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IRVING, Texas - Bill Parcells won't keep taking chances. That's not his style.
That aggressive offensive game plan the coach employed last week worked out just fine. And, the Dallas Cowboys needed every one of the 445 yards they gained - the last a 1-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left - to pull out a much-needed victory against Kansas City.
Just don't get used to it.
Get ready instead for the return of the conservative Big Bill.
With the playoff chase intensifying and the Cowboys about to play consecutive road games against teams with offenses similar to theirs, Parcells will quickly revert to his ball-control, grind-it-down-the field approach.
Still, after the success against the Chiefs, why not open up the offense more often - or all the time? Parcells knew that question was coming this week, even finishing off the thought of a reporter trying to ask just that.
"It's a fair question," Parcells said. "It's one that is difficult to explain exactly."
Really, it's pretty simple.
If Parcells doesn't think he has to be overly aggressive, like he knew he had to against the Chiefs' prolific offense, then he won't.
"It can cost you pretty dearly to take that gunslinger attitude toward every game," he said. "I don't think all the time that is percentage football. As a coach what you try to do, you try to decide what gives your team the best chance to win."
Against Kansas City, that meant using a flea flicker that turned into a 71-yard touchdown - the longest play of the season by Dallas - and an end around. Both went to receiver Terry Glenn, the latter for his first career rushing score.
Parcells sounds like somebody who got away with something wrong last weekend, and doesn't want to get caught trying to do it again.
The Cowboys (8-5) played without a turnover in their 31-28 victory over the Chiefs that kept them within a game of the NFC East-leading New York Giants. Dallas recovered its only fumble after quarterback Drew Bledsoe was stripped of the ball.
"Taking that (aggressive) approach, you are always at risk to do that," Parcells said.
Dallas probably won't have to play like that the next two weekends against Washington and Carolina, both below the 13th-ranked Cowboys in total offense. Each of those teams averages about three touchdowns a game.
Parcells has tried to downplay how the Cowboys played Sunday, but before the first practice last week to get ready for the Chiefs, he made sure his players knew what he planned to do. He wouldn't have to do that if he weren't straying from his norm.
"Early in the week, he said what we're going to do is come out and be aggressive, throw it around a little more," Bledsoe said.
It was similar to what the Cowboys did in their first meeting against Philadelphia in October, when they overwhelmed the defending NFC champions 33-10 weeks before Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens and Brian Westbrook were done for the year.
Parcells is right in his assessment that the Cowboys' run-to-pass ratio wasn't too out of whack against Kansas City - 34 passes and 28 runs.
What he fails to point out is that Bledsoe averaged 9.8 yards per attempt and 15.1 yards per completion. Both were significantly higher than his season averages, and an indication of more aggressive play-calling.
"So many people try to pigeonhole him as a guy that only wants to run the ball," Bledsoe said. "He's not afraid to take a chance on a trick play here or there."
When Bledsoe was a young quarterback for Parcells in New England, the Patriots attempted 699 passes in 1994 and 686 the following season, those totals trailing only Minnesota's NFL-record 709 in 1981. Bledsoe had 45 completions on 70 attempts, both single-game records, in 1994 against the Vikings.
That was a long time ago, and much different from how Parcells has done things in three seasons in Dallas.
The Cowboys lead the NFL in time of possession (32:59 per game). They are second in the NFL with 33.4 rushing attempts per game to go with 31.5 passing plays.
As a result, only three of the Cowboys' games have been decided by more than a touchdown. Their five losses are by a combined 20 points, including two on game-ending field goals.
So, it's clear Parcells doesn't mind playing it close or being conservative.
That's what he prefers, and we're about to see more of it.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/13400090.htm
That aggressive offensive game plan the coach employed last week worked out just fine. And, the Dallas Cowboys needed every one of the 445 yards they gained - the last a 1-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds left - to pull out a much-needed victory against Kansas City.
Just don't get used to it.
Get ready instead for the return of the conservative Big Bill.
With the playoff chase intensifying and the Cowboys about to play consecutive road games against teams with offenses similar to theirs, Parcells will quickly revert to his ball-control, grind-it-down-the field approach.
Still, after the success against the Chiefs, why not open up the offense more often - or all the time? Parcells knew that question was coming this week, even finishing off the thought of a reporter trying to ask just that.
"It's a fair question," Parcells said. "It's one that is difficult to explain exactly."
Really, it's pretty simple.
If Parcells doesn't think he has to be overly aggressive, like he knew he had to against the Chiefs' prolific offense, then he won't.
"It can cost you pretty dearly to take that gunslinger attitude toward every game," he said. "I don't think all the time that is percentage football. As a coach what you try to do, you try to decide what gives your team the best chance to win."
Against Kansas City, that meant using a flea flicker that turned into a 71-yard touchdown - the longest play of the season by Dallas - and an end around. Both went to receiver Terry Glenn, the latter for his first career rushing score.
Parcells sounds like somebody who got away with something wrong last weekend, and doesn't want to get caught trying to do it again.
The Cowboys (8-5) played without a turnover in their 31-28 victory over the Chiefs that kept them within a game of the NFC East-leading New York Giants. Dallas recovered its only fumble after quarterback Drew Bledsoe was stripped of the ball.
"Taking that (aggressive) approach, you are always at risk to do that," Parcells said.
Dallas probably won't have to play like that the next two weekends against Washington and Carolina, both below the 13th-ranked Cowboys in total offense. Each of those teams averages about three touchdowns a game.
Parcells has tried to downplay how the Cowboys played Sunday, but before the first practice last week to get ready for the Chiefs, he made sure his players knew what he planned to do. He wouldn't have to do that if he weren't straying from his norm.
"Early in the week, he said what we're going to do is come out and be aggressive, throw it around a little more," Bledsoe said.
It was similar to what the Cowboys did in their first meeting against Philadelphia in October, when they overwhelmed the defending NFC champions 33-10 weeks before Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens and Brian Westbrook were done for the year.
Parcells is right in his assessment that the Cowboys' run-to-pass ratio wasn't too out of whack against Kansas City - 34 passes and 28 runs.
What he fails to point out is that Bledsoe averaged 9.8 yards per attempt and 15.1 yards per completion. Both were significantly higher than his season averages, and an indication of more aggressive play-calling.
"So many people try to pigeonhole him as a guy that only wants to run the ball," Bledsoe said. "He's not afraid to take a chance on a trick play here or there."
When Bledsoe was a young quarterback for Parcells in New England, the Patriots attempted 699 passes in 1994 and 686 the following season, those totals trailing only Minnesota's NFL-record 709 in 1981. Bledsoe had 45 completions on 70 attempts, both single-game records, in 1994 against the Vikings.
That was a long time ago, and much different from how Parcells has done things in three seasons in Dallas.
The Cowboys lead the NFL in time of possession (32:59 per game). They are second in the NFL with 33.4 rushing attempts per game to go with 31.5 passing plays.
As a result, only three of the Cowboys' games have been decided by more than a touchdown. Their five losses are by a combined 20 points, including two on game-ending field goals.
So, it's clear Parcells doesn't mind playing it close or being conservative.
That's what he prefers, and we're about to see more of it.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/13400090.htm
