DC.COM: Work To Do: Phillips Wants Better Execution Than In 17-9 Loss...w/video

[WoodysGirl]

Rob Phillips
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow robphillips3 on Twitter

Video Link: http://www.dallascowboys.com/multimedia/multimedia_center.cfm?id=6921A956-9A34-4CAF-C7F126736681AB6C (7:46)

<Just some blurbs from the article>

Clearly agitated by Thursday's fourth-quarter collapse - playing primarily backups, the Cowboys blew a nine-point lead in an eventual 17-9 loss to the Oakland Raiders before 72,282 at Cowboys Stadium - Phillips saw many correctable issues, including from his starters, as they travel Friday to Oxnard and prepare for this final two-week training camp stretch, beginning with two practices Saturday.

"This proves that we have more work to do," Phillips said. "I'm not happy, obviously, with the results. I thought we played more like the first preseason game than the second one in some areas."

In all, the Cowboys allowed five sacks in the first half, including two on backup Jon Kitna.

"That's not good enough," Phillips said.

"Absolutely we're out here to score, put points on the board and get touchdowns," said Romo (4-of-7, 52 yards). "There's a fine line. You don't want to show (in preseason) all the stuff that we've been doing, but at some point we have to get in and get better."

The red zone in particular has been an issue for the entire offense, starters and backups, in the first two games. In seven trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line, the Cowboys have netted 18 points - all field goals (six).

"Certainly we've got to get better in the red zone, we've got to get better on third down," offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Jason Garrett said. "I thought we were a little better taking care of the football tonight. So there are a variety of areas if you look at the game and say we're not real happy with it. But then if you dig a little deeper you'll understand that we're evaluating players, putting them in different spots, fairly simple in our approach."

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/news.cfm?id=6A421FCE-CDC5-3578-5A282FE273BE6AE7

 

[Hostile]

"Certainly we've got to get better in the red zone, we've got to get better on third down," offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Jason Garrett said. "I thought we were a little better taking care of the football tonight. So there are a variety of areas if you look at the game and say we're not real happy with it. But then if you dig a little deeper you'll understand that we're evaluating players, putting them in different spots, fairly simple in our approach."

Vinditcation...I love it.

 

[Reality]

Vinditcation...I love it.

STRAWBERRY!!!

Read your memos!!!!

-Reality

 

[CATCH17]

I love lamp.

 

[LucaBrasi]

Wait a minute. You mean they didn't game plan for this crucial 2nd pre-season game? I'm stunned. I mean reading the game threads last night I just assumed Garrett was a ******* idiot who didn't have a clue and clearly did not co-ordinate one of the top offenses in the NFL the last 3 years.

 

[Hostile]

"Certainly we've got to get better in the red zone, we've got to get better on third down," offensive coordinator/assistant head coach Jason Garrett said. "I thought we were a little better taking care of the football tonight. So there are a variety of areas if you look at the game and say we're not real happy with it. But then if you dig a little deeper you'll understand that we're evaluating players, putting them in different spots, fairly simple in our approach."

Jason got the memo.

 

[adbutcher]

STRAWBERRY!!!

Read your memos!!!!

-Reality

It is like saying, "you are so beautiful" when some one sneezes instead of saying "Bless you", lol.

 

[WoodysGirl]

A bit of a transcript....

Wade Phillips post game: Says Cowboys need a lot more work and best thing is no new major injury

Overall thoughts

"I tell you what I told the team. This proves we have more work to do. I'm not happy obviously with the results.
I thought we played more like the first preseason game than the second one in some areas. I thought we had complete control of the game and lost it in the fourth quarter."



Short week impact you:
"I dont want to make any excuses. I think we could have played better in some areas. The only good thing out of it is we didnt get anybody hurt. That's what I feel right now."


Poor offensive line play:
"I didn't like getting sacked five times the first half. I can tell you that. That is not good enough. We got things we need to work on. We didn't execute well enough."


Offense overall:
"We we didnt score. We could have kicked a field goal with the second team in the first half. But we didn't. We went for it on fourth down and didn't make it. We had our opportunities. But we kind of gave it away."


Mcbriar and Buehler had great nights:
"That's true. Im glad you pointed out something good. Buehler kicked the ball well again. He kicked the fiedl goals really well. I thought he hit them really well. Mcbriar had the game we expect normally from him. Buehler bombed them on the kickoffs.


Did they bring more pressure than you expected:
"No they didn't. They played pretty basic defense. They didn't rush us like we saw last week. I didnt see it. Last week Cincinnati blitzed us quite a bit. I saw a four man rush. I don't think i saw a five man rush."


