Wade Phillips press conference 12/31/07
Ed. note - Today’s press conference was amusing. Try as the press might, they couldn’t get Wade to go down the path of December swoon, no momentum, or the team is playing bad. It was all 13-3 for Wade. So I shortened the Q&A to paraphrase Wade’s answers.
Wade: We came through no injuries. Keith Davis was banged up but he is fine, some of the guys like Ratliff and Newman, those guys should practice this week. Gurode is a little iffy but we expect him to play in two weeks. Terrell is in a boot but we feel good about him playing. It looks like we’ll be healthy. We had a tremendous year, we accomplished all our goals, it’s new season now.
Will Newman be close to 100%?
He could have played the way he did the last few games, we just though another 3 weeks would be better.
Terry Glenn?
He came through OK, he got banged up a little and that was good for him, that’s what we wanted. We also wanted better field conditions, but he got into the action and got banged up a couple of times. That gave us and him confidence for the playoffs.
Did you think Landry’s hit was late or cheap?
No, on tape he is going for the ball on the ground and then he slid.
More Glenn?
Going into the game we wanted to throw him the football, get it to him some, it was hard to throw the ball anyways. We saw the weather conditions, but wanted to get him action and that was a real positive. The big part was getting banged around some and he moved well.
Concerned about your teams play down the stretch?
13-3.
Concerned?
Take the whole season into account.
But what about momentum?
13-3.
Disappointed in your team’s play lately?
Take the whole season into account.
Why is JJ’s production down this year?
Our other back had nearly 1,000 yards. We use two backs and one gets more than the other. Put them both together and you get a lot of yards.
Tony Sparano and Jason Garrett?
We may have some guys interviewed and that’s great, several guys could be good coaches. That’s part of being 13-3, others think we’re successful. We have a bye, if they are interviewed they are open to do it. (Sparano?) Outstanding coach, he’s got all the attributes of a head coach, works well with people, his players play for him, that’s important. Sharp guy with X’s and O’s and would work well putting a staff together.
Tank Johnson?
Played pretty well, he did some things. Would like to have Ratliff to alternate. Tank’s getting better and better, he made some real good plays.
Stinking Their Way Into the Playoffs
It wasn't pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly, but the Cowboys made it through the last week of the season without major injuries and are headed into the playoffs with home field advantage right up until the Super Bowl.
But, gosh, could we have gone out any uglier? I watched the backups for the Colts fight with the Titans and make Tennessee's quest for the playoffs difficult, couldn't the Cowboys show up just a little bit? They looked more interested in flagging down a hot dog vendor from the sidelines than playing in the game.
And, I might have to take back what I said about the Vikings being a better choice to be eliminated than the Redskins. While the Vikings do have the advantage of at least doing something great, that Todd Collins fellow looked pretty sharp.
Of course, against a Cowboys defense that looked like it wanted to take a nap, I think almost anyone would have looked sharp. And a Cowboys team with all its starters in a playoff game will definitely be a different group. But, Collins does seem to have that Redskins team playing at a level far above what we saw in the first matchup.
Well, it was ugly, but the playoffs are the playoffs, and the Cowboys take their time getting ready for their next game after earning themselves a first round bye.
Monday Housecleaning
– The Cowboys pick, obtained from Cleveland, will be the 22nd overall. Still, not bad. I’m sticking with my original prediction, that Dallas goes cornerback with this pick, though wide receiver could also factor. T.O. and Patrick Crayton are under contract. Sam Hurd looks like a good #4. Where’s the speedy wideout to replace Terry Glenn?
That said, I look for free agency to scratch that itch. D-back baby.
– Dallas plays the NFC West and the AFC North next year. Being first place finishers they also draw the top seeds in the NFC North (Green Bay) and the South (Tampa Bay). Therefore:
- Home — Giants, Eagles, Redskins, Bucs, Seahawks, 49ers, Bengals, Ravens;
- Away — Giants, Eagles, Redskins, Packers, Cards, Rams, Steelers, Browns;
We’re going to see Dallas in some late season, cold weather games, possibly Lambeau Field, Heinz Field and in Cleveland.
