COLUMN By DAVID MOORE / The Dallas Morning News
dmoore@dallasnews.com
IRVING – As mistakes mount and the Cowboys threaten to self-destruct like a tape in Mission: Impossible, the words of John McKay echo.
Asked about his team's execution in the wake of yet another loss, the former Tampa Bay coach responded with his now famous quote:
"I'm in favor of it."
There is no shortage of critics willing to hand the Cowboys blindfolds, offer them cigarettes and point them to the nearest wall. It's difficult to accept a team with this much talent and promise opening the season 1-3.
Is there a bold move on the horizon that can alter the team's direction? What can Jerry Jones do or Wade Phillips say to ensure a favorable outcome this weekend against Minnesota?
Nothing.
That's why you hear all this talk about hard work, attention to detail and continuing to grind away. There is no place to turn. The changes these Cowboys can set in motion are small, not large.
Phillips will not be fired, and he won't transform into some fire-breathing, foul-mouthed taskmaster who coaches through fear. It's not in his DNA.
A change at quarterback? That's not the problem.
Trade for a big-name player? The Vikings have already done that.
Besides, is there one player the Cowboys could bring in who would unquestionably jump-start the season?
No. This malaise isn't about one player or one position. It's across the board.
Replace Leonard Davis with Montrae Holland? You can make that argument – Phillips said Monday that Davis remains the starter – but how often have you known a team to rally around a change at right guard?
Felix Jones became the featured back against Tennessee. It sparked the running game but didn't spark a victory.
The Cowboys need to do better. They don't necessarily need to do different.
"I don't think differently is the biggest culprit here," Phillips said. "I think, certainly, better. Consistent. We've had some consistency as far as what we're doing. But we've fallen in some areas, and we've got to do enough to win the ballgame.
"That's what we haven't done."
The Cowboys tweaked their practice schedule. They've held a players-only meeting and massaged their nickel and dime packages.
But major changes in personnel and culture? Those are made during the off-season and training camp.
"I'm not looking around thinking, 'I wish we would have done this or done that, or we could get this guy,' " linebacker Keith Brooking said. "That shouldn't be your mindset at all."
Here's something hard to fathom as the Cowboys sink to the bottom of the NFC East. This team isn't all that different from past versions.
"When you start losing, people try to imply so many things are going wrong," defensive end Marcus Spears said.
"Some of these same things go on when we win games. They're biting us right now, these problems and these penalties. This team may not be the team to overcome that."
The Cowboys are 0-2 when they commit 10 or more penalties. Their record in such games is 10-4 over the previous three seasons.
The Cowboys are 0-3 when they lose the turnover battle. They were 2-2 when that happened last season.
These Cowboys have the same identity under Phillips they did the previous three seasons, when they went 33-15. The only difference this season is they've been unable to overcome their mistakes.
"Statistically, it's not a lot of difference," Phillips said. "It's just off a little bit. It's just off-kilter, barely, in those games that we've lost."
The changes made in the next few days will be subtle. Brooking spoke of the need for players to be critical of themselves but not others.
You practice, you get better and you execute. That is the avenue of change open to the Cowboys.
"It's imminent that we get things done," Phillips said.
Before this season self-destructs in five, four, three...
dmoore@dallasnews.com
IRVING – As mistakes mount and the Cowboys threaten to self-destruct like a tape in Mission: Impossible, the words of John McKay echo.
Asked about his team's execution in the wake of yet another loss, the former Tampa Bay coach responded with his now famous quote:
"I'm in favor of it."
There is no shortage of critics willing to hand the Cowboys blindfolds, offer them cigarettes and point them to the nearest wall. It's difficult to accept a team with this much talent and promise opening the season 1-3.
Is there a bold move on the horizon that can alter the team's direction? What can Jerry Jones do or Wade Phillips say to ensure a favorable outcome this weekend against Minnesota?
Nothing.
That's why you hear all this talk about hard work, attention to detail and continuing to grind away. There is no place to turn. The changes these Cowboys can set in motion are small, not large.
Phillips will not be fired, and he won't transform into some fire-breathing, foul-mouthed taskmaster who coaches through fear. It's not in his DNA.
A change at quarterback? That's not the problem.
Trade for a big-name player? The Vikings have already done that.
Besides, is there one player the Cowboys could bring in who would unquestionably jump-start the season?
No. This malaise isn't about one player or one position. It's across the board.
Replace Leonard Davis with Montrae Holland? You can make that argument – Phillips said Monday that Davis remains the starter – but how often have you known a team to rally around a change at right guard?
Felix Jones became the featured back against Tennessee. It sparked the running game but didn't spark a victory.
The Cowboys need to do better. They don't necessarily need to do different.
"I don't think differently is the biggest culprit here," Phillips said. "I think, certainly, better. Consistent. We've had some consistency as far as what we're doing. But we've fallen in some areas, and we've got to do enough to win the ballgame.
"That's what we haven't done."
The Cowboys tweaked their practice schedule. They've held a players-only meeting and massaged their nickel and dime packages.
But major changes in personnel and culture? Those are made during the off-season and training camp.
"I'm not looking around thinking, 'I wish we would have done this or done that, or we could get this guy,' " linebacker Keith Brooking said. "That shouldn't be your mindset at all."
Here's something hard to fathom as the Cowboys sink to the bottom of the NFC East. This team isn't all that different from past versions.
"When you start losing, people try to imply so many things are going wrong," defensive end Marcus Spears said.
"Some of these same things go on when we win games. They're biting us right now, these problems and these penalties. This team may not be the team to overcome that."
The Cowboys are 0-2 when they commit 10 or more penalties. Their record in such games is 10-4 over the previous three seasons.
The Cowboys are 0-3 when they lose the turnover battle. They were 2-2 when that happened last season.
These Cowboys have the same identity under Phillips they did the previous three seasons, when they went 33-15. The only difference this season is they've been unable to overcome their mistakes.
"Statistically, it's not a lot of difference," Phillips said. "It's just off a little bit. It's just off-kilter, barely, in those games that we've lost."
The changes made in the next few days will be subtle. Brooking spoke of the need for players to be critical of themselves but not others.
You practice, you get better and you execute. That is the avenue of change open to the Cowboys.
"It's imminent that we get things done," Phillips said.
Before this season self-destructs in five, four, three...
