Parcells takes the blame for Cowboys

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I had not seen this article posted. At least he didn't blame anyone but himself. I feel better than if he had said it was an execution issue once again.


Parcells takes the blame for Cowboys
By Marc Narducci

The Philadelphia Inquirer

(MCT)

IRVING, Texas - Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells was predictably frustrated after a 23-7 loss to the Eagles on Monday night. But Parcells had no excuses and no explanation for the Cowboys' lackluster effort.

"There is not really anything good to say," Parcells said. "I take responsibility for it. The team didn't look like it was prepared to play."

Parcells did not single out individuals, choosing to blame the entire team. "We just didn't make any plays at all on either side of the ball very often," he said. " ... The way we played, we just didn't have a chance to compete tonight. ... We really didn't do a good job across the board."

TD for TE. Tight end Matt Schobel caught a 25-yard pass from Jeff Garcia in the first quarter for his first touchdown as an Eagle.

Schobel snapped a string of 28 games in which he had not scored a touchdown. His last touchdown came during the second week of last season on a 10-yard reception while playing for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Minnesota Vikings.

"Actually, I thought about it today," he said. "You never know when the opportunity will come."

Schobel beat middle linebacker Bradie James on the play. "We were able to hold their safeties, and I was able to get by their linebacker, and Jeff made a great throw," Schobel said.

Schobel's touchdown came with four minutes left in the first quarter, nearly two minutes after starter L.J. Smith left the game with a foot injury.

Smith returned in the second quarter. Later, he caught a 65-yard pass, the longest in his four-year career. Smith's previous longest reception came against the Cowboys earlier this season, when he caught a 60-yard pass.

Inactive. Eagles strong safety Michael Lewis saw his streak of 73 consecutive regular-season games snapped when he sat out last night's game.

Lewis injured a knee making a tackle during a 36-22 win over the New York Giants last week. He had not practiced all week and had been listed as questionable.

Cornerback William James also was inactive after sitting out practice all week. James suffered a calf injury in pregame warm-ups before the Giants game.

James, who was signed by the Eagles on Oct. 31, has missed four of the last five games. He also was sidelined for games against Indianapolis and Carolina with a sprained knee.

Perfect in Texas Stadium. David Akers continued his perfect streak at Texas Stadium when he converted on all three of his field-goal attempts last night. Akers is now 12 for 12 lifetime at the home of the Cowboys.

The Eagles kicker had not attempted a field goal at Texas Stadium since the 2002 season. Akers did not play in last year's game at Dallas because of a hamstring injury and made no attempts in 2003 or 2004. Akers was not aware of his perfect streak at Texas Stadium.

"You guys have all those great stats," Akers said. "I didn't have any idea."

Akers entered the game having connected on 14 of 18 field-goal attempts this season. This was the first game this season in which he had attempted more than two field goals.

"It was nice to contribute in such a big game," he said.

Akers connected on field goals of 25, 45 and 21 yards.

"It's a matter of executing; it's not like the stadium is better," he said. "It's just nice to come in and have a good game."

Westbrook's run. Brian Westbrook rushed for 122 yards on 26 carries, the sixth time this season that he has gone over the century mark in a game. Before this year, Westbrook had three 100-yard games in his first four seasons.

It was also the fifth time in team history that an Eagle had rushed for 100 or more yards in at least six games.

In 1996, Ricky Watters had six 100-yard games. Wilbert Montgomery had six in 1978, seven in 1979 and eight in 1981.

"We faced a tough defensive line, they were big and very physical, and our offensive line came out early and set a tone," Westbrook said. "They really did a good job out there."

Westbrook's 13-yard punt return with 9 minutes, 17 seconds left in the third quarter was his first return since opening day. In the opener, he returned three punts for 25 yards against the Houston Texans. The only other time he handled a punt was when Westbrook called for a fair catch Dec. 4 against the Carolina Panthers.

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© 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer.
 
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