We’ll also see some team that rarely come to Texas Stadium, like the Seahawks, Bengals and Ravens. I don’t think the Baltimore Ravens have ever played in Dallas.
Cowboys vs. Redskins: What they’re saying
I guess we’ll spend some time talking about the disaster that was yesterday. I don’t want to dwell on it too long, both for my own personal sanity and for the fact I don’t think it will have much to do with how we play in two weeks. But you can’t be too blasé about the loss, which was about as bad a football game as any Cowboys team has played in a long time. To truly get the picture of the magnitude of the beatdown, you have to look at the stats. One yard rushing? Are you serious? That’s mission impossible yet we somehow managed to do it. And what was up with Jason Witten, he sure dropped a few out there that looked catchable. Miles Austin had a chance to show something, that something just may be he has the hands of a defensive back. I could go on because the list is long.
Let’s hear what the players and coaches had to say:
Wade Phillips says it pretty succinctly here:
"One team was inspired and one team wasn't," Phillips said after the game. "I guess I didn't do a good job of getting our team ready to play. I thought we would play better than we did, but we didn't."
I know the game was meaningless, and we were trying to protect players like we should have, but the effort put forth by the guys actually on the field should resemble an NFL team. If you lose the game because you were playing backups, then that’s OK. If you lose the game because even your starter’s played like dung, that’s a demerit. In some ways, it’s on you Wade, for letting your team prepare for a game and play like that.
Tony Romo:
"That's just passion and emotion involved in the game," Romo said. "That part of it is basic - one team is going to sacrifice their bodies to stop the run and they did. You have to give them credit. They played with a lot of emotion and a lot of intensity."
Ehh...I have to say I hate this quote. What he specifically said is our defense didn’t play to win the game, they just played because it was required. More generally, he’s saying this team didn’t have any pride to show up at the game and play some football. Again, we know the game was meaningless but to totally mail-it-in and not even have a little pride in your game, unlike other playoff teams who won or were at least competitive in their games - that smells like yesterday’s fish.
More Phillips:
"I'm not concerned about anything other than this next ball game and I think we'll be ready to play," Phillips said. "We won 13 games. We went 13-3 and had the best record in the NFC. I think we're fine. We had a bad game against Philadelphia when I thought we could be playing at our best. This game, I'm going to discount this one a little bit."
This I also agree with from Wade; yesterday’s disaster is yesterday’s news. You are starting the second season and everything is wiped clean except for two things, a few teams get the advantage of a bye week and one team in a conference gets home-field advantage throughout. So you’re playing from an advantage already,.
Now, a loss isn’t a good thing. And a loss of this ineptitude is never good. But, if you want to take something from this game, take the fact that all your hard work through the season and all the accolades you’ve received and all the records you set are dust if you lose in two weeks. You’ll be remembered as a major bust. A team that that played above its head but that folded like a Taco Bell burrito once the real games began.
"It's frustrating," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. "But this thing might be what you want with these two weeks to live in this pile of you know what. It could inspire our team."
Indeed. "Live in this pile of you know what." Even Jerry wanted to bust out the expletives to explain this game.
Romo tries to offer some defense for the way they played.
"We know what we're doing, and we held some things back," Romo said. "We're more than confident going into the playoffs. ... It's interesting because you're in a tough predicament: you might play them again, you might not."
Sure, that may be true, but you’re still guilty as charged.
This game was so bad that MB3 needed just 19 yards to get to 1,000 for the season – and he actually got further away from that mark. On the other hand, Colts WR Reggie Wayne caught 12 passes in three series to become the leading receiver in yards for the NFL and reach 100 catches. Yeah, the Colts were at home and in a dome, but there’s just no excuse for one-yard rushing.
"We didn't execute; we didn't play with emotion, energy, enthusiasm; we didn't play with any of that," Pro Bowl guard Leonard Davis said. "They played with all three of those better than we did."
