12/28 Press conference ***Recap Post #23***

[Cowboy from New York]

coming on now.

[Cowboy from New York]

Patrick Crayton? Why not more involved?

BP says he's not sure why, credited him with blocking well in Carolina but nees to "get going" in passing game.

[Cowboy from New York]

BP says team is still hustling. Says he's concerned about Rams because they've put up 24 points or more in 9 games this season.

[Cowboy from New York]

Someone asked about the retirement rumors and BP said he was doing fine and asked if "that little weasel Seth Mortensen put you up to this?" Everyone laughed but who knows if BP was joking.

[Cowboy from New York]

Talking about safeties and the problems he has had with Davis and the need to create more depth there and wanting to improve that position. Says Roy has played better than last year.

[CrazyCowboy]

keep the recap's coming Zoners!

Thanks.....

[silver]

Someone asked about the retirement rumors and BP said he was doing fine and asked if "that little weasel Seth Mortensen put you up to this?" Everyone laughed but who knows if BP was joking.

When you look at all these rumors
Surrounding me every day
I just need some time
Some time to get away from
From all these rumours
I can’t take it no more

Timex Social Club 1983

[TheKey]

Keep em comin....

[Cowboy from New York]

Talking about JJ, reporters asks about "What if" JJ had played like that all season.

Talked for a while about JJ learning and said that he watched over him three times and that only once during the Carolina game did JJ give him "that puppy dog look" and BP took him out of the game right away. That story was meant to relay the connection the two have and how BP knows him better and JJ understands the game better, not meant as insult.

[Cowboy from New York]

Says running game is not that bad, top 15 or so, considering the offensive line.

[silver]

puppy dog look? that's hilarious

[burmafrd]

that is something that is hard for young players to do- to ask out of the game when you know you are too tired, winded, etc to play at your best. TOO many want to stay in and hurt their team.

[Cowboy from New York]

Said we could have had 14 wins this year....
But also said we could have 10 losses.
Basically a sh** happens statement about the "what if" questions.

[Cowboy from New York]

He starts getting on Ed Werder from ESPN, Werder trying to asks "how you feeling" type questions and BP asks him annoyingly if he has any questions about the upcoming game. Werder doesnt and BP asks him if "the weasel" sent him down to Dallas.

[Cowboy from New York]

Talked about Rams and Holt being main weapon, says defense will mix things up on him. Said several times in press conference that he sees this upcoming game as being very tough.

Press conference over, hope Roshi can do his usual great job, missed a bunch.

[Chocolate Lab]

Boy, I was getting annoyed with Werder and Jen Engel's questions on Parcells' returning/not returning, too... Come on guys, we only have one game left. Can we talk about the team and the game right now and leave the possible retirement speculation for a week from now?

[Doomsday101]

Boy, I was getting annoyed with Werder and Jen Engel's questions on Parcells' returning/not returning, too... Come on guys, we only have one game left. Can we talk about the team and the game right now and leave the possible retirement speculation for a week from now?

How about 5 weeks from now? LOL

[danzig]

When you look at all these rumors
Surrounding me every day
I just need some time
Some time to get away from
From all these rumours
I can’t take it no more

Timex Social Club 1983

thats classic.

great song

[Alexander]

How about 5 weeks from now? LOL

I really don't blame the jackyls.

If we get eliminated this weekend, Parcells goes into seclusion like he did last season, they don't have a story. Cannot fault them for trying.

[burmafrd]

Sure we can.

[Doomsday101]

I really don't blame the jackyls.

If we get eliminated this weekend, Parcells goes into seclusion like he did last season, they don't have a story. Cannot fault them for trying.

Yes I can. I expect them to report news not be the next National Enquirer. LOL

[BrAinPaiNt]

I really don't blame the jackyls.

If we get eliminated this weekend, Parcells goes into seclusion like he did last season, they don't have a story. Cannot fault them for trying.


Why Can't we....we can blame coach A, Player B and Owner C for everything.

