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By Jon Machota 56m ago
FRISCO, Texas — Sunday at The Star began just like most Wednesdays during the season. Jason Garrett started his news conference a little after 10:35 a.m. About six minutes later, it was over. The Cowboys head coach then chatted with reporters off the record for another eight minutes, a few feet from the franchise’s five Super Bowl trophies displayed near the entrance of the team’s headquarters.
This Sunday was being treated like a Wednesday because Dallas plays at Chicago Thursday night. Although the practice schedule is adjusted, the goal is to make every week seem similar to the last. The Cowboys have lost six of their last nine games, and their 2019 campaign is on life support, but Garrett’s goal is to stay the course. He’s not a fan of making significant in-season changes.
That includes his clothing choices. For most of Garrett’s time as Cowboys head coach, he has sported a blue, long-sleeve crew-neck team shirt during the week. That changed last year after Dallas started 3-5. He then began wearing a slightly heavier version of the shirt with a hood on the back. The Cowboys finished the season winning seven of their last eight, including a wild card victory at home against the Seattle Seahawks. While he stuck with the new shirt, Garrett insisted he was not superstitious. It was about “routine.” Players have joked about how their coach prefers that term over “superstition.”
The long-sleeve hoodie returned this season as the North Texas weather cooled. The wins haven’t followed, but like last season, there’s hope around The Star that a similar late-season run can be made.
During Garrett’s off-the-record time with reporters on Sunday, his demeanor was the same as it has been during most of the previous sessions that have become known over the years as the “walk-off.” He seemed to be in a good mood, answering questions with great detail, smiling, upbeat, confident. Garrett certainly didn’t appear to be nervous about his current situation. After all, his team is now 6-6, fresh off one of their worst performances of the season, at a time when a relatively healthy group should be playing at its best. If things don’t turn around quickly, it’s clear that team owner Jerry Jones is ready to go in another direction at head coach.
But Garrett isn’t showing signs of being bothered by any extra pressure. Often times during the “walk-off,” the Cowboys coach will pull up his left sleeve and check his watch, a signal that he has to leave soon for practice. Despite being surrounded by a group that has been writing about his dwindling chances of keeping his dream job, Garrett never looked at his watch once on Sunday. He was as relaxed as if the Cowboys had already clinched the division and a first-round playoff bye.
Although no drastic changes are expected, some minor tweaks were revealed Sunday. After practice, the Cowboys worked out three kickers: Nick Rose, Austin MacGinnis and Tristan Vizcaino. Dallas didn’t sign any of them, but it’s clear they are at least looking at alternatives after Brett Maher struggled in last Thursday’s loss to Buffalo.
“I’m going to give myself the best chance this week to go out there and go one-for-one,” said Maher, who has missed five field goal attempts in the last five games. “After that one, go one-for-one again and see what happens.
“I’ve missed kicks before and I’ll miss again at some point, but giving myself the best chance to go out there and go one-for-one next time.”
During the portion of practice open to reporters, the Cowboys maintained their routine. The team typically breaks into groups after stretching, but before that, Garrett usually calls a player up to the front to lead them in jumping jacks. On Sunday, that player was Dak Prescott. After doing some individual work, Prescott and the first-team offense ran a few red zone plays on air. Xavier Su’a-Filo worked with the first-team at left guard in place of Connor Williams, whose season ended on Thursday after suffering a torn ACL.
In the locker room after practice, running back Ezekiel Elliott described the group as being angry during Sunday’s session.
“Practice was good,” Elliott said. “Great energy. Guys were on their stuff. Guys had a little stuff in their neck. It was a little chippy. Ready to go.”
Center Travis Frederick noticed it as well.
“I think that’s part of the sense of urgency,” Frederick said. “We’re put in a lot of situations that we compete, we compete against each other and we compete against each other at a high level.”
Added right guard Zack Martin: “No one’s happy, that’s for sure. I don’t think anyone is happy to be sitting where we are at right now. But we are very aware that it’s right there in front of us, and if we take care of business, we’ll be where we want to be.”
Sunday’s practice was outside, which has been the regular Wednesday routine. The Cowboys then usually practice inside on Thursday and Friday. Considering the chilly weather and grass surface Dallas will be playing on in Chicago, Garrett is considering breaking routine and practicing outside in the upcoming days.
While the Cowboys were practicing, lifting weights and taking part in team meetings on Sunday, they were getting an early Christmas present from the Miami Dolphins, who stunned the visiting Philadelphia Eagles, 37-31. The loss dropped Philly to 5-7, a game back of Dallas in the NFC East standings.
As bad as things have been recently for the Cowboys, they can actually get worse and still host a playoff game in five weeks. Even if Dallas loses its next two to the Bears and Los Angeles Rams, it can win the NFC East at 8-8 by defeating the Eagles at Philadelphia in Week 16 and winning at home against Washington in Week 17.
The expectations for the Cowboys coming into the season were to make a Super Bowl run. They have one of the league’s most talented rosters, the schedule is more favorable than expected and they have not lost a significant number of players to injuries.
But with four games remaining, they’ve showed little to no signs that they are about to turn it around and suddenly start playing their best.
“I feel like every year we have high expectations and definitely high expectations going into this year,” Elliott said. “I think the guys in this locker room are used to having high expectations. I wouldn’t say it’s weighing on us. We just haven’t played good football.
“I mean, that’s all it comes down to. Everyone wants to try to find out what’s wrong. I’ll tell you what’s wrong: We just haven’t played good football. We haven’t gone out there and executed as a team. Until we do that, it’s going to be tough to win ball games.”