More disappointing they got sacks with four man rush:
"Whether it was coverage or whatever. We held the ball for a long time. They didn't beat us clean now. I thought it took a long time. I think we held the ball a long time. I don't know if the receivers weren't getting open. I will have to look at the tape."

Running game woes because of tight end injury woes:
"After witten went it out it was a project for us to run the football."

And before he went out:
"I dont think we ran it well enough. We moved the ball some. I just think we did well enough over all."



First team defense dominant:
"They are a pretty dominant group. I think we saw that. I think they played better this game than they did last game. They played well last game. We let them rush some and play some coverage. They did a good job of that too."

Starters played on nickel defense:
"We played them on third down some so they could play more. They only played six plays and there were two three and outs.
I wanted the second group to get some work with the first and second down stuff. We needed to work our dime defense. They did well there.


Mcquistan at tight end:
"Just something to get through the game. That was not unbalanced. He played tight end. He had to report.


Who do you expect back from the injured guys for next week:
"I expect a lot of those guys back for San Diego, quite a few. I don't know about practice on Saturday.I expect a lot to play, Lee, Akwasi and Martellus. They should play."

Red zone woes attributed to being vanilla again:
"I dont have an answer for that. We work on it. We are going to keep working on it. We got some things we need to work on . We are going to work on them. I think our players know that."


Read more: http://startelegramsports.typepad.com/cowboys/#ixzz0wW0GIW8w

 

[Everlastingxxx]

Great recap by the HEAD COACH. Made no excuses and sees that the team needs a lot more work. Romo and WRs are to blame for the sacks, good he sees that. Wades D has done a great job so far, the offense...not so much. There is time for improvement.

I find it funny, last week the excuse was &#8220;oh they blitzed us a lot so we couldn&#8217;t combat it properly&#8221;...this week when they didn&#8217;t blitz and used a four man rush and its &#8220;oh we are saving the good plays for later&#8221;. Garrett of course is saving the triple reverse, half back option pass for Washington.

 

[CCBoy]

I don't think anyone will mistake Wade for a tea leaf reader....

 

[TNCowboy]

It is like saying, "you are so beautiful" when some one sneezes instead of saying "Bless you", lol.

I believe it was "You're so good-looking".....

 

[LucaBrasi]

without seeing the video and just reading the transcript, I really like this "new" Wade. No blowing sunshine, no excuses.

 

[28 Joker]

Colombo's second sack...

Go watch him get beat badly. There is no excuse.

Colombo's first sack...

Watch him end up on the ground.

Is any other o-linemen stretched out on the ground during that play?

Leonard Davis got beat on the first sack, with Colombo's guy getting free and touching him down.

Don't tell me that "Colombo didn't get beat clean" when all you have to do is watch his second sack and watch him stretched out on the ground, when no other offensive linemen is on the ground.

If you are going to throw the ball down the field all game long and not run the ball, then your RT better tighten up or Romo is going to get hurt.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

Colombo's second sack...

Go watch him get beat badly. There is no excuse.

Colombo's first sack...

Watch him end up on the ground.

Is any other o-linemen stretched out on the ground during that play?

Leonard Davis got beat on the first sack, with Colombo's guy getting free and touching him down.

Don't tell me that "Colombo didn't get beat clean" when all you have to do is watch his second sack and watch him laying on the ground, when no other offensive linemen is on the ground.

If you are going to throw the ball down the field all game long and not run the ball, then your RT better tighten up or Romo is going to get hurt.

I got to rewatch it on HD today. Hate to agree, but Colombo doesn’t look right. Surprised to see him on the ground both times. Maybe his leg doesn’t have its strength back, i don’t know. They need to give him some help and Romo needs to keep a shorter clock in his head.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Colombo's second sack...

Go watch him get beat badly. There is no excuse.

Colombo's first sack...

Watch him end up on the ground.

Is any other o-linemen stretched out on the ground during that play?

Leonard Davis got beat on the first sack, with Colombo's guy getting free and touching him down.

Don't tell me that "Colombo didn't get beat clean" when all you have to do is watch his second sack and watch him stretched out on the ground, when no other offensive linemen is on the ground.

If you are going to throw the ball down the field all game long and not run the ball, then your RT better tighten up or Romo is going to get hurt.

Per Romo

As for those three sacks, Romo said one resulted from simply holding the ball too long. On another, two receivers bumped each other in the pattern. So while the offensive line will largely take the blame -- and whenever there are five sacks in one half, they'll have to shoulder some of it -- there were also some natural preseason imperfections in other areas.

 

[adbutcher]

I believe it was "You're so good-looking".....

Thank you, I know.