Why can't we blame the jackyls. :D

They are the reason we are not the NFC East champions...stinking reporters. :D

[InmanRoshi]

Marco – Did some practice, but not everything. He warmed up and was there for team periods. Didn’t do too much participation wise. We’re trying to get him moving around.

Feel for Crayton progress?
No, not really. He hasn’t had many opportunities. He did a good job blocking last week, I’ll give him that. But he needs to get going a little bit. He’s a guy who just has to practice and stay at it. He’s not a guy who can just fall out there and go. He has enough bad habits that he has to work on that he reverts to from time to time. He had them when he came here and we’ve tried to get rid of them. We worked hard early on them early in the season and it looked like they were gone and he started to produce, but when he came back they reappeared like the measles. Its technical things.

With the Giants and Redskin games, did the players understand the stakes?
I think they understood the stakes, but not the environment. But Carolina was similar, so that was good. Are they over it? I dunno. You would have to be living in a closet to not have an idea what is on the line. I’m spending more time telling them about St. Louis. They seem to be hustling good. I was telling them today that in 9 of their games they’ve scored 24 points or more. Only two teams have held them under 17 points. They’ve scored a lot more points than we have. So I’m concerned some. Now, they have turned the ball over quite a bit, but they got a couple of very good players.

Will you pay attention to the earlier games?
I’m sure since it’s a night game you can’t help it. I wont expend any energy on it.

Stay in the hotel as usual?
Yes, no changes there. Regular curfew.

Does the record of 10-6 change with whether you make the playoffs or not?
Its out of my control now. This is going ot be a tough game, I can smell it coming. I just can. We’ve had a lot of those this year, and its been the norm rather than the exception. I just want us to be sharp and play well. It doesn’t mean you win, but I want to play well. I did a little extra yesterday. Most teams didn’t practice yesterday who played Saturday, but I worked them about an hour yesterday on just on a walk throughs to keep the team mentally fresh. And as a result, today we didn’t have many mental mistakes, so we should be ready to go.

Did you do that because they had Sunday off.
Yeah, this isn’t a team we’re overly familiar with, and it caused us problems with KC. I want to make sure that we don’t have similar problems if we can help it. Its not so much the shifting and motion, its just that they don’t have many tendencies at all. Its not much different from when Martz was running it. They are indiscriminate in substitution and play selection. So you have to worry about what you’re doing more than what they’re doing. You can’t get distracted by trying to anticipate what they are doing. Just be a good reactor.

How emotionally and physically drained are you at this point in the season?
I’m alright. I’m fine. How are you doing?

I’m fine. I don’t work as hard as you.
That’s right.

Safeties?
Keith had a mental lapse in Carolina in the 2nd series in case you didn’t notice. Pile had one at the end of the game where they hit the wheel route. So, we’ve been a little inconsistant. That’s a position that concerns me, not just for right now .. we got to do something about creating a little more depth there. For sure.

Does that position worry you more for this team?
Sure. St. Louis is a down the field team. Roy is limping around. I think he can play, but I would rather him be at his best.

Is that position still a problem or have you improved from the beginning of the year?
I think overall Keith has played pretty well. Roy has played better than last year. I don’t think we have much depth there at all. So we got to think about that down the road.

Did losing Bariault hurt?
It looked like Bariault would help us a little bit, but I can’t say I could depend on him for anything for sure as a rookie. It looked like he could play ST and be a backup.

Is the team where you thought they’d be at the beginning of the year?
I’ve talked about this, what I like bout this team is they haven’t been inconsistent in their work habits very often. They seem to prepare pretty well. I think the schedule we are on has been beneficial as compared to last year. Its given the coaches and players more time to analyze. But just general speaking I think they’ve worked hard and tried to respond for the most part. Tried.

But what about record-wise?
You can’t predict that. You can’t tell how things will unfold. Look at the Eagles. Everyone in this room picked them to win the division at the beginning of the year. You lose a couple of guys and it’s a different team. These days you can’t replace guy, there just isn’t anywhere to go. It has nothing to do with your scouting, you just cant find them.