FRISCO, Texas — Sunday at The Star began just like most Wednesdays during the season. Jason Garrett started his news conference a little after 10:35 a.m. About six minutes later, it was over. The Cowboys head coach then chatted with reporters off the record for another eight minutes, a few feet from the franchise’s five Super Bowl trophies displayed near the entrance of the team’s headquarters.
This Sunday was being treated like a Wednesday because Dallas plays at Chicago Thursday night. Although the practice schedule is adjusted, the goal is to make every week seem similar to the last. The Cowboys have lost six of their last nine games, and their 2019 campaign is on life support, but Garrett’s goal is to stay the course. He’s not a fan of making significant in-season changes.
That includes his clothing choices. For most of Garrett’s time as Cowboys head coach, he has sported a blue, long-sleeve crew-neck team shirt during the week. That changed last year after Dallas started 3-5. He then began wearing a slightly heavier version of the shirt with a hood on the back. The Cowboys finished the season winning seven of their last eight, including a wild card victory at home against the Seattle Seahawks. While he stuck with the new shirt, Garrett insisted he was not superstitious. It was about “routine.” Players have joked about how their coach prefers that term over “superstition.”
The long-sleeve hoodie returned this season as the North Texas weather cooled. The wins haven’t followed, but like last season, there’s hope around The Star that a similar late-season run can be made.
During Garrett’s off-the-record time with reporters on Sunday, his demeanor was the same as it has been during most of the previous sessions that have become known over the years as the “walk-off.” He seemed to be in a good mood, answering questions with great detail, smiling, upbeat, confident. Garrett certainly didn’t appear to be nervous about his current situation. After all, his team is now 6-6, fresh off one of their worst performances of the season, at a time when a relatively healthy group should be playing at its best. If things don’t turn around quickly, it’s clear that team owner Jerry Jones is ready to go in another direction at head coach.
But Garrett isn’t showing signs of being bothered by any extra pressure. Often times during the “walk-off,” the Cowboys coach will pull up his left sleeve and check his watch, a signal that he has to leave soon for practice. Despite being surrounded by a group that has been writing about his dwindling chances of keeping his dream job, Garrett never looked at his watch once on Sunday. He was as relaxed as if the Cowboys had already clinched the division and a first-round playoff bye.
Although no drastic changes are expected, some minor tweaks were revealed Sunday. After practice, the Cowboys worked out three kickers: Nick Rose, Austin MacGinnis and Tristan Vizcaino. Dallas didn’t sign any of them, but it’s clear they are at least looking at alternatives after Brett Maher struggled in last Thursday’s loss to Buffalo.
“I’m going to give myself the best chance this week to go out there and go one-for-one,” said Maher, who has missed five field goal attempts in the last five games. “After that one, go one-for-one again and see what happens.
“I’ve missed kicks before and I’ll miss again at some point, but giving myself the best chance to go out there and go one-for-one next time.”
During the portion of practice open to reporters, the Cowboys maintained their routine. The team typically breaks into groups after stretching, but before that, Garrett usually calls a player up to the front to lead them in jumping jacks. On Sunday, that player was Dak Prescott. After doing some individual work, Prescott and the first-team offense ran a few red zone plays on air. Xavier Su’a-Filo worked with the first-team at left guard in place of Connor Williams, whose season ended on Thursday after suffering a torn ACL.
In the locker room after practice, running back Ezekiel Elliott described the group as being angry during Sunday’s session.
“Practice was good,” Elliott said. “Great energy. Guys were on their stuff. Guys had a little stuff in their neck. It was a little chippy. Ready to go.”
Center Travis Frederick noticed it as well.
“I think that’s part of the sense of urgency,” Frederick said. “We’re put in a lot of situations that we compete, we compete against each other and we compete against each other at a high level.”
Added right guard Zack Martin: “No one’s happy, that’s for sure. I don’t think anyone is happy to be sitting where we are at right now. But we are very aware that it’s right there in front of us, and if we take care of business, we’ll be where we want to be.”
Sunday’s practice was outside, which has been the regular Wednesday routine. The Cowboys then usually practice inside on Thursday and Friday. Considering the chilly weather and grass surface Dallas will be playing on in Chicago, Garrett is considering breaking routine and practicing outside in the upcoming days.
While the Cowboys were practicing, lifting weights and taking part in team meetings on Sunday, they were getting an early Christmas present from the Miami Dolphins, who stunned the visiting Philadelphia Eagles, 37-31. The loss dropped Philly to 5-7, a game back of Dallas in the NFC East standings.
As bad as things have been recently for the Cowboys, they can actually get worse and still host a playoff game in five weeks. Even if Dallas loses its next two to the Bears and Los Angeles Rams, it can win the NFC East at 8-8 by defeating the Eagles at Philadelphia in Week 16 and winning at home against Washington in Week 17.
The expectations for the Cowboys coming into the season were to make a Super Bowl run. They have one of the league’s most talented rosters, the schedule is more favorable than expected and they have not lost a significant number of players to injuries.
But with four games remaining, they’ve showed little to no signs that they are about to turn it around and suddenly start playing their best.
“I feel like every year we have high expectations and definitely high expectations going into this year,” Elliott said. “I think the guys in this locker room are used to having high expectations. I wouldn’t say it’s weighing on us. We just haven’t played good football.
“I mean, that’s all it comes down to. Everyone wants to try to find out what’s wrong. I’ll tell you what’s wrong: We just haven’t played good football. We haven’t gone out there and executed as a team. Until we do that, it’s going to be tough to win ball games.”
