Gemini Dolly
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http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/story/1676550.html
By RANDY GALLOWAY
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
Not so quick, I can tell you, on the widespread report that receiver Miles Austin ran the wrong route in Denver, resulting in a very costly turnover.
Did he?
Immediately after the Rocky Mountain low, word came postgame that it was Austin who screwed up on that play, therefore taking Tony Romo off the hook for the pick.
Austin was blamed all week in the media. On Friday morning, however, I heard different, and heard it from a voice who is paid to know.
The mistake was Romo’s, I was told. He made the wrong read and throw based on how cornerback Champ Bailey chose to cover Austin.
I took that info as the truth, based on who said it, and it was later confirmed by others. This makes it disturbing on several levels, starting right at the top of the Valley Ranch pecking order.
Why would the head coach, the offensive coordinator and the quarterback allow this to happen? And even if the excuse is they don’t read the papers or don’t follow the ramblings of the local talk shows, how could any of them go five days during a week of hell and not know it was being reported Austin was at fault?
By the way, the media, starting with me, were also wrong when we delivered false information based on what said after the game. If I remember correctly, even Troy Aikman on TV thought it was a bad and costly route by Austin.
Some of the CowSheep will alibi that it’s not a big deal, either way.
From here, it’s a very big deal.
For one, the quarterback has to be the most stand-up player in the locker room. Above all else, there’s a trust factor that has to happen between him and his receivers. In this case, was the trust factor damaged? If Austin wasn’t at fault, and no one cleared up the misconception, then, sure, there was damage. Trust in the QB slipped immediately.
Beyond a young guy like Austin, the other receivers know how that route was supposed to be run, and how the pass was supposed to be thrown. It’s an easy guess what they are now thinking.
Romo’s quote about that particular play after the game was, "there was miscommunication." But if Tony was at fault, he should have said it.
And if he doesn’t believe he was at fault, then where is Jason Garrett to clear it up? Where is Wade Phillips?
The offensive coordinator and the head coach should not allow a player to be wrongly tagged about a critical mistake in the game. Where is the leadership on this team?
No. 1 locker-room rule: Don’t point a finger, unless the pointing is at yourself. I didn’t hear Romo do any pointing in the direction of Austin, but it’s still a locker-room sin if he didn’t clear up the media reports.
I repeat: Those of us in the media should be mouth-slapped because we got it wrong. It was a critical play, and the thinking is the readers want to know what happened. So questions were asked, mainly off the record, and Austin was tagged.
The first thing different I heard was five days after the game, and it came from someone who apparently decided to speak up after he became fed up with what he was reading and hearing.
Let it be noted, however, that receiver Roy Williams had a "Miles didn’t run the wrong route" comment Wednesday, which stirred the interest of the media. It wasn’t reported anywhere because media members were still attempting to talk to Miles.
Austin, usually polite and engaging with the media, was strangely quiet and uncooperative all week, even blowing off reporters at Valley Ranch.
On Friday, Miles did surface, but quickly took the high road, backing out with a comment of "me talking about anything that happened last week isn’t going to help me or my team out."
Austin doesn’t have the NFL skins to speak up, and, besides, he’s a nice guy. Wonder how old No. 81 would have handled it?
Don’t think, however, this kind of thing didn’t leave a negative impact in the locker room. And the timing isn’t exactly good for any additional negatives.
The Cowboys are in Kansas City today. The Chiefs are 0-4. But ...
The entire Dallas season rides with today’s outcome.
The Cowboys absolutely cannot lose this game and then go into an off-week attempting to recover.
If anyone thinks last week was almighty hell after what happened in Denver, that would amount to only a minor disturbance compared to what a loss to the Chiefs would bring.
Maybe the Chiefs are so lowly, particularly on offense, the Cowboys can simply show up and win. Somehow, I doubt that.
Phillips’ top priority last week as head coach was to put all elements of the Denver loss in the rearview mirror. But by Friday, I had to wonder if that had happened. Miles Austin got some chicken-spit treatment last week.
It won’t be forgotten in the long run, but it may or may not have an impact today, depending on the outcome. I’d suggest a win cures most all. Otherwise, hold on tight.
