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Cowboys players know they could be next
Posted Monday, Nov. 08, 2010
By Jan Hubbard
IRVING -- The questions came like flying daggers.
There was no dodging them, and no one tried. The daggers were clearly aimed at guilty parties and those charged with the offenses accepted blame.
Wade Phillips was fired on Monday and the Dallas Cowboys' 1-7 record indicated that a change needed to be made.
The few Cowboys who showed up in the locker room for interviews said to a man that they felt bad for their departed head coach. And there was no anger at the accusatory questions that were asked.
Did you guys let Wade down?
Did players quit?
Did players take advantage of Wade?
Was a change necessary?
It was a rugged day for Cowboys players because as the old saying goes, it's easier to fire the head coach than 53 players.
"I hope my reaction is the same as everybody around here," quarterback Jon Kitna said. "Any time the head coach gets fired, it's an indictment of the football team."
By their comments, the players understood that. When nose tackle Jay Ratliff was asked if the players had let Phillips down, Ratliff said:
"In some ways, yeah."
And what are those ways.
"We lost," Ratliff said. "We lost a lot of games. That's what I'm talking about."
Wide receiver Miles Austin agreed.
"Anytime someone loses their job, you obviously have something to do with it," Austin said. "It's tough, you know?"
When asked if in light of the record, a change had to be made, tight end Martellus Bennett again focused on the team.
"Sometimes it's not all on the coach," Bennett said. "We've got to make plays as players. Coaches take the blame for it, but a lot of times, players need to take some of that blame too."
A popular question to the players was whether they had quit on the field. That has been a theme for several weeks -- one that has been rejected by players in the past.
Cornerback Terence Newman said after the loss to Jacksonville that the Cowboys were not quitters, but more like someone who had encountered rough times.
"It's like a boxer," Newman said. "Once he gets hit in the face, he kind of gets that reaction of 'Woo, I just took one.'
"Sometimes a boxer is not used to that. Mike Tyson was the greatest fighter at one point in time. He got hit and he got hit and he ended up losing a fight because he wasn't used to what was happening. We're not used to what's happening so at certain points and times, your confidence can wane."
There seemed to be no doubt that the team, particularly the defense, has lost its confidence. As far as quitting, however, the players were adamant.
"No," Austin said. "No."
"No, I'm not going to say that," Ratliff said.
"No, I don't feel like we quit," kicker David Buehler said. "Look to the guy right and left from you and you expect to give it his all. And I think that's what we've been doing."
One reality that players recognize and owner Jerry Jones confirmed was that Phillips will not be the only one subjected to scrutiny.
"I hope it serves as a wakeup call for guys around here," Kitna said of Phillips' departure. "When they start making decisions like that and things like that happen, it's just a prelude of things to come as far as changes on the football team."
When asked if he expected his teammates to continue fighting to win during the last eight weeks of the season, Ratliff said:
"They better. I guess the job is on the line for all of us. We have to do something."
Jones said the players were correct. He said that when he addressed them in a team meeting to announce Phillips' firing, he minced no words.
"I told them the evaluation process would begin with finding the guys who play the hardest," Jones said. "I told them we were looking for players who want to win the most. Winning games and winning players will be the criteria upon which we move forward for the remainder of this season."
Jan Hubbard 817-390-7760
Posted Monday, Nov. 08, 2010
By Jan Hubbard
IRVING -- The questions came like flying daggers.
There was no dodging them, and no one tried. The daggers were clearly aimed at guilty parties and those charged with the offenses accepted blame.
Wade Phillips was fired on Monday and the Dallas Cowboys' 1-7 record indicated that a change needed to be made.
The few Cowboys who showed up in the locker room for interviews said to a man that they felt bad for their departed head coach. And there was no anger at the accusatory questions that were asked.
Did you guys let Wade down?
Did players quit?
Did players take advantage of Wade?
Was a change necessary?
It was a rugged day for Cowboys players because as the old saying goes, it's easier to fire the head coach than 53 players.
"I hope my reaction is the same as everybody around here," quarterback Jon Kitna said. "Any time the head coach gets fired, it's an indictment of the football team."
By their comments, the players understood that. When nose tackle Jay Ratliff was asked if the players had let Phillips down, Ratliff said:
"In some ways, yeah."
And what are those ways.
"We lost," Ratliff said. "We lost a lot of games. That's what I'm talking about."
Wide receiver Miles Austin agreed.
"Anytime someone loses their job, you obviously have something to do with it," Austin said. "It's tough, you know?"
When asked if in light of the record, a change had to be made, tight end Martellus Bennett again focused on the team.
"Sometimes it's not all on the coach," Bennett said. "We've got to make plays as players. Coaches take the blame for it, but a lot of times, players need to take some of that blame too."
A popular question to the players was whether they had quit on the field. That has been a theme for several weeks -- one that has been rejected by players in the past.
Cornerback Terence Newman said after the loss to Jacksonville that the Cowboys were not quitters, but more like someone who had encountered rough times.
"It's like a boxer," Newman said. "Once he gets hit in the face, he kind of gets that reaction of 'Woo, I just took one.'
"Sometimes a boxer is not used to that. Mike Tyson was the greatest fighter at one point in time. He got hit and he got hit and he ended up losing a fight because he wasn't used to what was happening. We're not used to what's happening so at certain points and times, your confidence can wane."
There seemed to be no doubt that the team, particularly the defense, has lost its confidence. As far as quitting, however, the players were adamant.
"No," Austin said. "No."
"No, I'm not going to say that," Ratliff said.
"No, I don't feel like we quit," kicker David Buehler said. "Look to the guy right and left from you and you expect to give it his all. And I think that's what we've been doing."
One reality that players recognize and owner Jerry Jones confirmed was that Phillips will not be the only one subjected to scrutiny.
"I hope it serves as a wakeup call for guys around here," Kitna said of Phillips' departure. "When they start making decisions like that and things like that happen, it's just a prelude of things to come as far as changes on the football team."
When asked if he expected his teammates to continue fighting to win during the last eight weeks of the season, Ratliff said:
"They better. I guess the job is on the line for all of us. We have to do something."
Jones said the players were correct. He said that when he addressed them in a team meeting to announce Phillips' firing, he minced no words.
"I told them the evaluation process would begin with finding the guys who play the hardest," Jones said. "I told them we were looking for players who want to win the most. Winning games and winning players will be the criteria upon which we move forward for the remainder of this season."
Jan Hubbard 817-390-7760