Julius, do you look at the last game and think what could have been if you had gotten that all year?

Look historically at the RB position in the NFL. Its one of the most dififcult positions to predict and sustain success at. It’s a very difficult .. physical and mental .. position to play in the NFL today. That’s why Bettis and Martin and Marshall Faulks are so much different than guys whose candle burns brightly for a short time. Its hard to explain. It’s a physcially and mentally demanding job .. one of the most in football. A young kid starting out, its hard to explain to them what its about. You try … I have had a lot of experience with it. I tell them, I’ve seen it work with this guy and this guy, so it will work for you .. maybe. Still, it takes a little while before he gets it. Now, he really understands what I was talking about .

Can you tells us what you say to him?
The bullseye gets heavy. You got a bullseye on you, and it gets too heavy for some. You get nicked and its like a thoroughbred horse. For some of them, even the mallest thing can slow them down. Its like corner position. You pick up a blitzing LB and then you carr y the ball 24 times a game …. it’s the whole deal. You guys made a big deal about me using Barber a lot earlier in the season … its just good business. I’m trying to alleviate the pressure on Julius. Particularly a back of his size, you got to alleviate the pressure or he wont last long. That’s the way it is.

But he has performed at his best at 30-35 carries a game.
I was watching him in the game. He gave me the little puppy dog look once, and I took him out. He wasn’t singing the blues, but I know him now. I know by the look now. Sometimes things happen. He’ll be alright. I think if you talked to him you would hear that I did nothing but encourage him. I told him this is what its like. You think you’re going to feel good every week? You think this will be easy? You think this job is smooth sailing? They’re after you. They are.

Is it hard to be patient with him when so much is riding on these games?
No, I just try to use the player the right way. When you’ve been coaching as long as I have you can smell it. He doesn’t have to be carried off the field for me to know when he needs out. He might get stunned on a good hit on his 2nd carry. I don’t let my players tap out, but they have to be able to commmuniate with me some how to let me know.

Do you feel happy for him to see him succeed like that?
Sure. After the game, I put my arm around him and squeezed his head … just so he knows that I think he did a good job. I’ll just say “There’s my guy, right there’. I want him to feel good.

What difference would it have been to have gotten that all 14 games?
Who cares? What are we talking about that for? Do you worry about having not winning the lottery last week. The running game hasn’t been to bad. 120 yards a game. Better than most. Not bad with the offensive line we’ve had and offensive changes we’ve had.

You looked emotionally spent last year. Do you feel better this year?
Listen, an NFL season is a tiring process at best. When you go every single day its since July 29th its just tiring. For me personally. I can’t speak for the other guys .. .but when I see the other guys on Sunday, they look pretty tired too.

Do you think its better than last year. You said you were going to make some lifestyle changes to keep your energy level up.
I can’t remember last year. I try to keep my energy level up. I’ve tried to keep my weight down. I’ve kind of slid out of that habit the last month. Ive only been running 1 or 2 times a week lately, but its better than nothing. Why are we talking about this?

People are just wondering with the rumors that you may walk after this season.
I feel okay.

Are you close to your sense of what this team could accomplish?
We’re close. We’re not a mistake free team. We could be sitting here with 14 wins. Or 10 losses. You get in these close games and it comes down to 1 play here or there, and no one always makes it. No one. There will be buzzer beaters somewhere. Someone launches it form half court. A bloop single scores two runs.

Do you think you’ve achieved your potential with this team 3 years in?
I can’t judge that. I just know we have a better team than when I got here. I KNOW that. If you don’t believe me, ask any team that we have to play.

How do you perceive your future with the team?
I need a crystal ball. I want to talk about the Rams. Does anyone have a question about the Rams?

Does the Rams game effect your future here?
Anything else?

Henry play against the Rams?
I asked him how he was doing, and he gave me a thumbs up … so I’m optimistic. We have some moving parts on the roster for Sunday that I haven’t quite figured out yet.

