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Resilient Cowboys need to show they can bounce back again
December, 1, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- As Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke Friday morning, he was at some hunting spot somewhere, talking about the glorious view.
It had to be better than the view he had of the 33-10 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Philadelphia Eagles because Jones was speaking optimistically about what he sees ahead for his team.
“We’ve got it all out there,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “This bunch can do it and they can get the job done.”
If the Cowboys make the playoffs -- and it didn’t seem like an if when they were riding a six-game winning streak -- then they will have to show the same resiliency they have shown throughout the season.
They were able to bounce back from their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a road win at the Tennessee Titans. They were able to overcome a 21-0 deficit to beat the St. Louis Rams, a 10-0 deficit to beat the Seattle Seahawks and a 21-10 halftime deficit to beat the New York Giants.
“I think we have the right kind of guys in our locker room and on our coaching staff, first and foremost,” coach Jason Garrett said. “When you have good character guys with the right makeup, you’re going to be able to do that. But you also have to be mature. That’s part of this league. Other teams are going to have success on a given play, series or a quarter of a game, and you have to keep coming back. You have to handle the adversity just like you have to handle the success -- put it behind you and move on to the next challenge. That happens within games, it happens from week to week, the best teams are able to do that.”
Quibble with the fact that the Cowboys have had to face some difficult in-game circumstances to overcome, but at least they have done it.
And they have to do it again if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009. It starts with Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bears.
“I think this is exactly that situation where we can rely on that previous experience being able to bounce back, being able to fight back from some adversity on the road and go out and get a win,” center Travis Frederick said. “We talk about it and that we still have a long road ahead of us but we’re still in a good spot. We do need to recover. We need to go and we need to play our best ball in the home stretch but we still have that opportunity in front of us.”
A loss would not eliminate the Cowboys from playoff contention, but it would lead to the "same-old-Cowboys" argument that is bubbling below the surface after they have followed that 6-1 start with a 2-3 stretch that includes three losses at AT&T Stadium.
“I think it’s just about this week. More than anything, it’s a time to start playing your best football and our football team needs to understand the sense of urgency is now,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “I think that it’s time to take the next step and I think our guys understand the sense of urgency of right now and what’s available and what’s ahead of them if they can go on and play their best football.”
December, 1, 2014
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- As Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke Friday morning, he was at some hunting spot somewhere, talking about the glorious view.
It had to be better than the view he had of the 33-10 Thanksgiving Day loss to the Philadelphia Eagles because Jones was speaking optimistically about what he sees ahead for his team.
“We’ve got it all out there,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “This bunch can do it and they can get the job done.”
If the Cowboys make the playoffs -- and it didn’t seem like an if when they were riding a six-game winning streak -- then they will have to show the same resiliency they have shown throughout the season.
They were able to bounce back from their Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers with a road win at the Tennessee Titans. They were able to overcome a 21-0 deficit to beat the St. Louis Rams, a 10-0 deficit to beat the Seattle Seahawks and a 21-10 halftime deficit to beat the New York Giants.
“I think we have the right kind of guys in our locker room and on our coaching staff, first and foremost,” coach Jason Garrett said. “When you have good character guys with the right makeup, you’re going to be able to do that. But you also have to be mature. That’s part of this league. Other teams are going to have success on a given play, series or a quarter of a game, and you have to keep coming back. You have to handle the adversity just like you have to handle the success -- put it behind you and move on to the next challenge. That happens within games, it happens from week to week, the best teams are able to do that.”
Quibble with the fact that the Cowboys have had to face some difficult in-game circumstances to overcome, but at least they have done it.
And they have to do it again if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009. It starts with Thursday’s game against the Chicago Bears.
“I think this is exactly that situation where we can rely on that previous experience being able to bounce back, being able to fight back from some adversity on the road and go out and get a win,” center Travis Frederick said. “We talk about it and that we still have a long road ahead of us but we’re still in a good spot. We do need to recover. We need to go and we need to play our best ball in the home stretch but we still have that opportunity in front of us.”
A loss would not eliminate the Cowboys from playoff contention, but it would lead to the "same-old-Cowboys" argument that is bubbling below the surface after they have followed that 6-1 start with a 2-3 stretch that includes three losses at AT&T Stadium.
“I think it’s just about this week. More than anything, it’s a time to start playing your best football and our football team needs to understand the sense of urgency is now,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “I think that it’s time to take the next step and I think our guys understand the sense of urgency of right now and what’s available and what’s ahead of them if they can go on and play their best football.”