Our running game better find itself come the playoffs. Perhaps the presence of Andre Gurode is what we need, because it has to get better.
"We're concentrating on who we're playing next," Pro Bowl tackle Flozell Adams said. "It definitely won't look like it did today, I promise you that."
OK, we’re marking down that promise.
Taking a detour down a side-street, what’s up with Terry Glenn and Tony Romo accusing LeRon Landry of a cheap-shot? It sure didn’t look that way to me, it appeared that he slid on a wet carpet after trying to make a play and ended up right at Glenn’s feet. Maybe it was just frustration on the Cowboys part but I didn’t see any evil-intent from Landry on the play.
"It shocked me," said Glenn, who was also accidentally knocked down in warmups by cornerback Jacques Reeves. "I had no idea that was going to happen. Those guys were out there trying to really take it to my knee. They know if they see us again, they will have problems, especially in Dallas. I think they were trying to hurt me."
Landry was asked about the low hit after the game and didn't seem to think anything was wrong.
"Then stop playing football," he said. "I'm not getting a big head or anything, but if he thought the hits were a little low and this and that, it doesn't matter. It's all part of the game. It's going to be physical."
At least Glenn got a few reps in and got hit so he knows he’s ready to play now.
So the Cowboys have two weeks of practice to right this thing. They have the talent to get it done, as long as T.O. plays. They should now have the motivation to know that this could all become a bad dream in two weeks if they don’t get their head out of their collective hind-parts and start playing good football again.
"We really didn’t show up today — point blank," safety Roy Williams conceded. "We didn’t even show up on the field. Mentally and everything else, we weren’t there.
"We did not show up and the score proved that, and our play on the field proved that. I don’t know how people are going to respond to this. I know that we better get our stuff together."
Roy is church-folk so he used the euphemism "stuff" for "doo-doo", or maybe it was something a little more graphic. Anyway, they have two weeks to get their "stuff" together.
Wade?
"Yeah, they can turn it on in two weeks," Phillips said. "They're going to be ready; I can guarantee you that."
Cowboys Ripped by Skins 27-6 in Regular Season Finale
It was a game that mattered very little to Dallas, and Dallas fans hope that was the reason for the lousy play. The Cowboys played most of their starters early on, but it didn’t seem to matter. The Redskins were playing with a purpose and weren’t going to hope for a Minnesota loss to get them where they wanted to do.
Tony Romo threw for 86 yards and went 7 completions for 16 attempts. In doing so, setting a new franchise record for completions in a single season. Likely the only possible positive to come out of this game. The Cowboys rushed for just 1 yard the entire game, with Julius Jones leading the team in rushing yards with 7. Terry Glenn played, but the rust was evident, as he was unable to catch either of the two passes thrown his way. Miles Austin had a chance to make a couple of big plays, but both times dropped the ball.
Todd Collins was filling in again for Jason Campbell, and lead Washington to a win with another solid performance. He went 22 of 31 for 244 yards and had 1 TD pass to Santana Moss. Clinton Portis had a very big day, running for 104 yards on 25 attempts and 2 touchdowns. Clinton Portis is the first runningback to run for over 100 yards on the Cowboys this season.
Tidbits
Jason Witten needed only 8 receptions to be only the second TE in NFL history to end a season 100 receptions, he only was able to get 2 receptions and will end the regular season with 94 receptions. The Dallas Cowboys may have played a vast majority of their starters, four did not make the trip. Terrell Owens, Andre Gurode, Terrence Newman, and Jay Ratliff all sat out this game.
The Washington Redskins will be playing against the Seattle Seahawks in the playoff wild card game. The last time the Redskins were in the playoffs they played Seattle and lost 20-10.
The Cowboys over the last several years haven’t had much luck in the seasons finale. Their last win in the final game of the regular season came in the 1999 season where they beat the New York Giants 26-18.
Browns Watch
Update: The Titans pull out a 16-10 win on the cool leadership of, drumroll please, Kerry Collins, who subs for an injured Vince Young. Cleveland, at 10-6 should get the highest non-playoff draft slot.