You said earlier that it looked like Tucker had crossed the line and you don’t want him to go back. Has he gone back to the other side of the line?
He’s a much improved player from last year. In a couple of areas he’s definitely over the line. Personal discipline. Run blocking. Weight control. I have several players who have improved on that. Technically, he still has lapses once in a while. The best way to say it is identifying his limitations on a consistent basis and identifying on a play to play basis what has to be done still is problematic for him. Knowing what to do on the guy lined up across from him and accessing what he needs to do, and then the 2nd guy, and then the next guy. If he’s played a guy once already and knows the guy, he can make adjustments when needed. He couldn’t do that last year. He was just a reactive player. He’s still reactive more than I like. I’m trying to word it the way I would word it to other coaches. He just has a problem assessing what he needs to do on a play to play basis. Also, coping with adversity is something you have to deal with as an offensive lineman, and sometimes he gets too frustrated. There’s been a situation or two this year where its gotten the best of him. And other times he’s gotten past it. As I’ve said …. I like the kid, otherwise I wouldn’t spend 3 years with him. But eventually you have to see it.


Do you know the team.
I know these players. I’m with them 8 hours a day. I think they are use to playing in tight quarters now. I like that about a team if you can get that under your belt. It serves you very well.

Will you play Holt like Steve Smith?
They can put 4 WR’s on the field at once that can hurt you. Holt is their main guy, but we’ll have to mix some things up. I don’t think we can single one player out.

[InmanRoshi]

Parcells let it slip that he's looking down the road to upgrade the safety position in the future. He's coming back.

[Chocolate Lab]

Parcells let it slip that he's looking down the road to upgrade the safety position in the future. He's coming back.
Same as with the Shanle/Fowler LB position just Monday, IIRC...

I'm sure he'd say that he could mean "we" in the team or organization sense, but I agree with you.

[wileedog]

Thanks as always Inman.

[DCBoysfan]

Thanks for the recap

[Awakened]

Julius, do you look at the last game and think what could have been if you had gotten that all year?

Look historically at the RB position in the NFL. Its one of the most dififcult positions to predict and sustain success at. It’s a very difficult .. physical and mental .. position to play in the NFL today. That’s why Bettis and Martin and Marshall Faulks are so much different than guys whose candle burns brightly for a short time. Its hard to explain. It’s a physcially and mentally demanding job .. one of the most in football. A young kid starting out, its hard to explain to them what its about. You try … I have had a lot of experience with it. I tell them, I’ve seen it work with this guy and this guy, so it will work for you .. maybe. Still, it takes a little while before he gets it. Now, he really understands what I was talking about .


It just irritates me a little bit that when Parcells has an opportunity to throw Emmitt a bone, he rarely does so. Emmitt's greatness was his physical and mental toughness - his ability to sustain success year in and year out. C'mon, Bill, give Emmitt a little honor now and then. His record number of rushing yards and touchdowns is quite likely to stand for a long time.

[burmafrd]

BP was using examples of players still active.

[playit12]

And now questions that I would have asked...

"Since you'll know by kickoff if you still have a chance for the playoffs with a win, do you consider testing out some of your backups in that situation? For instance, do you let Romo get into an NFL game to see if that is a position of need going into the offseason and perhaps protect Bledsoe when you already know what he can do?"

"In the Washington game you didn't man to man Moss for the first half and he had some success in the passing game. For the second half you mostly allowed Newman to cover him which was successful. Newman also covered Smith for the Carolina game with success. Does that make you reconsider not using Newman exclusively on the opposing teams #1 reciever? If you end up playing the Redskins again in the playoffs, would you stay with Newman on Moss like you did in the second half of that game?"

"Was it Roy's Idea to play ST last game or just a result of injuries? What are you feelings on letting your starters play on ST, especially late in the season? Have you considered using Newman or Roy as a punt blocker from the edge like Baltimore uses Ed Reed to take advatange of thier physical skills?"

Too bad someone can't ask questions like these instead of... "Tell me how you feel?"