By RANDY GALLOWAY
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
Not so quick, I can tell you, on the widespread report that receiver Miles Austin ran the wrong route in Denver, resulting in a very costly turnover.
Did he?
Immediately after the Rocky Mountain low, word came postgame that it was Austin who screwed up on that play, therefore taking Tony Romo off the hook for the pick.
Austin was blamed all week in the media. On Friday morning, however, I heard different, and heard it from a voice who is paid to know.
The mistake was Romo’s, I was told. He made the wrong read and throw based on how cornerback Champ Bailey chose to cover Austin.
I took that info as the truth, based on who said it, and it was later confirmed by others. This makes it disturbing on several levels, starting right at the top of the Valley Ranch pecking order.
Why would the head coach, the offensive coordinator and the quarterback allow this to happen? And even if the excuse is they don’t read the papers or don’t follow the ramblings of the local talk shows, how could any of them go five days during a week of hell and not know it was being reported Austin was at fault?
By the way, the media, starting with me, were also wrong when we delivered false information based on what said after the game. If I remember correctly, even Troy Aikman on TV thought it was a bad and costly route by Austin.
Some of the CowSheep will alibi that it’s not a big deal, either way.
From here, it’s a very big deal.
For one, the quarterback has to be the most stand-up player in the locker room. Above all else, there’s a trust factor that has to happen between him and his receivers. In this case, was the trust factor damaged? If Austin wasn’t at fault, and no one cleared up the misconception, then, sure, there was damage. Trust in the QB slipped immediately.
Beyond a young guy like Austin, the other receivers know how that route was supposed to be run, and how the pass was supposed to be thrown. It’s an easy guess what they are now thinking.
Romo’s quote about that particular play after the game was, "there was miscommunication." But if Tony was at fault, he should have said it.
And if he doesn’t believe he was at fault, then where is Jason Garrett to clear it up? Where is Wade Phillips?
The offensive coordinator and the head coach should not allow a player to be wrongly tagged about a critical mistake in the game. Where is the leadership on this team?
No. 1 locker-room rule: Don’t point a finger, unless the pointing is at yourself. I didn’t hear Romo do any pointing in the direction of Austin, but it’s still a locker-room sin if he didn’t clear up the media reports.
I repeat: Those of us in the media should be mouth-slapped because we got it wrong. It was a critical play, and the thinking is the readers want to know what happened. So questions were asked, mainly off the record, and Austin was tagged.
The first thing different I heard was five days after the game, and it came from someone who apparently decided to speak up after he became fed up with what he was reading and hearing.
Let it be noted, however, that receiver Roy Williams had a "Miles didn’t run the wrong route" comment Wednesday, which stirred the interest of the media. It wasn’t reported anywhere because media members were still attempting to talk to Miles.
Austin, usually polite and engaging with the media, was strangely quiet and uncooperative all week, even blowing off reporters at Valley Ranch.
On Friday, Miles did surface, but quickly took the high road, backing out with a comment of "me talking about anything that happened last week isn’t going to help me or my team out."
Austin doesn’t have the NFL skins to speak up, and, besides, he’s a nice guy. Wonder how old No. 81 would have handled it?
Don’t think, however, this kind of thing didn’t leave a negative impact in the locker room. And the timing isn’t exactly good for any additional negatives.
The Cowboys are in Kansas City today. The Chiefs are 0-4. But ...
The entire Dallas season rides with today’s outcome.
The Cowboys absolutely cannot lose this game and then go into an off-week attempting to recover.
If anyone thinks last week was almighty hell after what happened in Denver, that would amount to only a minor disturbance compared to what a loss to the Chiefs would bring.
Maybe the Chiefs are so lowly, particularly on offense, the Cowboys can simply show up and win. Somehow, I doubt that.
Phillips’ top priority last week as head coach was to put all elements of the Denver loss in the rearview mirror. But by Friday, I had to wonder if that had happened. Miles Austin got some chicken-spit treatment last week.
It won’t be forgotten in the long run, but it may or may not have an impact today, depending on the outcome. I’d suggest a win cures most all. Otherwise, hold on tight.