The Titans hold a 7-3 halftime lead. The Colts are resting all key starters — no Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Dallas Clark or Joseph Addai. Reggie Wayne played until he passed Randy Moss as the NFL receiving yardage leader, then got the hook.
If Vince Young and Co. hold on, they get the final AFC playoff spot and bounce Cleveland and hence Dallas to the 20th pick.
If the Titans win, they leave Indy at 13-3 and Dallas in the 31st spot with their pick.
Washington 27, Dallas 6: Good Thing This One Didn’t Matter. Right?
Let’s get the bad out of the way:
* The Cowboys managed a total of one yard rushing. Marion Barber entered the game needing 19 yard to surpass 1,000 for the season. He finished with negative 6.
* Tony Romo played the entire first half plus a drive in the third quarter. He was not sharp. He was also nearly injured on the final play of the first half on an attempted Hail Mary when he was sacked.
* Roy Williams missed tackles.
* Roy Williams was a liability in coverage.
* Roy Williams is just awful right now.
* Terry Glenn reinjured his knee in the first quarter. The other receivers had a difficult time getting separation. We need Terrell Owens, badly.
* No team in team history has lost its final game and still went on to appear in a Super Bowl. Unless this was just a matter of the team taking a game off, this year won’t be any different.
No, I do not think that this game is now meaningful because the Cowboys lost. However, the team has no momentum at all now that we wait two weeks to see if everyone heals and to see who we play.
Dallas was not the only playoff team to lose today. Both Tampa Bay and Seattle fell to lesser opponents (Carolina and Atlanta, respectively). The Giants, of course, lost to New England on Saturday. Pittsburgh and Jacksonville also suffered defeats today. On the other hand, none of those teams apparently looked quite as inept as Dallas did.
* * *
Recent History Lesson
A few things to consider regarding team performances late in the season:
* Chicago tanked its final game of 2006 in a 26-7 loss to division rival Green Bay. It dropped the Bears to 13-3, but they were able to record wins against Seattle and New Orleans to advance.
* Indianapolis won three of its final five last year before winning four playoff games en route to the title.
* Seattle also lost its regular season finale in 2005 to drop to 13-3. The Seahawks then won two home playoff games to move on to the Super Bowl.
* Philadelphia in 2004 dropped its final two games, including a 38-10 drubbing at the hands of the Bengals, to finish the regular season at 13-3. The Eagles then won two straight home games to advance to the Super Bowl.
THUS, the past three NFC champions have lost their season finales to finish with 13-3 records. All three had home field advantage, and all advanced to the Super Bowl.
[And then lost, but that is another matter]
* * *
1990s Dynasty History
Just for the sake of perspective, here are some facts about the Cowboys’ dynasty years of 1992 through 1996.
1992: Dallas finished the season with wins over Atlanta (41-17) and Chicago (27-14) to go 13-3. The Cowboys went on to win Super Bowl XXVII.
1993: Dallas wrapped up home field advantage with an overtime win at New York in Emmitt Smith’s famous performance with a separated shoulder. Three wins after that and the Cowboys were back-to-back champions.
1994: Dallas had a lackluster performance at New York in the final week, losing 15-10 without Emmitt Smith, who had suffered a hamstring injury. Dallas beat Green Bay in the divisional round, so the loss did not have a direct effect on the playoffs, but the Cowboys lost in the NFC Championship Game to San Francisco.
1995: The Cowboys recorded a 37-13 rout of the Cardinals to give Dallas momentum heading into the playoffs. The Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX that season.
1996: Dallas played a meaningless game at Washington in 1996 that was rather similar to the one played this Sunday. The 10-5 Cowboys had wrapped up the NFC East title and sat their starters, knowing that they would play in the Wildcard round the following week. The Cowboys suffered a 37-10 blowout at Washington but still won their first playoff game, 40-15 vs. Minnesota. That was, as you probably know, the most recent playoff win that Dallas has had.
