, and after giving away sole possession of the NFC East lead, previous Cowboys coaches — some of them, say, named Parcells — likely would have been livid after Sunday’s game. Players’ ears would have been burning.
Instead, Phillips barked back at the media.
"I coach them the way I want to coach them," he said Monday. "You can report the way you want to report.
"I think I get over what needs to be said to my football team. I think they understand their responsibilities and what we need to do."
Maybe they do. Let’s look at the track record.
Oops.
Phillips’ repeated message Monday was that it’s a 16-game season. The suggestion was that we all check back when the 16 games are over.
Unfortunately, that’s the way this team plays. There seldom seems to be a sense of urgency.
You want urgency? You should have been watching the Washington Redskins on Sunday, as they tried to pin the first loss on the Saints. The Redskins are playing better, and suddenly the Cowboys’ Christmas-weekend visit doesn’t seem like such a stocking stuffer.
You want urgency? Look around the NFC East.
The Giants won both games against the Cowboys. The Philadelphia Eagles have surged back to knot the Cowboys for the division lead.
You could make a case that of the four teams in the division, the Cowboys are playing worst.
Yet, the head coach says they’re winners.
Prove it.
By GIL LeBRETON
star-telegram.com
The 9-3 San Diego Chargers come to town Sunday. A visit to the 12-0 New Orleans Saints comes after that.
Yet, here was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys on Monday, telling the media that there’s nothing special about December.
In fact, the Cowboys are winners, Wade Phillips said. Just add up the smiles.
"Well, they’ve won eight games and they’ve lost four," Phillips said Monday at Valley Ranch. "That’s where we are.
"I don’t think we have a team of losers."
No. Not yet.
But CBS11-TV’s Steve Dennis, who asked the original question, made a proper point when he reminded Wade that the coach’s "winners" hadn’t exactly won anything of substance lately.
"No," Phillips answered. "We haven’t lost anything, either.
"I think they’re winners. They’ve won eight games already. You wouldn’t call 8-and-4 a winning team?"
Oh, wonderful. The Cowboys lost a meaningful game to a division rival at, perhaps, the worst possible time, and the coach is going to argue semantics with the media?
The stage for Monday’s mini-showdown probably was set at Giants Stadium on Sunday, when Phillips told the media in his postgame interview session that the Cowboys’ habitual post-Thanksgiving woes are "something you made up."
Right. We’ve had 13 years to make it up.
It’s been that long since the franchise’s last playoff victory. It’s been that long, 1996, since the Cowboys forged into January on anything resembling a high note.
But Phillips’ spin campaign with the media seems to be the same line of fluff that he’s currently dispensing to the team — namely, that past Decembers don’t matter. The players, he says, need to focus on the December games ahead.
That led to another trip on the verbal merry-go-round Monday, as Wade tried to void ownership of the franchise’s recent "track record" in December games.
This Cowboys team doesn’t have a December track record, Phillips said, because it hasn’t played all of its December games yet.
"You can’t say this year’s team hasn’t done that, because it hasn’t come up yet," Phillips said, nodding as if he had just nailed his word in a spelling bee.
Well, duh. At least he didn’t start handing out pocket schedules.
The problem, of course, is that Circling the Wagons is seldom a problem-solving strategy. And the Cowboys do have problems.
They had problems with big plays. They had problems running the ball. And on the few times that their quarterback did make a poor pass Sunday, one was big enough to miss a wide-open Roy Williams with just four minutes to play.
On the NFL road, stuff happens — stuff like a 74-yard touchdown on a swing pass and a 79-yard punt return and your once-dependable kicker missing a kick that he’s made a dozen times before.
On the NFL road, the strong survive. And I’m not sure that that describes the Cowboys
After giving the Giants their second victory of the season (a bad tiebreaker omen) over the Cowboys, and after giving away sole possession of the NFC East lead, previous Cowboys coaches — some of them, say, named Parcells — likely would have been livid after Sunday’s game. Players’ ears would have been burning.
Instead, Phillips barked back at the media.
"I coach them the way I want to coach them," he said Monday. "You can report the way you want to report.
"I think I get over what needs to be said to my football team. I think they understand their responsibilities and what we need to do."
Maybe they do. Let’s look at the track record.
Oops.
Phillips’ repeated message Monday was that it’s a 16-game season. The suggestion was that we all check back when the 16 games are over.
Unfortunately, that’s the way this team plays. There seldom seems to be a sense of urgency.
You want urgency? You should have been watching the Washington Redskins on Sunday, as they tried to pin the first loss on the Saints. The Redskins are playing better, and suddenly the Cowboys’ Christmas-weekend visit doesn’t seem like such a stocking stuffer.
You want urgency? Look around the NFC East.
The Giants won both games against the Cowboys. The Philadelphia Eagles have surged back to knot the Cowboys for the division lead.
You could make a case that of the four teams in the division, the Cowboys are playing worst.
Yet, the head coach says they’re winners.
Prove it.