You know, Last year in TC Snyder let a couple of guys from Extreme Skins into the practices. They talked to the players and were basically reporters that posted entries onto ES. Anyone at Cowboyszone inquired about this for us? Certainly at least one of our Mods or posters lives in the Dallas area and would attend a Press Conference or two? Perhaps they could start a thread the day before and take the best 3 questions from the board with them to the conference? Teams are in love with Boards and Blogs these days... It's not so far fetched...

[goshan]

Sorry playit.
You would have never gotten your questions out because they are too long.

[silver]

playit, there are no stupid questions.
only stupid people.

[Juke99]

Parcells let it slip that he's looking down the road to upgrade the safety position in the future. He's coming back.


Thank you mucho, as usual, for the update.

Having watched Parcells, in NY, he could say he was staying in the morning...and yet change his mind by the afternoon.

[ravidubey]

It just irritates me a little bit that when Parcells has an opportunity to throw Emmitt a bone, he rarely does so. Emmitt's greatness was his physical and mental toughness - his ability to sustain success year in and year out. C'mon, Bill, give Emmitt a little honor now and then. His record number of rushing yards and touchdowns is quite likely to stand for a long time.

Bang on; I think Parcells and Emmitt had some kind of major disagreement very soon after Parcells got here. Maybe Parcells links Emmitt to Jimmy Johnson's regime and wants no parts of it.

[EveryoneElse]

And now questions that I would have asked...

"Since you'll know by kickoff if you still have a chance for the playoffs with a win, do you consider testing out some of your backups in that situation? For instance, do you let Romo get into an NFL game to see if that is a position of need going into the offseason and perhaps protect Bledsoe when you already know what he can do?"

"In the Washington game you didn't man to man Moss for the first half and he had some success in the passing game. For the second half you mostly allowed Newman to cover him which was successful. Newman also covered Smith for the Carolina game with success. Does that make you reconsider not using Newman exclusively on the opposing teams #1 reciever? If you end up playing the Redskins again in the playoffs, would you stay with Newman on Moss like you did in the second half of that game?"

"Was it Roy's Idea to play ST last game or just a result of injuries? What are you feelings on letting your starters play on ST, especially late in the season? Have you considered using Newman or Roy as a punt blocker from the edge like Baltimore uses Ed Reed to take advatange of thier physical skills?"

Too bad someone can't ask questions like these instead of... "Tell me how you feel?"

You know, Last year in TC Snyder let a couple of guys from Extreme Skins into the practices. They talked to the players and were basically reporters that posted entries onto ES. Anyone at Cowboyszone inquired about this for us? Certainly at least one of our Mods or posters lives in the Dallas area and would attend a Press Conference or two? Perhaps they could start a thread the day before and take the best 3 questions from the board with them to the conference? Teams are in love with Boards and Blogs these days... It's not so far fetched...

I think I could answer those :D

1. I don't wanna lose that player, I don't wanna throw him into a situation that he would not succeed. We have to get these young guys some experience(probably comes from playing time) before just throwing them in there. I'm going to play the player that gives us the best chance to win. I'm too old to lose.

2. I'm not looking ahead. As of now, we're not in the playoffs. If we have a game scheduled after this week, then and only then we'll begin to game plan for a team not named "St. Louis Rams".

3. Look..................I a.....Roy was playing STs because Roy needed to be out there. We've considered ALL THINGS.

:D

[Rockytop6]

Those are good questions and info all of us would like to know.

[playit12]

Sorry playit.
You would have never gotten your questions out because they are too long.

The several questions were follow ups... also I don't think Parcell's is opposed to long questions assuming they aren't stupid.

I think it would be great to poll for questions though. We'd get hundreds of ideas from people on this site and just vote for the best 3 or so. I get so tired of the questions that do get asked. Seriously... how many times do we need BP to tell us that Bledsoe is doing fine, Julius will be Fine, He's always looking for backup plans with new players, and that he likes the team because it practices hard.

BP has a great football mind and he's seen more football than any of us... Lets ask him harder questions.

[thewivil]

I'm sure he would have rather been asked those questions than the ones asked about personally about him.