* * *
Playoff Picture
If you are not familiar with it, here is the playoff picture for the Cowboys. The playoff seeds are as follows:
#3 Seattle
#4 Tampa Bay
#5 N.Y. Giants
#6 Washington
Washington plays at Seattle, while the Giants play at Tampa Bay.
If Washington wins, the Cowboys will host the Redskins in two weeks.
If Seattle wins, then Dallas hosts the winner of Tampa Bay and New York.
This Game Means Nothing, Reason 37
Flashback — Dallas beats the Redskins at midseason. Why?
Because Jason Garrett had Terrell Owens going nuts in the middle of the field. He had four TDs that day, and three of them came when he motioned into the middle of the field and torched linebackers or safeties.
Was T.O. playing today? No. Dallas’ top matchup nightmare was gone. And even then Miles Austin had a chance to get some big highlight plays, and dropped two TD passes.
Pro Bowl wide receivers have value. You saw exhibit A today.
Now, let’s consider another very important factor. The Vikings lost today. Washington would have made the playoffs even if Dallas beat them.
Why load up, create a special menu game plan that can expose them and then have its surprise value lost to you if the Redskins beat Seattle and come to Dallas in two weeks time? How stupid will the OC and DC feel having wasted special blitzes, coverage packages, etc. on a meaningless game, and then making their playoff week that much harder?
What’s that Robert Johnson line, “if you cry for a nickel you’ll die for a dime?”
This game was a nickel in terms of value. It gets Dallas no closer to the Super Bowl. It can only serve to diminish the team’s chances if it wasted vital strategic secrets and/or got key people hurt.
Washington has to travel cross country, to play on Saturday, against a Seattle team that rested a lot of key people today and hence lost to Atlanta. Who’s going to be better prepared for the short week?
Lackluster Cowboys Fall To Redskins In The Rain At Landover, 27-6.
After watching the Cowboys basically hand the Redskins a trip to the playoffs with a 27-6 loss, I must admit I expected them to lose, but not in such a embarassing manner. The Redskins were definitely more motivated and outplayed Dallas in every aspect of the game, but I had hoped the Cowboys starters would at least perform well in the first half before giving the game over to Brad Johnson and the second team.
Dallas’ failed to block much up front and had the worst rushing game of the season, and the offense sputtered for the fourth game in a row. Romo had a measley 86-yards passing with one interception and no TD’s and Witten only managed two catches for about 15-yards. Barber didn’t get anywhere close to the 19-yards he needed to surpass a 1,000-yards rushing for the season and Miles Austin dropped two TD passes. Overall, a very bleak performance heading into the playoffs, although Romo did set the Cowboys’ completion record at 335. The only highlight of the night.
Terry Glenn left the game early in the second quarter with no catches after a questionable hit in the knees by Redskins S Laron Landry when the ball was clearly dead. Phillips had said if the weather wasn’t good, he would see limited play, but I think this was even more limited than planned.
The defense actually started out playing well, but didn’t get much help from the offense, as DeMarcus Ware got a sack and forced two fumbles and Marcus Spears also got a sack on Todd Collins. But Collins and Clinton Portis were too much for the Cowboys today as they surrendered their first 100-yard rusher of the season to Portis, who had 104-yards and 2 TD’s. Collins hit Santana Moss on a 42-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to end their scoring and put the game away.
Dallas’ Brad Johnson mounted a last-minute drive getting inside the Redskins’ five-yard line with a first and goal, but once again Austin dropped a second certain TD pass and they had to settle for their second Nick Folk FG, who also missed a short FG-try in the first quarter. I have to say I thought it rather classless of the Redskins to blitz on the third-and-goal play, but then they have never been accused of being a classy team.
Although the Redskins clearly outplayed the Cowboys in this one, snapping Dallas’ record of 10 consecutive road game wins, they will not get past the Seahawks next weekend in Seattle. Tonight’s game would be great motivation for Dallas if Washington were to beat Seattle on the road and then face Dallas at home the following week, but I just don’t see it happening.
Sunday night football open thread
Here’s an open thread for the Titans/Colts game.