 

[28 Joker]

I know Jason Garrett is going to run the ball this year. I really do like the strategic things that he does with Felix Jones, and I'm looking forward to seeing the new stuff and how much more Jones is going to be used, in the running game and the passing game.

Furthermore, I'm cautiously optimistic that Garrett gets how important Felix Jones is to the success of this offense and team.

However, we all know Dallas' passing game is a vertical game in it's true form, played down the field. Garrett did use more short passes last year and screens and got the ball out of Romo's hands faster last year, and that protected Romo and the offensive line. Austin was a great YAC player who helped Romo out.

I'm just saying this:

If Marc Colombo can't hold up in a preseason game (during one quarter; at home) Romo and the offense could be in some trouble this year. Just look at the guys Colombo is going to face this year and the division and look at his Vikings game last year. That guy from Texas was a rookie.

The plan (in these first two games) was obviously not to establish a running game in the preseason. That is fine. You don't want to waste your running backs in preseason, but I hope they give Felix Jones a little more work against the Chargers.

The offensive line needs to get some confidence in the running game. Again, the plan was to work the passing game, and that is fine, as long as one player isn't constantly letting his man free, like Colombo did in that game.

Romo's back can't tell the difference in a preseason hit or a real season hit. That is why I'm upset.

I like Colombo as a run blocker and don't trust him at all in pass protection, until he proves that he can be consistent in the games.

Doug Free is going to need some support, at times, during this year. Marc Colombo can't play like he did last night.

I guess seeing Wade contradict himself, upset me. On one hand, Wade says he's not happy about the offensive line giving up the sacks. Then, he talks about "coverage sacks", "holding the ball".. That is making excuses for Davis and Colombo. How about securing your man or not letting him get penetration or not letting your guy just plane old run around you to the QB, like Colombo did on one of his sacks.

Then, Garrett states that "they protected the ball better".

How about protecting Romo "better".

Again, I'm thinking about the health of the QB, Tony Romo.

 

[windward]

I know Jason Garrett is going to run the ball this year. I really do like the strategic things that he does with Felix Jones, and I'm looking forward to seeing the new stuff and how much more Jones is going to be used, in the running game and the passing game.

Furthermore, I'm cautiously optimistic that Garrett gets how important Felix Jones is to the success of this offense and team.

However, we all know Dallas' passing game is a vertical game in it's true form, played down the field. Garrett did use more short passes last year and screens and got the ball out of Romo's hands faster last year, and that protected Romo and the offensive line. Austin was a great YAC player who helped Romo out.

I'm just saying this

If Marc Colombo can't hold up in a preseason game (during one quarter; at home) Romo and the offense could be in some trouble this year. Just look at the guys Colombo is going to face this year and the division and look at his Vikings game last year. That guy from Texas was a rookie.

The plan (in these first two games) was obviously not to establish a running game in the preseason. That is fine. You don't want to waste your running backs in preseason, but I hope they give Felix Jones a little more work against the Chargers

The offensive line needs to get some confidence in the running game. Again, the plan was to work the passing game, and that is fine, as long as one player isn't constantly letting his man free, like Colombo did in that game.

Romo's back can't tell the difference in a preseason hit or a real season hit. That is why I'm upset

I like Colombo as a run blocker and don't trust him at all in pass protection, until he proves that he can be consistent in the games.

Doug Free is going to need some support, at times, during this year. Marc Colombo can't play like he did last night.

I guess seeing Wade contradict himself, upset me. On one hand, Wade says he's not happy about the offensive line giving up the sacks. Then, he talks about "coverage sacks", "holding the ball".. That is making excuses for Davis and Colombo. How about securing your man or not letting him get penetration or not letting your guy just plane old run around you to the QB, like Colombo did on one of his sacks.

Then, Garrett states that "they protected the ball better".

How about protecting Romo "better".

Again, I'm thinking about the health of the QB, Tony Romo.

Can't it be both though? I think COlombo was terrible and his performance wasn't near acceptable. At the same time, both plays were screwy and Colombo's ineffectiveness cost us dearly.

I just don't see it as Wade making excuses here.

 

[SDCowboy]

Even Marshal Faulk just said on NFLN there is nothing to worry about. If he said that, the biggest hater on earth, that should tell people to chill out some. :laugh2:

 

[slomoxn]

My whole problem with the vanilla thoughts and the everyone saying they didn't game plan is that the Cowboys didn't score man on man. How come we have to gameplan to drive the ball in from inside the 10. Is the offensive line unable to move the defensive line out of the way to allow a score? That is very disheartening... it shows that they may not be maulers, just able to run stunts. What do we do on 3rd and two or 4th and one? This isn't about gameplanning its about bustin someone's chops in the trenches.